Wednesday, June 01, 2011

EVENTS >> 6-1-11









































THEATER CAMP SET FOR 7-29 IN BEEBE




The Arkansas State University-Beebe Star Theatre is scheduled for June 7-29. Star Theatre is a four-week summer camp for children ages 7 to 17 interested in learning about all aspects of theater. Students spend four weeks building props, painting sets, sewing costumes and memorizing lines with the goal of providing fun and entertainment for themselves as well as their audiences.

This year’s production will include plays adapted from selected children’s stories. Camp hours are 1 p.m to 3:30 p.m. Classes will be conducted in the ASU-Beebe’s Owen Center Theatre.

For more information, contact Bruce Cohen at (501)882-8925.






MOTORCYCLE RIDE WILL HONOR LATE TROOPER





The ninth-annual Jimmie H. White II Memorial Ride Poker Run will begin at 9 a.m. next Saturday at the Jacksonville High School parking lot in honor of the state trooper who died while on duty in a motorcycle accident near Little Rock Air Force Base’s front gate. The 80-mile ride will end at M&M Cycles in El Paso by 11:30 a.m. Cost is $15 per bike. The top three finishers will be rewarded.

Proceeds will benefit the Jimmie H. White II Scholarship Fund.

For more information, contact Jimmie White at 501-982-7867.

CANINE CUTIE PAGEANT IN JACKSONVILLE ON SATURDAY 

The second-annual Canine Cutie Pageant, sponsored by C and J’s Gifts and Home Décor, is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at Dupree Park in Jacksonville. All proceeds will benefit the Jacksonville Animal Shelter.

Dogs will be judged on best stage personality, most likely to be cuddled, prettiest hair, best smile, cutest eyes, best attire – which will be scored separately, and most photogenic. The registration fee is $30 for the first dog and $15 for second dog. Admission is a donation of towels, dog and cat food, treats, toys, blankets, collars and leashes or a monetary donation of $2. For details, call 501-425-2885.

ARLENE CHERRY LIBRARY'S SUMMER PROGRAM STARTS

Cabot’s Arlene Cherry Memorial Library invites readers of all ages to travel the globe in this summer’s reading program “One World, Many Stories.” All programs are free.

Children will explore places from Oceania to Russia through stories, crafts, music and other activities. The summer reading program is open to young people, preschool through young adult, with programs, prizes and more. Registration for “One World, Many Stories” begins Monday, June 6. For more information, call the library at 501-843-7661 or visit the library’s Web site, www.1preregional.lib.ar.us.

WARD PUBLIC LIBRARY'S SUMMER-READING PROGRAM

The Ward Public Library, 405 Hickory St., Suite 100, invites patrons to sign up for its free summer-reading program beginning Monday. Readers of all ages will be invited to circumnavigate the globe beginning with Arkansas and Oklahoma on June 2 and continuing on to outerspace on June 7, Egypt on June 9 and Alaska on June 14 and Father’s Day, June 16. All programs begin at 10 a.m.

The adult program is called “Novel Destination,” and the children’s section is called “One World, Many Stories.” There will be story time, crafts, taste testing and more. For details, call 501-941-3220.

YARD-SALE BENEFIT AT WOODLAWN COMMUNITY CENTER

The Woodlawn Community Center, 10070 N. Hwy. 31, will hold a yard sale as a fundraiser at 9 a.m. Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11. Proceeds will help cover the center’s operating costs.

JACKSONVILLE AARP DRIVERS-SAFETY CLASS JUNE 15 

The Jacksonville chapter of AARP will begin its next drivers-safety course Wednesday, June 15. Classes meet from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays at St. Jude Catholic Church, 2403 McArthur Drive. The cost is $12 for members and $14 for nonmembers. To register, call 982-4891.

MOUNT CARMEL BAPTIST TO HOST HEALTH FAIR JUNE 9

Mount Carmel Baptist Church, 163 Mt. Carmel Road in Cabot, will host a health fair from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 9.

