Second Quarter, 1998
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NATCO Salutes Mildred Sanders |
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Top Students Will Receive $1,000 Awards |
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Executives from Western States Visit Omaha School ITV Class & FCC By Video |
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Visitors to NATCO Visitor From Oregon Visitor From California NATCO At Senior Fair |
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Favorite Web Sites Web Sites For Taxpayers Web Sites For Consumers Web Sites For Seniors Web Sites For Tourists |
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South Shore Foundation Funds Nature Study Program |
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South Shore Foundation Funds Bull Shoals Emergency Equipment |
Northern Arkansas Telephone Company is happy to salute Mildred
Sanders, who reached her 90th birthday on April 6, 1998. She is the widow of Ray Sanders,
who founded NATCO in 1951, and the mother of Steven Gill Sanders, President and General
Manager, and grandmother of Steven Sanders Jr., External Relations.
Mrs. Sanders worked side by side with her husband for many years bringing Northern Arkansas Telephone Company, through its developmental years in the early 1950s and early 1960s. "Millie" was the relief and night telephone operator at Lead Hill for many of those years.
When the new addition to the Flippin exchange building was constructed in l975, Mrs. Sanders added a special touch by hanging the original paintings of Arkansas artists on the company walls.
It was also in 1975 when Mr. Ray Sanders suffered a massive stroke and was unable to ever return to work at his beloved NATCO.
The NATCO family thanks Mrs. Sanders for her important contributions to our company and wishes Mrs. Sanders the very best in the future.
Top Students Will Receive $1,000 Awards
Seniors in the South Shore region who lead their graduating classes will be eligible for the 1998 $1,000 South Shore Academic Scholarship. The scholarship is a one-time award to the top student in each South Shore high school.
School officials determine which 1998 graduate has the highest college entrance exam (ACT or SAT) test score combined with the highest grade point average in their high school career.
Schools were to inform NATCO of the name of their top academic senior by May 1 so the announcement of winners could be made by graduation.
The South Shore Academic Scholarship has been expanded from one school (Flippin) to six schools. They are Flippin, Yellville-Summit, Omaha, Lead Hill, Bruno-Pyatt, and Bergman.
The scholarship was established to encourage academic achievement by students growing up in our South Shore communities.
Phone Executives From Western States Visit Omaha School ITV Class & FCC By Video
 Dr. Sanders greets some of the WRTA members as the get off the bus that brought them to Omaha School for the video conference and ITV demonstration. |
At the end of their 1998 annual Spring Convention, held at Branson, Missouri, March 18, 1998, about 40 members of the Western Rural Telephone Association came to Omaha Public School to see interactive TV - or distance learning - in action. They sat in on the economics class taught by Don Wilson to Omaha High School students. The class is also taken by students in Lead Hill and in Berryville by live video. Those "remote" classrooms can be seen on the monitors.
Omaha school is part of a demonstration model for Arkansas to use interactive TV in schools. It allows small schools to offer courses to students in other locations via live video. That way, schools can share teachers and their expertise. Dr. David Land, Superintendent at Omaha, said his school is now "exporting" or teaching to other schools, Spanish and economics, and has "imported" or received, other foreign languages and calculus. "It is really a blessing to a rural district," Dr. Land stated.
 Don Wilson, Omaha High School teacher, uses the ITV room to teach economics to Omaha students, in person, and to Lead Hill and Berryville students by video. |
The demonstration, with all technical details explained by NATCO President Steven Sanders, was just one part of the reason for the trip, however.
The other part was a video conference with Federal Communications Commission’s Sonia Rifkin, the FCC Chairman’s Universal Service Ombudsman. Richard Metzger Jr., Chief of the Common Carrier Bureau, and several of his staff were also in attendance. The video conference served to help bring to the FCC’s attention the needs of rural areas.
 Dr. Sanders speaks to some of the 40 persons from Western states telephone companies in a classroom at Omaha Public School and, by video to FCC officials in Washington, D.C., who were connected to the discussion by video conference. |
Mrs. Rifkin, from the 8th floor of the FCC building in Washington, D.C., described herself as "the eyes and ears of the new FCC Chairman, William Kennard, on rural issues." She said the FCC chairman is afraid rural areas may be bypassed in this information age.
Dr. Sanders explained to the FCC official by video conference that the ISDN technology used by NATCO is a good technology which deserves continued support by the FCC even though there are newer, more exotic technologies.
Dr. Leon McLean, director of the O.U.R. Cooperative for educators at Harrison, to which
the Omaha and Lead Hill ITV systems are linked, also spoke to the WRTA members and to Mrs.
Rifkin of the FCC.
 Dr. David Land, superintendant at Omaha Public School, stands in front of the video converence monitor so that he can appear "on camera" for the FCC officials in Washington, D.C. |
Dr. McLean said there are 10 high school classrooms on the ITV system in the seven north central Arkansas counties the O.U.R. Co-op serves. Another ITV classroom is at North Arkansas College and another at the O.U.R. Co-op. "This system is the demo model for Arkansas. We are working as fast as we can to expand to every Arkansas school district and make this a model for the rest of the states," Dr. McLean said.
