Sen. Bobby L. Glover of Carlisle has been hospitalized after a stroke on Monday. He represents Dist. 28, which includes Arkansas, Lonoke, Prairie and Pulaski counties.
He is being treated at Baptist Hospital in Little Rock, according to the Senate in-formation office. Glover will soon begin his rehabilitation there.
The senator is said to be in good spirits. He has re-ceived expressions of sympathy and support from numerous well wishers.
“So many people have taken the time to offer words of love and encouragement. I am extremely grateful for their kindness. It means the world to me,” the Carlisle Democrat said.
Friday, August 29, 2008
TOP STORY > >Air base sends planes to help with hurricane
By JONATHAN FELDMAN
Leader staff writer
Two C-130s on Friday left Little Rock Air Force Base to pick up medical teams in the region as preparation for Hurricane Gustav. The planes are from the 463rd Airlift Group’s 61st and 50th Airlift Squadrons.
All squadrons at LRAFB are on standby if needed, as are other military bases in the area, including Camp Robinson.
The medical teams will be taken to Texas, where they will rapidly deploy if the storm proves destructive. The teams, known as aeromedical evacuation teams (AETs), will provide emergency treatment to evacuees while aboard an aircraft. AETs generally consist of two flight nurses and three medical technicians, but can change depending on a patient’s needs.
Flight crews for AETs come from all branches of the military, not just the Air Force.
AETs are used for both military and humanitarian purposes around the world.
Approximately 50 guardsmen from Camp Robinson will deploy to Camp Beauregard in Pineville, La., on Saturday to provide emergency assistance. Their mission initially is to provide airspace management, weather briefings and forecasts for 30 days.
Nine guardsmen from Camp Robinson deployed yesterday to Louisiana to prepare for today’s arrivals.
According to the National Hurricane Center’s Web site on Friday, it is too early to predict where the storm will make landfall.
The storm had not yet formed a consistent eye on Friday, but the NHC believes Gustav has the potential of turning into a powerful storm. The NHC says that the warm waters of the Carribean Sea will strengthen the storm as it approaches the Gulf of Mexico putting it on track to become a major hurricane.
Mandatory evacuation of New Orleans has been ordered by Sunday. Gustav is likely to reach the western Gulf in a few days, but the NHC cannot yet determine where it will make landfall. The LRAFB and Camp Robinson are taking these warnings very seriously to ensure that mistakes made before and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are not repeated.
Leader staff writer
Two C-130s on Friday left Little Rock Air Force Base to pick up medical teams in the region as preparation for Hurricane Gustav. The planes are from the 463rd Airlift Group’s 61st and 50th Airlift Squadrons.
All squadrons at LRAFB are on standby if needed, as are other military bases in the area, including Camp Robinson.
The medical teams will be taken to Texas, where they will rapidly deploy if the storm proves destructive. The teams, known as aeromedical evacuation teams (AETs), will provide emergency treatment to evacuees while aboard an aircraft. AETs generally consist of two flight nurses and three medical technicians, but can change depending on a patient’s needs.
Flight crews for AETs come from all branches of the military, not just the Air Force.
AETs are used for both military and humanitarian purposes around the world.
Approximately 50 guardsmen from Camp Robinson will deploy to Camp Beauregard in Pineville, La., on Saturday to provide emergency assistance. Their mission initially is to provide airspace management, weather briefings and forecasts for 30 days.
Nine guardsmen from Camp Robinson deployed yesterday to Louisiana to prepare for today’s arrivals.
According to the National Hurricane Center’s Web site on Friday, it is too early to predict where the storm will make landfall.
The storm had not yet formed a consistent eye on Friday, but the NHC believes Gustav has the potential of turning into a powerful storm. The NHC says that the warm waters of the Carribean Sea will strengthen the storm as it approaches the Gulf of Mexico putting it on track to become a major hurricane.
Mandatory evacuation of New Orleans has been ordered by Sunday. Gustav is likely to reach the western Gulf in a few days, but the NHC cannot yet determine where it will make landfall. The LRAFB and Camp Robinson are taking these warnings very seriously to ensure that mistakes made before and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are not repeated.
TOP STORY > >Air base sends planes to help with hurricane
By JONATHAN FELDMAN
Leader staff writer
Two C-130s on Friday left Little Rock Air Force Base to pick up medical teams in the region as preparation for Hurricane Gustav. The planes are from the 463rd Airlift Group’s 61st and 50th Airlift Squadrons.
All squadrons at LRAFB are on standby if needed, as are other military bases in the area, including Camp Robinson.
The medical teams will be taken to Texas, where they will rapidly deploy if the storm proves destructive. The teams, known as aeromedical evacuation teams (AETs), will provide emergency treatment to evacuees while aboard an aircraft. AETs generally consist of two flight nurses and three medical technicians, but can change depending on a patient’s needs.
Flight crews for AETs come from all branches of the military, not just the Air Force.
AETs are used for both military and humanitarian purposes around the world.
Approximately 50 guardsmen from Camp Robinson will deploy to Camp Beauregard in Pineville, La., on Saturday to provide emergency assistance. Their mission initially is to provide airspace management, weather briefings and forecasts for 30 days.
Nine guardsmen from Camp Robinson deployed yesterday to Louisiana to prepare for today’s arrivals.
According to the National Hurricane Center’s Web site on Friday, it is too early to predict where the storm will make landfall.
The storm had not yet formed a consistent eye on Friday, but the NHC believes Gustav has the potential of turning into a powerful storm. The NHC says that the warm waters of the Carribean Sea will strengthen the storm as it approaches the Gulf of Mexico putting it on track to become a major hurricane.
Mandatory evacuation of New Orleans has been ordered by Sunday. Gustav is likely to reach the western Gulf in a few days, but the NHC cannot yet determine where it will make landfall. The LRAFB and Camp Robinson are taking these warnings very seriously to ensure that mistakes made before and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are not repeated.
Leader staff writer
Two C-130s on Friday left Little Rock Air Force Base to pick up medical teams in the region as preparation for Hurricane Gustav. The planes are from the 463rd Airlift Group’s 61st and 50th Airlift Squadrons.
All squadrons at LRAFB are on standby if needed, as are other military bases in the area, including Camp Robinson.
The medical teams will be taken to Texas, where they will rapidly deploy if the storm proves destructive. The teams, known as aeromedical evacuation teams (AETs), will provide emergency treatment to evacuees while aboard an aircraft. AETs generally consist of two flight nurses and three medical technicians, but can change depending on a patient’s needs.
Flight crews for AETs come from all branches of the military, not just the Air Force.
AETs are used for both military and humanitarian purposes around the world.
Approximately 50 guardsmen from Camp Robinson will deploy to Camp Beauregard in Pineville, La., on Saturday to provide emergency assistance. Their mission initially is to provide airspace management, weather briefings and forecasts for 30 days.
Nine guardsmen from Camp Robinson deployed yesterday to Louisiana to prepare for today’s arrivals.
According to the National Hurricane Center’s Web site on Friday, it is too early to predict where the storm will make landfall.
The storm had not yet formed a consistent eye on Friday, but the NHC believes Gustav has the potential of turning into a powerful storm. The NHC says that the warm waters of the Carribean Sea will strengthen the storm as it approaches the Gulf of Mexico putting it on track to become a major hurricane.
Mandatory evacuation of New Orleans has been ordered by Sunday. Gustav is likely to reach the western Gulf in a few days, but the NHC cannot yet determine where it will make landfall. The LRAFB and Camp Robinson are taking these warnings very seriously to ensure that mistakes made before and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are not repeated.
TOP STORY > >Reed’s Bridge reenactors arrive
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
The road runs south out of Jacksonville
‘til it crosses this sluggish stream;
the fog hangs low on Bayou Meto,
and the past floats by like a dream.
Ghosts keep a watch on this crossing,
where Reed’s Bridge used to stand,
and an army in blue was topped by a few
of the finest men in the land.
So goes a poem by Jim Barton of Huttig, and those “finest men” will defend Reed’s Bridge again at 2 p.m. this afternoon and once more at 2 p.m. Sunday as reenactors from across the region converge onto the battlefield site off Hwy. 161, at the southern edge of Jacksonville.
Judy Downs, of Pine Bluff, a member of the Northeast Arkansas Living Historians, and her husband Jimmy, a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the 7th Arkansas reenactors’ group, will be among those participating.
Judy Downs will also be putting on a Civil War-era dance at 7 p.m. Saturday at the community center. “Many of us will be in period costumes,” Downs said, adding that the dance is open to everyone. Dancers, young and old, will move to music from that period, such as “Wait For the Wagon,” “Dixie” and “Soldier’s Joy.”
Downs said no one should be shy about getting out and trying the circle dances. “We review the steps and practice before we dance to the music,” she said.
Downs and her family have been involved in reenactments since 1987 and participated in the 140th anniversary of Gettysburg 10 years ago. “That had to be the biggest event for our family,” she said.
Civil War fans like Downs usual attend an event once a month. “There’s always something going on,” she said.
The poem goes on:
The steep banks of Bayou Meto
provided a natural wall–
along this ridge and near this bridge
the rebels would fight or fall.
The Battle of Reed’s Bridge in 1863 was an effort to slow down the Union march and eventual control of Little Rock.
Confederate Major Gen. Sterling Price sent two of his top calvary units under the command of Brig. Gen. John Marmaduke and Brig. Gen. Lucius M. Walker out to Reed’s Bridge just south of Jacksonville to slow the Union forces.
On Aug. 26, 1863, the Confederate Calvary and Union forces collided along the Bayou Meto and Reed’s Bridge.
Try as they might, the Yankees’ best fight
couldn’t knuckle the southerners under.
The military road ran both ways –
to the Capital and to Tennessee –
the Yankees had tried, and many had died,
now they turned tail up that road to flee.
The job of the Confederate troops was to simply hold out for as long as possible. During the battle, the Confederate troops set fire to the original Reed’s Bridge. As Union troops ran to put out the flames, the Confederate troops opened fire, killing seven, wounding 38 and delaying the Union advance.
But the battle was not all glory for the Confederacy. As they pulled back, closer to Little Rock, General Marmaduke supposedly accused General Walker of cowardice during the Battle at Reed’s Bridge. The accusations were quickly settled with a duel between the generals.
Both generals fired once, missing.
Marmaduke then fired his 1851 Navy Colt once more, hitting Walker with a shot that sliced through his right kidney and lodged in his spine. Walker died the next day, requesting on his deathbed that his friends “neither prosecute, nor persecute” Marmaduke. He was buried Sept. 8, 1863 in Little Rock’s Mount Holly Cemetery, the victim of the last duel fought in Arkansas.
A marker now stands off the shoulder
that tells of the battle that day.
The bayou still runs beneath setting sun
as folks cross the bridge on their way
south toward the Capital of Little Rock,
which still stands proud and true.
So snap a salute to old Southern roots
as grey skies turn slowly blue.
The 412-acre Civil War park is one of the best preserved in the state and is maintained by the Reed’s Bridge Historical Society.
Leader staff writer
The road runs south out of Jacksonville
‘til it crosses this sluggish stream;
the fog hangs low on Bayou Meto,
and the past floats by like a dream.
Ghosts keep a watch on this crossing,
where Reed’s Bridge used to stand,
and an army in blue was topped by a few
of the finest men in the land.
So goes a poem by Jim Barton of Huttig, and those “finest men” will defend Reed’s Bridge again at 2 p.m. this afternoon and once more at 2 p.m. Sunday as reenactors from across the region converge onto the battlefield site off Hwy. 161, at the southern edge of Jacksonville.
Judy Downs, of Pine Bluff, a member of the Northeast Arkansas Living Historians, and her husband Jimmy, a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the 7th Arkansas reenactors’ group, will be among those participating.
Judy Downs will also be putting on a Civil War-era dance at 7 p.m. Saturday at the community center. “Many of us will be in period costumes,” Downs said, adding that the dance is open to everyone. Dancers, young and old, will move to music from that period, such as “Wait For the Wagon,” “Dixie” and “Soldier’s Joy.”
Downs said no one should be shy about getting out and trying the circle dances. “We review the steps and practice before we dance to the music,” she said.
Downs and her family have been involved in reenactments since 1987 and participated in the 140th anniversary of Gettysburg 10 years ago. “That had to be the biggest event for our family,” she said.
Civil War fans like Downs usual attend an event once a month. “There’s always something going on,” she said.
The poem goes on:
The steep banks of Bayou Meto
provided a natural wall–
along this ridge and near this bridge
the rebels would fight or fall.
The Battle of Reed’s Bridge in 1863 was an effort to slow down the Union march and eventual control of Little Rock.
Confederate Major Gen. Sterling Price sent two of his top calvary units under the command of Brig. Gen. John Marmaduke and Brig. Gen. Lucius M. Walker out to Reed’s Bridge just south of Jacksonville to slow the Union forces.
On Aug. 26, 1863, the Confederate Calvary and Union forces collided along the Bayou Meto and Reed’s Bridge.
Try as they might, the Yankees’ best fight
couldn’t knuckle the southerners under.
The military road ran both ways –
to the Capital and to Tennessee –
the Yankees had tried, and many had died,
now they turned tail up that road to flee.
The job of the Confederate troops was to simply hold out for as long as possible. During the battle, the Confederate troops set fire to the original Reed’s Bridge. As Union troops ran to put out the flames, the Confederate troops opened fire, killing seven, wounding 38 and delaying the Union advance.
But the battle was not all glory for the Confederacy. As they pulled back, closer to Little Rock, General Marmaduke supposedly accused General Walker of cowardice during the Battle at Reed’s Bridge. The accusations were quickly settled with a duel between the generals.
Both generals fired once, missing.
Marmaduke then fired his 1851 Navy Colt once more, hitting Walker with a shot that sliced through his right kidney and lodged in his spine. Walker died the next day, requesting on his deathbed that his friends “neither prosecute, nor persecute” Marmaduke. He was buried Sept. 8, 1863 in Little Rock’s Mount Holly Cemetery, the victim of the last duel fought in Arkansas.
A marker now stands off the shoulder
that tells of the battle that day.
The bayou still runs beneath setting sun
as folks cross the bridge on their way
south toward the Capital of Little Rock,
which still stands proud and true.
So snap a salute to old Southern roots
as grey skies turn slowly blue.
The 412-acre Civil War park is one of the best preserved in the state and is maintained by the Reed’s Bridge Historical Society.
TOP STORY > >Golf course price tag is locked in at $5.3 million
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
The purchase of the 106-acre North Hills golf course, with all the fees, has been locked in at $5.35 million and Sherwood will lease it from the city’s public facilities board for $29,000 a month, according to a lease agreement the council approved at its meeting Monday night.
The money still has not been paid to the golf course owners, Club Properties, but it should be within the next week.
At the council meeting, all the aldermen and the mayor signed the necessary paperwork to put two lawsuits related to the golf course purchase behind them.
Alderman Sheila Sulcer told the council that the city’s advertising and promotion commission voted earlier this month to spend up to $100,000 for renovating the golf course clubhouse so it can be rented out as a meeting area.
Sonny Jannsen, the parks and recre ation director, told the council that he has had crews out bush-hogging the fairways. “It was almost a hay field out there,” he said. Jannsen added the owners have been very helpful in letting city crews on the property before ownership has actually been handed over to the city.
Both Jannsen and Mayor Virginia Hillman reminded the council and the chamber full of residents that there is a city cleanup of the North Hills golf course set for 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6.
“It will run until about noon and we’ll cap things off with a lunch,” the mayor said. Jannsen said anybody was welcome to join in and if residents have rakes, shovels or wheelbarrows to bring those tools with them.
Volunteers will be cleaning out flower beds, spreading mulch, taking down nets at the tennis courts and hauling out trash from inside the clubhouse.
Lunch for the volunteer cleanup workers will include hot dogs and drinks, provided by the North Hills Neighborhood Association.
Other than refurbishing the clubhouse and keeping the grounds trimmed, the city has not made any decisions on what to do with the property. Some suggestions will come from a master parks study that is about 20-percent completed. “We’ll get a report once the study is 25 percent complete which should be towards the beginning of the year,” Jannsen said.
In other council business:
Aldermen agreed with the city’s planning commission and approved three rezoning requests. The council approved rezoning about seven acres of land off Hwy. 107 near Hatcher Road from R-1 (single-family homes) to C-4 (commercial), about three acres of land off Hwy. 107 and Hatcher Road from R-1 to R-3 (multi-family), and three lots in the Hatcher Oaks Additions from R-1 to R-2 (duplexes).
The council turned down an appeal by Ken Meckfessel to having the planning commission reconsider their denial of his request to rezone about 2.5 acres on Jacksonville Cut-Off near a daycare center.
Leader staff writer
The purchase of the 106-acre North Hills golf course, with all the fees, has been locked in at $5.35 million and Sherwood will lease it from the city’s public facilities board for $29,000 a month, according to a lease agreement the council approved at its meeting Monday night.
The money still has not been paid to the golf course owners, Club Properties, but it should be within the next week.
At the council meeting, all the aldermen and the mayor signed the necessary paperwork to put two lawsuits related to the golf course purchase behind them.
Alderman Sheila Sulcer told the council that the city’s advertising and promotion commission voted earlier this month to spend up to $100,000 for renovating the golf course clubhouse so it can be rented out as a meeting area.
