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Hi Community Members,

I know many of you have had varying impacts to your own homes/families/friends due to last week’s storm. Sending you all positive vibes that recovery will be speedy. I’ve added a few storm cleanup/resources below.

- Christine

Storm Cleanup/Resources

President Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Benton, Boone, and Marion counties last week. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be setting up an office onsite in Benton County soon (location TBD).

Applying for FEMA Assistance:

If you have insurance (such as flood, homeowners, renters, auto or other types of insurance), please file a claim with your insurance provider as soon as possible. You do not have to file your claim prior to applying for FEMA disaster assistance, but you will be required to provide FEMA your insurance settlement or denial before being considered for certain types of assistance.

  • Take photos of your damaged home and belongings for your own records.

  • Make a list of damaged/lost items, which may be helpful when working with your insurance or discussing your losses with a FEMA inspector.

  • Apply via one of the following options:

Benton County Additional Resources

The Benton County government website has up to date links to multiple resources and clean up information.

Bentonville Specific Resources:

  • Two Storm Debris Sites Open to Residents - Residents can bring vegetative storm debris to the Compost Facility at 2000 NW A Street or on SW John W Fryer Ave (next to NWA Armed Forces Reserve Center). Proof of residency required: City Utility Bill and an ID. Contractors for City residents must be accompanied by resident.

  • Keep up to date on park and trials closures HERE

  • Volunteer opportunities with Bentonville Relief HERE

Rogers Specific Resources:

  • Rogers residents can drop off vegetative or food waste at 3101 W. Oak St. and 2300 N. Arkansas St. from 7am-5pm Monday through Saturday.

  • Rogers School District has been compiling resources for residents - up to date information and volunteer opportunities can be find on their website HERE

Local Events

  • Wednesday, June 5th from 8-10 a.m. - The Power of Inclusion and Innovation at The Momentary in Bentonville; Engage NWA invites you to a conversation with Janie Mines, the first Black female graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and John-Rex Spivey, an officer in the Naval Reserve. Event is free, but registration is required.

  • Friday, June 7th from 4-6 p.m. - Pride Resource Fair at 21c in Bentonville (200 Northeast A St, downtown Bentonville) - pop-up market resource fair with local vendors and community members

  • Saturday, June 8th at 11 a.m. - June Strong Towns Meetup at Natural State Beer Company (5214 W. Village Parkway, Rogers) - meet with fellow citizens seeking to advocate for make walking/cycling more accessible and to be included in shaping the future of urban infrastructure in NWA

  • Saturday, June 8th from 11 a.m. to close - Tornado Relief + 2nd Annual Flip Flops and Hops: Summer Party at Rendezvous Junction Brewing Co (2225 S Bellview Rd in Rogers) - In partnership with Keller Williams Realty, Rendezvous Junction is throwing a Tornado Relief Concert at their 2nd Annual Flip Flops and Hops Party! Additionally, Keller Williams Realty will be hosting a silent auction to support tornado relief efforts. Additional details can be found HERE.

  • Saturday, June 8th - Democratic Party of Arkansas Fisher Shackelford Dinner at the Embassy Suites in Little Rock; This event is dedicated to honoring and empowering remarkable women who have tirelessly worked to build a brighter Arkansas. This year’s honorees include State Senator Linda Chesterfield, Dawne Vandiver, and Benton County’s own Young Democrat Micah Wallace. Tickets can be purchased HERE.

  • Monday, June 10th at 6:30 p.m. - Democratic County of Benton County Monthly Meeting - join us at the Arvest Conference Center location in downtown Bentonville (yes, we were able to secure our normal location for June); we’ll be electing a new Democratic candidate for the Justice of the Peace position for district 4 among other items at this meeting

Community Involvement Opportunities

Equality Crew is looking for meeting space!

Their meeting space was impacted by the NWA storms on May 26th. Because of this, they are in need of spaces in the community to host their hangouts for the following events:

  • June 13th - Advocacy Workshop w/ Eric Reece (AV access needed)

  • June 18th - Family Social Night

  • June 20th - Craft Night

If you have a business or other space that is secure and can host 15-20 people comfortably, please reach out to their Program Director, Michael Bennett-Spears ([email protected]).

