By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
It’s been a great while since Jacksonville has played in a game of such importance in the final week of the season. It’s been over a decade since the Red Devils have won a conference championship. They’ve already accomplished at least a share of that, but nothing would be sweeter than an outright conference title and a No. 1 seed in the state playoffs that begin next week. There’s also a home game in the playoffs on the line. If Jacksonville loses, it can’t finish in the top two, which means going on the road for the first round of the playoffs.
In order to get all of that, they have to beat the Marion Patriots this Thursday night at Marion. The Patriots are fresh off a 10-7 win over Jonesboro in which the offense didn’t score a touchdown. Razorback commit Jerry Franklin intercepted a pass late in the game and returned it for a touchdown to lift the Patriots to victory.
Despite the lack of scoring, Marion coach Mark Uhiren is pleased with the way his team played in its most recent game. “I was real pleased with my kids the other night,” Uhiren said. “It was a slop hole up there. It had rained every day of the week and it rained during the game. That was the biggest team I’ve ever seen. The line was gigantic, the backs were big and punishing. Then you had the quarterback running around back there like a chicken that we just couldn’t catch. I tell you I was proud of the way they handled all of that.”
Jacksonville coach Mark Whatley sees the same thing Uhiren sees in the Patriots, a resilient team with a lot of speed and athleticism. “That’s a very good football team,” Whatley said. “They’re very physical and they’ve got everybody healthy. We’ve been catching people like that the last three or four weeks, but all we can do is go play. The Franklin kid is a difference maker and you have to be aware of where he is. They want to keep the football a lot like West Memphis, but they’re a little more complex than them. They’ve got a few more options that we’re going to have to be ready for.”
Marion is in its first year in a higher classfication, and the lack of depth is apparent. Only a few players have the luxury of playing on just one side of the football, but Jacksonville is in a similar situation. The Red Devils have a little more depth and can rest people for a few more snaps than Marion, but both teams have played a lot of players both ways all season.
Uhiren believes that is becoming less of a factor as the season moves on.
“We’re playing one-platoon football and a lot of teams have tried to take advantage of that. But I believe my kids were playing stronger in the fourth quarter the other night than they played all game long. “I wouldn’t say that if it’s not true. It’s getting cooler and that heat isn’t beating down on us like it was earlier in the year. I’m proud of how hard the kids are playing.”
The Patriots are finally getting healthy. They got everyone back two weeks ago against Sylvan Hills, and were at full strength against Jonesboro. Senior running back Darcel Johnston, who missed most of the season before returning as a full-time player against Sylvan Hills, hasn’t been as productive as last season, when he ran for over 2,000 yards and scored 30 touchdowns.
That has forced the Patriots to be more versatile, and Uhiren isn’t totally displeased with that. “We’ve finally got everybody back but we’re not full speed,” Uhiren said. “If Darcel was 100 percent and going full-tilt I’d say we have a go-to guy. As it is we’ve had to spread it around and I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing.”
Jacksonville has been well balanced between the run and pass in recent games. Last week the running game did most of the damage in the win over West Memphis, but Uhiren believes the key to Jacksonville’s offense is quarterback Daniel Hubbard.
“That quarterback runs things smoothly, he doesn’t panic,” Uhiren said. “He’s not a runner so to speak, but he’s elusive. He knows how to shift around and find a better way to throw the football.”
The head Patriot isn’t disregarding the running game however. “That would be silly for me to go all out after the quarterback, so I’m not neglecting the running game at all. I don’t know, I just think that quarterback is the key to things. There’s something to say about a guy that can calmly and collectively get a team together and make things go.”
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
TOP STORY >>Lonoke race for sheriff is down to wire
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
Lonoke County voters are tired of turnover and instability in the sheriff’s office and, like voters everywhere, they are ready to kick the incumbent to the curb, according to Charlie Martin, the Democratic challenger and former sheriff. Not so, says Lonoke County Sheriff Jim Roberson, a Republican, confident that residents are pleased with the professionalism and outreach programs he initiated and the job he’s done and will reelect him Tuesday to serve a third term.
Despite conventional wisdom, Roberson says he doesn’t think it will be a tough year on incumbents. “It’s only going to be rough on people who haven’t done their job. I don’t see it being rough on me. All the feedback I’m getting, people are happy (with our performance),” the sheriff insisted.
On the tail of a strong turnout in Cabot in 2002, Roberson ended Martin’s six-year stint in office 8,646 to 7,515 in part because Martin and some members of his department were cited by the Bureau of Legislative Audit for improper use of money in the weapons and uniforms fund and indicted.
Martin pled no contest to a misdemeanor as a result. “If I was arrested for falsifying receipts, I couldn’t face the public,” Roberson said of Martin. “You have to arrest people for the same thing every day.” Martin failed to regain the office in 2004, when Roberson beat him 11,582 to 7,660 behind a strong Republican turnout to support President George W. Bush in his tightly contested race against Democrat challenger John Kerry.
This time the Bureau of Legislative Audit is looking into improper use of county credit cards by two of Roberson’s employees, one of whom was fired, the other demoted, he says. “We had two employees that didn’t follow procedure on credit card use,” says Roberson. He says he initiated an internal investigation, notified the prosecutor’s office and the legislative audit bureau, he says. “They bought some items that they had planned to pay for later,” he says. “I made them pay and then took action against them.”
Martin, 58, and his wife Mavis have three sons, one of whom is due home from Iraq Dec. 15. Since leaving office, Martin has been working as a part-time Ward policeman. Martin Monday charged that Roberson had gone through 77 employees during four years. “I went through one in six years,” he said.
Roberson, 59, reached by phone away from the office, said it was natural to have some turnover when taking over a large county office, doubted Martin’s numbers but said he didn’t have a figure. Martin also criticized Roberson, saying “I don’t believe it’s a deputy’s job to chase drugs on the intestate, when there’s people kicking in doors and stealing people’s property. They need to be on the county roads, developing their confidential informants and finding out who’s doing this stuff.”
“My deputies are not on interstate,” Roberson says, unless the state Police asks for backup or they are in hot pursuit. “We’re patrolling county roads.” “I’m not one to guess politics,” said Roberson. “I hope I have done a good enough job that people will keep me. I’ve implemented several community programs,” he said. They include work with senior citizens, working with the schools, riding school buses, work on the alert program and sponsoring Beth Holloway Twitty, whose daughter disappeared in a high-profile possible murder in Aruba. Twitty spoke to students at several county schools about safe travel.
Roberson says one of his biggest accomplishments is increasing the training and professionalism of the deputies. “They are some of the best trained officers in the state,” he says.
The sheriff says the county needs more officers. Meanwhile, he says, the number of arrests is up, including methamphetamine-related arrests. “Our guys are doing a good job, arresting people every day,” he said. “We’re locking up drug dealers, users, domestic violence and thieves. That’s our goal, everyday.”
He said criminals who should be in overcrowded Pulaski County jails are on the streets, adding to Lonoke County crime.
Martin counters that Roberson is too quick to arrest and jail people who don’t need it. “I’m for treating people with respect,” he says. “Every time you come in contact with someone on a call you don’t have to arrest them and everyone you arrest doesn’t have to go to jail.”
Martin says he’d reinstitute the electronic home arrest system he used when he was in office. “If the monitor showed tampering, the company notified us and we immediately put them back in jail,” he added. Martin also says the response time from the 911-operators and deputies is too slow. “We had a fatality up in Ward on Hwy. 319 and from the time the sheriff’s department got the call, it was six to eight minutes before anyone was dispatched to Ward—and then they sent us in the wrong direction.”
Roberson notes that new jail policies have been instituted since he took office, with new jailers, more security and all-new stainless steel bathroom equipment.
Leader staff writer
Lonoke County voters are tired of turnover and instability in the sheriff’s office and, like voters everywhere, they are ready to kick the incumbent to the curb, according to Charlie Martin, the Democratic challenger and former sheriff. Not so, says Lonoke County Sheriff Jim Roberson, a Republican, confident that residents are pleased with the professionalism and outreach programs he initiated and the job he’s done and will reelect him Tuesday to serve a third term.
Despite conventional wisdom, Roberson says he doesn’t think it will be a tough year on incumbents. “It’s only going to be rough on people who haven’t done their job. I don’t see it being rough on me. All the feedback I’m getting, people are happy (with our performance),” the sheriff insisted.
On the tail of a strong turnout in Cabot in 2002, Roberson ended Martin’s six-year stint in office 8,646 to 7,515 in part because Martin and some members of his department were cited by the Bureau of Legislative Audit for improper use of money in the weapons and uniforms fund and indicted.
Martin pled no contest to a misdemeanor as a result. “If I was arrested for falsifying receipts, I couldn’t face the public,” Roberson said of Martin. “You have to arrest people for the same thing every day.” Martin failed to regain the office in 2004, when Roberson beat him 11,582 to 7,660 behind a strong Republican turnout to support President George W. Bush in his tightly contested race against Democrat challenger John Kerry.
This time the Bureau of Legislative Audit is looking into improper use of county credit cards by two of Roberson’s employees, one of whom was fired, the other demoted, he says. “We had two employees that didn’t follow procedure on credit card use,” says Roberson. He says he initiated an internal investigation, notified the prosecutor’s office and the legislative audit bureau, he says. “They bought some items that they had planned to pay for later,” he says. “I made them pay and then took action against them.”
Martin, 58, and his wife Mavis have three sons, one of whom is due home from Iraq Dec. 15. Since leaving office, Martin has been working as a part-time Ward policeman. Martin Monday charged that Roberson had gone through 77 employees during four years. “I went through one in six years,” he said.
Roberson, 59, reached by phone away from the office, said it was natural to have some turnover when taking over a large county office, doubted Martin’s numbers but said he didn’t have a figure. Martin also criticized Roberson, saying “I don’t believe it’s a deputy’s job to chase drugs on the intestate, when there’s people kicking in doors and stealing people’s property. They need to be on the county roads, developing their confidential informants and finding out who’s doing this stuff.”
“My deputies are not on interstate,” Roberson says, unless the state Police asks for backup or they are in hot pursuit. “We’re patrolling county roads.” “I’m not one to guess politics,” said Roberson. “I hope I have done a good enough job that people will keep me. I’ve implemented several community programs,” he said. They include work with senior citizens, working with the schools, riding school buses, work on the alert program and sponsoring Beth Holloway Twitty, whose daughter disappeared in a high-profile possible murder in Aruba. Twitty spoke to students at several county schools about safe travel.
Roberson says one of his biggest accomplishments is increasing the training and professionalism of the deputies. “They are some of the best trained officers in the state,” he says.
The sheriff says the county needs more officers. Meanwhile, he says, the number of arrests is up, including methamphetamine-related arrests. “Our guys are doing a good job, arresting people every day,” he said. “We’re locking up drug dealers, users, domestic violence and thieves. That’s our goal, everyday.”
He said criminals who should be in overcrowded Pulaski County jails are on the streets, adding to Lonoke County crime.
Martin counters that Roberson is too quick to arrest and jail people who don’t need it. “I’m for treating people with respect,” he says. “Every time you come in contact with someone on a call you don’t have to arrest them and everyone you arrest doesn’t have to go to jail.”
Martin says he’d reinstitute the electronic home arrest system he used when he was in office. “If the monitor showed tampering, the company notified us and we immediately put them back in jail,” he added. Martin also says the response time from the 911-operators and deputies is too slow. “We had a fatality up in Ward on Hwy. 319 and from the time the sheriff’s department got the call, it was six to eight minutes before anyone was dispatched to Ward—and then they sent us in the wrong direction.”
Roberson notes that new jail policies have been instituted since he took office, with new jailers, more security and all-new stainless steel bathroom equipment.
TOP STORY >>City set to clear land for library
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
An abandoned gas station, detail shop and old store front on four acres of land on Main Street in Jacksonville should soon be torn down to make way a for a new $2.5 million library. The city purchased three acres of the land in three separate buys this summer, then used eminent domain to condemn and take the remaining acre of land. “We have title to the land and are proceeding with the library plans,” Mayor Tommy Swaim said.
Those plans next include demolition of the abandoned buildings and asbestos removal. The city council will vote on bids for the work at its meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday. The mayor said the city has received two bids and is checking company references before making a suggestion as to which company to use.
If the council approves one of the two bids to demolition and clear the land, work should start before Thanksgiving.
The mayor also said that there is a public meeting set for at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15 at the Nixon Library, also on Main Street, to discuss design plans for the new library.
Plans that the architect presented last year were roundly rejected. It was then decided to wait until the land was obtained before developing another design. “I’d like for this to be a centerpiece for the downtown area,” Swaim has said, with amenities including a park-like setting.
The new library building will be approximately 13,500 square feet, about 4,000 square feet larger than the current city library built in 1969. Swaim has said that the most of the cost of the land has been paid for by private donations. In July 2004, Jacksonville residents approved a one-mil property tax increase to pay off $2.5 million in bonds to build the new library building. Since that time the current library has suffered numerous roof leaks and was even closed for about a month as leaks damaged books, carpeting and other portions of the library.
During the summer, the city purchased the Texaco station and related property from he Scheaffer family for $300,000, or about $10 a square foot. Another portion of the land was purchased from the Abdin family, which was paid $80,300 for the land housing the closed tobacco store and Fishnet thrift shop, which worked out to $10.70 a square foot.
The city also worked out an agreement with Butch Dougherty to buy the three lots in the block that he owns for $231,550, or $7.98 a square foot. That left about 1.1 acres of land owned by Robert Dougherty. Because a price could not be agreed amount, the city used its powers of eminent domain in August, condemning and taking the property. Dougherty is suing the city to get more money for his land.
“We have placed money in escrow to cover the appraised value of the property,” the mayor explained, “and the former owner will have his day in court to argue what is a fair price.” “If eminent domain will allow the library project to move along more quickly, then this is what the city should do,” said Robert Dougherty in a letter to the city council in August, when it took up the condemnation issue.
But he was adamant about taking his case to court to get a fair price. According to Dougherty, the city is offering him about half of what it gave the other land owners. City Attorney Bob Bamburg explained that under eminent domain the landowner would still have to be fairly compensated for the land, but eminent domain allows the city to proceed with its public project—in this case the library—while the sides work out fair compensation.
Leader staff writer
An abandoned gas station, detail shop and old store front on four acres of land on Main Street in Jacksonville should soon be torn down to make way a for a new $2.5 million library. The city purchased three acres of the land in three separate buys this summer, then used eminent domain to condemn and take the remaining acre of land. “We have title to the land and are proceeding with the library plans,” Mayor Tommy Swaim said.
Those plans next include demolition of the abandoned buildings and asbestos removal. The city council will vote on bids for the work at its meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday. The mayor said the city has received two bids and is checking company references before making a suggestion as to which company to use.
If the council approves one of the two bids to demolition and clear the land, work should start before Thanksgiving.
The mayor also said that there is a public meeting set for at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15 at the Nixon Library, also on Main Street, to discuss design plans for the new library.
Plans that the architect presented last year were roundly rejected. It was then decided to wait until the land was obtained before developing another design. “I’d like for this to be a centerpiece for the downtown area,” Swaim has said, with amenities including a park-like setting.
The new library building will be approximately 13,500 square feet, about 4,000 square feet larger than the current city library built in 1969. Swaim has said that the most of the cost of the land has been paid for by private donations. In July 2004, Jacksonville residents approved a one-mil property tax increase to pay off $2.5 million in bonds to build the new library building. Since that time the current library has suffered numerous roof leaks and was even closed for about a month as leaks damaged books, carpeting and other portions of the library.
During the summer, the city purchased the Texaco station and related property from he Scheaffer family for $300,000, or about $10 a square foot. Another portion of the land was purchased from the Abdin family, which was paid $80,300 for the land housing the closed tobacco store and Fishnet thrift shop, which worked out to $10.70 a square foot.
The city also worked out an agreement with Butch Dougherty to buy the three lots in the block that he owns for $231,550, or $7.98 a square foot. That left about 1.1 acres of land owned by Robert Dougherty. Because a price could not be agreed amount, the city used its powers of eminent domain in August, condemning and taking the property. Dougherty is suing the city to get more money for his land.
“We have placed money in escrow to cover the appraised value of the property,” the mayor explained, “and the former owner will have his day in court to argue what is a fair price.” “If eminent domain will allow the library project to move along more quickly, then this is what the city should do,” said Robert Dougherty in a letter to the city council in August, when it took up the condemnation issue.
But he was adamant about taking his case to court to get a fair price. According to Dougherty, the city is offering him about half of what it gave the other land owners. City Attorney Bob Bamburg explained that under eminent domain the landowner would still have to be fairly compensated for the land, but eminent domain allows the city to proceed with its public project—in this case the library—while the sides work out fair compensation.
TOP STORY >>More planes are headed for air base
By SARA GREENE
Leader deputy managing editor
Little Rock Air Force Base is projected to get more than a dozen additional C-130J cargo aircraft and possibly some of the Air Force’s 100 joint-cargo aircraft. “We’re projected to get 14 more C-130Js at Little Rock Air Force Base over the next several years for Air Mobility Command’s 463rd Airlift Group,” said Capt. David Faggard, of the 314th Airlift Wing’s Strategic Information Flight office.
Little Rock Air Force Base has seven C-130J models attached to the 48th Airlift Squadron as part of the Air Education Training Command’s training program for pilots and crews. The Air Force recently changed the type of contract it will use to purchase 39 of the $65 million C-130J cargo aircraft from Lockheed Martin. The contract was changed from a commercial contract to a traditional military contract. The change was necessary to comply with the fiscal year 2006 National Defense Authorization Act and is estimated to save the Air Force $168 million, roughly about $4.3 million per plane.
Faggard said the addition of new C-130s to the Air Force fleet is important both locally and globally. “The C-130J is important because it shows the Air Force is investing in Little Rock Air Force Base and the community. Every day C-130s take convoys off the roadways in Iraq. As we add more C-130s that’s less time the war fighter has to spend on the ground,” Faggard said.
Another new plane could be parked on LRAFB’s tarmac by 2010. The Pentagon has yet to decide which company will design and build the joint cargo aircraft, a twin-engine plane about half as big as a C-130, to be used by both the Army and Air Force to deliver small amounts of cargo to war zones with unpaved or rough airstrips.
Since the planes haven’t been designed yet, there’s no price tag for the JCA. The Army requested 75 of the planes and Gen. Duncan McNabb, commander of Air Mobility Command said Monday the Air Force may buy as many as 100 of the Joint Cargo Aircraft, not the 70 it has previously talked about. Based on the Defense Department’s Mission Capabilities Study—a classified report the Pentagon uses to craft its mobility policy—the Air Force requires about 400 C-130s, McNabb said in Orlando, Fla., where he is taking part in the annual Airlift Tanker Association convention.
“We know we’re looking at 400-plus C-130-capacity type aircraft,” he said. “We’re going to do (the avionics modernization program) on all the (C-130H models), so right there you’ve got about 280 of those.” Once you factor in the C-130Js, he said, the fleet is up to about 350 toward the Mission Capabilities Study requirement.