Sonny Jannsen, the parks and recre ation director, told the council that he has had crews out bush-hogging the fairways. “It was almost a hay field out there,” he said. Jannsen added the owners have been very helpful in letting city crews on the property before ownership has actually been handed over to the city.
Both Jannsen and Mayor Virginia Hillman reminded the council and the chamber full of residents that there is a city cleanup of the North Hills golf course set for 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6.
“It will run until about noon and we’ll cap things off with a lunch,” the mayor said. Jannsen said anybody was welcome to join in and if residents have rakes, shovels or wheelbarrows to bring those tools with them.
Volunteers will be cleaning out flower beds, spreading mulch, taking down nets at the tennis courts and hauling out trash from inside the clubhouse.
Lunch for the volunteer cleanup workers will include hot dogs and drinks, provided by the North Hills Neighborhood Association.
Other than refurbishing the clubhouse and keeping the grounds trimmed, the city has not made any decisions on what to do with the property. Some suggestions will come from a master parks study that is about 20-percent completed. “We’ll get a report once the study is 25 percent complete which should be towards the beginning of the year,” Jannsen said.
In other council business:
Aldermen agreed with the city’s planning commission and approved three rezoning requests. The council approved rezoning about seven acres of land off Hwy. 107 near Hatcher Road from R-1 (single-family homes) to C-4 (commercial), about three acres of land off Hwy. 107 and Hatcher Road from R-1 to R-3 (multi-family), and three lots in the Hatcher Oaks Additions from R-1 to R-2 (duplexes).
The council turned down an appeal by Ken Meckfessel to having the planning commission reconsider their denial of his request to rezone about 2.5 acres on Jacksonville Cut-Off near a daycare center.
TOP STORY > >A separate district is favored in new study
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
Separating a proposed Jacksonville-area district from the Pulaski County Special School District is feasible and presents no insurmountable financial impediments to either, according to the former deputy commissioner of the state Education Department.
The Jacksonville Education Foundation hired Donald M. Stewart, who also was the former chief financial officer at PCSSD, North Little Rock and Little Rock districts, to consider all the financial ramifications of the proposed split, and he says it’s doable.
The PCSSD School Board is expected to consider a resolution at its September meeting that supports allowing Jacksonville and most of north Pulaski County to split off and form its own district, contingent upon PCSSD and North Little Rock being declared unitary and escaping court desegregation oversight.
GUT FEELINGS
“A lot of the comments that we hear are focused on opinion, gut feelings,” said Rep. Will Bond, D-Jacksonville, whose work in the legislature has lit a small fire under the
districts to get them declared unitary, which is a prerequisite to any stand-alone Jacksonville district. “The reason we put together test score data (and financial data) is to say, ‘Look at the facts, the data support this,” he explained.
“Let’s get away from a commitment to status quo. Let us have the area and run our own district. There’s not one thing that doesn’t support this breakaway,” Bond said.
“I agree,” Stewart said.
He said that far from being harmed, the split would simultaneously make PCSSD a wealthier district and allow it to shuck responsibility for repairing or replacing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of inadequate school buildings in the Jacksonville area.
NEW SCHOOLS ON HOLD
Currently, the PCSSD Board has promised Jacksonville a new middle school and a new elementary school to be built at Little Rock Air Force Base, contingent upon voter approval of a bond issue to pay for them.
Since west Little Rock and Maumelle have each recently gotten a new school—without need for a new bond issue—enthusiasm for a millage increase throughout the district may be low.
But Jacksonville residents have a long history of supporting taxes to support important projects when they trust the people in charge, according to Daniel Gray, a Jacksonville realtor.
If Jacksonville does get a district, “there would be a shift in local revenue,” Stewart said. “The (new) district would maintain about 35 percent of the children but only about 15 percent of the assessed property.”
But the Jacksonville-area district would have revenues and resources competitive with those in neighboring Cabot, and as far as competition goes, proponents of a Jacksonville district have long seen Cabot, not PCSSD, as its competition.
DEBT RATIO
“We will have a lower debt ratio,” said Bond. “We would be able to thrive. It’s definitely sustainable, and people in the district could control their own destiny.”
Bond, Gray and several other Jacksonville leaders not only have pushed for Stewart’s financial report, and before that the Gordon Report found that the districts were essentially desegregated and that a Jacksonville district was feasible, but also put together a presentation that shows PCSSD benchmark tests are better than those of students in North Little Rock or Little Rock, but they trailed behind the test results in neighboring Cabot.
The perception and perhaps the reality is that Cabot schools siphon students and residents away from Jacksonville.
Even as Jacksonville secondary schools have steadily lost enrollment for a decade or longer, a Cabot enrollment graph is nearly a mirror image, with steady gains at about the same rate.
DISTRICT BOUNDARIES
The proposed new district would be bounded by Sherwood and by Faulkner County on the west, Faulkner County on the north, Lonoke County on the east and the southern boundary is Jacksonville’s southern city limit and Wooten Road to Lonoke County.
The district would consist of the following schools:
Arnold Drive Elementary, Bayou Meto Elementary, Homer Adkins Pre-K, Jacksonville Elementary, Murrell Taylor Elementary and Pinewood Elementary.
Also, Tolleson Elementary, Warren Dupree Elementary, Jacksonville Boys Middle School, Jacksonville Girls Middle School, North Pulaski High School and Jacksonville High School.
Using those boundaries, the feasibility study explores projected revenues, tax rates, facilities needs and teacher salaries, among other data.
Leader senior staff writer
Separating a proposed Jacksonville-area district from the Pulaski County Special School District is feasible and presents no insurmountable financial impediments to either, according to the former deputy commissioner of the state Education Department.
The Jacksonville Education Foundation hired Donald M. Stewart, who also was the former chief financial officer at PCSSD, North Little Rock and Little Rock districts, to consider all the financial ramifications of the proposed split, and he says it’s doable.
The PCSSD School Board is expected to consider a resolution at its September meeting that supports allowing Jacksonville and most of north Pulaski County to split off and form its own district, contingent upon PCSSD and North Little Rock being declared unitary and escaping court desegregation oversight.
GUT FEELINGS
“A lot of the comments that we hear are focused on opinion, gut feelings,” said Rep. Will Bond, D-Jacksonville, whose work in the legislature has lit a small fire under the
districts to get them declared unitary, which is a prerequisite to any stand-alone Jacksonville district. “The reason we put together test score data (and financial data) is to say, ‘Look at the facts, the data support this,” he explained.
“Let’s get away from a commitment to status quo. Let us have the area and run our own district. There’s not one thing that doesn’t support this breakaway,” Bond said.
“I agree,” Stewart said.
He said that far from being harmed, the split would simultaneously make PCSSD a wealthier district and allow it to shuck responsibility for repairing or replacing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of inadequate school buildings in the Jacksonville area.
NEW SCHOOLS ON HOLD
Currently, the PCSSD Board has promised Jacksonville a new middle school and a new elementary school to be built at Little Rock Air Force Base, contingent upon voter approval of a bond issue to pay for them.
Since west Little Rock and Maumelle have each recently gotten a new school—without need for a new bond issue—enthusiasm for a millage increase throughout the district may be low.
But Jacksonville residents have a long history of supporting taxes to support important projects when they trust the people in charge, according to Daniel Gray, a Jacksonville realtor.
If Jacksonville does get a district, “there would be a shift in local revenue,” Stewart said. “The (new) district would maintain about 35 percent of the children but only about 15 percent of the assessed property.”
But the Jacksonville-area district would have revenues and resources competitive with those in neighboring Cabot, and as far as competition goes, proponents of a Jacksonville district have long seen Cabot, not PCSSD, as its competition.
DEBT RATIO
“We will have a lower debt ratio,” said Bond. “We would be able to thrive. It’s definitely sustainable, and people in the district could control their own destiny.”
Bond, Gray and several other Jacksonville leaders not only have pushed for Stewart’s financial report, and before that the Gordon Report found that the districts were essentially desegregated and that a Jacksonville district was feasible, but also put together a presentation that shows PCSSD benchmark tests are better than those of students in North Little Rock or Little Rock, but they trailed behind the test results in neighboring Cabot.
The perception and perhaps the reality is that Cabot schools siphon students and residents away from Jacksonville.
Even as Jacksonville secondary schools have steadily lost enrollment for a decade or longer, a Cabot enrollment graph is nearly a mirror image, with steady gains at about the same rate.
DISTRICT BOUNDARIES
The proposed new district would be bounded by Sherwood and by Faulkner County on the west, Faulkner County on the north, Lonoke County on the east and the southern boundary is Jacksonville’s southern city limit and Wooten Road to Lonoke County.
The district would consist of the following schools:
Arnold Drive Elementary, Bayou Meto Elementary, Homer Adkins Pre-K, Jacksonville Elementary, Murrell Taylor Elementary and Pinewood Elementary.
Also, Tolleson Elementary, Warren Dupree Elementary, Jacksonville Boys Middle School, Jacksonville Girls Middle School, North Pulaski High School and Jacksonville High School.
Using those boundaries, the feasibility study explores projected revenues, tax rates, facilities needs and teacher salaries, among other data.
TOP STORY > >Family speaks after son killed in shootout with police
By GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader Publisher
Steven Smith’s family buried their schizophrenic son Friday morning, four days after he’d been fatally shot in their house by Jacksonville police following a five-hour standoff.
The family held a viewing and a wake for him Thursday evening and came home around 8 and agreed to give us a tour of their bloodied, bullet-riddled home in Jacksonville’s Foxwood subdivision.
The place feels like a morgue: There’s blood on the carpeting and on Steven’s bed and bullet holes almost everywhere you looked.
Steven’s father, Walter, Sr., is a retired Air Force officer who walks with a cane and still has bruises on his face — his nose was broken when his 45-year-old son beat him up before the shooting started.
As he points to the bullet holes in the house — the garage, kitchen, living room, dining room and his son’s bedroom, where he was first shot — the elder Smith says, “We’ve got quite a bit of glass to replace.”
Steven snapped on Monday, getting into an argument with a neighbor, who complained about the bottle rockets Steve was setting off, so he reached for his semi-automatic weapon — a cheap Chinese knockoff of an AK-47 — and he sprayed the neighborhood for several hours, until the police silenced him with a shot in the head.
“We didn’t even know he had it,” his father says.
Steven’s anti-psychotic medication wasn’t working, or he hadn’t taken it. Or he may have been drinking, which plunged him into darkness.
Walter had been sleeping and woke up when the phone rang.
“I thought it was his nurse,” the father says. “I called Steve to the phone, but he wasn’t in his room.”
He was outside, arguing with their neighbor over the bottle rockets going off.
“I put my clothes on,” his father continues. “When he came inside, we met in the hallway. He was mad at his psychiatrist. He thought I was on the psychiatrist’s side.”
Steven mistook his dad for one of the many demons that he imagined were out to get him.
He beat Walter, but didn’t shoot him, so he could escape from the house.
“I went across the street and called my wife,” Walter says.
His wife, Joan, is a resource teacher at Warren Dupree Elementary School.
She couldn’t get to her husband or their house and watched the standoff from several blocks away.
She says sobbing, “Every time I saw bullets coming, I’d scream. I told the police, ‘Please don’t shoot him. Gas him.’”
The Smiths wish the police had let them talk to their son and convince him to put his weapon down. “They said you can’t go any further. I never got to see my son,” Joan says.
Her daughter Theresa, who also heard the shootout from several blocks away, says, “I told a policeman I wanted to see my brother, that we’d go talk to him with a bullhorn. He said, ‘I’ll handcuff you and arrest you if you try.’”
“We tried to call him on the phone,” she says, “but the phone must have been off the hook.
“Why didn’t they put tear gas in the place?” she asks.
The police insist they had sent their best negotiators to the scene and could not talk Steven into surrendering. One officer was slightly wounded.
Walter says, “It seems to me they wanted blood. In all his shootings, he never hurt anybody. He had psychiatric problems. He could have shot the police and his neighbor if he wanted to.
“Father Les (Farley of St. Jude’s Catholic Church) wanted to talk to him,” Walter continues. “They wouldn’t let him talk to him. I know he would have trusted him.”
Walter takes us on a tour of their home and points to the bullet holes in several rooms. We go into Steve’s bedroom, where he was probably shot the first time, his father says. There are bullet holes through the blinds, not far from his bed, which is still bloody.
His father lifts a blanket that has blood on it and points to the bloody sheet and mattress.
“He got a towel. It was so red with blood, it looked like the Chinese flag,” he says.
He thinks Steven was shot in the back and ran down the hallway, which also has some bullet holes, and then into the bathroom.
His palm print was on the light switch, which was also bloody, and put his hand on the toilet, leaving his bloody handprint there, too.
Steven probably threw up while he was there. He wore a colostomy bag because of a terrible car wreck he was in several years ago and which his father changed for him every day.
He then headed for the kitchen and stood in front of the sink. There’s a window above it, and you can see the bullet holes through the blinds.
A Jacksonville officer shot him near his left temple, killing him almost instantly. The shot to the head proved fatal, and it didn’t take long for Jacksonville police to storm through the garage and enter the kitchen through the garage door.
“They never told us when he died,” his mother says.
“It’s sad to bury your son,” Walter adds, shaking his head.
“I should have died before him,” Joan says, sobbing.
Even though Steven’s head was shattered in the shooting, his father was pleased that the funeral home had reconstructed his face so the family could have a viewing for him not only on Thursday evening, but before and after the funeral service on Friday.
It’s getting late, and the parents look tired. They’ve buried their son after taking care of him for most of his life, and now he rests in peace.
Leader Publisher
Steven Smith’s family buried their schizophrenic son Friday morning, four days after he’d been fatally shot in their house by Jacksonville police following a five-hour standoff.
The family held a viewing and a wake for him Thursday evening and came home around 8 and agreed to give us a tour of their bloodied, bullet-riddled home in Jacksonville’s Foxwood subdivision.
The place feels like a morgue: There’s blood on the carpeting and on Steven’s bed and bullet holes almost everywhere you looked.
Steven’s father, Walter, Sr., is a retired Air Force officer who walks with a cane and still has bruises on his face — his nose was broken when his 45-year-old son beat him up before the shooting started.
As he points to the bullet holes in the house — the garage, kitchen, living room, dining room and his son’s bedroom, where he was first shot — the elder Smith says, “We’ve got quite a bit of glass to replace.”
Steven snapped on Monday, getting into an argument with a neighbor, who complained about the bottle rockets Steve was setting off, so he reached for his semi-automatic weapon — a cheap Chinese knockoff of an AK-47 — and he sprayed the neighborhood for several hours, until the police silenced him with a shot in the head.
“We didn’t even know he had it,” his father says.
Steven’s anti-psychotic medication wasn’t working, or he hadn’t taken it. Or he may have been drinking, which plunged him into darkness.
Walter had been sleeping and woke up when the phone rang.
“I thought it was his nurse,” the father says. “I called Steve to the phone, but he wasn’t in his room.”
He was outside, arguing with their neighbor over the bottle rockets going off.
“I put my clothes on,” his father continues. “When he came inside, we met in the hallway. He was mad at his psychiatrist. He thought I was on the psychiatrist’s side.”
Steven mistook his dad for one of the many demons that he imagined were out to get him.
He beat Walter, but didn’t shoot him, so he could escape from the house.
“I went across the street and called my wife,” Walter says.
His wife, Joan, is a resource teacher at Warren Dupree Elementary School.
She couldn’t get to her husband or their house and watched the standoff from several blocks away.
She says sobbing, “Every time I saw bullets coming, I’d scream. I told the police, ‘Please don’t shoot him. Gas him.’”
The Smiths wish the police had let them talk to their son and convince him to put his weapon down. “They said you can’t go any further. I never got to see my son,” Joan says.
Her daughter Theresa, who also heard the shootout from several blocks away, says, “I told a policeman I wanted to see my brother, that we’d go talk to him with a bullhorn. He said, ‘I’ll handcuff you and arrest you if you try.’”
“We tried to call him on the phone,” she says, “but the phone must have been off the hook.
“Why didn’t they put tear gas in the place?” she asks.
The police insist they had sent their best negotiators to the scene and could not talk Steven into surrendering. One officer was slightly wounded.
Walter says, “It seems to me they wanted blood. In all his shootings, he never hurt anybody. He had psychiatric problems. He could have shot the police and his neighbor if he wanted to.
“Father Les (Farley of St. Jude’s Catholic Church) wanted to talk to him,” Walter continues. “They wouldn’t let him talk to him. I know he would have trusted him.”
Walter takes us on a tour of their home and points to the bullet holes in several rooms. We go into Steve’s bedroom, where he was probably shot the first time, his father says. There are bullet holes through the blinds, not far from his bed, which is still bloody.
His father lifts a blanket that has blood on it and points to the bloody sheet and mattress.
“He got a towel. It was so red with blood, it looked like the Chinese flag,” he says.
He thinks Steven was shot in the back and ran down the hallway, which also has some bullet holes, and then into the bathroom.
His palm print was on the light switch, which was also bloody, and put his hand on the toilet, leaving his bloody handprint there, too.
Steven probably threw up while he was there. He wore a colostomy bag because of a terrible car wreck he was in several years ago and which his father changed for him every day.
He then headed for the kitchen and stood in front of the sink. There’s a window above it, and you can see the bullet holes through the blinds.
A Jacksonville officer shot him near his left temple, killing him almost instantly. The shot to the head proved fatal, and it didn’t take long for Jacksonville police to storm through the garage and enter the kitchen through the garage door.
