Have you ever considered giving back to your community? Since 1982, the Texas A&M community in College Station, Texas has hosted what they call “The Big Event,” a volunteering effort that aims to lend a hand to a community that supports the university each and every day. Some efforts include raking yards, cleaning streets, visiting nursing homes, walking dogs, and so much more.
In April of 2017, Texas A&M University – Texarkana (TAMUT) hosted its very own first annual Big Event with the tagline – Eagle Pride City Wide. The introductory event provided over 200 volunteers that clocked almost 1,000 hours of community service. This year’s Big Event is scheduled for April 9, 2022.
Registration is now open to current, former, and future students, faculty, alumni, student family members, and community members not affiliated with TAMUT. If you would like more information on The Big Event, or want to sign up to volunteer, or have a project in mind for the TAMUT community, please visit The Big Event.
The holiday season is a time for joy and togetherness. We celebrate with our family and friends, sharing love and laughs, giving thanks and gifts. If you are anything like me, the holidays are also a time of introspection. It is a time to slow down and take a good look at your life. Many of us have an overabundance of things to be thankful for, even if we don’t always feel like we do. If you have a roof over your head, shoes on your feet, and food on your plate, you are doing better than many. Perhaps those things may not seem like luxuries, but there are a multitude of people in our very own community that do not have access to the things we often take for granted. That is why the Randy Sams’ Outreach Shelter of Texarkana needs YOUR help.
The Randy Sams’ Outreach Shelter (RSOS) has been serving the citizens of Texarkana for over twenty-three years. Randy Sams’ aim is to help those struggling with homelessness and addiction to live a meaningful, happy, and productive life by equipping them with the necessary skills and support to do so. In addition to providing food and shelter at no cost, they offer many other services. Among these services are life skills classes, financial assistance programs, job training programs, prescription assistance, transportation assistance, and case management. They have bettered countless lives in their two decades of operation, and our community is incredibly lucky to have them.
With fall upon us, and winter closing in fast, RSOS finds themselves in great need of warm clothing items and accessories. Things like coats, jackets, scarves, gloves, headwear, socks, and blankets are in short supply.
In addition to these items, the Shelter has many other needs. They are always in need of cooking/serving and cleaning supplies. Their Be The Blessing Bakery also requires baking supplies. A complete list of specific needs can be found here. If you can help fulfill any, or all, of these needs, donations can be dropped off at the Shelter at any time between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. If you would simply like to make a monetary donation, those are also welcome. Donors have the option to make a one time donation, or sign up to give monthly or annually. For questions or concerns about donations, please contact the number below.
In addition to physical or monetary donations, there are other ways to lend a hand. If you are interested in donating your time, RSOS’ can always use volunteers. There are many ways to volunteer, such as hosting donation drives for shelter needs, or providing evening meals at the shelter. To volunteer your time or services, you can sign up online.
When it comes to donating, whatever it may be, you might think “I can’t give enough to make a difference,” but even the smallest gift can make a huge difference. You cannot change the world overnight, but you can do your part to make it a little brighter each day. Whatever you can do, or donate, will be greatly appreciated. After all, it is the least we can do for an organization that has been loving and caring for our community for over twenty years. While you are enjoying your holiday festivities with your family and friends, take a moment to spare a thought for those who are less fortunate. Spread joy and love wherever you can. Please make this holiday season a season of giving.
For more information on the Randy Sams’ Outreach Shelter and its programs, please visit them online or call 903-792-7024. You can also follow them on Facebook, and Twitter.
You’re an undergraduate history major with large amounts of data about crime statistics in various locations across the United States over time. To a criminology student, this might be a gold mine, full of relative research material for their next paper. For you, it’s just numbers. But Dr. Andrew McGregor says GIS (Geographic Information Systems) can change that.
Photo by Allison Hall
On Wednesday, November 14, Dr. McGregor, Dr. Drew Morton, and Dr. Doug Julien hosted a four-hour open house in the Red River Innovation Lab for Humanities to celebrate GIS day. He started with an overview of definitions and ended with a hands on session, showing students and professors ways to use the mapping software. The goal was to show how this technology is useful in all fields of study.
GIS is a type of mapping systems that uses GPS signaling to help you plot specific coordination. Sounds ancient. But actually, it’s all digital now and it can get complicated. However, Dr. McGregor kept it simple, explaining how GIS can help people of all disciplines map data over both time and space. Mapping is no longer thought of as only useful to Geography professionals. Humanities academics have potential here. Dr. Morton, head of the Red River Innovation Lab, was also present and showed a very interesting piece from the online Journal [In]Transition. It was a video made to show the current geography of locations used in older Western films. With this type of use, GIS can reveal interesting things about the developing and changing technique and design of filmmakers. It’s a way for easy comparison.
