JANUARY EVENTS

January 1
--Paul Revere, Revolutionary War patriot, born January 1, 1735.
--Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
--Flagmaker Betsy Ross born January 1, 1752.
--Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863.
--J. Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI from 1924 to 1972, born January 1, 1895.
--Commonwealth of Australia proclaimed, January 1, 1901.

January 2
--Colonial leader Nathaniel Bacon born January 2, 1647.
--James Wolfe, conqueror of Quebec, born January 2, 1727.
--Georgia ratified the Constitution, January 2, 1788.

January 3
--Cicero, Roman statesman, born January 3, 106 B.C.

--Women's-rights leader Lucretia Mott born January 3, 1793.
--Alaska was admitted to the Union as the 49th state, January 3, 1959.

January 4
--Fairy-tale collector Jakob Grimm born January 4, 1785.
--Utah became the 45th state, January 4, 1896.

January 5
--Stephen Decatur, American naval hero, born January 5, 1779.
--Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first woman governor of a state, Wyoming, January 5, 1925.
--George Washington Carver, black American scientist, died 1943. In 1945, Congress designated January 5 as George Washington Carver Day.

January 6
--Charles Sumner, American statesman and antislavery leader, born January 6, 1811.
--Carl Sandburg, American poet, born January 6, 1878.
--New Mexico became the 47th state, January 6, 1912.

LORAN KAYE "LEFTY" WHITE

January 7
--First American presidential election, January 7, 1789.
--Millard Fillmore, 13th President of the United States, born in Locke, N.Y., January 7, 1800.
--Transatlantic commercial telephone service began, New York to London, January 7, 1927.

January 8
--Amendment 11 to Constitution, modifying the Supreme Court's power, proclaimed, January 8,1798.
--Andrew Jackson defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815.
--President Wilson stated his "Fourteen Points" before Congress, January 8, 1918.

January 9
--Connecticut ratified the Constitution, January 9, 1788.
--Carrie Chapman Catt, American woman-suffrage leader, born January 9, 1859.
--Richard M. Nixon, 37th President of the United States, born in Yorba Linda, Calif., January 9, 1913.

JUSTIN WHITE

January 10
--Thomas Paine published his Common Sense, January 10, 1776.
--John W. Root, American architect, born January 10, 1850.First great oil strike in Texas, January 10, 1901.
--League of Nations established, January 10, 1920.
--First UN General Assembly met, London, January 10, 1946.

January 11
--Statesman Alexander Hamilton born January 11, 1755 or 1757.
--Sir John Macdonald, first prime minister of Canada after the confederation, born January 11, 1815.

January 12
--Governor John Winthrop of Massachusetts Bay Colony born January 12, 1588.
--Jack London, American novelist, born January 12, 1876.

PEGGY (BULLINGER) WHITE

January 13
--Salmon P. Chase, antislavery leader and Chief Justice of the United States, born January 13, 1808.

January 14
--Benedict Arnold, American Revolutionary War general and traitor, born January 14, 1741.
--Albert Schweitzer, physician, musician, philosopher, and missionary, born January 14, 1875.
--Casablanca Conference opened, January 14, 1943.

COLON & VASTA (ROGERS) WHITE

January 15
--Moliere, French dramatist, born January 15, 1622.
--American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., born January 15, 1929.

MICHAEL WHITE

January 16
--Civil Service system established, January 16, 1883.
--Amendment 18 to the Constitution, prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages, ratified, January 16, 1919
--Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi left Iran following mass demonstrations against his rule, January 16, 1979.

RICKY WHITE

January 17
--Benjamin Franklin, American statesman and inventor, born January 17, 1706.
--Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and short-story writer, born January 17, 1860.
--David Lloyd George, British statesman and prime minister, born January 17, 1863.

January 18
--Daniel Webster, American statesman, born January 18, 1782.
--Versailles Peace Conference opened following World War I, January 18, 1919.

January 19
--James Watt, Scottish inventor, born January 19, 1736.
--Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army in the Civil War, born January 19, 1807.
--Edgar Allan Poe, American author, born January 19, 1809.
--Steelmaker Sir Henry Bessemer born January 19, 1813.
--Paul Cezanne, French painter, born January 19, 1839.