The Arkansas Department of Health, Cabot fire and police departments, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, A Woman’s Place, Total Bodyworks, UAMS Witness Project, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Baptist Health Medical Center and Centennial Bank will participate.







EVENTS: 6-1-11

THEATER CAMP SET FOR 7-29 IN BEEBE


The Arkansas State University-Beebe Star Theatre is scheduled for June 7-29. Star Theatre is a four-week summer camp for children ages 7 to 17 interested in learning about all aspects of theater. Students spend four weeks building props, painting sets, sewing costumes and memorizing lines with the goal of providing fun and entertainment for themselves as well as their audiences.

This year’s production will include plays adapted from selected children’s stories. Camp hours are 1 p.m to 3:30 p.m. Classes will be conducted in the ASU-Beebe’s Owen Center Theatre.

For more information, contact Bruce Cohen at (501)882-8925.

MOTORCYCLE RIDE WILL HONOR LATE TROOPER


The ninth-annual Jimmie H. White II Memorial Ride Poker Run will begin at 9 a.m. next Saturday at the Jacksonville High School parking lot in honor of the state trooper who died while on duty in a motorcycle accident near Little Rock Air Force Base’s front gate. The 80-mile ride will end at M&M Cycles in El Paso by 11:30 a.m. Cost is $15 per bike. The top three finishers will be rewarded.

Proceeds will benefit the Jimmie H. White II Scholarship Fund.

For more information, contact Jimmie White at 501-982-7867.

CANINE CUTIE PAGEANT IN JACKSONVILLE ON SATURDAY 

The second-annual Canine Cutie Pageant, sponsored by C and J’s Gifts and Home Décor, is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at Dupree Park in Jacksonville. All proceeds will benefit the Jacksonville Animal Shelter.

Dogs will be judged on best stage personality, most likely to be cuddled, prettiest hair, best smile, cutest eyes, best attire – which will be scored separately, and most photogenic. The registration fee is $30 for the first dog and $15 for second dog. Admission is a donation of towels, dog and cat food, treats, toys, blankets, collars and leashes or a monetary donation of $2. For details, call 501-425-2885.

ARLENE CHERRY LIBRARY'S SUMMER PROGRAM STARTS

Cabot’s Arlene Cherry Memorial Library invites readers of all ages to travel the globe in this summer’s reading program “One World, Many Stories.” All programs are free.

Children will explore places from Oceania to Russia through stories, crafts, music and other activities. The summer reading program is open to young people, preschool through young adult, with programs, prizes and more. Registration for “One World, Many Stories” begins Monday, June 6. For more information, call the library at 501-843-7661 or visit the library’s Web site, www.1preregional.lib.ar.us.

WARD PUBLIC LIBRARY'S SUMMER-READING PROGRAM

The Ward Public Library, 405 Hickory St., Suite 100, invites patrons to sign up for its free summer-reading program beginning Monday. Readers of all ages will be invited to circumnavigate the globe beginning with Arkansas and Oklahoma on June 2 and continuing on to outerspace on June 7, Egypt on June 9 and Alaska on June 14 and Father’s Day, June 16. All programs begin at 10 a.m.

The adult program is called “Novel Destination,” and the children’s section is called “One World, Many Stories.” There will be story time, crafts, taste testing and more. For details, call 501-941-3220.

YARD-SALE BENEFIT AT WOODLAWN COMMUNITY CENTER

The Woodlawn Community Center, 10070 N. Hwy. 31, will hold a yard sale as a fundraiser at 9 a.m. Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11. Proceeds will help cover the center’s operating costs.

JACKSONVILLE AARP DRIVERS-SAFETY CLASS JUNE 15 

The Jacksonville chapter of AARP will begin its next drivers-safety course Wednesday, June 15. Classes meet from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays at St. Jude Catholic Church, 2403 McArthur Drive. The cost is $12 for members and $14 for nonmembers. To register, call 982-4891.

