The Baum Gallery of Fine Art at the University of Central Arkansas will open its spring season of exhibitions Jan. 19.

 The exhibitions will be open through Feb 26. The opening reception will be Thursday, Jan. 19, from 4-6 p.m. and an Artists’ Reception will be held Friday, Feb. 3, from 4:30-7:30 p.m.

 The exhibitions include Environments: Interrogating Space and New Work: Color Portraits.

 Environments: Interrogating Space is a set of three site-specific multimedia installations by Annie Strader, Matthew Weedman, Ryan Mulligan and Anna Vaughan. The exhibition is curated by Kristin Beal DeGrandmont.

 “This is an exhibition responding to numerous requests from UCA students to bring more installation work to the Baum,” said Barclay McConnell, director of the Baum Gallery. “The show is exciting, partially because of the nature of the medium. In large scale installations like these, the artists transform a large space into a unique environment in which viewers can completely immerse themselves.”

 New Work: Color Portraits is an exhibition of digital photography by UCA Department of Art Professor, Donna Pinckley.

 “Donna Pinckley takes the craft of photography very seriously,” McConnell said. “She is known for her striking black and white portraits, beautifully printed by hand. This show is a departure for her, venturing into the world of color but retaining the intensity and psychological depth of her work in black and white.”

 All gallery exhibits and events are free and open to the public and are made possible by the UCA Arts Fee.  The Baum Gallery is an educational art museum for UCA students, faculty, staff and the broader central Arkansas community. The Director and the Faculty Exhibitions Committee select national and international touring exhibitions, sponsor juried student shows and cooperate across disciplines to curate original exhibits. The gallery exhibitions and events facilitate learning about and through the arts, inviting interaction and encouraging dialogue about visual art, its creators, studio processes, history, criticism, curation and cultural contexts. The Baum Gallery is a member of the American Association of Museums, the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries and the Arkansas Museums Association.

 Hours for the Baum Gallery are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Thursdays from 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

 For more information, contact McConnell at (501) 450-5793 or e-mail barclaym@uca.edu.

KFFB 106.1 broadcasted the annual Greers Ferry Lake Classic Basketball Tournament that begun Tuesday December 27 and ran through Friday December 30, 2011. This special sports presentation on KFFB 106.1 FM and on www.kffb.com  featured the championship games of the tournament.  Teams in the tournament:

Nemo Vista, Shirley, Quitman, Rose Bud,Concord, Westside Greers Ferry, Mt. Vernon/Enola, and Pangburn.

Girls Championship Game 6:00 pm (December 30, 2011)

Rose Bud Girls vs Mt. Vernon/Enola

Boys Championship Game 7:30 pm (December 30, 2011)

Concord vs West Side Greers Ferry

GFLC Championship 2011 Girls Rose Bud vs Mt.Vernon/Enola 1st Half only Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

GFLC Championship 2011 Boys Concord vs West Side Greers Ferry 1st Half Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

GFLC Championship 2011 Boys Concord vs West Side Greers Ferry 2nd Half Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Location: Robinson Center Music Hall (directions)
Price Range: $14 – $52

Philip Mann, conductor
Dmitri Alexeev, piano

Feld Motor Sports℠ announced that tickets for Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam^®, the world’s premier monster truck series, are now on sale. Monster Jam events are affordably priced for the whole family with seats starting at $20 for Adults and $5 for children ages 2-12. Tickets are also available at the Verizon Arena Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com, or charge by phone at (800) 745-3000.

As of January 2012 White County Medical Center (WCMC) will officially begin collaborating in new ways with three of Searcy’s medical practices.  WCMC’s goal is to work more closely with the doctors to improve the quality of care delivered in the community. 

“The delivery of healthcare is expected to see major changes in the coming months and years; particularly in moving away from fee-for-service care.  WCMC is partnering with local physicians to prepare for these changes.  Such a transformation includes accountable care organizations and the bundling of payments to healthcare providers.  We are positioning ourselves to improve quality and efficiency as we prepare for the future of healthcare,” said WCMC President/CEO Ray Montgomery.    

WCMC is collaborating with Searcy Medical Center (SMC), Family Practice Associates (FPA) and White County Oncology (WCO); these practices have a combined total of 42 physicians, two Physician Assistants and over 60 nurses. 

