By RAY BENTON
Special to The Leader
Sometimes nothing seems to go right but the ending. That’s the way things went for the Jacksonville Red Devils Friday night.
Hosting their first playoff game in years, Jacksonville rallied late and held on for dear life to earn a 13-12 victory over the Sheridan Yellowjackets at Jan Crow Stadium. It’s the first playoff victory for the school since 1991, but it didn’t come easily.
Two blocked extra points by Jacksonville turned out to be the difference in the game.
Jacksonville (7-4) moves on to play Lake Hamilton in Pearcy next Friday night.
The Red Devils had two 1-yard touchdown runs called back on flags. One was for holding, the second for illegally pushing the pile. Another apparent touchdown wasn’t granted when running back Patrick Geans was ruled down at the one-inch line just before halftime.
Trailing 12-6, Jacksonville took over on its own 36-yard line with 6:46 left in the game. The Red Devils moved the ball to the Sheridan 11 where it faced third and four. They lined up for the big third-down play, but whistles blew and the head referee called an officials’ timeout. After a long discussion over the ball, the referee came out of the huddle and signaled an illegal procedure penalty against Jacksonville.
On the next snap, sophomore quarterback Logan Perry lobbed the ball to the left corner of the end zone, where senior receiver Demetris Harris leaped and pulled it down for the score amidst three Yellowjacket defenders.
Place kicker Brandon Harris, who was starting for only the second week after an injury to Jacksonville’s starting kicker, got the extra point just inside the right upright for what turned out to be the game-winning point.
“He made five of six last week against Marion, but he made a big one tonight,” Jacksonville coach Mark Whatley said. “He’s going to remember that one.”
The first drive of the game saw the visitors push the Red Devil defense back for 69 yards in 11 plays, showing a good mix of the running and passing. The drive culminated in a 7-yard strike from Eric Eggburn to Brady Bone that gave Sheridan a 6-0 lead.
On the extra point, however, Jacksonville senior Patrick Geans got through the line to keep it a six-point game.
Sheridan got little offense going the rest of the half, but the defense held well until four minutes remained until the break. That’s when Jacksonville finally broke through with a 4-yard touchdown run by junior Keith Rodgers that capped a 33-yard Red Devil drive.
Jacksonville made its initial extra point attempts, but it was taken off the board and Sheridan was called for off-sides. The second attempt was mishandled by the holder, leaving the game tied at 6.
Jacksonville’s touchdown came one drive after an apparent Geans touchdown plunge was called back for holding.
Jacksonville got the ball back with 37 seconds left in the half at the Sheridan 37-yard line. A little razzle dazzle got it to the 1-yard line two plays later. A hook and lateral was executed perfectly from the 34. Perry hit Terrell Brown at the 20-yard line, and Brown lateraled to a streaking Geans. Geans got the corner and was dragged down inside the one. But the Red Devils ran out of time on the next play when Geans was ruled down as the half ended.
The Yellowjackets marched 71 yards in 20 plays on their first drive of the second half, chewing up 10:30 of the clock in the process. While the first drive of the game mixed the run and pass, the second-half scoring drive was a big dose fullback Vince Aguilar. Aguilar carried 15 times for 56 yards, but it was Eggburn that ran the final one for one yard and the score with 11:10 left in the game.
Only once again the extra point was blocked, leaving the Yellowjackets up 12-6. This time it was junior Joey Gates bursting up the middle to get a hand on the ball.
“Sometimes that football just bounces funny,” Sheridan coach Benji White said. “I thought we executed well offensively, we just made some mistakes that we couldn’t overcome.”
The Red Devils still couldn’t get the ball moving after the Sheridan score, but the defense regrouped and forced a three-and-out possession by the Yellowjackets.
“After getting pushed back like we did on the first drive, that stop right there was remarkable,” Whatley said of his defense. “It just goes to show that this group can refocus play after play. There’s not any getting down, getting on teammates or name-calling. This group just refocuses every play.”
Starting from their own 36, Jacksonville had to overcome two 5-yard penalties and two long third-down situations to keep the drive alive. The first was a 17-yard pass to Harris on third and 10. The second was the 16-yard touchdown strike to the 6-foot-6 senior on third and nine.
“Harris has been fantastic for us all year,” Whatley said. “He plays with heart and he comes through for us.”
Sheridan’s coach was also impressed with Harris.
“Jacksonville has some great athletes and they just threw it to their best one,” White said. “I thought we defended the play extremely well. The kid just made a great play to go up there and get it.”
Sheridan finished with 220 yards while Jacksonville tallied 310.
Aguilar led everyone with 109 yards on 27 carries, as well as three receptions for 13 yards.
Sheridan ends the season at 3-8.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
SPORTS>> Bear becomes a boar
By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
D.J. Baxendale is hoping no one holds it against him that he hasn’t always been a rabid Razorback fan.
Or that he actually preferred LSU sports in general growing up.
“But I’ve always loved Razorback baseball,” said the Sylvan Hills’ senior ace who helped lead the Bears to a 6A state championship and earned the MVP in the process.
Razorback baseball returned Baxendale’s fondness on Wednesday morning, signing him to a scholarship to pitch at the University of Arkansas.
Baxendale put together an amazing junior season after transferring from Abundant Life after his sophomore year. His 0.67 ERA, 120 strikeouts and fewer than 20 walks had Sylvan Hills head coach Denny Tipton still shaking his head at the signing ceremony at the Sylvan Hills Media Center on Wednesday.
“A year ago we picked up a transfer from Abundant Life by the name of D.J. Baxendale,” Tipton said. “He ended up shattering all the records. His (ERA and strikeouts) are totally unheard of. Any time you allow under one run a game for the entire season, it’s remarkable.”
Beyond his skills, Tipton said Baxendale also has the right mindset for the game.
“D.J. is a 25-year-old in a 17-year-old’s body,” he said. “His maturity on the field is just amazing.”
Baxendale pitched the Bears into the championship game last May with a win over Searcy in the quarterfinals, followed by a 2-hit shutout of Texarkana in the semifinals two days later. Though he failed to get the win in the championship victory over Watson Chapel, Baxendale delivered the game-winning hit as the Bears rallied from three runs down in the final inning.
Baxendale orally committed to Missouri State as a sophomore, but as he began to draw more notice during his standout junior season, he decided to re-examine his options. Those included Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Missouri, Memphis and Mississippi State.
“I really didn’t want to go any further than six or seven hours away so my parents could come and watch me.”
With the Razorbacks losing the great majority of their pitching corps to graduation, Baxendale figures to gets some tosses as a freshman. The Arkansas coaching staff told him they’re expecting the new pitchers to come in a produce right away, Baxendale said. Depending on his velocity, he might be used as a starter or a long reliever, he added.
Baxendale throws from the high eighties to the low nineties and said he will approach high school hitters next spring as though they are SEC foes.
“I want to focus on keeping my pitches low and on making my curve ball and slider sharper,” he said.
Baxendale thinks the Bears, who will drop down to 5A this year, have a good chance to repeat.
“We lose everybody in our outfield, but we’ve got most of our infield coming back,” he said. “We’ve also got even more good pitchers. We’re going to be a tough team. Everybody will be gunning for us, but coach Tipton always has us ready.”
For Tipton, a life-long Razorback fan, Baxendale’s signing with Arkansas is a special treat.
“It’s always a great honor any- time we sign one of our players,” he said. “It’s rare that it’s with the University of Arkansas. We always enjoy going up to watch the Razorbacks play and this year, when we go, we’ll get to see one of our own.
“I think D.J. has an outstanding opportunity to come into Arkansas and pitch right away and probably to be drafted, too.”
Leader sports editor
D.J. Baxendale is hoping no one holds it against him that he hasn’t always been a rabid Razorback fan.
Or that he actually preferred LSU sports in general growing up.
“But I’ve always loved Razorback baseball,” said the Sylvan Hills’ senior ace who helped lead the Bears to a 6A state championship and earned the MVP in the process.
Razorback baseball returned Baxendale’s fondness on Wednesday morning, signing him to a scholarship to pitch at the University of Arkansas.
Baxendale put together an amazing junior season after transferring from Abundant Life after his sophomore year. His 0.67 ERA, 120 strikeouts and fewer than 20 walks had Sylvan Hills head coach Denny Tipton still shaking his head at the signing ceremony at the Sylvan Hills Media Center on Wednesday.
“A year ago we picked up a transfer from Abundant Life by the name of D.J. Baxendale,” Tipton said. “He ended up shattering all the records. His (ERA and strikeouts) are totally unheard of. Any time you allow under one run a game for the entire season, it’s remarkable.”
Beyond his skills, Tipton said Baxendale also has the right mindset for the game.
“D.J. is a 25-year-old in a 17-year-old’s body,” he said. “His maturity on the field is just amazing.”
Baxendale pitched the Bears into the championship game last May with a win over Searcy in the quarterfinals, followed by a 2-hit shutout of Texarkana in the semifinals two days later. Though he failed to get the win in the championship victory over Watson Chapel, Baxendale delivered the game-winning hit as the Bears rallied from three runs down in the final inning.
Baxendale orally committed to Missouri State as a sophomore, but as he began to draw more notice during his standout junior season, he decided to re-examine his options. Those included Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Missouri, Memphis and Mississippi State.
“I really didn’t want to go any further than six or seven hours away so my parents could come and watch me.”
With the Razorbacks losing the great majority of their pitching corps to graduation, Baxendale figures to gets some tosses as a freshman. The Arkansas coaching staff told him they’re expecting the new pitchers to come in a produce right away, Baxendale said. Depending on his velocity, he might be used as a starter or a long reliever, he added.
Baxendale throws from the high eighties to the low nineties and said he will approach high school hitters next spring as though they are SEC foes.
“I want to focus on keeping my pitches low and on making my curve ball and slider sharper,” he said.
Baxendale thinks the Bears, who will drop down to 5A this year, have a good chance to repeat.
“We lose everybody in our outfield, but we’ve got most of our infield coming back,” he said. “We’ve also got even more good pitchers. We’re going to be a tough team. Everybody will be gunning for us, but coach Tipton always has us ready.”
For Tipton, a life-long Razorback fan, Baxendale’s signing with Arkansas is a special treat.
“It’s always a great honor any- time we sign one of our players,” he said. “It’s rare that it’s with the University of Arkansas. We always enjoy going up to watch the Razorbacks play and this year, when we go, we’ll get to see one of our own.
“I think D.J. has an outstanding opportunity to come into Arkansas and pitch right away and probably to be drafted, too.”
TOP STORY > >Former owner of Cabot store arrested again on theft count
By JOAN McCOY
Leader staff writer
A Cabot business owner, who has been convicted on felony theft charges for failing to deliver scooters he sold on eBay and through his own Internet company, has been arrested on one new charge and nine more new cases are under investigation.
Cabot Police Lt. Scott Steely said even though eBay revoked Eddie Williams selling privileges two years ago when his customers complained that he was not delivering the product, he recently started selling again under a different name.
Williams is currently out of jail on bond for allegedly not delivering a scooter to a customer in North Dakota, and Steely said he is investigating cases in Missouri, Florida, Illinois and Washington state.
Steely said the evidence shows that, once again, Williams is collecting money for scooters and not ordering them from the dealers who actually ship them.
“There’s no evidence that he is paying for these products,” he said.
Williams and his wife Connie are both awaiting a Dec. 1 sentencing on the first conviction. But Connie Williams was not included in the recent charge. Steely said the customer told him he had only talked to Eddie Williams.
No trial date has been set on the most recent charge, but Steely said he hopes the judge takes the charge into account when he sentences the couple.
“My goal is to get him away from the computer,” Steely said.
In September, the couple was found guilty in Lonoke Circuit Court on six felony charges of theft of property.
Special Judge John Cole said the evidence from the prosecutor showed that the couple, who owned Tecboys in Cabot, intended to take their customers’ money and that the defense did not show otherwise.
The couple’s defense was that illness had caused problems for the business and that there had been no intent to defraud.
They were arrested in October 2006 after Cabot police started getting calls from concerned customers who apparently panicked after EBay took away Tecboys selling privileges.
Steely said then that his department got 15 calls the first week in October 2006, and 17 customers called the Arkansas Better Business Bureau.
Eddie Williams contended that his sales were out of state so Cabot police had no jurisdiction. Steely said this week that his defense has not changed.
“He still says we have no jurisdiction and it’s the shipper’s fault,” Steely said.
Leader staff writer
A Cabot business owner, who has been convicted on felony theft charges for failing to deliver scooters he sold on eBay and through his own Internet company, has been arrested on one new charge and nine more new cases are under investigation.
Cabot Police Lt. Scott Steely said even though eBay revoked Eddie Williams selling privileges two years ago when his customers complained that he was not delivering the product, he recently started selling again under a different name.
Williams is currently out of jail on bond for allegedly not delivering a scooter to a customer in North Dakota, and Steely said he is investigating cases in Missouri, Florida, Illinois and Washington state.
