
Ozarks At Large

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe was in Texarkana yesterday, where he refused to reveal his future political plans, but offered his opinion on the recent partial shutdown of the federal government. Fayetteville's Owl Creek School next year will become the third school in the district to move to a continuous learning calendar. And the NCAA releases the most recent data on graduation success rates for student athletes.


A Fayetteville company earned a big award from the Department of Energy worth $500,000.
Tinkerbell and all the rest are part of Trike Theater's latest production.

Cynthia Levinson's book, We've Got a Job examines an amazing event during the fight for civil rights. In 1963 thousands of children marched through the segregated city of Birmingham, Alabama.
The Arkansas Poll revealed Arkansans are more pessimistic than they have been in the past. You can read the full results of the poll here.
The Community Clinic of NWA yesterday announced it has received a notable recognition for its implementation of the Patient-Centered Medical Home model of care. And, Fort Smith and Springdale get good jobs news.

Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Friday, January 10, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks…the 2013 Northwest Arkansas Education Report Card has numbers, plenty of numbers, relating to 17 public school districts in Washington and Benton Counties. We'll talk to Gary Ritter, the director of the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas about the report. And the three-person band The Room Outside plays inside the Firmin-Garner Performance Studio. We'll also talk to Michael Tilley from The City Wire about the week’s news and Becca Martin Brown from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers about the upcoming weekend’s entertainment opportunities.
In the first of our five-part series on the deployment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Jacqueline Froelich explains how the law will work in Arkansas.
In the second of our series on the launch of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in Arkansas, we look at our state’s unique approach to Medicaid expansion.
For more information visit Arkansas Health Connector at http://hbe.arkansas.gov
Here are our ten clips of ten classic southern tales, each set in a different southern state. Extra points if you know the actor featured (if not actually heard) in two of our clips this week.
1. Vivian Leigh, as Scarlet, makes a vow at the end of the first half of Gone With the Wind. (Goeriga)
2. Richard Widmark, as Col. Bowie, questions the wisdom of defending the Alamo. (Texas)
3. Sally Field is encouraged to hit Shirley MacLaine in Steel Magnolias. (Louisiana)
4. Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs in In The Heat of the Night. (Mississippi)
5. John Wayne takes gets ready to take out four bandits in the 1969 film adaptation of Charles Portis' True Grit. (Arkansas)
6. Gary Cooper is a true shot even before he joins the military in Sgt. York. (Tennessee)
7. The five seconds we can air from Al Pacino in Scarface. (Florida)
8. Jeff Goldblum makes the case for a rationalization in the Big Chill. (South Carolina. Yes, South Carolina...who knew?)
9. Cape Fear. Scary. Robert DeNiro, of course. (North Carolina)
10. Boo Radley saves the day in To Kill a Mockingbird. (Alabama)
Apologies to: Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Maryland.
Next in our series on the roll-out of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in Arkansas, Jacqueline Froelich profiles one insurance company competing to set up shop on the state’s health insurance marketplace.
To learn more about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act visit http://HealthCare.gov
And to see what’s happening in Arkansas go to http://ARHealthConnector.org
ArkansasBlueCross.com also provides a concise list of health care law news and information.
The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 is providing community clinics across the U.S. billions of dollars to provide basic health care to under-served communities. In Washington and Benton Counties Community Clinic, a ministry of St. Francis House, will get an infusion and plans to expand into south Washington County.