“So that brings you to the last 50,” he said. “Right now we think the JCA will carry half as much as the C-130J. So what we’re thinking is that about 100 of those will give us the capacity of those 50. So that’s what we’re targeting.” Still, he said, the JCA “could be lot of different type of airplanes. We don’t know exactly what that will be. But if you put all that together that will fit pretty nicely and we’ll have that updated fleet.” Army contracting officers had eliminated Lockheed Martin from a $6 billion bid competition to provide the JCAs earlier this year saying Lockheed’s submission was not be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Lockheed Martin is appealing that decision says Peter Simmons, spokesman for Lockheed Martin. “We’ve filed a petition of appeal with the Government Accountability Office and hope to have a decision by the end of November,” Simmons said.
Other competitors for the JCA contract are Raytheon and L3–a joint venture between Boeing, L-3 Communications and Italian company Alenia.
New planes like the C-130J and the JCA are needed to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of cargo planes. In 2005, Air Force engineers found microscopic cracking where the wings meet the fuselage, an area called the wing-box, of the 40-year old C-130 E and 20-year old H models. After maintainers evaluated the 450 C-130s in the fleet, the Air Force grounded nearly 100 aircraft with the cracks. The Air Force put weight, altitude and flight time restrictions on aircraft that might develop the cracks based on wear and tear based such as the number of hours flown, maintenance issues and the more demanding tactical flying of wartime maneuvers.
There are 15 C-130Es grounded at LRAFB. Of the planes at LRAFB AETC’s 53rd and 62nd Airlift Squadrons have 45 C-130E cargo aircraft. AMC’s 61st Airlift Squadron has 30 of the C-130Es. The Arkansas Air National Guard’s 189th Airlift Group has 8 C-130H models at the base.
Some of the information for this article is from the Air Force Times.
Leader deputy managing editor
Little Rock Air Force Base is projected to get more than a dozen additional C-130J cargo aircraft and possibly some of the Air Force’s 100 joint-cargo aircraft. “We’re projected to get 14 more C-130Js at Little Rock Air Force Base over the next several years for Air Mobility Command’s 463rd Airlift Group,” said Capt. David Faggard, of the 314th Airlift Wing’s Strategic Information Flight office.
Little Rock Air Force Base has seven C-130J models attached to the 48th Airlift Squadron as part of the Air Education Training Command’s training program for pilots and crews. The Air Force recently changed the type of contract it will use to purchase 39 of the $65 million C-130J cargo aircraft from Lockheed Martin. The contract was changed from a commercial contract to a traditional military contract. The change was necessary to comply with the fiscal year 2006 National Defense Authorization Act and is estimated to save the Air Force $168 million, roughly about $4.3 million per plane.
Faggard said the addition of new C-130s to the Air Force fleet is important both locally and globally. “The C-130J is important because it shows the Air Force is investing in Little Rock Air Force Base and the community. Every day C-130s take convoys off the roadways in Iraq. As we add more C-130s that’s less time the war fighter has to spend on the ground,” Faggard said.
Another new plane could be parked on LRAFB’s tarmac by 2010. The Pentagon has yet to decide which company will design and build the joint cargo aircraft, a twin-engine plane about half as big as a C-130, to be used by both the Army and Air Force to deliver small amounts of cargo to war zones with unpaved or rough airstrips.
Since the planes haven’t been designed yet, there’s no price tag for the JCA. The Army requested 75 of the planes and Gen. Duncan McNabb, commander of Air Mobility Command said Monday the Air Force may buy as many as 100 of the Joint Cargo Aircraft, not the 70 it has previously talked about. Based on the Defense Department’s Mission Capabilities Study—a classified report the Pentagon uses to craft its mobility policy—the Air Force requires about 400 C-130s, McNabb said in Orlando, Fla., where he is taking part in the annual Airlift Tanker Association convention.
“We know we’re looking at 400-plus C-130-capacity type aircraft,” he said. “We’re going to do (the avionics modernization program) on all the (C-130H models), so right there you’ve got about 280 of those.” Once you factor in the C-130Js, he said, the fleet is up to about 350 toward the Mission Capabilities Study requirement.
“So that brings you to the last 50,” he said. “Right now we think the JCA will carry half as much as the C-130J. So what we’re thinking is that about 100 of those will give us the capacity of those 50. So that’s what we’re targeting.” Still, he said, the JCA “could be lot of different type of airplanes. We don’t know exactly what that will be. But if you put all that together that will fit pretty nicely and we’ll have that updated fleet.” Army contracting officers had eliminated Lockheed Martin from a $6 billion bid competition to provide the JCAs earlier this year saying Lockheed’s submission was not be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Lockheed Martin is appealing that decision says Peter Simmons, spokesman for Lockheed Martin. “We’ve filed a petition of appeal with the Government Accountability Office and hope to have a decision by the end of November,” Simmons said.
Other competitors for the JCA contract are Raytheon and L3–a joint venture between Boeing, L-3 Communications and Italian company Alenia.
New planes like the C-130J and the JCA are needed to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of cargo planes. In 2005, Air Force engineers found microscopic cracking where the wings meet the fuselage, an area called the wing-box, of the 40-year old C-130 E and 20-year old H models. After maintainers evaluated the 450 C-130s in the fleet, the Air Force grounded nearly 100 aircraft with the cracks. The Air Force put weight, altitude and flight time restrictions on aircraft that might develop the cracks based on wear and tear based such as the number of hours flown, maintenance issues and the more demanding tactical flying of wartime maneuvers.
There are 15 C-130Es grounded at LRAFB. Of the planes at LRAFB AETC’s 53rd and 62nd Airlift Squadrons have 45 C-130E cargo aircraft. AMC’s 61st Airlift Squadron has 30 of the C-130Es. The Arkansas Air National Guard’s 189th Airlift Group has 8 C-130H models at the base.
Some of the information for this article is from the Air Force Times.
TOP STORY >>AARP tells voters: Be informed
By SARA GREENE
Leader deputy managing editor
In September, the Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons (AARP) launched a “Don’t Vote” campaign to tell voters not to cast a ballot without knowing where the candidates stand on the issues. “For the most part, the feedback I’ve re-ceived from people about the ad has been positive. Some people worried a bit because they thought it really would discourage people from voting, but mostly people think it’s witty and creative, it makes you think,” said Billie Ann Myers of Jacksonville, president of AARP Arkansas.
According to a press release by David Sloane, AARP senior managing director of government relations and advocacy, the ad was designed to get voters’ attention. “We all worry when candidates aren’t willing to clearly explain where they stand on the issues. Voters want to make an informed choice at the polls, and dontvote.com is a big step toward this goal,” Sloane said.
Voters can visit dontvote.com to view AARP Voters’ Guides. The guides have unedited responses from the state’s candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, the state senate and house on issues such as Medicaid, nursing home reform and payday lending.
A recent poll of the state’s 351,000 AARP members showed bipartisan opposition to giving nursing homes additional protection from lawsuits. AARP members support protecting consumers from predatory payday lending with clearly displayed loan fees and reasonable pay back terms. Payday loans are short-term, high interest loans. Payday lending alternatives supported by the AARP include creating a small loan fund run by a nonprofit organization funded by Arkansas banks and requiring consumers to take credit counseling courses to get loans from such a fund.
Arkansas AARP members are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports allowing Medicaid funds to be used for services to that help people live in their own homes or communities instead of in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes. Such services include making it easier for companies to build assisted living facilities, better transportation for residents with limited mobility and wheelchair accessible public transportation.
In the 2006 voter guides, nearly all the candidates support AARP’s positions on these issues. “AARP members tend to vote regularly, that’s a big stick to carry (politically),” Myers said.
Leader deputy managing editor
In September, the Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons (AARP) launched a “Don’t Vote” campaign to tell voters not to cast a ballot without knowing where the candidates stand on the issues. “For the most part, the feedback I’ve re-ceived from people about the ad has been positive. Some people worried a bit because they thought it really would discourage people from voting, but mostly people think it’s witty and creative, it makes you think,” said Billie Ann Myers of Jacksonville, president of AARP Arkansas.
According to a press release by David Sloane, AARP senior managing director of government relations and advocacy, the ad was designed to get voters’ attention. “We all worry when candidates aren’t willing to clearly explain where they stand on the issues. Voters want to make an informed choice at the polls, and dontvote.com is a big step toward this goal,” Sloane said.
Voters can visit dontvote.com to view AARP Voters’ Guides. The guides have unedited responses from the state’s candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, the state senate and house on issues such as Medicaid, nursing home reform and payday lending.
A recent poll of the state’s 351,000 AARP members showed bipartisan opposition to giving nursing homes additional protection from lawsuits. AARP members support protecting consumers from predatory payday lending with clearly displayed loan fees and reasonable pay back terms. Payday loans are short-term, high interest loans. Payday lending alternatives supported by the AARP include creating a small loan fund run by a nonprofit organization funded by Arkansas banks and requiring consumers to take credit counseling courses to get loans from such a fund.
Arkansas AARP members are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports allowing Medicaid funds to be used for services to that help people live in their own homes or communities instead of in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes. Such services include making it easier for companies to build assisted living facilities, better transportation for residents with limited mobility and wheelchair accessible public transportation.
In the 2006 voter guides, nearly all the candidates support AARP’s positions on these issues. “AARP members tend to vote regularly, that’s a big stick to carry (politically),” Myers said.
TOP STORY >>Candidates trade barbs
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
Lona McCastlain, Lonoke County’s Republican prosecuting attorney, hasn’t had an opponent for three of the four terms she’s been in office. But now a defense attorney, who was one of her deputy prosecutors after the 1998 election, says he can do the job better. At the very least, he says, he will take more cases to trial.
In an advertisement, Tim Blair, who worked for McCastlain for 18 months, says her office has 1,000 cases untried, including 153 untried cases one to two years old and 75 cases more two years old. Blair, a Democrat, maintains that her budget doubled and her staff tripled, but that only seven trials went to the jury in 2006, and she lost four.
McCastlain said Blair’s ad was designed to confuse voters and it did. She disputes the number of cases tried. She says she tried 12 with four lost while Blair maintains that his research showed she only tried seven. Blair said he did the research for the ad, which was paid for by the Democratic Party of Arkansas.
Blair said he found the information contained in the ad on a state court website, in Circuit Judge Lance Hanshaw’s office and in the office of the Lonoke County Treasurer, he said. Blair said that to save the time required for jury trials, most trials are bench trials, which means the judge determines guilt, not a jury. But there’s bad blood between McCastlain and Hanshaw, he said, so cases go untried.
“There were over 800 cases brought over this year from last year,” Blair said this week. “We’ve got to have change in Lonoke County or that system is going to crash.” McCastlain doesn’t dispute all the numbers in Blair’s campaign ad, but she does say they are misleading. That same website also shows that her percentage of untried cases has dropped from 12 percent to six percent over the past two years, during the time when her relationship with Hanshaw has been strained.
And that six percent puts her in the top three in the state where some districts have as many as 20 percent of their cases untried for more than two years. Her staff tripled and her budget doubled? That’s a pretty good value for the money, she joked, but that too is misleading. The staff isn’t just prosecutors. It includes new positions like the victim-witness coordinator. And most of the salaries for the new positions came from grants.
McCastlain said she is disappointed that Blair was able to use against her the same numbers that she is proud of.
“We’re in pretty good shape as far as a backlog,” she said. “To be in the top three in the state, that’s great and I’m proud of it.” McCastlain said she tries the tough cases and goes for stiff sentences, but there is no way to predict how a jury will decide. Blair says the danger of waiting too long to go to trial is that witnesses who could help get a conviction sometimes dwindle away taking a good case with them.
“You have to be in court, prepared and trying cases every day. If you don’t you’ve got a backlog,” Blair said.
In the 18 months he was in McCastlain’s office he tried 24 cases and lost only two, he said. “I want this job because I like trial work,” he said. “I like getting in front of 12 strangers and convincing them.”
McCastlain responds that there is no way Blair can be in court every day because the judge sets the docket not the prosecutor. Hanshaw gave her three days for jury trials in September and three days in October and she used them all and could have used more.
“We don’t set the trial dates, we go when Lance tells us we go,” McCastlain said. As a defense attorney, Blair represents the people that McCastlain prosecutes, but he said changing roles isn’t difficult because prosecutor and defender are both parts of a system that works well.
McCastlain said the question that voters must decide is whether they want a prosecutor or a defense attorney. “You can’t have a fox guarding the henhouse,” she said. “And if you want a defense attorney, you sure don’t want me.” “I believe in our system and I’m going to represent who I represent to the best of my ability. You have to have faith in the system if it’s going to work,” he said.
Leader staff writer
Lona McCastlain, Lonoke County’s Republican prosecuting attorney, hasn’t had an opponent for three of the four terms she’s been in office. But now a defense attorney, who was one of her deputy prosecutors after the 1998 election, says he can do the job better. At the very least, he says, he will take more cases to trial.
In an advertisement, Tim Blair, who worked for McCastlain for 18 months, says her office has 1,000 cases untried, including 153 untried cases one to two years old and 75 cases more two years old. Blair, a Democrat, maintains that her budget doubled and her staff tripled, but that only seven trials went to the jury in 2006, and she lost four.
McCastlain said Blair’s ad was designed to confuse voters and it did. She disputes the number of cases tried. She says she tried 12 with four lost while Blair maintains that his research showed she only tried seven. Blair said he did the research for the ad, which was paid for by the Democratic Party of Arkansas.
Blair said he found the information contained in the ad on a state court website, in Circuit Judge Lance Hanshaw’s office and in the office of the Lonoke County Treasurer, he said. Blair said that to save the time required for jury trials, most trials are bench trials, which means the judge determines guilt, not a jury. But there’s bad blood between McCastlain and Hanshaw, he said, so cases go untried.
“There were over 800 cases brought over this year from last year,” Blair said this week. “We’ve got to have change in Lonoke County or that system is going to crash.” McCastlain doesn’t dispute all the numbers in Blair’s campaign ad, but she does say they are misleading. That same website also shows that her percentage of untried cases has dropped from 12 percent to six percent over the past two years, during the time when her relationship with Hanshaw has been strained.
And that six percent puts her in the top three in the state where some districts have as many as 20 percent of their cases untried for more than two years. Her staff tripled and her budget doubled? That’s a pretty good value for the money, she joked, but that too is misleading. The staff isn’t just prosecutors. It includes new positions like the victim-witness coordinator. And most of the salaries for the new positions came from grants.
McCastlain said she is disappointed that Blair was able to use against her the same numbers that she is proud of.
“We’re in pretty good shape as far as a backlog,” she said. “To be in the top three in the state, that’s great and I’m proud of it.” McCastlain said she tries the tough cases and goes for stiff sentences, but there is no way to predict how a jury will decide. Blair says the danger of waiting too long to go to trial is that witnesses who could help get a conviction sometimes dwindle away taking a good case with them.
“You have to be in court, prepared and trying cases every day. If you don’t you’ve got a backlog,” Blair said.
In the 18 months he was in McCastlain’s office he tried 24 cases and lost only two, he said. “I want this job because I like trial work,” he said. “I like getting in front of 12 strangers and convincing them.”
McCastlain responds that there is no way Blair can be in court every day because the judge sets the docket not the prosecutor. Hanshaw gave her three days for jury trials in September and three days in October and she used them all and could have used more.
“We don’t set the trial dates, we go when Lance tells us we go,” McCastlain said. As a defense attorney, Blair represents the people that McCastlain prosecutes, but he said changing roles isn’t difficult because prosecutor and defender are both parts of a system that works well.
McCastlain said the question that voters must decide is whether they want a prosecutor or a defense attorney. “You can’t have a fox guarding the henhouse,” she said. “And if you want a defense attorney, you sure don’t want me.” “I believe in our system and I’m going to represent who I represent to the best of my ability. You have to have faith in the system if it’s going to work,” he said.
TOP STORY >>Air Force lieutenant winner of pageant
By SARA GREENE
Leader deputy managing editor
Former Miss Air Force 2003, 2nd Lt. Kelly George, 24, deputy chief of the 314th Airlift Wing’s Strategic Information Flight, was crowned Miss Arkansas USA Saturday night in the Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
George said winning this competition was important to her so she could represent the Air Force in a positive way. “This breaks stereotypes about wo-men in pageants and women in the military,” she said. “You have to be a good role model in the Air Force and as Miss Arkansas USA,” she said. “The key is to embody all the qualities of a healthy lifestyle and be a good role model and represent yourself and the state well.”
Brig. General Kip Self, commander of Little Rock Air Force Base applauds George’s victory.“Kelly represents the Air Force and Arkansas well. She takes to heart the spirit of service in dedicating herself to civic duty and to the country,” Self said.
“The Air Force is supportive in letting me fufill my public appearance duties as Miss Arkansas USA,” George said.
Miss Arkansas USA makes numerous appearances across the state for charities including breast and ovarian cancer awareness.
“Breast and ovarian cancer run in my family so it means a lot to me to work for those charities,” George said. In the spring, George will compete for the Miss USA title, a qualifier for the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss USA pageant will be televised on NBC. She may be making other television appearances on the NBC game shows “Deal or No Deal” and “Fear Factor.”
She is the daughter of Dale and Dottie George of Mission Viejo, Calif.
Leader deputy managing editor
Former Miss Air Force 2003, 2nd Lt. Kelly George, 24, deputy chief of the 314th Airlift Wing’s Strategic Information Flight, was crowned Miss Arkansas USA Saturday night in the Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
George said winning this competition was important to her so she could represent the Air Force in a positive way. “This breaks stereotypes about wo-men in pageants and women in the military,” she said. “You have to be a good role model in the Air Force and as Miss Arkansas USA,” she said. “The key is to embody all the qualities of a healthy lifestyle and be a good role model and represent yourself and the state well.”
Brig. General Kip Self, commander of Little Rock Air Force Base applauds George’s victory.“Kelly represents the Air Force and Arkansas well. She takes to heart the spirit of service in dedicating herself to civic duty and to the country,” Self said.
“The Air Force is supportive in letting me fufill my public appearance duties as Miss Arkansas USA,” George said.
Miss Arkansas USA makes numerous appearances across the state for charities including breast and ovarian cancer awareness.
“Breast and ovarian cancer run in my family so it means a lot to me to work for those charities,” George said. In the spring, George will compete for the Miss USA title, a qualifier for the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss USA pageant will be televised on NBC. She may be making other television appearances on the NBC game shows “Deal or No Deal” and “Fear Factor.”
She is the daughter of Dale and Dottie George of Mission Viejo, Calif.
TOP STORY >>Early voting heads for a record
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
More than 17,000 Pulaski County voters had cast early ballots electronically by mid-day Tuesday, and officials in Lonoke and White counties say the early turnout was encouraging.By early Tuesday afternoon, 17,570 people had voted in Pulaski County, according to Melinda Allen, voter registration supervisor. “The totals are (already) high, but we’re thinking it will pick up Thursday and Friday,” she said.
