By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Two local athletes, Jeff Henderson of Sylvan Hills and Whitney Jones of Searcy, won multiple titles at the Meet of Champions track meet Wednesday at Cabot’s Panther Stadium.
For its 50th anniversary, recently crowned state champions in all classifications were on hand at Cabot High, including 17 student-athletes from The Leader coverage area that qualified for the prestigious event.
As most expected, Searcy’s junior phenom Whitney Jones stole the show, winning all four of her events, while setting a new state record with her win in the triple jump. Jones scored a 39’ 00.25” for the event, breaking her own overall and MOC records set last year during her sophomore year.
Her overall record was broken by 5.5”, and the 2006 Meet of Champs record was shattered by over a foot. Through all four events, Jones took the win virtually uncontested, beating Fort Smith Northside’s Teondra Poole in the 100-meter dash with a 12.58, exactly four-tenths better than Poole’s 12.98. Her second win for the evening came in the 200-meter dash. Jones ran a 25.05 in the 200, once again leaving Northside’s Poole behind by almost three quarters of a second. Her other win came in the long jump, once again beating out Poole for the win with an 18’ 03.00”.
Sylvan Hills senior Jeff Henderson took first place in two events, including setting his own Meet of Champs record in the triple jump. His leap of 47-03 eclipsed the previous record set in ?? by ??. Henderson won the long jump with a measurement of 24-00.00. The win was decisive, with Union Christian’s Dawson Urrutia posting a distant second place with a 22-09.50.
Sherwood area students participated in the girls 400-meter dash. Sylvan Hills sophomore Caron Van Hook took third in the race with a 1:00.27, while Abundant Life sophomore Hannah Pastor ran a 1:03.36 for an eighth-place finish.
A pair of Cabot students rounded out the local girls entries for individual competition. Lady Panther sophomore Tori Hendrix took a close second in the high jump, recording a jump of 5’2”, an inch off her seed measurement heading into the event. LRCA’s Patricia Elliot played the spoiler for Hendrix, beating her previous best with a 5’3” jump to take the win.
Junior Emily Carpenter was the only local girls long-distance participant. Carpenter took part in the 3200-meter run, scoring a fourth-place finish with a time of 12:05.47. Despite the solid year that got her into the Meet of Champs, Carpenter was visibly disappointed with her performance on the night.
“My time wasn’t very good today,” Carpenter said. “If I would have run my best time, I probably would have been up there with first and second, but it’s okay. I’m glad I did better at the state meets.” Carpenter says that while she was slightly let down with the performance, she is already looking forward to the chance to qualify and return to the Meet of Champs for her senior year in 2008.
“I’ve got one more chance, so I’m excited about that. I’ll be content with today; I enjoyed being here.”
The North Pulaski 400-meter relay team ran in one of the evening’s final events, finishing sixth with a time of 4:15.16. The team made up of seniors Lecreisha Cash and Tiffany Templeton, along with sophomore Amber Marcantel and freshman Claire Crews may not have competed for the win, but they were all smiles after the race was over.
“We’ve never been here before,” Cash said. “All of this is wonderful. It’s a great feeling to go out knowing you’ve made it this far.” Templeton, the only single-sport athlete of the group, echoed Cash’s sentiment.
“Lacreisha and I are seniors this year,” Templeton said. “So to be number one in state and actually make it here is an accomplishment unto itself, and I couldn’t have been here without the help of all my teammates. Even though we didn’t win, we gave it our all.”
Marcantel also mentioned her pride in winning the 4A state title, the first in North Pulaski school history, and making new friends.
“Making first in state was just awesome,” Marcantel said. “We are all really excited to be here to run in this event. I’m mostly glad I got the chance to meet these new people, I didn’t know them that well before, so I’m grateful that I got to compete with them.”
The girls then had a group hug after Marcantel’s sentimental statements before Crews summed up the whole experience.
“I’m a freshman, so it’s been a great experience for me,” Crews said. “I have three more years of this; so hopefully I can find another team as good as these guys and make it this far again. I just had fun this year.”
Cabot’s Nathan Johnson finished sixth in the 3200-meter run, recording a time of 10:05.45. James Kee of Harding Academy finished sixth in the shot put with a throw of 48-04.75.
In the only local relay entry on the boys side, the Cabot 800-meter relay team took third place behind West Helena and Rogers with a total time of 8:16.71.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
EDITORIALS>>U.S. attorney plot thickens
Witnesses come and witnesses go, but not one of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ former and present aides gives him the slightest nourishment in his effort to outlast the storm over his leadership of the nation’s law-enforcement system.
Neither do they help J. Timothy Griffin, the political assassin whom Gonzales installed five months ago as the federal prosecutor for eastern Arkansas.
Monica Goodling, the Gonzales deputy who resigned when the fury over the firing of U. S. attorneys erupted and claimed her right to avoid self-incrimination, finally took the stand on a promise of immunity from prosecution. She defended her old boss but acknowledged that he had not been truthful to the congressional committees about his role in the prosecutor firings.
When it appeared that both she and Gonzales would have to testify under oath about the firings, Gonzales sat down with her to rehearse each other’s memory of things. She said she felt very uncomfortable. No wonder. Bill Clinton was impeached for obstruction of justice for a similar conversation with Betty Currie, his secretary.
Goodling was more blunt about Gonzales’ chief deputy, who she said just plain did not tell the truth. They were aware, Goodling said, of the White House’s interest in getting rid of the Republican U.S. attorneys in a number of states and replacing them with people more suitable.
High on the list was H. E. “Bud” Cummins II in Arkansas, who was replaced by Griffin, an aide in the White House political office and former opposition researcher for Republican campaigns.
Although he was appointed on an interim basis to avoid confirmation by the Senate, Griffin is still serving. Congress passed legislation last week that will force him out in four more months. Goodling and Griffin worked together in the White House political office of Karl Rove and before that at the Republican National Committee and remain corresponding friends.
“I believe that the deputy [former Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty of Whitewater fame] failed to disclose that he had some knowledge of the White House’s interest in selecting Tim Griffin as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas,” Goodling told the House Judiciary Committee.
McNulty, of course, promptly said Goodling was not telling the truth. The White House and Gonzales have insisted all along that the White House was not really involved in the ousters. Goodling made it clear that they were deeply involved. She had little choice. Already divulged electronic correspondence made that apparent.
Although she received immunity from the committee for her testimony, Goodling is in some jeopardy because the Justice Department is investigating whether she broke the law in basing hirings for career jobs in the agency on political leanings. Only Republicans were hired.
Goodling admitted that she had done that in her ardor for the cause and she said that she regretted it. The Goodling correspondence unearthed during the week did not help the case of Griffin, who maintains that old Republican loyalties would not affect his independent and nonpartisan pursuit of justice now that he has the job.
Not long after taking the job in December the new chief prosecutor was e-mailing Rove and other White House aides and Goodling chortling about how he had taken a good swipe at Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., who was mad that Gonzales had lied to him and that Griffin would avoid Senate confirmation. The Justice Department had assured Pryor that Griffin would undergo the usual confirmation process while privately Gonzales aides were saying he would not.
“Everything’s political to him,” said a Pryor aide. “He e-mails Karl Rove, and he’s bragging about how he took a swipe at Pryor. This e-mail was sent to the entire White House team right at the time everybody was saying, ‘Oooh, Karl Rove’s got nothing to do with this.”
Griffin was also corresponding almost immediately with Goodling about Justice aides’ idea of replacing the chief of the criminal division of the U.S. attorney’s office at Little Rock as a step in getting control of the Arkansas operations.
“Awesome,” Griffin replied.
And we had reflected favorably on Griffin’s demotion this month of Robert Govar, the criminal chief, after Govar had threatened the publisher of this newspaper over a column critical of his role in the Lonoke Police Department scandal.
It turns out that Govar had simply made it easy.
Arkansas will have to wait four more months to be confident that impartial justice is being administered. If then.
Neither do they help J. Timothy Griffin, the political assassin whom Gonzales installed five months ago as the federal prosecutor for eastern Arkansas.
Monica Goodling, the Gonzales deputy who resigned when the fury over the firing of U. S. attorneys erupted and claimed her right to avoid self-incrimination, finally took the stand on a promise of immunity from prosecution. She defended her old boss but acknowledged that he had not been truthful to the congressional committees about his role in the prosecutor firings.
When it appeared that both she and Gonzales would have to testify under oath about the firings, Gonzales sat down with her to rehearse each other’s memory of things. She said she felt very uncomfortable. No wonder. Bill Clinton was impeached for obstruction of justice for a similar conversation with Betty Currie, his secretary.
Goodling was more blunt about Gonzales’ chief deputy, who she said just plain did not tell the truth. They were aware, Goodling said, of the White House’s interest in getting rid of the Republican U.S. attorneys in a number of states and replacing them with people more suitable.
High on the list was H. E. “Bud” Cummins II in Arkansas, who was replaced by Griffin, an aide in the White House political office and former opposition researcher for Republican campaigns.
Although he was appointed on an interim basis to avoid confirmation by the Senate, Griffin is still serving. Congress passed legislation last week that will force him out in four more months. Goodling and Griffin worked together in the White House political office of Karl Rove and before that at the Republican National Committee and remain corresponding friends.
“I believe that the deputy [former Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty of Whitewater fame] failed to disclose that he had some knowledge of the White House’s interest in selecting Tim Griffin as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas,” Goodling told the House Judiciary Committee.
McNulty, of course, promptly said Goodling was not telling the truth. The White House and Gonzales have insisted all along that the White House was not really involved in the ousters. Goodling made it clear that they were deeply involved. She had little choice. Already divulged electronic correspondence made that apparent.
Although she received immunity from the committee for her testimony, Goodling is in some jeopardy because the Justice Department is investigating whether she broke the law in basing hirings for career jobs in the agency on political leanings. Only Republicans were hired.
Goodling admitted that she had done that in her ardor for the cause and she said that she regretted it. The Goodling correspondence unearthed during the week did not help the case of Griffin, who maintains that old Republican loyalties would not affect his independent and nonpartisan pursuit of justice now that he has the job.
Not long after taking the job in December the new chief prosecutor was e-mailing Rove and other White House aides and Goodling chortling about how he had taken a good swipe at Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., who was mad that Gonzales had lied to him and that Griffin would avoid Senate confirmation. The Justice Department had assured Pryor that Griffin would undergo the usual confirmation process while privately Gonzales aides were saying he would not.
“Everything’s political to him,” said a Pryor aide. “He e-mails Karl Rove, and he’s bragging about how he took a swipe at Pryor. This e-mail was sent to the entire White House team right at the time everybody was saying, ‘Oooh, Karl Rove’s got nothing to do with this.”
Griffin was also corresponding almost immediately with Goodling about Justice aides’ idea of replacing the chief of the criminal division of the U.S. attorney’s office at Little Rock as a step in getting control of the Arkansas operations.
“Awesome,” Griffin replied.
And we had reflected favorably on Griffin’s demotion this month of Robert Govar, the criminal chief, after Govar had threatened the publisher of this newspaper over a column critical of his role in the Lonoke Police Department scandal.
It turns out that Govar had simply made it easy.
Arkansas will have to wait four more months to be confident that impartial justice is being administered. If then.
OBITUARIES >> 5-26-07
Clint Huffman
Clint Huffman, 81, of Vancouver, Wash., passed away May 20.
Graveside services will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 26 at Hill Memorial Park in Jacksonville. Funeral arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
M.L. Faucett
M.L. Bud Faucett, 72, of Jacksonville went to be with the Lord, May 22 in Little Rock. He was born Nov. 16, 1934 in Lamar to the late Raymond Dean and Ella Horton Faucett.
He was preceded in death by his wife Fredia in 2006, as well as his sister, Eloise Jenkins. Bud worked with the Compensated Work Therapy Program at Fort Roots V.A. Hospital for over 30 years. Survivors include his brother, Ernest Faucett and wife Joy of Sherwood; sister, Shirley Wood of Cabot; sister, Beverly Winberg and husband Ron of Westland, Mich.; as well as six nieces, one nephew, eight great-nieces, three great-nephews, two great-great nieces and two great-great nephews.
Graveside services were May 25 at Chapel Hill Memorial Park in Jacksonville. Funeral arrangements were under direction of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
Annie Ault
Annie Lee Ault, 85, of Beebe died May 21. Her husband, Lewis, preceded her in death. She is survived by one sister and a nephew, Rick Torrence of Beebe.
Graveside services were held May 22 at Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens.
Kenneth Smetzer
Kenneth Lee Smetzer, 42, of Beebe died May 22. Born July 17, 1964, at Malden, Mo., to Olin Kenneth Lee and Patsy June
Waller Smetzer. He was preceded in death by a son, Kenneth Lee Smetzer, Jr., and his father. Survivors include his wife, Debbie; children, Blake and Stephanie Smetzer of Beebe; grandchild, Cade Landon Smetzer; brothers, Chris Zeller Champion, Charles R. Champion and Charles J. Champion, Jr.; sisters, Sandra Smetzer Roush and Patricia Smetzer Yandell.
Funeral services were May 24 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe. Burial was May 25 at Memory Gardens at Valley, Mineral Wells, Texas.
Billy Mitchell
Billy Joe Mitchell, 73, of Cabot died May 23. He was born Aug. 24, 1933 in Perry to the late James and Pearl Standridge Mitchell.
He was a graduate of Morrilton High School. He served in the Air Force for 24 years and was a letter carrier with the Postal Service in North Little Rock for 19 years. Billy was a member of Mt. Tabor United Methodist Church in Cabot. His sister and brother, Judy Gaither and Maj. Raymond Mitchell, preceded him in death.
He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Mitchell of Cabot; four children, Ronald Mitchell and wife Geneva of Chattanooga, Tenn., Martha Mitchell Shackelford and husband Mike of Orlando, Fla., Teri Lynn Payne and husband Ron of Keller, Texas, and Charles Douglas Mitchell and wife Susan of Madison, Ala.; two sisters, Christine Horn of North Little Rock and Jean Carson of Sherwood; nine grandchildren, Thomas, Daniel, Becky, and Jessica Mitchell of Chattanooga, Tenn., Alison Shackelford of Orlando, Fla., Matthew Narron and Kadi McNew and husband James of Keller, Texas, Sean and Bradley Mitchell of Madison, Ala., and one great-grandchild, Abigail McNew of Keller, Texas.
A private graveside service took place prior to memorial services May 28 at Mt. Tabor United Methodist Church in Cabot. Memorials may be made to Mt. Tabor United Methodist Church.
Clint Huffman, 81, of Vancouver, Wash., passed away May 20.
Graveside services will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 26 at Hill Memorial Park in Jacksonville. Funeral arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
M.L. Faucett
M.L. Bud Faucett, 72, of Jacksonville went to be with the Lord, May 22 in Little Rock. He was born Nov. 16, 1934 in Lamar to the late Raymond Dean and Ella Horton Faucett.
He was preceded in death by his wife Fredia in 2006, as well as his sister, Eloise Jenkins. Bud worked with the Compensated Work Therapy Program at Fort Roots V.A. Hospital for over 30 years. Survivors include his brother, Ernest Faucett and wife Joy of Sherwood; sister, Shirley Wood of Cabot; sister, Beverly Winberg and husband Ron of Westland, Mich.; as well as six nieces, one nephew, eight great-nieces, three great-nephews, two great-great nieces and two great-great nephews.
Graveside services were May 25 at Chapel Hill Memorial Park in Jacksonville. Funeral arrangements were under direction of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
Annie Ault
Annie Lee Ault, 85, of Beebe died May 21. Her husband, Lewis, preceded her in death. She is survived by one sister and a nephew, Rick Torrence of Beebe.
Graveside services were held May 22 at Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens.
Kenneth Smetzer
Kenneth Lee Smetzer, 42, of Beebe died May 22. Born July 17, 1964, at Malden, Mo., to Olin Kenneth Lee and Patsy June
Waller Smetzer. He was preceded in death by a son, Kenneth Lee Smetzer, Jr., and his father. Survivors include his wife, Debbie; children, Blake and Stephanie Smetzer of Beebe; grandchild, Cade Landon Smetzer; brothers, Chris Zeller Champion, Charles R. Champion and Charles J. Champion, Jr.; sisters, Sandra Smetzer Roush and Patricia Smetzer Yandell.
Funeral services were May 24 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe. Burial was May 25 at Memory Gardens at Valley, Mineral Wells, Texas.
Billy Mitchell
Billy Joe Mitchell, 73, of Cabot died May 23. He was born Aug. 24, 1933 in Perry to the late James and Pearl Standridge Mitchell.
He was a graduate of Morrilton High School. He served in the Air Force for 24 years and was a letter carrier with the Postal Service in North Little Rock for 19 years. Billy was a member of Mt. Tabor United Methodist Church in Cabot. His sister and brother, Judy Gaither and Maj. Raymond Mitchell, preceded him in death.
He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Mitchell of Cabot; four children, Ronald Mitchell and wife Geneva of Chattanooga, Tenn., Martha Mitchell Shackelford and husband Mike of Orlando, Fla., Teri Lynn Payne and husband Ron of Keller, Texas, and Charles Douglas Mitchell and wife Susan of Madison, Ala.; two sisters, Christine Horn of North Little Rock and Jean Carson of Sherwood; nine grandchildren, Thomas, Daniel, Becky, and Jessica Mitchell of Chattanooga, Tenn., Alison Shackelford of Orlando, Fla., Matthew Narron and Kadi McNew and husband James of Keller, Texas, Sean and Bradley Mitchell of Madison, Ala., and one great-grandchild, Abigail McNew of Keller, Texas.