You, as a history major, can use this technology to take that data about crime trends, map them, and compare them to other mapped data regarding things such as economy, redlining, slavery and more to discover that American crime trends are in fact a result of historical events across the nation. Admittedly, this example is self-explanatory, but it’s an easy way to develop a clear picture about the functions of these systems. It’s also a topic repeatedly addresses during the event.
Photo by Allison Hall
An interesting point brought up is the fact that maps only show data. They don’t necessarily make any arguments. That’s up to the viewer. The purpose of GIS mapping is for the user to devise and develop a question, argument or idea and present it in a way that is practical and stimulating in a visual way. The map is for you to make a point with in a way that’s different from a research paper or a graph.
This is a way for different disciplines to network among one another. This is not a one person job nor does it create a singular study. You need researchers to gather data, interpreters for that data, coders, mappers and so on. This gives fields such as history a reason to work together both within and outside of their field.
Photo by Allison Hall
Dr. Doug Julien, not having the statistics and code driven background needed for certain aspects of GIS mapping from scratch, introduced a user-friendly website, EJScreen. This website presents already gathered data in map form for people to reference. It presents an opportunity to clarify and verify previous thoughts as well as a way to formulate new questions based on such data. In other words, it is a lead in to formulate questions that you might build your own map to answer. He uses this to track both historical and modern-day racism and the evidence found in current living conditions. He is able to show how things such as redlining has put minority citizens in an almost permanent area in locations within Texarkana.
Aside from Dr. Julien’s introduction into EJScreen, Dr. MgGregor offered other online mapping tools where you can apply your own data to create your own very specific maps, such as ESRI Story Maps, Google Earth Pro., Google My Maps, and Carto. He took us through each of these sites, some offering different features than others, but all seeming very easy to navigate in an organized way. They all offer a visual option for large amounts of data that might not make sense mentally in the same way.
To find out more about Geographic Information Systems, you can contact Dr. McGregor at amcgregor@tamut.edu.
With Bowie County (Texas) and Miller County (Arkansas) combined, Texarkana is home to over 65,000 residents. The City of Texarkana, Texas has placed eleven beautiful parks, recreation and running trails throughout local neighborhoods (Tamut, Pleasant Grove ISD, Texas ISD, Liberty Eylau ISD) of Texarkana with the mission to improve the quality and life of citizens.
(TAMUT & PGISD) Bringle Lake Park East, West and Wilderness are three different areas combined in one. Bringle Lake, known for being the most popular park and having the best running trails, is found right by the A&M Texarkana
Image Courtesy of Texarkana, Texas Parks (7602 Bringle Lake Road Texarkana, TX 75501)
Bringle lake Wilderness Area is 144 acres of nature area. No motorized vehicles are allowed in the wilderness area and the park is of day time use only. Bringle Lake Wilderness features ten foot wide bike and running trails that lead right into Bringle Lake East at approximately two miles.
Image Courtesy of Texarkana, Texas Parks (7500 Bringle Park Rd)
Bringle lake East is an eight acre park that sits on the east side of Bringle Lake Wilderness. The park features bike and running trails, a playground for children, picnic areas, a floating fishing pier, grills and restrooms.
Surrounded by an abundance of trees and nature, the relaxing walking trails on Bringle Lake East are designed to bring you right into the boardwalk of Bringle Lake West.
Image Courtesy of Texarkana, Texas Parks (7602 Bringle Lake Road Texarkana, TX 75501)
The west side of the Bringle Lake is an open seven acre park offering a boat ramp, fishing piers, trails, exercise equipment, volleyball sand courts, restrooms, playgrounds and a 1500 Sq. Feet pavilion looking over Bringle lake.
Image Courtesy of Texarkana, Texas Parks (4303 North Park Road)
Does your dog need a breath of fresh air too? There is a local park for your pet. Kylee Sullivan Dog Park has a fenced in area for them to play with other dogs their size or feel free to roam on the dog trails. The dog park can be found on North Park Road, open seven days a week.
Right beside the Kylee Sullivan Dog Park you can find Spring Lake Park, located in a central area of Texarkana.
Image Courtesy of Texarkana, Texas Parks(4303 N. Park Road Texarkana, TX 75501)
With 145 acres, this park features a spring fed lake, concert area, playground units, rotary splash pad, 18 hole disc golf course, picnic areas, 1.75 mile trail walking throughout the park , baseball and softball diamond, fishing, and restrooms. Spring Lake is the host of “Movies in the Park” during the Spring and Fall season offering new and classic releases.
Bell Park is in the heart of “New Town”. It is a four-acre neighborhood park offering a multi purpose baseball court, four sets of playground equipment, pavilion, restrooms and picnic tables. Bell Park is commonly used for community events and family gatherings. Around the corner from Bell Park , in the Highland Park area there is a 5 acre playground nestled in a beautiful tree line historic area. Ferguson Park is found just south of College Drive and Adjacent to the Collins Senior Center.