January 20
--Inauguration Day for the President every fourth year, beginning in January 20, 1937.

COLON WHITE

BLAKE PHILLIPS

January 21

--Confederate Army General Stonewall Jackson born January 21, 1824.
--Soviet dictator V. I. Lenin died, January 21, 1924.
--The U.S.S. Nautilus, first nuclear-powered ship in the world, launched, January 21, 1954.

January 22
--Francis Bacon, English author, born January 22, 1561.

--Lord Byron, English poet, born January 22, 1788.
--Dramatist August Strindberg born January 22, 1849.

January 23
--French painter Edouard Manet born January 23, 1832.
--John Hancock, first signer of the Declaration of Independence, born January 23, 1737.

January 24
--Gold discovered in California, January 24, 1848.
--Edith Wharton, American author, born January 24, 1862.

January 25
--Robert Burns, Scottish poet, born January 25, 1759.Transcontinental telephone service established in United States, January 25, 1915.

January 26
--Sydney founded, January 26, 1788; celebrated as Australia Day.
--Michigan became the 26th state, 1January 26, 837.
--American General Douglas MacArthur born January 26, 1880.
--Cullinan diamond, world's largest diamond, found January 26, 1905.
--India became a republic, 1950; celebrated as Republic Day.

January 27

--Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer, born January 27, 1756.
--Lewis Carroll, English author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, born January 27. 1832.

--Canadian Great Western Railway started operating, January 27, 1854.
--Thomas Edison granted the first patent for his incandescent light, January 27, 1880.

ANDREW WHITE

January 28
--Canadian Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie born January 28, 1822.
--Sir Henry Morton Stanley, who explored Africa, born January 28, 1841.
--U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded, killing all seven crew members aboard, January 28, 1986.

January 29
--William McKinley, 25th President of the United States, born in Niles, Ohio, January 29, 1843.
--Kansas became the 34th state, 1861.

January 30
--Congress authorized purchase of Thomas Jefferson's library as nucleus of the Library of Congress, January 30, 1815.
--Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States, born at Hyde Park, N.Y., January 30, 1882.
--Adolf Hitler named Chancellor of Germany, January 30, 1933.
--Mohandas K. Gandhi, spiritual and political leader of India, assassinated, January 30, 1948.

January 31
--Gouverneur Morris, Revolutionary War patriot, born January 31, 1752.
--Franz Schubert, Austrian composer, born January 31, 1797.

Facts from World Book Millenium

Arkansas Ice Storm 2009

A VICIOUS ICE STORM THAT PARALYZED MUCH OF THE NORTHERN PART OF ARKANSAS , AS MOTHER NATURE IS BLAMED AGAIN FOR LOSS OF LIVES , DESTROYED COMMUNITIES AND LEFT HUNDRED OF THOUSANDS OF RESIDENTS IN THE TOTAL DARKNESS . THIS WILL BE ONE WINTER ICE STORM NOT SOON FORGOTTEN FOR CITIZENS OF GREENE COUNTY AND NORTHERN ARKANSAS . THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN A 24 HOUR PERIOD LEFT DEVASTATED AND WONDERING HOW TO CARE FOR THEIR FAMILIES IN THE LONG COLD WINTER TEMPATURES IN THE TEENS . WITHOUT ANYWAY TO HEAT THEIR HOMES . BEING TOLD IT MAY BE 6 TO 8 WEEKS BEFORE POWER IS RESTORED . SOME COUNTIES WERE DEALING WITH NO WATER , NO PHONE OR CELL SERVICE , NO OPERATING GROCERY STORES OR GAS STATIONS . EMERGENCY OFFICIALS SAYING THAT THIS IS THE MOST WIDESPREAD WEATHER-RELATED DAMAGE AND DESTRUCTION SINCE THE 1930'S.

Ice Storm 2009 diary

MONDAY , JANUARY 26, 2009 - FREEZING RAIN STARTING LATE THIS AFTERNOON , WE WERE TOLD NOT TO REPORT TO WORK FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS DUE TO BAD WEATHER COMING IN . IN ALL THE YEARS I HAVE BEEN THERE I HAVE NEVER SEEN MY EMPLOYERS WORRIED ABOUT BAD WEATHER . BUT I KNEW THEY MUST HAVE KNOWN THERE WAS SOMETHING BAD ON THE WAY.

