Sending aid to New Mexico
T he Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) system is a congressionally ratified organization that provides form and structure to interstate mutual aid. Through EMAC, a disaster impacted state can request and receive assistance from other member states quickly and efficiently.
Wildfires, severe weather, and flooding that began on or about June 19, 2024, caused an emergency situation in the State of New Mexico, which continued with such severity that the EMAC was activated, and action was warranted to alleviate hardship and suffering from emergency response support. Adverse circumstances have been brought to bear upon citizens and public properties in the State of New Mexico.
These political subdivisions require supplemental assistance from the State of Arkansas to recover from these losses. Therefore, I, acting under the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Arkansas, and pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §§ 12-75-101, et seq., and the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), do hereby authorize funds in the amount of $210,000.00, to be obligated from the Governor’s Disaster Response and Recovery Fund and used at the discretion of the Director of the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management to defray both program and administrative costs. All EMAC requests are reimbursable from requesting states and territories, and funds will be returned to the Governor’s Disaster Response and Recovery Fund once received.
Remembering Thelma Mothershed Wair On Saturday, October 19, Thelma Mothershed Wair, one of the Little Rock Nine, passed away in Little Rock at the age of 83. Mothershed Wair was one of the first nine Black students to attend Little Rock Central High School, braving mobs and opposition from state leaders to attend the formerly all-white high school in the fall of 1957; WHEREAS: In the ensuing conflict between state and federal leaders, Mothershed Wair and the other members of the Little Rock Nine became symbols of bravery in the Civil Rights struggle and even inspired Beatles band member Paul McCartney to pen the hit song “Blackbird.” Mothershed Wair persevered in her education, graduating high school and earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree. She went on to work for decades in the East St. Louis school system as a counselor, and also in a Juvenile Detention Center in Illinois, helping disadvantaged young people navigate the education system; She and the other eight members of the Little Rock Nine received the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999 and are the inspiration for monuments and memorials in Little Rock and across the nation. Arkansans are forever indebted to the sacrifices of Mothershed Wair and her classmates, who put their own personal safety on the line to fight for integration, racial equality, and simple fairness in the education system and every aspect of Arkansas society.
Acting under the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Arkansas, I do hereby order that the United States flag and the state flag of Arkansas be flown at halfstaff throughout the State from sunrise to sunset on Saturday, October 26, 2024, on the day of Thelma Mothershed Wair’s interment, in memory of her life.
Gov. Sarah Sanders
