business images ark-tex region: 2009

Nature’s Playground Region overflows with water recreation

Imagination Goes Wild Kids thrive at interactive museum

Road Warriors

Transit grid links region to planned NAFTA Highway

BUSINESS

ARK-TEX REGION

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Texarkana Arkansas

LOW Cost of LivingHIGH Quality of Life

Texarkana Arkansas

Texarkana, Arkansas offers the luxury of modern accommodations

found in most cities while maintaining the advantages of small-town

life. Texarkana is unique, not only because it shares a border with a

city of the same name in a separate state, but also because of its tax

benefits. Like many cities in Arkansas, Texarkana has low property tax

rates, but that’s not all; Texarkana, Arkansas is unique because of its

exemption from the Arkansas State Income Tax making it the best of

both worlds.

Visit us on the Web at: www.txkusa.org/ar or call City Hall at: (870) 779-4991

Ask about our free Texarkana, Arkansas DVD

AdvantageThe Texarkana Arkansas

is ranked in the top 5% in affordable property taxes across the nation

comparable property values in Texas

10 public parks

interstates that allow easy access to larger cities like Dallas, Texas (190 miles) Little Rock, Arkansas (142 miles) and Shreveport,

www.txkusa.org/ar

www.paristexas.com

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On the Cover PHOTO BY TODD BENNETT

The Titus County Courthouse in Mt. Pleasant, Texas

OVERVIEW 7

BUSINESS ALMANAC 8

BUSINESS CLIMATE

Where the Action Is 10Workforce, transportation grid and a spiritof teamwork keep Ark-Tex business humming.

HEALTH CARE

Health Leaders 12Ark-Tex hospitals invest in leading-edgetreatment, deliver high-quality care.

EDUCATION

Room To Grow 14A&M-Texarkana expands to meet student and industry demands.

Working Together 16

TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS

Road Warriors 17Transportation network gives the regiona direct link to planned NAFTA Corridor.

LIVABILITY

Centers of Attention 18Main Street program brings a fresh look,new investment to Ark-Tex communities.

Nature’s Playground 22

GALLERY 23

FOOD & AGRICULTURE

What’s For Dinner 26The Ark-Tex region’s business environmentdraws a full menu of food manufacturers.

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BUSINESS

ARK-TEX REGION2009 EDITION, VOLUME 2

C U S TO M M A G A Z I N E M E D I A

MANAGING EDITOR BILL McMEEKIN

COPY EDITOR JOYCE CARUTHERS

ASSOCIATE EDITORS LISA BATTLES, JESSY YANCEY

ONLINE CONTENT MANAGER MATT BIGELOW

STAFF WRITERS CAROL COWAN, KEVIN LITWIN

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS PAMELA COYLE,

SHARON FITZGERALD, JOE MORRIS, ROY MOORE

DATA MANAGER RANETTA SMITH

REGIONAL SALES MANAGER CHARLES FITZGIBBON

EXECUTIVE INTEGRATED MEDIA MANAGER

MIKE ARNOLD

SALES SUPPORT MANAGER SARA SARTIN

SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER BRIAN MCCORD

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS JEFF ADKINS, TODD BENNETT,

ANTONY BOSHIER, IAN CURCIO, J. KYLE KEENER

PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT ANNE WHITLOW

CREATIVE DIRECTOR KEITH HARRIS

WEB DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR BRIAN SMITH

ASSOCIATE PRODUCTION DIRECTOR CHRISTINA CARDEN

PRODUCTION PROJECT MANAGERS

MELISSA BRACEWELL, KATIE MIDDENDORF, JILL WYATT

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

LAURA GALLAGHER, KRIS SEXTON, VIKKI WILLIAMS

LEAD DESIGNER CANDICE SWEET

GRAPHIC DESIGN ERICA HINES, ALISON HUNTER,

JESSICA MANNER, JANINE MARYLAND,

AMY NELSON, MARCUS SNYDER

WEB PROJECT MANAGERS ANDY HARTLEY, YAMEL RUIZ

WEB DESIGN LEAD FRANCO SCARAMUZZA

WEB DESIGN RYAN DUNLAP, CARL SCHULZ

COLOR IMAGING TECHNICIAN TWILA ALLEN

AD TRAFFIC JESSICA CHILDS, MARCIA MILLAR,

PATRICIA MOISAN, RAVEN PETTY

CHAIRMAN GREG THURMAN

PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BOB SCHWARTZMAN

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT RAY LANGEN

SR. V.P./CLIENT DEVELOPMENT JEFF HEEFNER

SR. V.P./SALES CARLA H. THURMAN

SR. V.P./OPERATIONS CASEY E. HESTER

V.P./SALES HERB HARPER

V.P./SALES TODD POTTER

V.P./VISUAL CONTENT MARK FORESTER

V.P./TRAVEL PUBLISHING SYBIL STEWART

V.P./EDITORIAL DIRECTOR TEREE CARUTHERS

MANAGING EDITOR/COMMUNITY KIM MADLOM

MANAGING EDITOR/CUSTOM KIM NEWSOM

MANAGING EDITOR/TRAVEL SUSAN CHAPPELL

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR NATASHA LORENS

PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR JEFFREY S. OTTO

CONTROLLER CHRIS DUDLEY

ACCOUNTING MORIAH DOMBY, DIANA GUZMAN,

MARIA MCFARLAND, LISA OWENS

RECRUITING/TRAINING DIRECTOR SUZY WALDRIP

DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR GARY SMITH

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR YANCEY TURTURICE

NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR JAMES SCOLLARD

IT SERVICE TECHNICIAN RYAN SWEENEY

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER PEGGY BLAKE

CUSTOM/TRAVEL SALES SUPPORT RACHAEL GOLDSBERRY

SALES/MARKETING COORDINATOR RACHEL MATHEIS

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY/SALES SUPPORT KRISTY DUNCAN

OFFICE MANAGER SHELLY GRISSOM

RECEPTIONIST LINDA BISHOP

Business Images Ark-Tex is published annually by Journal Communications Inc. and is distributed through the Ark-Tex Council of Governments. For advertising information or to direct questions or comments about the magazine, contact Journal Communications Inc. at (615) 771-0080 or by e-mail at [email protected].

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:Ark-Tex Council of Governments 4808 Elizabeth St. • Texarkana, TX 75503Phone: (903) 832-8636 • Fax: (903) 832-3441www.atcog.org

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©Copyright 2009 Journal Communications Inc., 725 Cool Springs Blvd., Suite 400, Franklin, TN 37067, (615) 771-0080. All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent.

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All or part of this magazine is printed with soy ink on recycled paper containing 10% post-consumer waste.

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ARTS & CULTURE

Restored and Thriving 29The Perot Theatre is a popular performance venue, cultural center and architectural gem.

Getting To Know … 31

ENERGY

Good Stewards 32Land-reclamation program in the Ark-Texsets the standard in the mining industry.

RECREATION

Imagination Goes Wild 34Kids thrive at the interactive Discovery Place.

ECONOMIC PROFILE 36

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5201 State Line Ave. Texarkana, TX 75503

(903) 794-1900

5102 N. State Line Rd. Texarkana, AR 71854

(870) 773-1000

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1. LOCATION Centrally located within the United

States, the Ark-Tex region is easily accessible by

rail, road and air.

2. THRIVING AND DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES

Manufacturing, energy, timber, health care and

distribution businesses have all found the Ark-Tex

region to be fertile ground for their growing

businesses. The broad base of the region’s economy

has helped insulate it from extreme ups and downs.

3. LOW COST OF LIVING Housing prices are among

the lowest in the nation, making it an attractive

destination for relocating families who find they

can get a lot more in return for their housing dollars.

4. SCENIC BEAUTY From vast open ranchlands

to piney-wood forests to scenic lakes, the Ark-Tex

region offers nature in all its splendor.

5. A SKILLED AND ADAPTABLE WORKFORCE The

region offers high-quality education and top-notch

workforce training institutes.

6. FAVORABLE TAX CLIMATE The State Business

Tax Climate Index ranked Texas as having the sixth-

best business tax environment in the nation. Local

officials work hard to create favorable tax incentives

for business.

7. HOSPITALITY City, county and economic

development officials actively work together

to address the needs of relocating businesses.

8. MOBILITY Interstate 30 and U.S. Highways 59, 67,

71 and 82 converge in Texas’ northeast corner. Plans

are under way to lay Interstate 69, also known as

the NAFTA Highway, directly through the region,

making it an ideal place for distribution.

9. RECREATION The Ark-Tex region has an

abundant supply of recreational activities, from

boating and fishing to museums and festivals

to rodeos and retail shopping.

10. AN IDEAL CLIMATE The climate is consistently

mild, with more than 245 days of sunshine.

TOP 10 REASONS TO DO BUSINESS IN THE ARK-TEX REGION

Ark-Tex Region SEE VIDEO ONLINE | Take a virtual tour of the Ark-Tex region at imagesarktex.com, courtesy of our award-winning photographers.


overview

imagesarktex.com

MILKING ITSome schoolchildren don’t know where milk

comes from – but they find out after a visit to the

Southwest Dairy Museum and Education Center.

The Sulphur Springs attraction in Hopkins

County showcases the life of a dairy farm

family before electricity came to rural America.