“They never told us when he died,” his mother says.
“It’s sad to bury your son,” Walter adds, shaking his head.
“I should have died before him,” Joan says, sobbing.
Even though Steven’s head was shattered in the shooting, his father was pleased that the funeral home had reconstructed his face so the family could have a viewing for him not only on Thursday evening, but before and after the funeral service on Friday.
It’s getting late, and the parents look tired. They’ve buried their son after taking care of him for most of his life, and now he rests in peace.
EDITORIAL >>Lu Hardin’s final farewell
Lu Hardin took the only course left to him Thursday and resigned as president of the University of Central Arkansas effective in a couple of weeks. He said he did it to tend to his health after a second serious eye surgery. That would be an understandable reason for parting and one for which the school should tender its good wishes and, if that were all, perhaps even a monetary token. But Hardin’s letter to the board of trustees made no direct reference to the cascade of deceptions that made it impossible — well, implausible anyway — that he could remain, and his short public statement made only a passing allusion to the events that brought demands from here and elsewhere that both he and the university’s board of trustees resign.
The tragic elements of Hardin’s resignation are inescapable. He has a dangerous health problem, a carcinoma behind an eye that has now required two surgeries in four years, and everyone wishes him good health. The stress of any high-pressure job under the best of conditions must add to the peril so Hardin’s plea to be allowed to give his body the best chance to heal by leaving the job must be accepted at face value. The other tragedy is the disgrace that Hardin has brought upon himself after a long career marked mainly by loyal service to the public good. Who cannot be saddened to see a man leave public life, if indeed he has, upon such a joyless note?
But Hardin’s personal travails do not diminish what he did and they do not assuage public anger over the board’s own role.
Only in his final deception, or at least the final revelation, was the board innocent. He counterfeited a memorandum to the board from three administrators making the case for giving him a $150,000-a-year raise — it was to be called “deferred compensation” — and hiding it from the rest of the university and the public. A faculty that was getting no raise and having their benefits cut might have got over the earlier discovery that the board had already given the president a secret $300,000 bonus in May, in violation of at least three laws, but learning that the vicar of their academic institution had submitted bogus research over the names of three unsuspecting subordinates was too much. The faculty senate was apt to ask for his resignation next month.
Lu Hardin can now contemplate his missteps philosophically because the board, by a vote of 5 to 1, will pay him $750,000 or more, in effect giving him a vacation at nearly full salary for the next four years. The board’s explanation was that it was a “sabbatical” but one member later said that was an unfortunate description. Whatever the trustees choose to call it, the university’s constituents and the taxpayers may contemplate for themselves whether that is wise stewardship of the public’s money.
The spectacle of petty grasping by a public official who had been toasted for his good works only punctuates a summer of disenchantment. It could hardly be surprising, given all Lu Hardin’s exemplars in the commercial world, nationally and right here in our poor little state. The executives of a native company auctioned it for the second profitable time, this time to a bigger company, which announced proudly to its own investors that the purchase would create “synergies,” which translated means eliminating a thousand or so jobs in Pulaski County. For his trouble, the departing CEO pocketed a cool quarter of a billion dollars and other officers a trifle less.
Who could blame Lu Hardin for expecting his own just rewards, too, and doing what you have to do to make it happen, even if the law and the public interest get in the way?
The tragic elements of Hardin’s resignation are inescapable. He has a dangerous health problem, a carcinoma behind an eye that has now required two surgeries in four years, and everyone wishes him good health. The stress of any high-pressure job under the best of conditions must add to the peril so Hardin’s plea to be allowed to give his body the best chance to heal by leaving the job must be accepted at face value. The other tragedy is the disgrace that Hardin has brought upon himself after a long career marked mainly by loyal service to the public good. Who cannot be saddened to see a man leave public life, if indeed he has, upon such a joyless note?
But Hardin’s personal travails do not diminish what he did and they do not assuage public anger over the board’s own role.
Only in his final deception, or at least the final revelation, was the board innocent. He counterfeited a memorandum to the board from three administrators making the case for giving him a $150,000-a-year raise — it was to be called “deferred compensation” — and hiding it from the rest of the university and the public. A faculty that was getting no raise and having their benefits cut might have got over the earlier discovery that the board had already given the president a secret $300,000 bonus in May, in violation of at least three laws, but learning that the vicar of their academic institution had submitted bogus research over the names of three unsuspecting subordinates was too much. The faculty senate was apt to ask for his resignation next month.
Lu Hardin can now contemplate his missteps philosophically because the board, by a vote of 5 to 1, will pay him $750,000 or more, in effect giving him a vacation at nearly full salary for the next four years. The board’s explanation was that it was a “sabbatical” but one member later said that was an unfortunate description. Whatever the trustees choose to call it, the university’s constituents and the taxpayers may contemplate for themselves whether that is wise stewardship of the public’s money.
The spectacle of petty grasping by a public official who had been toasted for his good works only punctuates a summer of disenchantment. It could hardly be surprising, given all Lu Hardin’s exemplars in the commercial world, nationally and right here in our poor little state. The executives of a native company auctioned it for the second profitable time, this time to a bigger company, which announced proudly to its own investors that the purchase would create “synergies,” which translated means eliminating a thousand or so jobs in Pulaski County. For his trouble, the departing CEO pocketed a cool quarter of a billion dollars and other officers a trifle less.
Who could blame Lu Hardin for expecting his own just rewards, too, and doing what you have to do to make it happen, even if the law and the public interest get in the way?
SPORTS>>D-line shines (mostly) at Jamboree
By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
The Sylvan Hills offense sputtered and the defense gave up several big plays, but the Bears were able to battle last years’ 5A runner-up Little Rock Christian Warriors to a 6-6 tie in the Jamboree at War Memorial Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Earlier in the evening, Sylvan Hills ran 20-play scrimmages each against Mountain Home and Little Rock Catholic.
Junior Christian sensation Michael Dyer torched the Bears for a 63-yard touchdown gallop the very first time he touched the ball, and he added runs of 23, 21 and 18 yards.
But the Bear defense made the stops when they had to. Casey Cerrato and Ryan Williams wrapped up the fleet and strong Dyer a half-yard shy of a first down at the Sylvan Hills’ 11-yard line in the final minutes to preserve the tie.
“I thought defensively we got to the ball fall fast and thought we kept everything in front of us,” said Sylvan Hills head coach Jim Withrow, whose Bears open the 2008 campaign at Malvern on Friday. “The pressure our offensive line put on them was the most positive thing I saw. I thought we looked real athletic. I was real happy with it.
Offensively, quarterback Jordan Spears struggled to stay upright at times, suffering three sacks. But he hooked up with wideout Ahmad Scott on a slant at the 45 and Scott did the rest, streaking down the middle of the field to complete a 53-yard touchdown play for the Bears’ lone score.
On the ground, Juliean Broner was the only running back to carry the ball, and the line busted open holes for him on occasion. Broner finished with 38 yards on nine carries, with a long of 12.
Other than Scott, the only Bear to catch a pass was Taylor Clark, who hauled in two for 12 yards.
“Offensively, I didn’t think we executed very well,” Withrow said. “We could have run our routes a little better. We didn’t have very good spacing and we had some miscommunication on the offensive line. That’s all stuff you expect the first time out. And it wasn’t like we were out there playing (bad teams.)”
After Sylvan Hills matched the Warriors’ long touchdown play with Spears’ strike to Scott, the Bear defense buckled down.
Prolific Christian quarterback Griffin Kuhn was injured in an earlier scrimmage in the day and didn’t play against the Bears, and his backup had little success against the aggressive Sylvan Hills rush. Williams broke up a pass across the middle and Jeramiah Murphy helped stuff consecutive plays for losses.
Dyer broke free on the Warriors’ next possession for a 23-yard run before being wrapped up by linebacker Lawrence Hodges to end the first quarter. Hodges, who didn’t play on offense, led the Bears unofficially with three tackles. Brian Hale also recorded three stops.
Devin Shaw made a nice solo tackle on Dyer — never an easy feat — to open the second quarter, before Hale contributed to two consecutive sacks of the Warrior quarterback.
After Spears threw an interception on the Bears’ next possession, Hodges made a touchdown-saving tackle of Dyer after his 21-yard run to the Sylvan Hills 19. From there, the Bears’ defense held, and on fourth-and-five, the front line strung out a sweep by Dyer and Cerrato and Williams knocked him out of bounds just short of the marker.
The Warriors had one final shot from the Sylvan Hills 30 with three seconds left, but a big rush by Pennington and Cerrato’s pass breakup ended the contest.
Dyer finished with 139 yards on just eight carries, but the rest of the Warrior offense went for minus-8 yards.
For Sylvan Hills, Broner had 38 yards, while Spears completed 3 of 7 passes for 65 yards.
“Our run blocking wasn’t bad,” Withrow said. “But we’ve got to stay on our blocks a little bit longer, go all the way to the whistle. Broner ran well and ran patient. He didn’t make some cuts he could have made, but he also made some really good cuts.”
Defensive end Nick Brewer was expected to practice on Thursday after missing most of the summer with an injury. Withrow praised the play of his replacement, Taylor Pennington, as well as Devin Shaw, Brian Hale and Patrick Onuigbo up front.
“The front four played real well and they can even get better,” he said. “And Hodges was good at linebacker. A couple of times he ran down Dyer and made the play.”
Sylvan Hills prepares for its season opener at Malvern on Sept. 5.
Leader sports editor
The Sylvan Hills offense sputtered and the defense gave up several big plays, but the Bears were able to battle last years’ 5A runner-up Little Rock Christian Warriors to a 6-6 tie in the Jamboree at War Memorial Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Earlier in the evening, Sylvan Hills ran 20-play scrimmages each against Mountain Home and Little Rock Catholic.
Junior Christian sensation Michael Dyer torched the Bears for a 63-yard touchdown gallop the very first time he touched the ball, and he added runs of 23, 21 and 18 yards.
But the Bear defense made the stops when they had to. Casey Cerrato and Ryan Williams wrapped up the fleet and strong Dyer a half-yard shy of a first down at the Sylvan Hills’ 11-yard line in the final minutes to preserve the tie.
“I thought defensively we got to the ball fall fast and thought we kept everything in front of us,” said Sylvan Hills head coach Jim Withrow, whose Bears open the 2008 campaign at Malvern on Friday. “The pressure our offensive line put on them was the most positive thing I saw. I thought we looked real athletic. I was real happy with it.
Offensively, quarterback Jordan Spears struggled to stay upright at times, suffering three sacks. But he hooked up with wideout Ahmad Scott on a slant at the 45 and Scott did the rest, streaking down the middle of the field to complete a 53-yard touchdown play for the Bears’ lone score.
On the ground, Juliean Broner was the only running back to carry the ball, and the line busted open holes for him on occasion. Broner finished with 38 yards on nine carries, with a long of 12.
Other than Scott, the only Bear to catch a pass was Taylor Clark, who hauled in two for 12 yards.
“Offensively, I didn’t think we executed very well,” Withrow said. “We could have run our routes a little better. We didn’t have very good spacing and we had some miscommunication on the offensive line. That’s all stuff you expect the first time out. And it wasn’t like we were out there playing (bad teams.)”
After Sylvan Hills matched the Warriors’ long touchdown play with Spears’ strike to Scott, the Bear defense buckled down.
Prolific Christian quarterback Griffin Kuhn was injured in an earlier scrimmage in the day and didn’t play against the Bears, and his backup had little success against the aggressive Sylvan Hills rush. Williams broke up a pass across the middle and Jeramiah Murphy helped stuff consecutive plays for losses.
Dyer broke free on the Warriors’ next possession for a 23-yard run before being wrapped up by linebacker Lawrence Hodges to end the first quarter. Hodges, who didn’t play on offense, led the Bears unofficially with three tackles. Brian Hale also recorded three stops.
Devin Shaw made a nice solo tackle on Dyer — never an easy feat — to open the second quarter, before Hale contributed to two consecutive sacks of the Warrior quarterback.
After Spears threw an interception on the Bears’ next possession, Hodges made a touchdown-saving tackle of Dyer after his 21-yard run to the Sylvan Hills 19. From there, the Bears’ defense held, and on fourth-and-five, the front line strung out a sweep by Dyer and Cerrato and Williams knocked him out of bounds just short of the marker.
The Warriors had one final shot from the Sylvan Hills 30 with three seconds left, but a big rush by Pennington and Cerrato’s pass breakup ended the contest.
Dyer finished with 139 yards on just eight carries, but the rest of the Warrior offense went for minus-8 yards.
For Sylvan Hills, Broner had 38 yards, while Spears completed 3 of 7 passes for 65 yards.
“Our run blocking wasn’t bad,” Withrow said. “But we’ve got to stay on our blocks a little bit longer, go all the way to the whistle. Broner ran well and ran patient. He didn’t make some cuts he could have made, but he also made some really good cuts.”
Defensive end Nick Brewer was expected to practice on Thursday after missing most of the summer with an injury. Withrow praised the play of his replacement, Taylor Pennington, as well as Devin Shaw, Brian Hale and Patrick Onuigbo up front.
“The front four played real well and they can even get better,” he said. “And Hodges was good at linebacker. A couple of times he ran down Dyer and made the play.”
Sylvan Hills prepares for its season opener at Malvern on Sept. 5.
SPORTS>>Beebe fluid in scrimmage with Searcy
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
If their result in the scrimmage against Searcy is any indication, this year’s Beebe Badgers could be dominant.
The Badgers shut out Searcy while posting eight scores of their own to dominate the practice game at Lion Stadium on Tuesday night.
It was the Lions’ first game back with the Spread offense, which suited Beebe coach John Shannon just fine.
“Defensively, we did really well,” Shannon said. “Our first two games are against Spread teams, so to get some time in against a Spread team gave us a pretty good look. We had 11 kids flying to the ball, which is what you want to see.”
The Badgers made minimal mistakes, with only one fumble and one holding penalty, but Shannon wants his team to be near perfect when it faces the Greenbrier Panthers on Friday, and is focusing on the details.
“There’s always something to work on,” Shannon said. “There’s little things like getting better angles and hitting the holes better.”
Shannon was pleased with the running attack.
“Our running was pretty balanced,” Shannon said. “We ran the option pretty well. Sammy Williams is our workhorse, and he did a good job running between the tackles. As far as halfbacks go, Victor Howell did a good job. He had a sweep that he took 70 yards for a score, and had some other good sweeps as well.”
The Internet heckling of the Searcy football program has already begun before an official game has been played, but Shannon was quick to defend his neighbors to the north.
“They’ll be fine. They’re just young,” Shannon said. “They threw their screens well and had some pretty good blocking going on. I don’t pay much attention to what people say on message boards. I think they will improve as the year goes on and win some games. They’re like us — they’re young and need to develop a little more speed. If they can do that, I think they’ll be alright.”
The Badgers will start the regular season on the road Friday at Greenbrier.
Leader sportswriter
If their result in the scrimmage against Searcy is any indication, this year’s Beebe Badgers could be dominant.
The Badgers shut out Searcy while posting eight scores of their own to dominate the practice game at Lion Stadium on Tuesday night.
It was the Lions’ first game back with the Spread offense, which suited Beebe coach John Shannon just fine.
“Defensively, we did really well,” Shannon said. “Our first two games are against Spread teams, so to get some time in against a Spread team gave us a pretty good look. We had 11 kids flying to the ball, which is what you want to see.”
The Badgers made minimal mistakes, with only one fumble and one holding penalty, but Shannon wants his team to be near perfect when it faces the Greenbrier Panthers on Friday, and is focusing on the details.
“There’s always something to work on,” Shannon said. “There’s little things like getting better angles and hitting the holes better.”
Shannon was pleased with the running attack.
“Our running was pretty balanced,” Shannon said. “We ran the option pretty well. Sammy Williams is our workhorse, and he did a good job running between the tackles. As far as halfbacks go, Victor Howell did a good job. He had a sweep that he took 70 yards for a score, and had some other good sweeps as well.”
The Internet heckling of the Searcy football program has already begun before an official game has been played, but Shannon was quick to defend his neighbors to the north.
“They’ll be fine. They’re just young,” Shannon said. “They threw their screens well and had some pretty good blocking going on. I don’t pay much attention to what people say on message boards. I think they will improve as the year goes on and win some games. They’re like us — they’re young and need to develop a little more speed. If they can do that, I think they’ll be alright.”
The Badgers will start the regular season on the road Friday at Greenbrier.
SPORTS>>Beebe fluid in scrimmage with Searcy
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
If their result in the scrimmage against Searcy is any indication, this year’s Beebe Badgers could be dominant.
The Badgers shut out Searcy while posting eight scores of their own to dominate the practice game at Lion Stadium on Tuesday night.
It was the Lions’ first game back with the Spread offense, which suited Beebe coach John Shannon just fine.
“Defensively, we did really well,” Shannon said. “Our first two games are against Spread teams, so to get some time in against a Spread team gave us a pretty good look. We had 11 kids flying to the ball, which is what you want to see.”
The Badgers made minimal mistakes, with only one fumble and one holding penalty, but Shannon wants his team to be near perfect when it faces the Greenbrier Panthers on Friday, and is focusing on the details.
“There’s always something to work on,” Shannon said. “There’s little things like getting better angles and hitting the holes better.”
Shannon was pleased with the running attack.
