when did stink bugs come to the united states

Halyomorpha halys, also known as the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), is an insect in the family Pentatomidae that is native to China, Japan, the Koreas, and Taiwan.[2] It was accidentally introduced into the United States, with the first specimen being collected in September 1998.[3] The brown marmorated stink bug is an agricultural pest[4] and by 2010â€“11 had become a season-long pest in U.S. orchards.[5] It has recently established itself also in Europe and South America.[6]

Brown marmorated stink bug

The adults are approximately 1.7 centimetres (0.67Â in) long and about as wide, forming the shield shape characteristic of other stink bugs. They are various shades of brown on both the top and undersides, with gray, off-white, black, copper, and bluish markings. The term marmorated means variegated or veined like marble.[7] Markings unique to this species include alternating light bands on the antennae and alternating dark bands on the thin outer edge of the abdomen. The legs are brown with faint white mottling or banding. The stink glands are located on the underside of the thorax, between the first and second pair of legs, and on the dorsal surface of the abdomen.[8]

The brown marmorated stink bug is a sucking insect (like all Hemiptera or "true bugs") that uses its proboscis to pierce the host plant in order to feed. This feeding results, in part, in the formation of dimpled or necrotic areas on the outer surface of fruits, leaf stippling, seed loss, and possible transmission of plant pathogens. It is an agricultural pest that can cause widespread damage to fruit and vegetable crops. In Japan it is a pest to soybean and fruit crops. In the U.S., the brown marmorated stink bug feeds, beginning in late May or early June, on a wide range of fruits, vegetables, and other host plants including peaches, apples, green beans, soybeans, cherries, raspberries, and pears.

The brown marmorated stink bug is more likely to invade homes in the fall than others in the family.[9] The bug survives the winter as an adult by entering houses and structures when autumn evenings become colder, often in the thousands. In one home more than 26,000 stinkbugs were found overwintering.[10] Adults can live from several months to a year.[11][12] They will enter under siding, into soffits, around window and door frames, chimneys, or any space which has openings big enough to fit through. Once inside the house, they will go into a state of hibernation. They wait for winter to pass, but often the warmth inside the house causes them to become active, and they may fly clumsily around light fixtures. Two important vectors of this pest are the landscape ornamentals Tree of Heaven and Princess Tree.[13]

The odor from the stink bug is due to trans-2-decenal and trans-2-Octenal.[14] The smell has been characterized as a "pungent odor that smells like coriander."[5] The stink bug's ability to emit an odor through holes in its abdomen is a defense mechanism meant to prevent it from being eaten by birds and lizards. However, simply handling the bug, injuring it, or attempting to move it can trigger it to release the odor.

During courtship, the male emits pheromones and vibrational signals to communicate with a female, which replies with her own vibrational signals, as in all stink bugs. The insects use the signals to recognize and locate each other. Vibrational signals of this species are noted for their low frequency, and one male signal type is much longer than any other previously described signals in stink bugs, although the significance of this is not yet clear.[15]

The brown marmorated stink bug was accidentally introduced into the United States from China or Japan. It is believed to have hitched a ride as a stowaway in packing crates or on various types of machinery. The first documented specimen was collected in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in September, 1998.[4][16] Several Muhlenberg College students were reported to have seen these bugs as early as August of that same year.[9][17] Between 2001 and 2010 there were fifty-four reported sightings of BMSB at shipping ports in the United States.[18] However, stink bugs are listed as non-reportable, meaning that they do not need to be reported and there is no action required to remove the insect. This allowed the insect to enter the United States relatively easily as they are able to survive long periods of time in hot or cold conditions.

Other reports have the brown marmorated stink bug recovered as early as 2000 in New Jersey from a black light trap run by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) Vegetable Integrated Pest Management program in Milford, New Jersey.Â [19] In 2002, it was again collected in New Jersey from black light traps located in Phillipsburg and Little York and was found on plant material in Stewartsville. It was quickly documented and established in many counties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut and New York on the eastern coast of the United States. By 2009, this agricultural pest had reached Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, and Oregon.[20] In 2010 this pest was found in additional states including Indiana,[21] Michigan,[22] Minnesota,[23] and other states.[24] As of November 2011 it had spread to 34 U.S. states[5] and by 2012 to 40 and showed an increase of 60% in total numbers over 2011.[25]

As of 2010, seventeen states had been categorized as having established BMSB populations, and several other states along the eastern half of the United States were reported as having more than normal numbers of stink bugs.[26][27] Stink bug populations rise because the climate in the United States is ideal for their reproduction. In optimal conditions an adult stink bug will develop within 35 to 45 days after hatching.[18] Female stink bugs are capable of laying four hundred eggs in their lifetime.[28] BMSB is also capable of producing at least one successful generation per year in all areas of the United States, no matter the climate. In warmer climates, multiple generations can occur annually, which can range from two generations in states such as Virginia to six generations in states such as California, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.[18][29][30]

The addition of two more generations allowed the population to explode, leading to the establishment of several other populations in neighboring states. Currently there does not appear to be any environmental limiting factors that are slowing their distribution across the United States. They also are extremely mobile insects capable of moving from host to host without causing disruption in their reproductive processes. Currently it is estimated that BMSB populations will continue to grow and spread to other states, especially during unusual periods of warm weather.[citation needed]

The brown marmorated stink bug is a serious agricultural pest that has been readily causing damage to crops across the Eastern United States. They feed on a wide array of plants including apples, apricots, Asian pears, cherries, corn, grapes, lima beans, peaches, peppers, tomatoes, and soybeans.[31] This makes them extremely versatile as they do not require a specific plant to feed on. To obtain their food, stink bugs use their stylets to pierce the plant tissue to extract the plant fluids.[32] In doing so, the plant loses necessary fluids, which can lead to deformation of seeds, destruction of seeds, destruction of fruiting structures, delayed plant maturation, and increased vulnerability to harmful pathogens.[32] While harvesting the plant's juices, the stink bug injects saliva into the plant, creating a dimpling of the fruit's surface and rotting of the material underneath.

The most common signs of stink bug damage are pitting and scarring of the fruit, leaf destruction, and a mealy texture to the harvested fruits and vegetables. In most cases the signs of stink bug damage makes the plant unsuitable for sale in the market as the insides are usually rotten. In field crops such as corn and soy beans the damage may not be as evident as the damage seen in fruit plants. When stink bugs feed on corn they go through the husk before eating the kernels, hiding the damage until the husks are removed during harvesting. The same damage is seen in soy beans, as the stink bug goes through the seed pods to acquire the juices of the seeds. One visual cue of stink bug damage to soybean crops is the "stay green" effect, where damaged soybean plants stay green late into season, while other plants in the field die off normally. One can usually tell that a field of crops is infected because stink bugs are known for the "edge effect", in which they tend to infest crops thirty to forty feet from the edge of the field. Farmers or individuals who suspect having stink bugs in their crops should contact their respective State Department of Agriculture for information on how to manage the infestation and possible ways to prevent future incidences.