TUESDAY , JANUARY 27 , 2009 - 100% FREEZING RAIN , SNOW AND SLEET AFTER MIDNIGHT , TUESDAY NIGHT OUR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES CAME TO OUR HOUSE THEIR HOUSES WERE ALL ELECTRIC THEIR POWER WENT OUT ABOUT 7:00 P.M. WE HAD A GENERATOR AND PROPANE BACK UP HEAT , AT LEAST WE COULD ALL STAY WARM.

TUESDAY NIGHT WE COULD NOT SLEEP FROM THE SOUNDS OF CRASHING TREES AND LIMBS , TRANSFORMERS FALLING AND BLOWING UP FROM THE WEIGHT WHEN THEY HIT THE GROUND.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON A CALL FROM PIGGOTT COMMUNITY HOSPITAL NEEDING HELP FROM OUR HOSPITAL , ARKANSAS METHODIST MEDICAL CENTER . PIGGOTT HOSPITAL HAD LOST POWER NEEDED TO MOVE SERIOUSLY ILL PATIENT'S TO ANOTHER MEDICAL CENTER. OUR COMMUNITY HOSPITAL STEPPED UP AND TOOK IN 15 PATIENTS TRANSPORTING THEM BY AMBULANCE BACK TO AMMC WHICH HAD LOST POWER AT 8:00 P.M. TUESDAY AND WAS RUNNING ON AUXILLARY POWER .

REPORTED FROM TRUMANN POLICE CHIEF LARRY BLAGG WAS KILLED BY A FALLEN ICE COVERED LIMB TRYING TO HELP CLEAR THE ROADS FROM DEBREE.

WEDNESDAY , JANUARY 28, 2009 - 10:00 A.M. 107.1 REPORTED TEMPATURE 29* , SNOW THIS MORNING . OVER 40,000 PEOPLE OUT OF ELECTRIC REPORTED . WIDE-SPREAD POWER OUTAGES FOR NORTHERN ARKANSAS . ELECTRIC CREWS FROM OTHER STATES COMING TO HELP . ALL OF PARAGOULD IN THE DARK EXCEPT A SMALL PORTION OF CENTER HILL AND THE HOSPITAL AND LOWE'S RUNNING OFF OF BACKUP GENERATORS. CALL 911 ONLY IF IT IS LIFE OR DEATH . NATIONAL GUARD COMING TO HELP. ICE STORM SHUT DOWN PARAGOULD'S POWER GRID.

WEDNESDAY , JANUARY 28, 2009 - 12:30 P.M. 107.1 REPORTED - KUM & GO GAS STATION RUNNING OUT OF FUEL , MR. T'S AT RIVERSIDE RUNNING LOW OF FUEL . (DURING THIS ICE STORM NONE OF OUR NORMAL CONVIENCES SUCH AS GAS STATIONS , ATM'S , CELL PHONES , WAL-MART , GROCERY STORES WERE NOT OPEN OR WORKING DUE TO THE POWER OUTAGE . THIS IS SOMETHING ALLOT OF THE YOUNGER GENERATION HAS NEVER DONE WITHOUT . )

LIBERTY BANK AND FIRST NATIONAL BANK OPEN RUNNING OFF OF GENERATORS . ATM'S WORKING FOR PEOPLE NEEDING CASH .
SHELTERS OPENED AT MARMADUKE - RED CROSS SHELTER FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH , PARAGOULD , RED CROSS SHELTER FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH . ASKING FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS TO COME GET RESIDENTS AT THE MINI RISE IN PARAGOULD (RETIREMENT HOME ) BACK UP GENERATORS WILL NOT WORK .

NORTHEAST ARKANSAS DECLARED A DISASTER AREA BY GOVENOR MIKE BEEBE
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA CONTACTING GOV. BEEBE TO GET STARTED ON A DISASTER DECLARATION THAT CLEARS THE WAY FOR FUNDING AND OTHER SUPPORT AS COUNTIES SCATTERED ACROSS THE REGION AND STATE TACKLE THE RECOVERY EFFORTS. SIGHT UNSEEN.

