Wednesday, October 18, 2017

TOP STORY >> Lonoke group to present its five-year plan

The first in a series of forums by Lonoke 2022, an economic development and beautification group, will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Lonoke First United Methodist Church, 220 S. Center St., to discuss the city’s economic and community development plans.

The town-hall meeting “will explain the next steps for the implementation process and give the citizens of Lonoke an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback,” according to the announcement.

The program will conclude with progress updates and a question-and-answer session.

For more information, visit Lonoke2022.wordpress.com.

In May, the Lonoke community, along with Gov. Asa Hutchinson, unveiled a five-year plan to create a “more visible, attractive and connected community. This citizen-led initiative called Kick Start Lonoke successfully concluded Phase 1 of the community’s work focused on generating ideas for a unified vision for Lonoke’s future.”

Phase 2, which begins this month, is being renamed Lonoke 2022, “a nod to the five-year window of time associated with the plan’s timeline and the 150th anniversary of the town’s founding.”

Ryan Biles, a volunteer with the initiative, said, “Citizens from every neighborhood in Lonoke have been excited about getting to work and putting this plan into action. Everyone has been asking what’s next, and we are excited to launch ‘Lonoke 2022’ as our next step forward together,” Biles said.