MOUNT CARMEL BAPTIST TO HOST HEALTH FAIR JUNE 9

Mount Carmel Baptist Church, 163 Mt. Carmel Road in Cabot, will host a health fair from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 9.

The Arkansas Department of Health, Cabot fire and police departments, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, A Woman’s Place, Total Bodyworks, UAMS Witness Project, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Baptist Health Medical Center and Centennial Bank will participate.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

TOP STORY >> At long last, a graduation ceremony

By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer

It’s rather convenient that Jack Meadows’ first name is actually Prosper, because that is exactly what education has allowed him to do throughout his Air Force career.

Meadows, an executive broker at Doug Wilkinson Realty Co. in Jacksonville, was asked to walk with this year’s graduating class from Webster University. The ceremony was held at the main campus in St. Louis on May 7.

He earned a master’s in hu-man relations from Webster College in 1976, but the program was so new that there wasn’t a graduation ceremony. Meadows received his certificate in the mail.

Walking in the ceremony was “thrilling” and he loved being “hooded” Meadows said, beaming with pride in his cubicle decorated with numerous certificates denoting achievement. He also received a standing ovation because the speaker at the end of the ceremony incorrectly said that he did not walk 35 years ago because of military commitments.

Janie Jackson, Webster University’s senior director at Little Rock Air Force Base, said graduation was fantastic and Meadows is an inspiration to many. She also said he was humble at the ceremony, insisting that it not be about him, but about the graduates.

“He’s a good example to many of us about keeping on keeping on,” she said.

While Meadows’ background makes it all the more astounding that he has accomplished so much, his attitude of loving life explains it.

“I get up in the morning, take a look in the mirror, have a good laugh and that sets me up for all day,” he says, with a frequently-used chuckle.

Penny Dietz, co-owner of the Doug Wilkinson Realty, has worked with Meadows for 26 years. She had nothing but praise for his unselfish nature.

“He’ll go above and beyond to help people,” she said. “He always puts the needs of others before his own.”

Meadows dropped out of Annie Camp Junior High School in Jonesboro after completing eighth grade because he needed to take care of his father, a World War II veteran, and three younger siblings.

Meadows — dressed in a crisp, white collared-shirt, khakis and wearing thick eyeglasses — says he would have been a sharecropper, living below poverty level with little education, if he hadn’t signed up to join the Air Force in 1954.

Meadows earned his GED three years later, and went on to graduate with honors from Non-Commissioned Officer Preparatory School at Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire in 1960.

In 1965, he had two years of college credit from the college-level examination program and classes he had taken at Little Rock Air Force Base.

After graduating in the top 10 percent of his class from Strategic Air Command NCO Academy, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana Tech in 1974, after having taken some classes through the Barksdale Air Force Base education office.

Meadows’ Air Force career didn’t slow down while he was immersed in all this study. When he started taking the college-level exam, he was on assignment in the Titan II Missile Field. He was also proud to take part in two historically significant endeavors during his military career.

He was a mechanic on the crew that fueled the first non-stop flight around the world in 1957 from California and back. Refueling was accomplished over the Persian Gulf.

Meadows was also on one of three crews selected to conduct the first operation test of a silo that had been active for two years. In 1965, his crew took the missile from Arkansas to Vandenberg Air Force , Calif., to launch it.

He said his education has been instrumental in all of the Air Force positions he’s held.

Meadows was a career adviser, an instructor at the Air Force Leadership School, a senior Titan II instructor and an instructor at the NCO Academy.

Meadows was especially pleased to have retired as a first sergeant. He was honored with the Military Training Award and by being named the LRAFB Outstanding Airman of the Year in 1968.

Retirement has not quite been a time to relax and do nothing for this very active man. Meadows took his real estate licensure at the base before he retired, worked as a site director for Webster and was a social worker before plunging into the real estate game full-time.

