Following are recent news brief items from the Fort Smith metro.
Financial Literacy
First National Bank of Fort Smith has donated $63,500 to support programming at the Village Early Learning Center. The money will help create the Center’s Community Village and establish First Fund, a financial literacy initiative designed to introduce young children and their families to the importance of saving.
Expected to open in January 2027, The Village Early Learning Center will serve up to 136 children from infancy through age five and will be open to families in the Fort Smith region, including military and veteran families, healthcare workers, first responders, and educators.
Through First Fund, First National Bank will contribute the first $100 to each qualifying account.
“At First National Bank, we believe one of the greatest investments we can make is in the future of our children,” said Sam Sicard, president of First National Bank. “First Fund is about planting a seed. If we can help children and their families understand the importance of saving from the very beginning, we can help establish habits that may benefit them for the rest of their lives.”
Methodist Village Senior Living CEO Melissa Curry said the partnership was created to bring the community together to invest in children in ways that extend beyond traditional childcare.
“A child may not remember opening that first savings account, but their parents can build upon it, talk about it, and teach them why it matters,” Curry said. “Imagine a child entering kindergarten already knowing that saving is something we do for our future. That is a lesson that can grow right alongside them.”
The approximately $2.3 million Early Learning Center is expected to open in January 2027, with 13 classrooms and a capacity of up to 136 children from infancy through age 5.
Tennis Courts Renovated
The tennis courts at Creekmore Park in Fort Smith closed Aug. 24 to allow work crews to apply new sports surfacing to the northern (lower) courts and resurface the southern (upper) courts.
The city anticipates the surfacing of the northern courts to take approximately two weeks with the southern courts taking longer because of the need to make surface repairs. This closure is being coordinated with the Western Arkansas Tennis Association to mitigate any service disruptions while improvements are being made.
The Creekmore Tennis Center is a full-service facility, offering 14 hard-courts for public use.
Adult Education
The adult education program at the Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus recently awarded Dustin Mayer with his GED (General Educational Development) certificate at the Logan County Detention Center in Booneville.
The ATU-Ozark adult education program, in coordination with the Logan County Sheriff’s Office, restarted GED classes at the Logan County Detention Center.
“We are proud that Dustin is the first person to complete his GED requirements since the reinstitution of services,” said Dr. Wayne Fawcett, director of adult education at ATU-Ozark. “We look forward to working with the Logan County Sheriff’s Office to provide educational services to inmates.”
Because these students cannot participate in traditional graduation ceremonies, Fawcett delivers the certificates to successful graduates in detention centers in Franklin, Johnson, and Logan counties.
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