“Our running was pretty balanced,” Shannon said. “We ran the option pretty well. Sammy Williams is our workhorse, and he did a good job running between the tackles. As far as halfbacks go, Victor Howell did a good job. He had a sweep that he took 70 yards for a score, and had some other good sweeps as well.”
The Internet heckling of the Searcy football program has already begun before an official game has been played, but Shannon was quick to defend his neighbors to the north.
“They’ll be fine. They’re just young,” Shannon said. “They threw their screens well and had some pretty good blocking going on. I don’t pay much attention to what people say on message boards. I think they will improve as the year goes on and win some games. They’re like us — they’re young and need to develop a little more speed. If they can do that, I think they’ll be alright.”
The Badgers will start the regular season on the road Friday at Greenbrier.
Leader sportswriter
If their result in the scrimmage against Searcy is any indication, this year’s Beebe Badgers could be dominant.
The Badgers shut out Searcy while posting eight scores of their own to dominate the practice game at Lion Stadium on Tuesday night.
It was the Lions’ first game back with the Spread offense, which suited Beebe coach John Shannon just fine.
“Defensively, we did really well,” Shannon said. “Our first two games are against Spread teams, so to get some time in against a Spread team gave us a pretty good look. We had 11 kids flying to the ball, which is what you want to see.”
The Badgers made minimal mistakes, with only one fumble and one holding penalty, but Shannon wants his team to be near perfect when it faces the Greenbrier Panthers on Friday, and is focusing on the details.
“There’s always something to work on,” Shannon said. “There’s little things like getting better angles and hitting the holes better.”
Shannon was pleased with the running attack.
“Our running was pretty balanced,” Shannon said. “We ran the option pretty well. Sammy Williams is our workhorse, and he did a good job running between the tackles. As far as halfbacks go, Victor Howell did a good job. He had a sweep that he took 70 yards for a score, and had some other good sweeps as well.”
The Internet heckling of the Searcy football program has already begun before an official game has been played, but Shannon was quick to defend his neighbors to the north.
“They’ll be fine. They’re just young,” Shannon said. “They threw their screens well and had some pretty good blocking going on. I don’t pay much attention to what people say on message boards. I think they will improve as the year goes on and win some games. They’re like us — they’re young and need to develop a little more speed. If they can do that, I think they’ll be alright.”
The Badgers will start the regular season on the road Friday at Greenbrier.
SPORTS>>Fans should be in for treat at UAPB
By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
Whatever you pay for your ticket to the Lonoke-Dumas game, chances are you’ll get your money’s worth.
Two high-powered, explosive and fleet Class 4A teams — one with state title hopes, the other with a lot of question marks — open their seasons on Monday afternoon at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Kickoff for the expected track meet is 4:30.
“It should be a good game,” said third-year Lonoke head coach Jeff Jones, whose Jackrabbits are picked to contend for a state title. “We’ve been picked pretty high and we hope to live up to our part.”
Those lofty expectations are the result of returning 17 starters, including a bevy of talented receivers and an experienced strong-armed quarterback, from last season’s 8-4 club.
Dumas also enjoyed success in 2007, reaching the quarterfinals of the state playoffs. But the Bobcats are having to fill a lot of positions after the loss of 18 starters. Gone is all-state quarterback Kendall Council and all-state running back Justin Jones.
But the cupboard is hardly bare.
“They’ve got a lot of speed and a lot of size,” Jones said. “They have a big defensive line and a huge middle linebacker. They’ll present us with a lot of problems.”
The biggest challenge may be trying to find a way to stop the Bobcats 6-5 quarterback in sophomore Darion Griswold, who has a rocket launcher for an arm.
“He can throw the ball 70 yards,” Jones said. “They’re going to try to stretch the field on us.”
And though the Bobcats lost a bunch of skill players last season, they have a talented young corps of receivers. Junior Aaron Dennis is one who has experience, but Dumas can call on a group of sophomores who can fly. None are faster than Ja’Vondrick Cobbs, who has been timed at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
When Jones talks about Dumas’ size advantage, he’s mostly referring to a pair of 300-plus-pound defensive linemen in junior Jonathan Hilson and Mantrell Ward. But the Bobcats also have some size on the offen sive line as well as an all-conference front man in Taylor Lock.
The Bobcats will run out of the Spread and will try to hit the Jackrabbits deep, but Jones cautions that Dumas also has a pair of quick backs as well.
But the Bobcats should be sorely tested themselves in trying to stop the experienced and fluid Jackrabbit attack. Dumas surrendered 134 points over its final three games last year and lost nine starters from that unit.
Lonoke rallied from an 0-2 start in 2007 to win seven consecutive. Quarterback Rollins Elam went down in Week 8 against Marianna. Despite that, the ’Rabbits were able to beat Clarksville in the opening round of the playoffs before falling to Gravette. Elam is back as is all-conference flanker Clarence Harris, who compiled 1,500 all-purpose yards last fall.
Harris is just one of many options for Elam, including Michael Howard, Lance Jackson and Terrell Washington, who Jones said showed remarkable improvement in the spring.
Lonoke suffered a blow when center Dylon Elmore twisted his ankle and will miss three weeks.
“When you run the shotgun (Spread), that’s almost like losing your quarterback,” Jones said.
Guard Tyler Breashears will move to the center position while Nick Head will move from the defensive line to the offensive line.
The battle with the Bobcats is the first of four tough games in the Jackrabbits’ brutal opening schedule. In the following three weeks they will take on Beebe, CAC and Heber Springs. Jones relishes the challenge.
“We’re looking forward to playing those teams,” he said. “It’s going to make us a better football team in the long run.”
Leader sports editor
Whatever you pay for your ticket to the Lonoke-Dumas game, chances are you’ll get your money’s worth.
Two high-powered, explosive and fleet Class 4A teams — one with state title hopes, the other with a lot of question marks — open their seasons on Monday afternoon at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Kickoff for the expected track meet is 4:30.
“It should be a good game,” said third-year Lonoke head coach Jeff Jones, whose Jackrabbits are picked to contend for a state title. “We’ve been picked pretty high and we hope to live up to our part.”
Those lofty expectations are the result of returning 17 starters, including a bevy of talented receivers and an experienced strong-armed quarterback, from last season’s 8-4 club.
Dumas also enjoyed success in 2007, reaching the quarterfinals of the state playoffs. But the Bobcats are having to fill a lot of positions after the loss of 18 starters. Gone is all-state quarterback Kendall Council and all-state running back Justin Jones.
But the cupboard is hardly bare.
“They’ve got a lot of speed and a lot of size,” Jones said. “They have a big defensive line and a huge middle linebacker. They’ll present us with a lot of problems.”
The biggest challenge may be trying to find a way to stop the Bobcats 6-5 quarterback in sophomore Darion Griswold, who has a rocket launcher for an arm.
“He can throw the ball 70 yards,” Jones said. “They’re going to try to stretch the field on us.”
And though the Bobcats lost a bunch of skill players last season, they have a talented young corps of receivers. Junior Aaron Dennis is one who has experience, but Dumas can call on a group of sophomores who can fly. None are faster than Ja’Vondrick Cobbs, who has been timed at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
When Jones talks about Dumas’ size advantage, he’s mostly referring to a pair of 300-plus-pound defensive linemen in junior Jonathan Hilson and Mantrell Ward. But the Bobcats also have some size on the offen sive line as well as an all-conference front man in Taylor Lock.
The Bobcats will run out of the Spread and will try to hit the Jackrabbits deep, but Jones cautions that Dumas also has a pair of quick backs as well.
But the Bobcats should be sorely tested themselves in trying to stop the experienced and fluid Jackrabbit attack. Dumas surrendered 134 points over its final three games last year and lost nine starters from that unit.
Lonoke rallied from an 0-2 start in 2007 to win seven consecutive. Quarterback Rollins Elam went down in Week 8 against Marianna. Despite that, the ’Rabbits were able to beat Clarksville in the opening round of the playoffs before falling to Gravette. Elam is back as is all-conference flanker Clarence Harris, who compiled 1,500 all-purpose yards last fall.
Harris is just one of many options for Elam, including Michael Howard, Lance Jackson and Terrell Washington, who Jones said showed remarkable improvement in the spring.
Lonoke suffered a blow when center Dylon Elmore twisted his ankle and will miss three weeks.
“When you run the shotgun (Spread), that’s almost like losing your quarterback,” Jones said.
Guard Tyler Breashears will move to the center position while Nick Head will move from the defensive line to the offensive line.
The battle with the Bobcats is the first of four tough games in the Jackrabbits’ brutal opening schedule. In the following three weeks they will take on Beebe, CAC and Heber Springs. Jones relishes the challenge.
“We’re looking forward to playing those teams,” he said. “It’s going to make us a better football team in the long run.”
SPORTS>>Game on
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Don’t talk about rivalries to Mark Whatley and Mike Malham.
The Jacksonville and Cabot coaches just want to open the season with a win.
The Red Devils and Panthers begin the season on Tuesday at Jacksonville’s Jan Crow Stadium with a game so rich in history and tradition that it has now been dubbed the Backyard Brawl, complete with a traveling trophy and pre-game press conference.
But Malham is not one for pomp and circumstance when it comes to getting the season off on the right foot.
“Everybody wants to start out 1-0,” Malham said. “After the first week, 50 percent of the teams will be 1-0 and the other 50 will be 0-1, and obviously both teams want to get that early momentum going before they get into conference play.”
Malham has insisted since the spring that defense will be the key to success for the Panthers in 2008, and as the season opener nears, he’s still saying it.
“We basically want to keep the ball and wind time off the clock,” Malham said. “We feel like our defense is pretty good. We have a lot of really good personnel back, and a lot of team speed on defense.
“We’ve got experience all the way around. We just have to get them ready. I think we’ll be ready, but I know that they’re going to be ready too.”
The Panthers are coming off a successful scrimmage with a talented Lake Hamilton team. Malham’s only concern stems from an unusually high number of penalties at the line during the scrimmage. He’s hoping it is something that doesn’t reoccur when they face the Devils.
“We’ve got to get those things corrected,” Malham said. “We don’t need to help our opponents out. If they’re going to win, let’s make them beat us, we don’t need to give it to them.”
Jacksonville did not have a scrimmage game, but did have a good showing during the Devil Red-White game on Saturday.
For Whatley, it’s the uniqueness of the Cabot team that concerns him the most. After nearly a month of hitting each other, he hopes the Red Devils can adjust defensively to the Cabot Dead-T offense.
“The biggest thing is, you can’t simulate how it will be in the Cabot game, especially with their offense,” Whatley said. “It’s going to be a different tempo, a different atmosphere. The hardest thing to get across to these kids is the level of intensity that’s going to be there. It’s hard to compare Cabot to anyone.”
Though the Panthers are considered state title contenders, Whatley said they are definitely beatable.
“We certainly hope we can win,” Whatley said. “It’s going to take unselfish team defense. We can’t miss a single tackle and expect to control their offense. When we get an opportunity on offense, we have to take advantage of it. We want to keep their offense on the sideline as often as we can.”
After weeks of banging on each other, the Red Devils are more than ready to get the season under way.
“They’re ready,” Whatley said of his young squad. “They’ve beat and beat on each other until they’re sick of it. It’s time to get this season started, and Cabot is our first hurdle.”
The Red Devils and Panthers will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Visiting Cabot fans can park in the old Wal-Mart parking lot.
Tickets for the Jacksonville-Cabot game may be purchased in advance from Cabot High School, the First Arkansas Bank of Cabot and the First Arkansas Bank main branch in Jacksonville.
Leader sportswriter
Don’t talk about rivalries to Mark Whatley and Mike Malham.
The Jacksonville and Cabot coaches just want to open the season with a win.
The Red Devils and Panthers begin the season on Tuesday at Jacksonville’s Jan Crow Stadium with a game so rich in history and tradition that it has now been dubbed the Backyard Brawl, complete with a traveling trophy and pre-game press conference.
But Malham is not one for pomp and circumstance when it comes to getting the season off on the right foot.
“Everybody wants to start out 1-0,” Malham said. “After the first week, 50 percent of the teams will be 1-0 and the other 50 will be 0-1, and obviously both teams want to get that early momentum going before they get into conference play.”
Malham has insisted since the spring that defense will be the key to success for the Panthers in 2008, and as the season opener nears, he’s still saying it.
“We basically want to keep the ball and wind time off the clock,” Malham said. “We feel like our defense is pretty good. We have a lot of really good personnel back, and a lot of team speed on defense.
“We’ve got experience all the way around. We just have to get them ready. I think we’ll be ready, but I know that they’re going to be ready too.”
The Panthers are coming off a successful scrimmage with a talented Lake Hamilton team. Malham’s only concern stems from an unusually high number of penalties at the line during the scrimmage. He’s hoping it is something that doesn’t reoccur when they face the Devils.
“We’ve got to get those things corrected,” Malham said. “We don’t need to help our opponents out. If they’re going to win, let’s make them beat us, we don’t need to give it to them.”
Jacksonville did not have a scrimmage game, but did have a good showing during the Devil Red-White game on Saturday.
For Whatley, it’s the uniqueness of the Cabot team that concerns him the most. After nearly a month of hitting each other, he hopes the Red Devils can adjust defensively to the Cabot Dead-T offense.
“The biggest thing is, you can’t simulate how it will be in the Cabot game, especially with their offense,” Whatley said. “It’s going to be a different tempo, a different atmosphere. The hardest thing to get across to these kids is the level of intensity that’s going to be there. It’s hard to compare Cabot to anyone.”
Though the Panthers are considered state title contenders, Whatley said they are definitely beatable.
“We certainly hope we can win,” Whatley said. “It’s going to take unselfish team defense. We can’t miss a single tackle and expect to control their offense. When we get an opportunity on offense, we have to take advantage of it. We want to keep their offense on the sideline as often as we can.”
After weeks of banging on each other, the Red Devils are more than ready to get the season under way.
“They’re ready,” Whatley said of his young squad. “They’ve beat and beat on each other until they’re sick of it. It’s time to get this season started, and Cabot is our first hurdle.”
The Red Devils and Panthers will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Visiting Cabot fans can park in the old Wal-Mart parking lot.
Tickets for the Jacksonville-Cabot game may be purchased in advance from Cabot High School, the First Arkansas Bank of Cabot and the First Arkansas Bank main branch in Jacksonville.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
TOP STORY > >Rice Depot to distribute packages to local schools
By NANCY DOCKTER
Leader staff writer
Arkansas Rice Depot is helping alleviate child hunger with its Food for Kids program. The program is specifically for kids who live in households where adequate, regular meals are an uncertainty and the problem is not being addressed by charity relief via a food pantry.
On Thursday, Food for Kids will deliver backpacks of food to dozens of students at Cabot schools who might otherwise go hungry.
Each child gets to take home a backpack of kid-friendly, ready-to-eat food items that he or she can open up and eat with no preparation.
Now, a new program, Adopt a School, makes it possible for individuals, families, church groups, businesses, and civic organizations to get involved in Food for Kids. With a $2,000 donation, an average of 40 children at a school will be assured of receiving backpacks of food regularly throughout the school year.
During the 2006-07 school year Food for Kids provided food to 22,700 children in 550 schools in Arkansas, including five schools in Cabot, one in Lonoke and five in the greater Jacksonville area.
The rising prices of gasoline and food are being felt by everyone, but Americans already living on the margin are being hit the hardest.
For the poor, skimping on meals has always been a strategy for stretching limited resources. It is all-too-common in this land of plenty.
In 2006, about 11 percent of all U.S. households resorted to cutting back on meals to economize, and about 25 million families sought emergency food relief. And that was before the recent spikes in prices.
For the children who must deal daily with not having enough food or proper nutrition, the effects on health can be profound.
Severe hunger endangers kids’ health in several ways – they are more likely to fail to thrive physically, have a chronic illness, experience anxiety and depression, develop behavior problems, and perform poorly at school.
In Arkansas, 18 of every 100 children cope with not having sufficient food and frequently go to bed hungry, according to a 2007 report from America’s Second Harvest, a national food bank network.
More than 14,000 children statewide face long-term food needs, according to an Arkansas Rice Depot survey. In one year, from 2006 to 2007, that number jumped more than 40 percent.
A variety of family situations can contribute to child hunger besides poverty – a parent or guardian who is physically or mentally ill, disabled, or suffering from drug or alcohol addiction.
A grandparent may be raising the child and may not be able to prepare adequate meals, or the family may live in an area without a food pantry where they can get assistance.
Some children served by the Food for Kids program have come from unimaginably dire living situations – living in a car, a rent-by-week motel with no cooking facilities, a camper, a house without utilities or a tent, says Laura Rhea, president and CEO of the Arkansas Rice Depot.
“It is hard to sleep at night when you know there are kids living lives of desperation.”
Food pantries served by Arkansas Rice Depot are seeing a sharp rise in the numbers of families seeking emergency food relief, with a 9 percent increase in the first quarter of 2008, to a total of 136,538 individuals served. Arkansas Rice Depot distributes more than 5 million pounds of food annually through 300 soup kitchens and food pantries statewide.
“The second quarter probably is going to show an even greater increase,” says Rhea. “We all look at the gas pump and food prices and for some of us, it may be a small thing, but the poor don’t have the resources to deal with it. Low-income people in Arkansas are really struggling.”
Rhea says the clientele served by food pantries has changed in recent months.
“There has been an increase in the number of working families needing food assistance,” she said. “People going to work every day and doing everything right still don’t have enough to make ends meet. That is heartbreaking.”
