Tennessee: The American chestnut was a dominant species in eastern United States forests before a blight wiped out the species in the early 1900s. The chestnut was once used for building, tanning leather, as an important source of food for humans and wildlife, and as fodder for hogs.

Today chestnut trees are returning to eastern forests thanks in part to work by University of Tennessee Forestry alumna Stacy Clark and the UT Tree Improvement Program. Clark is working in cooperation with the American Chestnut Foundation and UT TIP on test plantings of blight-resistant trees in three southern national forests. Young trees planted this winter will contain blight-resistant genetics derived from the Chinese chestnut tree.

Arkansas: How long students may ride a school bus is questioned in an appeal filed in the Arkansas Supreme Court. Several students attending Fourche Valley Elementary and High School, along with their parents, will ask the Arkansas Supreme Court to void decisions by the State Board of Education and a lower court to close the community’s schools until the state defines excessive transportation time.

The decision by the Two Rivers School Board (later upheld by the Arkansas State Board of Education and the Pulaski County Circuit Court) to close the schools will result in school bus rides of at least three hours daily. Parents and students argue these ride times will have a negative impact on student health, safety and education. The issue of whether excessive ride times violate students’ fundamental right to an adequate and equitable education as guaranteed by the state’s constitution is being debated.

Kansas: The University of Kansas recently launched a new pharmacy school in Wichita to turn out more rural pharmacists. Rural drugstores are in decline, and more than 30 Kansas counties are underserved and seven don’t have any pharmacists at all. Rural pharmacists face many challenges including high drug prices, increased competition from mail-order pharmacies, and insurance company policies that favor national chains and discount stores.

Pharmacy school graduates typically graduate $80,000 to $100,000 in debt, which draws graduates to national chains that provide higher pay and a steady paycheck, allowing graduates to pay off debt faster. Trade offs for practicing in rural communities include quality of life and job satisfaction. Rural pharmacists often get to know costumers as individuals and work more closely with local doctors to manage patients’ care.

New Mexico: Each month residents of Ramah, New Mexico, population 407, get a visit from Rural Bookmobile West, a bus-sized bookmobile filled with 3,500 to 4,000 titles, CDs, DVDs and magazines. More than 1,000 people are signed up with Rural Bookmobile West, which visits 36 communities in the northwestern part of the state once a month. The New Mexico State Library’s on-the-road program also funds two other bookmobiles for East and Northeast New Mexico.

Contact: Virginia Wolking,virginiaw@cfra.org or 402.687.2103 x 1017 for more information or to suggest items for Across the Nation.