Children (and adults) can participate in

demonstrations such as separating cream,

churning butter and making ice cream.

Exhibits include Cal C Umm, 1930s Kitchen,

Early Morning Chores, Art of Cooling Milk,

Cream Station and Cutaway Cow.

Go to www.southwestdairyfarmers.com for

more on the museum.

BIRTHPLACE OF BESSIEAtlanta, Texas, is the birthplace of Bessie Coleman, a

world-renowned aerobatic pilot, skydiver and air-show

performer who is credited with opening aviation for

African-Americans. Coleman also was instrumental in

helping to remove gender barriers in aviation.

In 1921, she became the first African-American to receive

an international pilot’s license from the Federation

Aeronautique Internationale in France. Coleman is

an inductee in the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame.

THE ACE OF CLUBSThe Ace of Clubs House in Texarkana was constructed in 1885

when entrepreneur James Draughon paid for it with poker

winnings. Draughon’s winning card from the five-card stud

poker game was the ace of clubs.

The Italianate Victorian-style house has 22 rooms and is

open for public tours Tuesday through Saturday. A complete

restoration began in 1987, with exterior colors matched as

closely as possible to the original 1885 colors. Go to www.texarkanamuseums.org/aceofclubshouse.htm for more.

TAKE YOUR PICKLike bluegrass music?

There is plenty of banjo pickin’ and

guitar strummin’ every Memorial Day

and Labor Day weekend at the annual

Monroe Bluegrass Festival. All of the

entertainment takes place at Monroe

Park in Texarkana, and several bands

participate in each concert.

Fans of the musical genre arrive from far

and wide and simply kick back on lawn

chairs to enjoy each two-day show.

Spectators can conveniently park

their RVs and

campers

at Monroe

Park itself.


business almanac

THE EYES HAVE ITDr. William Hayden of Paris has always appreciated art.

So in 1997, he and his wife established the Plaza Art Gallery to

highlight and sell quality art produced by artists living in Paris and

Lamar County. The two-story gallery is housed in a 1916 building

at Eight West Plaza in downtown Paris, and each item is for sale.

On display are paintings, drawings, ceramics/pottery, sculpture,

photography, stained glass, handmade jewelry and one-of-a-kind

furniture pieces. The gallery is under the management of the Artist

Guild of Lamar County.

HOWDY, PARDNERWhat exactly is “get along little dogie?”

You can bet that just about everyone in attendance at

the annual Four States Fair and Rodeo knows what

that phrase means. The event takes place each

September at the Four States Fairgrounds

in Texarkana.

The nine-day celebration of cowboys, cowgirls

and rodeo events has been a Texarkana

tradition since 1945, with 2009 being the 65th

annual celebration. Besides roping and rodeo

competition, attractions include a carnival,

agriculture exhibits and live music. For more,

go to www.fourstatesfair.com.

THE GOLDEN TICKETSome communities in the Ark-Tex Region

are building a reputation for making life

as comfortable for retirees as possible.

Texarkana and Paris were among a handful

of cities in the Lone Star State to receive a

GO TEXAN Certified Retirement Community

Program designation, and Franklin County,

which includes the city of Mount Vernon,

joined the list in 2008.

The program is overseen by the Texas Department

of Agriculture, and cities must undergo a rigorous

application process before ever earning the GO

TEXAN stamp of approval. Communities chosen

for the designation meet and exceed the living,

employment, volunteer, health, entertainment,

education and safety needs of retirees. Go to

www.retireintexas.org for more information.

POPULATION: STILL 75The town of Ben Franklin in Delta County has a population of only 75, and its residents like it that small.

The community was settled in 1835, and it wasn’t until 1853 that the town finally received its own post office.

The arrival of the Texas-Midland Railroad in Delta County in 1895 drastically boosted Ben Franklin’s quaint status, and its population ultimately grew to almost 1,000 residents.

But railroad traffic eventually moved to communities to the north, and the town became sparsely populated once again. Today, the population is 75, and the community is home to five small businesses.

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A superior transportation network, combined with low taxes, a strong workforce and active economic devel-opment organizations have long been positives for

the 10-county Ark-Tex region. Manufacturing, distribution and logistics, mining, timber and agribusiness are among the drivers of a diversified economy, and the area’s health-care and educational assets are numerous and top quality.

“Our centralized location means that if you do a lot of shipping we can get it anywhere else in the United States about as quickly as any area you can find, and with the two Class I rail lines, the interstates and five U.S. highways that give us access to south Texas and the port at Houston, we have a lot going for us,” says Jerry Sparks, former Director of Economic Development for the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce.

The region’s workforce is also another constant when it comes to business recruitment, retention and expansion.

International Paper Co., which operates between Texarkana and Atlanta, Texas, has an annual payroll of around $70 million in the region.

“The company broke more than 50 of its productivity records in 2007,” Sparks says, “and did it with the smallest workforce they’ve ever had. Our workforce here understands the whole quality ballgame.”

In addition to International Paper, the region is home to the operations of a number of household names including Alcoa, Campbell’s Soup, Ocean Spray, Kimberly-Clark, Sara Lee and Morningstar Foods. The Ark-Tex communities them-selves understand the necessity to work collectively to recruit businesses for local and regional growth.

In New Boston in Bowie County, the city devotes a portion of its sales tax to industry recruitment. That money has

allowed the New Boston Special Industrial Development Corp. to offer land, cash and tax-abatement incentives and suc-cessfully grow its SIDC Industrial Park just outside city limits, says Deborah Cook, executive director.

One tenant, steel manufacturer Carpco of Texas Inc., expanded its facility and grew its potential for erecting steel to the point where it created a separate company, ADS Erectors LLC, Cook says.

“We have one company at our industrial park that started with six employees and has increased to almost 25 in two years’ time, and they’re in need of more distribution space as we speak,” she says.

Next up for New Boston will be growth at the industrial park, which has 60 more acres available for development, and at the T&P Trailhead Park for tourism, Cook says.

This type of can-do attitude is the typical mindset throughout the Ark-Tex region, and continues to lead to successful devel-opment across a wide range of industry and business sectors.

“People pick us rather than us picking them, and that’s because of the way we do economic development,” Sparks says. “By the time they come to us, they’ve gone through and eliminated a majority of communities that might have been able to host them.”

Cross-community partnerships, such as the multi-state Texarkana Regional Initiative, have shown the value of team-work, he says.

“We have learned the value of playing together with our friends and neighbors,” says Sparks. “We all know that if one grows, the others grow, and it’s an approach that has put us well ahead of a lot of other areas in terms of cooperation and successful recruiting.” – Joe Morris

Deborah Cook is executive director of the New Boston Special Industrial Development Corp. Left: The Atlanta Business Park offers room to prosper.P

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Ark-Tex hospitals invest in leading-edge treatment, deliver high-quality care

Through a series of construction projects, capital investments and technology acquisitions, Ark-Tex

hospitals are offering specialized care that patients previously had to travel outside the area to receive.

Paris Regional Medical Center opened the Heart Hospital at its north campus in 2008, creating a comprehensive cardiac-care center.

The 12,000-square-foot facility fea-tures a 12-bed cardiac intensive-care unit, a 16-bed inpatient unit and chest-pain center. Seeking to include the latest technology, hospital officials outfitted two new cardiac-catherization labora-tories with a 64-slice CT scanner, digital image-management system and state-of-the-art cardiac monitoring systems. These technologies form the backbone of efforts to create a cardiac-care center of excellence.

“By creating a cardiac center of excel-lence, we are making a bold statement to the region,” says Dr. Khalid Shafiq, Paris Regional chief of staff. “We’re serious about providing state-of-the-art care on the level usually offered only in large metropolitan markets.”

At Hopkins County Memorial Hospital, officials opened a comprehensive center for wound care and hyperbaric medicine in 2006. At the Wound Care Center at Memorial, trained staff members use the most technologically advanced wound therapy and provide education to patients

HealthLeadersand caregivers.

Wadley Regional Medical Center in Texarkana, founded in 1900, has a history of adopting the latest technology. In the 1990s alone, the hospital opened a gastro-intestinal lab, bought the area’s first stereotactic needle biopsy system to diag-nose breast cancer, added an MRI and opened a wound-care and hyperbaric medicine center.

Wadley Regional signed a letter of intent in October 2008 to consolidate operations with CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System in Texarkana.

CHRISTUS, established in 1916 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, offers a comprehensive slate of

services including heart care, ortho-pedic care, cancer care and women’s and children’s care.

The f lagship, 312-bed acute-care hospital is on a 129-acre campus in Texarkana that also includes a 50-bed acute-care hospital, 50-bed rehab hospital and centers for outpatient rehabilitation, imaging and fitness.

The hospitals, which include a staff of 220 doctors and 2,200 nurses, has received numerous accolades, including a No. 1 ranking in Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma by HealthGrades for heart surgery in 2007, and three 2007 Specialty Excellence Awards for general, vascular and cardiac surgery. – Roy Moore


health care

Paris Regional Medical Center is creating a cardiac-care center of excellence. Left: Nurses Angela Clark and Joe Stringfellow monitor a patient at Paris Regional’s new cardiac-catherization lab.