Image Courtesy of Texarkana, Texas Parks (2612 New Boston Road Texarkana, TX 75501)
Located on New Boston Rd. Beverly Park is a 7 acre playground park with a heavily wooded area and that features playground equipment and picnic tables. Beverly Park is perfect for your lunch time activities.
Image Courtesy of Texarkana, Texas Parks
Right off 7th Street, home to the recreation staff services is located at 3222 West 7th Street. The South West Community Center and Park is 20,000 sq ft building featuring a gymnasium, multi-purpose room, game room and kid’s library, meeting rooms, exercise room and kitchen. The Southwest center offers weekly recreational activities such as yoga and Zumba classes, youth and adult open gym activities, senior citizen’s bingo, and pool table and games.The Center also offers seasonal programs and sports event, health fairs, summer youth programs and much more. Meeting rooms can be reserved for individual, groups, or family functions. The park area of the Southwest Center offers four lighted tennis courts, playground equipment, and a multi-purpose open space area.
Image Courtesy of Texarkana, Texas Parks(201 Oak St. Texarkana, TX 75501)
(LE ISD) Kidtopia is a playground designed for kids by kids! Located in Downtown Texarkana, the park is the perfect place to let kids express themselves. Kidtopia features a multi purpose playground, public restrooms and don’t forget your skates for Skatetopia.
Skateopia is the newest adjacent to Kidtopia in Downtown Texarkana. Built completely from custom concrete and designed by our local skateboarding community,the Skate Park is made for users of all skill levels to enjoy.
Image Courtesy of Texarkana, Texas Parks(201 Oak St. Texarkana, TX 75501)
Featuring ledges, stair sets, down rails and an open bowl section, the park is great for all-wheel use. At Skatetopia, operational hours differ from Park curfew and both are open for day use only.
Image Courtesy of Texarkana, Texas Parks(410 Findley St. Texarkana, TX 75501)
Located just off of highway 59, Findley park is a 5-acre, tree-lined neighbor hood park. Featuring a basketball court, playground and multi purpose recreational area.
Scott Joplin Park is a beautiful wooded area and a great place to cool off on a hot summer day.
Image Courtesy of Texarkana, Texas Parks(1621 W. St. Texarkana, TX 75501)
This 7 acre park features various play equipment, public restrooms, a pedestrian walking bridge and a 1260 Sq. Feet pavilion perfect for picnics, family gatherings and community social events.
The park is located at 1621 West Street, just off of State Highway 59 in South Texarkana.
Image Courtesy of Texarkana, Texas Parks
Karrh Park is a 33-acre gem surrounded by wooded areas and a quiet neighborhood. Karrh Park features four softball fields and is the home to the Girls Softball Association where leagues and tournaments are in full swing from the month of March to October.The park provides a serene picnic area with a small pond for recreational fishing,(1656 Sq. Feet) pavilion, playground equipment and public restrooms. Located at 2102 South Ann Street (just off of State Highway 59 South)
Located at 3419 Leopard Drive in the Liberty-Eylau area of Texarkana, Grady T. Wallace Park features 5 softball fields, 12 soccer fields and is the home to the Texarkana United Soccer Association with children and adult leagues in the Spring and Fall. Wallace Park offers active recreational space covering over 70 acres.
Featuring playground units, a walking/jogging trail around the 5-acre lake, a basketball court, two pavilions (2400 Sq. Feet) for social gatherings and public restrooms.
Do you have an uncontrollable desire to live next door to your biggest football rival and eventually make amends through governmental practices? If you do, I have the perfect place for you. Texarkana is widely known for its dividing state line between Arkansans and Texans. The rivalry goes so deep that patron lines for tickets to the annual Arkansas and Texas High football game begin two weeks in advance. This divide goes much deeper than just a friendly rivalry. The physical divider, State Line Boulevard, is our largest indicator of economic separation between the two states. Most people in town will tell you that the Arkansas side is the poor side of town; the bad side of town.
The United States Census Bureau says that there are 67,592 people living in Texarkana, with 37, 333 residents within the Texas side and about 30,259 in Arkansas. Could this be the reason for such a wide-spread difference in financial situations? There are more housing availabilities on the Texas side than that of Arkansas’. However, the median household income is higher on the Arkansas side, while per capita income is lower. In addition to stark variation in housing conditions, the United States Census Bureau statistics show that there is a variation in education levels across the state line. The Texas side has higher rates of high school graduation and degree attainment. Health professionals are one of the highest employed in Texarkana, for example. Most of these positions need some type of degree. Could this be due to the stark financial differences between patrons? Maybe Texarkana needs a wider variety of job opportunities. Many college programs across at least three colleges and universities in Texarkana offer expertise in a whole slew of categories. Progressiveness, by the city of Texarkana, in introducing those job opportunities for college students and graduates is essential. The answer is not definitive.
