Christmas Scrip totals slightly down, but program remains popular in Phillips County

Phillips County residents kept a total of $239,368 of their local dollars in the 2019 holiday season as a result of participating in the annual Christmas Scrip program hosted by the three Malta banks and the Malta Area Chamber of Commerce.

The total from 2019 was slightly down $26,312 from the total Christmas Scrip spent in 2018, but reports from some Malta Merchants said the holiday season was great even with the scrip total slightly down. For the past four decades, this low-interest loan program has been available at all three local banks; The First State Bank of Malta, Independence Bank,...