On Thursday, the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana (UAHT) and the University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) announced a new partnership to enhance access to affordable higher education in Arkansas. The collaboration enables UAHT students to pursue bachelor’s degrees from UAM at some of the most affordable tuition rates in the state.
Through the partnership, UAHT students on both the Hope and Texarkana campuses can pursue bachelor’s degrees from UAM in business and education. The Bachelor of Arts in K-6 Elementary Education degree program is scheduled to begin in May 2026, with the Bachelor of Business Administration degree program following in August 2026. Both offerings are pending approval from the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Higher Learning Commission.
On January 8, 2026, following a jury trial, Portier Guytan was found guilty of charges related to a financial scam that targeted an elderly victim in Crossett, Arkansas.
Guytan’s case began on May 15, 2025, when Ashley County Sheriff Tommy Sturgeon learned that the 76-year-old victim had been defrauded by individuals claiming the victim had won a Jamaican lottery worth $11 million. The caller instructed the victim to send $50,000 to claim his winnings. Before authorities intervened, the victim had already sent approximately $30,000, and was preparing to deliver the remaining funds to Guytan during an arranged exchange at Brookshire’s in Crossett.
On May 16, 2025, deputies set up to surveil the exchange. After Guytan accepted a bag containing $27,000 in cash from the victim in exchange for a briefcase purportedly holding the prize money, deputies intercepted Guytan. The briefcase was later found to contain only printer paper. Guytan stated he was originally from Trinidad, but was residing in Massachusetts, when he was paid $3,000 to transport the funds and deliver them to Jamaica, that he placed the copy paper into the briefcase, and that he had been involved in a prior exchange before. Guytan testified he could not name the person whom he was allegedly working for.
The jury recommended Guytan serve 10 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction and ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine. Circuit Judge Robert Gibson III followed the jury’s recommendation. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Sandra Bradshaw expressed gratitude to the jury for sending a strong and unmistakable message: criminals in Ashley County will be held accountable for their actions.