Steely said the evidence shows that, once again, Williams is collecting money for scooters and not ordering them from the dealers who actually ship them.
“There’s no evidence that he is paying for these products,” he said.
Williams and his wife Connie are both awaiting a Dec. 1 sentencing on the first conviction. But Connie Williams was not included in the recent charge. Steely said the customer told him he had only talked to Eddie Williams.
No trial date has been set on the most recent charge, but Steely said he hopes the judge takes the charge into account when he sentences the couple.
“My goal is to get him away from the computer,” Steely said.
In September, the couple was found guilty in Lonoke Circuit Court on six felony charges of theft of property.
Special Judge John Cole said the evidence from the prosecutor showed that the couple, who owned Tecboys in Cabot, intended to take their customers’ money and that the defense did not show otherwise.
The couple’s defense was that illness had caused problems for the business and that there had been no intent to defraud.
They were arrested in October 2006 after Cabot police started getting calls from concerned customers who apparently panicked after EBay took away Tecboys selling privileges.
Steely said then that his department got 15 calls the first week in October 2006, and 17 customers called the Arkansas Better Business Bureau.
Eddie Williams contended that his sales were out of state so Cabot police had no jurisdiction. Steely said this week that his defense has not changed.
“He still says we have no jurisdiction and it’s the shipper’s fault,” Steely said.
TOP STORY > >CenturyTel opens $2.2M complex
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
CenturyTel celebrated its $2.2 million, 12,000 square-foot expansion of its Jacksonville facility with three days of grand opening activities Tuesday through Thursday.
The Jacksonville facility at 2616 W. Main St. is now a regional office responsible for 700,000 customers in eight southern and southeastern states.
The expansion brings in about 30 more employees, as well as new office space, meeting rooms and a new retail outlet.
The new outlet includes an “experience center” that will give customers ways to try out computers, large screen televisions, cell phones, high-speed Internet, and other voice and video products.
“It’s a place where customers can experience our products,” communications manager Jeff Jones said.
John Stuckey, area operations manager, added, “The experience center shows off our commitment to providing advanced communication products and great service.” He said the retail outlet was an area where “customers can test drive our products and quality of service.”
“We are very proud of the new building,” said Jeff Jones, spokesman for CenturyTel. “It’s very energy efficient, uses a lot of natural light and has the latest fiber optic and wiring technology,” he said.
With the variety of services now available at the Jacksonville facility, Jones said, “It ensures our customers of a local solution.”
Grand opening activities included giving military members a chance to communicate with other family members on Veteran’s Day, health screenings on Wednesday and classes and workshops Thursday on high-speed Internet, satellite television and universal remotes.
The completed expansion con-solidates regional operations, bringing in employees from all over CenturyTel’s southern region, which is comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
CenturyTel is a provider of telecommunications, high-speed Internet and entertainment services through fiber and broadband networks in small to mid-size cities in 25 states.
CenturyTel affiliates across Arkansas provide local exchange service in about 140 communities.
The company now known as CenturyTel was founded in 1968 as Central Telephone and Electronics, with 10,000 access lines in three states.
In 1978, the company began to replace its electromagnetic switches with digital computer technology.
The same year, Century stock began being traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1983, CenturyTel entered the cellular phone business with the FCC’s authorization of cellular mobile phone use.
By 2002, CenturyTel had nearly 2.5 million access lines nationally, and Business Week ranked CenturyTel as 16th among the top 100 information technology companies and first among all other U.S.-based telecommunication companies, according to a CenturyTel media release.
Leader staff writer
CenturyTel celebrated its $2.2 million, 12,000 square-foot expansion of its Jacksonville facility with three days of grand opening activities Tuesday through Thursday.
The Jacksonville facility at 2616 W. Main St. is now a regional office responsible for 700,000 customers in eight southern and southeastern states.
The expansion brings in about 30 more employees, as well as new office space, meeting rooms and a new retail outlet.
The new outlet includes an “experience center” that will give customers ways to try out computers, large screen televisions, cell phones, high-speed Internet, and other voice and video products.
“It’s a place where customers can experience our products,” communications manager Jeff Jones said.
John Stuckey, area operations manager, added, “The experience center shows off our commitment to providing advanced communication products and great service.” He said the retail outlet was an area where “customers can test drive our products and quality of service.”
“We are very proud of the new building,” said Jeff Jones, spokesman for CenturyTel. “It’s very energy efficient, uses a lot of natural light and has the latest fiber optic and wiring technology,” he said.
With the variety of services now available at the Jacksonville facility, Jones said, “It ensures our customers of a local solution.”
Grand opening activities included giving military members a chance to communicate with other family members on Veteran’s Day, health screenings on Wednesday and classes and workshops Thursday on high-speed Internet, satellite television and universal remotes.
The completed expansion con-solidates regional operations, bringing in employees from all over CenturyTel’s southern region, which is comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
CenturyTel is a provider of telecommunications, high-speed Internet and entertainment services through fiber and broadband networks in small to mid-size cities in 25 states.
CenturyTel affiliates across Arkansas provide local exchange service in about 140 communities.
The company now known as CenturyTel was founded in 1968 as Central Telephone and Electronics, with 10,000 access lines in three states.
In 1978, the company began to replace its electromagnetic switches with digital computer technology.
The same year, Century stock began being traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1983, CenturyTel entered the cellular phone business with the FCC’s authorization of cellular mobile phone use.
By 2002, CenturyTel had nearly 2.5 million access lines nationally, and Business Week ranked CenturyTel as 16th among the top 100 information technology companies and first among all other U.S.-based telecommunication companies, according to a CenturyTel media release.
TOP STORY > >PCSSD’s academic progress is on the rise
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Despite having 10 area schools being on the state’s “needing academic improvement list” and another eight district schools on the list, the state education department says Pulaski County Special School District did make adequate progress in the 2007-2008 school year.
The district, which is on the state’s list of districts failing academically, will need to make more progress next year in order to get off the dreaded list.
“We are having success,” said Dr. Beverly Ruthven, the district’s deputy superintendent for learning services, “and expect to be off the list next year.”
In all, 25 of the state’s 245 school districts are in some phase of district improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind Act as a result of their students’ performance on the 2008 Benchmark Exams.
Those tests included literacy and math exams for students in grade three through eight, end-of-course exams in algebra and geometry and a literacy efficiency exam for juniors.
Last year, 11 districts, including PCSSD, were on the state’s failing list.
A district is placed into district improvement when it has failed to make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years.
Likewise, districts must make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years to be removed from the list.
A district is put on the improvement list when yearly adequate progress is not met. By federal law, all students must be on grade level in the areas of math and literacy — meaning they must score proficient or advanced on the Benchmark Exams — by the end of the 2013-2014 school year.
To reach that goal all districts, at this point, should have more than half their students already on grade level, and increasing that amount by about 7 percent a year.
In determining if a district should be placed on the list, the state looks at three grade groups, K-5, 6-8 and 9-12. The state also looks at the academic progress of particular groups such as African-Americans, Hispanics, Caucasians, economically disadvantaged students, students with learning disabilities and English-as-a-second language learners.
PCSSD is on the list for weaknesses among sixth through eighth graders in literacy among African-Americans, the economically disadvantaged and students with disabilities; 6-8 grade math among students with disabilities; 9-12 grade literacy among the combined populations, African Americans and economically disadvantaged; and in 9-12 grade math among the combined populations, African Americans, economically disadvantaged and students with disabilities.
Ruthven said the district has been approaching the district’s academic needs on a number of fronts. She said the district has put an emphasis on teacher training, using alternative portfolio assessment for students with disabilities, improving on co-teaching, adding math and literacy coaches and using outside consultants to help get the district and staff focused on academic progress.
Ruthven said this year the district has added a freshman academy at every high school to help ninth graders, and is offering summer transition camps for incoming sixth and ninth graders who didn’t score proficient or advanced.
Area PCSSD schools on the school improvement list include Jacksonville Elementary, Jacksonville Girls Middle, Jacksonville Boys Middle, Jacksonville High, Murrell Taylor Elementary, Sylvan Hills Middle, Sylvan Hills High, North Pulaski High, Northwood Middle, Oakbrooke Elementary and Harris Elementary.
Other districts in central Arkansas that are on the improvement list include North Little Rock and Little Rock.
Leader staff writer
Despite having 10 area schools being on the state’s “needing academic improvement list” and another eight district schools on the list, the state education department says Pulaski County Special School District did make adequate progress in the 2007-2008 school year.
The district, which is on the state’s list of districts failing academically, will need to make more progress next year in order to get off the dreaded list.
“We are having success,” said Dr. Beverly Ruthven, the district’s deputy superintendent for learning services, “and expect to be off the list next year.”
In all, 25 of the state’s 245 school districts are in some phase of district improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind Act as a result of their students’ performance on the 2008 Benchmark Exams.
Those tests included literacy and math exams for students in grade three through eight, end-of-course exams in algebra and geometry and a literacy efficiency exam for juniors.
Last year, 11 districts, including PCSSD, were on the state’s failing list.
A district is placed into district improvement when it has failed to make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years.
Likewise, districts must make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years to be removed from the list.
A district is put on the improvement list when yearly adequate progress is not met. By federal law, all students must be on grade level in the areas of math and literacy — meaning they must score proficient or advanced on the Benchmark Exams — by the end of the 2013-2014 school year.
To reach that goal all districts, at this point, should have more than half their students already on grade level, and increasing that amount by about 7 percent a year.
In determining if a district should be placed on the list, the state looks at three grade groups, K-5, 6-8 and 9-12. The state also looks at the academic progress of particular groups such as African-Americans, Hispanics, Caucasians, economically disadvantaged students, students with learning disabilities and English-as-a-second language learners.
PCSSD is on the list for weaknesses among sixth through eighth graders in literacy among African-Americans, the economically disadvantaged and students with disabilities; 6-8 grade math among students with disabilities; 9-12 grade literacy among the combined populations, African Americans and economically disadvantaged; and in 9-12 grade math among the combined populations, African Americans, economically disadvantaged and students with disabilities.
Ruthven said the district has been approaching the district’s academic needs on a number of fronts. She said the district has put an emphasis on teacher training, using alternative portfolio assessment for students with disabilities, improving on co-teaching, adding math and literacy coaches and using outside consultants to help get the district and staff focused on academic progress.
Ruthven said this year the district has added a freshman academy at every high school to help ninth graders, and is offering summer transition camps for incoming sixth and ninth graders who didn’t score proficient or advanced.
Area PCSSD schools on the school improvement list include Jacksonville Elementary, Jacksonville Girls Middle, Jacksonville Boys Middle, Jacksonville High, Murrell Taylor Elementary, Sylvan Hills Middle, Sylvan Hills High, North Pulaski High, Northwood Middle, Oakbrooke Elementary and Harris Elementary.
Other districts in central Arkansas that are on the improvement list include North Little Rock and Little Rock.
TOP STORY > >Board asks for resignation
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
School board members say Pulaski County Special School District administrators dragged their feet when they should have been closing two elementary schools for the safety of the students, and as a result Superintendent James Sharpe’s job is on the line.
At a special board meeting Thursday to consider the two schools, which have been discovered to have substandard and weakened roofs over the classrooms, members pointedly questioned Sharpe, James Warren, his executive director for support services, and Jerry Holder, director of plant services, over the timeline between their receipt of a report critical of the roof structures and the time that students were finally pulled from Crystal Hill Elementary School.
The board then retired to executive session at the special meeting Thursday evening to consider personnel.
When board president Mildred Tatum came out of the session long enough to get copies of engineering reports, she was asked if the meeting were for “firing, hiring, or disciplining” personnel.
“Firing, firing, firing, firing,” she said.
Who are you considering firing?
“The board can only fire the superintendent,” she said.
Sharpe said that action caught him by surprise.
Sharpe still has his job for now, but the board will convene another special meeting at 5 p.m., Nov. 25 to discuss his future.
The board is trying to establish a timeline to see if the administration acted with due diligence, or if students were left in dangerous schools while the administration dawdled.
“I’m not pleased with the timelines,” said board member Bill Vasquez of Jacksonville. “We want all the information. We’ll know more in a week and a half. We’re not pleased with the way (Sharpe) handled this, with the transparency.
“This is just one more straw on the camel’s back,” Vasquez said.
Since Pam Roberts retired as the Maumelle-area board member and Tim Clark was elected without opposition, the balance of power has shifted from Charlie Wood, Danny Gililland and Shana Chapin, who were generally supportive of the administration, to Mildred Tatum, Gwen Williams and Bill Vasquez, who have frequently been critical.
With the addition of Clark, the new majority’s board has wasted no time asserting itself.
Sympathetic to the district’s two employee unions, the new majority reinstated the Pulaski Association of Support Staff as bargaining agent for non-certified personnel.
Now they have served notice on the administration by considering firing the superintendent.
Even if Sharpe survives with his job, Tatum, Williams, Vasquez and Clark will have gotten his attention.