A private graveside service took place prior to memorial services May 28 at Mt. Tabor United Methodist Church in Cabot. Memorials may be made to Mt. Tabor United Methodist Church.
TOP STORY >>Corn sweet to farmers
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
New forces are at work shaping Lonoke County’s agricultural landscape, not the least of them the rising demand for corn to manufacture ethanol.
Because of the increased demand and the attractive price, currently about $3.70 a bushel, farmers have increased last year’s 3,000 acres of corn four-fold to about 12,000 acres, according to Jeff Welch, the county’s chief extension agent. While that’s still not a lot of corn acres, it is a substantial move, he said.
On the downside, an early-April freeze knocked back part of that crop, requiring the farmers to replant about 10 percent of their corn, he said. That same freeze killed or damaged a third to a half of the wheat crop, meaning farmers will need a really good year to break even.
“We’ll know more a week from now when we start cutting wheat,” Welch said. Gov. Mike Beebe has declared farmers in Lonoke, White and Prairie counties eligible for disaster-relief low-interest loans from banks.
Other than the freeze and a bit of flooding, the weather has been pretty cooperative this year, getting the growing season off to a good start, Welch said. Grain prices are pretty good overall, including wheat and milo, he added. Overall, however, high costs of fertilizer and energy will make profits elusive.
Not all soybeans are in the ground yet, Welch said, but despite the arrival of soybean rust in the county last year, farmers expect a good price this year and are planting quite a bit.
Rust over-wintered on kudzu further west in Louisiana than in the past, which could mean it will arrive earlier in Arkansas than in the past, bourn on westerly winds. If environmental conditions are correct, we’ll be exposed to viable spores earlier this year than in past. It takes the pathogen, environment, and a susceptible host for rust to take hold.
The soybeans are the host, so if the weather is cloudy and not too hot, the rust will thrive, meaning it will be even more expensive for farmers to make a crop. People would have to spray fungicide earlier and more often at a cost about $35 an acre pre spraying. With fuel and fertilizer already sky-high, it could be tough to make money on soybeans this year.
Meanwhile, farmers are cutting back this year on capital-intensive crops, such as cotton and rice. Lonoke farmers are more likely to ship their corn to feed mills than to ethanol plants, of which there are few.
Arkansas farmers will be paid a premium to truck their corn to Tyson and Wayne Foods for feed, perhaps as much as $1 a bushel, while farmers will be charged 20 cents to 40 cents a bushel to ship corn to ethanol plants. While the colony collapse that’s haunting commercial beekeepers in many states is wreaking havoc with their operations, the situation is not as bad in Arkansas.
Not only does there seem to be less loss of bees, but also the crops here are less dependent upon bee pollination than in some other places. Welch said that cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumbers, squash and tree fruit are among the crops highly dependent upon bees for pollination.
Leader senior staff writer
New forces are at work shaping Lonoke County’s agricultural landscape, not the least of them the rising demand for corn to manufacture ethanol.
Because of the increased demand and the attractive price, currently about $3.70 a bushel, farmers have increased last year’s 3,000 acres of corn four-fold to about 12,000 acres, according to Jeff Welch, the county’s chief extension agent. While that’s still not a lot of corn acres, it is a substantial move, he said.
On the downside, an early-April freeze knocked back part of that crop, requiring the farmers to replant about 10 percent of their corn, he said. That same freeze killed or damaged a third to a half of the wheat crop, meaning farmers will need a really good year to break even.
“We’ll know more a week from now when we start cutting wheat,” Welch said. Gov. Mike Beebe has declared farmers in Lonoke, White and Prairie counties eligible for disaster-relief low-interest loans from banks.
Other than the freeze and a bit of flooding, the weather has been pretty cooperative this year, getting the growing season off to a good start, Welch said. Grain prices are pretty good overall, including wheat and milo, he added. Overall, however, high costs of fertilizer and energy will make profits elusive.
Not all soybeans are in the ground yet, Welch said, but despite the arrival of soybean rust in the county last year, farmers expect a good price this year and are planting quite a bit.
Rust over-wintered on kudzu further west in Louisiana than in the past, which could mean it will arrive earlier in Arkansas than in the past, bourn on westerly winds. If environmental conditions are correct, we’ll be exposed to viable spores earlier this year than in past. It takes the pathogen, environment, and a susceptible host for rust to take hold.
The soybeans are the host, so if the weather is cloudy and not too hot, the rust will thrive, meaning it will be even more expensive for farmers to make a crop. People would have to spray fungicide earlier and more often at a cost about $35 an acre pre spraying. With fuel and fertilizer already sky-high, it could be tough to make money on soybeans this year.
Meanwhile, farmers are cutting back this year on capital-intensive crops, such as cotton and rice. Lonoke farmers are more likely to ship their corn to feed mills than to ethanol plants, of which there are few.
Arkansas farmers will be paid a premium to truck their corn to Tyson and Wayne Foods for feed, perhaps as much as $1 a bushel, while farmers will be charged 20 cents to 40 cents a bushel to ship corn to ethanol plants. While the colony collapse that’s haunting commercial beekeepers in many states is wreaking havoc with their operations, the situation is not as bad in Arkansas.
Not only does there seem to be less loss of bees, but also the crops here are less dependent upon bee pollination than in some other places. Welch said that cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumbers, squash and tree fruit are among the crops highly dependent upon bees for pollination.
TOP STORY >>Keep out pit bulls, sex shops
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
Cabot’s elected officials look at their crowded streets and the need for more firefighters and a fourth fire station, but while those topics consumed much of a meeting of the fire and police committee Thursday night and dominated the conversation on the sidewalk afterwards, the proactive ordinances that came before the body for consideration were about pit bulls and sex shops.
In the near future, the committee could likely recommend ordinances to the full council that would keep pit bulls out of the city and make it difficult for sexually oriented businesses to move in.
“We need to be ahead of the game in case one of these businesses decides to come to Cabot,” Jackie Davis, Cabot police chief, said of the sex businesses of every imaginable kind the proposed ordinance would regulate.
The proposed pit bull ordinance is necessary, said city attorney Jim Taylor, because North Little Rock, Sherwood, Jacksonville and Lonoke have already banned the dogs, which means their owners are likely moving toward Cabot.
The pit bull ordinance would require registration of pit bulls already in the city and make it illegal to bring more in.
If walking outside, the dogs would have to be restrained with leashes no longer than four feet long. They could not be chained to trees, for example, and they could not be outside unattended.
Puppies born inside the city to grandfathered females would have to be out of the city by the time they are six-weeks-old.
The police chief told the committee that no one has been seriously injured yet by a pit bull, but he said they are frequently tied at the front door of drug houses and it is only a matter of time before someone is hurt.
The proposed ordinance regulating sexually-oriented businesses is 20 pages long. In addition to graphic descriptions and definitions, it is filled with stringent rules for licensing and would require licensed businesses to submit to periodic inspections by the police chief to ensure the businesses are in compliance with their licenses.
The draft ordinances also contains several blank spaces for such information as how much the licenses would cost, the allowed size of plain signs to advertise the businesses and how far the businesses are to be located from schools and churches. Both ordinances will be discussed further during the June meeting of the fire and police committee. As drafted, the pit bull ordinance would require owners of grandfathered animals to submit photographs with the registration request.
But Alderman Ed Long said all the dogs look alike and it would be easy for owners to pass off an illegal new dog as one that was grandfathered. Long suggested that the city should number the dogs as they are registered and require the owners to have the numbers tattooed on their ears. Alderman Becky Lemaster suggested implanted electronic chips to identify legal pit bulls.
These dogs are defined as pit bulls in the proposed ordinance: bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American pit bulls, American Staffordshire terriers, mixed breed dogs known as pit bulls and dogs which have the appearance and characteristics of pit bulls. The sexually-oriented business ordinance was tabled because committee members did not receive it until Thursday and few had read it.
Leader staff writer
Cabot’s elected officials look at their crowded streets and the need for more firefighters and a fourth fire station, but while those topics consumed much of a meeting of the fire and police committee Thursday night and dominated the conversation on the sidewalk afterwards, the proactive ordinances that came before the body for consideration were about pit bulls and sex shops.
In the near future, the committee could likely recommend ordinances to the full council that would keep pit bulls out of the city and make it difficult for sexually oriented businesses to move in.
“We need to be ahead of the game in case one of these businesses decides to come to Cabot,” Jackie Davis, Cabot police chief, said of the sex businesses of every imaginable kind the proposed ordinance would regulate.
The proposed pit bull ordinance is necessary, said city attorney Jim Taylor, because North Little Rock, Sherwood, Jacksonville and Lonoke have already banned the dogs, which means their owners are likely moving toward Cabot.
The pit bull ordinance would require registration of pit bulls already in the city and make it illegal to bring more in.
If walking outside, the dogs would have to be restrained with leashes no longer than four feet long. They could not be chained to trees, for example, and they could not be outside unattended.
Puppies born inside the city to grandfathered females would have to be out of the city by the time they are six-weeks-old.
The police chief told the committee that no one has been seriously injured yet by a pit bull, but he said they are frequently tied at the front door of drug houses and it is only a matter of time before someone is hurt.
The proposed ordinance regulating sexually-oriented businesses is 20 pages long. In addition to graphic descriptions and definitions, it is filled with stringent rules for licensing and would require licensed businesses to submit to periodic inspections by the police chief to ensure the businesses are in compliance with their licenses.
The draft ordinances also contains several blank spaces for such information as how much the licenses would cost, the allowed size of plain signs to advertise the businesses and how far the businesses are to be located from schools and churches. Both ordinances will be discussed further during the June meeting of the fire and police committee. As drafted, the pit bull ordinance would require owners of grandfathered animals to submit photographs with the registration request.
But Alderman Ed Long said all the dogs look alike and it would be easy for owners to pass off an illegal new dog as one that was grandfathered. Long suggested that the city should number the dogs as they are registered and require the owners to have the numbers tattooed on their ears. Alderman Becky Lemaster suggested implanted electronic chips to identify legal pit bulls.
These dogs are defined as pit bulls in the proposed ordinance: bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American pit bulls, American Staffordshire terriers, mixed breed dogs known as pit bulls and dogs which have the appearance and characteristics of pit bulls. The sexually-oriented business ordinance was tabled because committee members did not receive it until Thursday and few had read it.
TOP STORY >>Instructor is back at his school
By PEG KENYON
Leader staff writer
Mike Brown, also known as Milton Leon Brown, a convicted sex offender, still teaches at Mike Brown’s Taekwondo in Jacksonville, but he lists his place of residence on the sex-offender registry as Palestine in St. Francis County.
This information surfaced after The Leader published a story about a recent re-notification effort to update the addresses of convicted Level 3 and Level 4 sex offenders by the Jacksonville Police Department, but he wasn’t on the list.
Brown has a Level 3 ranking.
Level 3 and 4 sex offenders appear on the Arkansas Sex Offender Registry list at the Arkansas Crime Information Center website. Level 1 is considered a low risk; Level 2, a moderate risk; Level 3, a high risk; and Level 4, a sexually violent predator. On Thursday, Brown confirmed he comes to Jacksonville about twice a week to teach aerobics kick classes to women. As to his career and his home, Brown said, “It’s about 80 miles away, and I’m getting ready to retire.”
Brown also said he hoped that The Leader would not write a story about this matter because it would hurt the next owner of the establishment. The business, according to Brown, is being turned over to 18-year-old Chase Heineman, who has been involved in martial arts with him for approximately 10 years. “He’s a good kid,” Brown said.
Brown was arrested in 2001 involving allegations by a 13-year-old student of Brown’s. The incident reportedly took place after she allegedly fell sleep on a couch at his then residence—a McCain Park apartment in North Little Rock. Brown, who was 49 years old at the time, entered a plea of not guilty to rape.
It was previously reported by The Leader that the girl claimed that she awoke as Brown fondled her genital area, according to a prosecuting attorney’s affidavit. Soon after, she called her mother to come get her. Sgt. Jim Scott said Brown was “babysitting” the girl.
Brown was charged with rape because of the age of the alleged victim. According to state law, a person commits rape who engages in sexual intercourse or deviant sexually activity with a person less than 14 years old. He was convicted of first-degree sexual assault and sentenced to 10 years probation, according to Dina Tyler, spokesperson of the Arkansas Department of Corrections. He did not serve any state prison time, she told The Leader, but he did go to the county jail.
In 2002, Brown’s sentence also included a $500 fine as well as restrictions of having no contact with the victim and her family members and no instructions with minors, according to a Pulaski County/Circuit Clerk’s Office summary sheet. It also showed 120 days at Pulaski County Detention Center.
According to the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department he served 89 days, plus the day he was arrested, for a total of 90 days.
Inquiries indicate that Brown still works in Jacksonville, but local authorities did not know of any addresses for Brown in Jacksonville. This week, Jacksonville Police Chief Robert Baker told The Leader that each time local police checked out Brown’s story, he was truthful with them. “We’ve always found he’s been honest with us,” Baker said.
Baker said Brown has told local authorities he teaches adult classes and local authorities could not debunk Brown’s claims of being in compliance with Arkansas state statutes addressing convicted sex offender.
Sgt. Tom Mayberry of the Jacksonville Police Department continues to investigate questions concerning Brown. Mayberry says that the JPD has no reports or proof that Brown instructs children at the martial arts academy.
“About once a year, we receive some degree of inquiry about Mike Brown’s residency,” Mayberry said. “Back about a month ago, we got a tip he was residing here, and we went to that house, checked utilities and even spoke with neighbors, but there was absolutely nothing to it.”
Mayberry said he went to Brown’s business, and Brown told him that an assistant teaches the children’s classes.
“They cannot have direct contact with children,” Mayberry said. Paragraph 8 of the sex offenders acknowledgment form reads, “Pursuant to Act 1779 prohibits a Level 3 or Level 4 offender to engage in an occupation or participate in a volunteer position that requires the sex offender to work or interact primarily and directly with children under 16 years of age.”
This acknowledgement allows a convicted sex offender to be around children under the age of 16 years old as long as there are others around. Mayberry explained that it is possible for a convicted sex offender to even live with children under the same roof unless conditions of parole states otherwise.
“To our knowledge, Brown is in compliance with the law, and if anyone would approach us with verifiable information to the contrary, then we would pursue it,” the police officer said. This year, state legislators began strengthening Act 1779 governing convicted sex offenders living in Arkansas.
According to Mayberry, Level 3 and Level 4 sex offenders will no longer be able to reside within 2,000 feet of public parks or youth centers beginning Aug. 1. Level 3 and 4 sex offenders are now only restricted to live 2,000 feet away from a daycare or public school. “It’s going to affect several sex offenders in the city,” Mayberry said.
Mayberry is notifying convicted sex offenders of the new law. He estimated that at least 10 convicted sex offenders will have to move, but those who own their homes will not have to relocate, Mayberry explained. Rep. Will Bond, D-Jacksonville, said two more bills passed the Legislature involving restrictions on certain convicted sex offenders this year.
Act 394 of 2007 will limit convicted sex offenders from living 2,000 feet near their victims as well as restricting them from contacting their victims. Another new law prohibits awarding custody of children to a convicted sex offender except under certain circumstances, Bond said. “We have tried to tighten up the law,” Bond said.
Bond pointed out there is still the issue of an individual’s constitutional rights not being violated. The Arkansas Supreme Court may step in to adjudicate if convicted sex offenders’ rights are being infringed upon, Bond said.
There are no Level 4 sex offenders in the Jacksonville area, but there are 19 Level 3 sex offenders. Most did not have a place of employment listed on the re-notification flyers distributed to their neighbors.
Leader staff writer
Mike Brown, also known as Milton Leon Brown, a convicted sex offender, still teaches at Mike Brown’s Taekwondo in Jacksonville, but he lists his place of residence on the sex-offender registry as Palestine in St. Francis County.
This information surfaced after The Leader published a story about a recent re-notification effort to update the addresses of convicted Level 3 and Level 4 sex offenders by the Jacksonville Police Department, but he wasn’t on the list.
Brown has a Level 3 ranking.
Level 3 and 4 sex offenders appear on the Arkansas Sex Offender Registry list at the Arkansas Crime Information Center website. Level 1 is considered a low risk; Level 2, a moderate risk; Level 3, a high risk; and Level 4, a sexually violent predator. On Thursday, Brown confirmed he comes to Jacksonville about twice a week to teach aerobics kick classes to women. As to his career and his home, Brown said, “It’s about 80 miles away, and I’m getting ready to retire.”
Brown also said he hoped that The Leader would not write a story about this matter because it would hurt the next owner of the establishment. The business, according to Brown, is being turned over to 18-year-old Chase Heineman, who has been involved in martial arts with him for approximately 10 years. “He’s a good kid,” Brown said.
Brown was arrested in 2001 involving allegations by a 13-year-old student of Brown’s. The incident reportedly took place after she allegedly fell sleep on a couch at his then residence—a McCain Park apartment in North Little Rock. Brown, who was 49 years old at the time, entered a plea of not guilty to rape.
It was previously reported by The Leader that the girl claimed that she awoke as Brown fondled her genital area, according to a prosecuting attorney’s affidavit. Soon after, she called her mother to come get her. Sgt. Jim Scott said Brown was “babysitting” the girl.
Brown was charged with rape because of the age of the alleged victim. According to state law, a person commits rape who engages in sexual intercourse or deviant sexually activity with a person less than 14 years old. He was convicted of first-degree sexual assault and sentenced to 10 years probation, according to Dina Tyler, spokesperson of the Arkansas Department of Corrections. He did not serve any state prison time, she told The Leader, but he did go to the county jail.