Control of stink bugs is a priority of the Department of Agriculture which has developed an artificial pheromone which can be used to bait traps.[citation needed] Because the bugs insert their proboscis below the surface of fruit and then feed, some insecticides are ineffective; in addition, the bugs are mobile, and a new population may fly in after the resident population has been killed, making permanent removal nearly impossible. In the case of soybean infestations research shows that spraying only the perimeter of a field may be the most effective method of preventing stinkbugs from damaging the crops. However even this method is limited as new populations move back into the area, or the existing population simply moves to unaffected areas. There is also evidence that stink bugs are developing a resistance to pyrethroid insecticides, a common chemical used to combat infestations.[18] Other insecticides currently in field trials that are showing promising results are oxamyl (96% mortality rate) and moribund (67% mortality rate).[18] Many other commonly used insecticides are merely used to keep the insects out of fields, rather than actually killing them. The most successful method of protecting apples found thus far is the use of Kaolin clay.[18] As of 2012[update], native predators such as wasps and birds were showing increased signs of feeding on the bugs as they adapt to the new food source.[25] Managing this pest species is challenging because there are currently few effective pesticides that are labeled for use against them. Researchers are looking into ways to effectively control this species but many more experiments are needed to develop a consistent pesticide.

Easily confused with Brochymena and Euschistus, the best identification for adults is the white band on the antennae. It is similar in appearance to other native species of shield bug including Acrosternum, Euschistus, and Podisus, except that several of the abdominal segments protrude from beneath the wings and are alternatively banded with black and white (visible along the edge of the bug even when wings are folded) and a white stripe or band on the next to last (4th) antennal segment.[33] The adult rice stink bug (Oebalus pugnax) is distinguishable from the brown marmorated stink bug by noting the straw color, the smaller size, and the elongated shape of the rice stink bug.[34]

In China, Trissolcus japonicus,[35] a parasitoid wasp species in the family Scelionidae, is a primary predator.[36] This species is not currently present in the U.S., but is undergoing study for possible introduction.[5] The major problem with this idea is the possibility that japonicus will also become an invasive species with no native predators. Before introducing the Chinese wasp, scientists are trying to find natural predators of the stink bug already present in the United States. To do so they have studied other species of parasitoid wasps native to the United States. They found that several other species of the parasitoid wasps attacked stink bug eggs in Virginia soybean fields.[37] Researchers have also experimented with different spider species as well as the Wheel bug. Several spider species attacked both the eggs as well as live stink bugs. Pill bugs eat stinkbug eggs.[38] The Wheel bug, however, was the most voracious predator and attacked the eggs as well as stink bugs more consistently.[39] Scientists are hoping that other animals such as birds will eventually begin preying on stink bugs as populations continue to rise.

Eggs on leaf

Newly hatched eggs

Newly hatched eggs

5th instar nymph

Last instar nymph


who started the system of blood bank and plasma bank

The world's first blood donor service was established in 1921 by the secretary of the British Red Cross, Percy Oliver.[4] Volunteers were subjected to a series of physical tests to establish their blood group. The London Blood Transfusion Service was free of charge and expanded rapidly. By 1925, it was providing services for almost 500 patients and it was incorporated into the structure of the British Red Cross in 1926. Similar systems were established in other cities including Sheffield, Manchester and Norwich, and the service's work began to attract international attention. Similar services were established in France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Australia and Japan.[5]

Blood bank

A blood bank is a center where blood gathered as a result of blood donation is stored and preserved for later use in blood transfusion. The term "blood bank" typically refers to a division of a hospital where the storage of blood product occurs and where proper testing is performed (to reduce the risk of transfusion related adverse events). However, it sometimes refers to a collection center, and indeed some hospitals also perform collection.

For blood donation agencies in various countries, see List of blood donation agencies and List of blood donation agencies in the United States.

Whole blood or blood with RBC, is transfused to patients with anaemia/iron deficiency. It also helps to improve the oxygen saturation in blood. It can be stored at 1.0 °C-6.0 °C for 35–45 days. Platelet transfusion, is transfused to those who suffer from low platelet count. This can be stored at room temperature for 5–7 days. Plasma transfusion is indicated to patients with liver failure, severe infections or serious burns. Fresh frozen plasma can be stored at a very low temperature of -25 °C for up to 12 months.

While the first blood transfusions were made directly from donor to receiver before coagulation, it was discovered that by adding anticoagulant and refrigerating the blood it was possible to store it for some days, thus opening the way for the development of blood banks. John Braxton Hicks was the first to experiment with chemical methods to prevent the coagulation of blood at St Mary's Hospital, London in the late 19th century. His attempts, using phosphate of soda, however, were unsuccessful.

The first non-direct transfusion was performed on MarchÂ 27, 1914 by the Belgian doctor Albert Hustin, though this was a diluted solution of blood. The Argentine doctor Luis Agote used a much less diluted solution in November of the same year. Both used sodium citrate as an anticoagulant.[1]

The First World War acted as a catalyst for the rapid development of blood banks and transfusion techniques. Canadian Lieutenant Lawrence Bruce Robertson was instrumental in persuading the Royal Army Medical Corps to adopt the use of blood transfusion at the Casualty Clearing Stations for the wounded. In October 1915, Robertson performed his first wartime transfusion with a syringe to a patient suffering from multiple shrapnel wounds. He followed this up with four subsequent transfusions in the following months and his success was reported to Sir Walter Morley Fletcher, director of the Medical Research Committee.

Robertson published his findings in the British Medical Journal in 1916 and, with the help of a few like minded individuals (including the eminent physician Edward William Archibald who introduced the citrate anticoagulant method), was able to persuade the British authorities of the merits of blood transfusion. Robertson went on to establish the first blood transfusion apparatus at a Casualty Clearing Station on the Western Front in the spring of 1917.[2]

Oswald Hope Robertson, a medical researcher and U.S.Â Army officer was attached to the RAMC in 1917, where he was instrumental in establishing the first blood banks, in preparation for the anticipated Third Battle of Ypres.[3] He used sodium citrate as the anticoagulant and the blood was extracted from punctures in the vein and was stored in bottles at British and American Casualty Clearing Stations along the Front. He also experimented with preserving separated red blood cells in iced bottles.[2] Geoffrey Keynes, a British surgeon, developed a portable machine that could store blood to enable transfusions to be carried out more easily.

Vladimir Shamov and Sergei Yudin in the USSR pioneered the transfusion of cadaveric blood from recently deceased donors. Yudin performed such a transfusion successfully for the first time on March 23, 1930 and reported his first seven clinical transfusions with cadaveric blood at the Fourth Congress of Ukrainian Surgeons at Kharkiv in September. Also in 1930, Yudin organized the world's first blood bank at the Nikolay Sklifosovsky Institute, which set an example for the establishment of further blood banks in different regions of the Soviet Union and in other countries. By the mid-1930s the Soviet Union had set up a system of at least 65 large blood centers and more than 500 subsidiary ones, all storing "canned" blood and shipping it to all corners of the country.

One of the earliest blood banks was established by Frederic Durán-Jordà during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Duran joined the Transfusion Service at the Barcelona Hospital at the start of the conflict, but the hospital was soon overwhelmed by the demand for blood and the paucity of available donors. With support from the Department of Health of the Spanish Republican Army, Duran established a blood bank for the use of wounded soldiers and civilians. The 300–400 ml of extracted blood was mixed with 10% citrate solution in a modified Duran Erlenmeyer flask. The blood was stored in a sterile glass enclosed under pressure at 2 °C. During 30 months of work, the Transfusion Service of Barcelona registered almost 30,000 donors, and processed 9,000 liters of blood. [6]

In 1937 Bernard Fantus, director of therapeutics at the Cook County Hospital in Chicago, established the first hospital blood bank in the United States.[7] In creating a hospital laboratory that preserved, refrigerated and stored donor blood, Fantus originated the term "blood bank". Within a few years, hospital and community blood banks were established across the United States.[8]

Frederic Durán-Jordà fled to Britain in 1938, and worked with Dr Janet Vaughan at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School at Hammersmith Hospital to create a system of national blood banks in London.[9] With the outbreak of war looking imminent in 1938, the War Office created the Army Blood Supply Depot (ABSD) in Bristol headed by Lionel Whitby and in control of four large blood depots around the country. British policy through the war was to supply military personnel with blood from centralized depots, in contrast to the approach taken by the Americans and Germans where troops at the front were bled to provide required blood. The British method proved to be more successful at adequately meeting all requirements and over 700,000 donors were bled over the course of the war. This system evolved into the National Blood Transfusion Service established in 1946, the first national service to be implemented. [10]

A blood collection program was initiated in the US in 1940 and Edwin Cohn pioneered the process of blood fractionation. He worked out the techniques for isolating the serum albumin fraction of blood plasma, which is essential for maintaining the osmotic pressure in the blood vessels, preventing their collapse.