“Flying over the areas hit by the storm gives you a different perspective,” Beebe said of the damage. “It’s the worst I’ve seen. There are 8,000-plus power poles down in north Arkansas so it is a devastating situation. You look down and see so many tree tops and limbs gone.”

SCHOOL'S BUSINESS , FACTORIES , CLOSED . CELLPHONES AND LAND LINE PHONES GOING OUT OR OVERLOADED FROM PEOPLE CHECKING ON FAMILIES . PEOPLE BEING HURT OR KILLED FROM FALLING LIMBS.

WEDNESDAY , JANUARY 28, 2009 - 12:43 P.M. 107.1 REPORTED -.OUR COUNTY IS IN A MAJOR CRISIS . MR. T'S AT RIVERSIDE REPORTED OUT OF FUEL . DEE'S OUT OF PROPANE . 107.1 ASKING PEOPLE TO CALL IN IF THEY KNOW WHERE OTHERS CAN FIND PROPANE AND FUEL. PEOPLE CALLING WANTING TO KNOW WHERE TO FIND KEROSENE . ASKING PEOPLE TO HAVE PATIENCE AT THE FOUR - WAY STOPS SET UP AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS.

WEDNESDAY , JANUARY 28, 2009 - 12:52 P.M. 107.1 REPORTED - WEATHER REPORT FOR TONIGHT CLEAR AND COLD TEMPATURES IN THE TEENS.

CENTER HILL CHURCH OF CHRIST OPENING FOR A SHELTER . NO FOOD BRING YOUR OWN BLANKETS . SHELTERS NEED FOOD ASKING BUSINESS , GROCERY STORES TO DONATE FOOD AND SUPPLIES. WAL-MART OPENED UP THERE STORE TO THE SHELTERS AND TOLD THEM TO COME GET WHAT THEY NEEDED

WEDNESDAY , JANUARY 28, 2009 - 1:30 P.M. 107.1 REPORTED - ASKING PEOPLE TO STAY OFF THE STREETS , DOWNED POWER LINES , FALLING TREES AND LIMBS . CREWS TRYING TO WORK TO RESTORE OUR POWER . VERY DANGEROUS CONDITIONS.
MOST PHONE SERVICES OUT OR OVER LOADED . MY HUSBAND AND SON-N-LAW WENT TO TRY TO FIND MORE PROPANE . OSCELA CLOSET PLACE THAT HAS FUEL . AIRPORT AT JONESBORO HAS KEROSENE . STILL ASKING FOR PEOPLE TO COME AND GET FAMILY MEMBERS AT THE MINI RISE .

EMERSON , ARI , UTILITY , MONROE , DARLING A, B, C SHIFTS CLOSED . GOVERMENT OFFICIES CLOSED . NEA LANDFIELD CLOSED , SCHOOLS CLOSED , NO CHURCH SERVICES , DAYCARES .

ELECTRIC CREWS FROM OTHER STATES ARRIVING TONIGHT . PEOPLE HEADING SOUTH TO STAY WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS , SOME GOING TO MEMPHIS . MOTELS FILLED UP NO -VACANCY . CUM & GO ON HWY 18 AT JONESBORO HAS FUEL . LAFE ASKED TO BOIL WATER . MARMADUKE CURFEW FROM SUNUP TO SUNDOWN NO ONE ALLOWED ON THE STREETS.

KAIT - CHANNEL 8 - BROADCASTING EVERY HOUR WITH REPORTS OF WHERE PEOPLE CAN FIND SHELTERS . CHURCHES SERVING HOT MEALS .

THURSDAY , JANUARY 29, 2009 - THE CRISIS CONTINUED . THE CONVACATION CENTER AT JONESBORO OPENED FOR A SHELTER .

ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS HAVE BROUGHT COTS AND BLANKETS FOR USE IN SHELTERS , ALONG WITH PROVIDING GENERATOR SUPPORT AND SENT A PAIR OF 2,500 GALLON TANKERS TO JONESBORO.

BLACK OAK RESIDENTS REQUIRED TO BOIL WATER . BONO ISSUED A CURFEW LAW 6 A.M. TO 6 P.M. EXCEPT THOSE TRAVELING TO AND FROM WORK OR OTHER EMERGENCIES. LOCAL HOSPITALS REPORTED 12 CASES OF CARBON - MONOXIDE POISONING OFFICIALS URGED PEOPLE TO BE CAREFUL WHEN USING ALTERNATIVE HEATING SOURCES .