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education

A&M-Texarkana expands to meet student and industry demands

The Ark-Tex region boasts a top-notch workforce, and one reason why is Texas A&M University-

Texarkana, which continues to build programs as well as a new campus.

Founded in 1971 as part of the East Texas State University network, the Texarkana school joined the Texas A&M University System in 1996.

Housed in two buildings on the Texarkana College campus, A&M-Texarkana grew to serve a student population of 1,650 undergraduates and about 575 graduate students and needed larger facilities.

Thus, with a donation of 300 acres from the city of Texarkana, the vision for a new campus was born.

In 2006, Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst visited the acreage “and made it known publicly that it was, in his opinion, the best piece of land to develop a college campus that he had ever seen,” recalls Bob Bruggeman, A&M-Texarkana com-munications manager.

On the north side of the city at Bringle Lake, the scenic site is near a city park and across from the Texarkana Golf Ranch, an 18-hole championship track developed by renowned swing coach Hank Haney.

The Truman and Anita Arnold Foundation donated an additional 75 acres to A&M-Texarkana, bringing the new campus’ total acreage up to 375.

“This is a 20- to 25-year plan, and we’re building the campus to accommo-date up to 10,000 students,” Bruggeman says.

While A&M-Texarkana today is pri-marily a commuter school drawing students from a 60-mile radius, the new campus eventually will offer dormitory housing. Already open is the campus’ first structure, the $17 million Science and Technology Building, accom-modating the electrical engineering,

computer science, biology and chemistry programs.

In November 2008, ground was broken for the 183,000-square-foot Multipurpose Library Building. When it opens, probably in June 2010, nearly all the operations of the Texarkana College campus will move.

Bruggeman says the new facilities, including a classroom building in the planning stages, will allow for the university’s “downward expansion,” a term coined to describe the eventual addition of freshmen and sophomores. Currently, the university serves only juniors, seniors and graduate students. “We’re building our model to be a com-prehensive university in the fall of 2010,” he says.

A&M-Texarkana now offers 20 bacca-laureate programs and 15 graduate programs in three colleges: Arts & Sciences and Education, Health and Behavioral Sciences, and Business. The university has begun the process to establish a College of Engineering and add a mechanical engineering degree.

The university’s engineering emphasis is a direct response to community work-force needs. “The word that we got from our local industry was that they needed engineers, so that got us started,” Bruggeman says.

Yet A&M-Texarkana, traditionally at the table to assist economic development initiatives, took industry’s appeal a step further. Not only do its professors teach dual-enrollment engineering classes to high school seniors, but the university was instrumental in curriculum devel-opment for the Texarkana Independent School District’s Martha and Josh Morriss Mathematics & Engineering Elementary School, which integrates technical concepts even at the kinder-garten level. “It’s been very successful, and it’s very unique,” Bruggeman says.

– Sharon H. Fitzgerald

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Texas A&M University-Texarkana is building a new campus that will help it with long-range plans to increase enrollment from about 2,200 to 10,000.S

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Ark-Tex colleges partner to bolster worker training

Partnership isn’t just lip service in the Ark-Tex region. A prime example of regional collaboration can be

seen in an initiative among three colleges for a work-force development program that will serve several major industries with operations in the area.

Northeast Texas Community College in Mount Pleasant, Paris Junior College and Texarkana College have partnered with the Regional Advanced Manufacturing Academy Consortium, a 14-member industry group that includes Alcoa Mill Products, Campbell Soup Co., International Paper and Kimberly-Clark, to provide training for more than 700 workers.

A $1.26 million grant from the Texas Workforce Commission Skills Development Fund will help provide funding for the program.

The Skills Development Fund assists businesses and labor unions by financing the design and implementation of cus-tomized job training. The colleges worked for three years to secure the grant.

“This grant represents a partnership between three colleges and industry in this region that will provide training to improve the workforce within this part of the state. We’re ready to do whatever it takes to help the region’s industry, and we want to share our talent and expertise with those industries to boost economic development,” says Dr. Pamela Anglin, Paris Junior College president.

Training programs will run the gamut from welding certification to working with computerized devices that manufacturers use to automate production processes to instruction in radio frequency identification, the tags and equipment that are employed to speed up and simplify inventory management.

It’s not the first time the colleges have teamed up to meet a workforce need in the region. In 2005, for example, the three colleges were part of a consortium that came together to formulate a plan to ensure the region had a supply of trained health-care workers.

Working Together

Paris Junior College is partnering with two other area colleges on a workforce training initiative.

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education

Highway network links to planned NAFTA Corridor

A network of major highways interconnects with air and rail transportation to provide Ark-

Tex industries a variety of ways to move product, a key component in spurring new investment and expansion.

“We’re at a crossroads for agriculture, which is why we’ve had Kimberly-Clark and Campbell Soup here for a long time,” says Pete Kampfer, Paris Economic Development Corp. executive director “We’ve got lots of water and a good workforce. Now we’re working with folks who are interested in raw-food manu-facturing and strategic warehousing that would tie into our distributors.”

Companies are able to send and receive goods via U.S. highways 82 and 271, as well as Texas highways 19 and 24; I-30 is only 38 miles away.

The planned NAFTA Corridor, a high-way system that would connect Canada to Mexico, would position the Ark-Tex

to be a major thoroughfare for goods going from around the United States to Mexico and other points in South America and Central America. Interstates 49, 59 and 69 would be key arterial connectors for the system, positioning the region to expand its warehousing and distribution capacity.

“All routes identified as NAFTA cor-ridors pass through our region,” says Deborah Cook, executive director of the New Boston Special Industrial Development Corp. “The majority of the continent’s imports and exports pass through our highways, serving all domes-tic and international markets.”

The transportation network includes more than 15 well-maintained interstate and highway systems that transect the region, as well as the presence of numer-ous major freight carriers. A Foreign Trade Zone has been established in Northeast Texas, including New Boston, which is

strategically located in the center of Bowie County, where the four corners of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma meet.

Roadways have been an integral part of growth plans laid out in Mt. Vernon, which also relies on its quality of life and a host of other amenities beyond its transportation assets.

Mt. Vernon has reinvested its sales-tax collections back into the community, cap-italizing on a Lowe’s distribution center to bring in a variety of business and cultural projects, says Teresia Wims, who is the city’s economic development coordinator.

Employment at the facility is around 1,000, with increases at peak times. Since Lowe’s opened the center in 1995, sales-tax receipts have increased more than 100 percent.

“It goes without saying that the distri-bution center has been a tremendous economic engine for us,” Wims says. – Joe Morris

Road Warriors

Lowe’s operates a distribution center in Mt. Vernon that employs around 1,000.


transportation & logistics


livability

Main Street program brings fresh look, new investment to Ark-Tex communities

Paris has a Festival of Pumpkins that draws 10,000 people, plus Holiday in Paris with carriage rides, an art walk and performances.

Mt. Vernon, about one-tenth the size of Paris with 2,500 residents, has seven museums, just added decorative trash bins that match its benches and installed a $17,000 sign that welcomes visitors to the historic downtown.

Both Ark-Tex spots are designated Texas Main Street Communities, as are Mt. Pleasant, Clarksville and Texarkana. The program helps communities capitalize on their historic assets by providing design assistance and economic devel-opment training.

“The idea is to give each community the tools to make its Main Street program unique and attract private and local investment,” says Texas Main Street coordinator Debra Farst.

Paris has been at it since 1997. To date, more than $5 million in private investment has poured into downtown, creating loft residences, renovating commercial buildings and opening new shops.

Because a fire destroyed most of downtown in 1916, the city

Centers of

The Festival of Pumpkins in Paris draws 10,000 visitors each year. Left: The Culbertson Fountain in the historic district of downtown Paris was a gift to culminate the rebuilding of the city after a devastating fire in 1916. PHOTO BY TODD BENNETT

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has a strong concentration of Prairie-style architecture, says Bethany Golden, Main Street manager. “We have a beautiful downtown,” Golden says. “It is very unique.”

The program works with other agencies that get improve-ment grants, including money used to outline the tops of the buildings downtown with LED lights in late 2008.

The next phase, Golden says, is to light trees around the Culbertson Fountain, a focal point in the city’s downtown historic district. Another goal is restoration of the Grand Theater, starting with raising money to restore the façade and light the neon sign.

Mt. Vernon is home to another long-standing Main Street program. “The city is very proactive,” says Teresia Wims, the city’s economic development director and Main Street manager. “It helps you get things done.”

In 2008, the city passed a preservation ordinance. A 10-year tax freeze on significant renovations to historical properties is in the works, too, Wims says.

Mt. Vernon has an abundance of museums. The old jail has soft-sculpture inmates in the cells and three galleries of art. The Franklin County Historical Association’s Fire Station Museum has an exhibit of bird eggs, including three from extinct species, on the second f loor and memorabilia from Don Meredith, a Mt. Vernon native, Dallas Cowboy great and “Monday Night Football” announcing legend, on the first.

Since 1993, a 20-block region of downtown Mt. Pleasant has seen more than $7.6 million in private investment. Nita May, city planner and Main Street manager, says a downtown preser-vation ordinance “is high on our list,” as are sessions in 2009 to help downtown businesses better use the Internet to boost their sales.