Continuing on his path of aggressive education, Meadows earned his Graduate Realtor Institute designation from the National Association of Realtors and Certified Residential Specialist designation in 1990. In addition, he has been a member of the education and grievance committee and is a life member of the North Pulaski Board of Realtors.

In his spare time, Meadows is a self-described “news junkie” and an on-call volunteer for the Jacksonville Museum of Military History, where his Titan II uniform is on display.

EDITORIAL >> Paying off lawmakers

Michael Wickline’s biennial summary of lobbyist spending on our state’s lawmakers, which appears in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in the spring of odd-numbered years, is something we look forward to, although in the end it depresses more than it uplifts.

Wickline devours the lobbyists’ post-session reports on what they spent feeding, entertaining and generally cozying up to members of the General Assembly, and invariably he jogs the memories of a few, who admit that they neglected to report some of the spending. They will get right out to the Capitol and correct the reports.

All this spending is perfectly legal, you know, and just reporting it or as much as they care to report is supposed to make it all right. There is something to be said for transparency, although it should not be too much.

The session this year, which lasted 95 calendar days, cost the lobbyists and their employers $860,000, which Wickline said was considerably less than the $1.3 million reported after the 2009 session. No one had a good explanation for the decline, although Wickline guessed that one reason might be the lack of any legislation this time to raise anyone’s taxes. Two years ago, Gov. Beebe pushed the legislature to raise taxes on tobacco products to pay for a big health initiative. Lobbyists for the two big tobacco companies shelled out more than $300,000 to feed and libate legislators before the big votes. No one was trying to raise business taxes this time, only cut them, and Beebe said he was not going to sign anything cutting badly needed revenues except the half-penny reduction in the tax on groceries. That cut down on big-time influence peddling.

There were fewer substantive issues at the 2011 session than any legislature in modern times. The controversies dealt mainly with social and religious issues, like restricting the rights of gays, women and immigrants, which do not attract much spending from commercial and trade interests.

The only serious commercial issues were efforts to regulate natural gas drilling in the Fayetteville shale. Many legislators organized into a “shale caucus” to see that nothing affecting the exploration companies even emerged from a committee of either house. Still, Stephens Production, Arkansas Oklahoma Gas, Southwestern Energy and other gas interests invested heavily in schmoozing legislators. It would be hard to pin down the amount because they employed a number of lobbyists and most of their lobbyists were contractors who represented other interests as well. Of the contract lobbyists, the two big spenders were Ted Mullenix of Hot Springs, a former Republican state representative, and Bruce Hawkins, a former Democratic representative from Conway County. They spent about $100,000 between them wining and dining legislators.

Former lawmakers are in heavy attendance at lobbyist gatherings. The legislature this time adopted a skimpy reform. It bars legislators who leave the legislature several years from now from hiring themselves out as lobbyists for a couple of years. The idea is that they wouldn’t be seeking financial rewards later for their votes now. But the lawmakers did not want to apply that do-right rule to themselves, so they applied it to the next generation of legislators.

We said Wickline’s report in the end always depresses. That is because it reminds us that none of this should be happening and doesn’t happen where the public has demanded a higher standard of integrity. Legislators should owe the people who elected them their honest judgment on issues, unbidden by money or favors from the interests that have the money and power to shape public policy.

Arkansas is not alone. Washington is still the saddest laboratory, even though one house or the other has adopted a variety of restrictions on spending that would raise questions about vote buying.

We like the Walmart rule. Its representatives are not allowed to accept even a free cup of coffee from vendors. That is the best way to assure that Walmart is getting the most economical deal, for the company and its customers. Would it raise your confidence in the legislature if it did as much? The legislature will never do that, but someone should help them get ethical by putting an initiated act on the ballot to do it.

TOP STORY >> Search on for buried Treasures

By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer

Even though a time capsule that was buried 35 years ago at Jacksonville Elementary School was not found, a ceremony Tuesday featured displays of bicentennial articles, photos and class portraits to commemorate the closing of the school.

