Category Archives: Uncategorized

Record Sealing Clinic – Hot Springs, AR – Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   August 2, 2023   WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AREA HOST RECORD SEALING CLINIC   Hot Springs, Arkansas (August 2, 2023)- West Central Arkansas Workforce Development Area (WCAWDA) hosted a Record Sealing Clinic on August 1, 2023. The clinic began at 10:00am and concluded by 3:00pm at National Park College. WCAWDA hosted in partnership by Arkansas Crime Information Center, National Park College Adult Education, Division of Workforce Services, the Garland County Library, and the Center for Arkansas Legal Services. Other participating agencies included Express Employment Professionals and Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness – Jail Diversion Team. Arkansas Crime Information Centers assisted individuals in pulling their current records so that they could seek the services offered. The Center for Arkansas Legal Services assisted eligible offenders with criminal record sealing to gain new or better paying employment opportunities. The partner agencies provided attendees with mock interviews, resume building, job placement, and education and training resources. A total of 32 people were served at the event. Breakfast was provided by Encounter Church and lunch was sponsored by Liberty Tax. Earlier this year, on April 28, 2023, WCAWDA and its partners hosted a Record Sealing Clinic in Russellville, Arkansas at Gateway Church. The same services were provided there, and they saw 75 people at the event. Of the 75 attendees, 46 were there for the Record Sealing Clinic and 29 came for the resource fair. A total of 43 petitions and 43 orders were signed that day. A tentative date of April 26, 2024, has been scheduled for the River Valley Record Sealing Clinic, where we hope to serve many more individuals facing barriers to employment because of their history with the Judicial System. WCAPDD Business Engagement Coordinator, Cora Easterday said, “The goal of our Record Sealing Clinics is to empower individuals to rewrite their futures. This event is important because it allows community agencies to come together to support those who need a fresh start. In providing a pathway to a brighter tomorrow, we are not only closing the door on the past but are opening the door for jobseekers to obtain new opportunities such as higher paying jobs and workforce advancements not otherwise available to them.” ###

Brownfield Grant Press Release

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 2, 2023     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Awards $500,000 Brownfield Grant to West Central Arkansas Planning and Development District   Hot Springs, AR (June 2, 2023)- West Central Arkansas Planning and Development District (WCAPDD) has been awarded a grant in the amount of $500,000 by United States Environmental Protection Agency. The Brownfield Assessment Grant will provide the desperately needed funding to identify, characterize, and plan for revitalization of a portion of the Central Business Corridor. This corridor target area hosts two priority sites, the Old St. Joseph Hospital and the Former Velda Rose Hotel. In which have strong redevelopment potential. EPA defines a Brownfield as a piece of property where the existence or potential presence of hazardous substance, pollutant, or contamination may make it difficult to expand, renovate, or reuse the space. Through the Brownfields Program, the EPA helps cities, states, tribes and others evaluate, safely clean up and repurpose polluted lands. This EPA Brownfield Assessment initiative seeks to lessen problems like troubled neighborhoods, disproportionate environmental stressors/burdens, and high cumulative impacts, and to provide improved access to affordable housing and reduce potential environmental risks posed by materials typically present on brownfield sites. The Brownfield Assessment Grant will help address several environmental and economic development issues present in this area of the City. WCAPDD and the City know community involvement will play a key role in driving the success of their Brownfields Program and the re-development of this area of the City of Hot Springs. WCAPDD Executive Director, Dwayne Pratt commented, “We are pleased to be able to work with the City of Hot Springs and City Manager Bill Burrough and his team in this collaborative effort to target this important downtown corridor for future economic development activity.  We would also like to recognize Congressman Bruce Westerman for his support to bring this much needed Federal investment to downtown Hot Springs.” ###