Georgia culls 18,000 chickens for bird flu
A commercial chicken flock in Georgia has tested positive for what is believed to be low pathogenic bird flu, a first for domestic poultry in the state.
The virus was discovered during a pre-sale screening and as a precaution the flock of 18,000 was culled, according to a Monday release from the Georgia Department of Agriculture. The flock was located in Chattooga County, on the state's northwestern border with Alabama.
All flocks within 6 miles of the infected flock are being monitored, according to the release. The virus is believed to be low pathogenic because the birds showed no signs of sickness.
So far this year, poultry flocks testing positive for avian flu have been found in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee. One of the Tennessee cases involved the more contagious H7N9 bird flu, where a flock of more than 73,000 chickens on contract for Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc. was destroyed.
A bird flu outbreak in 2015 resulted in the destruction of about 48 million birds in the U.S. An Arkansas turkey farm in Boone County was directly affected at that time.
-- John Magsam
Truck stop named for veteran driver
Idella Hansen of Camden has been named one of the TA/Petro's Citizen Truck Drivers, and the North Little Rock Petro truck stop on Valentine Road will now be named for her.
She has been driving for over 50 years and now hauls high-value cargo for IBI Secured Transport. Four other drivers won the recognition, awarded annually by the travel center company to exemplary drivers and active community members.
"I just think that she's a superstar," said Desiree Wood, a fellow driver and friend of Hansen's in an earlier interview. "She deserves an enormous amount of recognition as a pioneer and a trailblazer that all women in trucking should look up to."
-- Emma N. Hurt
State index edges up 0.53 to close 335.88
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 0.53 to 335.88 Monday.
"The Dow Jones industrial average extended its losing streak to eight-straight sessions on Monday, the longest since 2011, as investors weighed the prospects of President Donald Trump's economic policies," said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Simmons First Investment Group Inc. in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 19.7 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 03/28/2017