The Jumpstart staff received the chance to talk with Senator Johnathan Dismang and Representative Mark Biviano about an important topic that they are tackling for PBS NewsHour.


“Last Friday we got to meet our Senator and our Representative. It was cool because we got to ask them about the closings a couple of years ago and how that affected Searcy. We really learned a lot,” said junior Seth Cleveland.


“We got to interview the Senator, Johnathan Dismang, and the Representative, Mark Biviano, about a topic that is becoming a problem in America,” said senior Megan Bonner.


Our Senator thought it was a neat experience for high school students to be a part of.

“I think its incredible. I graduated high school in Beebe in 1997 and we did not have these types of opportunities. We did not have camera equipment. I think that is the biggest change, is that you guys are getting these opportunities. I think it will make a big difference. What we want to see in politics and business and everything else is this generation to really step up and you guys are involved enough, I think, to do that. I think its exciting, ” said Senator Johnathan Dismang.

As a student reporting lab for PBS NewsHour, it was our responsibility to build upon the theme “Made in America.”

“It fits the theme “Made in America”  in that Searcy is a community that is as American as it gets, and so these closings and everything really shaped our community,” said Cleveland.

Producing a story for PBS means the students get the chance of their story airing on national television.


“It is a big step for high school students to get to take on a project this big and interview head people like the Senator and the Representative,” said Bonner.


There is a great chance that this project will go a long way.


“When it is completed, the story is really going to show a side of Searcy that we haven’t seen before,” said Cleveland.


The students plan to have this story completed in the next couple of months.