Civics Education

Building Bridges for America has created FREE training courses and documents for citizens to access to improve their civic confidence. Listed below are two of their courses/workbooks you may find the most beneficial as we head into this election season.

Civics 101: The basics they no longer teach in school

In this thorough workbook, the staff at Building Bridges for America cover the following civic topics:

  • Federal Government - understanding the U.S. Constitution, our system of government, and how a bill becomes a law

  • Elections - review of election jargon

  • State Government - identify who is in charge and what powers the states have

How to be Politically Active - A Self Guided Training

In this amazing workbook that allows you, yes YOU, to unlock your personal political power.

The workbook will lead you through steps to accomplish the following goals:

  • Identify Your Values - Learn how to speak to others by connecting to shared values

  • Developing Your Story - Speaking from personal experience to show that politics matters to you

  • Actively Listening - Pick up new habits to create space that allows for understanding

  • Talking with Your Network - Follow the step-by-step process to identify and build a plan to intentionally talk with people you know

If you are also a visual learner, this YouTube video will also walk you through the steps outlined in the workbook.

Municipal Government Awareness

Bella Vista

  • Next Council Mtng: Monday, June 17 at 5:30 p.m. (2483 Forest Hills Blvd) - work session

  • Items of Note:

    • Deadline for the application for the Bella Vista Youth Council has been extended to Friday, Aug. 30th for incoming HS juniors and seniors - more info HERE

Bentonville

  • Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, June 11 at 6 p.m. (305 SW A St.)

  • Items of Note:

    • The Bentonville Public Library has reopened and the Summer Reading Club is open for all ages! Learn more HERE.

    • There is a new newsletter starting up in Bentonville called The Bentonville Bulletin, you can sign up for their emails HERE. The Bulletin is produced by local former BHS graduate, Sam Hoisington.

Cave Springs
Centerton

  • Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, June 11 at 6 p.m. (210 Municipal Dr.)

  • Items of Note:

    • Arkansas Dept. of Transportation will be hosting a public input meeting to discuss the proposed expansion of Hwy 102 (W Centerton Blvd) on Thursday, June 6th from 4 to 7 p.m. at 210 Municipal Drive in Centerton

Gravette

  • Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, June 11 at 5:30 p.m. (202 Main St. NE) - Committee of the Whole

Lowell

  • Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, June 18 at 6:30 p.m. (216 N. Lincoln St.)

  • Items of Note:

Pea Ridge

  • Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, June 11 at 5:30 p.m. (911 Weston St.)

  • Items of Note:

    • Library After Dark, seven events throughout the summer that happen when the Pea Ridge Library is closed. These events are exclusively for ages 13 and up. Registration will go live two weeks before each event (first event is June 8th at 4 p.m.)

    • The City has hired a new Parks and Recreation director, Kaleb Turner, who will start his position on June 10th.

Rogers
Siloam Springs

  • Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, June 4 at 6:30 p.m. (400 N. Broadway)

  • Items of Note:

Springdale

  • Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, June 11 at 6 p.m. (201 Spring St.)

  • Items of Note:

    • Mayor Sprouse intends to bring the purchasing of a greenhouse for the city to the full city council again when all council members are in attendance - the vote failed at the last meeting in May when only six of the eight council members were present. Read Campell Roper’s reporting on the proposal and the council meeting in the NWA Dem Gazz HERE.

    • Interested in serving on a Board or Commission in Springdale? Apply now! Options include, but are not limited to: Airport Commission, Library Board, Public Facilities Board, Advertising and Promotion Commission, and many others. To apply, please visit HERE.

County Government Awareness

Bentonville School District

After the Bentonville City Council vote against rezoning the land planed for the Bentonville School District teacher housing project, the district worked with the Excellerate Foundation to find another solution to their plans. Last week Excellerate and the District announced the new plan at the groundbreaking ceremony for McAuley Place (located next to the Bentonville Community Center).