In 2002, Brown’s sentence also included a $500 fine as well as restrictions of having no contact with the victim and her family members and no instructions with minors, according to a Pulaski County/Circuit Clerk’s Office summary sheet. It also showed 120 days at Pulaski County Detention Center.
According to the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department he served 89 days, plus the day he was arrested, for a total of 90 days.
Inquiries indicate that Brown still works in Jacksonville, but local authorities did not know of any addresses for Brown in Jacksonville. This week, Jacksonville Police Chief Robert Baker told The Leader that each time local police checked out Brown’s story, he was truthful with them. “We’ve always found he’s been honest with us,” Baker said.
Baker said Brown has told local authorities he teaches adult classes and local authorities could not debunk Brown’s claims of being in compliance with Arkansas state statutes addressing convicted sex offender.
Sgt. Tom Mayberry of the Jacksonville Police Department continues to investigate questions concerning Brown. Mayberry says that the JPD has no reports or proof that Brown instructs children at the martial arts academy.
“About once a year, we receive some degree of inquiry about Mike Brown’s residency,” Mayberry said. “Back about a month ago, we got a tip he was residing here, and we went to that house, checked utilities and even spoke with neighbors, but there was absolutely nothing to it.”
Mayberry said he went to Brown’s business, and Brown told him that an assistant teaches the children’s classes.
“They cannot have direct contact with children,” Mayberry said. Paragraph 8 of the sex offenders acknowledgment form reads, “Pursuant to Act 1779 prohibits a Level 3 or Level 4 offender to engage in an occupation or participate in a volunteer position that requires the sex offender to work or interact primarily and directly with children under 16 years of age.”
This acknowledgement allows a convicted sex offender to be around children under the age of 16 years old as long as there are others around. Mayberry explained that it is possible for a convicted sex offender to even live with children under the same roof unless conditions of parole states otherwise.
“To our knowledge, Brown is in compliance with the law, and if anyone would approach us with verifiable information to the contrary, then we would pursue it,” the police officer said. This year, state legislators began strengthening Act 1779 governing convicted sex offenders living in Arkansas.
According to Mayberry, Level 3 and Level 4 sex offenders will no longer be able to reside within 2,000 feet of public parks or youth centers beginning Aug. 1. Level 3 and 4 sex offenders are now only restricted to live 2,000 feet away from a daycare or public school. “It’s going to affect several sex offenders in the city,” Mayberry said.
Mayberry is notifying convicted sex offenders of the new law. He estimated that at least 10 convicted sex offenders will have to move, but those who own their homes will not have to relocate, Mayberry explained. Rep. Will Bond, D-Jacksonville, said two more bills passed the Legislature involving restrictions on certain convicted sex offenders this year.
Act 394 of 2007 will limit convicted sex offenders from living 2,000 feet near their victims as well as restricting them from contacting their victims. Another new law prohibits awarding custody of children to a convicted sex offender except under certain circumstances, Bond said. “We have tried to tighten up the law,” Bond said.
Bond pointed out there is still the issue of an individual’s constitutional rights not being violated. The Arkansas Supreme Court may step in to adjudicate if convicted sex offenders’ rights are being infringed upon, Bond said.
There are no Level 4 sex offenders in the Jacksonville area, but there are 19 Level 3 sex offenders. Most did not have a place of employment listed on the re-notification flyers distributed to their neighbors.
TOP STORY >>Purchase of course may skirt by voters
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Sherwood could spend millions buying the North Hills golf course without a vote of the residents. In previous council meetings, interim Mayor Bill Harmon had said that the issue would go before the people, but now he is saying that the city’s Public Facilities Board could actually buy the course and then lease it to the city for the amount of the monthly payments.
The council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the police department building, and although the golf course is not on the agenda, a pro-Harmon blog dedicated to saving the golf course is asking for everyone in favor of keeping the golf course to show up.
The blog calls the council meeting important and states, “We need everyone in favor of Keeping Sherwood Green to attend the meeting.”
In the meantime, the owners of the golf course are fielding calls from two or three prospective buyers. “But no one wants to commit until the building moratorium gets lifted,” said Rodgers.
Rodgers also added that he is still talking to Ron Campbell who initially tendered a $5.1 million offer for the 106-acre property with plans to build a gated community of $300,000 to $400,000 single-family homes. The Campbell deal fell through after the city council approved the six-month moratorium stopping any and all preliminary or actual construction, redesign or planning work on the golf course.
The moratorium led Rodgers to file an appeal in Pulaski County Circuit Court asking for the moratorium to be declared void.
The city has 20 days, about June 8, to respond to the appeal. The council is also waiting for an appraisal of the golf course. That appraisal is expected to be ready in about a week.
The Sherwood council ap-proved the ordinance creating a Public Facility Board in 1978 under Mayor B.E. Henson.
The current three-member board includes two members who have addresses outside of Sherwood. Chairman Linda Napper has a North Little Rock address and Jack Wilson has a Jacksonville address. The third member, Forrest Penny, lists a Sherwood address.
The ordinance does not address whether members need to be city residents, but is based on a 1975 state law that allows for the organization of a Public Facilities Board. The state law says these boards can have numerous purposes, “including the developing and providing for decent, safe and sanitary residential housing.”
The board was empowered “to win, acquire, construct, reconstruct, extend, equip, improve, operate, maintain, sell, lease, contact concerning or otherwise detail in or dispose of residential housing facilities or any interest in such facilities.”
The board has the authority to issue bonds and “obtain funds and revenues for the accomplishment of any authorized public facilities projects.
Bonds issued by the Public Facilities Board do not obligate or add debt to the city, according to the ordinance. The ordinance was expanded in 1982, also under Mayor Henson, to “encourage the development and establishment of such public facilities projects…for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety.”
The legal action that the owners of the golf course property have taken against the city names the city, the mayor and all eight aldermen as defendants.
According to the appeal, the city discussed and voted on the resolution April 23 even though it was not on the original agenda. The resolution called for a “six-month moratorium on the filing of applications for rezonings, subdivision plats and for the issuance of building permits for the area known as North Hills Country Club.”
The Sherwood City Council voted 8-0 to approve the resolution.
The owners’ attorney, Stuart Hankins, in the appeal, called the resolution “arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, unlawful, oppressive and discriminatory.”
The appeal states the city’s actions were improper because it only applies to “the North Hills Country Club property and no other property or property owner in the City of Sherwood is affected by it.”
Hankins said the moratorium is “unlawful because its stated purpose exceeds the statuary power granted to cities to condemn property.”
Leader staff writer
Sherwood could spend millions buying the North Hills golf course without a vote of the residents. In previous council meetings, interim Mayor Bill Harmon had said that the issue would go before the people, but now he is saying that the city’s Public Facilities Board could actually buy the course and then lease it to the city for the amount of the monthly payments.
The council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the police department building, and although the golf course is not on the agenda, a pro-Harmon blog dedicated to saving the golf course is asking for everyone in favor of keeping the golf course to show up.
The blog calls the council meeting important and states, “We need everyone in favor of Keeping Sherwood Green to attend the meeting.”
In the meantime, the owners of the golf course are fielding calls from two or three prospective buyers. “But no one wants to commit until the building moratorium gets lifted,” said Rodgers.
Rodgers also added that he is still talking to Ron Campbell who initially tendered a $5.1 million offer for the 106-acre property with plans to build a gated community of $300,000 to $400,000 single-family homes. The Campbell deal fell through after the city council approved the six-month moratorium stopping any and all preliminary or actual construction, redesign or planning work on the golf course.
The moratorium led Rodgers to file an appeal in Pulaski County Circuit Court asking for the moratorium to be declared void.
The city has 20 days, about June 8, to respond to the appeal. The council is also waiting for an appraisal of the golf course. That appraisal is expected to be ready in about a week.
The Sherwood council ap-proved the ordinance creating a Public Facility Board in 1978 under Mayor B.E. Henson.
The current three-member board includes two members who have addresses outside of Sherwood. Chairman Linda Napper has a North Little Rock address and Jack Wilson has a Jacksonville address. The third member, Forrest Penny, lists a Sherwood address.
The ordinance does not address whether members need to be city residents, but is based on a 1975 state law that allows for the organization of a Public Facilities Board. The state law says these boards can have numerous purposes, “including the developing and providing for decent, safe and sanitary residential housing.”
The board was empowered “to win, acquire, construct, reconstruct, extend, equip, improve, operate, maintain, sell, lease, contact concerning or otherwise detail in or dispose of residential housing facilities or any interest in such facilities.”
The board has the authority to issue bonds and “obtain funds and revenues for the accomplishment of any authorized public facilities projects.
Bonds issued by the Public Facilities Board do not obligate or add debt to the city, according to the ordinance. The ordinance was expanded in 1982, also under Mayor Henson, to “encourage the development and establishment of such public facilities projects…for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety.”
The legal action that the owners of the golf course property have taken against the city names the city, the mayor and all eight aldermen as defendants.
According to the appeal, the city discussed and voted on the resolution April 23 even though it was not on the original agenda. The resolution called for a “six-month moratorium on the filing of applications for rezonings, subdivision plats and for the issuance of building permits for the area known as North Hills Country Club.”
The Sherwood City Council voted 8-0 to approve the resolution.
The owners’ attorney, Stuart Hankins, in the appeal, called the resolution “arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, unlawful, oppressive and discriminatory.”
The appeal states the city’s actions were improper because it only applies to “the North Hills Country Club property and no other property or property owner in the City of Sherwood is affected by it.”
Hankins said the moratorium is “unlawful because its stated purpose exceeds the statuary power granted to cities to condemn property.”
TOP STORY >>Shortage of funds prevents hirings
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
Firefighters, concerned over their declining numbers, attended the monthly meeting of the fire and police committee of the Cabot City Council Thursday night. They, as well as a handful of city residents who also attended, said safety was the issue that concerned them and asked the mayor and committee what they are going to do about it.
The answer was that there is not a lot that can be done because the city is still having financial difficulties. Mayor Eddie Joe Williams said that between unpaid bills and cost overruns on the animal shelter and community center last year, the city owed $1 million that he hadn’t expected to have to pay this year. Just two weeks ago, he had to decide which bills he could pay and still make payroll, he said.
The department is down five firefighters since three resigned and two have been deployed. The mayor has said that because of budget concerns, he won’t replace the three who resigned and he is reluctant to replace the two who have been called to the war in Iraq because he would have to keep the new employees when the old ones return.
He said during the meeting that Fire Chief Phil Robinson should consider bringing back firefighters who are only paid when they are called out. Those “pay per call” firefighters were terminated last year when the chief thought he would add firefighters this year, Williams said before the meeting.
A handout from Robinson showed that of the 155 calls to the fire department in April, only one was a structure fire, while 116 were backup for MEMS, which contracts with the city to provide ambulance service. Two were vehicle fires, seven were grass fires, seven were motor-vehicle collisions, five were false alarms, six were canceled and 11 were for services such as checking fire alarms and sprinklers.
Some council members who gathered outside after the meeting questioned the necessity of the fire department providing backup for the ambulance service, especially since their runs are in large fire engines. The council members also cautiously and very informally raised the possibility of another one-cent sales tax that could be used for streets and to help fund the fire and police departments which now share the $3 million revenue from a one-cent sales tax.
The sales tax in Cabot is 9 percent for most purchases, 6 percent for the state, two percent for the city and one percent for the county. But the city also has a 1.5 percent hamburger tax, so the total sales tax on prepared food is 10.5 percent.
During the meeting, Scott Barker, president of the firefighters association, said he was inside a burning house last fall and was pulled to safety by the firefighters who were still outside. The current staffing allows only two firefighters on a truck, he said, adding that if two are inside a structure fire, there is no one on the outside to keep them safe.
“I don’t know the answer,” Barker said. I don’t handle the money. But I do know this: if we don’t do something, we’re going to get someone killed.” The council members who talked together after the meeting said fire engines from all three stations respond to fires so the scenario described by Barker is unlikely.
Williams said during the meeting that the city has been written up by state auditors for not having any money in reserve. He said there is no money now for street overlays or new equipment. Police Chief Jackie Davis is scavenging parts from old patrol cars to keep others running, he said. His goal is to cut costs enough to set aside at least $600,000 this year to keep 2008 from starting out like 2007, he said.
Leader staff writer
Firefighters, concerned over their declining numbers, attended the monthly meeting of the fire and police committee of the Cabot City Council Thursday night. They, as well as a handful of city residents who also attended, said safety was the issue that concerned them and asked the mayor and committee what they are going to do about it.
The answer was that there is not a lot that can be done because the city is still having financial difficulties. Mayor Eddie Joe Williams said that between unpaid bills and cost overruns on the animal shelter and community center last year, the city owed $1 million that he hadn’t expected to have to pay this year. Just two weeks ago, he had to decide which bills he could pay and still make payroll, he said.
The department is down five firefighters since three resigned and two have been deployed. The mayor has said that because of budget concerns, he won’t replace the three who resigned and he is reluctant to replace the two who have been called to the war in Iraq because he would have to keep the new employees when the old ones return.
He said during the meeting that Fire Chief Phil Robinson should consider bringing back firefighters who are only paid when they are called out. Those “pay per call” firefighters were terminated last year when the chief thought he would add firefighters this year, Williams said before the meeting.
A handout from Robinson showed that of the 155 calls to the fire department in April, only one was a structure fire, while 116 were backup for MEMS, which contracts with the city to provide ambulance service. Two were vehicle fires, seven were grass fires, seven were motor-vehicle collisions, five were false alarms, six were canceled and 11 were for services such as checking fire alarms and sprinklers.
Some council members who gathered outside after the meeting questioned the necessity of the fire department providing backup for the ambulance service, especially since their runs are in large fire engines. The council members also cautiously and very informally raised the possibility of another one-cent sales tax that could be used for streets and to help fund the fire and police departments which now share the $3 million revenue from a one-cent sales tax.
The sales tax in Cabot is 9 percent for most purchases, 6 percent for the state, two percent for the city and one percent for the county. But the city also has a 1.5 percent hamburger tax, so the total sales tax on prepared food is 10.5 percent.
During the meeting, Scott Barker, president of the firefighters association, said he was inside a burning house last fall and was pulled to safety by the firefighters who were still outside. The current staffing allows only two firefighters on a truck, he said, adding that if two are inside a structure fire, there is no one on the outside to keep them safe.
“I don’t know the answer,” Barker said. I don’t handle the money. But I do know this: if we don’t do something, we’re going to get someone killed.” The council members who talked together after the meeting said fire engines from all three stations respond to fires so the scenario described by Barker is unlikely.
Williams said during the meeting that the city has been written up by state auditors for not having any money in reserve. He said there is no money now for street overlays or new equipment. Police Chief Jackie Davis is scavenging parts from old patrol cars to keep others running, he said. His goal is to cut costs enough to set aside at least $600,000 this year to keep 2008 from starting out like 2007, he said.
TOP STORY >>Base observes Memorial Day
By HEATHER HARTSELL
Leader staff writer
In honor of Memorial Day, Little Rock Air Force Base airmen gathered Friday afternoon to remember their fellow servicemen who have made the ultimate sacrifice. More than 200 men and women of the 314th Airlift Wing took part in this time-honored military tradition to recognize those past and present who have been lost.
The names of Arkansans killed in the line of duty since last Memorial Day were read by the 314th AW Command Chief, Chief Master Sergeant Brooke McLean, including LRAFB’s own Staff Sgt. John T. Self, a member of the 314th Security Forces Squadron, who was killed May 14 in Baghdad by a roadside bomb.
A 21-gun salute resounded in the air after the reading of those killed. As Taps played, four C-130s flew over the ceremony; one plane dropped out of formation to signify the airmen and soldiers that never made it home while serving in the armed forces. As Ret. Col. William A. Kehler, base commander from July 1983 to April 1985 and guest speaker at the ceremony, said, “We honor those who have gone before…it’s because of them that this land is one of the free and the brave.”
“Our prayers go out to the family, friends and loved ones of those lost,” Kehler added. More than one million service members have been lost since the Revolutionary War. “You are our guardians of freedom and justice, of national security and are always willing to defend your country with your life,” Kehler told the airmen at The Rock.
“You never leave an airman behind, you never falter and you never fail – I salute you,” Kehler said in closing. Col. Rowayne Schatz, Jr., who took command of LRAFB one week ago, told airmen they were gathered to remember, honor and give thanks to their brothers in arms. “We honor the brave men and women of Arkansas who died this past year for their sacrifices in defense of the freedoms we hold so dear,” Schatz said.
“We are forever in their debt for putting themselves in harms way so we can live in peace,” he said.
“We can only show gratitude to the loved ones of those who died for a noble cause. Today we say ‘thank you’ and make sure they are never forgotten this day and every day,” Schatz said.
As the base honor guard lowered the American flag, those gathered stood at attention, watching the symbol that has carried the message of freedom, at home and abroad, for more than 200 years. “It flies in the heart of every Airman that serves this great nation,” Capt. Shannon Vinson, narrator for the ceremony, said of the American flag. “It stands for the freedoms we all share and for patriotism; it is a beacon of hope – long may it wave,” Vinson added.
Memorial Day, first known as Decoration Day, was established in 1868 as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.
Leader staff writer
In honor of Memorial Day, Little Rock Air Force Base airmen gathered Friday afternoon to remember their fellow servicemen who have made the ultimate sacrifice. More than 200 men and women of the 314th Airlift Wing took part in this time-honored military tradition to recognize those past and present who have been lost.
The names of Arkansans killed in the line of duty since last Memorial Day were read by the 314th AW Command Chief, Chief Master Sergeant Brooke McLean, including LRAFB’s own Staff Sgt. John T. Self, a member of the 314th Security Forces Squadron, who was killed May 14 in Baghdad by a roadside bomb.