Nationally, about 37 percent of all persons who sought emergency food relief in 2006 were employed, according to a U.S. Mayors Conference report. Medical bills, unemployment, housing costs, and lack of income were the most common reasons given for seeking assistance.
The rise in gas prices is also having a financial impact on the Arkansas Rice Depot. In the first six months of this year, fuel expenses for the organization’s delivery trucks and vans went over budget by 20 percent.
For the entire year, $85,000 had been budgeted based on projected gas prices, but $51,192 had been spent by the end of June.
Food supplies are running a little low too, says Rhea, partly due to the many calls for disaster relief this year, but “we are doing pretty good,” Rhea said. “Food is low, but it is low all over. Partly it is the summer slump, but there is increased need everywhere.”
Floods, plant closings, and other events can swiftly devastate families and entire communities, which then turn to organizations like the Arkansas Rice Depot for help.
When a Cargill plant in Boone County burned, 800 people were out of work and in no time needed emergency assistance, Rhea said.
When Arkansas Rice Depot began trucking in loads of food and other supplies, it found that three other businesses in the community had also closed, leaving more folks struggling to make ends meet.
With schools starting back, Rhea anticipates a surge in calls from school administrators, teachers and school nurses who have identified students who could benefit from Food for Kids. And the demand on food pantries is not likely to abate.
But she is optimistic that the need will be met.
“Arkansas Rice Depot is a faith-based organization, and we have been doing a lot of praying,” she said.
“And Arkansans are the most giving, caring people in the nation. They know that if they were out of work, it would take only a few paydays before they’d have to get help. Arkansas is not a rich state, but it tops the list in generosity, in helping the less fortunate, in what each individual is willing to give,” Rhea said.
Leader staff writer
Arkansas Rice Depot is helping alleviate child hunger with its Food for Kids program. The program is specifically for kids who live in households where adequate, regular meals are an uncertainty and the problem is not being addressed by charity relief via a food pantry.
On Thursday, Food for Kids will deliver backpacks of food to dozens of students at Cabot schools who might otherwise go hungry.
Each child gets to take home a backpack of kid-friendly, ready-to-eat food items that he or she can open up and eat with no preparation.
Now, a new program, Adopt a School, makes it possible for individuals, families, church groups, businesses, and civic organizations to get involved in Food for Kids. With a $2,000 donation, an average of 40 children at a school will be assured of receiving backpacks of food regularly throughout the school year.
During the 2006-07 school year Food for Kids provided food to 22,700 children in 550 schools in Arkansas, including five schools in Cabot, one in Lonoke and five in the greater Jacksonville area.
The rising prices of gasoline and food are being felt by everyone, but Americans already living on the margin are being hit the hardest.
For the poor, skimping on meals has always been a strategy for stretching limited resources. It is all-too-common in this land of plenty.
In 2006, about 11 percent of all U.S. households resorted to cutting back on meals to economize, and about 25 million families sought emergency food relief. And that was before the recent spikes in prices.
For the children who must deal daily with not having enough food or proper nutrition, the effects on health can be profound.
Severe hunger endangers kids’ health in several ways – they are more likely to fail to thrive physically, have a chronic illness, experience anxiety and depression, develop behavior problems, and perform poorly at school.
In Arkansas, 18 of every 100 children cope with not having sufficient food and frequently go to bed hungry, according to a 2007 report from America’s Second Harvest, a national food bank network.
More than 14,000 children statewide face long-term food needs, according to an Arkansas Rice Depot survey. In one year, from 2006 to 2007, that number jumped more than 40 percent.
A variety of family situations can contribute to child hunger besides poverty – a parent or guardian who is physically or mentally ill, disabled, or suffering from drug or alcohol addiction.
A grandparent may be raising the child and may not be able to prepare adequate meals, or the family may live in an area without a food pantry where they can get assistance.
Some children served by the Food for Kids program have come from unimaginably dire living situations – living in a car, a rent-by-week motel with no cooking facilities, a camper, a house without utilities or a tent, says Laura Rhea, president and CEO of the Arkansas Rice Depot.
“It is hard to sleep at night when you know there are kids living lives of desperation.”
Food pantries served by Arkansas Rice Depot are seeing a sharp rise in the numbers of families seeking emergency food relief, with a 9 percent increase in the first quarter of 2008, to a total of 136,538 individuals served. Arkansas Rice Depot distributes more than 5 million pounds of food annually through 300 soup kitchens and food pantries statewide.
“The second quarter probably is going to show an even greater increase,” says Rhea. “We all look at the gas pump and food prices and for some of us, it may be a small thing, but the poor don’t have the resources to deal with it. Low-income people in Arkansas are really struggling.”
Rhea says the clientele served by food pantries has changed in recent months.
“There has been an increase in the number of working families needing food assistance,” she said. “People going to work every day and doing everything right still don’t have enough to make ends meet. That is heartbreaking.”
Nationally, about 37 percent of all persons who sought emergency food relief in 2006 were employed, according to a U.S. Mayors Conference report. Medical bills, unemployment, housing costs, and lack of income were the most common reasons given for seeking assistance.
The rise in gas prices is also having a financial impact on the Arkansas Rice Depot. In the first six months of this year, fuel expenses for the organization’s delivery trucks and vans went over budget by 20 percent.
For the entire year, $85,000 had been budgeted based on projected gas prices, but $51,192 had been spent by the end of June.
Food supplies are running a little low too, says Rhea, partly due to the many calls for disaster relief this year, but “we are doing pretty good,” Rhea said. “Food is low, but it is low all over. Partly it is the summer slump, but there is increased need everywhere.”
Floods, plant closings, and other events can swiftly devastate families and entire communities, which then turn to organizations like the Arkansas Rice Depot for help.
When a Cargill plant in Boone County burned, 800 people were out of work and in no time needed emergency assistance, Rhea said.
When Arkansas Rice Depot began trucking in loads of food and other supplies, it found that three other businesses in the community had also closed, leaving more folks struggling to make ends meet.
With schools starting back, Rhea anticipates a surge in calls from school administrators, teachers and school nurses who have identified students who could benefit from Food for Kids. And the demand on food pantries is not likely to abate.
But she is optimistic that the need will be met.
“Arkansas Rice Depot is a faith-based organization, and we have been doing a lot of praying,” she said.
“And Arkansans are the most giving, caring people in the nation. They know that if they were out of work, it would take only a few paydays before they’d have to get help. Arkansas is not a rich state, but it tops the list in generosity, in helping the less fortunate, in what each individual is willing to give,” Rhea said.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
TOP STORY > >Rain delays opening of new landfill
By ALIYA FELDMAN
Leader staff writer
The expansion of the landfill located in Jacksonville — which stores household trash and industrial and commercial garbage from Jacksonville, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Maumelle, Beebe, Bald Knob, Sherwood, Faulkner County, Mayflower, Judsonia and unincorporated parts of Pulaski County — has been stalled because of wet weather.
Trash will continue to be dumped in the current landfill until the new site is completed. Originally planned to be used for 24 years, its operator now projects the new dump may be used as long as 40.
At a Jacksonville City Council meeting in March, David Conrad of Two Pine Landfill told the council that the existing landfill would be full by September. But rainy weather has slowed construction of the new landfill, he said Monday.
Waste Management, owner of the Two Pine site at the intersection of I-440 and Hwy. 67/167, received state approval for the construction of the new site in April.
Two Pine’s expansion will become a 240-acre site capable of holding 34.4 mil ion cubic yards of trash. The dump will be 462 feet above sea level. It will have the capacity to grow nearly three times the size it is now.
“Construction has been slow this summer due to all the wet weather,” Conrad explained. “Otherwise, construction is going well.”
He said that the first section of the new landfill, called cells, will be completed “by mid- to late-September and begin filling in the new cell in October.”
“For a short period of time, Waste Management will be landfilling in both the existing landfill and the new landfill, until the existing landfill achieves final grades,” Conrad added.
He expects the current dump will be used until late this year.
“The existing landfill is not at capacity,” he said. “It is quickly reaching capacity.”
The first cell is 10.9 acres, and is being built along with the liner system.
“In addition, we are installing the associated electrical systems, roads, parking areas and a sedimentation basin,” he said.
Completion of a flood-relief channel, perimeter roads, litter fencing and a 43-acre wetlands preserve will soon follow.
Trash will be dumped only at the new site beginning early 2009. “We will begin capping of the existing landfill in 2009,” Conrad said.
“There are 16 cells planned for the 144.5-acre expansion area,” he added.
“Our current calculations suggest the 144.5-acre expansion area could last from 25 years to 40 years, depending on how fast waste is received,” he said. “That being said, construction will be ongoing, but we don’t expect to be constructing cells every year.”
About 50 Jacksonville and Sherwood residents concerned about growth of the already gargantuan dump appeared at a meeting at the Jacksonville Community Center in April held by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).
Concerns were expressed about worsened flooding of Dupree Park, depreciation of property values, trash potentially ending up in waterways, smell, noise and the unsightly mound at Jacksonville’s south entrance.
The landfill’s permit states that drainage ways will be built to channel water into Brushy Island Creek and eventually into Bayou Meto. That water often floods Dupree Park when it rains.
ADEQ requires the dump be at least 300 feet from a residence, and 100 feet from a property boundary.
At the meeting in April, ADEQ representatives said federal law requires the location to be 1,000 feet from the interstate or highway unless there is a landscaping plan for operational screening.
Leader staff writer
The expansion of the landfill located in Jacksonville — which stores household trash and industrial and commercial garbage from Jacksonville, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Maumelle, Beebe, Bald Knob, Sherwood, Faulkner County, Mayflower, Judsonia and unincorporated parts of Pulaski County — has been stalled because of wet weather.
Trash will continue to be dumped in the current landfill until the new site is completed. Originally planned to be used for 24 years, its operator now projects the new dump may be used as long as 40.
At a Jacksonville City Council meeting in March, David Conrad of Two Pine Landfill told the council that the existing landfill would be full by September. But rainy weather has slowed construction of the new landfill, he said Monday.
Waste Management, owner of the Two Pine site at the intersection of I-440 and Hwy. 67/167, received state approval for the construction of the new site in April.
Two Pine’s expansion will become a 240-acre site capable of holding 34.4 mil ion cubic yards of trash. The dump will be 462 feet above sea level. It will have the capacity to grow nearly three times the size it is now.
“Construction has been slow this summer due to all the wet weather,” Conrad explained. “Otherwise, construction is going well.”
He said that the first section of the new landfill, called cells, will be completed “by mid- to late-September and begin filling in the new cell in October.”
“For a short period of time, Waste Management will be landfilling in both the existing landfill and the new landfill, until the existing landfill achieves final grades,” Conrad added.
He expects the current dump will be used until late this year.
“The existing landfill is not at capacity,” he said. “It is quickly reaching capacity.”
The first cell is 10.9 acres, and is being built along with the liner system.
“In addition, we are installing the associated electrical systems, roads, parking areas and a sedimentation basin,” he said.
Completion of a flood-relief channel, perimeter roads, litter fencing and a 43-acre wetlands preserve will soon follow.
Trash will be dumped only at the new site beginning early 2009. “We will begin capping of the existing landfill in 2009,” Conrad said.
“There are 16 cells planned for the 144.5-acre expansion area,” he added.
“Our current calculations suggest the 144.5-acre expansion area could last from 25 years to 40 years, depending on how fast waste is received,” he said. “That being said, construction will be ongoing, but we don’t expect to be constructing cells every year.”
About 50 Jacksonville and Sherwood residents concerned about growth of the already gargantuan dump appeared at a meeting at the Jacksonville Community Center in April held by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).
Concerns were expressed about worsened flooding of Dupree Park, depreciation of property values, trash potentially ending up in waterways, smell, noise and the unsightly mound at Jacksonville’s south entrance.
The landfill’s permit states that drainage ways will be built to channel water into Brushy Island Creek and eventually into Bayou Meto. That water often floods Dupree Park when it rains.
ADEQ requires the dump be at least 300 feet from a residence, and 100 feet from a property boundary.
At the meeting in April, ADEQ representatives said federal law requires the location to be 1,000 feet from the interstate or highway unless there is a landscaping plan for operational screening.
TOP STORY > >Local hospitals on par with U.S. mortality rates
By NANCY DOCKTER
Leader staff writer
A report released last week by the federal government on death rates for more than 4,000 U.S. hospitals found North Metro Medical Center and White County Medical Center on par with national averages.
For the first time, heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia death rates for the nation’s hospitals are available to the public on the consumer-oriented Web site of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Hospital Compare
(www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov). The site gives the percentages of individuals who died within 30 days of hospital admission for these illnesses, during 2006 and early 2007.
The death rates were only for Medicare patients who are 62 years and older. The information for the study was taken from hospitals’ Medicare claims data.
Nationally, on average, 16 out of every 100 persons admitted to a hospital with a heart attack in 2006-07 died within a month from that or a related cause. For North Metro Medical Center, the rate was a fraction higher – 17.3 percent. White County Medical Center’s rate was 17.7 percent. For both hospitals, the rates were so close to the national average that the differences could have occurred by chance.
Similarly, the two hospitals’ death rates for heart failure and pneumonia were so near the national averages that the differences were no more than what could have occurred randomly.
For heart failure, the national 30-day death rate was 11.1 percent. North Metro Medical Center’s rate was 13.1 percent. White County Medical Center’s rate was 12.6 percent. For pneumonia, the national 30-day death rate was 11.4 percent. North Metro Medical Center’s rate was 10.4 percent. White County Medical Center’s rate was 13.1 percent.
North Metro’s rates were also right in line with those of its biggest competitors. Death rates for Baptist Health Medical Center North, in North Little Rock, were 17.0 percent for heart attack, 10.9 percent for heart failure, and 12.5 percent for pneumonia.
St. Vincent Medical Center North’s death rates were 16.3 percent for heart attack, 11.1 percent for heart failure, and 13.1 percent for pneumonia.
These revelations would seem to vindicate North Metro Medical Center in its battle with a public perception that the quality of care it provides is poorer than that of the two larger hospitals. North Metro’s CEO Scott Landrum, however, seemed unfazed by the news. He said he had hardly taken note of the release of the study that made national headlines a couple of days prior, because he had been focused on other hospital business.
“We are pleased that our numbers are good, but we’ve known that we compare appropriately with other hospitals in Arkansas and those around us – which is where we expect to be,” Landrum said.
Debbie Hare, director of quality/risk management for White County Medical Center, said that the data released last week is part of an ongoing effort by the medical center to improve patient care.
“We review and collect this information monthly,” Hare said. “This national study focuses on Medicare patients, but we examine and address the information concerning the outcomes of every single patient. The numbers in this study are from 2006 and the first quarter of 2007. However, White County Medical Center has shown positive continuous improvement in these areas since 2004.”
Since 2005, the Hospital Compare Web site has provided consumers with information about how well an individual hospital delivers recommended care to patients on 29 indicators as well as the findings of patient satisfaction surveys. Hospitals have long resisted publication of their patient death rates. However, the measure is considered by health care experts as the most meaningful measure of how well a hospital does its job. Researchers believe it is reasonable to conclude that dying within 30 days of a hospitalization could be associated with the care received.
A 30-day mortality rate is a more telling and fair measure than simply a percentage of patients who die while in the hospital, because hospitals differ on how long they keep patients for a particular condition. Hospitals may differ in their patient “mix,” in regards to overall health of who they treat. So, to make comparisons between hospitals fair, researchers “risk-adjusted” the death rates, meaning that the health conditions of a patient upon admission were taken into account when calculating the death rates.
The fact that few hospitals nationally or in Arkansas earned significantly worse ratings than national averages is not a reason to rest on one’s laurels. A few hospitals around the country did have rates significantly lower than the averages.
For example, Leigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pa., had an 11.6 percent death rate for heart attack. That means on average, four or five fewer persons died for every 100 admitted for heart attack to that hospital, compared with the national norm.
Three hospitals – Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Community Hospital in Munster, Ind., and Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston – had a heart failure death rate of 7.1 percent. For pneumonia, Falmouth Hospital in Falmouth, Mass. had a death rate of 7.3 percent.
Regardless of how a hospital performed against the national averages, there is a pressing need to lower the numbers. A 1999 report, “To Error Is Human,” issued by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), concluded that at least 44,000 and perhaps as many as 98,000 Americans die each year from medical errors in hospitals, making medical error the eighth leading cause of death in the United States.
The IOM concluded that the errors were not the result of recklessness on the part of individuals but were due to systems and practices that increased the likelihood of making a mistake.
Most commonly, medical error deaths in hospitals were attributed to improper transfusions, adverse drug reactions, suicides, falls, injuries, pressure ulcers, wrong-site surgeries, and mistaken patient identity. Errors were most likely to occur in emergency rooms, operating rooms, and intensive care units. The report recommended stronger national oversight of the hospital system, clear standards of care, better reporting of errors, and putting systems in place that would make hospitals safer.
The IOM report was met with sharp criticism from within the medical establishment as unfounded exaggeration. A second study in 2004 by HealthGrades, a healthcare quality-monitoring company, agreed with the IOM’s findings, but placed the estimated number of deaths due to medical errors and injuries much higher – at 195,000 per year. The company concluded that medical error and injury was the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.
White County Medical Center takes a team approach to quality assurance. “We have teams that take the overall information, break it down, and give all care providers very detailed area-to-area information,” Hare said.