  • Read details from the event and about the plan from Antoinette Grajeda at the Arkansas Advocate HERE and Alex Golden at Axios NW Arkansas HERE

  • Donate up to $100 to the Teacher Homes Fund HERE and receive updates from the project’s progress

Northwest Arkansas Council - Groundwork

In mid-May Groundwork hosted “Creating Home: A Summit Exploring Policies, Practices and Promising Solutions” in Elm Springs. The session recordings can be accessed HERE. The presentations reviewed can be found below:

Benton County Quorum Court

Last week, the Quorum Court unanimously voted to approve special elections for raising annual dues for the Hickory Creek and Pleasure Heights fire departments. The elections will appear on Nov. 5th ballot for the residents of those coverage areas. The proposal will increase the yearly dues from $40 to $100 for each residence and business within the service areas.

Upcoming County Government meetings at the Admin Building in downtown Bentonville:

  • Planning Board Meeting - June 5th at 6 p.m.

  • Finance Committee Meeting - June 11th at 6 p.m.

  • Development Review Committee - June 12th at 10 a.m.

  • Committee of the Whole - June 18th at 6 p.m.

State Government Awareness

Interstate Roads:

from Axios NWA: Arkansas and Oklahoma transportation departments are studying the possibility of turning about 190 miles of U.S. 412 into an interstate. The section of road runs east to west from Interstate 35 in Oklahoma to Interstate 49 in Springdale.

The transportation departments will hold a public input meeting June 13 in Siloam Springs at John Brown University in Simmons Great Hall from 4-7pm. For those unable to attend, materials will be available online HERE. Comments will be accepted June 4-28.

94th General Legislative Assembly:

The Governor will likely call a special legislative session for mid-June. The session may include a request to cut state income taxes again.

  • Watch Keesa Smith, executive director for Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families (AACF), discusses the upcoming tax cut debate and a new economic report from AACF with Roby Brock at Talk Business and Politics HERE

Election Information

Benton County Justice of the Peace District 4 Democratic Vacancy

Due to the Democratic candidate (Letisha Hinds) moving outside of her district, the Democratic Party of Benton County has the opportunity to select a new candidate to run for the Benton County Justice of the Peace District 4 position.

If you are interested in learning more about running for this position, send an email to [email protected]. The party will select the new Democratic candidate at their Monday, June 10th monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Arvest Conference Room in downtown Bentonville.

Candidate Endorsements

Congratulations to the local candidates running for office in 2024 who have been endorsed by Run for Something:

Upcoming Candidate Filings for Municipal and Other Positions

It’s starting to be that time of year again for filing to run for elected offices. This time it’s the nonpartisan municipal, Bentonville school board, NWACC board of trustees, and Beaver Lake Water District positions. I’m happy to chat/meet with any person who’s interested in learning more about the positions up for election and details about running for office.

Dates to be aware of:

  • May 9, 2024: First day candidates may start circulating signature petitions to get on the ballot

  • July 31, 2024 at noon - August 7, 2024 at noon: Filing period at the County Clerk’s offices in Benton County

Position Details:

Political Training Opportunities

Highlighting the National Democratic Training Committee free Field Training courses! They have an online course that can be completed at your own pace: Intro to Field - Learn the best practices and tactics successful Field teams use to win.

Upcoming Live Trainings:

  • Field Tactics 101: Review key field plan tactics such as canvassing, phone banking, texting, events, and relational organizing - Tue., June 4 at noon

  • Running an Effective Canvass Operation - Learn best practices for setting up a strong canvassing operation and review the components of effective canvassing scripts - Mon., June 10 at noon

  • Phone Banking for Political Campaigns - Learn about the use of phone banking on political campaigns and develop best practices for setting up a strong phone banking operation - Wed., June 12 at noon

  • NDTC Expert Q&A: Running Safe & Secure Campaigns - In collaboration with the Democracy Security Project, join us for a collaborative Q&A with experts to help you learn how to run safer campaigns - Thur., June 13 at noon

Odds & Ends

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