The PCSSD board has fired or forced the resignation of the two superintendents that preceded Sharpe, and bought out the
contracts of each.
In 2004, the board bought out the remaining time on Don Henderson’s contract for $142,000.
Prior to that, the board bought out the contract to Superintendent Gary Smith.
Sharpe’s three-year contract is for $117,000 a year, but his contract protects the district from paying more than one year’s salary in the event that he retires or is fired, according to Tatum.
Leader senior staff writer
School board members say Pulaski County Special School District administrators dragged their feet when they should have been closing two elementary schools for the safety of the students, and as a result Superintendent James Sharpe’s job is on the line.
At a special board meeting Thursday to consider the two schools, which have been discovered to have substandard and weakened roofs over the classrooms, members pointedly questioned Sharpe, James Warren, his executive director for support services, and Jerry Holder, director of plant services, over the timeline between their receipt of a report critical of the roof structures and the time that students were finally pulled from Crystal Hill Elementary School.
The board then retired to executive session at the special meeting Thursday evening to consider personnel.
When board president Mildred Tatum came out of the session long enough to get copies of engineering reports, she was asked if the meeting were for “firing, hiring, or disciplining” personnel.
“Firing, firing, firing, firing,” she said.
Who are you considering firing?
“The board can only fire the superintendent,” she said.
Sharpe said that action caught him by surprise.
Sharpe still has his job for now, but the board will convene another special meeting at 5 p.m., Nov. 25 to discuss his future.
The board is trying to establish a timeline to see if the administration acted with due diligence, or if students were left in dangerous schools while the administration dawdled.
“I’m not pleased with the timelines,” said board member Bill Vasquez of Jacksonville. “We want all the information. We’ll know more in a week and a half. We’re not pleased with the way (Sharpe) handled this, with the transparency.
“This is just one more straw on the camel’s back,” Vasquez said.
Since Pam Roberts retired as the Maumelle-area board member and Tim Clark was elected without opposition, the balance of power has shifted from Charlie Wood, Danny Gililland and Shana Chapin, who were generally supportive of the administration, to Mildred Tatum, Gwen Williams and Bill Vasquez, who have frequently been critical.
With the addition of Clark, the new majority’s board has wasted no time asserting itself.
Sympathetic to the district’s two employee unions, the new majority reinstated the Pulaski Association of Support Staff as bargaining agent for non-certified personnel.
Now they have served notice on the administration by considering firing the superintendent.
Even if Sharpe survives with his job, Tatum, Williams, Vasquez and Clark will have gotten his attention.
The PCSSD board has fired or forced the resignation of the two superintendents that preceded Sharpe, and bought out the
contracts of each.
In 2004, the board bought out the remaining time on Don Henderson’s contract for $142,000.
Prior to that, the board bought out the contract to Superintendent Gary Smith.
Sharpe’s three-year contract is for $117,000 a year, but his contract protects the district from paying more than one year’s salary in the event that he retires or is fired, according to Tatum.
TOP STORY > >Requests for liquor licenses increase
By JOAN McCOY
Leader staff writer
With the exception of a handful of country clubs, selling alcoholic beverages in Lonoke County has been illegal since 1937 but changes made in 2003 to state liquor laws to promote tourism and economic development now allow restaurants open to the public to sell alcohol even in the dry counties, and restaurant owners in Lonoke County are applying for the private club liquor permits they need to do just that.
So far, two restaurants have been approved and two more are applying. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board has issued private club liquor permits for Kopan, which opened earlier this year in Cabot serving Korean and Japanese food, and for a restaurant in Ward that has not been built.
Two appeals have been filed in circuit court to stop the Ward restaurant from serving alcohol, but no appeal has been filed against the permit issued to Kopan.
ABC is also reviewing applications from Fat Daddy’s, which opened recently in Cabot, and Deer Creek Grill in Cabot which has not yet been built.
The wet/dry issue was decided in Lonoke County on Dec. 14, 1937, by the majority of 1,160 voters who turned out for the special election. Of that number, 328 voted to continue selling alcohol, and 832 voted to ban it.
By state law, for voters to have a say in the matter today would require a petition containing the verified signatures of 38 percent of the county’s registered voters.
Since Lonoke County has 36,534 registered voters, 13,883 signatures would be needed to get the issue on the ballot in November 2010.
Kopan’s request for a private club liquor license was denied in September by Michael Langley, director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, a state regulatory agency in Little Rock, but that denial was appealed to the ABC board and approved in October.
Langley said in August that if there are objections to a license application, he has no choice except to deny the application and allow all sides to present their cases to the ABC board.
In Cabot, church pastors as well as some city officials objected to the permit being issued.
The ABC granted a private club license to Win Knight on March 31, contingent on the actual construction and approval by the state health department for the restaurant he planned to build in Ward, but opponents appealed to circuit court and the restaurant has not been built.
Knight said recently that he had drunk a beer at Kopan and he was not upset that he was issued the first permit in the county but was not the first to use it.
The Ward City Council opposed Knight’s license application, but the Cabot City Council has not taken an official position.
Some counties like Benton County in the northern part of the state which now has 120 establishments selling alcohol under private club liquor licenses, have taken advantage of the law.
But so far only one restaurant in White County, Kelly’s in Bald Knob, has been granted a license.
The state has issued four private club liquor licenses in Lonoke County, two for clubs in Cabot’s Greystone, one for Rolling Hills Country Club in Cabot and one for Mallard Point in Lonoke.
In White County, in addition to Kelly’s liquor licenses are held by a country club in Searcy, a VFW in Searcy, a VFW in Beebe and the Eagle Lodge in Searcy.
Langley said in deciding whether to grant private club liquor licenses to restaurants, the ABC board hears arguments from those asking for the license and those opposing it.
Each case is decided on its own merits, he said.
Although a private club liquor license entitles the licensee to sell all alcoholic beverages, Langley said some applicants opt to serve only certain drinks like beer and wine possibly because they think doing so could reduce opposition.
However if a license is issued with restrictions, those restrictions must be adhered to, he said.
Leader staff writer
With the exception of a handful of country clubs, selling alcoholic beverages in Lonoke County has been illegal since 1937 but changes made in 2003 to state liquor laws to promote tourism and economic development now allow restaurants open to the public to sell alcohol even in the dry counties, and restaurant owners in Lonoke County are applying for the private club liquor permits they need to do just that.
So far, two restaurants have been approved and two more are applying. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board has issued private club liquor permits for Kopan, which opened earlier this year in Cabot serving Korean and Japanese food, and for a restaurant in Ward that has not been built.
Two appeals have been filed in circuit court to stop the Ward restaurant from serving alcohol, but no appeal has been filed against the permit issued to Kopan.
ABC is also reviewing applications from Fat Daddy’s, which opened recently in Cabot, and Deer Creek Grill in Cabot which has not yet been built.
The wet/dry issue was decided in Lonoke County on Dec. 14, 1937, by the majority of 1,160 voters who turned out for the special election. Of that number, 328 voted to continue selling alcohol, and 832 voted to ban it.
By state law, for voters to have a say in the matter today would require a petition containing the verified signatures of 38 percent of the county’s registered voters.
Since Lonoke County has 36,534 registered voters, 13,883 signatures would be needed to get the issue on the ballot in November 2010.
Kopan’s request for a private club liquor license was denied in September by Michael Langley, director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, a state regulatory agency in Little Rock, but that denial was appealed to the ABC board and approved in October.
Langley said in August that if there are objections to a license application, he has no choice except to deny the application and allow all sides to present their cases to the ABC board.
In Cabot, church pastors as well as some city officials objected to the permit being issued.
The ABC granted a private club license to Win Knight on March 31, contingent on the actual construction and approval by the state health department for the restaurant he planned to build in Ward, but opponents appealed to circuit court and the restaurant has not been built.
Knight said recently that he had drunk a beer at Kopan and he was not upset that he was issued the first permit in the county but was not the first to use it.
The Ward City Council opposed Knight’s license application, but the Cabot City Council has not taken an official position.
Some counties like Benton County in the northern part of the state which now has 120 establishments selling alcohol under private club liquor licenses, have taken advantage of the law.
But so far only one restaurant in White County, Kelly’s in Bald Knob, has been granted a license.
The state has issued four private club liquor licenses in Lonoke County, two for clubs in Cabot’s Greystone, one for Rolling Hills Country Club in Cabot and one for Mallard Point in Lonoke.
In White County, in addition to Kelly’s liquor licenses are held by a country club in Searcy, a VFW in Searcy, a VFW in Beebe and the Eagle Lodge in Searcy.
Langley said in deciding whether to grant private club liquor licenses to restaurants, the ABC board hears arguments from those asking for the license and those opposing it.
Each case is decided on its own merits, he said.
Although a private club liquor license entitles the licensee to sell all alcoholic beverages, Langley said some applicants opt to serve only certain drinks like beer and wine possibly because they think doing so could reduce opposition.
However if a license is issued with restrictions, those restrictions must be adhered to, he said.
TOP STORY > >School slated to close Monday
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
While engineers assess the condition of the roof at Clinton Elementary School, classes are cancelled for Monday and Tuesday, Pulaski County Special School District officials said Friday.
Beginning Wednesday morning, those students will attend classes at First Assembly Church, 4501 Burrow Drive in North Little Rock, according to district spokesman Craig Douglass.
This is good news for Sherwood Fire Chief Frank Hill, who had considered ordering the school closed. Hill is slated to meet with Mayor Virginia Hillman, the city engineer and a building inspector Monday.
The church, which previously loaned the district its facilities after a tornado caused extensive damage to Sylvan Hills High School and prior to that when Sherwood Elementary School burned, has again stepped forward to help.
Thirty-eight rooms at the church will be converted to classrooms to accommodate Clinton’s 755 students.
All teachers and support staff will be relocated to the church, Douglass said.
Crystal Hill Elementary School, which has similar roof problems, closed its doors last Monday and like Clinton Elementary, will remain closed until engineers, architects and school officials determine whether they need to fix or replace the roof and then until the repairs or replacement are complete.
After a week off, Crystal Hill students will return to class Monday in portable buildings now set up at Maumelle Middle School.
“Our first priority is the safety of our students and to provide a secure environment in which our academic curriculum is not compromised,” according to Superintendent James Sharpe. “Although the truss situation at Clinton is different than at Crystal Hill, parents need to have confidence and piece of mind that their children are safe. Conse-quently we are moving ahead with the same safety-related strategy at Clinton as we have done recently at Crystal Hill.” Sharpe and his staff have been criticized for proceeding too slowly in removing students from the buildings after engineering reports questioned the integrity of the roofs, and the school board is considering firing Sharpe.
The need for an assessment of the building was the result of a periodic screening of the roof support structure, including trusses treated with a fire-retardant material at the time the school was constructed in 1994.
The September report was issued by WJE Associates of Bingham Farms, Mich., and reviewed by Crafton Tull Sparks, a Little Rock engineering firm. Engineers will be in the building next week to review the trusses referenced in the WJE report.
The review protocol will be similar in nature to the engineering review of the truss support structure at Crystal Hill Elementary Magnet School in North Little Rock. Crys-tal Hill and Clinton were both referenced in the WJE report, Douglass said Friday.
At the school board meeting this week, Sharpe said the three factors differentiating the two schools’ construction: Clinton was built in 1994, while Crystal Hill was built in 1992; the fire retardant chemical used at Clinton was Pyro-Guard, which is thought to be less acidic, and less sensitive to heat and moisture than the Dricon chemical used at Crystal Hill; and the design loads at Clinton have a higher safety factor than do the structural loads at Crystal Hill.
That’s why Crystal Hill was shut down a week ago, while Clinton will be shut down beginning Monday.
The 2008 report apparently was received at the district about Sept. 19, forwarded to administrators a month later, sent to an engineering firm for further assessment, and, according to Sharpe, brought to his attention Nov. 7, at which time he ordered Crystal Hill shut down for the safety of the children.
For more information on the relocation of students to First Assembly Church, parents and others are asked to call 501-320-1271. A parent meeting is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the sanctuary of the church.
Leader senior staff writer
While engineers assess the condition of the roof at Clinton Elementary School, classes are cancelled for Monday and Tuesday, Pulaski County Special School District officials said Friday.
Beginning Wednesday morning, those students will attend classes at First Assembly Church, 4501 Burrow Drive in North Little Rock, according to district spokesman Craig Douglass.
This is good news for Sherwood Fire Chief Frank Hill, who had considered ordering the school closed. Hill is slated to meet with Mayor Virginia Hillman, the city engineer and a building inspector Monday.
The church, which previously loaned the district its facilities after a tornado caused extensive damage to Sylvan Hills High School and prior to that when Sherwood Elementary School burned, has again stepped forward to help.
Thirty-eight rooms at the church will be converted to classrooms to accommodate Clinton’s 755 students.
All teachers and support staff will be relocated to the church, Douglass said.