The school is scheduled to permanently close at the end of this school year, as part of a plan by Pulaski County Special School District to build two new elementary schools and a new middle school in Jacksonville.

Nikki Stolzer, literacy-instructor facilitator, said school officials attempted to use a metal detector and a probe, a metal rebar that can be stuck in the ground and indicate where something is buried, to try to find the location of the time capsule.

The time capsule was supposed to have been dug up in 100 years, but the school decided to look for it sooner because of Jacksonville Elementary’s probable closing.

Principal Sonya Whitfield took out a can of spray paint and asked those gathered to “mark your spot” where they thought the capsule is buried. “We have shovels.”

She said she has received calls from California, Texas and Florida about where it might be located and although not finding it was disappointing, the community coming together to help the school was wonderful, she said.

Many from the class who buried it seem to think that the capsule is near the school’s bell, which is the original from when the first school was built in 1881, but it is thought that the capsule may have been moved when piping was laid underground in the 1980s.

Billie Abbott, the PTA president in 1976, offered a brief timeline of the site’s history and said another focus for the event is that the first school was built on the site in 1881. That school was a one-room log structure that housed students through the eighth grade. It was the first public school in the area.

Also at the event were Tina Peters and David Ellis, who were part of the class that buried the capsule. Neither remembered what they contributed to the capsule, but Peters said hers probably had something to do with Donny Osmond. Both said they thought the capsule was near the bell.

Peters remembered dressing in period clothing the week the capsule was buried in celebration of the school’s bicentennial. She said change was good, but the school was full of memories.

“It’s good for the community to get a new school,” she said. “At the same time, it’s sad (for the old school to be torn down).”

Ellis mentioned that busing could be a problem for parents who moved to that area so their children didn’t have to ride the bus.

Mayor Gary Fletcher spoke to a group of about 40, saying that although the planned demolition of the school was bittersweet for those who graduated from or attended it, sacrifice is part of getting better things like a new school.

“The future of Jacksonville education is very bright,” he said.

James Reid, the mayor in 1979, recalled how much the city has grown since he was in office, saying there was one red light at the time. He talked about the positive impact teachers had on him.

PCSSD Superintendent Charles Hopson told those gathered that he wanted Jacksonville to have the same good facilities as those at Sylvan Hills and in Maumelle.

“We plan on making a difference because we believe in Jacksonville. We believe in you,” he said.

The fifth-grade class sang “Seasons of Love.” The soloists were Shanaricka Parker and Walter Schleuter.

Attendees were invited to the cafeteria for refreshments and to look at historical displays the students helped put together.

SPORTS >> Return feels like homecoming

By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor

“I’d like to see you go back. I think that’s where your talent lies.”

Those words were from a dear friend and were perhaps the final factor in my decision to return to The Leader as sports editor.

Many of you will remember me from the six-plus years I spent here writing sports. After a brief foray as managing editor, where I learned my first real lesson about doing something your heart isn’t in, I embarked on an entirely new career. I embarked on about two more after that, and had finally, about eight months ago, landed in a place I thought would be a long- term gig.

Then this opportunity sprang up once again, and truthfully, I missed sports. I took two days to mull over the pros and cons. I like sports and I love writing, but there were many other factors. In-depth conversations with my wife bore out that there were different pros and cons for each option, that seemed to balance out in the end. Then a friend helped make it clear to me that this is what I like doing, and this is what I’m good at (poor grammar notwithstanding).

So it was with a delighted heart that I decided to return to writing sports in, what I believe, is the best location and paper in the state for a local sports-writer. There is much diversity between the schools within The Leader coverage area, and also much success.

I developed some great relationships with coaches in the area, and very much look forward to renewing those old relationships, as well as beginning new ones with folks who have been fortunate enough to come in and take over one of these great programs.