In 2008, the town moved its annual Christmas parade to later in the day and coordinated with downtown shops to stay open, May says. Fund-raisers put holiday decorations and lights downtown, which also has a new tower that is home to a bell that used to be atop the courthouse.

“Main Street cities in Texas are just as unique as the various regions of the state in which they are situated,” Farst says. “The character of our historic towns still reflects their begin-nings and the cultures of the people who settled them.”

– Pamela Coyle

The Lamar County Courthouse is a signature building in Paris. Top left: Globes on a lamppost in downtown Mt. VernonTop right: The Culbertson Fountain in downtown Paris


Waterways flow with recreation opportunities

More than 300 bird species have been spotted in Atlanta State Park, just southwest of Texarkana on Lake Wright

Patman Dam. The 1,475-acre park fronts a res-ervoir with 170 miles of shoreline.

With hilly terrain, woodland cover and water-front, the park is hospitable to many types of birds, and plans include building on a reputation as a great birding destination.

Nearly 100 species are considered common or likely to spot, many of them in autumn when the leaves are down and visibility improves, says Kody Waters, park superintendent.

Birding, boating, camping, fishing, hiking, biking and swimming opportunities abound in the Ark-Tex, and Atlanta State Park is only one destination that offers virtually all of them.

“A lot of people look for pileated woodpecker and red-bellied woodpeckers,” says Waters, who notes the park also has a bald-eagle nest.

Atlanta State Park is installing six interpretive panels. One of the panels will highlight the American white pelican, which migrates to Texas in fall and winter.

Caddo Lake is the South’s second-largest

natural lake; Lake Bob Sandlin covers nearly 10,000 acres, and the state park attracts 100,000 visitors a year. It is a top fishing destination, with healthy stocks of Florida bass and channel catfish. Daingerfield State Park in Morris County has an 80-acre lake, fishing, a boat ramp, rental lodges and rolling hills that come alive with spring-blooming trees and vines and produce a classic autumn showcase.

Many springs still f low in Franklin County, including those that supply Lake Cypress Springs and are the headwaters for the Cypress Basin Watershed. The Franklin County Historical Association has good maps for hiking, biking and scenic drives.

The association has obtained a 60-year lease for 3,600 acres around the headwaters. “This is the very end of the creek, which meanders and stretches for six miles,” says B.F. Hicks, a Mt. Pleasant lawyer, nature enthusiast and association board member.

Eight miles south of Mount Vernon is an old growth, short-leaf pine stand and a “really mag-nificent” 40-acre marsh packed with wildlife, Hicks says. – Pamela Coyle

Nature’s PlaygroundThe Ark-Tex region offers numerous waterways that are prime spots for anglers and outdoor recreation lovers.

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For more information on waterways and parks in the region, check out these resources: www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/fi ndadest/pineywoodswww.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/fi ndadest/prairies_and_lakes

More Insight


livability

A New Look for a Historic SiteLeads a Downtown Renaissance

Business Park Is AtCrossroads of Commerce

S p e c i a l A d v e r t i s i n g S e c t i o n

All RoadsTexarkana

ARKANSAS

Lead to

Music, food, games, fun and, of course, fireworks are on the calendar for this year’s Sparks in the Park, an annual Independence Day celebration

that will be held at the Four States Fairgrounds for the second straight year.

With more than 15,000 people on the grounds at the 2008 event, and even more folks watching the fireworks, the city of Texarkana, Four States Fairgrounds and event sponsors hope to make this year’s occasion even bigger.

Dwight Duncan, Four States Fairgrounds president, says 2008’s event attracted close to 25,000 people enjoying the fireworks display, from inside and outside the fairgrounds. There are also climbing walls, bungee jumping, a petting zoo and inflatable, bouncy toys for kids to enjoy.

Duncan says that the celebration is one of many examples of how the city of Texarkana, Ark., partners with local entities to bring commerce to the region and improve quality of life for residents.

“It helps promote tourism and tax revenue,” Duncan says.

Ron Bird, general manager of GAP Broadcasting, one of the event’s major sponsors, says his company likes being involved in something that everyone in the community can enjoy and benefit from.

“It was a real successful event, and we just want to make it bigger and better,” he says.

According to Duncan, the success of Sparks in the Park was a result of the city and the event’s sponsors.

“The city did a great job of traffic control, especially the Texarkana Police Department, and GAP Broadcasting brought in different games,” he says.

The Four States Fairgrounds offers air-conditioned build-ings and free parking, something Bird points out is one of the benefits of holding the celebration there.

“The fairgrounds is a great venue for it, with the paved area and the circle around the midway and some air-conditioned buildings for people to get into,” Bird says. “It’s a huge community event, and it’s free and anybody can go to it. Our listeners love it.” – Laura Otto

FunFireworks

SPARKS IN THE PARK IS AT HOME AT FAIRGROUNDS

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The City of Texarkana, Ark., along with the Four States Fairgrounds, is planning for the next Sparks in the Park event.

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Texarkana

TRANSPORTATION GRID MAKES IT THE PLACE TO MOVE THE GOODS

L ook at the city of Texarkana on a map, and you’ll see a web of roadways surrounding the area,

with Texarkana as the epicenter.Interstate 30 and the nearly completed

leg of I-49 trace bold lines across the landscape, offering major routes for trucking and travel. In addition, U.S. Highways 59, 67, 71 and 82 supplement what has become one of the major distribution hubs in the Southeast.

Jerry Sparks, director of economic development for the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce, says that the presence of two Class I railroads, Union Pacific and Kansas City Southern, is also a unique asset.

“If someone is here, their goods and services can get anywhere they want,” he says.

Texarkana is approximately a five-hour drive from several large markets, including Houston, Austin, Memphis and Dallas.

As many as 25 trucking companies operate in the region. The largest freight hauler is Southern Refrigerated Transport, whose headquarters is located along I-30.

The facility, built in 2006, takes advantage of Texarkana’s unique

location and was designed to support a 1,000-truck operation, a number the company has nearly reached.

Kay Wilhite, sales coordinator at SRT, says the company has approximately 850 drivers and operates in the continental 48 states and Canada. SRT employees drive 800 trucks that pull 1,000 refrig-erated and 200 “dry” trailers.

The traffic count on I-30, where a $153 million upgrade is under way, is between 60,000 and 70,000 cars a day. The extensive changes involve converting frontage roads along the I-30 corridor into one-way roads, relocating entrance and exit ramps, and adding and recon-structing overpasses.

“We are in the midst of a large pro-ject that will facilitate the movement of traffic,” Sparks says. “That’s planning for the future.”

Along the same lines, the well-known Trans-Texas Corridor may run right through the Texarkana region, but plans have not been finalized. Also called the “NAFTA Highway,” the route could eventually reach from Mexico to Canada.

The Trans-Texas Corridor propo-sition is in response to the booming truck traffic in the region. The route would follow U.S. Highway 59.

Though Texarkana is located within arm’s reach of six states – the two obvious ones, Texas and Arkansas, plus Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi and even Tennessee – Sparks still describes the area as “small-town America.” He stresses the importance of people, not just companies, being able to reach goods and services, such as hospitals.

“We have to think that way,” he says. “How do you get from point A to point B? Transportation for a rural area is the lifeblood of the economy.”

– Laura Otto

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This special section is published for City of Texarkana, Arkansas by Journal Communications Inc.

C U S TO M M A G A Z I N E M E D I A

For more information, contact:City of Texarkana, Ark.

P.O. Box 2711 Texarkana, AR 75504 Phone: (870) 779-4991 • Fax: (870) 774-3170

www.txkusa.org

©Copyright 2009 Journal Communications Inc., 725 Cool Springs Blvd., Suite 400, Franklin, TN 37067,

(615) 771-0080.

All rights reserved. No portion of this special advertising section may be reproduced in whole or in part without

written consent.

On the cover: The Texarkana area has some 40 trucking companies and easy access to several major interstates

and highways, making it a natural for distribution operations. Photo by Todd Bennett

All RoadsLeadto

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W ith the opening of the new Best Western in Crossroads Business Park, the city of Texarkana is heralding the type of development and interest

that will bring more commerce to the region.The 1,000-acre business park is conveniently located

north of Interstate 30, between State Line and Jefferson avenues, and south of Sugar Hill Road (Highway 296).

While the first 40 acres are the focus of development right now, that parcel is off to a good start, with another hotel chain, Holiday Inn Express, rapidly moving toward comple-tion of its new location.

Harold Boldt, Texarkana city manager, says the addition of the hotels to Crossroads Business Park will be a draw to attract restaurants and major retailers.

“Anything going into a new type of development like this is going to be of help to the community,” he says.

Aven Williamson is developing the property, and Boldt says he is pleased that certain standards, like underground utilities and upscale landscaping, are being undertaken.

“We are trying to carefully find the right partners in there,” he says. “We want to make sure that the development is landscaped the right way, that there are walking paths through the district.”

Texarkana Mayor Horace Shipp says the city put a thoroughfare through the parcel to make it marketable, but a good developer and an excellent location will make it an even more desirable place for businesses to set up shop.

“It’s a fine location,” he says. “Those hotels will take advantage of a market that goes down I-30; it’s just a busi-ness opportunity.”