Crystal Hill Elementary School, which has similar roof problems, closed its doors last Monday and like Clinton Elementary, will remain closed until engineers, architects and school officials determine whether they need to fix or replace the roof and then until the repairs or replacement are complete.
After a week off, Crystal Hill students will return to class Monday in portable buildings now set up at Maumelle Middle School.
“Our first priority is the safety of our students and to provide a secure environment in which our academic curriculum is not compromised,” according to Superintendent James Sharpe. “Although the truss situation at Clinton is different than at Crystal Hill, parents need to have confidence and piece of mind that their children are safe. Conse-quently we are moving ahead with the same safety-related strategy at Clinton as we have done recently at Crystal Hill.” Sharpe and his staff have been criticized for proceeding too slowly in removing students from the buildings after engineering reports questioned the integrity of the roofs, and the school board is considering firing Sharpe.
The need for an assessment of the building was the result of a periodic screening of the roof support structure, including trusses treated with a fire-retardant material at the time the school was constructed in 1994.
The September report was issued by WJE Associates of Bingham Farms, Mich., and reviewed by Crafton Tull Sparks, a Little Rock engineering firm. Engineers will be in the building next week to review the trusses referenced in the WJE report.
The review protocol will be similar in nature to the engineering review of the truss support structure at Crystal Hill Elementary Magnet School in North Little Rock. Crys-tal Hill and Clinton were both referenced in the WJE report, Douglass said Friday.
At the school board meeting this week, Sharpe said the three factors differentiating the two schools’ construction: Clinton was built in 1994, while Crystal Hill was built in 1992; the fire retardant chemical used at Clinton was Pyro-Guard, which is thought to be less acidic, and less sensitive to heat and moisture than the Dricon chemical used at Crystal Hill; and the design loads at Clinton have a higher safety factor than do the structural loads at Crystal Hill.
That’s why Crystal Hill was shut down a week ago, while Clinton will be shut down beginning Monday.
The 2008 report apparently was received at the district about Sept. 19, forwarded to administrators a month later, sent to an engineering firm for further assessment, and, according to Sharpe, brought to his attention Nov. 7, at which time he ordered Crystal Hill shut down for the safety of the children.
For more information on the relocation of students to First Assembly Church, parents and others are asked to call 501-320-1271. A parent meeting is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the sanctuary of the church.
EDITORIAL >>PCSSD fiasco
Does Pulaski County Special School District really care about its kids? It’s doubtful.
Two schools are closed for an indefinite period of time and more than 1,200 students are displaced because the district is doing now what it should have done years ago — repair the roofs.
No matter how hard the PCSSD tries to spin this — the district messed up.
The movement of the teachers, students and equipment will put a strain on the flow of learning, and once the ripples settle, the district will reopen the schools, move the students back, causing more stress and more fractured learning.
The trusses were sprayed in 1992 and there should have been some kind of warranty or guarantee, but have too many years now gone by? If so, why didn’t the district do something in 1998 or 2002 when it knew the ultimate outcome, and may have had more recourse with the company?
This roof problem is just another in a series of calamities the district seems to find itself in.
An independent Jacksonville school district can’t come quick enough.
Two schools are closed for an indefinite period of time and more than 1,200 students are displaced because the district is doing now what it should have done years ago — repair the roofs.
No matter how hard the PCSSD tries to spin this — the district messed up.
The movement of the teachers, students and equipment will put a strain on the flow of learning, and once the ripples settle, the district will reopen the schools, move the students back, causing more stress and more fractured learning.
The trusses were sprayed in 1992 and there should have been some kind of warranty or guarantee, but have too many years now gone by? If so, why didn’t the district do something in 1998 or 2002 when it knew the ultimate outcome, and may have had more recourse with the company?
This roof problem is just another in a series of calamities the district seems to find itself in.
An independent Jacksonville school district can’t come quick enough.
EDITORIAL >>Yearly sessions a big mistake
The discussion about why Arkansas voters overwhelmingly ratified a constitutional amendment to expand legislative powers is mystifying. Members of the legislature who voted to put the proposition on the ballot are horrified that voters went along with the idea. They are talking about putting another amendment on the ballot in 2010 to repeal this one. The governor, who had never uttered a word about it in the 18 months since the legislature referred it, let it be known on election day that he opposed the amendment, and the next day said he was absolutely bewildered by its passage.
Only in Arkansas.
Proposed Amendment 2 requires the legislature to meet in regular session every January rather than every other year. Every spending bill from now on will cover only one year rather than two, which means that the legislature will meet again the next year to pass a whole new set of budgets.
It is a big-government proposition if there ever was one. Lawmaking itself will become much more expensive, requiring more per-diem payments, a nearly full-time legislative staff, higher legislative salaries (you can be sure) and an end to the frugal budgeting that the current system mandates. The two-year budget cycles regularly produce surpluses, which are used to meet the state’s capital needs.
Legislators who went along with offering the proposal — by two Republican lawmakers from Northwest Arkansas — did it because they never believed voters would really approve it, if you can believe their protestations after the election. The proposal got nearly 70 percent of the vote. Every proposition on the ballot passed handily.
The two sponsors said their idea was to give the legislature a great deal more power in the government so that legislators could be a check on the governor. It is a strange premise because the Arkansas governor is already one of the constitutionally weakest chief executives in the 50 states. How legislators hanging around the Capitol more would rein in a ruthless governor is not clear.
Arkansas is one of the states — all relatively small and rural — that still have a truly citizen legislature as Thomas Jefferson envisioned it. Men and women put down the plow or the pen to go to the Capitol for a while every two years to make laws and determine how the people’s taxes are spent. In the winter and spring of odd-numbered years legislators adopt a spending plan for every government program for each of the next two years.
It has been an amazingly efficient and economical system. When Governors Dale Bumpers and David Pryor went to Washington to serve in the Senate, both ruminated about how much better the federal government would function if it adopted the two-year budgeting system and Arkansas’ revenue stabilization law, which requires agencies every year to adjust their spending downward when tax collections slow. Deficit spending cannot happen.
Annual legislative sessions will change the character of the people who run for the legislature. People will not run if their careers and economic situation will not permit them to spend so much time at Little Rock and away from their work. Term limits reduced the field of candidates for legislative office, and this will magnify the effect.
But it is a full-employment program for lobbyists, whose services will be needed twice as much. Agency heads and fiscal officers will have to spend twice the time preparing and lobbying their budgets.
Why did conservative voters approve such an expensive proposition? Perhaps it was because the amendment began by saying that it would prohibit appropriations for more than one year. That sounds frugal, although it is the opposite.
Several legislators were talking about offering another amendment next year to repeal or repair this one and this time making sure the public understood what was at stake. We think they should. The legislature must still meet in January 2010, before the next election, to appropriate for the 2010-11 fiscal year, but one year of waste is better than a lifetime.
Only in Arkansas.
Proposed Amendment 2 requires the legislature to meet in regular session every January rather than every other year. Every spending bill from now on will cover only one year rather than two, which means that the legislature will meet again the next year to pass a whole new set of budgets.
It is a big-government proposition if there ever was one. Lawmaking itself will become much more expensive, requiring more per-diem payments, a nearly full-time legislative staff, higher legislative salaries (you can be sure) and an end to the frugal budgeting that the current system mandates. The two-year budget cycles regularly produce surpluses, which are used to meet the state’s capital needs.
Legislators who went along with offering the proposal — by two Republican lawmakers from Northwest Arkansas — did it because they never believed voters would really approve it, if you can believe their protestations after the election. The proposal got nearly 70 percent of the vote. Every proposition on the ballot passed handily.
The two sponsors said their idea was to give the legislature a great deal more power in the government so that legislators could be a check on the governor. It is a strange premise because the Arkansas governor is already one of the constitutionally weakest chief executives in the 50 states. How legislators hanging around the Capitol more would rein in a ruthless governor is not clear.
Arkansas is one of the states — all relatively small and rural — that still have a truly citizen legislature as Thomas Jefferson envisioned it. Men and women put down the plow or the pen to go to the Capitol for a while every two years to make laws and determine how the people’s taxes are spent. In the winter and spring of odd-numbered years legislators adopt a spending plan for every government program for each of the next two years.
It has been an amazingly efficient and economical system. When Governors Dale Bumpers and David Pryor went to Washington to serve in the Senate, both ruminated about how much better the federal government would function if it adopted the two-year budgeting system and Arkansas’ revenue stabilization law, which requires agencies every year to adjust their spending downward when tax collections slow. Deficit spending cannot happen.
Annual legislative sessions will change the character of the people who run for the legislature. People will not run if their careers and economic situation will not permit them to spend so much time at Little Rock and away from their work. Term limits reduced the field of candidates for legislative office, and this will magnify the effect.
But it is a full-employment program for lobbyists, whose services will be needed twice as much. Agency heads and fiscal officers will have to spend twice the time preparing and lobbying their budgets.
Why did conservative voters approve such an expensive proposition? Perhaps it was because the amendment began by saying that it would prohibit appropriations for more than one year. That sounds frugal, although it is the opposite.
Several legislators were talking about offering another amendment next year to repeal or repair this one and this time making sure the public understood what was at stake. We think they should. The legislature must still meet in January 2010, before the next election, to appropriate for the 2010-11 fiscal year, but one year of waste is better than a lifetime.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
EDITORIAL >>New schools set to open
Although there hasn’t been a new public school built in Jacksonville in more than 30 years, the city’s residents have taken matters into their own hands, and they will soon help build not one but two new campuses not too far from each other — a new charter school on the east side, and a college-level education center in front of Little Rock Air Force Base funded through a unique partnership between Jacksonville and the military.
Next fall, Jacksonville will open Lighthouse Academy at North First and Willow streets near a blighted area that will supply many of the students for the new charter school, which received the final go-ahead last week from the state Board of Education. Instead of having to attend one of the many dilapidated schools in town, hundreds of youngsters will go to classes in a new school for first time in three decades.
The education board turned down a second proposed charter school in the old Wal-Mart shopping center, farther up on North First Street. But it, too, could get its own charter in a couple of years, especially if the first one proves successful.
The organizers behind Lighthouse Academy had made a strong case for the charter school, which will offer an ambitious arts curriculum aimed at attracting disadvantaged students. The academy has a national track record and will bring new ideas to a community that has tried to break away from the Pulaski County Special School District, which has ignored the area’s needs and allowed its schools to crumble while the district built new campuses elsewhere.
So regardless of whether Jacksonville forms its own independent school district, a new charter school will be a welcome sign along the railroad tracks, which could help lead to the revitalization of a languishing neighborhood.
A year after the charter academy welcomes new students, the $14.8 million joint-education center will open in front of the Base, funded in part by Jacksonville residents who approved a 1-cent sales tax five years ago to help pay for the campus in cooperation with the Air Force. Many of the same local people behind the city’s first charter school helped push funding for the joint-education center, which will offer college-level courses for both military members and civilians through Pulaski Tech, ASU-Beebe and other institutions of higher learning. Jacksonville will have its own college campus, making it easier for area students to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees without having to drive a long distance.
The joint-education center and the charter school are proof that Jacksonville can build for the future and could do even more when it forms its own independent school district. Jacksonville will then have public schools that are as good as its neighbors’.
Next fall, Jacksonville will open Lighthouse Academy at North First and Willow streets near a blighted area that will supply many of the students for the new charter school, which received the final go-ahead last week from the state Board of Education. Instead of having to attend one of the many dilapidated schools in town, hundreds of youngsters will go to classes in a new school for first time in three decades.
The education board turned down a second proposed charter school in the old Wal-Mart shopping center, farther up on North First Street. But it, too, could get its own charter in a couple of years, especially if the first one proves successful.
The organizers behind Lighthouse Academy had made a strong case for the charter school, which will offer an ambitious arts curriculum aimed at attracting disadvantaged students. The academy has a national track record and will bring new ideas to a community that has tried to break away from the Pulaski County Special School District, which has ignored the area’s needs and allowed its schools to crumble while the district built new campuses elsewhere.
So regardless of whether Jacksonville forms its own independent school district, a new charter school will be a welcome sign along the railroad tracks, which could help lead to the revitalization of a languishing neighborhood.
A year after the charter academy welcomes new students, the $14.8 million joint-education center will open in front of the Base, funded in part by Jacksonville residents who approved a 1-cent sales tax five years ago to help pay for the campus in cooperation with the Air Force. Many of the same local people behind the city’s first charter school helped push funding for the joint-education center, which will offer college-level courses for both military members and civilians through Pulaski Tech, ASU-Beebe and other institutions of higher learning. Jacksonville will have its own college campus, making it easier for area students to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees without having to drive a long distance.
The joint-education center and the charter school are proof that Jacksonville can build for the future and could do even more when it forms its own independent school district. Jacksonville will then have public schools that are as good as its neighbors’.