In Jacksonville, 1,326 people had voted, according to Allen and in Sherwood, 1,688 had. Early voting at Jacksonville and Cabot city halls ends Friday, but early voting continues till Monday at the courthouses. As of Tuesday morning, 1,100 people had voted early in Cabot and about 600 more at the Lonoke County Courthouse. “It seems to be a good turnout,” said election commissioner Larry Clarke.
He predicted that 3,000 Lonoke County voters will have voted by Election Day. “That will rival the 2004 vote,” Clarke explained. That was a presidential election year, when turnout is always higher and this is only a midterm election.
White County officials report that the electronic voting machines are still working well. By the end of the business day, 3,260 early votes had been cast. Officials say they consider the turnout for early voting a good one.
FAIRWAY DILEMMA
The only reported problem with balloting this time around affects at most the 141 Lonoke County voters on Fairway Drive in the Cabot city limits, according to Clarke, who says they alone will have to vote on paper ballots to be hand counted.
“There’s a small area in Ward four of Cabot that juts out into JP District six,” said Clarke. “Without a microscope, you can’t see that it is the city limits.” He said the road in question is off Hwy. 321.
The election sheriff’s and judges know, said Clarke and both early voting sites have had the paper ballot since day one.
Clarke said the probably was called to his attention about three weeks ago by Republican Alexis Malham, the incumbent in district six.
HONEST MISTAKE
Her Democratic opponent, Chris Skinner, said this week that he believed the omission was an honest mistake that didn’t necessarily benefit either candidate, but that he was concerned that there could be confusion for the Fairway Drive voters.
Skinner said an article in another newspaper misidentified the affected street and that he feared there would be chaos at the polls.
Clarke said that because the appropriate ballot wasn’t programmed into either the touch screen voting machines nor the optical paper ballot scanners, those votes would be hand counted. He said the problem already had been corrected for future elections. Skinner also complained that at least one district six voter had been sent the wrong absentee ballot, but that the problem had been corrected.
Leader staff writer
More than 17,000 Pulaski County voters had cast early ballots electronically by mid-day Tuesday, and officials in Lonoke and White counties say the early turnout was encouraging.By early Tuesday afternoon, 17,570 people had voted in Pulaski County, according to Melinda Allen, voter registration supervisor. “The totals are (already) high, but we’re thinking it will pick up Thursday and Friday,” she said.
In Jacksonville, 1,326 people had voted, according to Allen and in Sherwood, 1,688 had. Early voting at Jacksonville and Cabot city halls ends Friday, but early voting continues till Monday at the courthouses. As of Tuesday morning, 1,100 people had voted early in Cabot and about 600 more at the Lonoke County Courthouse. “It seems to be a good turnout,” said election commissioner Larry Clarke.
He predicted that 3,000 Lonoke County voters will have voted by Election Day. “That will rival the 2004 vote,” Clarke explained. That was a presidential election year, when turnout is always higher and this is only a midterm election.
White County officials report that the electronic voting machines are still working well. By the end of the business day, 3,260 early votes had been cast. Officials say they consider the turnout for early voting a good one.
FAIRWAY DILEMMA
The only reported problem with balloting this time around affects at most the 141 Lonoke County voters on Fairway Drive in the Cabot city limits, according to Clarke, who says they alone will have to vote on paper ballots to be hand counted.
“There’s a small area in Ward four of Cabot that juts out into JP District six,” said Clarke. “Without a microscope, you can’t see that it is the city limits.” He said the road in question is off Hwy. 321.
The election sheriff’s and judges know, said Clarke and both early voting sites have had the paper ballot since day one.
Clarke said the probably was called to his attention about three weeks ago by Republican Alexis Malham, the incumbent in district six.
HONEST MISTAKE
Her Democratic opponent, Chris Skinner, said this week that he believed the omission was an honest mistake that didn’t necessarily benefit either candidate, but that he was concerned that there could be confusion for the Fairway Drive voters.
Skinner said an article in another newspaper misidentified the affected street and that he feared there would be chaos at the polls.
Clarke said that because the appropriate ballot wasn’t programmed into either the touch screen voting machines nor the optical paper ballot scanners, those votes would be hand counted. He said the problem already had been corrected for future elections. Skinner also complained that at least one district six voter had been sent the wrong absentee ballot, but that the problem had been corrected.
EDITORIAL>>Why Beebe is the choice
For men with such disparate careers and political philosophies, Mike Beebe and Asa Hutchinson hold remarkably similar views on the issues that they have chosen to address, except, that is, the other’s character and record. Both make the ritual promise to improve education but are short on specifics. Both oppose more consolidation of small school districts.
Hutchinson says he would let tiny schools that cannot meet state standards slide by and Beebe says he would not. That is as close to a major difference as the candidates for governor have had, but it really is not that great. If Hutchinson succeeded, in the next few years a half-dozen tiny high schools that would otherwise have to close would stay open. Hutchinson hoped that his promise to stand in the schoolhouse door in places like Paron would drive rural voters to the polls to vote for him, but he badly miscalculated. Most rural voters already live in consolidated school districts and have for half a century.
Both would sign laws preventing gay and lesbian couples from serving as foster parents for abused and troubled children.
The only difference is that Hutchinson seeks to make a big issue of it and Beebe does not. If gay foster parenting were among the 100 most serious issues facing the state, these would be extraordinarily good times.
Both would remove the sales tax on groceries. Hutchinson first said it was not on his agenda, but when Beebe said he would ask the legislature to phase out the tax over several years so that state services would not be interrupted by the sudden slump in revenues, Hutchinson joined the chase.
He said he would remove all the tax instantly even if it meant a budget crisis. He would transfer surplus funds to the operating budgets. But lawmakers are not apt to go along with that dangerous remedy. That brings us to one of three reasons that Beebe, not Hutchinson, should be governor.
He is temperate, thoughtful and as close to non-partisan as a lifelong Democrat or Republican is apt to be. As the leader in the state Senate, he carried much of Gov. Huckabee’s program for him, including the expansion of Medicaid to cover hundreds of thousands of children, Huckabee’s proudest achievement.
He worked closely with Republican legislators so that in the past week we had the spectacle of Republican lawmakers defending Beebe against the attacks of their own standard-bearer. Second, on the basis of knowledge and experience the state may never have had a better-qualified candidate for governor. He has been the legislature’s acknowledged expert on government operations and budgets. Hutchinson’s practice has been in spendthrift Washington, where he helped the Bush administration produce the biggest deficits in history.
He will have to learn that you can’t budget that way in Arkansas. Campaigns usually tell us little about what a man will do after he’s elected, but they do tell us how he will react when his career is on the line. Beebe’s campaign has been overly cautious and safe to the point of boredom but short on demagoguery and personal attack. That has never described an Asa Hutchinson campaign.
Some will remember Hutchinson’s nasty attacks on the character of Dale Bumpers and Winston Bryant in two losing statewide campaigns. Last week, his campaign was linking Beebe with the corruption of state Sen. Nick Wilson, who spent time in the federal penitentiary for his self-dealing with a state ad-litem program for children.
Hutchinson implied that Beebe and Wilson were cronies. Even Hutchinson’s brother-in-law, who served with Beebe in the Senate, had to dispute that. Nick Wilson was the only enemy Beebe ever made in the legislature.
They were implacable foes. Wilson contemptuously referred to Beebe and his friend, Sen. Morril Harriman of Van Buren, as “the young golfers.” Beebe and Vic Snyder, a state senator then and now congressman, led the way in curtailing Wilson’s power in the ’90s. Forget their narrow little arguments over schools and taxes. On things that matter much more, Mike Beebe is the choice.
Hutchinson says he would let tiny schools that cannot meet state standards slide by and Beebe says he would not. That is as close to a major difference as the candidates for governor have had, but it really is not that great. If Hutchinson succeeded, in the next few years a half-dozen tiny high schools that would otherwise have to close would stay open. Hutchinson hoped that his promise to stand in the schoolhouse door in places like Paron would drive rural voters to the polls to vote for him, but he badly miscalculated. Most rural voters already live in consolidated school districts and have for half a century.
Both would sign laws preventing gay and lesbian couples from serving as foster parents for abused and troubled children.
The only difference is that Hutchinson seeks to make a big issue of it and Beebe does not. If gay foster parenting were among the 100 most serious issues facing the state, these would be extraordinarily good times.
Both would remove the sales tax on groceries. Hutchinson first said it was not on his agenda, but when Beebe said he would ask the legislature to phase out the tax over several years so that state services would not be interrupted by the sudden slump in revenues, Hutchinson joined the chase.
He said he would remove all the tax instantly even if it meant a budget crisis. He would transfer surplus funds to the operating budgets. But lawmakers are not apt to go along with that dangerous remedy. That brings us to one of three reasons that Beebe, not Hutchinson, should be governor.
He is temperate, thoughtful and as close to non-partisan as a lifelong Democrat or Republican is apt to be. As the leader in the state Senate, he carried much of Gov. Huckabee’s program for him, including the expansion of Medicaid to cover hundreds of thousands of children, Huckabee’s proudest achievement.
He worked closely with Republican legislators so that in the past week we had the spectacle of Republican lawmakers defending Beebe against the attacks of their own standard-bearer. Second, on the basis of knowledge and experience the state may never have had a better-qualified candidate for governor. He has been the legislature’s acknowledged expert on government operations and budgets. Hutchinson’s practice has been in spendthrift Washington, where he helped the Bush administration produce the biggest deficits in history.
He will have to learn that you can’t budget that way in Arkansas. Campaigns usually tell us little about what a man will do after he’s elected, but they do tell us how he will react when his career is on the line. Beebe’s campaign has been overly cautious and safe to the point of boredom but short on demagoguery and personal attack. That has never described an Asa Hutchinson campaign.
Some will remember Hutchinson’s nasty attacks on the character of Dale Bumpers and Winston Bryant in two losing statewide campaigns. Last week, his campaign was linking Beebe with the corruption of state Sen. Nick Wilson, who spent time in the federal penitentiary for his self-dealing with a state ad-litem program for children.
Hutchinson implied that Beebe and Wilson were cronies. Even Hutchinson’s brother-in-law, who served with Beebe in the Senate, had to dispute that. Nick Wilson was the only enemy Beebe ever made in the legislature.
They were implacable foes. Wilson contemptuously referred to Beebe and his friend, Sen. Morril Harriman of Van Buren, as “the young golfers.” Beebe and Vic Snyder, a state senator then and now congressman, led the way in curtailing Wilson’s power in the ’90s. Forget their narrow little arguments over schools and taxes. On things that matter much more, Mike Beebe is the choice.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
EVENTS>>11_01_06
Support group forms for special-needs kids
YANA, a support group for parents of special needs children, will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13, at First Baptist Church in Cabot.
Speakers will be members of the Arkansas Special Education Mediation Project of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Bowen School of Law.
There will be sampling of toys appropriate for special needs children. Deadline for childcare reservation is Monday, Nov. 6. For childcare reservations, call 605-8668 or e-mail tetrippe@juno.com.
Cabot Relay for Life looks ahead to next year
The Cabot Relay for Life will have a planning meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6 behind the Bank of the Ozarks, 615 W. Main St. in Cabot.
The NARFE meeting at Bar-B-Que Shack Nov. 9
The Jacksonville Chapter 1597 of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) will meet Thursday, Nov. 9 at the Bar B Que Shack, 1000 Hwy. 61 S. in Jacksonville. Speaker will be Garrick Feldman, editor and publisher of The Leader.
Deadline for local Christmas Parade is Nov. 15
Deadline for the 49th annual Jacksonville Christmas Parade sign-up is Nov. 15. The parade will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2. The theme this year is “Stars of Christmas.” The categories are float, decorated vehicle and precision marching group. For more information call 982-1511.
Zion Hill Baptist Church, 11923 Zion Hill Rd. in Cabot, is hosting its annual fall festival at 4:30 p.m. today in the fellowship hall. There will be games and a hayride weather permitting; hot dogs and frito chili pies will be served at 7 p.m. Children may wear costumes. No occult themes. For more information call the church office at 988-4989.
Boyd Veterinary Clinic, at 300 John Harden Drive in Jacksonville is having its third annual Happy Halloweenie pet costume contest at 12:30 p.m. today. There will be prizes for best costumes, gift bags and treat bags for all children.
First Baptist Church of Jacksonville is hosting “Changing the Way I Look Changes My World,” a women’s conference, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at 401 N. First St. Tickets are $10 and include lunch.
The Lonoke County Literacy Council will host a luncheon honoring students, tutors and volunteers at 10:30 a.m. today at the Lonoke Train Depot. For more information, call 676-7478.
The Ward Fall Festival will be held today from 5 to 7 p.m. at the municipal complex. All carnival games will be one ticket. Tickets are a quarter each or five for $1 and are available at the door. There will also be fall portraits available for $3. For more information contact the Ward Water Office at 843-7686. All proceeds from the event will go towards the Ward Annual Egg Hunt.
An Asian festival will be held at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Jacksonville Buddha Vanaram at 1410 Hwy. 294 near Furlow to raise money to support Asian community activities. Lunch will include traditional Asian dishes such as chicken, lumpia, papaya salad, sweet rice and vegetables. There will be a Jr. Miss Asia festival for girls 16 and under. For more information, call 231-8116 or the temple at 676-5099.
The gospel group Pardoned will be in concert at Runyan First Baptist Church, 10611 Jacksonville-Cato Road, at 6 p.m., Sunday.
Grandpa’s Bar-B-Q in Searcy is selling $5 smoked chickens, fully cooked and wrapped, to benefit the Lonoke County Single Parent Scholarship Fund. Orders are being taken by calling 279-0013 or 676-5652. Purchase and pick-up will be from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3 at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Cabot. All funds will be matched at 150 percent to help single Lonoke County parents attending college.
The Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department will have its semi-annual fish fry from 4 to 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 4. Catfish, chicken and homemade desserts will be on the menu. The fish fry will be held at Station 2 located on Hwy. 236 E. Proceeds will go to the fire department. For more information call Betty Austin at 676-0193 or Linda Baldwin at 843-3336.
There will be a Christmas Beauty Pageant at noon Saturday, Nov. 4 at Lonoke High School. For more information contact 541-2177 or 831-2715.
The Cabot School District will host a Business/Industry Partnership Council meeting from 11 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, Nov. 8 in the professional development center in the district administration building. A light lunch will be provided. This is an informational meeting on how local businesses and industries can get involved in the district’s 13 career and technical programs. For more information contact Robert Martin at 843-3363.
YANA, a support group for parents of special needs children, will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13, at First Baptist Church in Cabot.
Speakers will be members of the Arkansas Special Education Mediation Project of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Bowen School of Law.
There will be sampling of toys appropriate for special needs children. Deadline for childcare reservation is Monday, Nov. 6. For childcare reservations, call 605-8668 or e-mail tetrippe@juno.com.
Cabot Relay for Life looks ahead to next year
The Cabot Relay for Life will have a planning meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6 behind the Bank of the Ozarks, 615 W. Main St. in Cabot.
The NARFE meeting at Bar-B-Que Shack Nov. 9
The Jacksonville Chapter 1597 of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) will meet Thursday, Nov. 9 at the Bar B Que Shack, 1000 Hwy. 61 S. in Jacksonville. Speaker will be Garrick Feldman, editor and publisher of The Leader.
Deadline for local Christmas Parade is Nov. 15
Deadline for the 49th annual Jacksonville Christmas Parade sign-up is Nov. 15. The parade will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2. The theme this year is “Stars of Christmas.” The categories are float, decorated vehicle and precision marching group. For more information call 982-1511.
Zion Hill Baptist Church, 11923 Zion Hill Rd. in Cabot, is hosting its annual fall festival at 4:30 p.m. today in the fellowship hall. There will be games and a hayride weather permitting; hot dogs and frito chili pies will be served at 7 p.m. Children may wear costumes. No occult themes. For more information call the church office at 988-4989.
Boyd Veterinary Clinic, at 300 John Harden Drive in Jacksonville is having its third annual Happy Halloweenie pet costume contest at 12:30 p.m. today. There will be prizes for best costumes, gift bags and treat bags for all children.
First Baptist Church of Jacksonville is hosting “Changing the Way I Look Changes My World,” a women’s conference, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at 401 N. First St. Tickets are $10 and include lunch.
The Lonoke County Literacy Council will host a luncheon honoring students, tutors and volunteers at 10:30 a.m. today at the Lonoke Train Depot. For more information, call 676-7478.
The Ward Fall Festival will be held today from 5 to 7 p.m. at the municipal complex. All carnival games will be one ticket. Tickets are a quarter each or five for $1 and are available at the door. There will also be fall portraits available for $3. For more information contact the Ward Water Office at 843-7686. All proceeds from the event will go towards the Ward Annual Egg Hunt.
An Asian festival will be held at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Jacksonville Buddha Vanaram at 1410 Hwy. 294 near Furlow to raise money to support Asian community activities. Lunch will include traditional Asian dishes such as chicken, lumpia, papaya salad, sweet rice and vegetables. There will be a Jr. Miss Asia festival for girls 16 and under. For more information, call 231-8116 or the temple at 676-5099.
The gospel group Pardoned will be in concert at Runyan First Baptist Church, 10611 Jacksonville-Cato Road, at 6 p.m., Sunday.
Grandpa’s Bar-B-Q in Searcy is selling $5 smoked chickens, fully cooked and wrapped, to benefit the Lonoke County Single Parent Scholarship Fund. Orders are being taken by calling 279-0013 or 676-5652. Purchase and pick-up will be from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3 at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Cabot. All funds will be matched at 150 percent to help single Lonoke County parents attending college.
The Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department will have its semi-annual fish fry from 4 to 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 4. Catfish, chicken and homemade desserts will be on the menu. The fish fry will be held at Station 2 located on Hwy. 236 E. Proceeds will go to the fire department. For more information call Betty Austin at 676-0193 or Linda Baldwin at 843-3336.
There will be a Christmas Beauty Pageant at noon Saturday, Nov. 4 at Lonoke High School. For more information contact 541-2177 or 831-2715.
The Cabot School District will host a Business/Industry Partnership Council meeting from 11 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, Nov. 8 in the professional development center in the district administration building. A light lunch will be provided. This is an informational meeting on how local businesses and industries can get involved in the district’s 13 career and technical programs. For more information contact Robert Martin at 843-3363.
SPORTS >>Badgers falter in last half
IN SHORT: Beebe lost a one-point halftime lead to lose 35-14 to Nettleton Friday.
By JOHNNY RAY LAKE
Special to the Leader
The Beebe Badgers looked as though they were going to put the visiting Nettleton Raiders away early, but on the legs of senior runningback Derek Lawson, the Raiders stormed back to win on the road in Beebe 35-14.
On the opening kickoff, Nettleton (6-3, 5-1) return man Garrett Spencer mishandled the kick, retreated into his own end zone, and as he was attempting to turn up field fumbled, and Beebe (5-4, 3-3) recovered at the Raider 1- yard line. On the first offensive play of the ballgame, quarterback Jared Mathis ran a quarterback keeper up the middle for the score. The extra point was good, and with only 13 seconds into the game Beebe led 7-0.