Boldt hopes to see a hotel convention complex go into the business park, and wants to consider retailers that have the ability to create a tourist-based destination, like an IMAX theater or a Bass Pro Shop.

Considering Texarkana’s location, Boldt says it makes sense to seek retail outlets that will take advantage of a high volume of traffic and Arkansas’ reputation for excellent outdoor opportunities, including hunting and fishing.

With highway and interstate additions and improvements, truck traffic is expected to double in the next few years.

According to Mayor Shipp, the traffic count on I-30 is already between 60,000 and 70,000 cars a day.

“We’re halfway between Little Rock and Dallas, and probably the largest metropolitan area between the two,” he says. “It’s very rural, yet there’s a lot going on here.”

– Laura Otto

CommerceBUSINESS PARK IS CATALYST FOR NEW GROWTH

The Crossroads Business Park in Texarkana, Ark., is a mixed-use development for office, retail and hotel space.

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Brenda and LaVaughn Cook love cars so much that they’ve traveled all over the United States to see them.

They don’t have to anymore, though, since they started Cruisin’ Downtown T-Town, a regular event that features muscle cars, street rods, classic cars, trucks and other vehicles in downtown Texarkana, Ark.

The Cooks began the cruise-ins in downtown Texarkana in 2007. The last cruise-in of 2008, held in September, featured 93 cars lined up on Front Street, between Walnut and Wood streets. The event attracted 174 different cars over the course of the 2008 season.

The 2009 cruise-ins are being held from 6 to 9 p.m. on the third Friday of each month, April through September. The first event of the year will be April 17. Admission is free, and food, including hot dogs, drinks and popcorn, will be available for purchase.

Brenda Cook says the cruise-ins attract mostly classic cars, not what she calls “parade cars” or antique cars.

“A lot of people in this town have classic cars, and they’re sitting in their garages and they never get them out,” she says. “It’s not a contest. Everybody’s car is equal, and you get to see some of everything. We might even get a brand new Charger that somebody just got and wants to show off.”

Cook’s husband restores cars, and they currently take a 1966 Chevy Nova to the cruise-ins.

“He’s got it like it would have been when we were in high school,” she says. “My husband likes to talk to people about what they’ve done to their car.”

The Cooks set up a public-address system, and there’s rock ‘n’ roll music and even door prizes.

“I just love downtown Texarkana,” says LaVaughn Cook, who is a native of the region. “When I was a kid, we went to town every Saturday.”

Texarkana Mayor Horace Shipp says the cruise-ins are a great opportunity for folks to come back to downtown.

“It’s a social event that has an old-time feel,” he says. “They are doing a great job of bringing a very attractive and successful event downtown.”

LaVaughn Cook credits the support of the City of Texarkana, which has not only issued permits for the event, but also provided electricity, a bathroom facility and even funds for door prizes.

For every 60 cars, Cook says, there are 120 people, since folks usually come in twos. And, of course, there are the people that come just to look at the cars.

“It has brought all these people that come to town,” Cook says. “It’s hopping down there.”

For more information on Cruisin’ Downtown, the Cooks can be reached at (870) 779-1655.

– Laura Otto

Cars Are the StarsCRUISIN’ DOWNTOWN ORGANIZERS DRIVE A SUCCESSFUL EVENT

You don’t have to love cars to enjoy Cruisin’

Downtown T-Town.

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www.txkusa.org

W ith more than 600 kids participating each year, youth baseball is big in Texarkana.

That’s why it’s no surprise that Texarkana, Ark., will be hosting the Dixie Youth O-Zone (open base) World Series, for players 12 and under, Aug. 1-6 in 2009. The tournament will be held at the North Park Baseball Complex in Ed Worrell Memorial Park.

“When you talk about bringing 12 teams in here and putting on a week-long tournament, it’s kind of a prestigious deal,” says Randy Lacy, vice president of the Texarkana Baseball Association.

A city must meet stringent guidelines to host a Dixie Youth tournament, including proving its ability to provide adequate accommodations, dining opportunities and, of course, playing fields that meet Dixie Youth Baseball’s specifications for such things as fields, dugouts and lighting.

A new two-story building at the North Park Baseball Complex was built in anticipation of submitting a proposal to host the tournament, says Lacy. The building houses a concession stand, rest rooms and a separate scorekeeping room, another league requirement.

Lacy says the motivation to host the tournament was twofold: Arkansas has never hosted a Dixie Youth World Series. With two national directors from the area and one state director, it seemed like something that ought to happen to honor their contributions to the league, he says. And, the baseball association and city leaders recognize the economic impact of teams coming to town for the tournament.

Texarkana Mayor Horace Shipp says hosting the Dixie Youth tournament has many benefits.

“We can do a lot of things that are good,” he says. “Some have far-reaching impacts, and some have a lesser impact, but this is one that’s recreation and it’s an opportunity to show our town off.”

Many of the improvements to the baseball complex over the past five years have been so that the city can host a Dixie Youth World Series, the mayor says.

With approximately 62 teams in the city league, and 10 solid weeks of baseball, the association has more than established its credentials to host an event of this size.

“The people who are involved are good at operating a baseball program,” Shipp says. “It will be good for Texarkana to host something like this.”

– Laura Otto

Play TEXARKANA IS HOST CITY TO PRESTIGIOUS DIXIE YOUTH

O-ZONE WORLD SERIES

Texarkana, Ark., will host the 2009 Dixie Youth World Series for the 12 and under, open-base division.

BallA l l R o a d s L e a d t o T e x a r k a n a , A r k a n s a s


The new Equine Center at the Four States Fairgrounds in Texarkana is a state-of-the-art, climate-controlled facility that houses 110 permanent horse stalls.

An additional 100 horse stalls can be provided, for a total of 210 stalls, and a covered arena can accommodate barrel racing and other equine events.

“It’s kind of like a field of dreams, you build it and they will come,” says Dwight Duncan, Four States Fairgrounds president. “My phone has been ringing off the wall.”

The first event at the new center in February 2009 featured the Red River Barrel Racing Association, which has booked three dates total in 2009. The Arkansas Arabian Horse Club plans to hold its state show in April, and Duncan is meeting with other equine groups that plan to use the 35,400-square-foot facility as well. The facility can seat up to 8,000 people.

The center expects to host one of the largest livestock auctions in the state, and also plans to host the largest bucking-stock sale in the country in March.

“We have the largest seating capacity facility between Shreveport and Fort Smith, and Dallas and Little Rock,” Duncan says.

The 104-acre fairgrounds hosts a diverse set of events and houses a state-of-the-art Agricultural Learning Center and RV park.

In addition to its facilities, Duncan says, location is one of the advantages that Four States Fairgrounds and the new Equine Center offer.

The fairgrounds are directly off Interstate 30 and centrally located two hours from Little Rock, one hour from Shreveport, La., and less than three hours from Dallas.

The center’s cost came to nearly $900,000, and Duncan says the money has been well spent on top-of-the-line amen-ities, such as stalls with electricity and dump stations.

“With the type of animals we’re going to have in here, you’ve got to have top-notch stalls,” he says. “I’m getting the best we can get for our dollar.”

With major horse shows and sales within 200 miles of Texarkana, Duncan hopes to use the city’s convenient loca-tion to lure big names, like the American Quarter Horse Association and the Palomino Horse Association, to the new center, which can bring commerce to the city.

Duncan points out that visitors to the fairgrounds and Equine Center bring “heads in beds” and people eating in restaurants. This benefits the city, which is able to utilize tax money from these sales, which benefits area residents.

“I’d classify us as being partners with the city of Texarkana, Arkansas,” he says.

– Laura Otto

Horse SenseEQUINE CENTER EARNS ITS SPURS AT FOUR STATES FAIRGROUNDS

The new Equine Center at the Four States Fairgrounds in Texarkana, Ark., is climate controlled and houses 110 horse stalls and a performance arena. The 104-acre fairgrounds hosts a variety of events and houses the Agricultural Learning Center.

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Dating back to the early 1900s, Buhrman-Pharr was once the largest retail and wholesale hardware business west of the Mississippi River. In

December 2006, the building reopened as the Buhrman-Pharr Loft Apartments, with 40 units that boast the beauty of preserved historic elements, exposed brick and beams.

Developers installed new elevators, windows, plumb-ing, electrical and HVAC systems throughout. Amenities include a fitness center, children’s playroom, building-wide wireless Internet and fire-sprinkler system.

Residents enter with secure, electronic key cards through a four-story atrium lobby with stunning skylights. Several units were specially designed to accommodate the needs of residents with disabilities. Special care was taken to restore two of Buhrman-Pharr’s most distinguishing features, a rooftop water tower and exterior hardware sign.

The Vanadis Investment Group managed the project for its client, Family Service Agency. Both market-rate and tax-credit units are available, providing for the housing needs of families at varying income levels.

“Downtown,” says Mayor Horace Shipp, “has a desti-nation feel, and it’s just a natural for development.”

– Claire Ratliff-Sears

A rkansas would like to ensure that every child within the state has an available fishing lake within

30 minutes of home.With that goal, the community set

about redeveloping Texarkana’s Bobby Ferguson Park. The park, located at Arkansas Highway 245 and Interstate 30, had a small lake, walking trail and outdated playground equipment.