EDITORIAL >>Cutting off the usurers
If ever the legislature enacted a law that was unconstitutional on its face, it was the check-cashers law that was passed and signed into law by Gov. Mike Huckabee in 1999. Last week, the Arkansas Supreme Court delivered the coup de grace. Unanimously, the justices ruled that it violated the Constitution’s prohibition of usury.
The law had bounced around the courts for nine years while hundreds of companies accumulated vast profits off the travails of the poor. The Supreme Court signaled repeatedly that it would hold the law unconstitutional but on issues that were tangential to the question of whether various fees collected from debtors were in fact interest, so the payday lenders continued to make loans and charge more than 500 percent interest. Finally, a lawsuit placed the issue squarely before the court and the justices said again what the court had held nearly 60 years ago. Whatever a lender wants to call it, any fee added to a loan principal is interest. Seventeen percent is all that a lender can charge.
How is this for forceful language? “We hold that the act, in its entirety, clearly and unmistakably conflicts with our Constitution and is unconstitutional.” Those were the words of Justice Paul Danielson writing for the full court.
That should settle it once and for all, right?
Maybe not. Acting on the Supreme Court’s tangential rulings early this year, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel forced most of the lenders to close shop, but from 55 to 135 of them continued to operate, many of them in this area. They are branches of financial institutions headquartered in states with more permissive laws. They maintain that they do not have to obey the Arkansas Constitution but only the laws of the state where they are incorporated or else they claim that their association with federally chartered banks exempts them from any restrictions imposed by the states.
So the Supreme Court’s clear and direct mandate may prove meaningless for the moment. The laws of South Dakota permit its corporations to prey on the needy people of our poor state. Does that sound like dependable legal doctrine?
It may require still another lawsuit to settle those questions. The cat had only nine lives.
The law had bounced around the courts for nine years while hundreds of companies accumulated vast profits off the travails of the poor. The Supreme Court signaled repeatedly that it would hold the law unconstitutional but on issues that were tangential to the question of whether various fees collected from debtors were in fact interest, so the payday lenders continued to make loans and charge more than 500 percent interest. Finally, a lawsuit placed the issue squarely before the court and the justices said again what the court had held nearly 60 years ago. Whatever a lender wants to call it, any fee added to a loan principal is interest. Seventeen percent is all that a lender can charge.
How is this for forceful language? “We hold that the act, in its entirety, clearly and unmistakably conflicts with our Constitution and is unconstitutional.” Those were the words of Justice Paul Danielson writing for the full court.
That should settle it once and for all, right?
Maybe not. Acting on the Supreme Court’s tangential rulings early this year, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel forced most of the lenders to close shop, but from 55 to 135 of them continued to operate, many of them in this area. They are branches of financial institutions headquartered in states with more permissive laws. They maintain that they do not have to obey the Arkansas Constitution but only the laws of the state where they are incorporated or else they claim that their association with federally chartered banks exempts them from any restrictions imposed by the states.
So the Supreme Court’s clear and direct mandate may prove meaningless for the moment. The laws of South Dakota permit its corporations to prey on the needy people of our poor state. Does that sound like dependable legal doctrine?
It may require still another lawsuit to settle those questions. The cat had only nine lives.
TOP STORY > >Developer: City biased against him
By JOAN McCOY
Leader staff writer
The attorney for Win Knight, the entrepreneur who has been issued a private-club liquor license in Ward, says since his client got state approval to serve alcohol in the restaurant he intends to build, the city has made it difficult for other projects to move forward.
“Beforehand, he didn’t have to have an attorney to go down there with him,” Steve Underwood said after a Monday night council meeting where two of Knight’s projects were discussed. “Everything was just a walk-through.”
Underwood said he is building a discrimination case against the city, which he says is clearly prejudiced against his client.
Knight’s approval for the private-club liquor license has been appealed to circuit court.
Knight attended the Monday night meeting where an RV park and apartment complex he intends to build were on the agenda. So did Underwood and a court reporter who recorded the part of the meeting that pertained to Knight.
But the battle Underwood anticipated over the six-apartment complex for the elderly and disabled at 299 Edmondson that has been before the city since July didn’t materialize. The council approved it with a 4-2 vote.
But the council turned down the RV park that Knight intends to build behind Dude’s Place, also known as 38 Special, by a vote of 4-2. Charles Gastineau, the most vocal of the opponents to the park, said although there are no state regulations about the number of parking spaces per acre, the industry standards that he pulled from the Internet say no more than 10 per acre.
Knight’s plans call for 13 and he is not willing to change the plan.
Underwood and Tim Lemons, the project engineer, asked the council to approve the plan since nothing could be built until the state Health Department approved it anyway.
Underwood said Tuesday morning the RV park will be built without city approval.
The city has no regulations covering RV parks, he said. And since the land is already zoned commercial, there is nothing to prevent the project from moving forward if the state approves it.
“If we satisfy the Health Department, can they really stop us?” he asked.
Leader staff writer
The attorney for Win Knight, the entrepreneur who has been issued a private-club liquor license in Ward, says since his client got state approval to serve alcohol in the restaurant he intends to build, the city has made it difficult for other projects to move forward.
“Beforehand, he didn’t have to have an attorney to go down there with him,” Steve Underwood said after a Monday night council meeting where two of Knight’s projects were discussed. “Everything was just a walk-through.”
Underwood said he is building a discrimination case against the city, which he says is clearly prejudiced against his client.
Knight’s approval for the private-club liquor license has been appealed to circuit court.
Knight attended the Monday night meeting where an RV park and apartment complex he intends to build were on the agenda. So did Underwood and a court reporter who recorded the part of the meeting that pertained to Knight.
But the battle Underwood anticipated over the six-apartment complex for the elderly and disabled at 299 Edmondson that has been before the city since July didn’t materialize. The council approved it with a 4-2 vote.
But the council turned down the RV park that Knight intends to build behind Dude’s Place, also known as 38 Special, by a vote of 4-2. Charles Gastineau, the most vocal of the opponents to the park, said although there are no state regulations about the number of parking spaces per acre, the industry standards that he pulled from the Internet say no more than 10 per acre.
Knight’s plans call for 13 and he is not willing to change the plan.
Underwood and Tim Lemons, the project engineer, asked the council to approve the plan since nothing could be built until the state Health Department approved it anyway.
Underwood said Tuesday morning the RV park will be built without city approval.
The city has no regulations covering RV parks, he said. And since the land is already zoned commercial, there is nothing to prevent the project from moving forward if the state approves it.
“If we satisfy the Health Department, can they really stop us?” he asked.
TOP STORY > >Jobless claims show steady rise here
By NANCY DOCKTER
Leader staff writer
No matter how you crunch the numbers, unemployment is on the rise for Jacksonville and the surrounding area, according to figures provided by the state Department of Workforce Services.
For example, in the month of October, 831 persons initiated a claim for unemployment benefits at the DWS office in Jacksonville. That number reflects a 90 percent increase over October 2007, when 437 new claims were filed. Any reasonable adjustment for size of workforce from one year to the next cannot explain away this dramatic statistic.
Comparing this September to October, there was a 35 percent spike. In September, 615 new claims were filed in the Jacksonville office, followed by 831 the next month.
In the last two weeks, compared to the same time period last year, the number of claims has risen 49 percent, from 253 to 378.
These numbers do not include only unemployment in Jacksonville. Arkansas residents can apply for unemployment benefits at any of the DWS offices statewide.
The Jacksonville location draws persons seeking workforce services from a wide radius, given the fact that there is no DWS office in Lonoke County, and only one in White County, in Searcy.
There are three DWS offices in Little Rock.
Regardless of where those claimants live, one thing is certain – the numbers are up. That is also true on the state level.
In October, 28,346 new claims for unemployment were filed statewide.
That is a 66 percent increase over September and a 51 percent increase compared to the same time period in 2007.
In the last two weeks, 13,116 persons filed an initial claim for unemployment benefits in Arkansas.
That is a 54 percent jump over claims in the same time period last year.
The U.S. Department of Labor has determined that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Arkansas in the month of September was 4.9 percent.
Leader staff writer
No matter how you crunch the numbers, unemployment is on the rise for Jacksonville and the surrounding area, according to figures provided by the state Department of Workforce Services.
For example, in the month of October, 831 persons initiated a claim for unemployment benefits at the DWS office in Jacksonville. That number reflects a 90 percent increase over October 2007, when 437 new claims were filed. Any reasonable adjustment for size of workforce from one year to the next cannot explain away this dramatic statistic.
Comparing this September to October, there was a 35 percent spike. In September, 615 new claims were filed in the Jacksonville office, followed by 831 the next month.
In the last two weeks, compared to the same time period last year, the number of claims has risen 49 percent, from 253 to 378.
These numbers do not include only unemployment in Jacksonville. Arkansas residents can apply for unemployment benefits at any of the DWS offices statewide.
The Jacksonville location draws persons seeking workforce services from a wide radius, given the fact that there is no DWS office in Lonoke County, and only one in White County, in Searcy.
There are three DWS offices in Little Rock.
Regardless of where those claimants live, one thing is certain – the numbers are up. That is also true on the state level.
In October, 28,346 new claims for unemployment were filed statewide.
That is a 66 percent increase over September and a 51 percent increase compared to the same time period in 2007.
In the last two weeks, 13,116 persons filed an initial claim for unemployment benefits in Arkansas.
That is a 54 percent jump over claims in the same time period last year.
The U.S. Department of Labor has determined that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Arkansas in the month of September was 4.9 percent.
TOP STORY > >PASS back as PCSSD becomes pro-union
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
The Pulaski County Special School District Board reversed its September action Tuesday night and reinstated the Pulaski Association of Support Staff as bargaining agent for the district’s noncertified personnel.
The quick 4-3 vote demonstrated the union-friendly voting block that before the September school board elections was on the short end of all those 4-3 votes.
The board’s pro-union realignment occurred when Pam Roberts didn’t run for reelection and Tim Clark ran unopposed for her Maumelle position.
Clark has voted consistently with Mildred Tatum, Bill Vasquez and Gwen Williams since that time. When the board was reorganized last month, Tatum replaced Charlie Wood as president, Jacksonville’s Vasquez was elected vice president and Williams was elected treasurer.
PASS president Emry Chesterfield said Tuesday night that he was well pleased with the reinstatement of PASS.
“I’ve been working with some of the board members,” Chesterfield said. “They promised to vote us back in, and they kept their word.”
Chesterfield said the union would now get back to its contract negotiations with the school district.
Wood’s proposed amendment, tightening up the board’s expense reimbursement and equipment use policy for board members, was introduced on the agenda and put aside until the next meeting. It’s likely to fail by the same 4-3 vote, especially because it would prohibit Tatum and Williams from receiving free cell phone use from the district.
The district bought Tatum a Blackberry and bought Williams a phone as well. Williams had an $833 monthly charge in December of 2007, including more than $600 in roaming charges.
Wood’s proposed amendment would disallow reimbursement for cell phones, Blackberries, pagers or similar communications means.
It also disallows Internet access, desktop or laptop computers and associated software, printers, faxes or similar devices.
It also disallows transportation anywhere within Pulaski County.
The amendment also calls for any such equipment already in possession by the board members to be returned to the district immediately.
Receipts would be required to get reimbursement for expenses from out-of-town meetings and conventions.
Board members can get $30 per diem for food. If it’s more expensive than that, they would need to submit receipts, up to a maximum of $60.
Fees, registration, normal and reasonable hotel charges would be allowable for the period required by the workshop or event.
It also allows for round-trip airfare and standard trip insurance fees.
The district would reimburse board members for attending a maximum of two out-of-state meetings or conventions over a 12-month period.
Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers president Marty Nix told the board that the district is losing teachers because they are overworked and because the administration doesn’t back them up in discipline matters, including threats of violence against teachers.
Much of the meeting was spent reassuring parents of Crystal Hills Elementary School students that their children would be well cared for in portable school buildings placed at Maumelle Middle School while the roof of their school is repaired or replaced.
A fire-retardant chemical is believed to have rotted the rafters and decking prematurely.
Leader senior staff writer
The Pulaski County Special School District Board reversed its September action Tuesday night and reinstated the Pulaski Association of Support Staff as bargaining agent for the district’s noncertified personnel.
The quick 4-3 vote demonstrated the union-friendly voting block that before the September school board elections was on the short end of all those 4-3 votes.
The board’s pro-union realignment occurred when Pam Roberts didn’t run for reelection and Tim Clark ran unopposed for her Maumelle position.
Clark has voted consistently with Mildred Tatum, Bill Vasquez and Gwen Williams since that time. When the board was reorganized last month, Tatum replaced Charlie Wood as president, Jacksonville’s Vasquez was elected vice president and Williams was elected treasurer.
PASS president Emry Chesterfield said Tuesday night that he was well pleased with the reinstatement of PASS.
“I’ve been working with some of the board members,” Chesterfield said. “They promised to vote us back in, and they kept their word.”
Chesterfield said the union would now get back to its contract negotiations with the school district.