A 21-gun salute resounded in the air after the reading of those killed. As Taps played, four C-130s flew over the ceremony; one plane dropped out of formation to signify the airmen and soldiers that never made it home while serving in the armed forces. As Ret. Col. William A. Kehler, base commander from July 1983 to April 1985 and guest speaker at the ceremony, said, “We honor those who have gone before…it’s because of them that this land is one of the free and the brave.”
“Our prayers go out to the family, friends and loved ones of those lost,” Kehler added. More than one million service members have been lost since the Revolutionary War. “You are our guardians of freedom and justice, of national security and are always willing to defend your country with your life,” Kehler told the airmen at The Rock.
“You never leave an airman behind, you never falter and you never fail – I salute you,” Kehler said in closing. Col. Rowayne Schatz, Jr., who took command of LRAFB one week ago, told airmen they were gathered to remember, honor and give thanks to their brothers in arms. “We honor the brave men and women of Arkansas who died this past year for their sacrifices in defense of the freedoms we hold so dear,” Schatz said.
“We are forever in their debt for putting themselves in harms way so we can live in peace,” he said.
“We can only show gratitude to the loved ones of those who died for a noble cause. Today we say ‘thank you’ and make sure they are never forgotten this day and every day,” Schatz said.
As the base honor guard lowered the American flag, those gathered stood at attention, watching the symbol that has carried the message of freedom, at home and abroad, for more than 200 years. “It flies in the heart of every Airman that serves this great nation,” Capt. Shannon Vinson, narrator for the ceremony, said of the American flag. “It stands for the freedoms we all share and for patriotism; it is a beacon of hope – long may it wave,” Vinson added.
Memorial Day, first known as Decoration Day, was established in 1868 as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
SPORTS>>Local athletes dominate All-Star softball
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The All-Star teams for spring sports were released Tuesday. While a few local players were selected in all three sports, the East fastpitch softball team is dominated by players from The Leader coverage area.
Jacksonville, Beebe and Harding Academy put two players each on the team, while Cabot and Lonoke will also be represented among the top senior ball players in the state of Arkansas.
Jacksonville pitcher Jessica Bock and power hitter Gabrielle Hart will face the West All-Stars next month. Bock has recorded over 1,000 strikeouts in her four years as the Lady Devils’ ace hurler. She has signed to play college ball at Bossier City Junior College in Louisiana.
Hart hit a school-record nine home runs this season for the Lady Devils, and led the team with an overall batting average above .500. She will play for Butler County Community College in Kansas next year. Beebe second baseman Brandi Burkhalter and catcher Sara Flenor were also selected by the East coaching staff, which will be headed up by Melbourne’s Mike Watson.
Burkhalter led the Lady Badgers in batting average this season. She and Flenor are two of only three seniors on the squad that were part of an era of Lady Bagers softball that saw three conference championships, a 40-2 conference record and two state championship-game appearances. Flenor signed with Williams Baptist College in the early signing period. Burkhalter has several offers, but hasn’t decided on the direction she plans to take in college.
Harding Academy pitcher Loghan Lowery and shortstop Taylor Pryor were named to the team. Lowery drew interest from many schools, but decided to attend Harding University and not pursue college athletics. Pryor is also receiving interest, but has not made a decision.
Cabot’s Jamie Sterrenberg will join her coach Becky Steward in Fayetteville. Steward was selected as an assistant coach on the East team. Sterrenberg was the Lady Panthers’ leading hitting this season. She has interest from several schools in softball and basketball, but hasn’t yet decided where to continue her athletic career.
The final local selection is Lonoke’s Emily Burns. Burns helped take Lonoke to a second-place finish in conference and district tournament, and to a regional playoff appearance. In soccer, North Pulaski’s Sarah Watson, Jacksonville’s Stephanie Kennedy and state champion Searcy’s Michelle Giezman will play for Valley View’s Ron Test for the East squad.
Searcy’s boys, who also won the 6A state title, put Seth McGinnis and Bruce Beakheimer on the East squad as well.
The Lions also put a pair of players on the East baseball team. Adam Robertson and Scott Sammons will join Cabot’s Colin Fuller, Abundant Life’s Jerry Lawson and Sylvan Hills’ Taylor Roark when they take on the West team at Baum Stadium.
Fuller was also selected to the East football team, but only allowed to play one sport, plans to play in the baseball game.
All-Star Week is set for June 19-22 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Games start at 5 p.m. Tuesday June 19 when the baseball doubleheader gets started at Baum Stadium. Girls soccer starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday and boys soccer is set for 8 p.m.
Softball and volleyball will be Wednesday. Softball will start at Lady Back Yard at 5 p.m. with volleyball beginning at 7 p.m. at Barnhill Arena. Basketball is set for Thursday. The girls take the floor at Bud Walton Arena at 6 p.m. and the boys follow at approximately 8 p.m. All-Star Week concludes with the All-Star football game at Razorback Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday.
Leader sports editor
The All-Star teams for spring sports were released Tuesday. While a few local players were selected in all three sports, the East fastpitch softball team is dominated by players from The Leader coverage area.
Jacksonville, Beebe and Harding Academy put two players each on the team, while Cabot and Lonoke will also be represented among the top senior ball players in the state of Arkansas.
Jacksonville pitcher Jessica Bock and power hitter Gabrielle Hart will face the West All-Stars next month. Bock has recorded over 1,000 strikeouts in her four years as the Lady Devils’ ace hurler. She has signed to play college ball at Bossier City Junior College in Louisiana.
Hart hit a school-record nine home runs this season for the Lady Devils, and led the team with an overall batting average above .500. She will play for Butler County Community College in Kansas next year. Beebe second baseman Brandi Burkhalter and catcher Sara Flenor were also selected by the East coaching staff, which will be headed up by Melbourne’s Mike Watson.
Burkhalter led the Lady Badgers in batting average this season. She and Flenor are two of only three seniors on the squad that were part of an era of Lady Bagers softball that saw three conference championships, a 40-2 conference record and two state championship-game appearances. Flenor signed with Williams Baptist College in the early signing period. Burkhalter has several offers, but hasn’t decided on the direction she plans to take in college.
Harding Academy pitcher Loghan Lowery and shortstop Taylor Pryor were named to the team. Lowery drew interest from many schools, but decided to attend Harding University and not pursue college athletics. Pryor is also receiving interest, but has not made a decision.
Cabot’s Jamie Sterrenberg will join her coach Becky Steward in Fayetteville. Steward was selected as an assistant coach on the East team. Sterrenberg was the Lady Panthers’ leading hitting this season. She has interest from several schools in softball and basketball, but hasn’t yet decided where to continue her athletic career.
The final local selection is Lonoke’s Emily Burns. Burns helped take Lonoke to a second-place finish in conference and district tournament, and to a regional playoff appearance. In soccer, North Pulaski’s Sarah Watson, Jacksonville’s Stephanie Kennedy and state champion Searcy’s Michelle Giezman will play for Valley View’s Ron Test for the East squad.
Searcy’s boys, who also won the 6A state title, put Seth McGinnis and Bruce Beakheimer on the East squad as well.
The Lions also put a pair of players on the East baseball team. Adam Robertson and Scott Sammons will join Cabot’s Colin Fuller, Abundant Life’s Jerry Lawson and Sylvan Hills’ Taylor Roark when they take on the West team at Baum Stadium.
Fuller was also selected to the East football team, but only allowed to play one sport, plans to play in the baseball game.
All-Star Week is set for June 19-22 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Games start at 5 p.m. Tuesday June 19 when the baseball doubleheader gets started at Baum Stadium. Girls soccer starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday and boys soccer is set for 8 p.m.
Softball and volleyball will be Wednesday. Softball will start at Lady Back Yard at 5 p.m. with volleyball beginning at 7 p.m. at Barnhill Arena. Basketball is set for Thursday. The girls take the floor at Bud Walton Arena at 6 p.m. and the boys follow at approximately 8 p.m. All-Star Week concludes with the All-Star football game at Razorback Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday.
SPORTS>>New-look Lions see positives in wing T
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
The 2007 version of the Searcy Lions will have somewhat of a familiar look this season, but it will be a new look from the previous two seasons. Last week was spring practice for Searcy football, with a new formation and new mentality in the works.
The Lions ran the spread for the first two years of coach Bart McFarland’s regime, with undesirable results. The Lions went 1-19 during the ‘05-’06 seasons with the spread offense in place, but the days of the wide-open offense at Searcy are over.
Under former coach Danny Mallet, the Lions ran out of the wing-T formation before McFarland came on board with the spread. This season will see a return to the wing-T, a move that the head Lion says was out of necessity.
“It suits our personnel better,” McFarland said. “The coaches and the kids seem more comfortable with it. We think it will give us a better chance to win. We need to get some more toughness, and we think this is the way to do it.”
There were 62 players on hand for the five days of practice, with 22 of them seniors. The offensive line had the most experience to come back, with all but one of last year’s starters returning. Justin Drain will be back in the interior this season, along with Blake Taylor and Murray Moore. Dylan Cook and Mikey Branch will complete the line for Searcy, giving them seasoned personnel in place where it matters the most with the new formation in place.
In the backfield, Jamie Carr and Trace Madden top the depth charts for the Lions, with John Moore and E.J. Bailey also listed as running backs.
“We’ve got a lot of good running backs that can make plays,” McFarland said. “They’re just average size kids, but as long as they can run the ball and gain us four yards, that’s what we’re looking for. We think it’s going to give us a chance to better evaluate situations and find out what we need to do in order to win.”
The majority of the spring sessions were spent on basic fundamentals as opposed to preparing for 7-on-7 summer football like the past two years. McFarland says that along with the new offensive approach, the Lions are also trying to instill a more traditional smash-mouth mindset.
“We have a different mentality heading into this season,” McFarland said. “That should help us a lot. That has been part of our problem in the past, but it was actually an accumulation of different things. It wasn’t from a lack of effort by any means, we just didn’t get it done.
McFarland says the numbers don’t matter as long as the kids in place can get the job done this season.
“We’re pleased with the kids we have,” McFarland said. “We’re going to coach them until our tails fall off. We had a real good spring; we learned a lot about our offense, and the kids picked up on it well. It doesn’t matter to us if we have 62 kids or 82 kids, we’re going to take the ones we have and coach them up.”
Leader sportswriter
The 2007 version of the Searcy Lions will have somewhat of a familiar look this season, but it will be a new look from the previous two seasons. Last week was spring practice for Searcy football, with a new formation and new mentality in the works.
The Lions ran the spread for the first two years of coach Bart McFarland’s regime, with undesirable results. The Lions went 1-19 during the ‘05-’06 seasons with the spread offense in place, but the days of the wide-open offense at Searcy are over.
Under former coach Danny Mallet, the Lions ran out of the wing-T formation before McFarland came on board with the spread. This season will see a return to the wing-T, a move that the head Lion says was out of necessity.
“It suits our personnel better,” McFarland said. “The coaches and the kids seem more comfortable with it. We think it will give us a better chance to win. We need to get some more toughness, and we think this is the way to do it.”
There were 62 players on hand for the five days of practice, with 22 of them seniors. The offensive line had the most experience to come back, with all but one of last year’s starters returning. Justin Drain will be back in the interior this season, along with Blake Taylor and Murray Moore. Dylan Cook and Mikey Branch will complete the line for Searcy, giving them seasoned personnel in place where it matters the most with the new formation in place.
In the backfield, Jamie Carr and Trace Madden top the depth charts for the Lions, with John Moore and E.J. Bailey also listed as running backs.
“We’ve got a lot of good running backs that can make plays,” McFarland said. “They’re just average size kids, but as long as they can run the ball and gain us four yards, that’s what we’re looking for. We think it’s going to give us a chance to better evaluate situations and find out what we need to do in order to win.”
The majority of the spring sessions were spent on basic fundamentals as opposed to preparing for 7-on-7 summer football like the past two years. McFarland says that along with the new offensive approach, the Lions are also trying to instill a more traditional smash-mouth mindset.
“We have a different mentality heading into this season,” McFarland said. “That should help us a lot. That has been part of our problem in the past, but it was actually an accumulation of different things. It wasn’t from a lack of effort by any means, we just didn’t get it done.
McFarland says the numbers don’t matter as long as the kids in place can get the job done this season.
“We’re pleased with the kids we have,” McFarland said. “We’re going to coach them until our tails fall off. We had a real good spring; we learned a lot about our offense, and the kids picked up on it well. It doesn’t matter to us if we have 62 kids or 82 kids, we’re going to take the ones we have and coach them up.”
SPORTS>>More options for ’Rabbits
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
It wasn’t a lack of talent that hampered the Lonoke Jackrabbits during the 2006 season, it was a lack of versatility.
A limited offense and unfamiliar coach resulted in a trying 3-7 record for the ‘Rabbits, but the ’07 version looks to be improved in both regards.
Many of last year’s skill players and all but one lineman returned to Abraham Field for spring practice beginning last week. Monday afternoon marked only the second day of pads for the squad, as they went through a variety of offensive sets.
Lonoke ran an almost exclusive spread attack last year, although a great deal of it was on the ground. Monday saw plenty of passing routes from the spread, but the Jackrabbits also spent a fair amount of time working out of the pro set with twin backs. Coach Jeff Jones says the pro-set formation is not completely new to the returning players, but will be used in more game situations during the coming season.
“We worked on that some last year,” Jones said. “We just didn’t use it like we needed to. We’re going to be able to do that this year; we’ll be more physical than we were last year. Last year, we were just to the point of putting it in place. This year, we’re trying to understand what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. That’s just the next extension we’re taking.”
The ‘Rabbits have grown not only in offensive options, but in field generals as well. Last year’s starting quarterback Alex Cash will return again for his senior year at QB, but this year, he won’t be alone. Juniors Rollins Elam and Clarence Harris both spent time under center during practice Monday.
“Alex is a versatile runner and passer,” Jones said. “Rollins Elam is a great pocket passer, and Clarence Harris, he was our flanker last year. We’re going to put him in there and let him run the ball and do some play-action passing as well. We’re trying to mix it up some and add a little variety to our offense. They’re going to get to play, but I guess it depends on how well they do in practice, how many reps they get in the game at that position.”
There were 41 players dressed out on Monday, with a number of players absent due to a summer league baseball game. Jones estimates the total at just under 50; the number he expected to participate.
Along with experience at the skill positions, a number of seasoned linemen return for the Jackrabbits as well. Keifer Vaughn, Brad Harvey and Joel Harris ??? all return to the Lonoke offensive interior this season. Harris was moved to tight end, but Vaughn and Harvey will remain inside for the ‘Rabbits.
In the backfield, Brandon Smith moves up from last year’s conference champion ninth grade team in 2007 at tailback, along with Tyler Crow, who saw playing time in the position late last year. All Conference standout Amir Fleming will once again take on fullback duties along with his linebacker position on defense.
Along with sharing quarterback duties, Clarence Harris will also return to receiving duties this season, along with Daniel Smith. Jones also says there are several potential receivers in the ninth-grade unit that will be moving up as well.
“We’ve got some guys we know we can count on,” Jones said. “And some young guys we feel good about. We’re just trying to teach them the techniques and why we’re doing certain things. We’re way ahead of the game from where we were at this time last year.”
Leader sportswriter
It wasn’t a lack of talent that hampered the Lonoke Jackrabbits during the 2006 season, it was a lack of versatility.
A limited offense and unfamiliar coach resulted in a trying 3-7 record for the ‘Rabbits, but the ’07 version looks to be improved in both regards.
Many of last year’s skill players and all but one lineman returned to Abraham Field for spring practice beginning last week. Monday afternoon marked only the second day of pads for the squad, as they went through a variety of offensive sets.
Lonoke ran an almost exclusive spread attack last year, although a great deal of it was on the ground. Monday saw plenty of passing routes from the spread, but the Jackrabbits also spent a fair amount of time working out of the pro set with twin backs. Coach Jeff Jones says the pro-set formation is not completely new to the returning players, but will be used in more game situations during the coming season.
“We worked on that some last year,” Jones said. “We just didn’t use it like we needed to. We’re going to be able to do that this year; we’ll be more physical than we were last year. Last year, we were just to the point of putting it in place. This year, we’re trying to understand what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. That’s just the next extension we’re taking.”
The ‘Rabbits have grown not only in offensive options, but in field generals as well. Last year’s starting quarterback Alex Cash will return again for his senior year at QB, but this year, he won’t be alone. Juniors Rollins Elam and Clarence Harris both spent time under center during practice Monday.
“Alex is a versatile runner and passer,” Jones said. “Rollins Elam is a great pocket passer, and Clarence Harris, he was our flanker last year. We’re going to put him in there and let him run the ball and do some play-action passing as well. We’re trying to mix it up some and add a little variety to our offense. They’re going to get to play, but I guess it depends on how well they do in practice, how many reps they get in the game at that position.”
There were 41 players dressed out on Monday, with a number of players absent due to a summer league baseball game. Jones estimates the total at just under 50; the number he expected to participate.
Along with experience at the skill positions, a number of seasoned linemen return for the Jackrabbits as well. Keifer Vaughn, Brad Harvey and Joel Harris ??? all return to the Lonoke offensive interior this season. Harris was moved to tight end, but Vaughn and Harvey will remain inside for the ‘Rabbits.
In the backfield, Brandon Smith moves up from last year’s conference champion ninth grade team in 2007 at tailback, along with Tyler Crow, who saw playing time in the position late last year. All Conference standout Amir Fleming will once again take on fullback duties along with his linebacker position on defense.