“These teams let everyone know where to focus improvement efforts. Each nursing unit is given specific recommendations.
Physicians are given specific recom-mendations. All levels of patient- care providers are involved in improving and maintaining high-quality care.”
Review of patient charts against what are considered best practices of care, is part of quality improvement at North Metro Medical Center, said Cindy Stafford, the hospital’s manager for quality management.
A patient’s care is checked against the 29 core processes of care, shown on the Hospital Compare Web site, for heart attack, pneumonia, surgical procedures, and congestive heart failure. For example, processes of care for heart attack include a patient getting aspirin and beta blocker medication at time of arrival and discharge.
“We don’t wait till after the fact; we do this while the patient is still in the hospital,” Stafford said.
Leader staff writer
A report released last week by the federal government on death rates for more than 4,000 U.S. hospitals found North Metro Medical Center and White County Medical Center on par with national averages.
For the first time, heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia death rates for the nation’s hospitals are available to the public on the consumer-oriented Web site of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Hospital Compare
(www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov). The site gives the percentages of individuals who died within 30 days of hospital admission for these illnesses, during 2006 and early 2007.
The death rates were only for Medicare patients who are 62 years and older. The information for the study was taken from hospitals’ Medicare claims data.
Nationally, on average, 16 out of every 100 persons admitted to a hospital with a heart attack in 2006-07 died within a month from that or a related cause. For North Metro Medical Center, the rate was a fraction higher – 17.3 percent. White County Medical Center’s rate was 17.7 percent. For both hospitals, the rates were so close to the national average that the differences could have occurred by chance.
Similarly, the two hospitals’ death rates for heart failure and pneumonia were so near the national averages that the differences were no more than what could have occurred randomly.
For heart failure, the national 30-day death rate was 11.1 percent. North Metro Medical Center’s rate was 13.1 percent. White County Medical Center’s rate was 12.6 percent. For pneumonia, the national 30-day death rate was 11.4 percent. North Metro Medical Center’s rate was 10.4 percent. White County Medical Center’s rate was 13.1 percent.
North Metro’s rates were also right in line with those of its biggest competitors. Death rates for Baptist Health Medical Center North, in North Little Rock, were 17.0 percent for heart attack, 10.9 percent for heart failure, and 12.5 percent for pneumonia.
St. Vincent Medical Center North’s death rates were 16.3 percent for heart attack, 11.1 percent for heart failure, and 13.1 percent for pneumonia.
These revelations would seem to vindicate North Metro Medical Center in its battle with a public perception that the quality of care it provides is poorer than that of the two larger hospitals. North Metro’s CEO Scott Landrum, however, seemed unfazed by the news. He said he had hardly taken note of the release of the study that made national headlines a couple of days prior, because he had been focused on other hospital business.
“We are pleased that our numbers are good, but we’ve known that we compare appropriately with other hospitals in Arkansas and those around us – which is where we expect to be,” Landrum said.
Debbie Hare, director of quality/risk management for White County Medical Center, said that the data released last week is part of an ongoing effort by the medical center to improve patient care.
“We review and collect this information monthly,” Hare said. “This national study focuses on Medicare patients, but we examine and address the information concerning the outcomes of every single patient. The numbers in this study are from 2006 and the first quarter of 2007. However, White County Medical Center has shown positive continuous improvement in these areas since 2004.”
Since 2005, the Hospital Compare Web site has provided consumers with information about how well an individual hospital delivers recommended care to patients on 29 indicators as well as the findings of patient satisfaction surveys. Hospitals have long resisted publication of their patient death rates. However, the measure is considered by health care experts as the most meaningful measure of how well a hospital does its job. Researchers believe it is reasonable to conclude that dying within 30 days of a hospitalization could be associated with the care received.
A 30-day mortality rate is a more telling and fair measure than simply a percentage of patients who die while in the hospital, because hospitals differ on how long they keep patients for a particular condition. Hospitals may differ in their patient “mix,” in regards to overall health of who they treat. So, to make comparisons between hospitals fair, researchers “risk-adjusted” the death rates, meaning that the health conditions of a patient upon admission were taken into account when calculating the death rates.
The fact that few hospitals nationally or in Arkansas earned significantly worse ratings than national averages is not a reason to rest on one’s laurels. A few hospitals around the country did have rates significantly lower than the averages.
For example, Leigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pa., had an 11.6 percent death rate for heart attack. That means on average, four or five fewer persons died for every 100 admitted for heart attack to that hospital, compared with the national norm.
Three hospitals – Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Community Hospital in Munster, Ind., and Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston – had a heart failure death rate of 7.1 percent. For pneumonia, Falmouth Hospital in Falmouth, Mass. had a death rate of 7.3 percent.
Regardless of how a hospital performed against the national averages, there is a pressing need to lower the numbers. A 1999 report, “To Error Is Human,” issued by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), concluded that at least 44,000 and perhaps as many as 98,000 Americans die each year from medical errors in hospitals, making medical error the eighth leading cause of death in the United States.
The IOM concluded that the errors were not the result of recklessness on the part of individuals but were due to systems and practices that increased the likelihood of making a mistake.
Most commonly, medical error deaths in hospitals were attributed to improper transfusions, adverse drug reactions, suicides, falls, injuries, pressure ulcers, wrong-site surgeries, and mistaken patient identity. Errors were most likely to occur in emergency rooms, operating rooms, and intensive care units. The report recommended stronger national oversight of the hospital system, clear standards of care, better reporting of errors, and putting systems in place that would make hospitals safer.
The IOM report was met with sharp criticism from within the medical establishment as unfounded exaggeration. A second study in 2004 by HealthGrades, a healthcare quality-monitoring company, agreed with the IOM’s findings, but placed the estimated number of deaths due to medical errors and injuries much higher – at 195,000 per year. The company concluded that medical error and injury was the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.
White County Medical Center takes a team approach to quality assurance. “We have teams that take the overall information, break it down, and give all care providers very detailed area-to-area information,” Hare said.
“These teams let everyone know where to focus improvement efforts. Each nursing unit is given specific recommendations.
Physicians are given specific recom-mendations. All levels of patient- care providers are involved in improving and maintaining high-quality care.”
Review of patient charts against what are considered best practices of care, is part of quality improvement at North Metro Medical Center, said Cindy Stafford, the hospital’s manager for quality management.
A patient’s care is checked against the 29 core processes of care, shown on the Hospital Compare Web site, for heart attack, pneumonia, surgical procedures, and congestive heart failure. For example, processes of care for heart attack include a patient getting aspirin and beta blocker medication at time of arrival and discharge.
“We don’t wait till after the fact; we do this while the patient is still in the hospital,” Stafford said.
TOP STORY > >Reenacting Civil War battle
Civil War reenactors will be at Reed’s Bridge off South Hwy. 161 in Jacksonville all this weekend to commemorate the August 1863 battle there. Events will begin at 3 p.m. Friday with a reenactment of the troop’s arrival.
A reenactment of the battle will take place Saturday afternoon and again on Sunday. A reenactment of the drill at Reed’s Bridge will take place Saturday morning with the battle at 2 p.m.
Church and memorial services will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday for those who died at the battle.
A final reenactment of the battle will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Col. Mark Vlahos, vice commander of the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, is one of the reenactors scheduled to appear. The other reenactors will come from across the state.
The Battle of Reed’s Bridge was a Confederate effort to slow the Union’s inevitable capture of Little Rock. Thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers clashed in the August 1863 battle at Reed’s Bridge along the Bayou Meto during the North’s advance toward Little Rock.
Confederate Major Gen. Sterling Price sent two of his best cavalry units to Reed’s Bridge with instructions to stall the Union and placed them under the command of Brig. Gen. John Marmaduke and Brig. Gen. Lucius M. Walker.
The job of the Confederate troops was to hold out for as long as possible. During the battle, the Confederate troops set fire to the original Reed’s Bridge.
As Union troops ran to put out the flames, the Confederate troops opened fire, killing seven, wounding 38 and delaying the Union advance.
But the battle was not all glory for the Confederacy. As they pulled back, closer to Little Rock, Gen. Marmaduke supposedly accused Gen. Walker of cowardice during the Battle at Reed’s Bridge. The accusations were quickly settled during a duel in which Marmaduke killed Walker.
The site is on the National Historical Register and has grown larger than 100 acres because of the Reed’s Bridge Historical Society. The field was 412 acres at the time of the battle.
The site along Hwy. 161 is considered to be the best-preserved Civil War site in Arkansas, even though similar sites in Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove are better known.
A reenactment of the battle will take place Saturday afternoon and again on Sunday. A reenactment of the drill at Reed’s Bridge will take place Saturday morning with the battle at 2 p.m.
Church and memorial services will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday for those who died at the battle.
A final reenactment of the battle will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Col. Mark Vlahos, vice commander of the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, is one of the reenactors scheduled to appear. The other reenactors will come from across the state.
The Battle of Reed’s Bridge was a Confederate effort to slow the Union’s inevitable capture of Little Rock. Thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers clashed in the August 1863 battle at Reed’s Bridge along the Bayou Meto during the North’s advance toward Little Rock.
Confederate Major Gen. Sterling Price sent two of his best cavalry units to Reed’s Bridge with instructions to stall the Union and placed them under the command of Brig. Gen. John Marmaduke and Brig. Gen. Lucius M. Walker.
The job of the Confederate troops was to hold out for as long as possible. During the battle, the Confederate troops set fire to the original Reed’s Bridge.
As Union troops ran to put out the flames, the Confederate troops opened fire, killing seven, wounding 38 and delaying the Union advance.
But the battle was not all glory for the Confederacy. As they pulled back, closer to Little Rock, Gen. Marmaduke supposedly accused Gen. Walker of cowardice during the Battle at Reed’s Bridge. The accusations were quickly settled during a duel in which Marmaduke killed Walker.
The site is on the National Historical Register and has grown larger than 100 acres because of the Reed’s Bridge Historical Society. The field was 412 acres at the time of the battle.
The site along Hwy. 161 is considered to be the best-preserved Civil War site in Arkansas, even though similar sites in Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove are better known.
TOP STORY > >Most schools see higher enrollment
By JOAN MCCOY AND JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writers
On the fifth day of school in Cabot, enrollment was at 9,514, which was up 327 from the fifth day of last school year. And Jim Dalton, assistant superintendent of Cabot School District, says that’s about what he would expect.
Though the numbers fluctuate, enrollment increases an average of 300 a year, he said. In the past four years, it has gone up by 1,209. This time in 2004, enrollment was 8,305. Dalton says he can’t explain why, but some students don’t enroll until after Labor Day. So he will count heads again next Tuesday and he expects the number to go up. But the next count won’t be until the end of the first nine weeks, he said. “Based on my experience, we’re going to be at about 320 (increase),” he said.
After a week of school, enrollment at Pulaski County Special School District is up for the first time in recent history.
The district will take an eight-day count tomorrow to confirm the new enrollment of 18,068—up 199 from last year.
Elementary school enrollment, including pre-kindergarten, was up 339 from last year, while secondary schools lost about 140 students, including 38 from the Jacksonville Girls Middle School and another 23 from the boys school.
Enrollment is also up in Beebe. The books show 3,194, compared to 3,084 last year, an increase of 110. But Dr. Belinda Shook, school superintendent, said that number could go up or down after Labor Day.
“Some people wait to move until Labor Day because it’s a long weekend,” Shook said.
Although enrollment was up by 140 four years ago, when Shook was first hired superintendent, she said said the count has increased by 70 or 80 a year. Enrollment at the Lonoke School District, which has trended slightly up over the past decade, appears set to increase about a dozen students this year, according to John Tackett, Lonoke’s superintendent.
Comparing Monday enrollments to those from the end of the first quarter of school a year ago, Lonoke has increased from 1,827 students to 1,839 this year, Tackett said. The primary school decreased from 425 last year to 409 this year and Lonoke High School declined 11 students to 539, but the elementary school increased from 417 to 426 and the middle School increased 29 students, from 435 to 464. Several factors affected the increase, Tackett said, including the normal ebb and flow of enrollment numbers. Lonoke has become quite firm in not allowing students to transfer out of the district except in certain, very specific circumstances, and also the district has continually quantified its academic problems and implemented programs to address them.
“I’d like to think that what we are doing here makes us attractive to people looking to move to a suburban/rural environment 20 minutes from Little Rock,” he said.
Also, the district’s facilities have continually improved. A new field house will be ready for the first Lonoke Jackrabbit football home game Sept. 19, Tackett said. That will include restrooms and a new concession stand.
Leader staff writers
On the fifth day of school in Cabot, enrollment was at 9,514, which was up 327 from the fifth day of last school year. And Jim Dalton, assistant superintendent of Cabot School District, says that’s about what he would expect.
Though the numbers fluctuate, enrollment increases an average of 300 a year, he said. In the past four years, it has gone up by 1,209. This time in 2004, enrollment was 8,305. Dalton says he can’t explain why, but some students don’t enroll until after Labor Day. So he will count heads again next Tuesday and he expects the number to go up. But the next count won’t be until the end of the first nine weeks, he said. “Based on my experience, we’re going to be at about 320 (increase),” he said.
After a week of school, enrollment at Pulaski County Special School District is up for the first time in recent history.
The district will take an eight-day count tomorrow to confirm the new enrollment of 18,068—up 199 from last year.
Elementary school enrollment, including pre-kindergarten, was up 339 from last year, while secondary schools lost about 140 students, including 38 from the Jacksonville Girls Middle School and another 23 from the boys school.
Enrollment is also up in Beebe. The books show 3,194, compared to 3,084 last year, an increase of 110. But Dr. Belinda Shook, school superintendent, said that number could go up or down after Labor Day.
“Some people wait to move until Labor Day because it’s a long weekend,” Shook said.
Although enrollment was up by 140 four years ago, when Shook was first hired superintendent, she said said the count has increased by 70 or 80 a year. Enrollment at the Lonoke School District, which has trended slightly up over the past decade, appears set to increase about a dozen students this year, according to John Tackett, Lonoke’s superintendent.
Comparing Monday enrollments to those from the end of the first quarter of school a year ago, Lonoke has increased from 1,827 students to 1,839 this year, Tackett said. The primary school decreased from 425 last year to 409 this year and Lonoke High School declined 11 students to 539, but the elementary school increased from 417 to 426 and the middle School increased 29 students, from 435 to 464. Several factors affected the increase, Tackett said, including the normal ebb and flow of enrollment numbers. Lonoke has become quite firm in not allowing students to transfer out of the district except in certain, very specific circumstances, and also the district has continually quantified its academic problems and implemented programs to address them.
“I’d like to think that what we are doing here makes us attractive to people looking to move to a suburban/rural environment 20 minutes from Little Rock,” he said.
Also, the district’s facilities have continually improved. A new field house will be ready for the first Lonoke Jackrabbit football home game Sept. 19, Tackett said. That will include restrooms and a new concession stand.
TOP STORY > >Violent end brings pall over quiet subdivision
By JONATHAN FELDMAN AND GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader staff writers
Jacksonville police said Tuesday they had no choice but to fatally shoot a man with a history of mental illness who started spraying bullets at police and neighbors in the quiet subdivision of Foxwood in Jacksonville on Monday.
The shooter, identified as Steven Smith, 44, of 200 Foxwood Drive, held off police for approximately five hours with what a neighbor described as an AK 47 military rifle with a long banana clip and numerous rounds, while he was holed up at his parents’ home.
The man refused to surrender and was killed by police a little after 7 p.m. Monday.
“It was an unfortunate situation that could not be avoided,” Police Chief Gary Sipes said about the fatal shootout.
He said his department has “a couple of officers trained in hostage negotiation. They made contact with him several times.
They got on a bull horn.”
Police also communicated with him by a cell phone they had passed on to Smith. Officers had hoped Smith would surrender, but when he came out of the house shooting as darkness approached, the deadly outcome was inevitable.
Smith exchanged fire with dozens of officers throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
“It was a defensive situation,” the chief continued. “He came outside armed, and out of necessity and safety of our officers,” he said his men had to take aim at Smith.
Capt. Charles Jenkins, a police department spokesman, said at a press conference on Tuesday, “Yesterday, we had to bring our training to bear.”
“We handled the situation the best that could be expected,” said Jenkins. He said the shooter was the only person in the house when he was shot.
He had earlier beaten his father, Walter Smith, who got out of the house before police were called. The father went to the home of a neighbor, who called 911.
“The father was treated and released. He suffered injuries from being in a physical altercation and not with gunfire,” Jenkins said.
The shooter’s father was described by neighbors as a retired airman who once owned a convenience store in Jacksonville.
Police say they were called to Smith’s home to investigate a neighbor’s complaint of someone shooting bottle rockets and cursing. Numerous cars and homes on Fox Glenn Street, which adjoins Foxwood Drive, are now riddled by bullets. Shattered windows, windshields, bullet-sprayed cars and trucks were visible on Tuesday morning.
“I came home with my granddaughter and I heard the shots. I thought it was firecrackers at first,” said Betty Stevens, who lives on Fox Glenn Street and remembered Smith as quiet and friendly with a disheveled appearance.
Moments later, police cars had swarmed the block and Stevens realized that this was much more serious than firecrackers. The semi-automatic rifle fire could be heard from the corner of Madden Road and Northeastern Street at one of the police blockades in the area. A man mowing the lawn at St. Stephens Episcopal Church said that he heard 30 or 40 shots just before 3 p.m. Monday.