On the very next kickoff, Nettleton again turned the ball over, and the Badgers again had great field position at the Raider 26. But on fourth and two from the 18-yard line, Mathis’ pass was incomplete.
Nettleton then drove down to the Badger 28-yard line, and on fourth and eight, Badger defensive back Josh Turner intercepted a Nic Schaaf pass to end the drive.
On first and 10 from their own 32, Mathis found James And-erson open for a 46-yard gain down to the Raider 22. On third and 14, Mathis then hooked up with running back Robbie Puckett for a 26-yard scoring strike.
After the extra point, the Badgers led 14-0 with 4:06 left in the first quarter.
Nettleton then marched back. A 12-play, 60-yard drive on their next possession was capped with a one-yard touchdown run by Lawson, and with 2.2 seconds left in the first quarter, Beebe led 14-7.
On the Badgers’ next drive, Puckett fumbled after a nine-yard gain, and the Raiders recovered on their own 30-yard line. Then, on second down, Lawson found a hole up the middle for a 33-yard gain down to the Badger 37-yard line. Nine plays later, Lawson ran in his second score from three yards out, and after the extra point was unsuccessful, Beebe would take a one-point lead into halftime by the score of 14-13.
After receiving the opening kickoff in the second half, Beebe drove 72 yards down to the Raider 1-yard line.
On fourth and goal from the 1, Nettleton met Puckett in the backfield for a two-yard loss. The Raiders then turned the game over to their workhorse Lawson, and he would not disappoint.
The Raiders stormed 97 yards in just 11 plays, and Lawson carried the ball on eight of those plays, including runs of 10, 19, 17, 21, 15, and finally the final carry of the drive, a 16-yard run around the end for his third score of the game.
With 3:04 left in the third, Nettleton led 21-14, as the two- point conversion was successful on a Schaaf to Matt Akers pass.
The Badgers then used a trick reverse play on the ensuing kickoff to advance the ball all the way out to the Raider 36-yard line. But on second down and seven from the 17, quarterback Zack Kersey was intercepted and the Raiders took over at their own 24-yard line.
Desperately needing a defensive stop, the Badger defense was beginning to get worn down by running back Lawson.
The Raiders ran the ball down the field, and much time off the clock. Lawson once again concluded the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. And with nine minutes left in the game, Beebe was now down 28-14.
But the Badgers could not get anywhere on their next possession, and a fourth down and 17-yard pass attempt was incomplete.
The Raiders took over at the Badger 30-yard line, and four plays later, Lawson ran in his fifth touchdown run of the night from 20 yards out to give the Raiders a 35-14 lead with 4:20 remaining on the clock.
The game would end with the 21-point advantage for the Raiders.
Beebe plays Batesville next week in a must-win game for any chance to advance into the playoffs, while Nettleton squares off against Wynn for a share of the conference championship.
Lawson would finish with 319 yards rushing on 37 attempts and five touchdowns for the Raiders. Of the 58 offensive plays the Raiders ran, Lawson touched the ball on 38 of those plays.
Beebe finished with 72 yards rushing and 206 yards passing.
Both teams committed three turnovers in the game.
By JOHNNY RAY LAKE
Special to the Leader
The Beebe Badgers looked as though they were going to put the visiting Nettleton Raiders away early, but on the legs of senior runningback Derek Lawson, the Raiders stormed back to win on the road in Beebe 35-14.
On the opening kickoff, Nettleton (6-3, 5-1) return man Garrett Spencer mishandled the kick, retreated into his own end zone, and as he was attempting to turn up field fumbled, and Beebe (5-4, 3-3) recovered at the Raider 1- yard line. On the first offensive play of the ballgame, quarterback Jared Mathis ran a quarterback keeper up the middle for the score. The extra point was good, and with only 13 seconds into the game Beebe led 7-0.
On the very next kickoff, Nettleton again turned the ball over, and the Badgers again had great field position at the Raider 26. But on fourth and two from the 18-yard line, Mathis’ pass was incomplete.
Nettleton then drove down to the Badger 28-yard line, and on fourth and eight, Badger defensive back Josh Turner intercepted a Nic Schaaf pass to end the drive.
On first and 10 from their own 32, Mathis found James And-erson open for a 46-yard gain down to the Raider 22. On third and 14, Mathis then hooked up with running back Robbie Puckett for a 26-yard scoring strike.
After the extra point, the Badgers led 14-0 with 4:06 left in the first quarter.
Nettleton then marched back. A 12-play, 60-yard drive on their next possession was capped with a one-yard touchdown run by Lawson, and with 2.2 seconds left in the first quarter, Beebe led 14-7.
On the Badgers’ next drive, Puckett fumbled after a nine-yard gain, and the Raiders recovered on their own 30-yard line. Then, on second down, Lawson found a hole up the middle for a 33-yard gain down to the Badger 37-yard line. Nine plays later, Lawson ran in his second score from three yards out, and after the extra point was unsuccessful, Beebe would take a one-point lead into halftime by the score of 14-13.
After receiving the opening kickoff in the second half, Beebe drove 72 yards down to the Raider 1-yard line.
On fourth and goal from the 1, Nettleton met Puckett in the backfield for a two-yard loss. The Raiders then turned the game over to their workhorse Lawson, and he would not disappoint.
The Raiders stormed 97 yards in just 11 plays, and Lawson carried the ball on eight of those plays, including runs of 10, 19, 17, 21, 15, and finally the final carry of the drive, a 16-yard run around the end for his third score of the game.
With 3:04 left in the third, Nettleton led 21-14, as the two- point conversion was successful on a Schaaf to Matt Akers pass.
The Badgers then used a trick reverse play on the ensuing kickoff to advance the ball all the way out to the Raider 36-yard line. But on second down and seven from the 17, quarterback Zack Kersey was intercepted and the Raiders took over at their own 24-yard line.
Desperately needing a defensive stop, the Badger defense was beginning to get worn down by running back Lawson.
The Raiders ran the ball down the field, and much time off the clock. Lawson once again concluded the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. And with nine minutes left in the game, Beebe was now down 28-14.
But the Badgers could not get anywhere on their next possession, and a fourth down and 17-yard pass attempt was incomplete.
The Raiders took over at the Badger 30-yard line, and four plays later, Lawson ran in his fifth touchdown run of the night from 20 yards out to give the Raiders a 35-14 lead with 4:20 remaining on the clock.
The game would end with the 21-point advantage for the Raiders.
Beebe plays Batesville next week in a must-win game for any chance to advance into the playoffs, while Nettleton squares off against Wynn for a share of the conference championship.
Lawson would finish with 319 yards rushing on 37 attempts and five touchdowns for the Raiders. Of the 58 offensive plays the Raiders ran, Lawson touched the ball on 38 of those plays.
Beebe finished with 72 yards rushing and 206 yards passing.
Both teams committed three turnovers in the game.
SPORTS >>Big first half lifts Bears over Lions
IN SHORT: Sylvan Hills jumped out to a 20-0 lead and held on for their second 6A-East victory on homecoming.
By RYAN CHRISTENSEN
Special to The Leader
The Sylvan Hills Bears took a victory over the Searcy Lions, despite a fourth quarter comeback attempt Friday night. Neither team is in a position to make it to the playoffs, but you couldn’t tell it from the way the teams played in their 6A East matchup at a muddy Bill Blackwood field.
Searcy received the opening kickoff and was held to four plays and 14 yards. The 14 yards gained would be out of a first-half total of twenty-four yards for the Lions. The Bears’ defense held strong early in the game and the offense would follow. On their first drive, they used a good combination of passing and rushing to gain 33 yards and get to the Lions’ 20-yard line.
They looked strong and were in scoring position, but gave the ball up before they could make it into the end zone. Searcy obtained the ball on their 10-yard line, but was unable to capitalize on the Bears’ turnover, going three and out on their second offensive drive.
The Lions punted into a stiff west wind, but were able to get the ball into Bears’ territory on the fourth-down kick. Sylvan Hills kept the ball on the ground in the drive and used an end around by Jeff Henderson to pick up 20 yards, and the largest gain of the drive.
They rushed for 53 yards and capped the drive off with a one- yard run for a touchdown by quarterback T. J Shelton to make the score 7-0.
The Lions ran the Bears’ kick to their own 35-yard line, but was unable to use the good field position to their advantage. They would have a high snap bring them back to their own 17-yard line on third down before having their punt blocked on fourth down. The Bears were only twelve yards out, but the Lions held the them to fourth and seven. Henderson then used his speed to get to the sideline and pick up the final seven yards to make the score 14-0 and end the first quarter of play.
The Lions had some good plays on their next drive, but lost some traction and could only pick up one first down before punting the ball on their own 48-yard line. The Bears would again keep it on the ground on their next drive.
Neil rushed four times in the drive gaining 44 of the 75 yards necessary to get six more points and make the score 20-0 with 4:41 left in the half.
Searcy came out passing trying to pick up some yards and stretch out the last four minutes of the first half, but only completed one of four passes for twelve yards.
The Bears received the Lions’ punt with 2:25 left in the first half, but were stopped on the Lions’ 10- yard line before time expired for the first half. The first twenty four minutes of play were totally dominated by the Bears. They were able to gain 194 total yards and keep the Lions to a mere 24 total offensive yards.
According to Searcy coach Bart McFarland the Lions had an “attitude adjustment” at halftime. This showed in Searcy’s defensive stands in the second half.
The Lions were able to stop the Bears on four offensive drives in the second half verses one stop due to a fumble in the first half. The Lions showed the defensive changes in the first Bears’ drive.
They held Sylvan Hills to three and out with only six positive yards. The half started great, but Lions quarterback threw a pass that was tipped and intercepted by Bears defender Cameron Robinson.
Robinson ran the interception down to the Lions 17-yard line. The Bears picked up the remaining yards with Henderson and Neal to put the score at 26-0 with 8:40 left in the third quarter. Both teams were hindered by penalties in their next two drives and were both forced to punt.
The Lions offense started to show some progress late in the third quarter. They were able to pick up 50 yards thanks to some good passes by quarterback Justin Rowden and a defensive pass- interference call on the Bears.
The Lions went for it on fourth down from six yards out, but gave up the ball on downs after they were held short by a strong Bears’ goal line defense.
The turnover left the Bears with very little backfield to work with and picked up only a yard on the possession. The Bears’ punt was into the stiff west wind and short, only going ten yards.
This was the spark the Lions had been looking for.
They completed one pass to Easton Valentine for 17 yards and six points.
The Lions’ first score of the game made the score 26-6 with 10:57 left in the game. The Lions would attempt an onside kick, but it was covered by the Bears on the 50-yard line.
Sylvan Hills was not about to roll over for the Lions. On the Bears’ next drive they pitched the ball to running back Lawrence Hodges from 35 yards out to pick up six points of their own to make the score 32-6 with 8:10 left in the game.
The Lions would again rely on the pass in their next drive, going five for eleven passing for 45 yards and another Valentine touchdown.
Searcy closed the gap slightly with a score of 32-12. The Bears picked up the Lions’ second onside kick, but fumbled the ball on their third play from scrimmage.
The fumble was picked up by Andy Garlington for the Lions and run the 50 yards for a touchdown leaving the score at 32-20 with 4:17 left to play in the game.
Trying to mount a comeback, the Lions tried another onside kick, but the Bears again recovered it. The hope of a last quarter comeback was silenced by a final time-consuming drive by the Bears, going 45 yards and taking 4:17 off the clock to keep the final score at 32-20.
By RYAN CHRISTENSEN
Special to The Leader
The Sylvan Hills Bears took a victory over the Searcy Lions, despite a fourth quarter comeback attempt Friday night. Neither team is in a position to make it to the playoffs, but you couldn’t tell it from the way the teams played in their 6A East matchup at a muddy Bill Blackwood field.
Searcy received the opening kickoff and was held to four plays and 14 yards. The 14 yards gained would be out of a first-half total of twenty-four yards for the Lions. The Bears’ defense held strong early in the game and the offense would follow. On their first drive, they used a good combination of passing and rushing to gain 33 yards and get to the Lions’ 20-yard line.
They looked strong and were in scoring position, but gave the ball up before they could make it into the end zone. Searcy obtained the ball on their 10-yard line, but was unable to capitalize on the Bears’ turnover, going three and out on their second offensive drive.
The Lions punted into a stiff west wind, but were able to get the ball into Bears’ territory on the fourth-down kick. Sylvan Hills kept the ball on the ground in the drive and used an end around by Jeff Henderson to pick up 20 yards, and the largest gain of the drive.
They rushed for 53 yards and capped the drive off with a one- yard run for a touchdown by quarterback T. J Shelton to make the score 7-0.
The Lions ran the Bears’ kick to their own 35-yard line, but was unable to use the good field position to their advantage. They would have a high snap bring them back to their own 17-yard line on third down before having their punt blocked on fourth down. The Bears were only twelve yards out, but the Lions held the them to fourth and seven. Henderson then used his speed to get to the sideline and pick up the final seven yards to make the score 14-0 and end the first quarter of play.
The Lions had some good plays on their next drive, but lost some traction and could only pick up one first down before punting the ball on their own 48-yard line. The Bears would again keep it on the ground on their next drive.
Neil rushed four times in the drive gaining 44 of the 75 yards necessary to get six more points and make the score 20-0 with 4:41 left in the half.
Searcy came out passing trying to pick up some yards and stretch out the last four minutes of the first half, but only completed one of four passes for twelve yards.
The Bears received the Lions’ punt with 2:25 left in the first half, but were stopped on the Lions’ 10- yard line before time expired for the first half. The first twenty four minutes of play were totally dominated by the Bears. They were able to gain 194 total yards and keep the Lions to a mere 24 total offensive yards.
According to Searcy coach Bart McFarland the Lions had an “attitude adjustment” at halftime. This showed in Searcy’s defensive stands in the second half.
The Lions were able to stop the Bears on four offensive drives in the second half verses one stop due to a fumble in the first half. The Lions showed the defensive changes in the first Bears’ drive.
They held Sylvan Hills to three and out with only six positive yards. The half started great, but Lions quarterback threw a pass that was tipped and intercepted by Bears defender Cameron Robinson.
Robinson ran the interception down to the Lions 17-yard line. The Bears picked up the remaining yards with Henderson and Neal to put the score at 26-0 with 8:40 left in the third quarter. Both teams were hindered by penalties in their next two drives and were both forced to punt.
The Lions offense started to show some progress late in the third quarter. They were able to pick up 50 yards thanks to some good passes by quarterback Justin Rowden and a defensive pass- interference call on the Bears.
The Lions went for it on fourth down from six yards out, but gave up the ball on downs after they were held short by a strong Bears’ goal line defense.
The turnover left the Bears with very little backfield to work with and picked up only a yard on the possession. The Bears’ punt was into the stiff west wind and short, only going ten yards.
This was the spark the Lions had been looking for.
They completed one pass to Easton Valentine for 17 yards and six points.
The Lions’ first score of the game made the score 26-6 with 10:57 left in the game. The Lions would attempt an onside kick, but it was covered by the Bears on the 50-yard line.
Sylvan Hills was not about to roll over for the Lions. On the Bears’ next drive they pitched the ball to running back Lawrence Hodges from 35 yards out to pick up six points of their own to make the score 32-6 with 8:10 left in the game.
The Lions would again rely on the pass in their next drive, going five for eleven passing for 45 yards and another Valentine touchdown.
Searcy closed the gap slightly with a score of 32-12. The Bears picked up the Lions’ second onside kick, but fumbled the ball on their third play from scrimmage.
The fumble was picked up by Andy Garlington for the Lions and run the 50 yards for a touchdown leaving the score at 32-20 with 4:17 left to play in the game.
Trying to mount a comeback, the Lions tried another onside kick, but the Bears again recovered it. The hope of a last quarter comeback was silenced by a final time-consuming drive by the Bears, going 45 yards and taking 4:17 off the clock to keep the final score at 32-20.
SPORTS >>Jacksonville clinches first conference title since ’93
IN SHORT: The Red Devils beat West Memphis 14-10 in a big 6A-East matchup Friday.
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
It had not been since 1993, now it’s only been one day since Jack-sonville won at least a share of a conference championship in football. The Red Devils overcame a 10-point deficit and a lot of bad luck to knock off West Memphis 14-10 to improve to 5-1 in the 6A-Central and take over sole possession of first place with one week left in the regular season.
Jacksonville coach Mark Whatley was happy that a share of the league title was wrapped up, but quickly averted his attention to next week.
“I’m proud of those guys. I’m happy for them. Now we’re going to try to do the very best we can do next Friday,” Whatley said. “Then we’ll get up Saturday morning and find out where we’re going to go or who’s coming to see us.”
The sequence of events that led to the game winner began with Jacksonville trailing 10-6. West Memphis took possession after stopping the Red Devils on fourth and goal from the 11-yard line.
The Blue Devils took over at that spot with 4:16 remaining. Jacksonville had jus one time out left, so one first down would have likely given West Memphis the win. That became an even easier task when Jacksonville jumped offsides be-fore the Blue Devils snapped the ball, making it first and five. Three West Memphis carries picked up just four yards, leaving West Memphis with fourth and one at the 20. The Blue Devils called timeout after failing to get the Red Devils to jump. They decided to go for it, but the Jacksonville defense didn’t give an inch. In fact, it backed up Blue Devil fullback Dominique Hamalin about a foot, and the Red Devils took over with two minutes left in the game.
Senior tailback Justin Akins went two yards on first down, and Lee Robinson caught a 13-yard pass on second to set up first and goal at the 5.
Hubbard then fired a rocket to Akins on a slant pattern in the end zone with 56 seconds remaining. After a five-yard delay penalty, Hubbard hit Marcus King on a fade to the corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion to set the final margin.
The Jacksonville defense was outstanding throughout the game, but never as much as on that fourth down play.
Red Devil defensive lineman Cord Walker put the play in perspective.
“That play goes all the way back to practice,” Walker said. “That’s what we were there for in August, working in the 112-degree heat, for that moment right there. We were waiting on that one.”
Whatley reiterated what Walker had to say.
“This goes back to August when this team first started learning how to believe in each other,” Whatley said. “They continue to believe in each other, continue to beat the odds and continue to overcome adversity. This is an awful special bunch and I’m proud to work for ‘em.”
The Red Devils overcame eight dropped passes Friday night, including six in the first half. They overcame a 10-0 fourth-quarter deficit and an offense that was stuck in neutral the entire first half.
Jacksonville could get nothing going offensively in the first half. The first three drives were all three and out and totaled seven yards. The Red Devils got it moving on the fourth drive, but an interception on the West Memphis 28 was returned 36 yards to the Jacksonville 34 by Blue Devil safety Kevin Moore.
The Jacksonville defense didn’t budge, and West Memphis kicker Paulo Henriques nailed a 43-yard field goal with 16 seconds left in the half to put his team up 10-0.
Jacksonville got the ball to start the second half, and moved it exclusively on the ground until the drive stalled at the West Memphis 47.