The use of blood plasma as a substitute for whole blood and for transfusion purposes was proposed as early as 1918, in the correspondence columns of the British Medical Journal, by Gordon R. Ward. At the onset of World War II, liquid plasma was used in Britain. A large project, known as 'Blood for Britain' began in August 1940 to collect blood in New York City hospitals for the export of plasma to Britain. A dried plasma package was developed, which reduced breakage and made the transportation, packaging, and storage much simpler.[11]

The resulting dried plasma package came in two tin cans containing 400Â cc bottles. One bottle contained enough distilled water to reconstitute the dried plasma contained within the other bottle. In about three minutes, the plasma would be ready to use and could stay fresh for around four hours.[12] Charles R. Drew was appointed medical supervisor, and he was able to transform the test tube methods into the first successful mass production technique.

Another important breakthrough came in 1939â€“40 when Karl Landsteiner, Alex Wiener, Philip Levine, and R.E. Stetson discovered the Rhesus blood group system, which was found to be the cause of the majority of transfusion reactions up to that time. Three years later, the introduction by J.F. Loutit and Patrick L. Mollison of acid-citrate-dextrose (ACD) solution, which reduced the volume of anticoagulant, permitted transfusions of greater volumes of blood and allowed longer term storage.

Carl Walter and W.P. Murphy, Jr. introduced the plastic bag for blood collection in 1950. Replacing breakable glass bottles with durable plastic bags allowed for the evolution of a collection system capable of safe and easy preparation of multiple blood components from a single unit of whole blood.

Further extending the shelf life of stored blood was an anticoagulant preservative, CPDA-1, introduced in 1979, which increased the blood supply and facilitated resource-sharing among blood banks.

In the U.S., certain standards are set for the collection and processing of each blood product. "Whole blood" (WB) is the proper name for one defined product, specifically unseparated venous blood with an approved preservative added. Most blood for transfusion is collected as whole blood. Autologous donations are sometimes transfused without further modification, however whole blood is typically separated (via centrifugation) into its components, with red blood cells (RBC) in solution being the most commonly used product. Units of WB and RBC are both kept refrigerated at 33.8 to 42.8 °F (1.0 to 6.0 °C), with maximum permitted storage periods (shelf lives) of 35 and 42 days respectively. RBC units can also be frozen when buffered with glycerol, but this is an expensive and time-consuming process, and is rarely done. Frozen red cells are given an expiration date of up to ten years and are stored at −85 °F (−65 °C).

The less-dense blood plasma is made into a variety of frozen components, and is labeled differently based on when it was frozen and what the intended use of the product is. If the plasma is frozen promptly and is intended for transfusion, it is typically labeled as fresh frozen plasma. If it is intended to be made into other products, it is typically labeled as recovered plasma or plasma for fractionation. Cryoprecipitate can be made from other plasma components. These components must be stored at 0 °F (−18 °C) or colder, but are typically stored at −22 °F (−30 °C). The layer between the red cells and the plasma is referred to as the buffy coat and is sometimes removed to make platelets for transfusion. Platelets are typically pooled before transfusion and have a shelf life of 5 to 7 days, or 3 days once the facility that collected them has completed their tests. Platelets are stored at room temperature (72 °F or 22 °C) and must be rocked/agitated. Since they are stored at room temperature in nutritive solutions, they are at relatively high risk for growing bacteria.

Some blood banks also collect products by apheresis. The most common component collected is plasma via plasmapheresis, but red blood cells and platelets can be collected by similar methods. These products generally have the same shelf life and storage conditions as their conventionally-produced counterparts.

Donors are sometimes paid; in the U.S. and Europe, most blood for transfusion is collected from volunteers while plasma for other purposes may be from paid donors.

Most collection facilities as well as hospital blood banks also perform testing to determine the blood type of patients and to identify compatible blood products, along with a battery of tests (e.g. disease) and treatments (e.g. leukocyte filtration) to ensure or enhance quality. The increasingly recognized problem of inadequate efficacy of transfusion[13] is also raising the profile of RBC viability and quality. Notably, U.S. hospitals spend more on dealing with the consequences of transfusion-related complications than on the combined costs of buying, testing/treating, and transfusing their blood.[14]

Routine blood storage is 42 days or 6 weeks for stored packed red blood cells (also called "StRBC" or "pRBC"), by far the most commonly transfused blood product, and involves refrigeration but usually not freezing. There has been increasing controversy about whether a given product unit's age is a factor in transfusion efficacy, specifically on whether "older" blood directly or indirectly increases risks of complications.[15][16] Studies have not been consistent on answering this question,[17] with some showing that older blood is indeed less effective but with others showing no such difference; nevertheless, as storage time remains the only available way to estimate quality status or loss, a first-in-first-out inventory management approach is standard presently.[18] It is also important to consider that there is large variability in storage results for different donors, which combined with limited available quality testing, poses challenges to clinicians and regulators seeking reliable indicators of quality for blood products and storage systems.[19]

Transfusions of platelets are comparatively far less numerous, but they present unique storage/management issues. Platelets may only be stored for 7 days,[20] due largely to their greater potential for contamination, which is in turn due largely to a higher storage temperature.

Insufficient transfusion efficacy can result from red blood cell (RBC) blood product units damaged by so-called storage lesionâ€”a set of biochemical and biomechanical changes which occur during storage. With red cells, this can decrease viability and ability for tissue oxygenation.[21] Although some of the biochemical changes are reversible after the blood is transfused,[22] the biomechanical changes are less so,[23] and rejuvenation products are not yet able to adequately reverse this phenomenon.[24]

Current regulatory measures are in place to minimize RBC storage lesionâ€”including a maximum shelf life (currently 42 days), a maximum auto-hemolysis threshold (currently 1% in the US), and a minimum level of post-transfusion RBC survival in vivo (currently 75% after 24 hours).[25] However, all of these criteria are applied in a universal manner that does not account for differences among units of product;[19] for example, testing for the post-transfusion RBC survival in vivo is done on a sample of healthy volunteers, and then compliance is presumed for all RBC units based on universal (GMP) processing standards. RBC survival does not guarantee efficacy, but it is a necessary prerequisite for cell function, and hence serves as a regulatory proxy. Opinions vary as to the best way to determine transfusion efficacy in a patient in vivo.[26] In general, there are not yet any in vitro tests to assess quality deterioration or preservation for specific units of RBC blood product prior to their transfusion, though there is exploration of potentially relevant tests based on RBC membrane properties such as erythrocyte deformability[27] and erythrocyte fragility (mechanical).[28]

Many physicians have adopted a so-called "restrictive protocol"—whereby transfusion is held to a minimum—due in part to the noted uncertainties surrounding storage lesion, in addition to the very high direct and indirect costs of transfusions,[14] along with the increasing view that many transfusions are inappropriate or use too many RBC units.[29][30]