Several Foxwood residents described Smith as a quiet man who stopped to chat with them during his frequent walks in the neighborhood.
In interviews, Smith’s neighbors said he lived with his parents for the past several years after suffering brain damage from a head-on collision while he was driving an ice-cream truck for a company owned by his older brother. After the accident, Smith’s personality had changed dramatically, neighbors said. He communicated slowly and seemed distant.
Alan Simmons, a resident of Fox Glenn since 1978 and a high school classmate of Smith’s, said the shooter never “mentioned any interest in using guns.”
“He would come by and offer to mow the lawn or ask to borrow tools,” Simmons said.
“We were in the house when the first shots were fired. They came so fast that it sounded like metal being crushed,” Simmons said.
Simmons went to his front yard and saw Smith shooting at an empty police car. Simmons later saw officers behind trees as they traded shots with the man he had known most of his life. “Friday was the last time I saw (Smith). He was always friendly. His parents are very nice. They are not a threat to anyone,” Linda Simmons said.
Smith would occasionally ask how Simmons and his family were doing. His behavior was that of a cordial neighbor.
Three officers were hit by Smith’s bullets, but according to Jenkins, none of their injuries are life threatening. Jenkins thanked the Arkansas State Police, the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, the Sherwood Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for assisting in the investigation.
Jeffrey Smith of The Leader contributed to this report.
Leader staff writers
Jacksonville police said Tuesday they had no choice but to fatally shoot a man with a history of mental illness who started spraying bullets at police and neighbors in the quiet subdivision of Foxwood in Jacksonville on Monday.
The shooter, identified as Steven Smith, 44, of 200 Foxwood Drive, held off police for approximately five hours with what a neighbor described as an AK 47 military rifle with a long banana clip and numerous rounds, while he was holed up at his parents’ home.
The man refused to surrender and was killed by police a little after 7 p.m. Monday.
“It was an unfortunate situation that could not be avoided,” Police Chief Gary Sipes said about the fatal shootout.
He said his department has “a couple of officers trained in hostage negotiation. They made contact with him several times.
They got on a bull horn.”
Police also communicated with him by a cell phone they had passed on to Smith. Officers had hoped Smith would surrender, but when he came out of the house shooting as darkness approached, the deadly outcome was inevitable.
Smith exchanged fire with dozens of officers throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
“It was a defensive situation,” the chief continued. “He came outside armed, and out of necessity and safety of our officers,” he said his men had to take aim at Smith.
Capt. Charles Jenkins, a police department spokesman, said at a press conference on Tuesday, “Yesterday, we had to bring our training to bear.”
“We handled the situation the best that could be expected,” said Jenkins. He said the shooter was the only person in the house when he was shot.
He had earlier beaten his father, Walter Smith, who got out of the house before police were called. The father went to the home of a neighbor, who called 911.
“The father was treated and released. He suffered injuries from being in a physical altercation and not with gunfire,” Jenkins said.
The shooter’s father was described by neighbors as a retired airman who once owned a convenience store in Jacksonville.
Police say they were called to Smith’s home to investigate a neighbor’s complaint of someone shooting bottle rockets and cursing. Numerous cars and homes on Fox Glenn Street, which adjoins Foxwood Drive, are now riddled by bullets. Shattered windows, windshields, bullet-sprayed cars and trucks were visible on Tuesday morning.
“I came home with my granddaughter and I heard the shots. I thought it was firecrackers at first,” said Betty Stevens, who lives on Fox Glenn Street and remembered Smith as quiet and friendly with a disheveled appearance.
Moments later, police cars had swarmed the block and Stevens realized that this was much more serious than firecrackers. The semi-automatic rifle fire could be heard from the corner of Madden Road and Northeastern Street at one of the police blockades in the area. A man mowing the lawn at St. Stephens Episcopal Church said that he heard 30 or 40 shots just before 3 p.m. Monday.
Several Foxwood residents described Smith as a quiet man who stopped to chat with them during his frequent walks in the neighborhood.
In interviews, Smith’s neighbors said he lived with his parents for the past several years after suffering brain damage from a head-on collision while he was driving an ice-cream truck for a company owned by his older brother. After the accident, Smith’s personality had changed dramatically, neighbors said. He communicated slowly and seemed distant.
Alan Simmons, a resident of Fox Glenn since 1978 and a high school classmate of Smith’s, said the shooter never “mentioned any interest in using guns.”
“He would come by and offer to mow the lawn or ask to borrow tools,” Simmons said.
“We were in the house when the first shots were fired. They came so fast that it sounded like metal being crushed,” Simmons said.
Simmons went to his front yard and saw Smith shooting at an empty police car. Simmons later saw officers behind trees as they traded shots with the man he had known most of his life. “Friday was the last time I saw (Smith). He was always friendly. His parents are very nice. They are not a threat to anyone,” Linda Simmons said.
Smith would occasionally ask how Simmons and his family were doing. His behavior was that of a cordial neighbor.
Three officers were hit by Smith’s bullets, but according to Jenkins, none of their injuries are life threatening. Jenkins thanked the Arkansas State Police, the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, the Sherwood Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for assisting in the investigation.
Jeffrey Smith of The Leader contributed to this report.
SPORTS>>Falcons unveil 2008 squad in scrimmage
By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
Tony Bohannon wasn’t ready to declare his North Pulaski Falcons world-beaters after a couple of short scrimmages. But he was clearly pleased with what he saw.
The Falcons, losers of 56 of their past 60 games, are pinning their highest hopes in years on a big offensive line and the return of 16 starters. They finally got a chance to see the 2008 product against another team in the Pulaski Robinson jamboree scrimmage on Monday night at Robinson High School.
“We were pleased overall with the effort and pleased with the attitude,” said Bohannon, who begins his seventh year at the Falcon helm when North Pulaski visits Searcy for the season opener Sept. 5.
The Falcons scrimmaged 3A England for a half, then took on 5A Robinson for the second half. Other than the normal game-time glitches of a first scrimmage of the season, Bohannon said the Falcons were technically and fundamentally sound, though they did lose three fumbles during the course of the evening.
“I’m not real crazy about that,” he said. “But we ran the ball real well and we were able to move the ball. Darrius Cage, Billy Barron and Bryan Colson all ran the ball well.”
Those three are all sophomores, which belies the experience of a team that returns eight starters on offense and eight on defense.
Bohannon said the offensive line, expected to be one of the primary strengths of the squad, blocked well.
“They didn’t dominate,” he said. “And they got a little tired. The conditioning part for the whole team showed a little bit. We’re not as far as I thought we’d be at this point. But there was nothing I saw last night that we can’t fix.”
The big question mark heading into fall was the center position, which was left vacated by the graduation of dandy snapper Caleb Phillips. The Falcons worked throughout August to find his replacement and it appears as if it will be 215-pound senior Jeff Painter.
“Right now, he’s our No. 1 man,” Bohannon said. “We had no bad snaps, no bobbled snaps and that was a big plus for us.”
Bohannon got an opportunity to play a lot of people, including the junior varsity squad. Six different running backs toted the ball for the Falcons, though offensive fireplug Jerald Blair was not among them. He played only on defense on Monday.
Quarterback A.J. Allen ran the option well, Bohannon said.
Bohannon was equally pleased with the defense.
“We’re still looking to fill some spots, but I saw some positive things, depth-wise,” he said.
The Falcons will focus on special teams today before hitting it hard again on Thursday and Friday, when they will begin to prepare for Searcy. The Lions matched North Pulaski’s 1-9 record in 2007.
Bohannon is glad to have the first scrimmage under his belt.
“You’re always going to find a few glitches in that first scrimmage,” he said. “We’ll look at film and make corrections. But overall, I was pretty pleased and saw a lot of positive things to look to the future.”
Leader sports editor
Tony Bohannon wasn’t ready to declare his North Pulaski Falcons world-beaters after a couple of short scrimmages. But he was clearly pleased with what he saw.
The Falcons, losers of 56 of their past 60 games, are pinning their highest hopes in years on a big offensive line and the return of 16 starters. They finally got a chance to see the 2008 product against another team in the Pulaski Robinson jamboree scrimmage on Monday night at Robinson High School.
“We were pleased overall with the effort and pleased with the attitude,” said Bohannon, who begins his seventh year at the Falcon helm when North Pulaski visits Searcy for the season opener Sept. 5.
The Falcons scrimmaged 3A England for a half, then took on 5A Robinson for the second half. Other than the normal game-time glitches of a first scrimmage of the season, Bohannon said the Falcons were technically and fundamentally sound, though they did lose three fumbles during the course of the evening.
“I’m not real crazy about that,” he said. “But we ran the ball real well and we were able to move the ball. Darrius Cage, Billy Barron and Bryan Colson all ran the ball well.”
Those three are all sophomores, which belies the experience of a team that returns eight starters on offense and eight on defense.
Bohannon said the offensive line, expected to be one of the primary strengths of the squad, blocked well.
“They didn’t dominate,” he said. “And they got a little tired. The conditioning part for the whole team showed a little bit. We’re not as far as I thought we’d be at this point. But there was nothing I saw last night that we can’t fix.”
The big question mark heading into fall was the center position, which was left vacated by the graduation of dandy snapper Caleb Phillips. The Falcons worked throughout August to find his replacement and it appears as if it will be 215-pound senior Jeff Painter.
“Right now, he’s our No. 1 man,” Bohannon said. “We had no bad snaps, no bobbled snaps and that was a big plus for us.”
Bohannon got an opportunity to play a lot of people, including the junior varsity squad. Six different running backs toted the ball for the Falcons, though offensive fireplug Jerald Blair was not among them. He played only on defense on Monday.
Quarterback A.J. Allen ran the option well, Bohannon said.
Bohannon was equally pleased with the defense.
“We’re still looking to fill some spots, but I saw some positive things, depth-wise,” he said.
The Falcons will focus on special teams today before hitting it hard again on Thursday and Friday, when they will begin to prepare for Searcy. The Lions matched North Pulaski’s 1-9 record in 2007.
Bohannon is glad to have the first scrimmage under his belt.
“You’re always going to find a few glitches in that first scrimmage,” he said. “We’ll look at film and make corrections. But overall, I was pretty pleased and saw a lot of positive things to look to the future.”
SPORTS>> Panthers get untracked
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
For those who like to keep score, it was a 45-26 win for the Cabot Panthers over Lake Hamilton during their annual scrimmage game at Panther Stadium on Monday night.
But for coach Mike Malham, it was all about getting the offense in gear after a slow start.
“It was kind of a defensive struggle until there at the end,” Malham said. “We finally came out and looked like we knew what we were doing. But (Lake Hamilton) has everybody back, and their defense looked pretty good. We couldn’t just go out there and have our way with them.”
Junior fullback Michael James closed out the night with some strong running. He had only two rushes for six yards during the varsity offense’s first 15-play series, but picked things up later on, carrying eight times for 68 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown run up the gut during the second series for the first team offense.
“The defenses played good, which is encouraging,” Malham said. “Offensively, I thought we looked a little better there at the end when we went with the 20-in (drives). We finally started doing what I thought we could do. James was running a little harder, and maybe they just woke up finally. We needed that. Just to get out under the lights and hit somebody.
“They were a state runner up in 6A with everybody back, and projected to get there again. They are a good team. They could play in our conference very easily.”
There was also competition going on for the second-team running backs. Senior Leonard Mitchell broke a 28-yard touchdown run late in the scrimmage on a pitch from QB Nathan Byrnes.
That left the Panthers with two more plays in their 15-down allotment, and junior Matt Bayles took advantage of one of those plays with a 75-yard scamper down the left side for back-to-back Cabot scores.
“I think I’m happy with the effort,” Malham said. “I thought we looked a lot better defensively than we did offensively until right there at the end I thought we finally woke up and looked like we were doing a little bit better.”
Defensively, senior lineman Kyle Deblock had several tackles inside, and Ethan Coffee looked strong in the secondary with a number of break-ups. Jason Sled pulled down an interception for the second-team defense, and Joe Bryant picked up on special teams where he left off last season with a pair of blocked field goal attempts.
Penalties were a problem for the Panthers, especially early on. There were a few pass interference and personal foul penalties, but the majority of the flags against Cabot were simple motion and encroachment infractions.
“That’s another thing,” Malham said. “When you’ve got experienced guys back, you shouldn’t have all those offsides penalties and in motion and stuff like that. When you’ve got everybody back, that shouldn’t happen. That’s why I’m thinking ‘Where’s our brains at? Where’s our concentration and focus?’
“We think we’re just going to step out on the field and they’re going to lay down for us, but it doesn’t work that way. We have to come ready to play, so hopefully they woke up a little bit.”
The Panthers will hold their Red-White game on Friday before opening the season at Jacksonville on Tuesday.
Leader sportswriter
For those who like to keep score, it was a 45-26 win for the Cabot Panthers over Lake Hamilton during their annual scrimmage game at Panther Stadium on Monday night.
But for coach Mike Malham, it was all about getting the offense in gear after a slow start.
“It was kind of a defensive struggle until there at the end,” Malham said. “We finally came out and looked like we knew what we were doing. But (Lake Hamilton) has everybody back, and their defense looked pretty good. We couldn’t just go out there and have our way with them.”
Junior fullback Michael James closed out the night with some strong running. He had only two rushes for six yards during the varsity offense’s first 15-play series, but picked things up later on, carrying eight times for 68 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown run up the gut during the second series for the first team offense.
“The defenses played good, which is encouraging,” Malham said. “Offensively, I thought we looked a little better there at the end when we went with the 20-in (drives). We finally started doing what I thought we could do. James was running a little harder, and maybe they just woke up finally. We needed that. Just to get out under the lights and hit somebody.
“They were a state runner up in 6A with everybody back, and projected to get there again. They are a good team. They could play in our conference very easily.”
There was also competition going on for the second-team running backs. Senior Leonard Mitchell broke a 28-yard touchdown run late in the scrimmage on a pitch from QB Nathan Byrnes.
That left the Panthers with two more plays in their 15-down allotment, and junior Matt Bayles took advantage of one of those plays with a 75-yard scamper down the left side for back-to-back Cabot scores.
“I think I’m happy with the effort,” Malham said. “I thought we looked a lot better defensively than we did offensively until right there at the end I thought we finally woke up and looked like we were doing a little bit better.”
Defensively, senior lineman Kyle Deblock had several tackles inside, and Ethan Coffee looked strong in the secondary with a number of break-ups. Jason Sled pulled down an interception for the second-team defense, and Joe Bryant picked up on special teams where he left off last season with a pair of blocked field goal attempts.
Penalties were a problem for the Panthers, especially early on. There were a few pass interference and personal foul penalties, but the majority of the flags against Cabot were simple motion and encroachment infractions.
“That’s another thing,” Malham said. “When you’ve got experienced guys back, you shouldn’t have all those offsides penalties and in motion and stuff like that. When you’ve got everybody back, that shouldn’t happen. That’s why I’m thinking ‘Where’s our brains at? Where’s our concentration and focus?’
“We think we’re just going to step out on the field and they’re going to lay down for us, but it doesn’t work that way. We have to come ready to play, so hopefully they woke up a little bit.”
The Panthers will hold their Red-White game on Friday before opening the season at Jacksonville on Tuesday.
SPORTS>> Rhinos play keep-away in easy win
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Payback was both sweet and decisive for the Arkansas Rhinos on Saturday.
The Rhinos routed the Memphis Panthers 34-6 at Red Devil Field behind another impressive performance by running back Jerald Marshall. Keeping possession of the ball for an amazing 49 of the game’s 60 minutes, they improved to 4-2 on the season and put themselves back in the hunt for a NAFL playoff spot.
“We came out and had good ball control all night,” said Rhinos head coach Oscar Malone. “Our offense stayed out a lot, our defense played minimal. We seemed to get our confidence back and got back to playing Rhinos football, which is hitting hard, running fast and having fun.”
The win avenged a 19-17 loss to the Panthers on July 26.
The temporary departure of offensive coordinator Scott Breeze put the clipboard in Malone’s hands, and the result was 235 yards of total offense and three offensive touchdowns for the Rhinos. Breeze put himself on voluntary leave after a sideline altercation with a player a week ago against Tri-City. He could potentially return for the postseason.
The defense continued to dominate for the Rhinos as Memphis got its only score of the game in the third quarter on a fumble return. A Panther defender knocked the ball out of quarterback Jeremiah Crouch’s hands after a blistering hit, and another defender scooped it up and took it 39 yards for the score.
But that was the end of the Panther highlights. Memphis began to threaten late in the first half, but a pair of interceptions by Ben Witcher and veteran Marcus thwarted first-half drives.
No one ran faster or harder than Marshall on Saturday, who had his second straight 100-plus yard game with nine carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
His heroics were not limited to offense, however. After a touchdown pass from Jeremiah Crouch to Josh Dixon put Arkansas up 10-0 at the start of the second quarter, Marshall recovered the ensuing kickoff in the Panthers’ end zone to give the Rhinos a 17-0 lead at halftime.
Kicker Garrett Morgan also had another big game for the Rhinos. Morgan put the first points of the night up for Arkansas with a 42-yard field goal mid-way through the opening quarter, and hit his second of the night when the Rhinos’ first drive of the second half stalled at the Panther 14-yard line. This time, it was a 39-yard boot that put the Rhinos up 20-0.