Complements of the Ar-TX Redi Website
The good news is that there are people interested in breaking this trend. Recently, a group of investors came together to create AR-TX Regional Economic Development, Inc. (AR-TX REDI). The group will pull resources from both sides of the town to try to create a more stable economic situation for all! The goal is to bring more business into this area, creating more jobs and financial progression. This is partly because of Texarkana’s rich, career-building educational community, including schools such as Texas A&M University – Texarkana, Texarkana College, and the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope. In fact, TAMUT will be providing assistance to this organization by offering its facilities as a sort of headquarters. You, as a student and community member, can easily be involved in something that has potential to change your town tremendously.
To display this master plan, both governors met in the downtown area for a symbolic tearing down of state borders. Ledwell and Son Enterprises, a local truck and trailer manufacturing company, built a hydraulic system into the famous Texas and Arkansas state line sign. When the cue came, the sign was ‘knocked down,’ eliminating the divide. There was a huge turnout and Texarkana citizens are very happily engaged with the program. Facebook was a hub for communal inspiration in regards to this event. It was a cool idea and visual for something that sounds historically complicated.
For more information, visit the AR-TX REDI website, or their Facebook page. For more information about Texarkana’s current economic status, please click here.
The Texarkana Area Veterans Council hosted the annual Veteran’s Day Parade in downtown Texarkana, on Saturday, November 11, at 11 a.m. The theme of this year’s parade was “Saluting Women in the Military thru the Years.”
The parade began at the intersection of East Broad Street and Hazel Street, in downtown Texarkana, Arkansas. The festivities consisted of floats, local high school bands, antique cars, local motorcycle groups, Texarkana Jeep Junkies, the Corvette Club, Cub Scouts, and much more. The TAMUT Eagle was also there, showing support for our student and community veterans.
The crowd was beaming with support for their veterans. Children and their parents were proudly waving their flags and showing their support, as community organizations slowly trickled by passing out candy, flags, and cross pins to the crowd.
If you missed this year’s parade, check out the video link and photos below.
The second annual downtown Fall Festival, organized by local women’s organization Diva Maintenance, was held Saturday, October 28 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
This year’s festival consisted of a costume contest, live bands, vendors, a bounce house, and the infamous Texarkana Flash Mob. With over 30 contestants, the costume contest was a big hit. The winner was baby girl, Ximena Ortiz, dressed as an owl.
Due to the cold front and the forecast for rain, this year’s festival only saw about half the attendance of last year’s event. Last year, the attendance reached over 4,000. The weather caused vendors to back out at the last minute and the vendors who braved the cold didn’t hang in until the 8 p.m. closing time. As the crowd dwindled, the vendors began shutting down around 5:30 p.m.
The event organizer, Diva Maintenance, also organizes various food festivals downtown such as the Catfish Festival and the Back Alley Food Court.
Tameka Grady, a spokeswoman for Diva Maintenance, said, “We are already working to make the 2018 Fall Festival bigger and better.”
You are coughing, you can’t breathe, every part of your body hurts. You roll over and look at the clock, it’s 3 a.m. You have to get up in a couple of hours to go to class and you realize you have the flu. What do you do? What could you have done to avoid this conundrum?
Unfortunately, not everyone knows what to do when they are sick. They feel they must go to school or work, despite running fever and feeling ill. This is how the flu spreads. Here are a few tips to avoid spreading or catching the flu.
If you feel ill, and especially if you are running fever, stay home.
Avoid contact with people who are sick.
Cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough.
Wash your hands often. If soap is not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Don’t touch your eyes, mouth, or nose. Germs are often spread by touching something contaminated and then touching your face.
Keep your home and workspace clean and disinfected.
Get plenty of sleep. Your immune system has to work overtime when you are tired.
Exercise. A healthy exercise routine keeps your body healthy.
Avoid stress as much as possible. Oftentimes, stress can weaken your immune system and cause physical symptoms.
Drink plenty of fluids and eat nutritious foods. Keeping yourself hydrated and eating a healthy diet is a good way to support immune system function.
Take a quality multivitamin. Keeping your macro nutrient levels up can help support a healthy immune system.
Above all, get your flu shot. Pharmacies give the flu shot and it is covered by most insurances. This preventative measure can save you tons of money on cold and flu medications and loss of work.
If you begin to feel ill, there are other things you can do to shorten the virus. The over the counter, non-drowsy remedy Oscillococcinum is a great way to feel better fast. You could also try taking Zinc, Vitamin D3, and Vitamin C to boost your immune response.
With the cold and flu season in full swing, it’s important to be vigilant. Stay healthy!