Platelet storage lesion is a very different phenomenon from RBC storage lesion, due largely to the different functions of the products and purposes of the respective transfusions, along with different processing issues and inventory management considerations.[31]

Although as noted the primary inventory-management approach is first in, first out (FIFO) to minimize product expiration, there are some deviations from this policyâ€”both in current practice as well as under research. For example, exchange transfusion of RBC in neonates calls for use of blood product that is five days old or less, to "ensure" optimal cell function.[32] Also, some hospital blood banks will attempt to accommodate physicians' requests to provide low-aged RBC product for certain kinds of patients (e.g. cardiac surgery).[33]

More recently, novel approaches are being explored to complement or replace FIFO. One is to balance the desire to reduce average product age (at transfusion) with the need to maintain sufficient availability of non-outdated product, leading to a strategic blend of FIFO with last in, first out (LIFO).[34]

"Long-term" storage for all blood products is relatively uncommon, compared to routine/short-term storage. Cryopreservation of red blood cells is done to store rare units for up to ten years.[35] The cells are incubated in a glycerol solution which acts as a cryoprotectant ("antifreeze") within the cells. The units are then placed in special sterile containers in a freezer at very low temperatures. The exact temperature depends on the glycerol concentration.


which city is selected under hriday scheme in karnataka

With a duration of 4 years (completing in November 2018) and a total outlay of ₹500 crore (US$78 million), the Scheme is set to be implemented in 12 identified Cities namely, Ajmer, Amaravati, Amritsar, Badami, Dwarka, Gaya, Kanchipuram, Mathura, Puri, Varanasi, Velankanni and Warangal.[1]

National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) was launched on 21 January 2015 with the aim of bringing together urban planning, economic growth and heritage conservation in an inclusive manner to preserve the heritage character of each Heritage City.

The Scheme shall support development of core heritage infrastructure projects including revitalization of linked urban infrastructure for heritage assets such as monuments, Ghats, temples etc. along with reviving certain intangible assets. These initiatives shall include development of sanitation facilities, roads, public transportation & parking, citizen services, information kiosks etc.

The objectives of the scheme are:[2]

India is endowed with different cultures, religions, traditions, art & handicrafts, architectural styles, music and literature. Not that there haven't been any efforts to conserve historic and cultural resources in Indian cities, but most of them have been carried out in isolation from the immediate aspirations of the local communities. Often, main urban development issues, such as local economy, urban planning, livelihoods, service delivery and infrastructure provision have been neglected. Basic amenities like toilets, signages, street lights are missing at heritage areas. Multiple institutions and unclear regulatory framework for financing and managing urban heritage assets, combined with the weak capacity of Urban Local Bodies have created major challenges for managing these heritage cities. It is essential to note here that the development of a heritage city is not just about development and conservation of a few monuments, but development of the entire city, its planning, its basic services, quality of life of its communities, its economy and livelihoods, cleanliness, security, reinvigoration of its soul and an explicit manifestation of its character. HRIDAY will inculcate a planned approach to tap the unlimited potential underlying in tourism and heritage sector of these cities, further giving a boost to the traditional and national economy. This will also enable the smooth dovetailing of modern concept of economic development through locally available knowledge, resources and skills.[3]

HRIDAY is a central sector scheme, where 100% funding will be provided by Government of India. INR 500 Crores have been allocated to the scheme, under the following heads:[4]

The scheme would be implemented in a mission mode. Each city has been granted a specific amount of fund, based on its population and size. The funding is as follows:[5]


who owns grant's farm in st louis

In November 2015, the St. Louis Zoo agreed to purchase Grant's Farm from six heirs of the beer baron, August A. "Gussie" Busch Jr. for about $30 million. The deal requires a city judge to back four of the Busch heirs to release the land from a trust. Area residents would also have to approve $8.5 million in added taxes to support yearly park operational costs. The deal would triple the land holdings of the zoo and allow the zoo to build a breeding facility for its endangered animals. The Busch family would remain owners of the family mansion for the time being. A-B InBev leases the land from the Busch family and has operated Grant's Farm since it bought Anheuser-Busch. A-B InBev agreed to donate about $27 million to the zoo to buy the Farm. One Busch heir, Billy Busch, made a competing offer and wants to keep the Farm in the family. Billy Busch owns William K. Busch Brewing Co. and wants to expand his brewery on the land.[3] In March 2016, the St. Louis Zoo Association withdrew its offer to buy Grant's Farm, citing the family's disagreement as one of the reasons.[4] In April 2016, the family dispute continued as Billy Busch outbid his siblings offer by $1. His bid would be $26,000,001 along with $8 million to purchase the family mansion.[5]

Grant's Farm

Grant's Farm is a historic farm and long-standing landmark in Grantwood Village, Missouri, built by Ulysses S. Grant on land given to him and his wife by his father in law Frederick Fayette Dent shortly after they became married in 1848.

The property was at one time owned by Ulysses S. Grant and prior to that, by the Dent family. It is now owned by the Busch family, who owned the  Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company for many years until it was sold to InBev in 2008. Grant's Farm has been an animal reserve for many years and is open to the public for free; however, there is a parking fee of $13 per vehicle. This fee helps to maintain the farm. The farm is home to such animals as buffalo, elephants, camels, kangaroos, donkeys, goats, peacocks, the iconic Budweiser Clydesdales and many more. Most of these animals can be seen by visitors on a tram tour of the deer park region of the park, while the Clydesdales are found in their nearby barn and pastures. The farm also contains a cabin called "Hardscrabble," which was built by Ulysses S. Grant in 1856 on another part of the property and later relocated to Grant's Farm. It is the only remaining structure that was hand-built by a U.S. president prior to assuming office.[1]

Also on the farm is the Busch family mansion, and a house in which Ulysses S. Grant resided between the Mexican and Civil Warsâ€”White Haven. This had been his wife, Julia Grant's, family home. Colonel Frederick Dent, Julia's father, gave 80 acres of the farm to the couple as a wedding present on what today is Rock Hill Road. Grant built his cabin on this land.[2] Colonel Dent was a farmer in St. Louis County. He owned 925 acres along Gravois Creek, 10 miles southwest of the city, and owned slaves to farm the land. Five miles from the Dent farm was Jefferson Barracks, where Ulysses S. Grant was assigned in 1843, after attending West Point and rooming with Julia Dent's brother.[2] Grant's cabin was featured at the 1904 World's Fair. White Haven, next door to Grant's Farm, the Busch family estate, is now a national historic site: the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site.[2]


where did 4th impact come in the x factor

4th Impact (formerly known as The Cercado Sisters, The Cercados, The Gollayan Sisters, MICA, and 4th Power) is a Filipino girl group composed of sisters Almira, Irene, Mylene, and Celina Cercado.[1][2] The group rose to popularity after competing in the 12th series of X Factor UK, where they finished in fifth place.[1][3] They are also known for having participated in several Philippine and international talent competitions, including the World Championships of Performing Arts, where they won in 2006 and 2013, and the South Korean talent search Superstar K6 in 2014, where they reached eighth place.[1] The sisters were originally from Santiago City, Isabela, but are now based in Metro Manila, Philippines.[4]

4th Impact

Almira, the eldest of the sisters in the group, first began competing at a young age in Filipino talent shows such as Batang Kampeon which was won by Charice Pempengco and Star for a Night which was won by Sarah Geronimo.[5][6] Early in her career, she received a voice lesson scholarship for being a grand finalist in a local TV singing contest which paved the way for her to teach her sisters what she learned while also pursuing her own singing career.[6][7] Solo success for Almira, however, remained elusive, so she continued to compete in singing contests at town fiestas and festivals, while her other sisters competed in dance contests.[6]

