|
|
| |
| Sat, Nov. 22, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| | Panel approves naming post office after Harvey and Bernice Jones
Friday, Jul 9, 2004 By Alison Vekshin Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- A House panel on Thursday approved a bill that names the main Springdale post office in honor of philanthropists Harvey and Bernice Jones. The bill designates the facility at 2811 Springdale Ave., as the Harvey and Bernice Jones Post Office Building. The House Government Reform Committee reported the measure to the full House with a recommendation that it pass. Usually, post office-naming bills are passed without controversy as a nod to local sponsors, and there has been no indication this one would be different. The Springdale legislation was introduced by Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers. The Joneses donated millions of dollars to colleges, hospitals, and other organizations in Northwest Arkansas and the rest of the state. Bernice Jones died in September 2003, while Harvey Jones passed away in 1989. The Joneses amassed their wealth through Springdale-based Jones Truck Lines, Inc., a company founded in 1933 by Harvey Jones that became the largest privately owned trucking line in the country. Bernice Jones is best known for establishing the Harvey and Bernice Jones Center for Families, a 235,500-square foot recreational facility that opened in Springdale in 1995 at the site of the old Jones Truck Lines terminal on Arkansas 265. The Joneses also left their mark on Springdale with the Har-Ber School of Nursing, the Bernice Young Elementary School and the Jones Family Resource Center. "The honor of naming the Springdale post office after Harvey and Bernice Jones is a fitting memorial for two people who have contributed a great deal to the Springdale community," Boozman said in a statement. Other facilities bearing their name include the Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock and the Bernice Young Jones School of Fine Arts at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia. Bernice Jones garnered numerous accolades for her charitable work over the years. In 1992, she was the first woman to receive the Springdale Chamber of Commerce's Outstanding Civic Service Award. In 1996, former president Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Citizen Medal, which recognizes Americans who perform exemplary service to their fellow citizens. A month after her death in 2003, Boozman introduced a House resolution honoring her life and legacy. -- 30 -- |