Wood’s proposed amendment, tightening up the board’s expense reimbursement and equipment use policy for board members, was introduced on the agenda and put aside until the next meeting. It’s likely to fail by the same 4-3 vote, especially because it would prohibit Tatum and Williams from receiving free cell phone use from the district.
The district bought Tatum a Blackberry and bought Williams a phone as well. Williams had an $833 monthly charge in December of 2007, including more than $600 in roaming charges.
Wood’s proposed amendment would disallow reimbursement for cell phones, Blackberries, pagers or similar communications means.
It also disallows Internet access, desktop or laptop computers and associated software, printers, faxes or similar devices.
It also disallows transportation anywhere within Pulaski County.
The amendment also calls for any such equipment already in possession by the board members to be returned to the district immediately.
Receipts would be required to get reimbursement for expenses from out-of-town meetings and conventions.
Board members can get $30 per diem for food. If it’s more expensive than that, they would need to submit receipts, up to a maximum of $60.
Fees, registration, normal and reasonable hotel charges would be allowable for the period required by the workshop or event.
It also allows for round-trip airfare and standard trip insurance fees.
The district would reimburse board members for attending a maximum of two out-of-state meetings or conventions over a 12-month period.
Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers president Marty Nix told the board that the district is losing teachers because they are overworked and because the administration doesn’t back them up in discipline matters, including threats of violence against teachers.
Much of the meeting was spent reassuring parents of Crystal Hills Elementary School students that their children would be well cared for in portable school buildings placed at Maumelle Middle School while the roof of their school is repaired or replaced.
A fire-retardant chemical is believed to have rotted the rafters and decking prematurely.
TOP STORY > >Pryor, Schatz get praise for housing start
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
Sen. Mark Pryor pledged his continuing support of veterans and men and women in the U.S. military when he was guest speaker at the Veterans Day retreat ceremony Monday at Little Rock Air Force Base.
The ceremony, conducted at Heritage Park, was attended by a couple hundred airmen in formation and perhaps an equal number off-duty, some out of uniform.
In an interview, Pryor said the Air Force in general had botched its oversight on housing privatization at four bases, including Little Rock. He cited Brig. Gen. Rowayne Schatz, the base commander, for his advocacy for getting housing privatization back on track and said there was a new spirit of bipartisanship in the nation’s capital.
Pryor has sponsored legislation requiring closer oversight of companies with military housing privatization contracts.
“I’m not a big fan of privatization generally, but I think it does make good sense for military housing,” Pryor said. “There’s been a good track record there.Unfortunately the Air Force botched this particular project. I want to make sure in future that this doesn’t happen again. We’ll get about 1,000 (housing) units here that are brand new or substantially upgraded. This will help with BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) and help with quality of life here on the base.”
Schatz, who thanked Pryor for his efforts, said the new owners and builders of privatized base housing, Hunt-Pinnacle, or HP Communities, had a good record elsewhere. “We’re excited to get rolling again.”
The previous owner, American Eagle Communities and its prin cipals—the Carabetta Group and Shaw Infrastructure — stopped work on the project at Little Rock Air Force Base and on similar contracts at three other Air Force bases in May 2007.
Speaking of Pryor’s help in resolving the problems with stalled housing privatization, the general said, “We’ve been having some big challenges over the past year and a half with our public housing here, and I want to thank publicly Sen. Pryor, who puts his care for the men and women not only in the public scene, but also in working behind the scene very hard to help us get a new owner here and to help with some of our problems because he cares about the quality of life for our airmen and their families. Thank you for your service to our great nation.”
Pryor said he thought Carabetta should be excluded from bidding on future contracts.
“Gen. Schatz deserves credit,” Pryor said. “He stayed doggedly on contractors and on the Air Force.”
Pryor praised the Jacksonville community and Mayor Tommy Swaim for their support of the planned $14.8 million joint- education center to be built well outside the main gate for the convenience of civilian personnel in uncertain times when it can be difficult to get on the base.
Jacksonville recently presented a $5 million check to Gen. Schatz for its share of the cost.
“Gen. (Wayne) Schatz told me on the way over here he was already getting calls from other bases wondering ‘hey, how do we do this?’” Pryor said.
“And he said the first thing you do is get a good community,” the senator said.
“It’s extremely important to me as a U.S. senator that we honor the commitments we’ve made to our veterans. We need to honor their service and live up to the principles that they’ve fought to preserve,” Pryor said.
“I sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee and I’m able to focus my attention on training, equipment, benefits and various care opportunities we have for our men and women in uniform and our veterans.”
Pryor said there had been big upgrades in veterans’ benefits, including brain injuries and post-traumatic stress syndrome research and assistance.
“We’ve seen more emphasis on education and continuing education and retirement benefits that have been promised over the years that the Congress and the president have been slow to act on. I’m proud to do that,” the senator said.
Pryor, who was reelected to a second term Nov. 4, said he really looks forward to the next six years and the next presidency.
“I’m really very optimistic about the future of this country. I know we have a lot of challenges. We can’t bury our heads in the sand and pretend that we don’t.
“One of the great things about this country is we settle our differences at the ballot box. And once that’s over, they shake hands.”
Pryor said he believed that the current banking and financial crisis has a silver lining.
“For the first time, I saw senators and congressmen, saw the White House, saw the leaders in both parties really drop the partisanship completely…and come together and focus on this economic crisis,” Pryor said.
“I’m hopeful that in the next couple of years we can set a new benchmark, a new pattern to work together and get things done. I think we’ll see a renewed focus on taking care of our domestic needs in this country. I really sense this renewed spirit of cooperation in Washington. I think it’s going to be very, very good for the country.”
“Thank you for coming out today and honoring the service of our veterans past and present,” Schatz said to Pryor. “I also want to say thank you for your great support (of U.S. forces) around the world.”
Leader senior staff writer
Sen. Mark Pryor pledged his continuing support of veterans and men and women in the U.S. military when he was guest speaker at the Veterans Day retreat ceremony Monday at Little Rock Air Force Base.
The ceremony, conducted at Heritage Park, was attended by a couple hundred airmen in formation and perhaps an equal number off-duty, some out of uniform.
In an interview, Pryor said the Air Force in general had botched its oversight on housing privatization at four bases, including Little Rock. He cited Brig. Gen. Rowayne Schatz, the base commander, for his advocacy for getting housing privatization back on track and said there was a new spirit of bipartisanship in the nation’s capital.
Pryor has sponsored legislation requiring closer oversight of companies with military housing privatization contracts.
“I’m not a big fan of privatization generally, but I think it does make good sense for military housing,” Pryor said. “There’s been a good track record there.Unfortunately the Air Force botched this particular project. I want to make sure in future that this doesn’t happen again. We’ll get about 1,000 (housing) units here that are brand new or substantially upgraded. This will help with BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) and help with quality of life here on the base.”
Schatz, who thanked Pryor for his efforts, said the new owners and builders of privatized base housing, Hunt-Pinnacle, or HP Communities, had a good record elsewhere. “We’re excited to get rolling again.”
The previous owner, American Eagle Communities and its prin cipals—the Carabetta Group and Shaw Infrastructure — stopped work on the project at Little Rock Air Force Base and on similar contracts at three other Air Force bases in May 2007.
Speaking of Pryor’s help in resolving the problems with stalled housing privatization, the general said, “We’ve been having some big challenges over the past year and a half with our public housing here, and I want to thank publicly Sen. Pryor, who puts his care for the men and women not only in the public scene, but also in working behind the scene very hard to help us get a new owner here and to help with some of our problems because he cares about the quality of life for our airmen and their families. Thank you for your service to our great nation.”
Pryor said he thought Carabetta should be excluded from bidding on future contracts.
“Gen. Schatz deserves credit,” Pryor said. “He stayed doggedly on contractors and on the Air Force.”
Pryor praised the Jacksonville community and Mayor Tommy Swaim for their support of the planned $14.8 million joint- education center to be built well outside the main gate for the convenience of civilian personnel in uncertain times when it can be difficult to get on the base.
Jacksonville recently presented a $5 million check to Gen. Schatz for its share of the cost.
“Gen. (Wayne) Schatz told me on the way over here he was already getting calls from other bases wondering ‘hey, how do we do this?’” Pryor said.
“And he said the first thing you do is get a good community,” the senator said.
“It’s extremely important to me as a U.S. senator that we honor the commitments we’ve made to our veterans. We need to honor their service and live up to the principles that they’ve fought to preserve,” Pryor said.
“I sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee and I’m able to focus my attention on training, equipment, benefits and various care opportunities we have for our men and women in uniform and our veterans.”
Pryor said there had been big upgrades in veterans’ benefits, including brain injuries and post-traumatic stress syndrome research and assistance.
“We’ve seen more emphasis on education and continuing education and retirement benefits that have been promised over the years that the Congress and the president have been slow to act on. I’m proud to do that,” the senator said.
Pryor, who was reelected to a second term Nov. 4, said he really looks forward to the next six years and the next presidency.
“I’m really very optimistic about the future of this country. I know we have a lot of challenges. We can’t bury our heads in the sand and pretend that we don’t.
“One of the great things about this country is we settle our differences at the ballot box. And once that’s over, they shake hands.”
Pryor said he believed that the current banking and financial crisis has a silver lining.
“For the first time, I saw senators and congressmen, saw the White House, saw the leaders in both parties really drop the partisanship completely…and come together and focus on this economic crisis,” Pryor said.
“I’m hopeful that in the next couple of years we can set a new benchmark, a new pattern to work together and get things done. I think we’ll see a renewed focus on taking care of our domestic needs in this country. I really sense this renewed spirit of cooperation in Washington. I think it’s going to be very, very good for the country.”
“Thank you for coming out today and honoring the service of our veterans past and present,” Schatz said to Pryor. “I also want to say thank you for your great support (of U.S. forces) around the world.”
SPORTS>>Badgers host former league foe Blytheville in an opening round
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
What Beebe coach John Shannon referred to as a “friendly rivalry” will be renewed this Friday at Bro ‘Erwin’ Stadium when Blytheville visits the Badgers for a first-round Class 5A playoff game.
The Badgers and Chickasaws were conference mates for six years in the 5A-East Conference before Beebe moved to the Southeast this season. Last year’s game decided the No. 2 seed in the conference, with Blytheville taking a 32-22 win at Beebe.
“I think it’s a good thing,” said Shannon. “The kids are all familiar with each other. Just the fact that we had to play Greenwood in the first round last year, and you heard all the stories about how good they were and all of that, but weren’t really that familiar with them.
“Now we’re going into a gamewith a team that we’ve played as recently as last year, and our kids have all played each other since junior high. We’re confident that we can play with them. Both teams have a lot of respect for each other.”
Beebe (8-2) lost its only conference game of the season this year to Monticello on its way to claiming the No. 2 seed out of the Southeast Conference. The Badgers ended their league campaign on a high note last week when they pulled away from a speedy Sylvan Hills team to take a 35-19 win, securing the second seed.
The Chickasaws (7-3) have lost three out of their past four games, but those losses came to overall second-ranked Helena West-Helena, Forrest City and Batesville. They started the season out on a six-game winning streak that included an impressive non-conference win over 6A contender Jonesboro.
They will be without one of their biggest weapons on offense, with senior Jarvis Jones out for the season with a broken hand.
Jones also started at free safety. But plenty of threats still remain, including fullback Josh Woodruff, who has 686 yards rushing through seven games.
Woodruff was out for most of the West Helena game and all of the Batesville and Paragould games, but returned in style last week with a 145-yard rushing performance against Forrest City.
Don Jackson and Donnell Humphries have also rushed for more than 500 yards this season.
The Chickasaws’ biggest rebuilding project has been at the quarterback position. Senior Jonathan Smith started the season, but was replaced by junior Jacob Ritchey last week. Smith has 377 passing yards on 31 of 77 attempts and 7 touchdowns, but has also thrown five interceptions. He saw time last week, although Ritchey was under center for the majority of the game, finishing 4 of 14 for 94 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Beebe and Blytheville have a lot of similarities. Both run a 50 defense, and are both run-based teams. The Chickasaws use the tricky Wing-T formation, while Beebe relies on the three-back Dead-T set.
“There’s really no advantage for either team,” said Shannon. “For them, it’s going to come down to stopping our off-tackle run.
That’s our best play. And for us, it’s going to be stopping their sweep, which is their best play.
“They’re really potent on offense. They don’t throw a lot, but they have tons of speed. They’re not as big as last year, but they’re just as fast if not faster.”
Badger running back Sammy Williams has rushed for close to 1,150 yards during the regular season, and is benefiting from the support of his backfield mates.
Brandon Pursell’s contributions have increased steadily throughout the season, and senior Luke Gardner has also made a difference the past two weeks after being used sparingly as a receiver for most of the season.
“We didn’t hit the dive as much early on,” Shannon said. “It wasn’t working for whatever reason. But lately, it’s opened up and those two have done a good job picking up the slack. Teams can’t just key in on Sammy anymore, they have to honor all three.”