Jacksonville punted and West Memphis put together its second long, time-consuming drive of the game. But after 12 plays and 49 yards, the Blue Devils were faced with fourth and three at the Jacksonville 18. A pass attempt was tipped up into the air, and junior Cameron Hood caught it on the run and returned back to the 20. From there, the Red Devils started their first scoring drive of the game. The drive took 10 plays to go 80 yards, and featured six runs and four passes. The key play took place on fourth and inches at the West Memphis 20-yard line. Jacksonville lined up in the spread, and Hubbard hit Norvel Gabriel over the middle for a 17-yard pick- up to set up first and goal at the 3-yard line on the last play of the third quarter.
On the first play of the fourth, Akins bulled his way in for the score. The extra point attempt was blocked, leaving the score 10-6 with 11:56 left in the game.
Akins finished with 20 carries for 134 yards. He had only 26 yards until the last play of the first half. The second half was a totally different story, and Akins gave credit where it was due.
“The line just stepped up and opened big holes for me,” Akins said. “We weren’t able to do much in the first half because we were dropping balls. We were looking at the guys coming to hit us. We just kept our eye on the ball in the second half, made the catches. The line opened up holes. We just all came together in the second half.”
Jacksonville flinched first when receivers dropped two passes while wide open on the Red Devils first drive. The drive came right after the Jacksonville defense had forced a West Memphis three and out to start the game. West Memphis got a good run back that was coming back from the start, but the Blue Devils still made Jacksonville pay for the drops.
West Memphis went on an 18-play, 84-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Josh Wilson on the first play of the second quarter.
The drive took over nine minutes, and Jacksonville answered with another three and out drive that took less than two minutes.
The Red Devil defense forced another punt after giving up two first downs, but Jacksonville answered with its third three-play series and punted again.
The Red Devil defense forced a Blue Devil three and out, and Jacksonville finally got some offense going on the ground. Three Justin Akins runs went for 34 yards and two first downs before the dropsies struck again.
Two drops on first and second downs were followed by a tough catch over the middle by Blake Mattison. Mattison paid for the catch by taking a huge hit, but hung on for a 16-yard gain and another first down.
Two plays later, the sixth dropped pass of the first half resulted in Moore’s interception that led to Henriques’ long field goal.
The Red Devils finished with 253 total yards, 184 of which came in the second half. West Memphis had 218 total yards. Junior Josh Wilson led the quintet of running backs with 68 yards on 15 carries.
Jacksonville can clinch an outright league title by beating Marion at Marion next week. West Memphis finishes up at home against Forrest City. A Jacksonville loss could lead to a four-way tie for first place at season’s end. Look for details and breakdowns of the clear-as-mud 6A-East Conference race in Wednesday’s edition of The Leader.
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
It had not been since 1993, now it’s only been one day since Jack-sonville won at least a share of a conference championship in football. The Red Devils overcame a 10-point deficit and a lot of bad luck to knock off West Memphis 14-10 to improve to 5-1 in the 6A-Central and take over sole possession of first place with one week left in the regular season.
Jacksonville coach Mark Whatley was happy that a share of the league title was wrapped up, but quickly averted his attention to next week.
“I’m proud of those guys. I’m happy for them. Now we’re going to try to do the very best we can do next Friday,” Whatley said. “Then we’ll get up Saturday morning and find out where we’re going to go or who’s coming to see us.”
The sequence of events that led to the game winner began with Jacksonville trailing 10-6. West Memphis took possession after stopping the Red Devils on fourth and goal from the 11-yard line.
The Blue Devils took over at that spot with 4:16 remaining. Jacksonville had jus one time out left, so one first down would have likely given West Memphis the win. That became an even easier task when Jacksonville jumped offsides be-fore the Blue Devils snapped the ball, making it first and five. Three West Memphis carries picked up just four yards, leaving West Memphis with fourth and one at the 20. The Blue Devils called timeout after failing to get the Red Devils to jump. They decided to go for it, but the Jacksonville defense didn’t give an inch. In fact, it backed up Blue Devil fullback Dominique Hamalin about a foot, and the Red Devils took over with two minutes left in the game.
Senior tailback Justin Akins went two yards on first down, and Lee Robinson caught a 13-yard pass on second to set up first and goal at the 5.
Hubbard then fired a rocket to Akins on a slant pattern in the end zone with 56 seconds remaining. After a five-yard delay penalty, Hubbard hit Marcus King on a fade to the corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion to set the final margin.
The Jacksonville defense was outstanding throughout the game, but never as much as on that fourth down play.
Red Devil defensive lineman Cord Walker put the play in perspective.
“That play goes all the way back to practice,” Walker said. “That’s what we were there for in August, working in the 112-degree heat, for that moment right there. We were waiting on that one.”
Whatley reiterated what Walker had to say.
“This goes back to August when this team first started learning how to believe in each other,” Whatley said. “They continue to believe in each other, continue to beat the odds and continue to overcome adversity. This is an awful special bunch and I’m proud to work for ‘em.”
The Red Devils overcame eight dropped passes Friday night, including six in the first half. They overcame a 10-0 fourth-quarter deficit and an offense that was stuck in neutral the entire first half.
Jacksonville could get nothing going offensively in the first half. The first three drives were all three and out and totaled seven yards. The Red Devils got it moving on the fourth drive, but an interception on the West Memphis 28 was returned 36 yards to the Jacksonville 34 by Blue Devil safety Kevin Moore.
The Jacksonville defense didn’t budge, and West Memphis kicker Paulo Henriques nailed a 43-yard field goal with 16 seconds left in the half to put his team up 10-0.
Jacksonville got the ball to start the second half, and moved it exclusively on the ground until the drive stalled at the West Memphis 47.
Jacksonville punted and West Memphis put together its second long, time-consuming drive of the game. But after 12 plays and 49 yards, the Blue Devils were faced with fourth and three at the Jacksonville 18. A pass attempt was tipped up into the air, and junior Cameron Hood caught it on the run and returned back to the 20. From there, the Red Devils started their first scoring drive of the game. The drive took 10 plays to go 80 yards, and featured six runs and four passes. The key play took place on fourth and inches at the West Memphis 20-yard line. Jacksonville lined up in the spread, and Hubbard hit Norvel Gabriel over the middle for a 17-yard pick- up to set up first and goal at the 3-yard line on the last play of the third quarter.
On the first play of the fourth, Akins bulled his way in for the score. The extra point attempt was blocked, leaving the score 10-6 with 11:56 left in the game.
Akins finished with 20 carries for 134 yards. He had only 26 yards until the last play of the first half. The second half was a totally different story, and Akins gave credit where it was due.
“The line just stepped up and opened big holes for me,” Akins said. “We weren’t able to do much in the first half because we were dropping balls. We were looking at the guys coming to hit us. We just kept our eye on the ball in the second half, made the catches. The line opened up holes. We just all came together in the second half.”
Jacksonville flinched first when receivers dropped two passes while wide open on the Red Devils first drive. The drive came right after the Jacksonville defense had forced a West Memphis three and out to start the game. West Memphis got a good run back that was coming back from the start, but the Blue Devils still made Jacksonville pay for the drops.
West Memphis went on an 18-play, 84-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Josh Wilson on the first play of the second quarter.
The drive took over nine minutes, and Jacksonville answered with another three and out drive that took less than two minutes.
The Red Devil defense forced another punt after giving up two first downs, but Jacksonville answered with its third three-play series and punted again.
The Red Devil defense forced a Blue Devil three and out, and Jacksonville finally got some offense going on the ground. Three Justin Akins runs went for 34 yards and two first downs before the dropsies struck again.
Two drops on first and second downs were followed by a tough catch over the middle by Blake Mattison. Mattison paid for the catch by taking a huge hit, but hung on for a 16-yard gain and another first down.
Two plays later, the sixth dropped pass of the first half resulted in Moore’s interception that led to Henriques’ long field goal.
The Red Devils finished with 253 total yards, 184 of which came in the second half. West Memphis had 218 total yards. Junior Josh Wilson led the quintet of running backs with 68 yards on 15 carries.
Jacksonville can clinch an outright league title by beating Marion at Marion next week. West Memphis finishes up at home against Forrest City. A Jacksonville loss could lead to a four-way tie for first place at season’s end. Look for details and breakdowns of the clear-as-mud 6A-East Conference race in Wednesday’s edition of The Leader.
SPORTS >>SH ladies play well, but lose to Wildcats
IN SHORT: Sylvan Hills played well early on, but faded against the Lady Wildcats Thursday night.
By JASON KING
Leader sports writer
The Sylvan Hills Lady Bears closed out their regular season strong in a match at North Little Rock Thursday, but came up short of a win against the Lady Wildcats in four games, 25-21, 21-25, 25-15 and 25-17. The Lady Bears kept themselves in the match during the first two games by relying on quickness and a superior service game, but the Lady ‘Cats used the advantages of depth and size in the final two games to hammer away at the exhausted Lady Bears to claim the match.
Lady Bears coach Lara Allred made no excuses for her team. Allred said lack of execution in the final two games was the biggest deciding factor in the match.
“We started off pretty good,” Allred said. “But our execution of passes in those final games was off. When our passes are off like that, it makes it hard for our setters to do their jobs. Overall I was happy with how we played, we just need better execution offensively.”
The opening game was closely contested with a strong rally from Sylvan Hills in the final moments. North Little Rock built a 16-11 lead, but leading SH hitter Megan Gwatney came to life after a time out to regroup. Gwatney rolled off three kills in five points to pull the Lady Bears to within one. Kills from Farren Wright and Michelle Hedgecock stretched the lead out for NLR once more, and a kill from Krishauna Kindall gave the Lady Wildcats game points.
After taking the win in the opener, the Lady Wildcats scored a tremendous amount of errors in the second game. Sylvan Hills did not allow them to get back in the groove, sending strong serves across the net, some of which were not even returnable.
The Lady Bears trailed in the frame until they were able to tie things at 19-19 before outscoring the Lady Cats 6-2 in the final moments of the game. Allison Williams scored the final two points for the Lady Bears from behind the service line with a pair of aces to clinch the game.
The Lady Bears went up early in game three with more errors from the Lady Wildcats. NLR committed a number a service errors with aggressive hitting behind the line. Many of the attempts were hit too hard, and ended up in the net.
The Lady Wildcats rallied to tie the game 8-8, and took over the lead shortly thereafter. Fatigue set in for Sylvan Hills at that point, as starter Emily Nichols sat out much of game three, and hitters Leah Vest and Courtney Luth took frequent trips in and out of the lineup.
After leading early in game three, Sylvan Hills only scored seven more points once North Little Rock took over the lead. The Lady Wildcats held off SH easily in the final game to take the match 3-1.
Megan Gwatney led the Lady Bears with 10 kills, three blocks and two aces. Sylvan Hills had 17 total team kills, along with six blocks and six aces. North Little Rock’s Tonja Roper, Michelle Hedgecock and Farren Wright had seven kills each, with Roper adding four blocks and a tip. The Lady Wildcats had 37 team kills, 10 blocks and four aces.
Four Lady Bears were chosen for 6A-East All Conference. Jodi Persson, Mindy Crimm, Allison Williams and Megan Gwatney all received All Conference honors for the 2006 season. Gwatney was also chosen as an All-State player for the second consecutive year.
Allred says that despite a 7-11 final record, the team performed as well as could be expected after playing much of the season without head coach Harold Treadway. Treadway has been serving in Iraq since mid-September, and assistant Allred had to step up to fill the void. She says she was satisfied with the team’s performance, but wishes they could have secured a higher playoff seed.
“They gave it their best, I never had to worry about them quitting,” Allred said. “I am happy with their performance, but I guess you could say I have mixed feelings on how the season went for us. If we would have played up to our potential all season, I think we could have been higher than a fourth seed.” As far as Wednesday’s tournament match with Texarkana, she says the team has the capability to win, but simply needs to play a complete match.
“If we can just play with all of our potential, I know we can beat them,” Allred said. “We have a great chance to win, we just need to put it all together.”
The Lady Bears will start state tournament play on Wednesday afternoon at Little Rock Hall against 6A-South Conference No. 5 seed Texarkana in a qualifying match. The winner of that contest will face South No. 1 seed Benton on Thursday.
By JASON KING
Leader sports writer
The Sylvan Hills Lady Bears closed out their regular season strong in a match at North Little Rock Thursday, but came up short of a win against the Lady Wildcats in four games, 25-21, 21-25, 25-15 and 25-17. The Lady Bears kept themselves in the match during the first two games by relying on quickness and a superior service game, but the Lady ‘Cats used the advantages of depth and size in the final two games to hammer away at the exhausted Lady Bears to claim the match.
Lady Bears coach Lara Allred made no excuses for her team. Allred said lack of execution in the final two games was the biggest deciding factor in the match.
“We started off pretty good,” Allred said. “But our execution of passes in those final games was off. When our passes are off like that, it makes it hard for our setters to do their jobs. Overall I was happy with how we played, we just need better execution offensively.”
The opening game was closely contested with a strong rally from Sylvan Hills in the final moments. North Little Rock built a 16-11 lead, but leading SH hitter Megan Gwatney came to life after a time out to regroup. Gwatney rolled off three kills in five points to pull the Lady Bears to within one. Kills from Farren Wright and Michelle Hedgecock stretched the lead out for NLR once more, and a kill from Krishauna Kindall gave the Lady Wildcats game points.
After taking the win in the opener, the Lady Wildcats scored a tremendous amount of errors in the second game. Sylvan Hills did not allow them to get back in the groove, sending strong serves across the net, some of which were not even returnable.
The Lady Bears trailed in the frame until they were able to tie things at 19-19 before outscoring the Lady Cats 6-2 in the final moments of the game. Allison Williams scored the final two points for the Lady Bears from behind the service line with a pair of aces to clinch the game.
The Lady Bears went up early in game three with more errors from the Lady Wildcats. NLR committed a number a service errors with aggressive hitting behind the line. Many of the attempts were hit too hard, and ended up in the net.
The Lady Wildcats rallied to tie the game 8-8, and took over the lead shortly thereafter. Fatigue set in for Sylvan Hills at that point, as starter Emily Nichols sat out much of game three, and hitters Leah Vest and Courtney Luth took frequent trips in and out of the lineup.
After leading early in game three, Sylvan Hills only scored seven more points once North Little Rock took over the lead. The Lady Wildcats held off SH easily in the final game to take the match 3-1.
Megan Gwatney led the Lady Bears with 10 kills, three blocks and two aces. Sylvan Hills had 17 total team kills, along with six blocks and six aces. North Little Rock’s Tonja Roper, Michelle Hedgecock and Farren Wright had seven kills each, with Roper adding four blocks and a tip. The Lady Wildcats had 37 team kills, 10 blocks and four aces.
Four Lady Bears were chosen for 6A-East All Conference. Jodi Persson, Mindy Crimm, Allison Williams and Megan Gwatney all received All Conference honors for the 2006 season. Gwatney was also chosen as an All-State player for the second consecutive year.
Allred says that despite a 7-11 final record, the team performed as well as could be expected after playing much of the season without head coach Harold Treadway. Treadway has been serving in Iraq since mid-September, and assistant Allred had to step up to fill the void. She says she was satisfied with the team’s performance, but wishes they could have secured a higher playoff seed.
“They gave it their best, I never had to worry about them quitting,” Allred said. “I am happy with their performance, but I guess you could say I have mixed feelings on how the season went for us. If we would have played up to our potential all season, I think we could have been higher than a fourth seed.” As far as Wednesday’s tournament match with Texarkana, she says the team has the capability to win, but simply needs to play a complete match.
“If we can just play with all of our potential, I know we can beat them,” Allred said. “We have a great chance to win, we just need to put it all together.”
The Lady Bears will start state tournament play on Wednesday afternoon at Little Rock Hall against 6A-South Conference No. 5 seed Texarkana in a qualifying match. The winner of that contest will face South No. 1 seed Benton on Thursday.
SPORTS >>Cabot makes most of miscues
IN SHORT: The Cabot Panthers got back on the winning side of things with a 28-0 shutout on the road at Pine Bluff Friday night.
By JASON KING
Leader sports writer
Pine Bluff — Cabot went lights out in the first half at Jordan Stadium on Friday night, taking advantage of three Zebra turnovers deep in their own territory on the way to a 28-0 shutout over Pine Bluff in a 7A-Central Conference matchup. A fumbled punt return, a fake punt that was fumbled and a fumble on a Pine Bluff pass play were all recovered by the Panthers in the first two quarters, and all three were converted into Cabot touchdowns.
The Panthers only gained 130 yards of total offense in the first half, but with drives starting at the Pine Bluff 42-yard line, 30 yard-line and 18 yard line, they didn’t have that far to go.
“They gave us a short field a couple of times,” Cabot coach Mike Malham said. “Anytime you’re on the road and you can get on top, like tonight, with the wind against you in the first quarter, you have to take advantage of that. The offensive line did a great job tonight; the backs ran hard. The short field definitely helped us, and we were able to take advantage of the breaks they gave us.”
After three first half touchdowns, the only offensive highlight in the second half was a 55-yard touchdown run from Colin Fuller down the left sideline at the 6:08 mark of the third quarter. Steve Lamb’s extra-point attempt would set the final margin at 28-0.
The turnover bug bit Pine Bluff very early on, during the opening kickoff, in fact. The kick from Fuller bounced off the shoulder pad of Martez Glass, and into the hands of the Cabot defenders. The Panthers’ offense went three and out off the gift, but Pine Bluff did the same to give the ball back moments later.
The next Cabot possession was another three-and-out stand, but the punt from Fuller on fourth down would be the start of a first half trend that would put the Zebras out of contention in the contest.
Fuller’s punt was squibbed by the fierce wind, and the Pine Bluff special teams once again fumbled the ball. Corey Wade landed on the loose ball, giving the Panthers possession at the Zebras’ 42-yard line.
Wade and the Panthers offense took advantage this time, going 42 yards in nine plays, capped off with a one-yard quarterback keep from Wade on the opening play of the second quarter for the score. Fuller added the point-after attempt to make it 7-0.
Pine Bluff went what appeared to be three-and-out on its next possession, but a fake punt on fourth and three was read all the way by the Cabot defenders. Junior Daniel Hille-nburg put a sack on Pine Bluff kicker William Wilson, jarring the ball loose. Sophomore Cody Myers fell on the loose ball, giving the Panthers excellent field position at the Zebras’ 18-yard line.
Two plays were all it took for Cabot on this drive, with Wade setting up first down and goal with a 16-yard scramble to the 2-yard line. Fuller punched it in on the following play, and added the extra point for a 14-0 Cabot lead.
Starting Zebras quarterback Cordara Frazier had a difficult time avoiding the Cabot defense in the first half.
Frazier was sacked three times in the short period that Pine Bluff had possession of the ball, including a sack that led to another fumble that gave the Panthers possession at the Zebras’ 18-yard line.
It was Fuller once again on the score, this time from two yards out with 4:48 left in the first half. He added his third point after of the night to give the Panthers a 21-0 lead at the half.