The ITV at Omaha uses fiber optic technology that provides the highest quality, full motion video. In other words, the transmission of pictures is smooth and of movie quality, not jerky or delayed. (Other schools in some parts of the state are using older, copper wire technology with lesser capabilities for high-quality video.)
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Dr. McLean added that the educational cooperative couldn’t do the ITV project without the telephone company’s support. He told the FCC staff members in Washington that ITV helps 11th and 12th grade students prepare for college by taking college courses that can be transferred to the colleges they will attend.
Mrs. Rifkin said of the special video conference, set up by NATCO, Omaha school, and the FCC, "Thanks for sharing it with us. This lets us see that things (video conferencing and ITV) can work and see the discount rate is working."
Another special guest at the video conference was Christopher McLean, deputy administrator for Rural Utilities Service, Department of Agriculture, who said such video conferences could take the place of many face-to-face meetings and save travel time and expense. He said groups could meet with their Congressmen by video conference, for example.
Visitor From Oregon John Dillard (right), from Monroe Telephone Company in Oregon, Seems to be tipping his hat in a "hello" to residents in the area as he prepared for his fishing trip at sportsman resort with NATCO President Steven Sanders. Mr. Monroe came to the area for the Western Rural Telephone Association's convention at Branson in mid-March. |
Visitor From California
A couple of familiar faces, NATCO's Steven Sanders, at left, and Travis Sullivan, seated, welcome Sam Maselli, at right, to NATCO's operation. Sam Maselli is the executive director of the Western Rural Telephone Association, with headquarters in California. Mr. Maselli came to Flippin to see NATCO's facilities in mid-March. Mr. Maselli helped arrange to have the WRTA Spring Convention in our area, at Branson, Missouri.
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NATCO At Senior Fair
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Mike Nolan of NATCO was
manning the NATCO booth at the Senior Fair, held at the Baxter County Fairgrounds on April
1 & 2. Mike and other NATCO computer services personnel demonstrated Internet services
and the South Shore Bulletin Board Service. Both are now available to all area residents.
Some are not aware that Mountain Home and Yellville customers now have toll free dial-up
access. If you have friends or family in those areas, please advise them of these new
services. Anyone with a home computer should contact NATCO to find out about the great
Internet services available now.
Web Sites for Taxpayers
www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/taxfed97.html (This link is no longer valid as of 07/24/01)
The Web site of New York City's Independent Budget Office can tell you how much of your taxes go into 27 categories of federal spending.
Web Sites for Consumers
A new site helps direct consumers to the right agency's online home.
The government's Consumer Information Center, the federal brochure clearinghouse
A privately owned consumer information reference
Web Sites for Seniors
The federal government's Administration on Aging
Department of Health and Human Services
American Association of Retired Persons
Web Sites for Tourists
A new Web site unveiled at March's Governor's Conference on Tourism features Arkansas state parks, attractions, calendar of events, maps, interactive trip planner and much more. It includes animation and sound.
South
Shore Foundation Funds
Nature Study Program
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One of the projects recently funded by the South Shore Foundation will once again provide area elementary students nature study materials through the Audubon Society.
A grant of $1,579 to the North Central Arkansas Audubon Society will supply Audubon Society study materials to students in the third through sixth grades of Flippin, Bruno-Pyatt, Lead Hill, Bergman, and Omaha. This is the second year for the program.
Marg Bangert of Midway, vice president of the area Audubon Society, applied for the grant and heads the educational project. Teachers receive resource materials and each student receives six issues of the youth study magazine, Audubon Adventures.
Teachers reported good results in their elementary classes with the nature study materials last year. The South Shore Foundation is delighted to be able to support this outstanding program by the respected Audubon Society, said Steven Sanders Sr., South Shore trustee.
South Shore Foundation Funds
Bull Shoals Emergency Equipment
 Bull Shoals Volunteer Fire Department Chief Keith Katcher, far left, and RN Sandy Gilbert, second from left, accept $9,610 from the South Shore Foundation for new emergency response equipment. Making the presentation of grant funds are South Shore Foundation Trustees Howard Evans and Margaret Hall, both of Bull Shoals. About half the funds will go to purchase an important piece of equipment for heart patients, the Automatic External Defibrillator. |
Thanks to a $9,610 grant from the South Shore Foundation, the Bull Shoals Volunteer Fire Department will be able to purchase additional emergency response equipment for its emergency truck. The South Shore Foundation recently approved a grant application from Keith Katcher, fire chief, for a list of needed equipment.
Among the equipment to be purchased is an Automatic External Defibrillator at a cost of nearly $5,000.
The Bull Shoals Volunteer Fire Department consists of a registered nurse, 13 fire fighters with Basic First Aid training, 23 with CPR training, and seven enrolled in First Responder courses.
The South Shore Foundation trustees were glad to be able to support this vital service
organization.
The South Shore Foundation encourages nonprofit organizations in the South Shore area to inquire about grants by calling Deanna Latting at 1-870-453-3333 for a grant application.
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Northern
Arkansas Telephone Company | 301 East Main Street | Flippin, Arkansas,
72634
Toll Free: 1-800-775-6682 ext 323 | :
1-870-453-8822
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