The sisters formed their singing group in 2001, at the suggestion of an aunt.[8][2] Initially, they named themselves 'The Cercado Sisters', after their surname. The sisters then began performing and competing as a girl group at festivals, events, and talent shows.[9] In 2006, they were approached by one of the producers of the talent show FamJam who asked them if they would like to represent the Philippines in the World Championships of Performing Arts. They won 16 gold medals and 4 outstanding plaques at the said competition and were proclaimed Junior Vocal Group Grand Champion.[10] The following year, the group was invited to perform in the 2007 Monaco Charity Film Festival.[11] In 2008, the group released a six-track self-titled EP under Viva Records.[12] The recording, however, did not reach commercial success. In 2009, they also began using the name 'The Gollayan Sisters', which was derived from their middle name. They continued to compete in various singing contests and, in 2012, participated as members of a family troupe that won in the Filipino variety show It's Showtime, singing covers of "I Believe I Can Fly" and "Queen of the Night".[13] Early in 2013, the group landed a regular gig in the musical variety show Sarah G Live where they performed as backup singers and dancers.[14] This gig, however, was short-lived as the show was cancelled a few weeks later. Later that same year, the group competed and won again in the World Championships of Performing Arts, this time as the Grand Winner in the Senior Vocal Group Category, bringing home a haul of 20 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 4 over-all champion plaques.[15][16] In April 2014, the group released their album, The Cercados: Unstoppable!, under Saturno Music, which also failed to reach commercial success.[17]

In August 2014, the group traveled to South Korea to audition in the talent competition Superstar K6. There they changed their name again, this time, to 'MICA', an acronym formed from the first letters of their names. In the first stage of the auditions, the group sang "U&I" by Ailee, who, incidentally, was one of the judges in the panel. Their performance received glowing reviews from the judges who were amazed at their vocals, harmonies and choreography, particularly when they mentioned that they did it by themselves without any professional help. Ailee, in particular, thanked the group and said of their performance, "It really, really moved me, so... By far, the most amazing rendition I have ever heard."[24] The judges were particularly impressed with the voices of Almira and Irene, and asked Almira to perform a solo piece, to which she sang "Listen" by Beyoncé.[25] Her performance further impressed the judges and the group moved on to the next round. During the next round of auditions, the sisters performed their own rendition of Idina Menzel's song "Let It Go" from the Disney movie Frozen. Their performance went viral on social media and YouTube,[26] quickly garnering over 20 million views.[27] After further competing in the various knock-out stages of the show, MICA was eliminated in the second round of "Super Week". The judges, however, decided to bring them back as a wildcard act, and the group, along with 10 other acts, progressed to the live show stage of the competition. At that point, they were the only non-native Korean speaking contestants remaining on the show. Subsequently, the group was eliminated in Week 3 of the competition, finishing in eighth place.[28]

Despondent from their experience in Superstar K6, the sisters were about to abandon their singing career when a fan from the United Kingdom suggested that they try auditioning for The X Factor.[2] Feeling that they had nothing to lose, the group decided to submit an online application for the reality TV competition. After waiting for a few months, they finally received an invitation to audition for the show.[21] In July 2015, the sisters traveled to London to do so, where, after going through several screening tryouts, they eventually made it to the arena auditions for the 12th series of The X Factor.[29] Introducing themselves as 4th Power this time around, they performed "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj as their audition piece.[30] Their performance received a standing ovation from the audience and all four judges present, with Simon Cowell saying, "In terms of first auditions, this is probably one of the best I've ever seen."[31] After its airing, the group's audition went viral on YouTube and Facebook. As of November 24, 2017, their YouTube audition video has garnered over 97 million views and is the second most-watched video in the show's history.[32][33] Sailing through the "Boot Camp" rounds of the show where they performed "Proud Mary" by Tina Turner and "Titanium" by David Guetta ft Sia, the group then performed "Show Me How You Burlesque" by Christina Aguilera for the "Six-Chair Challenge" round.[30][34] There, the mentor for group acts, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, selected them as one of her final six acts. At this point of the competition, however, copyright issues were raised regarding their use of the name 4th Power, forcing the group to yet again change their name, and re-brand themselves as 4th Impact.[35] They then progressed to the "Judge's Houses" round, where they sang "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)" by Rihanna ft Eminem, after which they were selected to move on and perform at the live shows.[30][36]

For the first four weeks of the X Factor live shows, 4th Impact sailed through the competition, earning nothing but positive comments from the four judges for their performances.[30] In the fifth week of the live shows, however, the group found themselves in the bottom two for the first time in the competition. Being one of the two acts who received the fewest number of public votes, they had to perform against fellow contestant Lauren Murray for a place in the competition. For the "sing-off", the group performed "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" by Jennifer Hudson.[37] The judges' decision on the face-off, however, were split, so the public vote was consulted and 4th Impact was eliminated, finishing in fifth place, having received the fewest votes that week.[3]

After their elimination from the X Factor, 4th Impact immediately received numerous offers to perform throughout the United Kingdom and in other countries as well.[38] Soon after, they began appearing in local shows, venues, and events in London and nearby cities and areas.[39][40][41][42][43] In early 2016, the group traveled on their first official tour, The X Factor Live Tour, co-headlining with Louisa Johnson, Reggie 'n' Bollie, Che Chesterman, Lauren Murray, Anton Stephans, Mason Noise and Seann Miley Moore.[44] Polls conducted by the show's producers prior to the tour showed 4th Impact as the most anticipated act in the tour's lineup.[45] Subsequently, a poll conducted after the tour named 4th Impact as the best act of the show.[46][47]

After the X Factor Live Tour, 4th Impact continued to perform in the UK and internationally as well, particularly in Dubai, UAE, Dublin, Ireland, Oslo, Norway, and Gibraltar.[48][49][50][51] In April 2016, 4th Impact returned to the Philippines to perform in the 1st Paradise International Music Festival, alongside Kanye West, Wiz Kalifa, and other international and Filipino artists.[52] Later that same year, the group announced their homecoming concert to the Philippines entitled Invas10n, which also commemorated their tenth year as group. In December 2016, 4th Impact launched their Invas10n Tour with their first major concert in the Philippines.[53] They also traveled back to Dubai that same month for a repeat performance of their concert held in the city earlier that year.[54]

Shortly before the end of 2016, the girls announced that they will be releasing their first single as 4th Impact.[55] Soon after, the group, with Star Music Philippines' backing, released their original debut single entitled "Unleash The Diva".[56] The song peaked at number 3 in iTunes PH and number 1 at Spotify's Viral 50 PH. An official lyric video of the song was released in YouTube on January 31, 2017, followed by a music video on June 2, 2017.[57][58]

In March 2017, 4th Impact traveled to Doha, Qatar to perform in a one-night-only concert.[59] Shortly after, they announced the first international leg of their Invas10n Tour, to be held in New Zealand and Australia in August 2017.[60]

In August 2017, 4th Impact officially announced that their first album is in the works, and is being recorded under Star Music.[61] Later that same month, the group went on their international Invas10n tour in Auckland, New Zealand, and in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.[61][62]

In November 2017, 4th Impact announced that they have signed with US-based Granda Entertainment and We R 1 Music Group and are in the process of recording an EP of their original music.[63]


what is the population of fort smith arkansas

Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County.[4] As of the 2010 Census, the population was 86,209.[5] With an estimated population of 87,443[6] In 2012, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents that encompasses the Arkansas counties of Crawford, Franklin, and Sebastian, and the Oklahoma counties of Le Flore and Sequoyah.