Cabot’s only major offensive mistake had little consequence in the game, but did prevent the game from going into mercy-rule status in the fourth quarter. With third and goal at the Pine Bluff 2-yard line, Wade handed the ball off to senior tailback Alec Tripp. Tripp fumbled at the line, and Pine Bluff came away with it.
Although backup Zebras quarterback Sebastian Stargell looked better then starting QB Frazier in the game, he still could not lead Pine Bluff into the end zone. Stargell proved to be a crafty scrambler, and hit receivers Kelsey Thomas and Jarvis Mayo on a number of occasions, but the Cabot defense stiffened whenever pushed back into its own territory. The Zebras’ only trip into the Cabot red zone came midway through the third quarter, but four straight incompletions from Stargell killed the drive, and the Panthers took over on downs.
Fuller led the Panthers offensively with 21 carries for 132 yards and three touchdowns. Wade kept for seven carries for 54 yards and one touchdown. For Pine Bluff, Stargell completed 7 of 14 pass attempts for 63 yards and carried four times for 30 yards.
Cabot’s chances of a playoff berth were all but thwarted last night with a Conway win over Russellville. The Panthers will close out the season next week with a home game against the Cyclones.
By JASON KING
Leader sports writer
Pine Bluff — Cabot went lights out in the first half at Jordan Stadium on Friday night, taking advantage of three Zebra turnovers deep in their own territory on the way to a 28-0 shutout over Pine Bluff in a 7A-Central Conference matchup. A fumbled punt return, a fake punt that was fumbled and a fumble on a Pine Bluff pass play were all recovered by the Panthers in the first two quarters, and all three were converted into Cabot touchdowns.
The Panthers only gained 130 yards of total offense in the first half, but with drives starting at the Pine Bluff 42-yard line, 30 yard-line and 18 yard line, they didn’t have that far to go.
“They gave us a short field a couple of times,” Cabot coach Mike Malham said. “Anytime you’re on the road and you can get on top, like tonight, with the wind against you in the first quarter, you have to take advantage of that. The offensive line did a great job tonight; the backs ran hard. The short field definitely helped us, and we were able to take advantage of the breaks they gave us.”
After three first half touchdowns, the only offensive highlight in the second half was a 55-yard touchdown run from Colin Fuller down the left sideline at the 6:08 mark of the third quarter. Steve Lamb’s extra-point attempt would set the final margin at 28-0.
The turnover bug bit Pine Bluff very early on, during the opening kickoff, in fact. The kick from Fuller bounced off the shoulder pad of Martez Glass, and into the hands of the Cabot defenders. The Panthers’ offense went three and out off the gift, but Pine Bluff did the same to give the ball back moments later.
The next Cabot possession was another three-and-out stand, but the punt from Fuller on fourth down would be the start of a first half trend that would put the Zebras out of contention in the contest.
Fuller’s punt was squibbed by the fierce wind, and the Pine Bluff special teams once again fumbled the ball. Corey Wade landed on the loose ball, giving the Panthers possession at the Zebras’ 42-yard line.
Wade and the Panthers offense took advantage this time, going 42 yards in nine plays, capped off with a one-yard quarterback keep from Wade on the opening play of the second quarter for the score. Fuller added the point-after attempt to make it 7-0.
Pine Bluff went what appeared to be three-and-out on its next possession, but a fake punt on fourth and three was read all the way by the Cabot defenders. Junior Daniel Hille-nburg put a sack on Pine Bluff kicker William Wilson, jarring the ball loose. Sophomore Cody Myers fell on the loose ball, giving the Panthers excellent field position at the Zebras’ 18-yard line.
Two plays were all it took for Cabot on this drive, with Wade setting up first down and goal with a 16-yard scramble to the 2-yard line. Fuller punched it in on the following play, and added the extra point for a 14-0 Cabot lead.
Starting Zebras quarterback Cordara Frazier had a difficult time avoiding the Cabot defense in the first half.
Frazier was sacked three times in the short period that Pine Bluff had possession of the ball, including a sack that led to another fumble that gave the Panthers possession at the Zebras’ 18-yard line.
It was Fuller once again on the score, this time from two yards out with 4:48 left in the first half. He added his third point after of the night to give the Panthers a 21-0 lead at the half.
Cabot’s only major offensive mistake had little consequence in the game, but did prevent the game from going into mercy-rule status in the fourth quarter. With third and goal at the Pine Bluff 2-yard line, Wade handed the ball off to senior tailback Alec Tripp. Tripp fumbled at the line, and Pine Bluff came away with it.
Although backup Zebras quarterback Sebastian Stargell looked better then starting QB Frazier in the game, he still could not lead Pine Bluff into the end zone. Stargell proved to be a crafty scrambler, and hit receivers Kelsey Thomas and Jarvis Mayo on a number of occasions, but the Cabot defense stiffened whenever pushed back into its own territory. The Zebras’ only trip into the Cabot red zone came midway through the third quarter, but four straight incompletions from Stargell killed the drive, and the Panthers took over on downs.
Fuller led the Panthers offensively with 21 carries for 132 yards and three touchdowns. Wade kept for seven carries for 54 yards and one touchdown. For Pine Bluff, Stargell completed 7 of 14 pass attempts for 63 yards and carried four times for 30 yards.
Cabot’s chances of a playoff berth were all but thwarted last night with a Conway win over Russellville. The Panthers will close out the season next week with a home game against the Cyclones.
OBITUARIES >> 10-28-06
Clarence Larkan
Clarence Lee Larkan, 50, left this earth Oct. 24.
He is survived by his wife, Deborah Moody Larkan; three children, Kevin Larkan, Chrystal Siler and Amanda McConaha, all of Beebe; parents, Clarence W. and Ella May Larkan of Lonoke; one brother, Ricky Larkan of North Little Rock; two sisters, Anita Schenebeck of Lonoke and Shirley Sanders of Sherwood; four grandchildren, Justin, Madison, Cody and Garret and many relatives and friends’.
Funeral services were held Oct. 27 at Boyd Funeral Home Chapel in Lonoke.
Bernice Morris
Bernice Pearl Morris, 87, passed away Oct. 27.
She was a member of the Church of Christ and loved to fish, cook, can and loved her dog “Little Cody.”
Survivors include a son and daughter-in-law, Bobby and Terry Armstrong of Lonoke; one daughter, Mary Dormmey of Benton; two brothers, Joe Highland of Cabot and Lynn Highland of North Little Rock; six grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren and 26 great-great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 30 at Boyd Funeral Home Chapel in Lonoke with burial to follow in Sunset Memorial Gardens.
Visitation will be Sunday, Oct. 29 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the funeral home.
Clarence Lee Larkan, 50, left this earth Oct. 24.
He is survived by his wife, Deborah Moody Larkan; three children, Kevin Larkan, Chrystal Siler and Amanda McConaha, all of Beebe; parents, Clarence W. and Ella May Larkan of Lonoke; one brother, Ricky Larkan of North Little Rock; two sisters, Anita Schenebeck of Lonoke and Shirley Sanders of Sherwood; four grandchildren, Justin, Madison, Cody and Garret and many relatives and friends’.
Funeral services were held Oct. 27 at Boyd Funeral Home Chapel in Lonoke.
Bernice Morris
Bernice Pearl Morris, 87, passed away Oct. 27.
She was a member of the Church of Christ and loved to fish, cook, can and loved her dog “Little Cody.”
Survivors include a son and daughter-in-law, Bobby and Terry Armstrong of Lonoke; one daughter, Mary Dormmey of Benton; two brothers, Joe Highland of Cabot and Lynn Highland of North Little Rock; six grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren and 26 great-great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 30 at Boyd Funeral Home Chapel in Lonoke with burial to follow in Sunset Memorial Gardens.
Visitation will be Sunday, Oct. 29 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the funeral home.
EDITORIALS>>Be careful on school debt
Who wants to be known as a foe of higher learning? Certainly not us. Arkansas has underfunded its colleges and universities almost as badly as it has cheated its public schools for nearly all of the century and a half that the state has claimed to be offering a universal education. We know and mourn that.
But it should not follow that any and every proposition to increase appropriations for the state colleges and universities is wise.
That is the premise behind the near universal support of the college bond proposition that will appear on the ballot Nov. 7.
Voters narrowly defeated the plan in December 2005, and Gov. Huckabee has opted to put it before voters again, as the law permits. If it is defeated again, a future governor can submit it to voters again, ad infinitum.
We opposed it last year and do so again now for even better reasons.
If voters approve the proposition, the state will issue $250 million in general-improvement bonds. Some $100 million of the proceeds will be used to retire old college construction bonds and pay off the owners of the bonds, including all the interest that they would earn if the bonds remained outstanding until their maturity. The state will realize no savings from calling the bonds early as you would if you paid off your mortgage and installment debt immediately.
Roughly $150 million that remained would be used for new buildings and technical equipment, which would be divided among all the state-supported universities and two-year colleges.
Chancellor John White of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the other presidents and chancellors say the new construction is needed because of growing enrollment at the institutions.
Chancellor White says Arkansas has fallen far behind schools in all the nearby states because they have invested in new buildings and equipment and Arkansas has not.
When he presented the university’s budget to lawmakers at the Capitol this week, he supplied the same figures that have been given to the media.
Since 1994, he said, Arkansas has spent only $142 million on construction at the schools, far less than other Southern states.
He missed the mark by a little over one billion dollars.
An examination of vouchered expenditures at the state treasurer’s office shows that capital spending has been not a mere $142 million, but nearly 10 times that: about $1 billion from tax receipts, bonds and other revenues and still another $300 million or so from private philanthropy.
Anyone who has visited the medical sciences campus at Little Rock, the main university campus at Fayetteville or the University of Central Arkansas and seen the gleaming new buildings and the construction cranes need not examine the accounts to know that $142 million is not a true figure. Fayetteville spent that much alone on Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
But that little deceit is not enough to vote against the bonds. The schools could wisely spend for construction on several fast-growing campuses, though the greater need is for operating budgets and academic programs. That is where Arkansas is so far behind. The physical plants stack up nicely against other schools in the region.
Here is the reason the proposition should be defeated: The legislature next year will have at least $750 million and probably closer to $900 million in surpluses in various funds.
Traditionally, surpluses are used for precisely such needs. The legislature could appropriate $150 million for these projects and still another $200 million if the institutions can make the case.
It would still have funds for public school construction, prisons and all the other capital needs of the state. And it would have money left over.
But if the bonds are approved Nov. 7, the state will instead borrow $250 million to do the same thing and pay millions of dollars in needless underwriting and legal fees and interest to the bond lawyers, brokers and investors.
Where is the logic in that? No family confronted with similar options with their own budget would take the same course.
The argument by the institutions, Gov. Huckabee and the benefiting business partners in this enterprise is that lawmakers can’t be trusted to spend the massive surplus for colleges and universities, although those institutions for the past 40 years have been the primary beneficiaries of surplus funds.
They say the lawmakers will want to spend all the money on their own little petty local projects to help them get elected and will ignore the universities and colleges .
Not if a strong and principled governor says no. We think Gov. Mike Beebe, the universities’ best friend in the legislature in recent years, will tell them to do the right thing.
Let’s trust state officials, including the lawmakers, to be both principled and economical.
The universities can have their new buildings and taxpayers can save $25 million or so over the next few years.
Where is there a better bargain than that? It starts with defeating the bonds.
But it should not follow that any and every proposition to increase appropriations for the state colleges and universities is wise.
That is the premise behind the near universal support of the college bond proposition that will appear on the ballot Nov. 7.
Voters narrowly defeated the plan in December 2005, and Gov. Huckabee has opted to put it before voters again, as the law permits. If it is defeated again, a future governor can submit it to voters again, ad infinitum.
We opposed it last year and do so again now for even better reasons.
If voters approve the proposition, the state will issue $250 million in general-improvement bonds. Some $100 million of the proceeds will be used to retire old college construction bonds and pay off the owners of the bonds, including all the interest that they would earn if the bonds remained outstanding until their maturity. The state will realize no savings from calling the bonds early as you would if you paid off your mortgage and installment debt immediately.
Roughly $150 million that remained would be used for new buildings and technical equipment, which would be divided among all the state-supported universities and two-year colleges.
Chancellor John White of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the other presidents and chancellors say the new construction is needed because of growing enrollment at the institutions.
Chancellor White says Arkansas has fallen far behind schools in all the nearby states because they have invested in new buildings and equipment and Arkansas has not.
When he presented the university’s budget to lawmakers at the Capitol this week, he supplied the same figures that have been given to the media.
Since 1994, he said, Arkansas has spent only $142 million on construction at the schools, far less than other Southern states.
He missed the mark by a little over one billion dollars.
An examination of vouchered expenditures at the state treasurer’s office shows that capital spending has been not a mere $142 million, but nearly 10 times that: about $1 billion from tax receipts, bonds and other revenues and still another $300 million or so from private philanthropy.
Anyone who has visited the medical sciences campus at Little Rock, the main university campus at Fayetteville or the University of Central Arkansas and seen the gleaming new buildings and the construction cranes need not examine the accounts to know that $142 million is not a true figure. Fayetteville spent that much alone on Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
But that little deceit is not enough to vote against the bonds. The schools could wisely spend for construction on several fast-growing campuses, though the greater need is for operating budgets and academic programs. That is where Arkansas is so far behind. The physical plants stack up nicely against other schools in the region.
Here is the reason the proposition should be defeated: The legislature next year will have at least $750 million and probably closer to $900 million in surpluses in various funds.
Traditionally, surpluses are used for precisely such needs. The legislature could appropriate $150 million for these projects and still another $200 million if the institutions can make the case.
It would still have funds for public school construction, prisons and all the other capital needs of the state. And it would have money left over.
But if the bonds are approved Nov. 7, the state will instead borrow $250 million to do the same thing and pay millions of dollars in needless underwriting and legal fees and interest to the bond lawyers, brokers and investors.
Where is the logic in that? No family confronted with similar options with their own budget would take the same course.
The argument by the institutions, Gov. Huckabee and the benefiting business partners in this enterprise is that lawmakers can’t be trusted to spend the massive surplus for colleges and universities, although those institutions for the past 40 years have been the primary beneficiaries of surplus funds.
They say the lawmakers will want to spend all the money on their own little petty local projects to help them get elected and will ignore the universities and colleges .
Not if a strong and principled governor says no. We think Gov. Mike Beebe, the universities’ best friend in the legislature in recent years, will tell them to do the right thing.
Let’s trust state officials, including the lawmakers, to be both principled and economical.
The universities can have their new buildings and taxpayers can save $25 million or so over the next few years.
Where is there a better bargain than that? It starts with defeating the bonds.
TOP STORY >>Cabot acts to join water cooperative
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
Cabot Water and Wastewater Commission bought a seat on the board of the Lonoke/White Public Water Authority Wednesday night by voting to pay that new organization a $1 fee for each of its 9,000 customers.
But J.M. Park, chairman of the Cabot commission, told members before the vote that the main reason for joining was to gain the good will of their neighbors at a time when that good will is very important.
Currently, Cabot gets about 3 million gallons of water a day from its well field between Beebe and Lonoke. The cost of that water is minimal. Whether the city can continue to draw from that source and increase the amount taken instead of buying from Central Arkansas Water in the next few years at a much higher cost, will depend in great part on the attitude of the people who live near the well field, including the customers of Grand Prairie and Bayou II water associations, who are founding members of the LWPWA. The LWPWA has taken over the Lonoke / White Water Project that has been in the planning stages for more than a decade and hopes to build the project and supply water from Greers Ferry Lake to much of the central part of the state north of the Arkansas River.
The Cabot commission’s vote to become a member of LWPWA was unanimous despite the doubt voiced by commission members that the project will succeed.
If it is built, that project could be years away. But Cabot’s pressing need is the permission of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (formerly Soil and Water) to draw more than the three million gallons a day allowed in the city’s state-issued permit.
A geological study expected to be completed by the end of November could show that the aquifer where the wells are located is not being drawn down by the wells, but the commission doesn’t want opposition from neighbors to outweigh the results of the study when it’s time for Natural Re-sources to consider its permit application.
To that end, the commission voted to pay LWPWA its $9,000 membership fee even though they said the future of the Lonoke/ White Water Project is uncertain.
To get Cabot to join, the LWPWA made several concessions, including giving Cabot a seat on the board without requiring that the city pay any of the $750,000 cost of buying the project assets from Community Water Systems, which controlled the project until they lost it in a lawsuit filed by Grand Prairie and Bayou II.
Ben Rice, the Jacksonville law-yer who represents LWPWA, said Jacksonville, which joined last month, also would be given the same considerations. Cabot didn’t join LWPWA earlier this month when first asked because some commissioners were reluctant to pay money without gaining a seat at the board of directors. The project might be a long shot, but it’s not dead and the Cabot commission wants input into the direction it goes. Like Cabot, LWPWA also needs something and so its leaders were willing to renegotiate.
The U.S. Corps of Engineers decides who gets water from the state lakes and how much they get. The Mid Arkansas Water Alliance, made up of 27 members including Central Arkansas Water, Cabot and the individual members of LWPWA, is expected to get half the 30-million gallons a day allocation available at Greers Ferry Lake. LWPWA wants half of what’s left.
Leader staff writer
Cabot Water and Wastewater Commission bought a seat on the board of the Lonoke/White Public Water Authority Wednesday night by voting to pay that new organization a $1 fee for each of its 9,000 customers.
But J.M. Park, chairman of the Cabot commission, told members before the vote that the main reason for joining was to gain the good will of their neighbors at a time when that good will is very important.
Currently, Cabot gets about 3 million gallons of water a day from its well field between Beebe and Lonoke. The cost of that water is minimal. Whether the city can continue to draw from that source and increase the amount taken instead of buying from Central Arkansas Water in the next few years at a much higher cost, will depend in great part on the attitude of the people who live near the well field, including the customers of Grand Prairie and Bayou II water associations, who are founding members of the LWPWA. The LWPWA has taken over the Lonoke / White Water Project that has been in the planning stages for more than a decade and hopes to build the project and supply water from Greers Ferry Lake to much of the central part of the state north of the Arkansas River.
The Cabot commission’s vote to become a member of LWPWA was unanimous despite the doubt voiced by commission members that the project will succeed.
If it is built, that project could be years away. But Cabot’s pressing need is the permission of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (formerly Soil and Water) to draw more than the three million gallons a day allowed in the city’s state-issued permit.
A geological study expected to be completed by the end of November could show that the aquifer where the wells are located is not being drawn down by the wells, but the commission doesn’t want opposition from neighbors to outweigh the results of the study when it’s time for Natural Re-sources to consider its permit application.
To that end, the commission voted to pay LWPWA its $9,000 membership fee even though they said the future of the Lonoke/ White Water Project is uncertain.
To get Cabot to join, the LWPWA made several concessions, including giving Cabot a seat on the board without requiring that the city pay any of the $750,000 cost of buying the project assets from Community Water Systems, which controlled the project until they lost it in a lawsuit filed by Grand Prairie and Bayou II.
