LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas, Louisiana to share $2.7 million
Arkansas and Louisiana will receive federal grants totaling $2.7 million to help improve infrastructure that was damaged in 2011 by storms and flooding, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Thursday in a news release.
A $2 million Economic Development Administration grant will go to the Southeast Arkansas Economic Development District Inc. in Pine Bluff and the Lake Providence (La.) Port Commission.
The grant will fix the North Louisiana Arkansas Railroad’s rail line that runs between Lake Village and Lake Providence.
It will also provide a connection with the Union Pacific Railroad and restore the rail line, which was damaged by storms in 2011 and flooding of the Mississippi River, according to the news release.
Also in Arkansas, Perryville will get a $751,000 grant to improve the city’s water treatment plant, which was damaged last year. The grant will help pay for raising the height of lagoon levees.
The projects are part of a $200 million appropriation made by Congress to help communities that were hurt by major disasters in 2011.
- Jessica Seaman
Soybean rust found in 4 counties in state
After dealing with the winds and rains brought on by Hurricane Isaac, Arkansas’ soybean farmers are now on the lookout for soybean rust, which has been confirmed in Arkansas, Chicot, Desha and Lincoln counties.
“Though most of the soybeans are past the recommended growth stage for treatment, rust is a threat to late-planted soybeans that are in the mid-stages of reproduction,” said Travis Faske, an extension plant pathologist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
On Thursday, Faske recommended that producers with soybeans younger than the R6 growth stage in the areas where rust has been confirmed should consider treating plants with fungicides, as well as keeping a close eye on their fields.
Growers who need more information about soybean rust and crop production should contact their county extension office, or go to www.uaex.edu.
- Glen ChaseArkansas Index falls 1.51; 11 stocks drop
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 1.51 to 242.58 Thursday.
“The Arkansas Index moved lower as 11 stocks declined, four advanced and one remained unchanged,” said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Arkansas Best lost 6 percent and traded at a 52-week low of $7.51 on heavy volume.
Volume was 20.4 million shares; the average is 24.4 million.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 27 on 09/21/2012