Fort Smith, Arkansas

Fort Smith has a sister city relationship with Cisterna, Italy, site of the World War II Battle of Cisterna, fought by United States Army Rangers commanded by Fort Smith native William O. Darby. The city also has a mutual friendship-city relationship with Jining, China. [7][8][9]

Fort Smith lies on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state border, situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau rivers, also known as Belle Point. Fort Smith was established as a western frontier military post in 1817, when it was also a center of fur trading. The city developed there. It became well known as a base for migrants settling of the "Wild West" and its law enforcement heritage.

In 2007, the city of Fort Smith was selected by the United States Department of the Interior as the site of the new United States Marshals Service National Museum.

This area was occupied for thousands of years by indigenous peoples, attracted to the advantageous site near the rivers. They used the waterways for transportation and trading, and to supply fish and water for their villages. The French claimed this area as part of their New France and La Louisiane. Some colonial fur traders traveled the Arkansas and other rivers to trade with the native American tribes.

The United States acquired this territory and large areas west of the Mississippi River from France in the Louisiana Purchase (1803). Soon after, the government sent the Pike Expedition (1806) to explore the areas along the Arkansas River. The US founded Fort Smith in 1817 as a military post. It was named after General Thomas Adams Smith (1781–1844), who commanded the United States Army Rifle Regiment in 1817, headquartered near St. Louis. General Smith had ordered Army topographical engineer Stephen H. Long (1784–1864) to find a suitable site on the Arkansas River for a fort. General Smith never visited this town or the forts that bore his name.

A stockade was built and occupied from 1817 until 1822 by a small troop of regulars commanded by Major William Bradford. A small settlement began forming around the fort, but the Army abandoned the first Fort Smith in 1824 and moved 80 miles further west to Fort Gibson. John Rogers, an Army sutler and land speculator, bought up former government-owned lands at this site and promoted growth of the new civilian town of Fort Smith. (Some genealogists claim him as an ancestor to 20th-century Oklahoma comedian Will Rogers.)[citation needed]

Due to the strategic location of this site, the federal government re-established a military presence at Fort Smith during the 1830s era of Indian Removal, primarily of tribes from the American Southeast to west of the Mississippi River in Indian Territory, which is now Oklahoma.

In 1838 the Army moved back into the old military post near Belle Point, and expanded the base. They used troops to escort Choctaw and Cherokee, from their ancestral homelands in the Southeast; they were the last of the tribes to leave. Remnants of the Five Civilized Tribes remained in the southeast, and their descendants in some cases have reorganized and been federally recognized. The Cherokee called the forced march the Trail of Tears, as many of their people and African-American slaves died along the way. The army enforced the removal of these peoples to the reserved Indian Territory, where the federal government granted them land. Many displaced Native Americans fell out of the march and settled in Fort Smith and adjoining Van Buren, Arkansas on the other side of the river.

The US Army also used Fort Smith as a base during the Mexican War (1846-1848). As a result, the US acquired large territories in the Southwest, and later annexed the Republic of Texas, which had been independent for some years.

Sebastian County was formed in 1851, separated from Crawford County north of the Arkansas River. In 1858, Fort Smith was designated as a Division Center of the Butterfield Overland Mail's 7th Division route across Indian Territory from Fort Smith to Texas and as a junction with the mail route from Memphis, Tennessee, an important port on the east side of the Mississippi River.

During the early years of the U.S. Civil War, the fort was occupied by the Confederate Army. Union troops under General Steele took control of Fort Smith on September 1, 1863. A small fight occurred there on July 31, 1864, but the Union army maintained command in the area until the war ended in 1865. As a result, many refugee slaves, orphans, Southern Unionists, and others came here to escape the guerrilla warfare raging in Arkansas, Missouri, and the Border States. The slaves were freed under the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln. Federal troops abandoned the post of Fort Smith for the last time in 1871. The town continued to thrive despite the absence of federal troops.

Two of Fort Smith's most notable historic figures were Judge Isaac Parker and William Henry Harrison Clayton, sometimes referred to as W.H.H. Clayton. In 1874, William Henry Harrison Clayton was appointed United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas by President Ulysses S. Grant. Fort Smith was a bustling community full of brothels, saloons and outlaws, just across the river from Indian Territory. William Clayton realized a strong judge would be necessary to bring law and order to the region. He knew that Isaac Parker was a strong judge. But Judge Parker had been appointed Chief Justice of Utah Territory and confirmed by the US Senate. With the help of President Grant and US Senator Powell Clayton, former governor of Arkansas, William Clayton was able to gain the appointment of Judge Parker in the Fort Smith district.

Judge Isaac Parker served as U.S. District Judge 1875â€“1896. He was nicknamed the "Hanging Judge": in his first term after assuming his post, he tried 18 people for murder, convicted 15 of them, and sentenced eight of those to die. Six of these men were later hanged on the same day. Over the course of his career in Fort Smith, Parker sentenced 160 people to death. Of those, 79 were executed on the gallows. His courthouse is now marked as a National Historic Site, where "more men were put to death by the U.S. Government... than in any other place in American history."[10]

William Clayton served as US Attorney under four different presidents and later was appointed as Chief Justice of Indian Territory. He was instrumental in achieving statehood for Oklahoma in 1907, after Native American claims were extinguished by distribution of communal lands under the Dawes Act and the break up of tribal governments. Together with Territorial Governor Frank Frantz, Clayton took a copy of the Oklahoma Constitution to President Theodore Roosevelt after the state was admitted to the Union in 1907. Governor Frantz and Judge Clayton both lost their territorial positions when Oklahoma became a state; a new governor was elected and the Roosevelt administration appointed a new judge.

During investment in the military prior to World War II, the Army returned to Fort Smith in 1941. It established the Fort Chaffee Military Reservation east of the city.

On April 21, 1996, a large tornado, part of the April 1996 Tornado Outbreak Sequence, destroyed and heavily damaged much of historic downtown Fort Smith around the Garrison Avenue Bridge.[11] The storm tracked from eastern Pittsburg County, Oklahoma into Fort Smith and Van Buren, Arkansas.[12] The tornado left four people dead in western Arkansas. Days later, the damaged Eads Brothers Furniture building in downtown Fort Smith was destroyed by one of the largest fires in the city's history.

Fort Smith is located at 35°22′7″N 94°23′55″W / 35.36861°N 94.39861°W / 35.36861; -94.39861 (35.368691, −94.398737).[13]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 64.6 square miles (167 km2), of which, 61.7 square miles (160 km2) of it is land and 3.9 square miles (10 km2) of it (6.3%) is water.

Fort Smith has generally mild winters and hot, humid summers. The monthly mean temperature ranges from 39.4 °F (4.1 °C) in January to 82.3 °F (27.9 °C) in July; on average, the high stays at or below freezing on 5 days, reaches 90 °F (32 °C) on 74.7 days, and 100 °F (38 °C) on 10.7 days annually. The average first and last occurrences for freezing temperatures are November 5 and March 29, respectively. Extreme temperatures range from −15 °F (−26 °C) on February 12, 1899 to 115 °F (46 °C) on August 3, 2011. Fort Smith is situated near an area known as Tornado Alley in the central United States. The city has been struck by three major tornadoes, which occurred in the years of 1898, 1927 and 1996.