Ben Rice, the Jacksonville law-yer who represents LWPWA, said Jacksonville, which joined last month, also would be given the same considerations. Cabot didn’t join LWPWA earlier this month when first asked because some commissioners were reluctant to pay money without gaining a seat at the board of directors. The project might be a long shot, but it’s not dead and the Cabot commission wants input into the direction it goes. Like Cabot, LWPWA also needs something and so its leaders were willing to renegotiate.
The U.S. Corps of Engineers decides who gets water from the state lakes and how much they get. The Mid Arkansas Water Alliance, made up of 27 members including Central Arkansas Water, Cabot and the individual members of LWPWA, is expected to get half the 30-million gallons a day allocation available at Greers Ferry Lake. LWPWA wants half of what’s left.
TOP STORY >>Extravaganza in the sky set next weekend
IN SHORT: Officials are expecting nothing short of a spectacular air show this year as Air Force and civilian flight teams give it their all.
By HEATHER HARTSELL
Leader staff writer
The 2006 Little Rock Air Force Base air show, Airpower Arkansas, will be held next weekend from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels headlining the show.
“On behalf of the 13,500 men and women of Little Rock Air Force Base, I’d like to personally invite everyone to Airpower Arkansas,” LRAFB commander Brig. Gen. Kip Self said.
“This year’s air show will be nothing short of spectacular to include a demonstration by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and many other skilled aviators from around the world, to include Air Force and civilian demonstration teams. There will also be plenty of food and refreshments. With free admission and parking, all you need to do is bring out your lawn chair and have a great Air Force afternoon.”
Airpower Arkansas 2006 will be the last air show for at least two years according to Gen. Self.
Director of operations for Airpower Arkansas 2006, Maj. Michael Brink, said to expect a fast-paced, exciting show. “I’m extremely excited for this year’s show as 2006 marks both the 50th anniversary of the C-130 and 60th anniversary of the Blue Angels,” Brink said.
The November show will have more military aircraft performing as compared to last year.
“We are proud to showcase the mission of Little Rock AFB and the capabilities of the U.S. military,” Brink said.
The Navy Blue Angels F-18 Hornet aerial demonstration team, the featured performance, is tentatively scheduled to fly at 2:45 p.m. both days. The Blue Angels dem-onstration lasts about an hour and a half according to Brink.
The biggest member of the Navy Blue team is a Lockheed Martin C-130T Hercules, known as Fat Albert Airlines. The plane has jet-assisted take-off (JATO) capability with eight solid-fuel rocket bottles, four on each side, attached near the rear paratrooper doors. Fired simultaneously, the JATO bottles allow the transport aircraft to take off within 1,500 ft., climb at a 45-degree angle, and propel it to an altitude of 1,000 ft. in approximately 15 seconds.
The Fat Albert joined the Blue Angels team in 1970 and flies more than 140,000 miles each season. It carries more than 40 maintenance and support personnel, their gear and enough spare parts and communication equipment to complete a successful air show.
LRAFB aircrews will also showcase their unique talents with a C-130 combat-capabilities exercise showing what they do in combat every day – precision airdrops of heavy equipment and cargo.
The Air Force Wings of Blue parachute demonstration team will feature 12 parachutists jumping from a C-130 cargo aircraft in four separate maneuvers at altitudes ranging from 4,500 to 11,000 feet above the ground. The paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, N.C., will partner with the C-130s of LRAFB to drop more than 250 soldiers.
Other military aircraft performances include the F-15E Strike Eagle, the F-16 Viper and the Canadian Forces CF-18.
A new addition to this year’s show will be a concert by the band WideAwake following the Blue Angels’ demonstration on Sat-urday, Nov. 4.
Admission and parking is free. Souvenir, food, and information booths will be available. All visitors and their vehicles will be subject to search. No coolers, pets, backpacks, or large bags are allowed at the air show.
“We suggest getting to the air show early to avoid lines at the base gate,” Brink said. “Dress appropriately for the weather, bring sunscreen and a folding chair to watch the acts perform and bring earplugs for yourself and your children.”
By HEATHER HARTSELL
Leader staff writer
The 2006 Little Rock Air Force Base air show, Airpower Arkansas, will be held next weekend from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels headlining the show.
“On behalf of the 13,500 men and women of Little Rock Air Force Base, I’d like to personally invite everyone to Airpower Arkansas,” LRAFB commander Brig. Gen. Kip Self said.
“This year’s air show will be nothing short of spectacular to include a demonstration by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and many other skilled aviators from around the world, to include Air Force and civilian demonstration teams. There will also be plenty of food and refreshments. With free admission and parking, all you need to do is bring out your lawn chair and have a great Air Force afternoon.”
Airpower Arkansas 2006 will be the last air show for at least two years according to Gen. Self.
Director of operations for Airpower Arkansas 2006, Maj. Michael Brink, said to expect a fast-paced, exciting show. “I’m extremely excited for this year’s show as 2006 marks both the 50th anniversary of the C-130 and 60th anniversary of the Blue Angels,” Brink said.
The November show will have more military aircraft performing as compared to last year.
“We are proud to showcase the mission of Little Rock AFB and the capabilities of the U.S. military,” Brink said.
The Navy Blue Angels F-18 Hornet aerial demonstration team, the featured performance, is tentatively scheduled to fly at 2:45 p.m. both days. The Blue Angels dem-onstration lasts about an hour and a half according to Brink.
The biggest member of the Navy Blue team is a Lockheed Martin C-130T Hercules, known as Fat Albert Airlines. The plane has jet-assisted take-off (JATO) capability with eight solid-fuel rocket bottles, four on each side, attached near the rear paratrooper doors. Fired simultaneously, the JATO bottles allow the transport aircraft to take off within 1,500 ft., climb at a 45-degree angle, and propel it to an altitude of 1,000 ft. in approximately 15 seconds.
The Fat Albert joined the Blue Angels team in 1970 and flies more than 140,000 miles each season. It carries more than 40 maintenance and support personnel, their gear and enough spare parts and communication equipment to complete a successful air show.
LRAFB aircrews will also showcase their unique talents with a C-130 combat-capabilities exercise showing what they do in combat every day – precision airdrops of heavy equipment and cargo.
The Air Force Wings of Blue parachute demonstration team will feature 12 parachutists jumping from a C-130 cargo aircraft in four separate maneuvers at altitudes ranging from 4,500 to 11,000 feet above the ground. The paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, N.C., will partner with the C-130s of LRAFB to drop more than 250 soldiers.
Other military aircraft performances include the F-15E Strike Eagle, the F-16 Viper and the Canadian Forces CF-18.
A new addition to this year’s show will be a concert by the band WideAwake following the Blue Angels’ demonstration on Sat-urday, Nov. 4.
Admission and parking is free. Souvenir, food, and information booths will be available. All visitors and their vehicles will be subject to search. No coolers, pets, backpacks, or large bags are allowed at the air show.
“We suggest getting to the air show early to avoid lines at the base gate,” Brink said. “Dress appropriately for the weather, bring sunscreen and a folding chair to watch the acts perform and bring earplugs for yourself and your children.”
TOP STORY >>Cabot starts census next Thursday
By HEATHER HARTSELL
Leader staff writer
Seventy census workers will hit the streets Thursday, going door to door to acquire information from each household for Cabot’s special census.
Karen Davis, operations director for the city of Cabot, said the city decided to hold a special census to determine its current population.
“The 2000 Census population count was 15,261,” Davis said. “Metroplan has it estimated at 21,575 currently, a huge jump in six years. We knew we had a growth in population from our school enrollment and building permit in-crease.”
A certified official population increase resulting from the Special Census may produce an increase in state revenue sharing or other benefits.
“It could help Cabot as a city because of the number of people we have,” Davis said. “It could really send more money our way.”
The city stands to gain $1.3 million in turnback funds from a special census; that is an annual gain of $305,000, starting in 2007, until the results of the 2010 regular census are released in 2011. The figure is based on Metroplan’s 2005 population estimate of 19,967 residents in Cabot.
The additional state turnback funds, money off gas taxes based on population, should start coming in sometime after the census is completed, Davis said.
Collecting data will take one month and processing the data and certifying the results will take another two or three months, placing the completion of the census sometime in February or March.
Of the money received from the census, Davis said 75 percent would go to the city’s general fund – police and fire departments, and public works; the remaining 25 percent would go in the city’s street fund to help repair the damage done due to the strain of increased population.
Census workers (enumerators), all of which will be identified by a badge from the U.S. Census Bureau that includes their name, will be asking households a series of questions during the evenings and on Saturdays, taking a maximum of seven minutes of the residents’ time. The census workers are using the U.S. Census Bureau’s short-form questionnaire, which has six population questions and one housing question.
The Special Census will produce demographic detail for the Cabot population, including new housing and population that came into the area after Census 2000. It will collect information such as age, gender, relationships within households, race and Hispanic origin, and whether the residents own or rent. Information from individual household questionnaires is summarized into neighborhood and community-level data that can be used to plan for and seek funding for vital community needs.
Davis said there would be a total of four attempts made to gather information from every household in the Cabot city limits.
“If people don’t answer, they will keep coming back until they get someone,” Davis said. “If, after three attempts by workers and one trip by a supervisor, there is still no contact, they will talk with neighbors to see who and how many people live in that residence.”
Davis hopes all citizens will cooperate with information re-quested by the census workers, saying it’s all strictly confidential.
Leader staff writer
Seventy census workers will hit the streets Thursday, going door to door to acquire information from each household for Cabot’s special census.
Karen Davis, operations director for the city of Cabot, said the city decided to hold a special census to determine its current population.
“The 2000 Census population count was 15,261,” Davis said. “Metroplan has it estimated at 21,575 currently, a huge jump in six years. We knew we had a growth in population from our school enrollment and building permit in-crease.”
A certified official population increase resulting from the Special Census may produce an increase in state revenue sharing or other benefits.
“It could help Cabot as a city because of the number of people we have,” Davis said. “It could really send more money our way.”
The city stands to gain $1.3 million in turnback funds from a special census; that is an annual gain of $305,000, starting in 2007, until the results of the 2010 regular census are released in 2011. The figure is based on Metroplan’s 2005 population estimate of 19,967 residents in Cabot.
The additional state turnback funds, money off gas taxes based on population, should start coming in sometime after the census is completed, Davis said.
Collecting data will take one month and processing the data and certifying the results will take another two or three months, placing the completion of the census sometime in February or March.
Of the money received from the census, Davis said 75 percent would go to the city’s general fund – police and fire departments, and public works; the remaining 25 percent would go in the city’s street fund to help repair the damage done due to the strain of increased population.
Census workers (enumerators), all of which will be identified by a badge from the U.S. Census Bureau that includes their name, will be asking households a series of questions during the evenings and on Saturdays, taking a maximum of seven minutes of the residents’ time. The census workers are using the U.S. Census Bureau’s short-form questionnaire, which has six population questions and one housing question.
The Special Census will produce demographic detail for the Cabot population, including new housing and population that came into the area after Census 2000. It will collect information such as age, gender, relationships within households, race and Hispanic origin, and whether the residents own or rent. Information from individual household questionnaires is summarized into neighborhood and community-level data that can be used to plan for and seek funding for vital community needs.
Davis said there would be a total of four attempts made to gather information from every household in the Cabot city limits.
“If people don’t answer, they will keep coming back until they get someone,” Davis said. “If, after three attempts by workers and one trip by a supervisor, there is still no contact, they will talk with neighbors to see who and how many people live in that residence.”
Davis hopes all citizens will cooperate with information re-quested by the census workers, saying it’s all strictly confidential.
TOP STORY >>Six lanes of highway may still be not enough
IN SHORT: The state Highway Department’s 15-lane proposal for I-630 conflicts with Metroplan’s six-lane maximum in central Arkansas.
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
How many traffic lanes will there be on the area’s freeways — six or as many as 15?
An ambitious long-range state Highway and Trans-portation Department plan that would drastically reconfigure the I-630/I-430 interchange to include as many as 15 east-west traffic lanes conflicts with local design standards, according to Metroplan director Jim McKenzie, who called this week for talks that would also include Central Arkansas Transit and the City of Little Rock.
While the major players seem in agreement that improving and expanding the interchange is important, the project is not included in Metro 2030—the 25-year highway plan—and a conservative construction estimate of $70 million could suck up money needed to complete higher priority projects like widening I-40 to six lanes from Little Rock to Conway and widening Hwy. 67/167 from I-40 north to Cabot, according to McKenzie.
Those projects, already begun, are in the Metro 2030 plan, with construction money already identified. The I-430/I-630 Interchange project is on the Metro 2030 wish list, but only $15 million has been identified and committed to it, McKenzie said.
Current Metroplan policy requires study of other alternatives, including light rail, before consideration of increasing the six-lane limit.
As the area’s metropolitan planning organization, Metroplan must sign off on projects built with Federal Highway Administration money. The proposal unveiled at the meeting is for 15 lanes on I-630 just east of Shackleford Road, then 10 lanes to John Barrow Drive, six lanes from John Barrow to University and finally six lanes from University to downtown Little Rock.
Metroplan policy, decided by Central Arkansas mayors and county judges, currently sets six lanes—three each direction—as the maximum for area highways, at least until all are built out to six lanes and consideration given to alternatives like light rail mass transit, according to McKenzie.
Scott Bennett, the highway department’s assistant chief engineer for planning, showed board members an impressive, animated computer model that projected how traffic would flow along all the lanes, including new overpasses, exits and entrances and flyovers, based upon future growth projections.
“Let’s start resolving this so we don’t get into a North Belt (Freeway) situation again,” McKenzie said. Funding for the entire North Belt Freeway was available at one time, but repeated delays caused by disagreements between the Highway Department on one hand and Metroplan and the city of Sherwood on the other brought construction to a halt, allowing money to be siphoned off for other projects instead.
“This needs to be reconciled earlier rather than later,” he added. McKenzie said the $70 million estimate wasn’t enough when proposed a year ago, didn’t include expensive interface between I-630 and Little Rock streets and didn’t take into account construction material inflation.
“Unless we can find some new money, we’re not going to be able to do much,” he said. Highway construction funded by gas tax is pretty inelastic, while inflation (in building materials) is very elastic now that there is global competition for aggregate, cement and petroleum-based asphalt with India and China.”
McKenzie said previous studies have suggested identifying a second east-west route between west Little Rock and downtown somewhere in the Markham—I-630—Kanis corridor instead of adding new lanes to I-630, and making provisions for eventual light rail mass transit.
“We may want to build light rail before widening the freeway,” McKenzie said. “We can’t support light rail right now, but we’re trying to lay the groundwork for it when we can.” He added that Metroplan’s six-lane maximum was not intended to last for ever, but at least until all major freeways are six-lanes and the secondary regional arterial road network is beefed up.
McKenzie said work toward a resolution of these issues with the Highway and Transportation Department, CAT and Little Rock should begin “As soon as possible.”
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
How many traffic lanes will there be on the area’s freeways — six or as many as 15?
An ambitious long-range state Highway and Trans-portation Department plan that would drastically reconfigure the I-630/I-430 interchange to include as many as 15 east-west traffic lanes conflicts with local design standards, according to Metroplan director Jim McKenzie, who called this week for talks that would also include Central Arkansas Transit and the City of Little Rock.
While the major players seem in agreement that improving and expanding the interchange is important, the project is not included in Metro 2030—the 25-year highway plan—and a conservative construction estimate of $70 million could suck up money needed to complete higher priority projects like widening I-40 to six lanes from Little Rock to Conway and widening Hwy. 67/167 from I-40 north to Cabot, according to McKenzie.
Those projects, already begun, are in the Metro 2030 plan, with construction money already identified. The I-430/I-630 Interchange project is on the Metro 2030 wish list, but only $15 million has been identified and committed to it, McKenzie said.
Current Metroplan policy requires study of other alternatives, including light rail, before consideration of increasing the six-lane limit.
As the area’s metropolitan planning organization, Metroplan must sign off on projects built with Federal Highway Administration money. The proposal unveiled at the meeting is for 15 lanes on I-630 just east of Shackleford Road, then 10 lanes to John Barrow Drive, six lanes from John Barrow to University and finally six lanes from University to downtown Little Rock.
Metroplan policy, decided by Central Arkansas mayors and county judges, currently sets six lanes—three each direction—as the maximum for area highways, at least until all are built out to six lanes and consideration given to alternatives like light rail mass transit, according to McKenzie.
Scott Bennett, the highway department’s assistant chief engineer for planning, showed board members an impressive, animated computer model that projected how traffic would flow along all the lanes, including new overpasses, exits and entrances and flyovers, based upon future growth projections.
“Let’s start resolving this so we don’t get into a North Belt (Freeway) situation again,” McKenzie said. Funding for the entire North Belt Freeway was available at one time, but repeated delays caused by disagreements between the Highway Department on one hand and Metroplan and the city of Sherwood on the other brought construction to a halt, allowing money to be siphoned off for other projects instead.
“This needs to be reconciled earlier rather than later,” he added. McKenzie said the $70 million estimate wasn’t enough when proposed a year ago, didn’t include expensive interface between I-630 and Little Rock streets and didn’t take into account construction material inflation.
“Unless we can find some new money, we’re not going to be able to do much,” he said. Highway construction funded by gas tax is pretty inelastic, while inflation (in building materials) is very elastic now that there is global competition for aggregate, cement and petroleum-based asphalt with India and China.”
McKenzie said previous studies have suggested identifying a second east-west route between west Little Rock and downtown somewhere in the Markham—I-630—Kanis corridor instead of adding new lanes to I-630, and making provisions for eventual light rail mass transit.
“We may want to build light rail before widening the freeway,” McKenzie said. “We can’t support light rail right now, but we’re trying to lay the groundwork for it when we can.” He added that Metroplan’s six-lane maximum was not intended to last for ever, but at least until all major freeways are six-lanes and the secondary regional arterial road network is beefed up.
McKenzie said work toward a resolution of these issues with the Highway and Transportation Department, CAT and Little Rock should begin “As soon as possible.”
TOP STORY >>Officials vow fast returns
IN SHORT: Early voting gets off to quick start, Lonoke official predicts early night election eve.
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
While iVotronic touch-screen machines were expected to make voting smoother and faster in Lonoke’s primaries last May, candidates traded clocks for calendars and hours turned into days as they awaited results. It was Saturday evening before all votes from the Tuesday election were counted.
Not so this time, promises Larry Clarke, the Republican on the Lonoke Election Commission and the man in charge of programming and checking the machines.
“If you come later than 9:30 (election night,) there may not be anyone left here,” Clarke told a reporter who more than once drove from Little Rock to the Lonoke Courthouse at midnight looking for the results.
Except for paper absentee ballots—which will be optically scanned starting at 4 p.m. Nov. 7—precinct election officials will download electronic results from the touch-screen computers into cassette-like devices, which they will bring to the Lonoke County Courthouse, Clarke said.
That’s instead of the wall of sealed cardboard boxes containing paper ballots in past elections.