 “We are excited about the collaboration with WCMC.  Numerous long established centers like the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and Scott & White Clinic have built hospital-physician collaborations and have set the bar high for excellence in care.  Through this transition, we are working to achieve great things in Searcy healthcare,” said FPA and WCO Administrator Bob Huff. 

The clinic’s doctors will contract with a subsidiary created by WCMC which will be called the White County Physicians Group. “This change should have little or no effect on the employees of these clinics and patient care will only be affected positively, as the transition will improve their continuity of care.  The bottom line is that healthcare is going to change in Searcy because of the changes that are happening at the state and federal levels through healthcare reform,” said Montgomery.   

 “The goal is for doctors and hospitals to form a closer alignment in the coordination of medical care for our patients,” said SMC Administrator Mike Howell.  A major focus of national healthcare reform is to integrate what is now a largely fragmented healthcare system, where there is often little communication among doctors, hospitals and other providers to share quality data and financial incentives for improving care and cutting costs.  “Developing a more integrated delivery system will position our community for the delivery of medical care in the future,” Howell said.

“In order to provide high-quality and cost-effective healthcare for our patients in the current environment it is imperative to partner with a strong local entity, whose strengths compliment, those of our clinic. White County Medical Center is such an entity and we are proud to be even more closely associated with them than we have been in the past. Our success in recruiting and retaining quality specialists and primary care physicians has exceeded most communities in Arkansas of our size; our association with WCMC is a key component of continuity of that success,” said SMC Chairman Clark Fincher, M.D., FACP.     

Interest in hospitals consolidating private practices is particularly keen in more rural areas like White County because a partnership makes recruiting physicians to the area more attractive and helps in streamlining the continuum of care for patients.  This process is a way for WCMC to prepare for the future of healthcare.

As the leading healthcare provider in a six-county area, White County Medical Center associates strive to create a healthy community by providing quality patient care and participating in community health events. White County Medical Center (WCMC), Searcy Medical Center (SMC), Family Practice Associates (FPA) and White County Oncology (WCO) are located in Searcy at 3214 E Race Avenue, 2900 Hawkins Drive (2505 W Beebe-Capps – SMC West Clinic), 3130 E Race Avenue, Ste. 100 and 415 Rodgers Drive, respectively.

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Director Loren Hitchcock has authorized opening the state’s private land flood prone zones in advance of the upcoming modern gun, muzzleloader and youth deer hunts. Last week, commissioners gave the director of the AGFC the authority to open any closed flood prone region based on the recommendation of the chief of the wildlife management division.

Several areas around the state have been closed to deer hunting due to high water. Reopening the zones will give hunters more opportunity to help control Arkansas’s growing deer herd.

David Goad, AGFC’s Chief of the Wildlife Management Division said that most zones are within a foot or so of opening back up on their own. “Although there is a little rise occurring at some gauges, it’s expected to be very short lived. With a few days until the Christmas hunt, we believe there will be enough fall to allow for those zones that haven’t opened on their own to go ahead and open,” Goad explained. “Our reasoning is based on potential falling water levels at particular gauges and we want to provide as much opportunity for kids after Christmas as possible,” he explained.

In areas where flood prone zones don’t open by gauge readings, deer hunting season will be open from Dec. 26-Jan. 8 in flood prone regions A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and I. Beginning Jan. 9, hunters should consult the flood zone hotline at 800-440-1477 or  go to www.agfc.com to determine if their flood zone is open for deer hunting.

Title: Ford Theater and Kings Dueling Pianos opening 2012
Location: 1020 Front St Downtown 1020 Front st Conway, AR 72034
Link out: Click here
Description: Ford Theater and Kings Dueling Pianos opening NYE 2012. Doors open 8pm. Bands Start at 9 till midnight, DJ till 2am! One cover; Tw clubs! Newest entertainment spot in central Arkansas. Ford Theater is 900 person Music Venue. For info www.thefordtheater.com

8:00 pm to 12 Mid
Start Date: 12-31-2011 End Date: 01-01-2012

Join KFFB 106.1 for the annual Greers Ferry LakeClassic Basketball Tournament December 27 through December 30, 2011. This special sports presentation on KFFB 106.1 FM and on www.kffb.com will feature all the games of the tournament with the championship played on Friday December 30th.  Teams to be featured are Nemo Vista, Shirley, Quitman, Rose Bud,Concord, Westside Greers Ferry, Mt. Vernon/Enola, and Pangburn.