BECAUSE OF THAWING , URGED TO BE CAREFUL DRIVING BY DAMAGED OR BENT TREES AND POWER LINES.

FOUR THOUSAND GALLONS OF PROPANE A DAY SINCE MONDAY HAS BEEN SOLD AT DEE'S PROPANE ON HWY 49 NORTH .

FRIDAY , JANUARY 30, 2009 - GREENE COUNTY , CONSTABLE FOR SHADY GROVE TOWNSHIP , CLAUDE GRAVES WAS DELIVERING COFFEE TODAY TO THE ELECTRIC CREWS WORKING TO REPAIR LINES WHEN HE OVERHEARD SOME OF THEM COMPLAINING ABOUT EATING PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICHES . WHEN CONSTABLE GRAVES HAD A IDEA TO MAKE AVAILABLE HOT MEALS FOR THE WORKERS. 24 HOURS LATER AND THE HELP OF 45 VOLUNTEERS IN THE PARKING LOT OF SIMMONS BANK IN PARAGOULD THE VOLUNTEERS PREPARED 600 TO 700 HOT MEALS FOR THE CREWS FROM CRAIGHEAD ELECTRIC , PARAGOULD LIGHT , WATER AND CABLE , ENTERGY AND EMERGENCY PERSONNEL . THE CREWS HAVE BEEN WORKING 16 HOURS SHIFTS AND SAID THEY WOULD WORK WEEKENDS TOO AND WOULD NOT LEAVE UNTIL ALL POWER WAS RESTORED

COUNTY JUDGE JESSE DOLLARS SAID THEY WERE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO CLEAR DEBREE FROM THE ROADWAYS . ARKANSAS FOREST COMMISION ARRIVED TODAY WITH BULLDOZERS AND CHAINSAWS TO HELP WITH THE CLEAN UP . OUTLYING AREAS HIT HARD . MOST COUNTY RESIDENTS REMAIN WITHOUT POWER . JUDGE DOLLARS SAID MARMADUKE AND OAK GROVE WERE TWO OF HARDEST HIT AREAS IN THE COUNTY.

SATURDAY , JANUARY 31, 2009 - Acting FEMA Director Nancy Ward announced Thursday that federal emergency aid has been made available for Arkansas counties hit by the storm. Clay, Craighead, Cross, Greene, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett and Sharp counties in Northeast Arkansas were among those listed to receive assistance.
(information was from Tina Easley)

February 14, 2009 - Our electricty was turned back on. (Donna Hale)

JANUARY HOLIDAYS

New Year's Day ~~~~~~~~~ January 1st
January 1 is celebrated as New Year's Day in most countries.

Kwanzaa Ends ~~~~~~~~~ January 1st

Twelfth Night ~~~~~~~~~January 5th
Children leave their shoes in front of the door to be filled with sweets. On the Twelfth Night Christmas decorations are usually taken down.

Epiphany ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~January 6th
Most Christian churches celebrate Epiphany on January 6, the 12th day after Christmas. The festival commemorates the visit of the wise men from the East to the infant Jesus. Epiphany, a Christian holiday, observes the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus, 12 days after Christmas. Some Eastern Christians observe this date as Christmas, and Epiphany on January 19th

Benjamin Franklin's Birthday~~~~~~~January 17th
Born in Boston MA in 1706, one of thirteen children of a puritan family, died in Philadelphia on April 17th, 1790. Day to remember the great early American scientist, thinker and statesman. Franklin is remembered for his Poor Richard's Almanac, the discovery of the electrical nature of lightning leading to the invention of the lightning rod, and for his political activities in pre-revolutionary America. Because Franklin recommended thrift, some schools start a Thrift Week on his birthday.

Martin Luther King Day ~~~~~~~~ January 19th, 2009 on a MondayMartin Luther King Jr (1929-1968)The third Monday of January is a federal holiday in the United Statesin honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.,whose birthday falls on January 15th.

Inauguration Day~~~~~~~~~~January 20th (every fourth year)
Begins the term of a newly elected president.

January 19th is a holiday in many Southern states, honoring the birthday of Robert E. Lee,the Confederate Army general.