to Serve as Chairman of Senate Agriculture Committee in 119th Congress
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), the top Republican on the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, was formally named Chairman of the committee upon the Senate’s approval
of its organizing resolution.
“It is an honor to serve as Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee,” Boozman said. “There are many pressing needs of agriculture producers that we will work to address including passing a farm bill that provides farmers and ranchers the policies and support they desperately need to continue feeding, clothing and fueling the world. I look forward to working with President Trump and my colleagues to implement an agenda that delivers certainty
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BOOZMAN STATE
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and predictability for hardworking farm families, improves the regulatory landscape to ensure it’s fair and transparent, and bolsters rural communities.”
As Chairman, Boozman will establish the agenda of the Senate Agriculture Committee next Congress.
Boozman served as Ranking Member of the committee in both the 117th and 118th Congress where he worked across the aisle to enhance food assistance programs and modernize USDA’s summer meals program to permanently allow states flexibilities to reach more food-insecure children.
He successfully fought for economic assistance to help producers minimize market losses, helped elevate the importance of securing new export markets for U.S. agriculture commodities and met with farmers, ranchers and agriculture stakeholders in more than 20 states to get their input as the committee crafts the next farm bill.
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ARDOT crews prepare for statewide winter storm
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) crews planned ahead to prepare for the potentially significant, statewide weather event Thursday into Friday.
Earlier this week, Arkansas saw its first bout of light winter weather for the year in northwest and north central parts of the state.
“This storm isn’t predicted to be the largest one we’ve ever seen, but it’s the first of the year to really impact most of the state,” said ARDOT’s Assistant Chief Engineer for Maintenance Steve Frisbee on Wednesday.
“We are making sure all of our resources and equipment are ready to deploy as needed.”
ARDOT starts each year with a stockpile of 85,000 cubic yards of salt. This salt is distributed between 116 salt houses across the state. ARDOT has 31 tanker trailers used to pre-treat roads, and a fleet of more than 600 snowplows to clear roads.
ARDOT’s Strike Team is activated during winter weather events. They assist the District crews to facilitate the pre-treatment and clearing of our State’s Highways and Interstates in the event of snow and ice. The Strike Team is made up of employees from ARDOT’s statewide striping, sign, and milling crews.
“The Department is monitoring the weather, and we are as prepared as we can be,” ARDOT’s Chief Engineer for Operations Rex Vines said on Wednesday. “We are pretreating roads and will actively pursue keeping our roads clear. Extreme caution is always recommended if any members of the public must be out on the roads during winter weather.”
ARDOT recommends the public stay home during inclement weather if possible. If travel is necessary, check IDriveArkansas.com for the latest road conditions. To activate the winter weather layer on the IDriveArkansas website or app, click the snowflake icon.
If you are traveling during inclement weather, reduce speeds, stay alert, and keep necessities in your vehicle such as an ice scraper, phone charger, hat, gloves, etc.
Additional travel information can be found at IDriveArkansas.com or ARDOT.gov.
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$1 million bond set in child endangerment case
A Greene County woman faces a Class Y felony after Paragould police said an infant tested positive for meth. Amber Ragland, 30, of Paragould was arrested Jan. 7 on suspicion of endangering the welfare of a minor, 1st degree and introducing a controlled substance into the body of another. A $1 million bond was set for Ragland, who was being held Wednesday in the Greene County jail.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Paragould detectives got a call earlier this month about an ongoing Arkansas Department of Human Services case involving an infant that had tested positive for meth.
'Medical records were obtained showing that the infant victim, who resides with Ragland, had tested positive for methamphetamine both in a urine screen and a hair follicle test,' Paragould police said in the affidavit.
'The hair follicle test is consistent with sustained exposure environmentally over a period of months.'
The affidavit noted that the incident happened around Sept. 9, 2024.
Police later interviewed a person who was present during the hospital visit, who also corroborated meth use in the home, according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Ragland was also ordered not to have any contact with the infant, not to engage in any criminal activity and must wear an ankle monitor if she posts bond.