The Panthers’ defense cut that lead to 20-6 with their fumble return, but it didn’t take long for the Rhinos to answer. Marshall took the handoff from Crouch on the first play of the fourth quarter and scurried 75 yards for his second score of the night.
Arkansas linebacker Jerry Hill set up the final Rhinos score of the game when he forced a Panther fumble at their 8-yard line. Ronnie Marshall fell on it for the Rhinos, and QB Damien Dunning snuck in from a yard out two plays later to set the final margin.
While passing accounted for only 38 of the Rhinos’ 235 yards, Malone wasn’t too concerned.
“We seem to give up one or the other,” Malone said. “When we move the ball passing, we can’t rush. When we move it rushing, we can’t seem to pass. If we can run well and have that kind of ball control, the passing situation is not that critical.”
Crouch completed 3 of 9 pass attempts for 26 yards and a touchdown.
The Rhinos will host the River City Cats this Saturday at Red Devil Field, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
Leader sportswriter
Payback was both sweet and decisive for the Arkansas Rhinos on Saturday.
The Rhinos routed the Memphis Panthers 34-6 at Red Devil Field behind another impressive performance by running back Jerald Marshall. Keeping possession of the ball for an amazing 49 of the game’s 60 minutes, they improved to 4-2 on the season and put themselves back in the hunt for a NAFL playoff spot.
“We came out and had good ball control all night,” said Rhinos head coach Oscar Malone. “Our offense stayed out a lot, our defense played minimal. We seemed to get our confidence back and got back to playing Rhinos football, which is hitting hard, running fast and having fun.”
The win avenged a 19-17 loss to the Panthers on July 26.
The temporary departure of offensive coordinator Scott Breeze put the clipboard in Malone’s hands, and the result was 235 yards of total offense and three offensive touchdowns for the Rhinos. Breeze put himself on voluntary leave after a sideline altercation with a player a week ago against Tri-City. He could potentially return for the postseason.
The defense continued to dominate for the Rhinos as Memphis got its only score of the game in the third quarter on a fumble return. A Panther defender knocked the ball out of quarterback Jeremiah Crouch’s hands after a blistering hit, and another defender scooped it up and took it 39 yards for the score.
But that was the end of the Panther highlights. Memphis began to threaten late in the first half, but a pair of interceptions by Ben Witcher and veteran Marcus thwarted first-half drives.
No one ran faster or harder than Marshall on Saturday, who had his second straight 100-plus yard game with nine carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
His heroics were not limited to offense, however. After a touchdown pass from Jeremiah Crouch to Josh Dixon put Arkansas up 10-0 at the start of the second quarter, Marshall recovered the ensuing kickoff in the Panthers’ end zone to give the Rhinos a 17-0 lead at halftime.
Kicker Garrett Morgan also had another big game for the Rhinos. Morgan put the first points of the night up for Arkansas with a 42-yard field goal mid-way through the opening quarter, and hit his second of the night when the Rhinos’ first drive of the second half stalled at the Panther 14-yard line. This time, it was a 39-yard boot that put the Rhinos up 20-0.
The Panthers’ defense cut that lead to 20-6 with their fumble return, but it didn’t take long for the Rhinos to answer. Marshall took the handoff from Crouch on the first play of the fourth quarter and scurried 75 yards for his second score of the night.
Arkansas linebacker Jerry Hill set up the final Rhinos score of the game when he forced a Panther fumble at their 8-yard line. Ronnie Marshall fell on it for the Rhinos, and QB Damien Dunning snuck in from a yard out two plays later to set the final margin.
While passing accounted for only 38 of the Rhinos’ 235 yards, Malone wasn’t too concerned.
“We seem to give up one or the other,” Malone said. “When we move the ball passing, we can’t rush. When we move it rushing, we can’t seem to pass. If we can run well and have that kind of ball control, the passing situation is not that critical.”
Crouch completed 3 of 9 pass attempts for 26 yards and a touchdown.
The Rhinos will host the River City Cats this Saturday at Red Devil Field, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
SPORTS>> Red Devils put on show
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
What Red Devil coach Mark Whatley described as Jacksonville High School’s night of “football and hamburgers,” satisfied fans’ pallets on both fronts Saturday night at Jan Crow Stadium.
The annual intramural Red-White night kicked off with scrimmages by the eighth and ninth grade teams, followed by the varsity team. The varsity scrimmaged in four series before the junior and senior high volleyball teams were introduced to the crowd during an intermission.
Local financial institutions also put on an exhibition flag football game before the varsity Devils took to the field one more time, and an impressive fireworks display closed out the event.
The fireworks for the Red Devils started in the first series from scrimmage with a pair of runs by Patrick Geans. Geans carried five times during the first scrimmage for the red team, picking up 26 total yards. His biggest gainer came on the second series with a 12-yard pickup.
Sophomore quarterback Logan Perry looked impressive in his first snaps also. The underclassman showed poise in the pocket, completing 9 of 10 pass attempts for 142 yards and two touchdowns during two drives.
He made most of his completions on slant passes to either side, but also looked solid on the deep ball, first hitting Demetris Harris on a 48-yard bomb to score on the first drive for the Red team. He found fellow sophomore John Johnson on the left side for a 27-yard touchdown pass on the following drive, although Johnson made up the biggest part of those yards on the ground after the reception.
“The biggest thing is, we got out of here healthy,” Whatley said. “This is a football team that will have a chance to get better and better every time they take to the field. We had a lot of youth out there, especially when you look and see six or even offense move the ball during the seven sophomores on the defensive side.”
Terrell Brown also took snaps on Saturday. He played sparingly at quarterback during the first scrimmage, but helped the White team econd scrimmage. The White team threatened to score a couple of times, but interceptions — one by Harris — ended promising drives.
Overall, Whatley was pleased with the effort, but said he wants to see more pads cracking on the offensive side.
“We’re going to have to get more physical offensively,” Whatley said. “We need to block until the whistle blows. I thought (Perry) got rid of it well, and did a good job of getting out of a couple of jams.
“Patrick didn’t get loose the way we thought he might. He had some tough running there on the inside. He had to wade through a lot of people tonight.”
The freshmen scrimmage was all Red team in a 24-0 decision earlier in the evening. Highlights included an interception and return back to the 1-yard line by Martell Cooper, which was followed by a touchdown pass reception by Demetry Jones moments later.
The Red Devils will open their season on Sept. 2 when they host Cabot for the much-anticipated Backyard Brawl.
Leader sportswriter
What Red Devil coach Mark Whatley described as Jacksonville High School’s night of “football and hamburgers,” satisfied fans’ pallets on both fronts Saturday night at Jan Crow Stadium.
The annual intramural Red-White night kicked off with scrimmages by the eighth and ninth grade teams, followed by the varsity team. The varsity scrimmaged in four series before the junior and senior high volleyball teams were introduced to the crowd during an intermission.
Local financial institutions also put on an exhibition flag football game before the varsity Devils took to the field one more time, and an impressive fireworks display closed out the event.
The fireworks for the Red Devils started in the first series from scrimmage with a pair of runs by Patrick Geans. Geans carried five times during the first scrimmage for the red team, picking up 26 total yards. His biggest gainer came on the second series with a 12-yard pickup.
Sophomore quarterback Logan Perry looked impressive in his first snaps also. The underclassman showed poise in the pocket, completing 9 of 10 pass attempts for 142 yards and two touchdowns during two drives.
He made most of his completions on slant passes to either side, but also looked solid on the deep ball, first hitting Demetris Harris on a 48-yard bomb to score on the first drive for the Red team. He found fellow sophomore John Johnson on the left side for a 27-yard touchdown pass on the following drive, although Johnson made up the biggest part of those yards on the ground after the reception.
“The biggest thing is, we got out of here healthy,” Whatley said. “This is a football team that will have a chance to get better and better every time they take to the field. We had a lot of youth out there, especially when you look and see six or even offense move the ball during the seven sophomores on the defensive side.”
Terrell Brown also took snaps on Saturday. He played sparingly at quarterback during the first scrimmage, but helped the White team econd scrimmage. The White team threatened to score a couple of times, but interceptions — one by Harris — ended promising drives.
Overall, Whatley was pleased with the effort, but said he wants to see more pads cracking on the offensive side.
“We’re going to have to get more physical offensively,” Whatley said. “We need to block until the whistle blows. I thought (Perry) got rid of it well, and did a good job of getting out of a couple of jams.
“Patrick didn’t get loose the way we thought he might. He had some tough running there on the inside. He had to wade through a lot of people tonight.”
The freshmen scrimmage was all Red team in a 24-0 decision earlier in the evening. Highlights included an interception and return back to the 1-yard line by Martell Cooper, which was followed by a touchdown pass reception by Demetry Jones moments later.
The Red Devils will open their season on Sept. 2 when they host Cabot for the much-anticipated Backyard Brawl.
Monday, August 25, 2008
TOP STORY > >Election-commission chairman walks out
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
“The Lonoke County Election Commission no longer has the capability to conduct countywide elections,” commission chairman Larry Clarke angrily told the quorum court on Thursday, before storming out of the meeting, then resigning.
“This is the direct result of the loss of storage and office space in the Cabot Mini Mall,” according to Clarke.
He said the loss of election commission space was part of a power struggle between County Judge Charlie Troutman, a Democrat, and county Republicans.
Larry Clarke, a Republican, said he would be replaced by former election commissioner and former Cabot Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh, or else someone appointed by Stumbaugh.
Clarke’s wife, Lynn Weeks Clarke, is a Republican justice of the peace in Lonoke County. She and her fellow Republicans have been engaged in an increasingly mean political struggle with Troutman, both sides playing hardball.
Troutman on Friday denied that taking the space from the election commission and giving it to the State Police was related to Lynn Clarke’s confrontations with him.
Larry Clarke, who did the lion’s share of the work to bring Lonoke County elections from the dark ages to the high-speed digital world, said that Troutman had kicked the commission out of its already inadequate space and given it to the State Police.
Only a few years ago, it took four days to get election results, but in the primaries last May, election officials began packing up about 9:30 p.m.
It’s unclear who will run the electronic election in Clarke’s absence, but if it’s election software company ES and S, Clarke says that will be quite expensive.
School board elections are in September and testing of the county’s 104 machines for the November election should begin in early October, Clarke said.
Usually amiable, Clarke was loud and declarative, accusing Troutman of reneging on promises to provide permanent storage space for the Ivotronic touch-screen voting machines, probably at the county courthouse annex.
“This equipment is worth close to a half million dollars for 32,000 voters and they can’t pony up 12 grand a year for storage/office space,” Clarke said later. “That’s incompetence.”
While Larry Clarke was talking, Troutman got up and left the room.
“I had to relieve myself and I’m trying to send a message,” said Troutman Friday. “I don’t give a damn (about Clarke’s accusations),” he said.
“I was totally shocked that those machines were put in a JP’s garage,” Troutman said.
“We had machines in my home two years, 40 of them, waiting for the judge to find storage space. I’ve conducted logic and accuracy tests on sidewalks in Cabot and in my driveway,” Clarke said. “This is inappropriate for a county this size.”
“I stored that at home for two years because judge, you promised me space. You promised me space in this building,” Clarke said of the courthouse annex.
Troutman said he never promised space in the annex for the machines.
Currently, some voting machines are in the garage portion of the annex, but it’s neither heated nor climate controlled and other county equipment is stored there.
Clarke said the annex was not a good permanent solution because as a CSEPP facility, Office of Emergency Services Director Jimmy Depriest needed to keep the building secure, while the election commissioners and workers were volunteers who needed to do their work on nights and weekends.
Lynn Clarke is running for reelection in November against Democrat Barry Weathers, so Troutman said state law requires taking her name off the ballot if her husband is running the election.
Troutman said that the commission had somehow tested the logic and accuracy of the machines in every race dating back to 2004, when the county first got the machines, and he thought they’d do so again.
“An election will go on as always,” Troutman said. “Ever since we had these machines, where did they check? I’m sure come November 4, the election will go on.”
The judge has in recent months vetoed one action taken led by Republicans on the court and also overturned another action by convening a county court, of which he is judge.
The Republicans, for their part, have been bringing to the quorum court meetings allegations of what they say is malfeasance or illegal self dealing by the judge.
Troutman has been under investigation by the State Police for about one year to see if he broke the law by using county equipment, employees and materials to chip-seal part of a drive at a service station owned by his son and his daughter-in-law, Jodie Troutman. She is a justice of the peace.
Troutman said that his son had let the county use several parcels of land around the county to store and transfer chip-seal materials and that it was only fair to do that favor. Plus, he said, his son paid the county.
“Everybody in this room expects the results accurate and on time,” Clarke said. “The election commission is asking for assistance because of zero cooperation from Charlie Troutman.”
Clarke said sufficient, secure, climate- controlled storage for the computerized voting machines could be leased in the Cabot area for $12,000 a year.
JP Larry Odom said he knew of two places the commission could use for office and storage space in the Cabot area, but declined to say where because he wanted to talk first to the owner.
Odom, a Republican, is nonetheless on the outs with the other Republicans, and Clarke said Odom was just trying to support Troutman, a Democrat. He called Odom a county judge wannabe.
Leader senior staff writer
“The Lonoke County Election Commission no longer has the capability to conduct countywide elections,” commission chairman Larry Clarke angrily told the quorum court on Thursday, before storming out of the meeting, then resigning.
“This is the direct result of the loss of storage and office space in the Cabot Mini Mall,” according to Clarke.
He said the loss of election commission space was part of a power struggle between County Judge Charlie Troutman, a Democrat, and county Republicans.
Larry Clarke, a Republican, said he would be replaced by former election commissioner and former Cabot Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh, or else someone appointed by Stumbaugh.
Clarke’s wife, Lynn Weeks Clarke, is a Republican justice of the peace in Lonoke County. She and her fellow Republicans have been engaged in an increasingly mean political struggle with Troutman, both sides playing hardball.
Troutman on Friday denied that taking the space from the election commission and giving it to the State Police was related to Lynn Clarke’s confrontations with him.
Larry Clarke, who did the lion’s share of the work to bring Lonoke County elections from the dark ages to the high-speed digital world, said that Troutman had kicked the commission out of its already inadequate space and given it to the State Police.
Only a few years ago, it took four days to get election results, but in the primaries last May, election officials began packing up about 9:30 p.m.
It’s unclear who will run the electronic election in Clarke’s absence, but if it’s election software company ES and S, Clarke says that will be quite expensive.
School board elections are in September and testing of the county’s 104 machines for the November election should begin in early October, Clarke said.
Usually amiable, Clarke was loud and declarative, accusing Troutman of reneging on promises to provide permanent storage space for the Ivotronic touch-screen voting machines, probably at the county courthouse annex.
“This equipment is worth close to a half million dollars for 32,000 voters and they can’t pony up 12 grand a year for storage/office space,” Clarke said later. “That’s incompetence.”
While Larry Clarke was talking, Troutman got up and left the room.
“I had to relieve myself and I’m trying to send a message,” said Troutman Friday. “I don’t give a damn (about Clarke’s accusations),” he said.
“I was totally shocked that those machines were put in a JP’s garage,” Troutman said.
“We had machines in my home two years, 40 of them, waiting for the judge to find storage space. I’ve conducted logic and accuracy tests on sidewalks in Cabot and in my driveway,” Clarke said. “This is inappropriate for a county this size.”
“I stored that at home for two years because judge, you promised me space. You promised me space in this building,” Clarke said of the courthouse annex.
Troutman said he never promised space in the annex for the machines.
Currently, some voting machines are in the garage portion of the annex, but it’s neither heated nor climate controlled and other county equipment is stored there.
Clarke said the annex was not a good permanent solution because as a CSEPP facility, Office of Emergency Services Director Jimmy Depriest needed to keep the building secure, while the election commissioners and workers were volunteers who needed to do their work on nights and weekends.
Lynn Clarke is running for reelection in November against Democrat Barry Weathers, so Troutman said state law requires taking her name off the ballot if her husband is running the election.
Troutman said that the commission had somehow tested the logic and accuracy of the machines in every race dating back to 2004, when the county first got the machines, and he thought they’d do so again.
“An election will go on as always,” Troutman said. “Ever since we had these machines, where did they check? I’m sure come November 4, the election will go on.”
The judge has in recent months vetoed one action taken led by Republicans on the court and also overturned another action by convening a county court, of which he is judge.
The Republicans, for their part, have been bringing to the quorum court meetings allegations of what they say is malfeasance or illegal self dealing by the judge.
Troutman has been under investigation by the State Police for about one year to see if he broke the law by using county equipment, employees and materials to chip-seal part of a drive at a service station owned by his son and his daughter-in-law, Jodie Troutman. She is a justice of the peace.
Troutman said that his son had let the county use several parcels of land around the county to store and transfer chip-seal materials and that it was only fair to do that favor. Plus, he said, his son paid the county.
“Everybody in this room expects the results accurate and on time,” Clarke said. “The election commission is asking for assistance because of zero cooperation from Charlie Troutman.”
Clarke said sufficient, secure, climate- controlled storage for the computerized voting machines could be leased in the Cabot area for $12,000 a year.
JP Larry Odom said he knew of two places the commission could use for office and storage space in the Cabot area, but declined to say where because he wanted to talk first to the owner.
Odom, a Republican, is nonetheless on the outs with the other Republicans, and Clarke said Odom was just trying to support Troutman, a Democrat. He called Odom a county judge wannabe.
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