Those modules from the individual machines will be plugged into a reader/tabulator at the courthouse and each will be counted in seconds, Clarke said.
In May, ES&S, the vendor that provided the iVotronics, the optical scanner and programmed the ballots, missed several pre-election deadlines and just plain lost some ballot styles that should have been included in the program reading the paper ballots, Clarke said.
The only hold-up this time resulted from the state Supreme Court ordering Green Party candidates inclusion on the ballots. Early voting is off to a great start this year, Clarke said, as for the first time an early-voting site was available in Cabot. By Wednesday, 593 early ballots had been cast, more than half of them at Cabot, the balance at the Lonoke County Courthouse.
Lonoke County now owns 89 voting machines.
“I’m going to deploy 77 for November 7,” Clarke said, apportioned to county polling places at a rate of one for each 200 people expected to vote there.
Lonoke has 53 different ballots, the longest running 10 pages (real big writing) on the touch-screen.
“I’m a lot more comfortable with the machines than I ever was with paper,” said Clarke. “With paper, it’s hard to maintain an accurate count,” he said. Also, you can’t run out of ballots at a polling place with electronic voting.
Election commissioners are finishing up the logic and accuracy checks on the electronics and they’ve conducted four training sessions for the poll workers.
Clarke said his next goal is to get school board elections straightened out. “Schools have been conducting too much of the election,” he said. “I want to get it back to the people who are supposed to do it,” he said.
PULASKI ON TRACK
So far, 7,200 people have voted in Pulaski County, Election Com-mission Chairman Kent Walker said Thursday, with only minor problems.
“The screens are very sensitive,” he said, noting the people can accidentally touch and vote the wrong candidate—a mistake easily remedied by touching the right candidate.
“There are three opportunities to correct a mistake,” he said. “The last thing you want to do is vote for somebody you didn’t intend to.”
We had 50,000 total early votes in 2004, Walker said.
He said he hoped to increase early voting from one-third of voters in 2004 to 40 percent this time.
There were minor delays during the May primaries because ES&S provided the programming and “We didn’t have the programming at the end of the election to correlate the results from the electronic ballots with the paper ballots.”
“We’re doing our own programming this time, so there shouldn’t be a problem.”
Walker said the county had about 175 iVotronics machines and will have at least one at each of 124 polling locations, with about 55 left over. The primary election problems were minor compared to problems so widespread in previous years that they nearly led to prosecution of Pulaski County Clerk Carolyn Staley and to her eventual decision not to seek reelection.
Jacksonville resident Pat O’Brien beat Staley’s deputy in 2004 based in part on his promise to clean up the voter registration rolls and bring voting into the 21st Century—a pledge ob-servers say he has honored.
“The county’s getting its money’s worth out of him,” Walker said of O’Brien. “I think Pat’s doing an excellent job. He’s assisted the commission at every turn and come to every meeting.”
“People want to be able to trust that their elections are efficient and fair,” he said. Walker also noted that any Pulaski County registered voter could vote early at any of the nine early voting sites, not just the one nearest them.
“It’s going really well. So far, 1,538 have voted,” White County Clerk Tanya Burleson said Thurs-day. “Voting was pretty heavy Tuesday. We thought the rain would keep them away, but it hasn’t. It’s been pretty steady.”
All 32 polling places in the county will be equipped with electronic voting machines, the same as they were for the primary. Burleson said she doesn’t anticipate any problems with the equipment, which worked well in May.
The only problem so far, she said, is that some people don’t realize the law against campaigning within 100 feet of a polling place also applies to campaigning within 100 feet of the main entrances to the courthouse while early voting is going on.
That means no vehicles with campaign signs may be parked on the square and no campaign shirts, caps, pens or the like are allowed inside the building.
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
While iVotronic touch-screen machines were expected to make voting smoother and faster in Lonoke’s primaries last May, candidates traded clocks for calendars and hours turned into days as they awaited results. It was Saturday evening before all votes from the Tuesday election were counted.
Not so this time, promises Larry Clarke, the Republican on the Lonoke Election Commission and the man in charge of programming and checking the machines.
“If you come later than 9:30 (election night,) there may not be anyone left here,” Clarke told a reporter who more than once drove from Little Rock to the Lonoke Courthouse at midnight looking for the results.
Except for paper absentee ballots—which will be optically scanned starting at 4 p.m. Nov. 7—precinct election officials will download electronic results from the touch-screen computers into cassette-like devices, which they will bring to the Lonoke County Courthouse, Clarke said.
That’s instead of the wall of sealed cardboard boxes containing paper ballots in past elections.
Those modules from the individual machines will be plugged into a reader/tabulator at the courthouse and each will be counted in seconds, Clarke said.
In May, ES&S, the vendor that provided the iVotronics, the optical scanner and programmed the ballots, missed several pre-election deadlines and just plain lost some ballot styles that should have been included in the program reading the paper ballots, Clarke said.
The only hold-up this time resulted from the state Supreme Court ordering Green Party candidates inclusion on the ballots. Early voting is off to a great start this year, Clarke said, as for the first time an early-voting site was available in Cabot. By Wednesday, 593 early ballots had been cast, more than half of them at Cabot, the balance at the Lonoke County Courthouse.
Lonoke County now owns 89 voting machines.
“I’m going to deploy 77 for November 7,” Clarke said, apportioned to county polling places at a rate of one for each 200 people expected to vote there.
Lonoke has 53 different ballots, the longest running 10 pages (real big writing) on the touch-screen.
“I’m a lot more comfortable with the machines than I ever was with paper,” said Clarke. “With paper, it’s hard to maintain an accurate count,” he said. Also, you can’t run out of ballots at a polling place with electronic voting.
Election commissioners are finishing up the logic and accuracy checks on the electronics and they’ve conducted four training sessions for the poll workers.
Clarke said his next goal is to get school board elections straightened out. “Schools have been conducting too much of the election,” he said. “I want to get it back to the people who are supposed to do it,” he said.
PULASKI ON TRACK
So far, 7,200 people have voted in Pulaski County, Election Com-mission Chairman Kent Walker said Thursday, with only minor problems.
“The screens are very sensitive,” he said, noting the people can accidentally touch and vote the wrong candidate—a mistake easily remedied by touching the right candidate.
“There are three opportunities to correct a mistake,” he said. “The last thing you want to do is vote for somebody you didn’t intend to.”
We had 50,000 total early votes in 2004, Walker said.
He said he hoped to increase early voting from one-third of voters in 2004 to 40 percent this time.
There were minor delays during the May primaries because ES&S provided the programming and “We didn’t have the programming at the end of the election to correlate the results from the electronic ballots with the paper ballots.”
“We’re doing our own programming this time, so there shouldn’t be a problem.”
Walker said the county had about 175 iVotronics machines and will have at least one at each of 124 polling locations, with about 55 left over. The primary election problems were minor compared to problems so widespread in previous years that they nearly led to prosecution of Pulaski County Clerk Carolyn Staley and to her eventual decision not to seek reelection.
Jacksonville resident Pat O’Brien beat Staley’s deputy in 2004 based in part on his promise to clean up the voter registration rolls and bring voting into the 21st Century—a pledge ob-servers say he has honored.
“The county’s getting its money’s worth out of him,” Walker said of O’Brien. “I think Pat’s doing an excellent job. He’s assisted the commission at every turn and come to every meeting.”
“People want to be able to trust that their elections are efficient and fair,” he said. Walker also noted that any Pulaski County registered voter could vote early at any of the nine early voting sites, not just the one nearest them.
“It’s going really well. So far, 1,538 have voted,” White County Clerk Tanya Burleson said Thurs-day. “Voting was pretty heavy Tuesday. We thought the rain would keep them away, but it hasn’t. It’s been pretty steady.”
All 32 polling places in the county will be equipped with electronic voting machines, the same as they were for the primary. Burleson said she doesn’t anticipate any problems with the equipment, which worked well in May.
The only problem so far, she said, is that some people don’t realize the law against campaigning within 100 feet of a polling place also applies to campaigning within 100 feet of the main entrances to the courthouse while early voting is going on.
That means no vehicles with campaign signs may be parked on the square and no campaign shirts, caps, pens or the like are allowed inside the building.
TOP STORY >>Candidates in hot seat
IN SHORT: Berry defends his record during their debate as Cabot mayor says the congressman is ineffective, lacks character, accepts farm subsidies.
By SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
The first and only debate between Cong. Marion Berry (D-Gillett) and his Republican challenger, Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh of Cabot, ended with Stumbaugh hurling accusations of infidelity and public drunkenness at the incumbent.
This reporter was one of three journalists on a panel questioning the candidates at the Reynolds Performance Hall in Conway on Wednesday. The debate was the last in a series of live televised debates on the Arkansas Education Television Network (AETN). The candidates face off at the polls Tuesday, Nov. 7 in the statewide general election.
Stumbaugh attacked Berry’s character, saying, “I’ve never been thrown off the floor of the House of Representatives for being drunk. I never showed up at the Holiday Inn in Jonesboro or at the Raddison in Memphis with anybody other than my wife.”
A visibly upset Berry shot back, “Those charges that were just leveled at me are absolutely false. We expected that this would be nastiest campaign the United States has ever seen and it’s turning out to be just that. Unfortunately that doesn’t resolve the problems we face as a nation.”
In a press conference following the debate, Stumbaugh denied his accusations were directed at Berry.
“They were just statements,” the mayor explained.
Throughout the hour-long debate candidates fielded questions on farm subsidies, the war in Iraq, domestic abuse, minmum wage and illegal immigration. Audience members had mixed feelings about who actually won the debate.
“I think some of the things Stumbaugh said in closing statements backfire during an election. I would say Berry had the leading edge in this debate,” said David Keith, a journalism instructor at the University of Centra Arkansas.
Robin Green, 25, a senior majoring in journalism, said the debate had no clear winner.
“I think Berry did a poor job of answering the questions and Stumbaugh turned it personal instead of sticking to the issues,” Green said.
Berry touted his experience but Stumbaugh said the incumbent’s lack of effectiveness–particularly in getting approval for a highway bill that benefits the 1st District–stems in part from how he deals with other members of Congress. He accused Berry of calling Cong. Adam Putnam of Florida a “Howdy-Doody-looking nimrod.”
Howdy Doody was the freckled-face, grinning star of a children’s marionette-puppet show on television in the 1950s.
“No wonder we can’t get anything done,” Stumbaugh said. “Our congressman is busy out there calling other congressmen names.”
Berry didn’t respond directly to the accusation. He said he was proud of the work that had been accomplished, with federal help, on improving the infrastructure of the district in eastern Arkansas that allowed the region to attract such industry as the Hino Motors manufacturing plant at Marion.
The infrastructure improvements that attracted Hino “began long before” that company ever showed interest in Arkansas, Berry said.
FARM SUBSIDIES
A retired farmer, Berry said the only reason for farm subsidies to exist is to support the agriculture industry by offsetting the costs of farming during poor crop years, which keeps price of food low and the supply safe.
“No farmer enters into that business because of the subsidies, sometimes it keeps them in business in bad years, but had it not been for that, there would simply not be that many farmers left,” Berry said.
Stumbaugh accused Berry of using farm subsidies for personal gain.
“Since he’s been in Washington D.C., he has taken nearly $1 million in farm subsidies, that’s why he supports farm subsidies,” Stumbaugh said. Berry denied he has received any farm subsidies from the family-owned farms that still bear his name. Marion Berry Inc. received $801,661 in subsidies from 1995 to 2004, according to the database of the Environmental Working Group, a research and lobbying organization.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
On immigration, Stumbaugh accused Berry of acting to benefit himself in a way contrary to what Berry says he believes. He said Berry had knowingly employed illegal immigrants in his Arkansas County farming operations. In a press conference after the debate, Stumbaugh said he has copies of paperwork that shows an immigrant worker who once worked on Berry’s farm was illegal and was using a dead man’s Social Security number.
“He says he doesn’t support amnesty (for illegal immigrants), but he continues to support illegal immigration because it is a dollar in his pocket,” Stumbaugh said during the debate.
The Democratic incumbent said he was also proud of having voted for the strongest anti-illegal-immigration measure ever approved by the House of Representatives.
“I voted for the strongest bill to control our borders that’s ever been passed and I’m proud of that. We voted to increase the penalty for hiring illegal workers by five times to $25,000. We voted to build 700 miles of fence. We’re going to increase border patrol agents by 2,000 a year,” Berry said.
HEALTH CARE
Illegal immigration is also helping to drive up the cost of health care, the challenger said, because “illegal immigrants come in and they get free medical care, and folks have to write it off.”
Berry said one of the biggest ways to benefit those on Medicare and Medicaid would be requiring the government to deal with pharmaceutical companies to get lower drug prices.
“We need to negotiate prescription prices, like every other country does,” Berry said. “If we negotiated prescription drug prices for the American people, it would save ... between $40 billion and $80 billion, if just half the people participated.”
MINIMUM WAGE
Berry said the 110th Congress plans to raise the minimum wage during its first hour. The new wage will be $6.15 the first year and $7.15 the next year. In the press conference following the debate, Stumbaugh said he’s all for higher wages as long as it doesn’t hurt the bottom line of small businesses.
“We have to be mindful of what’s going to be hurtful to small business owners. When I became mayor, our firefighters were making a little over $6 an hour. Now no one who works for the city makes less than $8 an hour,” Stumbaugh said.
In his closing statement, Stumbaugh said “we need new leadership, and Stubby Stumbaugh is that leader.”
Berry’s closing statement focused on his party affiliation. “We’ve got to get back to a balanced budget–we did it in the early years of the Clinton administration,” he said.
“I am excited about the prospect of going back, as part of a Democratic majority, to bring peace and prosperity to this nation.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
By SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
The first and only debate between Cong. Marion Berry (D-Gillett) and his Republican challenger, Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh of Cabot, ended with Stumbaugh hurling accusations of infidelity and public drunkenness at the incumbent.
This reporter was one of three journalists on a panel questioning the candidates at the Reynolds Performance Hall in Conway on Wednesday. The debate was the last in a series of live televised debates on the Arkansas Education Television Network (AETN). The candidates face off at the polls Tuesday, Nov. 7 in the statewide general election.
Stumbaugh attacked Berry’s character, saying, “I’ve never been thrown off the floor of the House of Representatives for being drunk. I never showed up at the Holiday Inn in Jonesboro or at the Raddison in Memphis with anybody other than my wife.”
A visibly upset Berry shot back, “Those charges that were just leveled at me are absolutely false. We expected that this would be nastiest campaign the United States has ever seen and it’s turning out to be just that. Unfortunately that doesn’t resolve the problems we face as a nation.”
In a press conference following the debate, Stumbaugh denied his accusations were directed at Berry.
“They were just statements,” the mayor explained.
Throughout the hour-long debate candidates fielded questions on farm subsidies, the war in Iraq, domestic abuse, minmum wage and illegal immigration. Audience members had mixed feelings about who actually won the debate.
“I think some of the things Stumbaugh said in closing statements backfire during an election. I would say Berry had the leading edge in this debate,” said David Keith, a journalism instructor at the University of Centra Arkansas.
Robin Green, 25, a senior majoring in journalism, said the debate had no clear winner.
“I think Berry did a poor job of answering the questions and Stumbaugh turned it personal instead of sticking to the issues,” Green said.
Berry touted his experience but Stumbaugh said the incumbent’s lack of effectiveness–particularly in getting approval for a highway bill that benefits the 1st District–stems in part from how he deals with other members of Congress. He accused Berry of calling Cong. Adam Putnam of Florida a “Howdy-Doody-looking nimrod.”
Howdy Doody was the freckled-face, grinning star of a children’s marionette-puppet show on television in the 1950s.
“No wonder we can’t get anything done,” Stumbaugh said. “Our congressman is busy out there calling other congressmen names.”
Berry didn’t respond directly to the accusation. He said he was proud of the work that had been accomplished, with federal help, on improving the infrastructure of the district in eastern Arkansas that allowed the region to attract such industry as the Hino Motors manufacturing plant at Marion.
The infrastructure improvements that attracted Hino “began long before” that company ever showed interest in Arkansas, Berry said.
FARM SUBSIDIES
A retired farmer, Berry said the only reason for farm subsidies to exist is to support the agriculture industry by offsetting the costs of farming during poor crop years, which keeps price of food low and the supply safe.
“No farmer enters into that business because of the subsidies, sometimes it keeps them in business in bad years, but had it not been for that, there would simply not be that many farmers left,” Berry said.
Stumbaugh accused Berry of using farm subsidies for personal gain.
“Since he’s been in Washington D.C., he has taken nearly $1 million in farm subsidies, that’s why he supports farm subsidies,” Stumbaugh said. Berry denied he has received any farm subsidies from the family-owned farms that still bear his name. Marion Berry Inc. received $801,661 in subsidies from 1995 to 2004, according to the database of the Environmental Working Group, a research and lobbying organization.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
On immigration, Stumbaugh accused Berry of acting to benefit himself in a way contrary to what Berry says he believes. He said Berry had knowingly employed illegal immigrants in his Arkansas County farming operations. In a press conference after the debate, Stumbaugh said he has copies of paperwork that shows an immigrant worker who once worked on Berry’s farm was illegal and was using a dead man’s Social Security number.
“He says he doesn’t support amnesty (for illegal immigrants), but he continues to support illegal immigration because it is a dollar in his pocket,” Stumbaugh said during the debate.
The Democratic incumbent said he was also proud of having voted for the strongest anti-illegal-immigration measure ever approved by the House of Representatives.
“I voted for the strongest bill to control our borders that’s ever been passed and I’m proud of that. We voted to increase the penalty for hiring illegal workers by five times to $25,000. We voted to build 700 miles of fence. We’re going to increase border patrol agents by 2,000 a year,” Berry said.
HEALTH CARE
Illegal immigration is also helping to drive up the cost of health care, the challenger said, because “illegal immigrants come in and they get free medical care, and folks have to write it off.”
Berry said one of the biggest ways to benefit those on Medicare and Medicaid would be requiring the government to deal with pharmaceutical companies to get lower drug prices.
“We need to negotiate prescription prices, like every other country does,” Berry said. “If we negotiated prescription drug prices for the American people, it would save ... between $40 billion and $80 billion, if just half the people participated.”
MINIMUM WAGE
Berry said the 110th Congress plans to raise the minimum wage during its first hour. The new wage will be $6.15 the first year and $7.15 the next year. In the press conference following the debate, Stumbaugh said he’s all for higher wages as long as it doesn’t hurt the bottom line of small businesses.
“We have to be mindful of what’s going to be hurtful to small business owners. When I became mayor, our firefighters were making a little over $6 an hour. Now no one who works for the city makes less than $8 an hour,” Stumbaugh said.
In his closing statement, Stumbaugh said “we need new leadership, and Stubby Stumbaugh is that leader.”
Berry’s closing statement focused on his party affiliation. “We’ve got to get back to a balanced budget–we did it in the early years of the Clinton administration,” he said.
“I am excited about the prospect of going back, as part of a Democratic majority, to bring peace and prosperity to this nation.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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