Improvements will include a larger fishing lake with handicap-accessible piers. Walking trails will be expanded, the playground refurbished and equipment updated. A new park pavilion will be a gathering place and the site of public workshops.

Support has come from city and state

funds, including grants from the Arkansas Parks and Tourism Department and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Texarkana Mayor Horace Shipp estimates improvements are about two-thirds complete at the 24-acre park.

Gary Jeans, interim public works director, recently invited the public to gather fish from the existing lake while it was drained in preparation for the new, larger lake.

“It’s right at the first intersection in town,” Shipp says. “It presents a warm and welcoming statement to people coming into town, and it’s an enjoyable environment for our own community.”

– Claire Ratliff-Sears

A Gateway to Outdoor FunBRING YOUR POLE OR GO FOR A STROLL AT BOBBY FERGUSON PARK

The 24-acre Bobby F. Ferguson Park in Texarkana is undergoing a major upgrade.

BUHRMAN-PHARR LOFTS CHANGE THE FACE OF DOWNTOWN

New development is reshaping downtown Texarkana.

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T he numbers are compelling.A thin line may separate Texas from Arkansas in

Texarkana, but compare property taxes for a business located on the Arkansas side with those on the Texas side, and the difference is dramatic.

Arkansas residents and business owners pay roughly 60 percent less in property taxes on comparable property values, explains Harold Boldt, Texarkana, Ark., city manager.

Considering that Texas assesses properties at 100 percent of their value, and Arkansas assesses properties at 20 percent of market value, homeowners in Arkansas benefit from substan-tial savings. “You find yourself paying 60 percent less in taxes when you look at comparable property values,” Boldt says. “That’s pretty significant.”

And for business owners, there is an even greater advan-tage on the Arkansas side of the line, Boldt says, “because you don’t pay taxes any differently than a citizen would who owns a home.”

This favorable tax structure is one of several factors that make Texarkana, Ark., a smart place to do business, according to Bob Nelsen, longtime manager of the Cooper Tires plant in

Texarkana. Nelsen, who is now retired, watched the plant grow and thrive in this pro-business environment, including five major expansions between 1964 and 1993.

When it opened in 1964, Nelsen says, the plant employed 400 people and generated some 4,000 passenger-size car and truck tires daily.

By 2004, those numbers had grown to 2,000 workers and more than 42,000 tires a day.

In addition to its appealing tax structure, Texarkana, Ark., offers a highly strategic location and a readily avail able, skilled workforce with a strong collective work ethic.

Boldt adds that the state of Arkansas allows city govern-ments to serve as conduits for issuing debt for companies in search of capital, which provides even more incentive for busi-nesses looking to relocate.

“And we can do it faster, and probably cheaper, than busi-nesses would be able to do if they are trying to finance on a private-funding basis,” Boldt says.

Arkansas offers numerous incentives for businesses, Nelsen says. “We took advantage of all of those benefits over the years,” he says.

BUSINESS MATH: LOW TAX RATES ADD UP TO MAJOR SAVINGS FOR BUSINESSES & RESIDENTS

Business is drawn to Texarkana, Ark., because of a favorable tax structure and a city government that pursues development.

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WEB EXCLUSIVE


Z apata Grill Mexican Cantina in downtown Texarkana is the kind of place where you bring friends from out of town. With a popu lar happy hour and an interesting

location in an older building, the unique eatery is filling a niche long-open in Texarkana.

“For the longest time, people had to go to Shreveport or somewhere else for that kind of night life,” says Bethany Hanna, executive director of Texarkana Main Street.

Zapata serves up an example of the success that can be had by entrepreneurs creative enough to pass up on strip mall locations and eschew same-old, same-old franchises. Established in 2000, Zapata’s has done so well that it has expanded.

It’s a success story others are hoping to emulate, Hanna says. And others are on the way.

Today, downtown Texarkana is an eclectic mix of busi-nesses drawing people in with arts and entertainment venues and pedestrian-friendly urban living.

The business district along State Line Avenue is f lanked on one end by the signature courthouse and post office, which straddle the state line, and at the other by the historic marble train depot.

The retail district, a T-shape formed where Front Street crosses State Line in front of the depot, spans Texas and Arkansas. People have come downtown for years to “cross the line,” then they stay to visit restaurants, nightclubs, art galleries, the theater and special events venues.

Once a bustling place filled with the ebb and flow of train station passengers, downtown Texarkana – like downtown districts across the country – has rein vented itself in recent years.

Four years ago, a coalition of busi nesses joined the Main Street program operated by the National Trust for His toric Preservation, which is a nationwide organization that employs a mix of historic preservation and economic development initiatives to restore and revitalize downtown districts.

The revitalization effort is a true work in progress, Hanna explains. The program involves a four-point approach with attention to design, promotion, organization and economic restruc turing. It’s an incremental program and it takes time,

she emphasizes. “Downtowns didn’t decline overnight and they don’t come

back overnight either,” Hanna says. Since the Main Street program launched in Texarkana,

more than $200,000 in grant money has been secured for its restoration and revital ization efforts.

Visible signs of all the hard work are evident when visiting the area today.

“All of the buildings that are usea ble and in good condition have been purchased, as well as some that need work,” Hanna says. “You’re doing pretty well when people are finally saying ‘I’m going to fix that up.’”

Downtown Texarkana, Ark., draws people in with vibrant arts-and-culture offerings, restaurants and night life.

Main Street of

DistinctionDOWNTOWN DISTRICT COMES TO LIFE WITH ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT


W e b - E x c l u s i v e : S p e c i a l A d v e r t i s i n g S e c t i o n

WEB EXCLUSIVE

Experts say the Texarkana, Ark., economy is poised to take off in the next 10 to 20 years, and the Texarkana Regional Airport could account for a great deal of the

wind beneath those wings.While most talk centers on plans for major road projects

that will transform the area economy, the region’s air travel also is slated to improve dramatically in coming years.

The airport is about to embark on a major expansion project that will dramatically change its appearance, function-ality and access, says Steve Luebbert, airport director.

Contractors already are moving dirt on the site, and Luebbert says he expects to cut the ribbon on a brand-new passenger terminal by 2012.

The new commercial facility will include new parking, a new fire station, a new rental car facility, new passenger terminal and more convenient access. While the overall size of the facility has yet to be determined, Luebbert says “it will be anywhere from 15,000 square feet on up. The intent is to provide room for growth.”

Once the new passenger terminal is open, the airport also plans to build a platform for Amtrak passengers. Creating an intermodal transit facility is the goal, which will open up access to new sources of money that “very few communities meet the requirements to tap,” Luebbert says.

Already, the airport is a powerful economic engine. In addition to commercial traffic and general aviation business, it appeals to corporate entities whose executives travel by air.

“You’re a nonstarter if you don’t have a commercial air-port,” Luebbert says. “If you don’t have an airport that can handle the corporate jets or base then the corporations aren’t interested in locating here.”

The current facility and its location compose “a little piece of history that goes back past World War II,” Luebbert says.

Luebbert says that in the 1920s, aviators would take off from the horse race track, once located at Spring Lake Park. Following a tragic accident, Howard Webb, the son of a dairy farmer and the longest-serving airport director, moved the airfield to a dairy east of town that offered more clearance.

“By 1928, the city of Texarkana decided that Howard was on to something,” Luebbert says. “So while 1928 is officially the beginning, we got our start with a crash out at Spring Lake Park.”

From the original 190-acre dairy farm, the airport has grown over the years to its present-day size of approximately 1,000 acres. It features two runways, a 6,600-foot strip and an alternate runway that is 5,200 feet long. American Airlines and Continental both serve the Texarkana Regional Airport, connecting it with Dallas, Houston and beyond.

The airport operates about nine flights daily.

Prepare

TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS FUEL TEXARKANA ECONOMY

Texarkana Regional Airport is in the midst of a major expansion program that will include a new passenger terminal.

Takeofffor



WEB EXCLUSIVE

www.txkusa.org

In the Texarkana Arkansas School District, the emphasis is on achievement, with a mission of providing “an exceptional education for all students in a quality

environment that develops citizens who are responsible, ethical, literate, competent and productive.”

A string of honors, championships, recognition and surg ing

test scores during the 2006-2007 school year attests to the district’s growing success in reaching its goals.

Genia Bullock, the district’s community involvement coor-dinator, offers a list of kudos the award-winning district has garnered. The list includes:

• College Hill Middle School received the 2007 ShannonWright Award for excellence, recognizing exemplary perfor-mance statewide.

• College Hill Elementary was one of only two schools inArkansas to be named a 2007 Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. DepartmentofEducation.

• RobinStover,ArkansasHighSchoolprincipalandformerCollegeHillMiddleSchoolprincipal,wasnamed2007MiddleSchool Principal of the Year for Arkansas.

• The district’s North Heights Junior High, College HillMiddleSchoolandFairviewElementarySchoolarerecognizedas prestigious Explorer Schools by the U.S. Department ofEducationandNASA.

Student athletes from the district have earned the spot-light, as well. TASD high school baseball, tennis and football teams all took state championships for the 2006-2007 school year, a feat the football team repeated for 2007-2008.