Along with sharing quarterback duties, Clarence Harris will also return to receiving duties this season, along with Daniel Smith. Jones also says there are several potential receivers in the ninth-grade unit that will be moving up as well.
“We’ve got some guys we know we can count on,” Jones said. “And some young guys we feel good about. We’re just trying to teach them the techniques and why we’re doing certain things. We’re way ahead of the game from where we were at this time last year.”
EDITORIALS>>Rude owners
The Jacksonville City Council made a mistake when it voted to ban pit bulls at its meeting Thursday night.
Instead, aldermen should have banned the rude and crude owners of the pit bulls. That’s right: Keep the dogs and kick out the owners. In 20 years of this newspaper covering city council meetings, the absolute rudeness of these dog owners was some of the worst we’ve seen.
Now, granted it was not all the owners—just like it’s not all the pit bulls doing the biting and attacking—but there were too many making fools of themselves.
The mayor was threatened, an aldermen was told that his neck would be broken if he wrote down the speaker’s address, the whole council was derailed and belittled, and a parent describing a terrible pit-bull attack on his 12-year-old son was instantly attacked by a number of owners claiming it was his fault for not being outside with the boy.
Alderman Reedie Ray called it right, saying the actions of one of those in attendance were enough to make him vote for the ban.
Dogs do have their own personalities, but they also feed off their owners, and with the amount of disrespect and hate shown to the council—we are surprised these dogs aren’t ravaging the city.
Kudos go to Mayor Tommy Swaim—whom we are often at odds with—for keeping his demeanor and cool and trying his best to allow the opposition to speak. Out of the 45 minutes he gave the opposition, half that time was spent on babbling, threats and points that had nothing to do with the issue. The opposition was its own worst enemy.
One opposition speaker accused Alderman Bob Stroud of already having his mind made up. Of course he had his mind made up to ban the dogs: He was the one who brought the ordinance to the council. He is allowed to have his mind already made up.
But most of the other aldermen were open to discussion, and two even voiced opposition to the idea of a ban, but finally voted for it, more because of the actions of the mob rather than the actions of the dogs.
Instead, aldermen should have banned the rude and crude owners of the pit bulls. That’s right: Keep the dogs and kick out the owners. In 20 years of this newspaper covering city council meetings, the absolute rudeness of these dog owners was some of the worst we’ve seen.
Now, granted it was not all the owners—just like it’s not all the pit bulls doing the biting and attacking—but there were too many making fools of themselves.
The mayor was threatened, an aldermen was told that his neck would be broken if he wrote down the speaker’s address, the whole council was derailed and belittled, and a parent describing a terrible pit-bull attack on his 12-year-old son was instantly attacked by a number of owners claiming it was his fault for not being outside with the boy.
Alderman Reedie Ray called it right, saying the actions of one of those in attendance were enough to make him vote for the ban.
Dogs do have their own personalities, but they also feed off their owners, and with the amount of disrespect and hate shown to the council—we are surprised these dogs aren’t ravaging the city.
Kudos go to Mayor Tommy Swaim—whom we are often at odds with—for keeping his demeanor and cool and trying his best to allow the opposition to speak. Out of the 45 minutes he gave the opposition, half that time was spent on babbling, threats and points that had nothing to do with the issue. The opposition was its own worst enemy.
One opposition speaker accused Alderman Bob Stroud of already having his mind made up. Of course he had his mind made up to ban the dogs: He was the one who brought the ordinance to the council. He is allowed to have his mind already made up.
But most of the other aldermen were open to discussion, and two even voiced opposition to the idea of a ban, but finally voted for it, more because of the actions of the mob rather than the actions of the dogs.
EDITORIALS>>Straight talk from Beebe
Gov. Beebe climbed the ladder of political success by coming pretty close to pleasing everybody as a state senator and attorney general, but after getting elected governor he has become the real version of the Straight Talk Express. We like the conversion.
The governor was addressing some 100 northwest Arkansas businessmen last Wednesday in Springdale, a gathering of power and money, including more than one Fortune 400 tycoon. John Tyson, chairman of Tyson Foods, wanted to know when Beebe was going to lower state income taxes, which he thought slowed business growth. Arkansas has to compete with states that either have no personal income tax like Texas or have lower marginal rates, Tyson observed.
Straight talk on taxes is not in vogue nowadays, as anyone who has watched the Republican presidential debates and smaller cattle shows around the country knows. Mention of any tax draws a promise from every candidate to cut it or get rid of it altogether. Every candidate boasts of his tax-cutting history, even Mike Huckabee, who raised more taxes than any governor in Arkansas history. Huckabee promises to get rid of income taxes altogether and impose a European-style sales tax that would shift taxes dramatically from rich people like Tyson to working people. “I’m not going to lie to you,” Beebe replied. “I don’t know where we’d go without the income tax.”
He said there might be small revisions in the tax in the next few years, but they should expect no major reduction in tax rates. This year, the legislature and Beebe eliminated personal income taxes on very low-wage workers and reduced them for families with incomes not far above the poverty line. They also cut the sales taxes on groceries in half.
Beebe spelled out the clear reasons why it could not be done. People are demanding better services — improved education, highways and health care — and flattening the income tax would impair the state’s ability to meet even the present level of services. Corporate and personal income taxes supply about 40 percent of the state’s general revenues, the central pool of support for schools and colleges, law enforcement and health services. Arkansas property taxes are among the lowest in the United States and people hate even those, Beebe said. So people will not stand for the tax burden to be shifted from income to property, and neither will they stand for a hike in the sales tax, which is among the highest in the region.
The governor might have added, but didn’t, that men in Tyson’s income group — the top 10th of 1 percent of Americans — have done very well in recent years. Congress radically lowered their income tax rates, excused them from paying much tax on their stock earnings and dividends and eliminated both the federal and state-level taxes on vast inheritances. Eight years ago, the Arkansas legislature also slashed the taxes they pay on long-term capital gains.
The Arkansas personal income tax, which has a top marginal rate of 7 percent, and the corporate tax rate of 6 percent are not really so burdensome when you consider that the taxes are deductible on federal returns, which means that Uncle Sam pays much of the state tax for them, and that both the federal and state codes are generous with deductions and credits for corporations and people with large investment earnings.
Beebe’s blunt talk ought not to be news since his point was self-obvious, but it passes nowadays for unusual courage. We found it refreshing.
The governor was addressing some 100 northwest Arkansas businessmen last Wednesday in Springdale, a gathering of power and money, including more than one Fortune 400 tycoon. John Tyson, chairman of Tyson Foods, wanted to know when Beebe was going to lower state income taxes, which he thought slowed business growth. Arkansas has to compete with states that either have no personal income tax like Texas or have lower marginal rates, Tyson observed.
Straight talk on taxes is not in vogue nowadays, as anyone who has watched the Republican presidential debates and smaller cattle shows around the country knows. Mention of any tax draws a promise from every candidate to cut it or get rid of it altogether. Every candidate boasts of his tax-cutting history, even Mike Huckabee, who raised more taxes than any governor in Arkansas history. Huckabee promises to get rid of income taxes altogether and impose a European-style sales tax that would shift taxes dramatically from rich people like Tyson to working people. “I’m not going to lie to you,” Beebe replied. “I don’t know where we’d go without the income tax.”
He said there might be small revisions in the tax in the next few years, but they should expect no major reduction in tax rates. This year, the legislature and Beebe eliminated personal income taxes on very low-wage workers and reduced them for families with incomes not far above the poverty line. They also cut the sales taxes on groceries in half.
Beebe spelled out the clear reasons why it could not be done. People are demanding better services — improved education, highways and health care — and flattening the income tax would impair the state’s ability to meet even the present level of services. Corporate and personal income taxes supply about 40 percent of the state’s general revenues, the central pool of support for schools and colleges, law enforcement and health services. Arkansas property taxes are among the lowest in the United States and people hate even those, Beebe said. So people will not stand for the tax burden to be shifted from income to property, and neither will they stand for a hike in the sales tax, which is among the highest in the region.
The governor might have added, but didn’t, that men in Tyson’s income group — the top 10th of 1 percent of Americans — have done very well in recent years. Congress radically lowered their income tax rates, excused them from paying much tax on their stock earnings and dividends and eliminated both the federal and state-level taxes on vast inheritances. Eight years ago, the Arkansas legislature also slashed the taxes they pay on long-term capital gains.
The Arkansas personal income tax, which has a top marginal rate of 7 percent, and the corporate tax rate of 6 percent are not really so burdensome when you consider that the taxes are deductible on federal returns, which means that Uncle Sam pays much of the state tax for them, and that both the federal and state codes are generous with deductions and credits for corporations and people with large investment earnings.
Beebe’s blunt talk ought not to be news since his point was self-obvious, but it passes nowadays for unusual courage. We found it refreshing.
OBITUARIES >> 5-23-07
Roger Armstrong
Roger Gene Armstrong, 69, of Beebe passed away May 19 in Little Rock. He was born Nov. 14, 1937 in Estelline, S.D., to the late Virgil B. and Ida A. Skoglund Armstrong.
He served in the Air Force and helped with the construction of Little Rock Air Force Base. He was a field service Engineer for Par-Tech Inc. and worked as a computer technician. He was a pastor with the Church Of God Of Prophecy for 33 years.
Survivors include his wife, Priscilla Louise Lang Armstrong of Beebe; children, Eddie Gene Armstrong and wife Linda of Winston-Salem, N.C., and Alan Dale Armstrong and wife Brenda of Cleveland, Tenn.; sisters, Karen Fleming of Sioux Falls, S.D., and Sharon Weatherly of Surprise, Ariz.; three grandchildren, Angela, Andrew and Christy Armstrong.
Funeral services will be Wednesday, May 23 at The Church of God of Prophecy in Jacksonville with Bishop Wayne Pense and Bishop Don Yancey officiating. Burial will follow at Arkansas State Veteran’s Cemetery in North Little Rock. Funeral arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
Jerry Gramling
Jerry Gramling, 74, of Jacksonville passed away May 20. He was born May 14, 1933 in Stanford (Greene County) to the late Robert Earl and Mabel Gregory Gramling.
He retired after working more than 20 years for the state as a tax auditor. He was a member of Sylvan Hills United Methodist Church. He was also preceded in death by his wife, Norma Owens Gramling, and a brother, Glenn Gramling.
Survivors include his children, Pam Thompson and husband Charles of Sherwood, Nan Black of North Little Rock, Mike Gramling of Jacksonville, Marty Gramling and wife Andrea of Ozark, Mo., and Becky Hobby and husband Brian of Sherwood; sisters, Joy Powers and Judy Rowland and husband Donnie all of Stanford; grandchildren, Amanda Thompson, Heather Carroll, Kent Hobby, Meghan Hobby, Brandi Gramling, Christopher Gramling, Madison Gramling and Joshua Gramling; great-grandchildren, Hayden Carroll and Peyton Hobby and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m., Wednesday, May 23 at Moore’s Funeral Home Chapel in Jacksonville with Rev. Jim Rowland officiating.
Burial will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Park. Funeral arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
John Smith
John Smith, 83, of Jacksonville went to be with the Lord May 21. He was born April 2, 1924 to the late Earnest Edward and Margaret Kamp Smith in Salem, Ill.
He retired from the Air Force with rank of technical sergeant and was a retired general contractor. He served his community as a member of the Lion’s Club, the NCOA, and a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans group 7. He served the Lord as a deacon at Chapel Hill Baptist Church. His first wife, Lois J. Smith, preceded him in death.
Survivors include his wife, Carrie Smith of Jacksonville; sons, Kevin Michael Smith of Jacksonville, Keith Mark Smith and wife Toni of Bentonville and Michael Morris Jr. of Ada, Okla.; daughters, Jo Ann Mederios and husband John of Vancouver, Wash., Renee Smith of Jacksonville and Melody Wisnosky and husband Marc of Jourdanton, Texas; brother, James Henry Louis and sister, Liz Holden both of Phoenix, Ariz., and his grandchildren, Johnny and Lisa Mederios, Jimmy Smith, Joshua and Tawnie DeGroot and Nick Wisnosky.
Funeral services will be at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, May 24 at Chapel Hill Baptist Church in Jacksonville with Rev. Mike Douglas officiating. Burial will follow in Rest Hills Memorial Park. Visitation will be at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home on Wednesday, May 23 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Letha Jones
Letha M. Jones, 74, died May 20. She was born near Marianna, Sept. 25, 1932 to Hulett and Lula Graham.
She was a member of Browns-ville First Baptist Church.
She was retired and enjoyed volunteering at Lonoke County Cares. She was a member of the Jacksonville and Little Rock Duplicate Bridge Club and was a bronze life master with the American Contract Bridge League.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Freeman Jones.
Survivors include a daughter, Patti and husband Bill Adams of Lonoke; four sisters, Mildred Berry of Poplar Grove, Lavinia Fuqua of Star City, Stella Brogdon of Higden and Barbara Goodman of Montgomery, Ala.
Funeral services were May 22 at First Baptist Church in Brownsville. Burial followed in Weir Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were by Boyd Funeral Home in Lonoke. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Brownsville or Lonoke County Cares.
Mary Pfleeger
Mary Michele “Shelley” Pfleeger, 45, of Cabot passed away May 22. She was born October 4, 1961 in LaGrange, Ind., to Donald Duane and Suzanne Marie Ackerman Hoover. She was a member of Grace Fellowship Church in Cabot and Holy Family Catholic Church on Little Rock Air Force Base.
She is survived by her husband Edward Pfleeger of Cabot; her parents of Albion, Ind.; one daughter, Melynda Beth Pfleeger and husband John of Gravel Ridge; one son, Joshua Edward Pfleeger and wife Beth of Portland, Ore.; three brothers, Jeff W. Hoover and wife Kim of Albion, Ind., Doug Hoover and wife Karen of Cromwell, Ind., and Steve Hoover and wife Stacy of Viola, Wis.; two grandchildren, Jasper and Matt Ables as well as a host of nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends Wednesday, May 23 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home. Funeral services will take place in Albion, Ind.
Roger Gene Armstrong, 69, of Beebe passed away May 19 in Little Rock. He was born Nov. 14, 1937 in Estelline, S.D., to the late Virgil B. and Ida A. Skoglund Armstrong.
He served in the Air Force and helped with the construction of Little Rock Air Force Base. He was a field service Engineer for Par-Tech Inc. and worked as a computer technician. He was a pastor with the Church Of God Of Prophecy for 33 years.
Survivors include his wife, Priscilla Louise Lang Armstrong of Beebe; children, Eddie Gene Armstrong and wife Linda of Winston-Salem, N.C., and Alan Dale Armstrong and wife Brenda of Cleveland, Tenn.; sisters, Karen Fleming of Sioux Falls, S.D., and Sharon Weatherly of Surprise, Ariz.; three grandchildren, Angela, Andrew and Christy Armstrong.
Funeral services will be Wednesday, May 23 at The Church of God of Prophecy in Jacksonville with Bishop Wayne Pense and Bishop Don Yancey officiating. Burial will follow at Arkansas State Veteran’s Cemetery in North Little Rock. Funeral arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
Jerry Gramling
Jerry Gramling, 74, of Jacksonville passed away May 20. He was born May 14, 1933 in Stanford (Greene County) to the late Robert Earl and Mabel Gregory Gramling.
He retired after working more than 20 years for the state as a tax auditor. He was a member of Sylvan Hills United Methodist Church. He was also preceded in death by his wife, Norma Owens Gramling, and a brother, Glenn Gramling.
Survivors include his children, Pam Thompson and husband Charles of Sherwood, Nan Black of North Little Rock, Mike Gramling of Jacksonville, Marty Gramling and wife Andrea of Ozark, Mo., and Becky Hobby and husband Brian of Sherwood; sisters, Joy Powers and Judy Rowland and husband Donnie all of Stanford; grandchildren, Amanda Thompson, Heather Carroll, Kent Hobby, Meghan Hobby, Brandi Gramling, Christopher Gramling, Madison Gramling and Joshua Gramling; great-grandchildren, Hayden Carroll and Peyton Hobby and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m., Wednesday, May 23 at Moore’s Funeral Home Chapel in Jacksonville with Rev. Jim Rowland officiating.
Burial will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Park. Funeral arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
John Smith
John Smith, 83, of Jacksonville went to be with the Lord May 21. He was born April 2, 1924 to the late Earnest Edward and Margaret Kamp Smith in Salem, Ill.
He retired from the Air Force with rank of technical sergeant and was a retired general contractor. He served his community as a member of the Lion’s Club, the NCOA, and a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans group 7. He served the Lord as a deacon at Chapel Hill Baptist Church. His first wife, Lois J. Smith, preceded him in death.
Survivors include his wife, Carrie Smith of Jacksonville; sons, Kevin Michael Smith of Jacksonville, Keith Mark Smith and wife Toni of Bentonville and Michael Morris Jr. of Ada, Okla.; daughters, Jo Ann Mederios and husband John of Vancouver, Wash., Renee Smith of Jacksonville and Melody Wisnosky and husband Marc of Jourdanton, Texas; brother, James Henry Louis and sister, Liz Holden both of Phoenix, Ariz., and his grandchildren, Johnny and Lisa Mederios, Jimmy Smith, Joshua and Tawnie DeGroot and Nick Wisnosky.
Funeral services will be at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, May 24 at Chapel Hill Baptist Church in Jacksonville with Rev. Mike Douglas officiating. Burial will follow in Rest Hills Memorial Park. Visitation will be at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home on Wednesday, May 23 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Letha Jones
Letha M. Jones, 74, died May 20. She was born near Marianna, Sept. 25, 1932 to Hulett and Lula Graham.