It seems, however, that I missed a lot of major stories. But all the state championships that have been won since my departure were not cases of out of sight, out of mind. I was either there or listening as Jacksonville won the boys basketball and baseball championships. I was listening when Lonoke finally put it all together, when Beebe, my alma mater, added track and baseball titles.

Cabot is now a mainstay in boys basketball playoffs and brought home wrestling and bowling titles. North Pulaski and Sylvan Hills have each made the finals in boys hoops and come up just short. I know all of this. I enjoyed getting involved with all these programs and have never totally walked away.

I am looking forward to next season when the Bears finally bring home the banner.

Indeed there is a lot to look forward to.

My first day back felt like home and only helped to affirm that I made the right choice. Who better for the first phone call made by The Leader sports editor than Bob Hickingbotham?

If anything makes you feel like the sports guy in this area, it’s a phone conversation with coach Hick.

So here I am once again. Coaches at Jacksonville, Cabot, North Pulaski, Sylvan Hills, Beebe, Lonoke or Abundant Life, I’ll be seeing you soon, and glad about it.

SPORTS >> Hogs should be hosting

By NATE ALLEN
Special to The Leader

FAYETTEVILLE — First, the SEC West champion and 14th-rated national RPI Arkansas Razorbacks thought they would be one of 16 teams hosting a four-team double-elimination NCAA Baseball Regional.

Then they thought they would be playing relatively close to home in the Fort Worth Regional hosted by TCU.

Or maybe the second seed at the Regional hosted by UCLA, the team that the selection committee chose over them as the apparent 16th and final regional host.

Try none of the above. After learning Sunday they wouldn’t host, the Razorbacks, 38-20, learned Monday they are headed to Tempe, where host team Arizona State beat them in two straight 12-inning games in the 2010 Super Regional after Arkansas won Fayetteville Regional at Baum Stadium.

Arkansas opens the Tempe Regional as the second-seed against the Atlantic Ten Conference Tournament champion Charlotte 49ers, 42-14. That game’s first pitch is set for 4 p.m. Friday

Top-seed host Arizona State of the Pac 10, 39-16, meets fourth-seeded Western Athletic Conference Tournament champion New Mexico, 20-39, at 9 p.m Friday.

The regional proceeds with losers’ and winners’ bracket games Saturday and crowns a champion Sunday night or Monday that will play the winner of the Austin Regional.

Likely the Tempe winner visits national seed Texas in Austin since the NCAA lobbed Princeton, Texas State and Kent State the Longhorns’ way this weekend.

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn was asked if he was more surprised by not hosting or being sent to Tempe.

“Not hosting,” Van Horn said. “Not hosting was a big surprise. But six or seven weeks ago we just wanted to get in. I’m more disappointed that we’re not hosting for the fans. I’m just glad we’re in the tournament, and I know the players are.”

The Razorbacks are one of 64 teams playing in regionals Friday trying to advance to next week’s eight super regionals with those eight winners advancing to play for the national championship at the College World Series in Omaha.

Just getting into the tournament is indeed the key. But the Hogs, always making the NCAA big money when they have hosted regional rounds at Baum in 1999, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2010, wouldn’t be human if they weren’t chapped about not hosting going 38-20 against one of the toughest schedules in the country and going 2-2 in the tough SEC Tournament.

“Bittersweet,” junior catcher James McCann described his feelings.

McCann is apt to be drafted high in next week’s pro draft which means good-bye to Baum.

“We felt like we did everything we could to host,” McCann said. “A bitter feeling that we are not able to stay here and play in Baum but we are going to go on the road and do what we can. I take to heart knowing we got knocked out by Arizona State last year. I feel like we have some unfinished business there. I look forward to getting back to Tempe.”

Sophomore ace pitcher DJ Baxendale, throwing his best game of 2010 in relief against Arizona State, also cited “unfinished business” in Tempe.

