Our Town

Little Rock notebook

Healthy programs earn agency grant

Little Rock's Parks and Recreation Department received a $5,000 grant for meeting healthy eating and physical activity standards in its after-school programs during the 2015 school year.

The National Recreation and Park Association gave the grant to organizations that met the standards, which include serving a fruit or vegetable with snacks and meals, and ensuring that physical activity takes place outdoors when possible.

The national association's goal is to have at least 2,000 sites across the country meet the standards within five years. So far, 991 sites have signed the group's commitment to health in the program's first two years. More than 108,000 children have participated in programs that meet the standards, according to a news release.

The Parks and Recreation Department's out-of-school and after-school programs serve about 200 children each school year and about 1,500 each summer.

The city hosted a health fair to celebrate the grant.

Expansion begins at library branch

Construction to expand the Roosevelt Thompson branch of the Central Arkansas Library System has begun.

The $1.8 million expansion will add a teaching kitchen, three study rooms and a large meeting room that will be accessible after normal library hours.

Funds for the project are from a bond refinance that voters approved in July.

Construction on the Roosevelt Thompson branch, at 38 Rahling Circle, began Thursday. An expansion of the Dee Brown branch at 6325 Baseline Road also is underway, and expansion at the Fletcher Library at 823 N. Buchanan will start later this year.

The Central Arkansas Library System Foundation is raising money to put a piece of art in honor of Thompson at the library that bears his name. Thompson, a Little Rock native and Yale University student, died at 22 years old in a car wreck in 1984, months after earning a Rhodes scholarship.

"Thompson's plan was to study philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University in England, attend law school, and then return to Arkansas for a career in politics and public service," according to a news release. "He graduated with honors from Central High School in 1980, where he was the student body president and a member of the football team."

The design of the expansion at the Roosevelt Thompson branch, which opened in 2004, is by AMR Architects. Alessi Keyes Construction will do the expansion work.

City to address its health disparities

Little Rock has been selected to take part in an 18-month program to address health disparities in the city.

The Reinvestment Fund and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation chose Little Rock from more than 180 applicants for the Invest Health initiative.

"Invest Health is aimed at transforming how leaders from mid-size American cities work together to help low-income communities thrive, with specific attention to community features that drive health such as access to safe and affordable housing, places to play and exercise, and quality jobs," according to a news release.

A team made up of representatives from city government, the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, Better Community Development and Southern Bancorp Inc. will work with the national organizations during the initiative.

"The team will seek to address health outcome disparities related to domestic violence and obesity, and the factors leading to health disparities, such as violent crime and housing, by targeting efforts in geographic locations within Little Rock that show the most deviation from the broader population," the news release said.

The initiative is aimed at mid-sized cities with populations between 50,000 and 400,000 people. Such cities face the biggest challenges with entrenched poverty, poor health and lack of investment, according to Invest Health.

"The program has the potential to fundamentally transform the way Little Rock improves opportunities to live healthy lives by addressing the drivers of health, including jobs, housing, educations, community safety and environmental conditions," the news release said.

The Little Rock team will get a $60,000 grant and have access to advisers through the initiative. The team will explore ways to improve public safety and walkability, rehabilitate housing and offer healthier food options in target areas. It will travel to Philadelphia for a "kick-off" meeting June 7 to meet the other teams selected for the initiative.

Preservation unit hunting new exec

The Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas is looking for a new executive director after Vanessa McKuin announced her resignation last week.

McKuin will join KUAR 89.1, the public radio station of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and several statewide partners in a regional journalism collaboration -- the newly created Natural State News.

There, McKuin will be the partner manager.

The executive committee of the Historic Preservation Alliance, also known as Preserve Arkansas, will begin looking for a new director immediately.

"I am proud of the growth and success of Preserve Arkansas over the last several years and am grateful for the support that you have given to building a stronger voice for preservation in Arkansas," McKuin wrote in a letter to colleagues.

Metro on 05/22/2016

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