She was a member of Browns-ville First Baptist Church.
She was retired and enjoyed volunteering at Lonoke County Cares. She was a member of the Jacksonville and Little Rock Duplicate Bridge Club and was a bronze life master with the American Contract Bridge League.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Freeman Jones.
Survivors include a daughter, Patti and husband Bill Adams of Lonoke; four sisters, Mildred Berry of Poplar Grove, Lavinia Fuqua of Star City, Stella Brogdon of Higden and Barbara Goodman of Montgomery, Ala.
Funeral services were May 22 at First Baptist Church in Brownsville. Burial followed in Weir Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were by Boyd Funeral Home in Lonoke. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Brownsville or Lonoke County Cares.
Mary Pfleeger
Mary Michele “Shelley” Pfleeger, 45, of Cabot passed away May 22. She was born October 4, 1961 in LaGrange, Ind., to Donald Duane and Suzanne Marie Ackerman Hoover. She was a member of Grace Fellowship Church in Cabot and Holy Family Catholic Church on Little Rock Air Force Base.
She is survived by her husband Edward Pfleeger of Cabot; her parents of Albion, Ind.; one daughter, Melynda Beth Pfleeger and husband John of Gravel Ridge; one son, Joshua Edward Pfleeger and wife Beth of Portland, Ore.; three brothers, Jeff W. Hoover and wife Kim of Albion, Ind., Doug Hoover and wife Karen of Cromwell, Ind., and Steve Hoover and wife Stacy of Viola, Wis.; two grandchildren, Jasper and Matt Ables as well as a host of nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends Wednesday, May 23 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home. Funeral services will take place in Albion, Ind.
FROM THE PUBLISHER >>How city wiped out vet’s investment
IN SHORT: A veteran of Vietnam, Iraq and the former Yugoslavia, Jim Eggert bought two commercial buildings in Jacksonville, but the closing of the Graham Road rail crossing killed business. He’s put his property up for sale, but he’ll have to take a huge loss.
Jim Eggert is a retired Air Force master sergeant who has served his country in Vietnam, Iraq and the former Yugoslavia and now works for Army Air Force Exchange Service in Japan.
He was stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base and liked Jacksonville so much he bought a couple of small buildings with several business tenants near the railroad tracks at Graham Road.
He thought buying the buildings would be a solid investment, but this combat veteran is facing financial ruin because the city put up a barrier near his property when the Main Street overpass was built, destroying almost all commerce in the area.
The businesses, which had paid him rent so he could pay his mortgage, are gone, like almost every storefront on both sides of the tracks.
The neighborhood, long depressed, is now a lot worse off since the city diverted traffic away from Eggert’s buildings and closed the railroad crossing in 2003, chocking off traffic from the other side of the tracks.
This all happened while Eggert was serving overseas: When Jacksonville closed the railroad crossing, business dropped so sharply, he gave his tenants a break on the rent, but still they couldn’t hold on.
The laundromat is gone, and so is the catfish restaurant. Businesses around the corner in the other building he owns are also shut down. The gas station across the street went under in anticipation of the rail crossing being blocked off.
Eggert put up a for-sale sign, but he’ll probably take a big hit before he can stop the hemorrhaging: He’s asking $95,000 for the property, but he paid more than $125,000 for it.
The only offer he’s had on the buildings so far was for $60,000 from an investor who wants to use them for storage.
When Eggert first heard about the closing of the Graham Road rail crossing, “I was in Kosovo and assumed it would not last,” he said. “I voluntarily cut my tenants’ rent in half to help out, assuming this was a temporary issue.
“I put my sweat and tears into getting the property ready for tenants and have personally lost thousands of dollars in income, three good tenants and many, many good customers and friends,” Eggert recalled.
“My wife, my daughter with Down’s and myself ran the laundromat for eight months ourselves prior to our renting it out and met many friends in Jacksonville.
“I have had three years of combat tours in Vietnam and eight months in Saudi Arabia during my active service. Since working for AAFES, I also volunteered to serve the military again as a civilian in Kosovo and Macedonia and this last two years, ending in November 2006, I served in Tikrit in southern Iraq, Kirkuk Air Base in northeastern Iraq, Mosul Air Base in north Iraq and lastly at Forward Operation Base Spiker in northeastern Iraq.
“When I came home for a small vacation during my tour, I contacted the mayor’s office and was informed by his administrative assistant that he had, in fact, made a deal with the railroad and she felt the barrier was only a temporary measure.
“This did not seem right, so I called over to the state attorney general’s office and was told that it was not their business but the mayor’s business and he would have to settle it. Great support from our so-called elected officials,” Eggert added bitterly.
He’d come across their kind of flippant attitude while traveling overseas. After all, it was only his life savings he was worried about, so why should that concern city officials?
“ I found their attitude similar to many socialist countries’ attitudes that I had visited during my military career — people in authority misusing that authority at will,” Eggert said. “You can do whatever you please.”
The city had not approached any of the businesses while they were still open to ask if officials could extend them a helping hand.
It’s as if Jacksonville doesn’t care if businesses thrive or not.
As far as he’s concerned, it’s like being mugged in church or assaulted in school.
It’s as if no one’s safe anywhere: You’d better watch out — a city will pick your pockets and put you out of business while you’re serving your country overseas.
It takes a special kind of bureaucratic folly to push all these businesses under and to financially ruin a combat veteran who has served his country with distinction.
“After my returning from Iraq this November, I noticed that the barrier was still there and very dusty from the years of standing there,” Eggert saids. “As I assumed this would be, as I stated, a temporary situation, I didn’t give it much thought. My company was transferring to Japan anyway, so I assumed the barrier would eventually be removed.
“This was logical as the silly barrier served no purpose except to block off (newly widened First Street) and choke out all the minority business in that area.
“I assumed again that this action was or should be illegal or in the very least irresponsible and surely wouldn’t be tolerated by our citizens. My mistake. Surely this barrier is not for the good of anyone or any entity nor for the good of our Jacksonville or Arkansas citizens.
“Something needs to be done,” Eggert pleads, “to reverse this action for the good of not only myself and my family, but my Jacksonville family and friends. It’s only fair.”
All good people should lend Eggert a hand, help him reopen the railroad crossing and tell him: Instead of letting the city wipe you out financially, we’ll help you get back on your feet — and, unlike the people who’ve tried to ruin you, thank you for serving your country as long as you have.
Jim Eggert is a retired Air Force master sergeant who has served his country in Vietnam, Iraq and the former Yugoslavia and now works for Army Air Force Exchange Service in Japan.
He was stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base and liked Jacksonville so much he bought a couple of small buildings with several business tenants near the railroad tracks at Graham Road.
He thought buying the buildings would be a solid investment, but this combat veteran is facing financial ruin because the city put up a barrier near his property when the Main Street overpass was built, destroying almost all commerce in the area.
The businesses, which had paid him rent so he could pay his mortgage, are gone, like almost every storefront on both sides of the tracks.
The neighborhood, long depressed, is now a lot worse off since the city diverted traffic away from Eggert’s buildings and closed the railroad crossing in 2003, chocking off traffic from the other side of the tracks.
This all happened while Eggert was serving overseas: When Jacksonville closed the railroad crossing, business dropped so sharply, he gave his tenants a break on the rent, but still they couldn’t hold on.
The laundromat is gone, and so is the catfish restaurant. Businesses around the corner in the other building he owns are also shut down. The gas station across the street went under in anticipation of the rail crossing being blocked off.
Eggert put up a for-sale sign, but he’ll probably take a big hit before he can stop the hemorrhaging: He’s asking $95,000 for the property, but he paid more than $125,000 for it.
The only offer he’s had on the buildings so far was for $60,000 from an investor who wants to use them for storage.
When Eggert first heard about the closing of the Graham Road rail crossing, “I was in Kosovo and assumed it would not last,” he said. “I voluntarily cut my tenants’ rent in half to help out, assuming this was a temporary issue.
“I put my sweat and tears into getting the property ready for tenants and have personally lost thousands of dollars in income, three good tenants and many, many good customers and friends,” Eggert recalled.
“My wife, my daughter with Down’s and myself ran the laundromat for eight months ourselves prior to our renting it out and met many friends in Jacksonville.
“I have had three years of combat tours in Vietnam and eight months in Saudi Arabia during my active service. Since working for AAFES, I also volunteered to serve the military again as a civilian in Kosovo and Macedonia and this last two years, ending in November 2006, I served in Tikrit in southern Iraq, Kirkuk Air Base in northeastern Iraq, Mosul Air Base in north Iraq and lastly at Forward Operation Base Spiker in northeastern Iraq.
“When I came home for a small vacation during my tour, I contacted the mayor’s office and was informed by his administrative assistant that he had, in fact, made a deal with the railroad and she felt the barrier was only a temporary measure.
“This did not seem right, so I called over to the state attorney general’s office and was told that it was not their business but the mayor’s business and he would have to settle it. Great support from our so-called elected officials,” Eggert added bitterly.
He’d come across their kind of flippant attitude while traveling overseas. After all, it was only his life savings he was worried about, so why should that concern city officials?
“ I found their attitude similar to many socialist countries’ attitudes that I had visited during my military career — people in authority misusing that authority at will,” Eggert said. “You can do whatever you please.”
The city had not approached any of the businesses while they were still open to ask if officials could extend them a helping hand.
It’s as if Jacksonville doesn’t care if businesses thrive or not.
As far as he’s concerned, it’s like being mugged in church or assaulted in school.
It’s as if no one’s safe anywhere: You’d better watch out — a city will pick your pockets and put you out of business while you’re serving your country overseas.
It takes a special kind of bureaucratic folly to push all these businesses under and to financially ruin a combat veteran who has served his country with distinction.
“After my returning from Iraq this November, I noticed that the barrier was still there and very dusty from the years of standing there,” Eggert saids. “As I assumed this would be, as I stated, a temporary situation, I didn’t give it much thought. My company was transferring to Japan anyway, so I assumed the barrier would eventually be removed.
“This was logical as the silly barrier served no purpose except to block off (newly widened First Street) and choke out all the minority business in that area.
“I assumed again that this action was or should be illegal or in the very least irresponsible and surely wouldn’t be tolerated by our citizens. My mistake. Surely this barrier is not for the good of anyone or any entity nor for the good of our Jacksonville or Arkansas citizens.
“Something needs to be done,” Eggert pleads, “to reverse this action for the good of not only myself and my family, but my Jacksonville family and friends. It’s only fair.”
All good people should lend Eggert a hand, help him reopen the railroad crossing and tell him: Instead of letting the city wipe you out financially, we’ll help you get back on your feet — and, unlike the people who’ve tried to ruin you, thank you for serving your country as long as you have.
TOP STORY >>Payoff held till center in compliance
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
Cabot Mayor Eddie Joe Williams says the final bill on the city’s new community center won’t be paid until the building complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and issues with the cost overruns have been resolved.
The budget committee of the Cabot City Council voted earlier this month to send the cost overruns created by change orders to the council where paying the $74,382 arguably still owed to the architects and construction manager could be discussed by all the members.
But that item was not on the agenda for the Monday night council meeting as expected because Williams is now talking to the architects and construction manager instead.
“We have hired a civil engineer to do a detailed analysis of all ADA issues and all the ADA issues will be resolved,” Williams said Tuesday.
As for the unpaid balance of $44,761 to architects Taggard, Foster, Currence and Gray and the $29,619 not reimbursed to the construction manager, Kullander Construction, for change orders, Williams says he’s waiting for legal advice. “At this point, from a legal standpoint, we’re going to see what our options are,” he said.
The total cost of the community center including the $300,000 for furnishings, is about $4.9 million. Williams said he first learned that the new building was not ADA compliant when he took office in January. Williams said Mikel Kullander has agreed to make the necessary modifications to bring it into compliance at no cost to the city.
Although City Attorney Jim Taylor told the budget committee that he recommended the city pay the bills from the architects and the construction company, Williams said this week that he is doing more research now. Taylor told the budget committee earlier this month that the contract with the architects gave them authority to approve change orders for the city, but it said they were to provide written copies of the change orders and proper documentation as to the necessity of the change orders.
However, the contract didn’t specify when the city should receive the paperwork. In this case, the change order was prepared in April after City Attorney Jim Taylor asked for it, and there was no supporting documentation. All the change orders were verbal and authorized by Jim Towe, the former mayor’s public works director.
Leader staff writer
Cabot Mayor Eddie Joe Williams says the final bill on the city’s new community center won’t be paid until the building complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and issues with the cost overruns have been resolved.
The budget committee of the Cabot City Council voted earlier this month to send the cost overruns created by change orders to the council where paying the $74,382 arguably still owed to the architects and construction manager could be discussed by all the members.
But that item was not on the agenda for the Monday night council meeting as expected because Williams is now talking to the architects and construction manager instead.
“We have hired a civil engineer to do a detailed analysis of all ADA issues and all the ADA issues will be resolved,” Williams said Tuesday.
As for the unpaid balance of $44,761 to architects Taggard, Foster, Currence and Gray and the $29,619 not reimbursed to the construction manager, Kullander Construction, for change orders, Williams says he’s waiting for legal advice. “At this point, from a legal standpoint, we’re going to see what our options are,” he said.
The total cost of the community center including the $300,000 for furnishings, is about $4.9 million. Williams said he first learned that the new building was not ADA compliant when he took office in January. Williams said Mikel Kullander has agreed to make the necessary modifications to bring it into compliance at no cost to the city.
Although City Attorney Jim Taylor told the budget committee that he recommended the city pay the bills from the architects and the construction company, Williams said this week that he is doing more research now. Taylor told the budget committee earlier this month that the contract with the architects gave them authority to approve change orders for the city, but it said they were to provide written copies of the change orders and proper documentation as to the necessity of the change orders.
However, the contract didn’t specify when the city should receive the paperwork. In this case, the change order was prepared in April after City Attorney Jim Taylor asked for it, and there was no supporting documentation. All the change orders were verbal and authorized by Jim Towe, the former mayor’s public works director.
TOP STORY >>Overpass is taking more hits
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
For the second time in just over a year, an accident has torn up the old-style Hwy. 67/167 southbound overpass railing at Main Street in Jacksonville.
This time, no one was killed or injured.
Although the replacement guardrail was knocked into the street below in a recent one-car accident, it may not be correct to say that it failed.
The 1999 Pontiac Grand Am driven by Britney Davenport, 21, of Cabot hit the guardrail at 10:24 a.m
May 11, but remained on the road, according to Capt. Gloria Weakland, commander of Troop A, State Police. “My car pulled to the right, and I couldn’t get it to pull back,” Davenport told the investigating officer.
The report lists failure to maintain control and careless and prohibited driving as factors in the accident, but Davenport was not cited, Weakland said.
Road conditions included daylight and a dry, clear road with no defects on the roadway. Davenport was not ejected from the vehicle when its right front struck the guardrail. There were no injuries, Weakland said.
Repairs began Monday and could continue for another day or two, according to state Highway and Transportation Department spokesmen, who say it is not practical to put the newer, concrete barriers on the old bridge. In the meantime, at least one Jacksonville resident says she fears driving under the overpass on Main Street, afraid a passing vehicle will knock a heavy orange barrel down onto her.
In February 2006, a gravel truck driven by Donald Ray Watkins, 36, of Ward, slammed into a line of stopped traffic on the overpass, driving two vehicles through the same guardrail and landing among them on the street below.
Jerry Justice, 34, of Ward was killed in that accident and four others were hospitalized.
Watkins has been charged with four misdemeanors—negligent homicide and three counts of third-degree battery—in connection with the incident, according to Rob Berry, deputy Pulaski County prosecutor.In addition, there is “lots of civil stuff pending,” Berry said.
Watkins, represented by Mark Hampton, is slated for a pretrial hearing May 30, according to Berry. Highway and Transportation Department spokesman Glenn Bolick said that as highway widening continues northward, eventually the twin overpasses at Main Street would be replaced with wider, better overpasses. There is tentatively $32 million earmarked to widen Hwy. 67-167 from south of Redmond Road to north of Vandenberg, according to the official Metroplan 2030 long-term transportation plan.
That would include new, wider overpasses at Main Street and at James Street as well as the widening of Hwy. 67/167 sometime before 2030. The State Crime Lab reported that Watkins had had Diazepam, Nordiazpam and Trazodone in his blood. The report noted that the quantities in Watkins’ blood were “consistent with values widely considered to be normal or therapeutic.”
The report did not say whether or not the quantities in question could have impaired Watkins’ driving and contributed to the accident. A pharmacist who asked not to be identified said that Diazepam—a generic Valium — and Trazodone used together could be “really sedating,” and should not be taken at the same time. Each would carry a warning not to operate heavy equipment or machinery, the pharmacist said.
The Nordiazepam was the Diazepam that had already been metabolized, said the pharmacist.Trazodone is an antidepressant used for sleep or for pain control.
Leader senior staff writer
For the second time in just over a year, an accident has torn up the old-style Hwy. 67/167 southbound overpass railing at Main Street in Jacksonville.
This time, no one was killed or injured.
Although the replacement guardrail was knocked into the street below in a recent one-car accident, it may not be correct to say that it failed.
The 1999 Pontiac Grand Am driven by Britney Davenport, 21, of Cabot hit the guardrail at 10:24 a.m
May 11, but remained on the road, according to Capt. Gloria Weakland, commander of Troop A, State Police. “My car pulled to the right, and I couldn’t get it to pull back,” Davenport told the investigating officer.
The report lists failure to maintain control and careless and prohibited driving as factors in the accident, but Davenport was not cited, Weakland said.