The arts, too, are well-represented. The Arkansas HighSchool band was selected to play in the 2007 Sugar Bowl, while the high school dance team was tapped to perform at the2007CottonBowl.

Texarkana Arkansas School District employs more than 900 and has more than 4,000 students.

Superior Schools HigH ACADEMiC StAnDArDS rEturn SuCCESS

Recent improvements at Texarkana High School included major renovations to its football field. staff photo

You’ll Feel Right at Home

the outstanding quality of life, natural beauty,

variety of housing options and abundance of

recreational opportunities are just a few of the

things that newcomers find so appealing about the

ark-tex region. If you desire the good life, you’ve

come to the right place. the ark-tex region

welcomes you.

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The U.S. Post Office and

Courthouse in Texarkana sits in

two states – Arkansas and Texas.


gallery|TODD BENNETT

The Confederate Monument on the grounds of the Lamar

County Courthouse in Paris


The pavilion at Loop 245 Park in Texarkana, Ark., is a gathering spot

for birds. The park is a haven for bird watchers, hikers and picnickers.


gallery|TODD BENNETT

Ark-Tex’s location, business environment put food manufacturing on the menu

A good transportation infra-structure and location midway between major East Coast and

West Coast markets give the Ark-Tex region a distinct distribution advantage for food-processing operations.

“Our location along Highway 30 gives us good access to major transportation routes that allow us to easily get our materials in and our products out,” says Craig Miller, plant manager for Ocean Spray Cranberries in Sulphur Springs.

Ocean Spray, a leading producer of canned and bottled juices and juice drinks, undertook a $5 million plant expansion in 2008.

Also operating in Sulphur Springs is Morningstar, a subsidiary of food and beverage producer Dean Foods. Owens Country Sausage, a subsidiary of Bob Evans Farms, acquired a facility in Sulphur Springs earlier in the decade and announced a 50,000-square-foot expansion project at the plant in 2008.

Sara Lee Bakery Group’s Paris opera-tions produce bread, cakes and pies. Campbell Soup Co., which has a sub-stantial presence in Paris, announced in October 2008 that it was adding production equipment to enable the plant to produce its line of V8 beverages. Campbell began operating the facility in Lamar County in 1964.

The company currently produces its

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Sara Lee is one of several food companies with operations in the Ark-Tex region.

Select Harvest, Chunky, Healthy Request and iconic Red and White soups at the plant, as well as Swanson broth, Prego pasta sauce and Pace salsa. The 1.5 million-square-foot facility employs nearly 900 people, and the V8 line will add 65 jobs.

Newly Weds Foods Inc., which makes food coatings and f lavorings for the prepared-food industry, in 2006 picked Mt. Pleasant over 14 other communities for a $27 million production facility.

The 200,000-square-foot operation in the Cypress Industrial Park employs

around 100 people and makes cracker meals, dry batter mixes and spice blends for customers in Texas and sur-rounding states.

“Another advantage for companies doing business in this region is the availability of an ample water supply, along with the highly dedicated and reliable labor force,” Miller of Ocean Spray says. “We have four U.S. beverage plants, and Sulphur Springs is the low-cost producer in the network. That’s because of the great work ethic we have in this region.”

What’s forDinner


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What makes the Ark-Tex region such a favorable place to do business? What is it about the livability of the Ark-Tex region that makes people who move there to work decide to stay for the long term?

Experience the vitality and charm of the Ark-Tex region from the comfort of your computer.

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Restored

The Perot Theatre, which opened in 1924 and was restored in 1979, is a Texarkana cultural beacon. PHOTO BY TODD BENNETT

The landmark Perot Theatre is a popular performance venue and cultural center

&Thriving

arts & culture


Sweeney Todd is one of several productions to be staged at the historic Perot Theatre in Texarkana.

For 28 years, I’ve been touring most theaters of any note – and some theaters of no note – in 48 states, and never have I seen a theater as beautifully restored as

this one.”Those are the words of renowned stage and screen actor

Hal Holbrook in praise of Texarkana’s Perot Theatre, con-structed in 1924 and the object of a $2.4 million restoration in 1979-80.

The restoration was funded in part by native Texarkanans H. Ross Perot and his sister, Bette, in memory of their parents.

The Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council manages the city-owned Perot, which was built by the Saenger Amusement Co. and acquired by Paramount in 1930. The theater was one of many performance and musical venues in pre-World War II Texarkana.

“At one time, Texarkana actually had 11 opera houses and theater spaces,” says Brian Goesl, the council’s executive director. “Quite honestly, the Perot was not one of the most opulent. It was very pretty, but we had several other houses at that time here in downtown that were even fancier and considered opera houses. This was a road house.”

Today, the Perot is the only one left, and it is a Texarkana cultural centerpiece, hosting Broadway touring company pro-ductions, ballets, symphonies and big-name musical acts. The Perot also hosts the Theatre for Young Audiences, first-

rate productions for students during the school day to enhance their artistic appreciation.

Most of the Italian Renaissance theater’s restoration was inside, with the goal of preserving as much as possible and recreating what couldn’t be salvaged. The restorers, Goesl says, “didn’t add anything to it. They highlighted the fresco plasterwork that was there with 23-karat gold leaf. All of the detail in the original building remains. All but one of the light fixtures are original, and they’re beautiful stained glass.”

The Perot still has a movie screen, and enthusiasts hope someday to offer silent movies with live organ accompaniment. That means a fund-raising campaign is in the offing to restore and reinstall the theater’s original pipe organ.

“The wonderful part of it is that it’s an actual theater organ, which means it also has a trap set as part of it. That’s very rare now,” Goesl says.

Trap sets allow the organist to activate the sounds of other musical instruments such as percussion, piano, bells, chimes and even sound effects like train whistles.

The Perot is known for its acoustics. “You can stand on the stage and be heard all the way at the top of the house, and the house holds 1,608 seats,” Goesl says. “You can almost whisper and be heard. The acoustics are that good.”

– Sharon H. Fitzgerald

“


arts & culture

arts

Getting To Know Ark-Tex CultureARTS, HISTORY MAKE A STRONG SHOWING

The Ark-Tex region offers a

bounty of cultural assets from art

galleries to museums to historic

sites. Here’s just a small sample:

Museum of Regional HistoryHoused in a building erected

in 1879, the Museum of Regional

History details the story of the

community named for Texas,

Arkansas and Louisiana.

Texarkana’s roots date to the

railroad era, where two lines

connected at the Arkansas and

Texas state line and lots were

sold for a new settlement.

The museum includes gallery

exhibits that detail the Ark-Tex

region’s history, including

agriculture, early industry, civil

rights and World War II. On display

is pottery made by members of

the Caddo nation and exhibits

about the early Spanish and

French explorers. Interactive music

displays tell the stories of native

son and ragtime music pioneer

Scott Joplin and blues great

Leadbelly, among others.

The Texarkana Museums System

operates the history museum as

well as the Ace of Clubs House

and Discovery Place Children’s

Museum, all within walking

distance of each other. Combined,

the three facilities draw more than

55,000 visitors annually. Go to www.texarkanamuseums.org for more information.

Hayden Museum of Art Founded in 1992 by Dr. and

Mrs. William Hayden, the museum

in Paris makes education an

emphasis, with close ties to

local and regional educational

institutions at all levels.

The 6,300-square-foot museum,

which is open by appointment

only, includes four galleries and

features an array of exhibits

including a permanent collection

of graphic art, archival

photography, Native American art,

art from the Southwest and works

by American master painters.

Also included in the museum

complex is the Texas House, a

restored 100-year-old, small

Victorian house from Paris

decorated with Texas antiques and

Texas memorabilia, and the main

house, with a Louisiana furniture

collection and other decorative art.

A branch of the museum in Paris

exhibits and sells works by Lamar

County artists. Call (903) 785-1925

for more information.

Leo St. Clair Music Box MuseumHopkins County offers the

unique Leo St. Clair Music Box

Museum in Sulphur Springs.

The museum features a

collection of more than 150 rare

music boxes that come in a variety

of sizes and styles.

The collection was started in

1919 when the Belgian royal family

gave Leo St. Clair a music box.

Call (903) 885-4926 for

more information.

Also in Hopkins County is the

Hopkins County Museum and

Heritage Park, an 11-acre collection

of historic buildings preserved and

restored from the region’s past.

The Texarkana Museum of Regional History details the region’s roots.T

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Land-reclamation program leads the way in mining industry

Planting 1 million trees each year takes some planning.

Luminant’s environmental specialists work with nurseries and the timber industry years in advance to ensure enough high-quality pine and hardwood seedlings are available to plant on land mined for lignite.

TXU Corp., Luminant’s parent com-pany, mines lignite, a low-grade coal, throughout Northeast Texas. Although lignite seams are not as deep as other coal, extracting the material still involves strip-mining, and restoring the land has been part of the company’s mission well before environmental regulations demanded it.

The Winfield North Mine and Winfield South Mine near Mt. Pleasant and Thermo Mine near Sulphur Springs are each part of TXU’s Monticello Mines complex. All three feed the Monticello Steam Electric Station, a major regional power producer.

Since 1975, Luminant has mined more than 56,000 acres and reclaimed 63,000 because “the footprint is a little larger than the area you remove coal from,” says Sid Stroud, Luminant’s environ-mental mining manager.