As of the census[19] of 2010, there were 86,209 people, 34,352 households, and 21,367 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,391.2 people per square mile (537.2/km²). There were 37,899 housing units at an average density of 612.3 per square mile (236.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.3% White, 9.0% Black or African American, 1.8% Native American, 5.3% Asian (2.2% Vietnamese, 1.7% Laotian, 0.3% Asian Indian, 0.2% Filipino, 0.1% Korean, 0.1% Chinese, 0.1% Hmong, 0.1% Pakistani), 0.1% Pacific Islander, 10.3% from other races, and 4.2% from two or more races. 16.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race (11.6% Mexican, 2.2% Salvadoran, 0.4% Guatemalan, 0.3% Puerto Rican, 0.2% Honduran, 0.1% Cuban, 0.1% Peruvian, 0.1% Colombian).

In language, Fort Smith has more than ten Asian languages spoken by more than two percent of the population. Also, the increase in immigration from Latin American countries in the late 20th century increased the number of residents who speak Spanish. 7.10% reported speaking Spanish at home, while 3.38% speak Vietnamese and Lao, and 2.50% speak Tagalog.[20]

In 2000 there were 32,398 households, of which 30.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city, the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,157, and the median income for a family was $41,012. Males had a median income of $29,799 versus $22,276 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,994. About 12.1% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Fort Smith has long been a regional manufacturing center, with major plants located in the city operated by Rheem, Trane, Georgia-Pacific, Gerber, Planters Peanuts, Mars Petcare, Umarex USA, Graphic Packaging, Pernod Ricard-USA, and many others.

Fort Smith is home to several corporations including Baldor Electric Company, a member of the ABB Group, ArcBest Corporation, and poultry company OK Foods.

According to the City's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[21] the top employers in the city are:

Various movies have been shot in Fort Smith, including A Soldier's Story (1984) and Biloxi Blues (1988).[22]

Fort Smith has an active music scene. There are frequent live performances in the downtown area by local and national Jazz, Blues, Country, and Rock bands. Local bands regularly frequent the riverfront area highlighting the river valley's finest.

As the largest city in western Arkansas, Fort Smith offers many activities and attractions. Fort Smith's theatres and event venues regularly host major concerts and touring theatre companies.

Fort Smith is the main shopping destination of Western Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma. Central Mall is the state's largest indoor shopping center in terms of area. Retailers in the city include Dillard's, J. C. Penney, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, The Home Depot, Lowe's, and Kohl's. Several smaller and niche retailers also can be found throughout the city as well.

Some notable shopping locations in the city of Fort Smith are:

In addition to sports teams sponsored by the schools and UA Fort Smith, Fort Smith has several independent recreational sports programs administered by local organizations.

The city has one major university that is part of the University of Arkansas System. The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith was founded in 1928 as an extension of the Fort Smith Public School system, with the superintendent, James William Ramsey, acting as the college president and the high school principal as dean. Known originally as Fort Smith Junior College, the institution operated within the Fort Smith public school system until 1950, when the school was incorporated as a private, nonprofit institution with its own governing board. In September 1952, the College moved from borrowed facilities in the high school to its current site, initially occupying 15 acres (6.07 ha).

During the private college era, enrollment increased, as did course offerings, the number of faculty, and facilities. A vocational-technical division was added in 1960. During this period, the college began developing the programs and character of a comprehensive community college â€” a new concept in Arkansas and across the nation.

In the fall of 1965, the Sebastian County electorate approved the creation of the Sebastian County Community Junior College District, along with a tax levy on the real and personal property of the county. The governor appointed a Board of Trustees, and the school again became a public institution.

In 1966, the institution's name was changed from Fort Smith Junior College to Westark Junior College and in 1972, it was renamed Westark Community College, indicating the larger area to be served and reflecting the more comprehensive mission.

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, the college developed and made changes within the context of its mission as a 2-year institution. A significant development in 1989 was the establishment of a University Center. Five state universities partnered with the institution to offer six bachelor's and seven master's degree programs on campus. Between 1989 and 2002, 1,788 students graduated with bachelor's degrees through the University Center.

In 1997, the Arkansas Legislature passed an act granting Westark the authority to offer in its own right up to nine applied bachelor's degrees, developed in response to identified needs of the industries in the area served.

The name of the college was changed yet again in February 1998 to Westark College, more accurately portraying the role and scope of the institution.

On December 15, 2000, the Board of Trustees of Westark College entered into an agreement with the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas to merge with the University of Arkansas System as a four-year institution. In 2001, the Sebastian County electorate voted to support the merger. A formal request to change affiliation status to that of a bachelor's degree-granting institution under the name of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith was submitted to the Higher Learning Commission in August 2001 and approved by the Institutional Actions Council on November 19, 2001.

The merger, which became official on January 1, 2002, endorsed the concept of UA Fort Smith as a unique university, one that offers applied and traditional baccalaureate degree programs, one- and two-year associate and technical programs, and noncredit business and industry training programs. While the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith is the city's only state supported institution of higher learning, Webster University and John Brown University each have a satellite campus located in the city.

The Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, a private, non-profit institution, welcomed its inaugural class in August 2017. Graduates of ARCOM will receive the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree.

The public schools in Fort Smith and Barling are operated by the Fort Smith School District. Currently, the district includes 26 schools. As of the 2009â€“2010 school year, the district has enrollment of more than 14,010. It has 2 high schools, 4 junior high schools, 19 elementary schools, and 1 alternative learning center. Fort Smith public schools provide education from kindergarten through the 12th grade, as do some private Protestant schools. Catholic parochial schools offer education through the ninth grade.

Junior high schools in Fort Smith include Chaffin Junior High School, Ramsey Junior High School, Kimmons Junior High School and Darby Junior High School. Private schools covering the same grade range include Trinity Catholic Junior High School and Union Christian Academy.

High schools in Fort Smith include the public Northside High School and Southside High School, along with the private Union Christian Academy.

Fort Smith previously had a Catholic grade school for black children, St. John the Baptist School; it closed in 1968.[24]

The Southwest Times Record is the largest newspaper in the city, as well as the region. It is owned by Stephens Media LLC. The Hispanos Unidos is the only Spanish-language publication in the region.[citation needed] Other publications in the Fort Smith area include Entertainment Fort Smith and Do South Magazine.

AM radio Stations in the Fort Smith area include:

FM Radio Stations in the Fort Smith area include:

Television stations in the Fort Smith area include:

Fort Smith is a major transportation hub for the surrounding region. It sits at the crossroads of two major interstate highways, is surrounded on three sides by the Arkansas River, is served by 1 major and 2 regional/switching railroad companies, and is the home of a regional airport.

The city sits just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 40 and future Interstate 49 when it extends southward to meet Interstate 30 in Texarkana, Texas. US 71 and US 64 also run through the community.

Fort Smith is served by the Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM), which is used for military aviation for Fort Chaffee and home of the 188th Fighter Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard, but is also served by two commercial airlines with flights to Dallas/Fort Worth and Atlanta.

Jefferson Lines bus service also links Fort Smith to other communities such as Little Rock, Kansas City, and Oklahoma City, as well as intermediate points, with numerous connections to other cities and towns.

The city is located on the Arkansas River, part of the McClellan-Kerr Navigation System and is served by the Port of Fort Smith.

Fort Smith is served by the Kansas City Southern Railway from a branch connection on the mainline at Poteau, Oklahoma, and affords connections to other railroads at Kansas City, Missouri, and at New Orleans, Louisiana. In addition, the regional railroad company, the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad directly serves Fort Smith and provides connections through the St. Louis, Missouri, and Memphis gateways to the east. The Fort Smith Railroad provides local switching service to a variety of businesses as well as providing haulage for the Union Pacific Railway with which it connects at Van Buren, Arkansas. At this time, there is no direct passenger service from Amtrak. The closest point for such service is Little Rock.