Road conditions included daylight and a dry, clear road with no defects on the roadway. Davenport was not ejected from the vehicle when its right front struck the guardrail. There were no injuries, Weakland said.
Repairs began Monday and could continue for another day or two, according to state Highway and Transportation Department spokesmen, who say it is not practical to put the newer, concrete barriers on the old bridge. In the meantime, at least one Jacksonville resident says she fears driving under the overpass on Main Street, afraid a passing vehicle will knock a heavy orange barrel down onto her.
In February 2006, a gravel truck driven by Donald Ray Watkins, 36, of Ward, slammed into a line of stopped traffic on the overpass, driving two vehicles through the same guardrail and landing among them on the street below.
Jerry Justice, 34, of Ward was killed in that accident and four others were hospitalized.
Watkins has been charged with four misdemeanors—negligent homicide and three counts of third-degree battery—in connection with the incident, according to Rob Berry, deputy Pulaski County prosecutor.In addition, there is “lots of civil stuff pending,” Berry said.
Watkins, represented by Mark Hampton, is slated for a pretrial hearing May 30, according to Berry. Highway and Transportation Department spokesman Glenn Bolick said that as highway widening continues northward, eventually the twin overpasses at Main Street would be replaced with wider, better overpasses. There is tentatively $32 million earmarked to widen Hwy. 67-167 from south of Redmond Road to north of Vandenberg, according to the official Metroplan 2030 long-term transportation plan.
That would include new, wider overpasses at Main Street and at James Street as well as the widening of Hwy. 67/167 sometime before 2030. The State Crime Lab reported that Watkins had had Diazepam, Nordiazpam and Trazodone in his blood. The report noted that the quantities in Watkins’ blood were “consistent with values widely considered to be normal or therapeutic.”
The report did not say whether or not the quantities in question could have impaired Watkins’ driving and contributed to the accident. A pharmacist who asked not to be identified said that Diazepam—a generic Valium — and Trazodone used together could be “really sedating,” and should not be taken at the same time. Each would carry a warning not to operate heavy equipment or machinery, the pharmacist said.
The Nordiazepam was the Diazepam that had already been metabolized, said the pharmacist.Trazodone is an antidepressant used for sleep or for pain control.
TOP STORY >>Ex-mayor prepares to fight if charges are filed
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
Although the FBI will not confirm that former Cabot Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh is at the center of a public-corruption probe that has lasted almost two years, sources at city hall say an investigator has talked to several employees, including the current mayor, budget manager and city clerk.
Stumbaugh is expected to put up a vigorous fight if charges are filed.
The investigation started when the city hired USI-Arkansas to design a multi-million water project, which included upgrades to the system and a connection to Central Arkansas Water, which will supply the city with reliable lake water.
USI, the parent company of USI-Arkansas, was under investigation at that time for bribing public officials, and the president and vice president of the parent company have since been convicted in federal court. Sources say the investigation into Stumbaugh’s administration will not be closed until after Sohan P. Singh, president of USI, is sentenced, presumably because the severity of the sentence could depend upon how much information he gives the FBI about his company’s business practices.
Singh was scheduled for sentencingin March. Officials with USI Arkansas say they’re no loner with the parent company.
The FBI has seized the computers used by the former mayor and his public works director and several city documents, including bank statements for the general fund and the water department, which was not run by a commission until 2006, the last year Stumbaugh was in office.
Stumbaugh, who denies any wrongdoing, also is gathering information. City records show he made requests for documents under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act on April 13, April 18 and April 26. His requests include documents related to the selection process for hiring USI-Arkansas for both the water project and the sewer treatment plant.
He also has requested and received personnel information on the budget manager, who is now under the city clerk but was the finance director under the mayor when Stumbaugh was in office. And he has requested documents pertaining to the city’s current contract for garbage and yard wastes with IESI.IESI was awarded the contract the first time after Stumbaugh took office more that four years ago, but did not bid when it was time to renew the contract.
Stumbaugh, who was hired by IESI after he left office in December, told the council last July that all the bids were too high and he threw them out and re-bid the contract.
Jerry Lester with L&L Services, which had the contract before IESI, complained in July before the council approved the new contract that the bidding was unfair because IESI knew what the others bid and bid less. Stumbaugh said then that IESI did not receive proper notification that it was time to bid the contract again.
Since The Leader wrote in April about the FBI investigation, the IESI employees who ran the operation in Cabot have been fired, but W.J. Grammer, the general manager, said Tuesday that his termination had nothing to do with the FBI investigation.
Instead, Grammer said he was fired because he didn’t have authorization to re-hire a former employee who was needed to clean up the yard wastes that were collecting in April along Cabot streets.
Grammer said Mayor Eddie Joe Williams was pressuring him to clean up the mess and he didn’t have enough workers to get it done. Stumbaugh, who was hired for his public relations skills, pitched in, Grammer said, but he needed another driver and hired the only one available. His superiors were upset that he hired the driver without their approval and fired him.
Don Smith, the district manager for IESI, confirmed that Grammer was fired for re-hiring the driver.
“He tried to slip him in on us,” Smith said, adding that the company has a policy against re-hiring because employees who leave and come back several times cost the company too much.
Smith said Grammer also was fired because his work was unacceptable. Grammer has been replaced by Craig Kirchhoff, he said. Smith said since Kirchhoff took over the city is cleaner.
Smith said he knew nothing about the investigation until he read about it in the paper and no agents have contacted him. Stumbaugh was hired in an effort to obtain more municipal contracts, he said.
Leader staff writer
Although the FBI will not confirm that former Cabot Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh is at the center of a public-corruption probe that has lasted almost two years, sources at city hall say an investigator has talked to several employees, including the current mayor, budget manager and city clerk.
Stumbaugh is expected to put up a vigorous fight if charges are filed.
The investigation started when the city hired USI-Arkansas to design a multi-million water project, which included upgrades to the system and a connection to Central Arkansas Water, which will supply the city with reliable lake water.
USI, the parent company of USI-Arkansas, was under investigation at that time for bribing public officials, and the president and vice president of the parent company have since been convicted in federal court. Sources say the investigation into Stumbaugh’s administration will not be closed until after Sohan P. Singh, president of USI, is sentenced, presumably because the severity of the sentence could depend upon how much information he gives the FBI about his company’s business practices.
Singh was scheduled for sentencingin March. Officials with USI Arkansas say they’re no loner with the parent company.
The FBI has seized the computers used by the former mayor and his public works director and several city documents, including bank statements for the general fund and the water department, which was not run by a commission until 2006, the last year Stumbaugh was in office.
Stumbaugh, who denies any wrongdoing, also is gathering information. City records show he made requests for documents under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act on April 13, April 18 and April 26. His requests include documents related to the selection process for hiring USI-Arkansas for both the water project and the sewer treatment plant.
He also has requested and received personnel information on the budget manager, who is now under the city clerk but was the finance director under the mayor when Stumbaugh was in office. And he has requested documents pertaining to the city’s current contract for garbage and yard wastes with IESI.IESI was awarded the contract the first time after Stumbaugh took office more that four years ago, but did not bid when it was time to renew the contract.
Stumbaugh, who was hired by IESI after he left office in December, told the council last July that all the bids were too high and he threw them out and re-bid the contract.
Jerry Lester with L&L Services, which had the contract before IESI, complained in July before the council approved the new contract that the bidding was unfair because IESI knew what the others bid and bid less. Stumbaugh said then that IESI did not receive proper notification that it was time to bid the contract again.
Since The Leader wrote in April about the FBI investigation, the IESI employees who ran the operation in Cabot have been fired, but W.J. Grammer, the general manager, said Tuesday that his termination had nothing to do with the FBI investigation.
Instead, Grammer said he was fired because he didn’t have authorization to re-hire a former employee who was needed to clean up the yard wastes that were collecting in April along Cabot streets.
Grammer said Mayor Eddie Joe Williams was pressuring him to clean up the mess and he didn’t have enough workers to get it done. Stumbaugh, who was hired for his public relations skills, pitched in, Grammer said, but he needed another driver and hired the only one available. His superiors were upset that he hired the driver without their approval and fired him.
Don Smith, the district manager for IESI, confirmed that Grammer was fired for re-hiring the driver.
“He tried to slip him in on us,” Smith said, adding that the company has a policy against re-hiring because employees who leave and come back several times cost the company too much.
Smith said Grammer also was fired because his work was unacceptable. Grammer has been replaced by Craig Kirchhoff, he said. Smith said since Kirchhoff took over the city is cleaner.
Smith said he knew nothing about the investigation until he read about it in the paper and no agents have contacted him. Stumbaugh was hired in an effort to obtain more municipal contracts, he said.
TOP STORY >>Graduation day for area seniors
By HEATHER HARTSELL
Leader staff writer
More than 760 seniors graduated Friday night from Cabot, Beebe and Lonoke high schools, and about 550 more will graduate this weekend from Jacksonville, North Pulaski and Sylvan Hills high schools as commencement ceremonies are taking place in the area.
Cabot’s 480-plus graduates walked at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock with more than 7,000 family and friends watching the ceremony.
John C. Thompson, chairman of the Cabot Scholarship Foundation and Cabot alumni, was the community representative for the evening’s ceremony and told graduates to move their Class of 2007 tassel from the left to the right, marking their transition from high school into the real world.
Heather Bodiford and Sarah Coggins graduated at the head of Cabot’s class as co-valedictorians; Sondra Grinnis was the salutatorian. Cabot had a total of 13 high honor graduates, including Bodiford, Coggins and Grinnis, and 86 honor graduates.
Lonoke High School graduated 113 seniors at the Lonoke football stadium. Jason Barnes and Jonathan Tackett led the LHS Class of 2007 as co-valedictorians; Logan Danielsen was salutatorian. Lonoke had nine other honor graduates. At Beebe, out of a total of 170 graduates, 167 walked during Fri-day’s commencement. Brittney Bass and Katie McIlwain led the Beebe High School Class of 2007 as valedictorian and salutatorian; there were 18 other honor graduates.
Jacksonville, North Pulaski and Sylvan Hills high school seniors will graduate this week. Seniors at JHS will graduate at 7 p.m. Friday at the JHS football stadium. Jacksonville’s class of 2007 co-valedictorians are LaRae Brown and John Wilkins, salutatorian is Christopher Copeland; there are 13 other honor graduates at JHS.
Sylvan Hills’ seniors will graduate at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center located at the north side of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus. Valedictorian Andrew Reynolds and salutatorian Caroline Borden, with 15 other honor graduates, lead the class.
North Pulaski’s commencement will be at 7 p.m. Saturday; North Pulaski’s ceremony will also take place at the Stephens Center at UALR. Sarah Watson, valedictorian, and Charles Gervasini, salutatorian, lead their graduating class; there are 14 additional honor graduates in North Pulaski’s Class of 2007. Searcy’s Class of 2007 graduated May 12.
Leader staff writer
More than 760 seniors graduated Friday night from Cabot, Beebe and Lonoke high schools, and about 550 more will graduate this weekend from Jacksonville, North Pulaski and Sylvan Hills high schools as commencement ceremonies are taking place in the area.
Cabot’s 480-plus graduates walked at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock with more than 7,000 family and friends watching the ceremony.
John C. Thompson, chairman of the Cabot Scholarship Foundation and Cabot alumni, was the community representative for the evening’s ceremony and told graduates to move their Class of 2007 tassel from the left to the right, marking their transition from high school into the real world.
Heather Bodiford and Sarah Coggins graduated at the head of Cabot’s class as co-valedictorians; Sondra Grinnis was the salutatorian. Cabot had a total of 13 high honor graduates, including Bodiford, Coggins and Grinnis, and 86 honor graduates.
Lonoke High School graduated 113 seniors at the Lonoke football stadium. Jason Barnes and Jonathan Tackett led the LHS Class of 2007 as co-valedictorians; Logan Danielsen was salutatorian. Lonoke had nine other honor graduates. At Beebe, out of a total of 170 graduates, 167 walked during Fri-day’s commencement. Brittney Bass and Katie McIlwain led the Beebe High School Class of 2007 as valedictorian and salutatorian; there were 18 other honor graduates.
Jacksonville, North Pulaski and Sylvan Hills high school seniors will graduate this week. Seniors at JHS will graduate at 7 p.m. Friday at the JHS football stadium. Jacksonville’s class of 2007 co-valedictorians are LaRae Brown and John Wilkins, salutatorian is Christopher Copeland; there are 13 other honor graduates at JHS.
Sylvan Hills’ seniors will graduate at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center located at the north side of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus. Valedictorian Andrew Reynolds and salutatorian Caroline Borden, with 15 other honor graduates, lead the class.
North Pulaski’s commencement will be at 7 p.m. Saturday; North Pulaski’s ceremony will also take place at the Stephens Center at UALR. Sarah Watson, valedictorian, and Charles Gervasini, salutatorian, lead their graduating class; there are 14 additional honor graduates in North Pulaski’s Class of 2007. Searcy’s Class of 2007 graduated May 12.
TOP STORY >>City has 20 days to reply to suit
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Sherwood placed a moratorium on any development plans for the North Hills Country Club to get the sale price lowered and more time to get an appraisal, according to an appeal filed Friday by the owners of the facility. Sherwood has 20 days, about June 8, to respond to the appeal, and then the issue could end up in court.
“We are studying the complaint,” said City Attorney Steve Cobb, “and will make the appropriate response in a timely manner.”
In the meantime the condition of the golf course deteriorates as very little landscape and maintenance work is being done to the property since it officially closed earlier this month.
Jim Rodgers and Thomas Eanes, owners of the North Hills Country Club, believe that Sherwood’s building moratorium killed their $5.1 million sale of the course and that the city may only offer up to $1.7 million for the 106-acre facility. The appeal asks Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Tim Fox to reverse the city resolution and declare it “to be void and of no force and effect.”
The appeal names the city, the mayor and all eight aldermen as defendants.
According to the appeal, the city discussed and voted on the resolution April 23 even though it was not on the original agenda. The resolution called for a “six-month moratorium on the filing of applications for rezonings, subdivision plats and for the issuance of building permits for the area known as North Hills Country Club.”
The Sherwood City Council voted 8-0 to approve the resolution.
The owners’ attorney Stuart Hankins, in the appeal, called the resolution “arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, unlawful, oppressive and discriminatory.”
The appeal states the city’s actions were improper because it only applies to “the North Hills Country Club property, and no other property or property owner in the City of Sherwood is affected by it.”
Sherwood approved a building moratorium once before to stop the construction of an apartment complex. That builder filed a lawsuit, and the city pulled the moratorium.
This moratorium, according to the appeal, “effectively stops all development and pending or potential sales of the North Hills Country Club property in an unlawful attempt to cause termination of the real estate sales contract for the unlawful purpose of helping to obtain a direct economic benefit in the lowering of the sales price for the City’s intention of acquiring the North Hills Country Club property for use as a municipal facility.”
Hankins wrote in the appeal that the owners had entered into a written agreement with Ron Campbell and Roy Marples to buy the acreage for $5.1 million. Campbell and Marples envisioned turning the property into a gated high-end development of single-family homes.
“The closing of the country club and the sale of North Hills Country Club property to developers were motivating factors in the City’s adoption of the moratorium resolution,” the appeal claims.
The appeal also claims that the moratorium “effectively grants the city a free option to purchase the North Hills Country Club property for six months while the city decides whether or not to condemn the property presumably based upon the conclusions of a feasibility study and an appraisal of the property.”
Hankins said the moratorium is “unlawful because its stated purpose exceeds the statutory power granted to cities to condemn property.”
Leader staff writer
Sherwood placed a moratorium on any development plans for the North Hills Country Club to get the sale price lowered and more time to get an appraisal, according to an appeal filed Friday by the owners of the facility. Sherwood has 20 days, about June 8, to respond to the appeal, and then the issue could end up in court.
“We are studying the complaint,” said City Attorney Steve Cobb, “and will make the appropriate response in a timely manner.”
In the meantime the condition of the golf course deteriorates as very little landscape and maintenance work is being done to the property since it officially closed earlier this month.
Jim Rodgers and Thomas Eanes, owners of the North Hills Country Club, believe that Sherwood’s building moratorium killed their $5.1 million sale of the course and that the city may only offer up to $1.7 million for the 106-acre facility. The appeal asks Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Tim Fox to reverse the city resolution and declare it “to be void and of no force and effect.”
The appeal names the city, the mayor and all eight aldermen as defendants.
According to the appeal, the city discussed and voted on the resolution April 23 even though it was not on the original agenda. The resolution called for a “six-month moratorium on the filing of applications for rezonings, subdivision plats and for the issuance of building permits for the area known as North Hills Country Club.”
The Sherwood City Council voted 8-0 to approve the resolution.
The owners’ attorney Stuart Hankins, in the appeal, called the resolution “arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, unlawful, oppressive and discriminatory.”
The appeal states the city’s actions were improper because it only applies to “the North Hills Country Club property, and no other property or property owner in the City of Sherwood is affected by it.”
Sherwood approved a building moratorium once before to stop the construction of an apartment complex. That builder filed a lawsuit, and the city pulled the moratorium.
This moratorium, according to the appeal, “effectively stops all development and pending or potential sales of the North Hills Country Club property in an unlawful attempt to cause termination of the real estate sales contract for the unlawful purpose of helping to obtain a direct economic benefit in the lowering of the sales price for the City’s intention of acquiring the North Hills Country Club property for use as a municipal facility.”
Hankins wrote in the appeal that the owners had entered into a written agreement with Ron Campbell and Roy Marples to buy the acreage for $5.1 million. Campbell and Marples envisioned turning the property into a gated high-end development of single-family homes.