Leader sportswriter
What Beebe coach John Shannon referred to as a “friendly rivalry” will be renewed this Friday at Bro ‘Erwin’ Stadium when Blytheville visits the Badgers for a first-round Class 5A playoff game.
The Badgers and Chickasaws were conference mates for six years in the 5A-East Conference before Beebe moved to the Southeast this season. Last year’s game decided the No. 2 seed in the conference, with Blytheville taking a 32-22 win at Beebe.
“I think it’s a good thing,” said Shannon. “The kids are all familiar with each other. Just the fact that we had to play Greenwood in the first round last year, and you heard all the stories about how good they were and all of that, but weren’t really that familiar with them.
“Now we’re going into a gamewith a team that we’ve played as recently as last year, and our kids have all played each other since junior high. We’re confident that we can play with them. Both teams have a lot of respect for each other.”
Beebe (8-2) lost its only conference game of the season this year to Monticello on its way to claiming the No. 2 seed out of the Southeast Conference. The Badgers ended their league campaign on a high note last week when they pulled away from a speedy Sylvan Hills team to take a 35-19 win, securing the second seed.
The Chickasaws (7-3) have lost three out of their past four games, but those losses came to overall second-ranked Helena West-Helena, Forrest City and Batesville. They started the season out on a six-game winning streak that included an impressive non-conference win over 6A contender Jonesboro.
They will be without one of their biggest weapons on offense, with senior Jarvis Jones out for the season with a broken hand.
Jones also started at free safety. But plenty of threats still remain, including fullback Josh Woodruff, who has 686 yards rushing through seven games.
Woodruff was out for most of the West Helena game and all of the Batesville and Paragould games, but returned in style last week with a 145-yard rushing performance against Forrest City.
Don Jackson and Donnell Humphries have also rushed for more than 500 yards this season.
The Chickasaws’ biggest rebuilding project has been at the quarterback position. Senior Jonathan Smith started the season, but was replaced by junior Jacob Ritchey last week. Smith has 377 passing yards on 31 of 77 attempts and 7 touchdowns, but has also thrown five interceptions. He saw time last week, although Ritchey was under center for the majority of the game, finishing 4 of 14 for 94 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Beebe and Blytheville have a lot of similarities. Both run a 50 defense, and are both run-based teams. The Chickasaws use the tricky Wing-T formation, while Beebe relies on the three-back Dead-T set.
“There’s really no advantage for either team,” said Shannon. “For them, it’s going to come down to stopping our off-tackle run.
That’s our best play. And for us, it’s going to be stopping their sweep, which is their best play.
“They’re really potent on offense. They don’t throw a lot, but they have tons of speed. They’re not as big as last year, but they’re just as fast if not faster.”
Badger running back Sammy Williams has rushed for close to 1,150 yards during the regular season, and is benefiting from the support of his backfield mates.
Brandon Pursell’s contributions have increased steadily throughout the season, and senior Luke Gardner has also made a difference the past two weeks after being used sparingly as a receiver for most of the season.
“We didn’t hit the dive as much early on,” Shannon said. “It wasn’t working for whatever reason. But lately, it’s opened up and those two have done a good job picking up the slack. Teams can’t just key in on Sammy anymore, they have to honor all three.”
SPORTS>>Badgers host former league foe Blytheville in an opening round
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
What Beebe coach John Shannon referred to as a “friendly rivalry” will be renewed this Friday at Bro ‘Erwin’ Stadium when Blytheville visits the Badgers for a first-round Class 5A playoff game.
The Badgers and Chickasaws were conference mates for six years in the 5A-East Conference before Beebe moved to the Southeast this season. Last year’s game decided the No. 2 seed in the conference, with Blytheville taking a 32-22 win at Beebe.
“I think it’s a good thing,” said Shannon. “The kids are all familiar with each other. Just the fact that we had to play Greenwood in the first round last year, and you heard all the stories about how good they were and all of that, but weren’t really that familiar with them.
“Now we’re going into a gamewith a team that we’ve played as recently as last year, and our kids have all played each other since junior high. We’re confident that we can play with them. Both teams have a lot of respect for each other.”
Beebe (8-2) lost its only conference game of the season this year to Monticello on its way to claiming the No. 2 seed out of the Southeast Conference. The Badgers ended their league campaign on a high note last week when they pulled away from a speedy Sylvan Hills team to take a 35-19 win, securing the second seed.
The Chickasaws (7-3) have lost three out of their past four games, but those losses came to overall second-ranked Helena West-Helena, Forrest City and Batesville. They started the season out on a six-game winning streak that included an impressive non-conference win over 6A contender Jonesboro.
They will be without one of their biggest weapons on offense, with senior Jarvis Jones out for the season with a broken hand.
Jones also started at free safety. But plenty of threats still remain, including fullback Josh Woodruff, who has 686 yards rushing through seven games.
Woodruff was out for most of the West Helena game and all of the Batesville and Paragould games, but returned in style last week with a 145-yard rushing performance against Forrest City.
Don Jackson and Donnell Humphries have also rushed for more than 500 yards this season.
The Chickasaws’ biggest rebuilding project has been at the quarterback position. Senior Jonathan Smith started the season, but was replaced by junior Jacob Ritchey last week. Smith has 377 passing yards on 31 of 77 attempts and 7 touchdowns, but has also thrown five interceptions. He saw time last week, although Ritchey was under center for the majority of the game, finishing 4 of 14 for 94 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Beebe and Blytheville have a lot of similarities. Both run a 50 defense, and are both run-based teams. The Chickasaws use the tricky Wing-T formation, while Beebe relies on the three-back Dead-T set.
“There’s really no advantage for either team,” said Shannon. “For them, it’s going to come down to stopping our off-tackle run.
That’s our best play. And for us, it’s going to be stopping their sweep, which is their best play.
“They’re really potent on offense. They don’t throw a lot, but they have tons of speed. They’re not as big as last year, but they’re just as fast if not faster.”
Badger running back Sammy Williams has rushed for close to 1,150 yards during the regular season, and is benefiting from the support of his backfield mates.
Brandon Pursell’s contributions have increased steadily throughout the season, and senior Luke Gardner has also made a difference the past two weeks after being used sparingly as a receiver for most of the season.
“We didn’t hit the dive as much early on,” Shannon said. “It wasn’t working for whatever reason. But lately, it’s opened up and those two have done a good job picking up the slack. Teams can’t just key in on Sammy anymore, they have to honor all three.”
Leader sportswriter
What Beebe coach John Shannon referred to as a “friendly rivalry” will be renewed this Friday at Bro ‘Erwin’ Stadium when Blytheville visits the Badgers for a first-round Class 5A playoff game.
The Badgers and Chickasaws were conference mates for six years in the 5A-East Conference before Beebe moved to the Southeast this season. Last year’s game decided the No. 2 seed in the conference, with Blytheville taking a 32-22 win at Beebe.
“I think it’s a good thing,” said Shannon. “The kids are all familiar with each other. Just the fact that we had to play Greenwood in the first round last year, and you heard all the stories about how good they were and all of that, but weren’t really that familiar with them.
“Now we’re going into a gamewith a team that we’ve played as recently as last year, and our kids have all played each other since junior high. We’re confident that we can play with them. Both teams have a lot of respect for each other.”
Beebe (8-2) lost its only conference game of the season this year to Monticello on its way to claiming the No. 2 seed out of the Southeast Conference. The Badgers ended their league campaign on a high note last week when they pulled away from a speedy Sylvan Hills team to take a 35-19 win, securing the second seed.
The Chickasaws (7-3) have lost three out of their past four games, but those losses came to overall second-ranked Helena West-Helena, Forrest City and Batesville. They started the season out on a six-game winning streak that included an impressive non-conference win over 6A contender Jonesboro.
They will be without one of their biggest weapons on offense, with senior Jarvis Jones out for the season with a broken hand.
Jones also started at free safety. But plenty of threats still remain, including fullback Josh Woodruff, who has 686 yards rushing through seven games.
Woodruff was out for most of the West Helena game and all of the Batesville and Paragould games, but returned in style last week with a 145-yard rushing performance against Forrest City.
Don Jackson and Donnell Humphries have also rushed for more than 500 yards this season.
The Chickasaws’ biggest rebuilding project has been at the quarterback position. Senior Jonathan Smith started the season, but was replaced by junior Jacob Ritchey last week. Smith has 377 passing yards on 31 of 77 attempts and 7 touchdowns, but has also thrown five interceptions. He saw time last week, although Ritchey was under center for the majority of the game, finishing 4 of 14 for 94 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Beebe and Blytheville have a lot of similarities. Both run a 50 defense, and are both run-based teams. The Chickasaws use the tricky Wing-T formation, while Beebe relies on the three-back Dead-T set.
“There’s really no advantage for either team,” said Shannon. “For them, it’s going to come down to stopping our off-tackle run.
That’s our best play. And for us, it’s going to be stopping their sweep, which is their best play.
“They’re really potent on offense. They don’t throw a lot, but they have tons of speed. They’re not as big as last year, but they’re just as fast if not faster.”
Badger running back Sammy Williams has rushed for close to 1,150 yards during the regular season, and is benefiting from the support of his backfield mates.
Brandon Pursell’s contributions have increased steadily throughout the season, and senior Luke Gardner has also made a difference the past two weeks after being used sparingly as a receiver for most of the season.
“We didn’t hit the dive as much early on,” Shannon said. “It wasn’t working for whatever reason. But lately, it’s opened up and those two have done a good job picking up the slack. Teams can’t just key in on Sammy anymore, they have to honor all three.”
SPORTS>>Bears travel to top-ranked West Helena
By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
The Sylvan Hills Bears are paying the ultimate price for their second-half implosion last Friday night at Beebe — a trip to No. 2 ranked West Helena to open 5A state playoffs.
That’s No. 2 overall. In Class 5A, the immensely talented Cougars are No. 1, and by a long shot at that.
Sylvan Hills was within an extra point of tying the game early in the second half last Friday night, but after the kick was blocked, the Bears never recovered and went on to fall, 35-19, to the Badgers.
“We just didn’t look like we were ready to play,” said Sylvan Hills head coach Jim Withrow. “There’s blame everywhere. The defense could have played a whole lot better, a lot more physical. We looked slow off the ball and a lot of that has to do with, we’re a young team. But if you’ve played 10 games, you ought to know b etter by now.
“We just never looked like we were in sync.”
The Bears turned it over four times and had another drive stall at the Beebe 5-yard line. One of those turnovers — a fumbled punt — led directly to a Beebe score.
West Helena, meanwhile, posted another in a series of impressive wins, shutting out a Batesville team that came in averaging 32 points a game.
“The defense has been playing great,” said West Helena head coach Russell Smith, whoseCougars have won nine of 10 games, with only a Week 3 tie with top-ranked West Memphis keeping them from being perfect. “We are loaded on that side of the ball. We have nine seniors and they’re all experienced seniors.”
West Helena was picked fourth preseason in the 5A East, but its season-opening 46-29 win over Pulaski Academy served notice that the Cougars were not a middle-of-the-pack team.
“I actually told the reporter that I honestly thought we had a chance to win a conference championship,” Smith said.
The Cougars demonstrated in Week 3 that, along with lots of talent, they had plenty of character, too, coming back from 14 down to top-ranked West Memphis and forging a 14-14 tie with the powerful Blue Devils. That game represents the lone “blemish” on either of those team’s records.
“That was the turnaround for us,” said Smith. “We regrouped at halftime and showed a lot of character against a great West Memphis team.”
It hasn’t been close since as the Cougars have outscored their conference opponents 322-62. Last week’s 14-0 win over Batesville was their only victory in the conference by fewer than 26 points.
How do they do it? With dominating defense, obviously. The Cougar secondary has picked off 31 passes this season. And they have a multi-faceted offensive attack led by University of Arkansas signee Turell Williams, a 6-2, 215-pound tailback who rushed for 159 yards last week and is closing in on 1,000 yards on the season despite missing two games with injury.
“He has 4.5 speed,” Smith said. “He can move.”
The Cougars also have an experienced senior quarterback in Deondre Johnson, who threw for 1,400 yards and ran for nearly 1,100 as a junior. The 5-10, 165-pound Johnson is also getting some looks from the Razorbacks despite being undersized.
The Cougars have another speedy up-and-comer in Antonio Hughes, who possesses 4.4 speed. But it is Williams who carries the load.
Johnson has a bevy of able junior receivers, led by small and speedy Jawun North, who had six catches against Batesville.
Filling out the receiving corps are Jonathan Johnson and Kyrin Burrell.
“We really want to run first,” Smith said. “But we have a balanced attack.”
Sylvan Hills’ undersized but overachieving defense will face its toughest test yet. The Bears played solidly in the first half against Beebe, but wore down in the second half when the Badgers kept the ball for 19 of 24 minutes. Beebe went on to rush for 325 yards.
But Withrow said there’s one thing you can always count on with Sylvan Hills teams in the playoffs —they’ll be ready to play.
