State official will lead U.S. nonprofit
Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality Director Becky Keogh is the 2018-19 president of the Environmental Council of States, according to a department news release.
Keogh has served as vice president for the past year and was secretary-treasurer the year before that. She first became involved with the organization in 1997 and has served on several committees, according to the release.
The council is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association of environmental leaders from all 50 states and two U.S. territories.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson and U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton, all Republicans, congratulated Keogh on her election. Hutchinson said her position would benefit Arkansas.
"Becky Keogh has an excellent reputation as a fierce advocate for both states' rights and the protection of our natural resources," Boozman said in the release. "Her election as President of ECOS is a testament to just how well-respected she is amongst her peers."
School recyclers can pursue grants
Schools in Pulaski County have until Nov. 2 to apply for $1,000 grants for school recycling programs, according to a news release from the Regional Recycling and Waste Reduction District.
The district, which is a state solid waste district that operates only in Pulaski County, is giving away a total of $10,000 in grants for up to 10 schools.
Public and private schools serving grades 1-12 are eligible, and they must answer a series of questions about the school's current recycling and how it would use the grant funds. They can access the applications through www.regionalrecycling.org and contact coordinator Reita Miller at (501) 340-8787 or at [email protected].
Winners will be announced Nov. 8.
Batesville district to get solar boost
The Batesville School District is installing more than 2,000 solar modules on its campus this fall through a $5 million bond, the district said this week.
The district spends about $500,000 in electricity annually, and officials hope that generating power on site will help pay off the bond and put more money in the district's pockets within 20 years, said Megan Graddy, a spokesman for the district.
The school district, which has about 3,000 students, is taking on this project as a part of a larger "Go Green" initiative, which Graddy said she believed no other school district in the state had yet pursued.
Along with the solar modules, the district replaced its windows. It replaced fluorescent lighting with LED lighting and has installed more efficient toilets.
The district had planned to finish installing 766 modules as the roof of its new canopy in front of Batesville High School by today. The 1,472 modules that will go behind the school should be installed and running by mid-October, Graddy said.
NW News on 09/03/2018