The reclamation and reforestation program uses about 30 native species. If the land had hills, slopes or wetlands, the idea is to get close to what nature

Good

Reforestation efforts in the Ark-Tex region have earned national awards.

Stewards


energy

HISTORIC RED RIVER COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Luminant Mining Co. operates the Monticello Steam Electric Station in Mt. Pleasant.

created, though a hill may not be in the exact spot, Stroud says. Former pasture-lands are regraded and planted with native grasses.

Reclaimed land is managed and monitored before the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates mining operations, releases the company from its bond obligations. Data on water quality, wildlife, vegetation and soil pro-ductivity are collected and analyzed for five years. If the land passes Railroad Commission inspection, it is released for the mining company to sell or return to leaseholders.

“Those lands are used for agriculture purposes or commercial forest land purposes, either raising livestock or harvesting timber,” Stroud says.

In fact, regulators have released at least 28,600 acres of Luminant-mined land – more than half the amount released from regulation for all other mining operations in Texas combined, Stroud says. “We are really proud of that,” he says.

The company’s environmental efforts routinely attract accolades from state and federal regulators. In September 2008, Luminant received the Director’s Award for its reforestation practices from the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Surface Mining for Big Brown Mine, Martin Lake Mine, Monticello Mine, Oak Hill Mine and Thermo Mine.

In announcing the award, OSM called Luminant’s efforts “extraordinary.”

“These mines show how sound sci-ence and dedication to stewardship can pro duce useful land for commercial forestry, food supply for wildlife, and actually add to wetlands,” the agency said. In 2007 alone, the agency noted, Luminant planted 1.64 million trees, including 32 species, 16 of which are hard-mast producers for wildlife.

Also in 2008, Luminant won the Railroad Commission’s reclamation award for the eighth time in nine years. Texas regulators were especially impressed by the establishment of “quality wildlife habitat” in half the reforested areas and a re-established longleaf pine ecosystem.

“That renewed an important natural resource by establishing a commercial timber stand that will contribute to the local economy for many years,” says Ramona Nye, the commission’s spokes-woman. – Pamela Coyle

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www.red-river.net

WildImagination


Imagine the fun of being a 6-year-old and being allowed to dress up as a Tyrannosaurus Rex, then run around wild for 10 or 20 minutes.

Youngsters in the Ark-Tex Region don’t have to merely imagine such an enjoyable scenario because they can actually experience it at Discovery Place Children’s Museum.

The Texarkana attraction features a number of interactive exhibits geared toward students in kindergarten through sixth grade.

This museum is part of a network of seven museums and education centers that focus on making hands-on, interactive museum experiences more accessible to children and families, says Sammy Wacasey, archivist with the Discovery Place Children’s Museum. “Fun and education are what we strive to deliver,” he says.

Discovery Place offers a variety of permanent exhibits, including a 12-foot sound wall for children to create their own medley of music. There is also an old-fashioned 1920s kitchen that features items such as an icebox, stove and wringer washing machine.

In addition, a health exhibit allows kids to learn about sight, sound, touch and taste as well as the body’s internal organs and skeletal makeup. Children can also find out about dental health and proper nutrition, all while having fun.

“One of our most popular displays is Costume Theater,

which allows children to don costumes and then stage their own play inside the theater,” Wacasey says. “There is an assortment of costumes, including dinosaurs, policeman, princess and clowns. All kids are happy at Costume Theater.”

Wacasey says other exhibits at Discovery Place include a post office geography area, a biology lab and an old-time hardware store.

“The post office geography area helps older children learn their states and capitals while mailing letters and learning how to address an envelope,” he says. “There is also a Tot’s Spot that has everything to keep very young children enter-tained. It contains a play area, puzzles, reading area and a grease board to practice ABCs and 123s.”

For 2009, the museum has a number of other events planned. For instance, in May it will welcome an interactive traveling exhibit with fun activities dealing with astronomy. In July, a mixture of summer programs will include art, crafts and history, while in November, the museum will host interactive science exhibits.

“Those exhibits will include how fabrics used in art can conduct electricity, and how origami can be connected with engineering,” Wacasey says. “We have a lot to offer here at Discovery Place, and kids learn a lot when they visit. But most importantly, they have fun while they are learning.”

– Kevin Litwin

Kids enjoy hands-on experience at Discovery Place

Children of all ages enjoy Texarkana’s Discovery Place Children’s Museum, an interactive museum that features science- and history-related exhibits. Left: The 12-foot sound wall at Discovery Place lets kids make their own music medleys.

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recreation

ECONOMIC PROFILE

visit ouradvertisersArk-Tex Council of Governments www.atcog.org

City of Texarkana, Arkansas www.txkusa.org

Historic Red River County Chamber of Commerce www.red-river.net

La Quinta Inn & Suites www.lq.com

Mount Vernon Economic Development Corporation www.arktex.com

Paris Economic Development Corporation www.paristexas.com

Paris Regional Medical Center www.parisrmc.com

Queen City Economic Development Corporation www.queencitytx.org

Red River Redevelopment Authority www.rrcp.org

BUSINESS CLIMATEThe Ark-Tex region is strategically prepared for business, with

proximity to Mexico, excellent infrastructure, a skilled and trainable

workforce, and a favorable pro-business climate.

BOWIE COUNTY

Population, 89,306

County Judge: James M. Carlow

Bowie County Courthouse

P.O. Box 248

New Boston, TX 75570

(903) 628-6718

(903) 628-6719 (fax)

www.co.bowie.tx.us

CASS COUNTY

Population, 30,438

County Judge: Charles McMichael

Cass County Courthouse

P.O. Box 825

Linden, TX 75563

(903) 756-5181

(903) 756-5732 (fax)

www.co.cass.tx.us

DELTA COUNTY

Population, 5,327

County Judge: Ted Carrington

Delta County Courthouse

200 W. Dallas Ave.

Cooper, TX 75432

(903) 395-4400

(903) 395-2178 (fax)

www.deltacounty.org

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Population, 9,458

County Judge: Gerald Hubbell

Franklin County Courthouse

200 N. Kaufman St.

Mt. Vernon, TX 75457

(903) 537-2342

(903) 537-2418 (fax)

HOPKINS COUNTY

Population, 31,960

County Judge:

Cletis Millsap

Hopkins County Courthouse

118 Church St.

Sulphur Springs, TX 75482

(903) 438-4006

(903) 438-4007 (fax)

www.hopkinscountytx.org

LAMAR COUNTY

Population, 48,499

County Judge:

M.C. (Chuck) Superville Jr.

Lamar County Courthouse

119 N. Main, Paris, TX 75460

(903) 737-2410

(903) 785-3858 (fax)

www.co.lamar.tx.us

MORRIS COUNTY

Population, 13,048

County Judge: J.C. Jennings

Morris County Courthouse

500 Broadnax

Daingerfield, TX 75638

(903) 645-3691

(903) 645-5729 (fax)

www.co.morris.tx.us

RED RIVER COUNTY

Population, 14,314

County Judge:

Morris Harville

Red River

County Courthouse

400 N. Walnut St.

Clarksville, TX 75426

(903) 427-2680

(903) 427-5510 (fax)

www.co.red-river.tx.us

TITUS COUNTY

Population, 28,118

County Judge: Sam Russell

Titus County Courthouse

100 W. First St., Suite 200

Mt. Pleasant, TX 75455

(903) 577-6791

(903) 577-6793 (fax)

www.co.titus.tx.us

MILLER COUNTY, ARK.

Population, 40,443

County Judge: Roy John McNatt

Miller County Courthouse

400 Laurel St.

Texarkana, AR 71854

(870) 774-1301

(870) 773-3494 (fax)

www.millercounty.arkansas.gov


Ad Index C4 ARK-TEX COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS

C2 CITY OF TEXARKANA, ARKANSAS

33 HISTORIC RED RIVER COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

6 LA QUINTA INN & SUITES

28 MOUNT VERNON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

2 PARIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

27 PARIS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

C3 QUEEN CITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

6 RED RIVER REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

“Come GROW With Us”

QUEEN CITY, TEXAS

ADVANTAGES OF A QUEEN CITY LOCATION:

QUEEN CITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

www.queencitytx.org

9-1-1 Regional 9-1-1 Emergency Communication Services Rural Addressing

Area Agency on Aging (AAA) Program Planning/Coordination In-Home and Support Services Nursing Home Ombudsman Medicare Part D Enrollment Advocacy Services Options Case Management Information and Assistance Nutrition

Criminal Justice Criminal Justice Planning Juvenile Justice Regional Law Enforcement

Economic Development Economic Development Planning Economic Development Financing Small Business Loans Northeast Texas Economic Development District – Business Loans

Ark-Tex Regional Development Company Inc. – 504 Business Loans – 7A Business Loans

Environmental Solid Waste Planning/Implementation Brownfields Water Quality – Texas Watch Training

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) GIS Data Mapping Regional Census Data Center

Homeland Security Regional Citizens Corps Council

Transportation Transportation Planning Rural Public Transportation Services Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC)

Special Projects Grant Writing Assistance Hazard Mitigation Plans

Housing U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 Rental Assistance

We EXIST to Serve the Needs of our Members and their Citizens

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