Van Horn said he got in “move-on” mode when the 16 regional sites were announced Sunday. He said the Hogs had better be in “move-on” mode too, (“It’s just the way it is,” he said) though not yet moving on to Arizona State.

Charlotte, formerly known as the University of North Carolina, comes first and Charlotte is no slouch.

Coach Loren Hibbs’ 49ers bat .302 as a team to Arkansas’ .270. They sport a staff with four quality right-handed starters led by Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year Andrew Smith, 9-4, 1.85 earned-run average with 88 strikeouts and only 25 walks in 102 innings, in a strong tournament rotation with Tyler Barnette, 9-1, 1.96, Joe Yermal, 6-2, 2.34, and Corey Roberts, 7-3, 3.18.

Arkansas may not start its ace Friday but that’s no slight to Charlotte.

Baxendale, 9-2, 1.75, was lifted after five innings of his SEC Tournament victory Thursday over Mississippi State due to experiencing soreness.

So if it’s deemed that Baxendale could use another day’s rest, Van Horn said he has plenty of Friday options.

Available is normal second-game SEC southpaw starter Randall Fant. Or freshman Ryne Stanek, posting his best outing of the season against Alabama at the SEC Tournament.

Freshman Brandon Moore, who threw a superb 8 innings relieving Fant, is also available. Van Horn said he still has plenty of confidence in Fant and will research how the 49ers have fared versus lefties.

SPORTS >> Legion teams in Cabot even after first two

By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor

The Cabot Centennial Bank American Legion baseball team’s season is under way. Unlike many legion programs in central Arkansas, the Cabot program is full and strong, with enough players to make up three teams.

The senior and junior teams have each played two games, while the class AA teams had yet to take the field as of this weekend.

The senior team opened the season with a close loss to Little Rock Blue 5-4, but rebounded at home by hammering Benton 16-6.

The junior squad won its opener 13-6 over Benton on Friday, then fell 6-5 in a nailbiter to Lake Hamilton Saturday.

The AA team opened its season last night at Newport after Leader deadlines. It will also play tonight on the road at Hot Springs Lakeside.

The senior and junior teams will be back in action Thursday night at home in a doubleheader against Maumelle/North Little Rock, and the AA team finally gets a home game Friday against Stuttgart.

SPORTS >> Gwatney wins one at NLR

By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor

The American Legion season got off to a good start for Jacksonville’s junior ball club. The younger Gwatney team beat Sheridan 10-6 in the first round of the Memorial Day tournament at Burns Park, hosted by North Little Rock.

Alex Broadwell started and got the win for the Chevy Boys, who used a last-inning rally to seal the victory. The game was tied at six apiece when Jacksonville rallied to put four on the board and get the win.

The rest of the tournament wasn’t as good for Jacksonville. The Gwatney squad lost 13-1 to Lonoke’s AA team, then fell 6-1 to Texarkana, Texas.

Youth is the predominant feature on this season’s A squad for Jacksonville. The team consists of six 14-year-olds. Another feature on this year’s team is diversity. The team consists of players from several different area high schools, whereas most years the team is made up almost entirely of players from Jacksonville and North Pulaski.

“We’re very young and most of ‘em haven’t played together very much,” Jacksonville coach Bob Hickingbotham said. “It makes it hard sometimes when you’re not very familiar at all with your teammates.”

Making things worse for Jacksonville in its second game Saturday was a shortage of players. There are only 11 on the roster, and three left the game with illness or injury.

Lonoke allowed Jacksonville to re-enter a player who had left with illness, just two finish the game after two more Gwatney players got hurt.

Hickingbotham is committed to patience with the young and inexperienced team.

“We had some bad breaks but we made a lot of mistakes too,” Hickingbotham said. “That’s going to happen. We’ve only been on the practice field twice, and we don’t know yet what everybody is going to do.”

The Gwatney senior team hasn’t played yet. Both teams are scheduled for a doubleheader against Sylvan Hills Thursday night in Sherwood.