“Hopefully, we’ll come back with a good week of practice,” Withrow said. “We need to play well. (West Helena) has speed everywhere. Honest to goodness, they remind me of North Little Rock and what they don’t have in size (compared to NLR), they make up for with speed.”
That should give the Bears some reason for hope after they played North Little Rock to a 1-point loss in Week 3 when a 2-point conversion failed. Withrow said they’ll have to avoid turnovers and keep from giving up the long play.
“They’ve thrived on turnovers,” Withrow said. “We’ve got to make them go on long drives and have to have long sustained drives of our own and eat up the clock.”
If Broner can’t play, the onus will fall more heavily on running back Lawrence Hodges and on quarterback Jordan Spears.
Spears was picked off three times last week, but threw for 177 yards and three touchdowns. In Broner’s place would be Nate Clark, Greg Atchison and Jeramiah Murphy.
Most people probably already have counted out the Bears, and with the Cougars dominating so thoroughly, it’s easy to understand how they might. But Withrow has yet to back down from a fight all season and said his Bears don’t plan on doing so now.
“You either win or go home,” he said. “We don’t want it to end and we’re going to do everything we can to keep it going for another week.”
Leader sports editor
The Sylvan Hills Bears are paying the ultimate price for their second-half implosion last Friday night at Beebe — a trip to No. 2 ranked West Helena to open 5A state playoffs.
That’s No. 2 overall. In Class 5A, the immensely talented Cougars are No. 1, and by a long shot at that.
Sylvan Hills was within an extra point of tying the game early in the second half last Friday night, but after the kick was blocked, the Bears never recovered and went on to fall, 35-19, to the Badgers.
“We just didn’t look like we were ready to play,” said Sylvan Hills head coach Jim Withrow. “There’s blame everywhere. The defense could have played a whole lot better, a lot more physical. We looked slow off the ball and a lot of that has to do with, we’re a young team. But if you’ve played 10 games, you ought to know b etter by now.
“We just never looked like we were in sync.”
The Bears turned it over four times and had another drive stall at the Beebe 5-yard line. One of those turnovers — a fumbled punt — led directly to a Beebe score.
West Helena, meanwhile, posted another in a series of impressive wins, shutting out a Batesville team that came in averaging 32 points a game.
“The defense has been playing great,” said West Helena head coach Russell Smith, whoseCougars have won nine of 10 games, with only a Week 3 tie with top-ranked West Memphis keeping them from being perfect. “We are loaded on that side of the ball. We have nine seniors and they’re all experienced seniors.”
West Helena was picked fourth preseason in the 5A East, but its season-opening 46-29 win over Pulaski Academy served notice that the Cougars were not a middle-of-the-pack team.
“I actually told the reporter that I honestly thought we had a chance to win a conference championship,” Smith said.
The Cougars demonstrated in Week 3 that, along with lots of talent, they had plenty of character, too, coming back from 14 down to top-ranked West Memphis and forging a 14-14 tie with the powerful Blue Devils. That game represents the lone “blemish” on either of those team’s records.
“That was the turnaround for us,” said Smith. “We regrouped at halftime and showed a lot of character against a great West Memphis team.”
It hasn’t been close since as the Cougars have outscored their conference opponents 322-62. Last week’s 14-0 win over Batesville was their only victory in the conference by fewer than 26 points.
How do they do it? With dominating defense, obviously. The Cougar secondary has picked off 31 passes this season. And they have a multi-faceted offensive attack led by University of Arkansas signee Turell Williams, a 6-2, 215-pound tailback who rushed for 159 yards last week and is closing in on 1,000 yards on the season despite missing two games with injury.
“He has 4.5 speed,” Smith said. “He can move.”
The Cougars also have an experienced senior quarterback in Deondre Johnson, who threw for 1,400 yards and ran for nearly 1,100 as a junior. The 5-10, 165-pound Johnson is also getting some looks from the Razorbacks despite being undersized.
The Cougars have another speedy up-and-comer in Antonio Hughes, who possesses 4.4 speed. But it is Williams who carries the load.
Johnson has a bevy of able junior receivers, led by small and speedy Jawun North, who had six catches against Batesville.
Filling out the receiving corps are Jonathan Johnson and Kyrin Burrell.
“We really want to run first,” Smith said. “But we have a balanced attack.”
Sylvan Hills’ undersized but overachieving defense will face its toughest test yet. The Bears played solidly in the first half against Beebe, but wore down in the second half when the Badgers kept the ball for 19 of 24 minutes. Beebe went on to rush for 325 yards.
But Withrow said there’s one thing you can always count on with Sylvan Hills teams in the playoffs —they’ll be ready to play.
“Hopefully, we’ll come back with a good week of practice,” Withrow said. “We need to play well. (West Helena) has speed everywhere. Honest to goodness, they remind me of North Little Rock and what they don’t have in size (compared to NLR), they make up for with speed.”
That should give the Bears some reason for hope after they played North Little Rock to a 1-point loss in Week 3 when a 2-point conversion failed. Withrow said they’ll have to avoid turnovers and keep from giving up the long play.
“They’ve thrived on turnovers,” Withrow said. “We’ve got to make them go on long drives and have to have long sustained drives of our own and eat up the clock.”
If Broner can’t play, the onus will fall more heavily on running back Lawrence Hodges and on quarterback Jordan Spears.
Spears was picked off three times last week, but threw for 177 yards and three touchdowns. In Broner’s place would be Nate Clark, Greg Atchison and Jeramiah Murphy.
Most people probably already have counted out the Bears, and with the Cougars dominating so thoroughly, it’s easy to understand how they might. But Withrow has yet to back down from a fight all season and said his Bears don’t plan on doing so now.
“You either win or go home,” he said. “We don’t want it to end and we’re going to do everything we can to keep it going for another week.”
SPORTS>> Devils enter second season on high note
By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
It’s been a long, strange season for the Jacksonville Red Devils, filled with everything from impressive wins to head-scratching losses.
But the regular season ended on a rousing note last Friday with a 48-22 pasting of Marion that moved Jacksonville all the way up to a No. 3 seed from the 6A-East.
That sets up a very winnable first-round battle with a 3-7 Sheridan team that comes limping into the postseason on a three-game losing streak. Two of those losses were shutouts and the Yellowjackets have managed just 14 points over that span.
For fourth-year head coach Mark Whatley, the important thing, beyond reaching the postseason after missing it last year, is getting to play at home again.
“The last time they walked off the field at Jan Crow Stadium, it was (a 47-0 loss to West Memphis), and the kids are very excited to get a chance to play in front of the home crowd again,” Whatley said. “Especially for the seniors. That’s important for them.”
Though West Memphis hasn’t played favorites in dismantling its foes this season, the trouncing of Jacksonville on senior night might have demoralized some teams. Apparently, the young Red Devils (5-5) were not one of them. They bounced back to play perhaps their most complete game of the season at Marion.
“We scored I think every time but twice,” Whatley said. “And we dropped one of those in the end zone. The defense made a couple of stands early and kept them out of the end zone. The linebackers played well.”
Offensively, the Red Devils got production from a lot of folks, but Patrick Geans stole the show with 225 yards rushing and three touchdowns, while quarterback Logan Perry threw for 205 yards and three scores. Demetris Harris and Devin Featherston each hauled in touchdown passes from Perry.
“That was our best game as far as distributing the ball,” Whatley said. “A lot of people made big plays. The offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage all night long.”
The win over Marion also ended a string of frustration for the Red Devils against the Patriots, snapping a four-game losing streak. Twice, season-ending losses to Marion have cost the Red Devils. In 2005, Jacksonville needed a victory to claim the 5A-East, but lost and had to travel to Springdale for the first round. The loss the following year to Marion sent Jacksonville on the road to Texarkana.
Though six of the league’s eight teams qualify for the playoffs, a 1-2 start to open the non-conference season — including a stunning loss at Little Rock Mills in Week 3 — had the Red Devils reeling. But each time they appeared on the brink of collapsing, they posted a key win the following week. Jacksonville bounced back from that Mills loss to paste a decent Mountain Home team to open league play.
That was followed by disappointing performances in a home loss to Jonesboro and sluggish wins over Hall and Searcy. The Red Devils played well for a half at Parkview but came up short on five of six drives inside Patriot territory in a loss. West Memphis followed, but the young Devils proved resilient last week against an always-dangerous Marion team.
In Sheridan, the Red Devils will be facing a team that has struggled offensively all season long. The Yellowjackets average less than 13 points a game, while surrendering 31.5. They got into the playoffs by sneaking past Benton, 15-7, in Week 7. But that was followed by a pair of shutout losses to Pine Bluff and Texarkana and a 34-14 loss to Watson Chapel.
But Whatley said Sheridan represents some danger on the offensive side.
“It’s hard to get to their quarterback,” he said. “He doesn’t give up many sacks and they throw it well and catch it well. On the film, the defensive back would be right there with (the receiver) and the quarterback would put it where it needed to be.”
Sheridan is led by former Cabot running back Vince Aguilar, who managed just 55 yards on 23 carries against Texarkana.
Whatley figures his Devils should have an advantage in speed, but is concerned about something even more basic.
“The first thing you have to do is out-execute them,” he said. “At this point you win or sack them up. They have a sense of urgency.”
Season tickets and passes are not honored at playoff games. The price of tickets will be $5.00 for adults and $4.00 for students.
Leader sports editor
It’s been a long, strange season for the Jacksonville Red Devils, filled with everything from impressive wins to head-scratching losses.
But the regular season ended on a rousing note last Friday with a 48-22 pasting of Marion that moved Jacksonville all the way up to a No. 3 seed from the 6A-East.
That sets up a very winnable first-round battle with a 3-7 Sheridan team that comes limping into the postseason on a three-game losing streak. Two of those losses were shutouts and the Yellowjackets have managed just 14 points over that span.
For fourth-year head coach Mark Whatley, the important thing, beyond reaching the postseason after missing it last year, is getting to play at home again.
“The last time they walked off the field at Jan Crow Stadium, it was (a 47-0 loss to West Memphis), and the kids are very excited to get a chance to play in front of the home crowd again,” Whatley said. “Especially for the seniors. That’s important for them.”
Though West Memphis hasn’t played favorites in dismantling its foes this season, the trouncing of Jacksonville on senior night might have demoralized some teams. Apparently, the young Red Devils (5-5) were not one of them. They bounced back to play perhaps their most complete game of the season at Marion.
“We scored I think every time but twice,” Whatley said. “And we dropped one of those in the end zone. The defense made a couple of stands early and kept them out of the end zone. The linebackers played well.”
Offensively, the Red Devils got production from a lot of folks, but Patrick Geans stole the show with 225 yards rushing and three touchdowns, while quarterback Logan Perry threw for 205 yards and three scores. Demetris Harris and Devin Featherston each hauled in touchdown passes from Perry.
“That was our best game as far as distributing the ball,” Whatley said. “A lot of people made big plays. The offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage all night long.”
The win over Marion also ended a string of frustration for the Red Devils against the Patriots, snapping a four-game losing streak. Twice, season-ending losses to Marion have cost the Red Devils. In 2005, Jacksonville needed a victory to claim the 5A-East, but lost and had to travel to Springdale for the first round. The loss the following year to Marion sent Jacksonville on the road to Texarkana.
Though six of the league’s eight teams qualify for the playoffs, a 1-2 start to open the non-conference season — including a stunning loss at Little Rock Mills in Week 3 — had the Red Devils reeling. But each time they appeared on the brink of collapsing, they posted a key win the following week. Jacksonville bounced back from that Mills loss to paste a decent Mountain Home team to open league play.
That was followed by disappointing performances in a home loss to Jonesboro and sluggish wins over Hall and Searcy. The Red Devils played well for a half at Parkview but came up short on five of six drives inside Patriot territory in a loss. West Memphis followed, but the young Devils proved resilient last week against an always-dangerous Marion team.
In Sheridan, the Red Devils will be facing a team that has struggled offensively all season long. The Yellowjackets average less than 13 points a game, while surrendering 31.5. They got into the playoffs by sneaking past Benton, 15-7, in Week 7. But that was followed by a pair of shutout losses to Pine Bluff and Texarkana and a 34-14 loss to Watson Chapel.
But Whatley said Sheridan represents some danger on the offensive side.
“It’s hard to get to their quarterback,” he said. “He doesn’t give up many sacks and they throw it well and catch it well. On the film, the defensive back would be right there with (the receiver) and the quarterback would put it where it needed to be.”
Sheridan is led by former Cabot running back Vince Aguilar, who managed just 55 yards on 23 carries against Texarkana.
Whatley figures his Devils should have an advantage in speed, but is concerned about something even more basic.
“The first thing you have to do is out-execute them,” he said. “At this point you win or sack them up. They have a sense of urgency.”
Season tickets and passes are not honored at playoff games. The price of tickets will be $5.00 for adults and $4.00 for students.
Monday, November 10, 2008
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