Within the city, public bus service is provided by the Fort Smith Transit (FST). As of January 2015, FST operates 6 fixed routes, as well as paratransit service for disabled persons and Demand Buses.

A trolley-replica bus operates in the downtown area, providing transportation between the Belle Grove Historic District and the Fort Smith National Historic Site. The Fort Smith Trolley Museum operates genuine trolleys, but as a historic attraction, rather than as transportation.

Fort Smith uses two water treatment plants (WTPs) for its drinking water; one near Lake Fort Smith in Mountainburg and one on Lee Creek.

Hospitals in the Fort Smith area include:

Notable figures who were born in, lived in, or are otherwise associated with Fort Smith.


what does the term mean in life insurance

Term life insurance or term assurance is life insurance that provides coverage at a fixed rate of payments for a limited period of time, the relevant term.  After that period expires, coverage at the previous rate of premiums is no longer guaranteed and the client must either forgo coverage or potentially obtain further coverage with different payments or conditions. If the life insured dies during the term, the death benefit will be paid to the beneficiary. Term insurance is typically the least expensive way to purchase a substantial death benefit on a coverage amount per premium dollar basis over a specific period of time.

Term life insurance

Term life insurance can be contrasted to permanent life insurance such as whole life, universal life, and variable universal life, which guarantee coverage at fixed premiums for the lifetime of the covered individual unless the policy is allowed to lapse. Term insurance is not generally used for estate planning needs or charitable giving strategies but is used for pure income replacement needs for an individual.
Term insurance functions in a manner similar to most other types of insurance in that it satisfies claims against what is insured if the premiums are up to date and the contract has not expired and does not provide for a return of premium dollars if no claims are filed. As an example, auto insurance will satisfy claims against the insured in the event of an accident and a homeowner policy will satisfy claims against the home if it is damaged or destroyed, for example, by fire. Whether or not these events will occur is uncertain. If the policyholder discontinues coverage because he or she has sold the insured car or home, the insurance company will not refund the full premium.

Because term life insurance is a pure death benefit, its primary use is to provide coverage of financial responsibilities for the insured or his or her beneficiaries. Such responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, consumer debt, dependent care, university education for dependents, funeral costs, and mortgages. Term life insurance may be chosen in favor of permanent life insurance because term insurance is usually much less expensive[1] (depending on the length of the term), even if the applicant is an everyday smoker. For example, an individual might choose to obtain a policy whose term expires near his or her retirement age based on the premise that, by the time the individual retires, he or she would have amassed sufficient funds in retirement savings to provide financial security for the claims.

The simplest form of term life insurance is for a term of one year. The death benefit would be paid by the insurance company if the insured died during the one-year term, while no benefit is paid if the insured dies one day after the last day of the one-year term. The premium paid is then based on the expected probability of the insured dying in that one year.

Because the likelihood of dying in the next year is low for anyone that the insurer would accept for the coverage, purchase of only one year of coverage is rare.

One of the main challenges to renewal experienced with some of these policies is requiring proof of insurability.  For instance the insured could acquire a terminal illness within the term, but not actually die until after the term expires. Because of the terminal illness, the purchaser would likely be uninsurable after the expiration of the initial term, and would be unable to renew the policy or purchase a new one.

Some policies offer a feature called guaranteed reinsurability that allows the insured to renew without proof of insurability.

A version of term insurance which is commonly purchased is annual renewable term (ART).  In this form, the premium is paid for one year of coverage, but the policy is guaranteed to be able to be continued each year for a given period of years.  This period varies from 10 to 30 years, or occasionally until age 95.  As the insured ages, the premiums increase with each renewal period, eventually becoming financially inviable as the rates for a policy would eventually exceed the cost of a permanent policy. In this form the premium is slightly higher than for a single year's coverage, but the chances of the benefit being paid are much higher.

Basic Pricing Assumptions For Annual Renewable Term Life Insurance

Actuarially, there are three basic pricing assumptions that go into every type of life insurance:

These pricing assumptions are universal among the various types of individual life insurance policies. It's important to understand these components when considering term life insurance because there is no cash accumulation component inherent to this type of policy. Buyers of this type of insurance typically seek the maximum death benefit component with the lowest possible premium. See the 2017 Insurance Barometer Study-LIMRA and LifeHappens.org

In the competitive term life insurance market the premium range, for similar policies of the same duration, is quite small.
All of the above referenced variations of term life policies are derived from these basic components.

More common than annual renewable term insurance is guaranteed level premium term life insurance, where the premium is guaranteed to be the same for a given period of years. The most common terms are 10, 15, 20, and 30 years.

In this form, the premium paid each year remains the same for the duration of the contract. This cost is based on the summed cost of each year's annual renewable term rates, with a time value of money adjustment made by the insurer. Thus, the longer the period of time during which the premium remains level, the higher the premium amount. This relationship exists because the older, more expensive to insure years are averaged, by the insurance company, into the premium amount computed at the time the policy is issued.

Most level term programs include a renewal option, and allow the insured person to renew the policy for a maximum guaranteed rate if the insured period needs to be extended. The renewal may or may not be guaranteed, and the insured person should review the contract to determine whether evidence of insurability is required to renew the policy. Typically, this clause is invoked only if the health of the insured deteriorates significantly during the term, and poor health would prevent the individual from being able to provide proof of insurability.

Most term life policies include an option to convert the term life policy to a Universal Life or Whole Life policy. This option can be useful to a person who acquired the term life policy with a preferred rating class and later is diagnosed with a condition that would make it difficult to qualify for a new term policy. The new policy is issued at the rate class of the original term policy. This right to convert may not extend to the end of the Term Life policy. The right may extend a fixed number of years or to a specified age, such as convertible to age seventy.

A form of term life insurance coverage that provides a return of some of the premiums paid during the policy term if the insured person outlives the duration of the term life insurance policy.

For example, if an individual owns a 10-year return of premium term life insurance plan and the 10-year term has expired, the premiums paid by the owner will be returned, less any fees and expenses which the life insurance company retains. Usually, a return premium policy returns a majority of the paid premiums if the insured person outlives the policy term.

The premiums for a return premium term life plan are usually much higher than for a regular level term life insurance policy, since the insurer needs to make money by using the premiums as an interest free loan, rather than as a non-returnable premium.

Both term insurance and permanent insurance use the same mortality tables for calculating the cost of insurance, and provide a death benefit which is income tax free. However, the premium costs for term insurance are substantially lower than those for permanent insurance.

The reason the costs are substantially lower is that term programs may expire without paying out, while permanent programs must always pay out eventually. To address this, some permanent programs have built in cash accumulation vehicles to force the insured to "self-insure", making the programs many times more expensive.

Other permanent life insurance policies do not have built in cash values. In these cases, the policy owner may have the option of paying additional premium in the early years of the policy to create a tax deferred cash value. If the insured person dies and the policy has a cash value, the cash value is often paid out tax free, in addition to the policy face amount.[citation needed]

A scaled back underwriting process that is simplified. Coverage amounts are lower than traditional fully underwritten policies. Simplified issue policies typically do not require a medical exam and have less application questions to answer. Many of these policies can be approved within several days.[3]

A life insurance policy that is guaranteed approval. Coverage amounts will be lower than traditional policies. Premiums will be considerably higher. Since there are no medical questions and everyone is approved, these policies will have a waiting period before benefits are paid out. If the insured dies during the initial waiting period, only premiums plus interest will be returned. Once the waiting period has been satisfied, the full death benefit will be paid out to the beneficiary.[4]