Friends, 

Our commitment to making Little Rock the best place to live, work and play extends to our City of Little Rock staff, too. Our 2,500 team members are dedicated to excellence and exceptional service, and many of them have spent their careers working on behalf of the City they love. We take pride in leading by example as a preferred employer valued by its employees. 

Each year, we recognize our team members who have reached milestone work anniversaries. This year, we honored 45 city employees who celebrated their 20th, 30th or 40th anniversaries with us in 2023. This longevity in service to the community is rare, and it's important to share our appreciation with those who are important members of the team. 

We are especially honored to have two employees on our team who celebrated 40 years of continuous service with the City. They are Denise James and Climatine "Clem" Tate. 

Ms. James serves as a probation officer for Little Rock District Court. Ms. Tate is the records supervisor for the Little Rock Police Department. Both have continuously served as city employees since 1983.

Ms. James started in June 1983 as a probation assistant within the probation office. She worked as a criminal court clerk for several years before being promoted to chief court clerk. In that role, she handled clerical responsibilities for both the criminal and civil courts. She was hired as a probation officer 21 years ago, and she has held that job ever since.

Ms. James said: "I have had the opportunity to work with many great judges and people through the years. The court is very interesting. There is always a lot going on here. I have enjoyed helping the community and individuals in need that have come through the system."

While we recognized both for continuous full-time service over the past 40 years, Ms. Tate has actually been an employee for nearly 50 years! 

Ms. Tate started in the summer of 1973 as part of a college work study program, then worked part-time in the print shop before joining LRPD as a clerk in 1974. Nine years later, after the birth of her first son, Curtis James Tate II, she left city employment. Yet, a few months later she was hired back in her previous role. She worked as assistant records supervisor and acting records supervisor before her promotion to the job permanently in 2002.

When asked why she has spent nearly 50 years in city government, Ms. Tate said: "I never really saw it as work. Well, not all the time. Working at Little Rock Police is always something different every day, and I always enjoy helping people. I always treat people the way I would want to be treated, and how I would want my family members to be treated."

That sage advice should motivate all of us to treat others with kindness and dignity.

We applaud Ms. James and Ms. Tate for their service. Our goal is to seek out additional ways to create a working environment and support network that shows value and appreciation to team members who have been here a few weeks or a few decades.

 

Arkansas ranks 50th in the country for the number of dentists per capita, so the establishment of a dental school is a much needed priority. It will bring immediate positive impact to health outcomes in our community and across the region. The location of new Lyon College School of Dental Medicine in Arkansas's capital city will further solidify Little Rock's position as the leader in health care and innovation for the state and the region.

The school will welcome its first class of 80 students upon receiving approval from the Commission on Dental Education. These students will both live and learn in our community with an aim toward giving back through improving health care across the State. 

A coalition of leaders, including Lyon College, city and state officials, local developers and many others worked extensively to ensure the establishment of the dental school right here in Little Rock. We appreciate everyone who came together to make the new school a reality. These students will both live and learn in our community with an aim toward giving back, and we hope many of them will make Little Rock their permanent home.

• The Little Rock Board of Directors will meet Tuesday, July 30, at The Centre at University Park, 6401 W. 12th St. Starting at 4 p.m., there will be a special-called meeting to discuss the proposed sales tax increase. Immediately following that, the Board will set the agenda for its next regular meeting. All board meetings are livestreamed on the City of Little Rock's Facebook and YouTube pages.
• Today (Monday, July 29) at 5:30 p.m., representatives of the Public Works Department will host an open-forum style meeting to discuss infrastructure improvements in Ward 1. The improvements to be discussed are street and sidewalk reconstruction along Broadway from 33rd Street to 34th Street and sidewalk construction on 24th Street and 25th Street between Main Street and Scott Street. The public is invited to attend the meeting to provide input and learn more about the projects. The meeting is at Dunbar Community Center, 1001 W. 16th St.
• The Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department will host a community meeting on Thursday, Aug. 1, at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the master plan for Hindman Park. Thursday's meeting is the first of three scheduled over the next few weeks. The focus of the first meeting is on mountain biking. The discussion will be held at the park's clubhouse, 7501 Hindman Park Way.