“The closing of the country club and the sale of North Hills Country Club property to developers were motivating factors in the City’s adoption of the moratorium resolution,” the appeal claims.
The appeal also claims that the moratorium “effectively grants the city a free option to purchase the North Hills Country Club property for six months while the city decides whether or not to condemn the property presumably based upon the conclusions of a feasibility study and an appraisal of the property.”
Hankins said the moratorium is “unlawful because its stated purpose exceeds the statutory power granted to cities to condemn property.”
Monday, May 21, 2007
SPORTS >>Cabot enjoys early success from offense
IN SHORT: Good size on the offensive line and quarterback play has led to a productive spring session for the Panther offense.
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Little changed with personnel for the Cabot Panthers from day one to day four of spring football practice. The Panthers took Friday off and will finish their last day of practice in full pads on Monday. While the players leading the way on day one are still doing so, the coaching staff has seen improvement from the whole team in the way of execution.
As coaches always hope is the case, the team has steadily progressed since day one.
“The players are all about where we were Monday, but they’re learning and doing all right,” Cabot head coach Mike Malham said. “I think they look pretty good and getting a lot done, so we’re pretty pleased with that aspect. We’re going to be young and we’ve still got a long way to go, but they’re learning.”
While little changed with personnel, a little did change. Most changes were due to minor injuries. Sophomore Seth Bloomberg got all the repetitions at quarterback on Thursday. Junior Nathan Byrnes tweaked his knee on Wednesday and was kept out of practice Thursday.
Junior Chris Bayles took over some reps at halfback. ?? James, who started spring drills at halfback, also suffered a minor sting and sat out.
“Bayles looked pretty good running the ball,” Malham said. “He’s not very big. He’s about the same as Carlisle, but they both have decent speed, so I think we’re going to be all right there. We’ve got a little depth at halfback.”
Bloomberg broke some long runs and went the distance a couple of times in scrimmage. The sophomore made good reads and drew praise from the coach, and so did the line that opened the holes.
“Bloomberg looked pretty good,” Malham said. “He made good reads and broke some plays. Burns looked pretty good when he was in there too. Of course our offensive line has got some big guys up there for a change and that sure has helped. It’s a young group and they’ve got a lot to learn, but they’re pretty hard-nosed. The ones up front are pretty good, but there’s not much depth right now. We need some guys to step up and be ready to go in case we get anybody hurt because one injury messes up a lot of things.”
If the offense is dominating the scrimmages, that of course means the defense is struggling, but some of that has to do with injuries and inexperience.
Neither of last year’s starting defensive ends played Thursday. Daniel Hillenburg is nursing an injury. His counterpart at the other end last year moved to Tennessee.
Size also was part of the equation in the offense’s success.
“We’ve got the defense out-sized by far,” Malham said. They’ve got 200-pounders going up against 280-pounders. They’re going to see a lot of that this year, but not really anybody doing what we do. We’re going to see a lot more wide spread stuff, but they’ve still got their work cut out for them. I see some good things on defense. They are getting some things done and making progress. There’s just a lot of sophomores that have all the tools that are just going to have to get ready.”
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Little changed with personnel for the Cabot Panthers from day one to day four of spring football practice. The Panthers took Friday off and will finish their last day of practice in full pads on Monday. While the players leading the way on day one are still doing so, the coaching staff has seen improvement from the whole team in the way of execution.
As coaches always hope is the case, the team has steadily progressed since day one.
“The players are all about where we were Monday, but they’re learning and doing all right,” Cabot head coach Mike Malham said. “I think they look pretty good and getting a lot done, so we’re pretty pleased with that aspect. We’re going to be young and we’ve still got a long way to go, but they’re learning.”
While little changed with personnel, a little did change. Most changes were due to minor injuries. Sophomore Seth Bloomberg got all the repetitions at quarterback on Thursday. Junior Nathan Byrnes tweaked his knee on Wednesday and was kept out of practice Thursday.
Junior Chris Bayles took over some reps at halfback. ?? James, who started spring drills at halfback, also suffered a minor sting and sat out.
“Bayles looked pretty good running the ball,” Malham said. “He’s not very big. He’s about the same as Carlisle, but they both have decent speed, so I think we’re going to be all right there. We’ve got a little depth at halfback.”
Bloomberg broke some long runs and went the distance a couple of times in scrimmage. The sophomore made good reads and drew praise from the coach, and so did the line that opened the holes.
“Bloomberg looked pretty good,” Malham said. “He made good reads and broke some plays. Burns looked pretty good when he was in there too. Of course our offensive line has got some big guys up there for a change and that sure has helped. It’s a young group and they’ve got a lot to learn, but they’re pretty hard-nosed. The ones up front are pretty good, but there’s not much depth right now. We need some guys to step up and be ready to go in case we get anybody hurt because one injury messes up a lot of things.”
If the offense is dominating the scrimmages, that of course means the defense is struggling, but some of that has to do with injuries and inexperience.
Neither of last year’s starting defensive ends played Thursday. Daniel Hillenburg is nursing an injury. His counterpart at the other end last year moved to Tennessee.
Size also was part of the equation in the offense’s success.
“We’ve got the defense out-sized by far,” Malham said. They’ve got 200-pounders going up against 280-pounders. They’re going to see a lot of that this year, but not really anybody doing what we do. We’re going to see a lot more wide spread stuff, but they’ve still got their work cut out for them. I see some good things on defense. They are getting some things done and making progress. There’s just a lot of sophomores that have all the tools that are just going to have to get ready.”
SPORTS >>SH Bears learning new coach's way
IN SHORT: The 2007 Sylvan Hills football team turned out in strong numbers for the first week of spring practice; the first under new head coach Jim Withrow, formerly of Mills.
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
The Jim Withrow era of Sylvan Hills football is now officially underway with the first week of spring practice this past week, although it hasn’t taken off quite as quickly as the new head Bear would like.
The numbers were strong for the Bears, with close to 65 players turning out for the spring drills. The players only got one day of non-pad practice in. Lightning on Tuesday cancelled the final prep day, but Withrow says the lost day is nothing compared to the task of installing a whole new team strategy.
“We’re making progress, but it’s baby steps right now,” Withrow said. “It’s a new coach, a new system, but we’re getting through it. The good thing about it is that they are good kids, and good kids will always make it through, but we have a long, long ways to go.”
Most of the Thursday practice was a full-on scrimmage between first team offenses and defenses, with the second-team defense also seeing significant time. While the offense looked shaky at times, both defensive units seemed to be strong in the linebacker department. The defensive line was green on its timing, jumping on quarterback Hunter Miller’s snap counts on a number of occasions, a penalty that was met with a number of grass drills for the guilty party.
“We’re at the point right now where we’re feeling sorry for ourselves a little bit,” Withrow said. “We’re kind of uninspired. We have to come out every day and work hard, and then that will translate into a new attitude. It’s just going to take a little time.”
One major element of the slow start is five starting seniors for next year who are currently out hurt. Unable to use any kind of data from the previous season, Withrow says the injuries will prevent him from getting a complete look at the abilities and chemistry of his new squad.
“If I had been here before, I would feel better about it,” Withrow said. “But I need to see everybody. That’s just what we’re dealt, and we have to live with it, but the positive thing about it is it gives us a chance to see some guys that we may not have got a look at.”
Withrow says all in all that the offense seems to be picking up the new system pretty well, and was particularly complimentary of the offensive line, and the work they have put in during the off season.
One thing Withrow is trying to accomplish with the new plan is to keep the skill players from having to go both ways on Friday nights, particularly quarterback Miller.
“He’s probably going to play more at quarterback than he is on defense until we get to the conference,” Withrow said. “In this offense, we’re asking him to do a lot, so it’s just going to be tough for him to play both ways all the time.”
The staff was happy with the numbers that turned out for the spring sessions, but Withrow says he would like to see the numbers even higher.
“I would like for us to be around 80 players,” Withrow said. “If we could get that, then we could go with a varsity group and a JV group, and eventually go with possibly a JV and a sophomore team. That’s all it is right now, is a depth game for us. As it stands now, we would have five or six kids that would have to play both ways, and you just can’t do that. If you lose one player, you are essentially losing two positions.
“We’re trying to get to the point where we use about 20-25 players a game. If we can get to that point, I think we’ll be okay.”
The plan for the remaining days of spring practice will be to touch on everything at least once before school dismisses for the summer, and fine tune the system starting in August.
“We’ll hit the special teams some tomorrow,” Withrow said. “When we leave next Friday, we want everything in place. It may not be well executed, but we want everyone knowing where they’re going. We just want to get the plan out there, and we can clean up the execution this summer.”
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
The Jim Withrow era of Sylvan Hills football is now officially underway with the first week of spring practice this past week, although it hasn’t taken off quite as quickly as the new head Bear would like.
The numbers were strong for the Bears, with close to 65 players turning out for the spring drills. The players only got one day of non-pad practice in. Lightning on Tuesday cancelled the final prep day, but Withrow says the lost day is nothing compared to the task of installing a whole new team strategy.
“We’re making progress, but it’s baby steps right now,” Withrow said. “It’s a new coach, a new system, but we’re getting through it. The good thing about it is that they are good kids, and good kids will always make it through, but we have a long, long ways to go.”
Most of the Thursday practice was a full-on scrimmage between first team offenses and defenses, with the second-team defense also seeing significant time. While the offense looked shaky at times, both defensive units seemed to be strong in the linebacker department. The defensive line was green on its timing, jumping on quarterback Hunter Miller’s snap counts on a number of occasions, a penalty that was met with a number of grass drills for the guilty party.
“We’re at the point right now where we’re feeling sorry for ourselves a little bit,” Withrow said. “We’re kind of uninspired. We have to come out every day and work hard, and then that will translate into a new attitude. It’s just going to take a little time.”
One major element of the slow start is five starting seniors for next year who are currently out hurt. Unable to use any kind of data from the previous season, Withrow says the injuries will prevent him from getting a complete look at the abilities and chemistry of his new squad.
“If I had been here before, I would feel better about it,” Withrow said. “But I need to see everybody. That’s just what we’re dealt, and we have to live with it, but the positive thing about it is it gives us a chance to see some guys that we may not have got a look at.”
Withrow says all in all that the offense seems to be picking up the new system pretty well, and was particularly complimentary of the offensive line, and the work they have put in during the off season.
One thing Withrow is trying to accomplish with the new plan is to keep the skill players from having to go both ways on Friday nights, particularly quarterback Miller.
“He’s probably going to play more at quarterback than he is on defense until we get to the conference,” Withrow said. “In this offense, we’re asking him to do a lot, so it’s just going to be tough for him to play both ways all the time.”
The staff was happy with the numbers that turned out for the spring sessions, but Withrow says he would like to see the numbers even higher.
“I would like for us to be around 80 players,” Withrow said. “If we could get that, then we could go with a varsity group and a JV group, and eventually go with possibly a JV and a sophomore team. That’s all it is right now, is a depth game for us. As it stands now, we would have five or six kids that would have to play both ways, and you just can’t do that. If you lose one player, you are essentially losing two positions.
“We’re trying to get to the point where we use about 20-25 players a game. If we can get to that point, I think we’ll be okay.”
The plan for the remaining days of spring practice will be to touch on everything at least once before school dismisses for the summer, and fine tune the system starting in August.
“We’ll hit the special teams some tomorrow,” Withrow said. “When we leave next Friday, we want everything in place. It may not be well executed, but we want everyone knowing where they’re going. We just want to get the plan out there, and we can clean up the execution this summer.”
SPORTS >>Beebe springs into dead T
IN SHORT: New Badger head coach John Shannon brings his experience as Cabot offensive coach to Beebe, along with the set.
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
After four days of spring practice, including two in full pads, the new-look Beebe Badgers have taken some long strides in learning the new offense of new coach John Shannon.
The Beebe players aren’t going through just any old adjustment that typically comes with a new coach. They’re attempting to vault the entire spectrum of offenses, going from the widest of wide-open spread formations that was employed by exited coach Cam Prock, to the tightly compact dead T offense utilized by Shannon.
In just two days of full contact, Shannon has seen progress, but what he’s most excited about is the team’s willingness.
“I’m very pleased with the effort we’re getting from the kids,” Shannon said. “They are making progress. The first group has already picked up on what we want them to do. They’re making the right calls at the line of scrimmage, so that tells me that they’re listening and learning. We have a long way to go though on technique, and that’s just going to take repetition.”
Repetition is the perfect word to describe the first few days of practice. The team broke up into one group of linemen and two groups of backs, and repeated the same drills over and over and over trying to hone the unique technique involved in running the dead-T option and blocking schemes.
Shannon, who was a lineman in high school and college and coached offensive line at Cabot the last several years, worked mostly with the linemen in drills, and has been pleased so far.
“They’re working hard,” Shannon said. “They’re used to pass blocking all the time, and this is totally different. We’re trying to teach them to run block, which is a lot of staying low and plowing forward, and they’re just not used to that, but they’re improving. As long as they’re willing to keep working hard, we’re going to keep improving. It’s something new that we need to keep doing over and over and over.”
One thing Shannon did like was the size on his line.
“I’m very pleased with our size,” Shannon said. “We don’t really have any monsters over there, but we’ve got some tall kids that are solid. There’s definitely a lot to work with athletically on the lines.”
Shannon says it’s still too early to say much about an overall depth chart, but did say the offensive skill players are starting to come into focus.
Roger Glaude and Charlie Spakes are working with the first-team offense. Luke Gardner, Sammy Williams and Kyle Williams have gotten most of the first-team reps in the three running back positions.
“The rest of the positions, it’s still just a little too early to talk about,” Shannon said. “Nothing is really set completely. We’ve got a lot to look at between now and summer. A lot could change. We’re still looking for a lot of people to step up, but I like where we’re at right now.”
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
After four days of spring practice, including two in full pads, the new-look Beebe Badgers have taken some long strides in learning the new offense of new coach John Shannon.
The Beebe players aren’t going through just any old adjustment that typically comes with a new coach. They’re attempting to vault the entire spectrum of offenses, going from the widest of wide-open spread formations that was employed by exited coach Cam Prock, to the tightly compact dead T offense utilized by Shannon.
In just two days of full contact, Shannon has seen progress, but what he’s most excited about is the team’s willingness.
“I’m very pleased with the effort we’re getting from the kids,” Shannon said. “They are making progress. The first group has already picked up on what we want them to do. They’re making the right calls at the line of scrimmage, so that tells me that they’re listening and learning. We have a long way to go though on technique, and that’s just going to take repetition.”
Repetition is the perfect word to describe the first few days of practice. The team broke up into one group of linemen and two groups of backs, and repeated the same drills over and over and over trying to hone the unique technique involved in running the dead-T option and blocking schemes.
Shannon, who was a lineman in high school and college and coached offensive line at Cabot the last several years, worked mostly with the linemen in drills, and has been pleased so far.
“They’re working hard,” Shannon said. “They’re used to pass blocking all the time, and this is totally different. We’re trying to teach them to run block, which is a lot of staying low and plowing forward, and they’re just not used to that, but they’re improving. As long as they’re willing to keep working hard, we’re going to keep improving. It’s something new that we need to keep doing over and over and over.”
One thing Shannon did like was the size on his line.
“I’m very pleased with our size,” Shannon said. “We don’t really have any monsters over there, but we’ve got some tall kids that are solid. There’s definitely a lot to work with athletically on the lines.”
Shannon says it’s still too early to say much about an overall depth chart, but did say the offensive skill players are starting to come into focus.
Roger Glaude and Charlie Spakes are working with the first-team offense. Luke Gardner, Sammy Williams and Kyle Williams have gotten most of the first-team reps in the three running back positions.
“The rest of the positions, it’s still just a little too early to talk about,” Shannon said. “Nothing is really set completely. We’ve got a lot to look at between now and summer. A lot could change. We’re still looking for a lot of people to step up, but I like where we’re at right now.”
EDITORIALS>>Welcome back, Col. Schatz
The 314th Airlift Wing has a new commander, but Col. Rowayne A. Schatz is no stranger to these parts. A decade ago, he commanded the 50th Airlift Squadron at the base, where the squadron was voted the best in Air Mobility Command.
Col. Schatz has distinguished himself with every assignment before getting his next promotion. He’s been selected to receive his first star, so soon you’ll be able to call him Gen. Schatz.
He has held several important positions, from Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, to Yokota Air Base in Japan, from McChord Air Force Base in Washington state to U.S. Central Command in the Middle East.
An outstanding C-130 pilot and instructor, Col. Schatz combines flying and management skills that have earned him his plum assignment as commander of the 314 Airlift Wing.
The Air Force sends us the best, as Maj. Gen. Irv Halter, commander of the 19th Air Force, who officiated at Wednesday’s change-of-command ceremony, pointed out. The general praised Col. Schatz as a top-notch Air Mobility expert who is a natural to lead the wing to greater heights.
“Wayne is no stranger to the C-130 and Little Rock. This provides the wing an unusual advantage…He knows this mission and he knows this community. Minimum spin up required, he’s ready to roll,” Halter said.
“We have great confidence in you,” Halter told Schatz. “We have given you one of our toughest units at a pivotal time, and we could think of no one that is better for this job.”
With that kind of endorsement, it’s no surprise that Col. Schatz now leads the men and women of Little Rock Air Force Base. Welcome back!
Col. Schatz has distinguished himself with every assignment before getting his next promotion. He’s been selected to receive his first star, so soon you’ll be able to call him Gen. Schatz.
He has held several important positions, from Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, to Yokota Air Base in Japan, from McChord Air Force Base in Washington state to U.S. Central Command in the Middle East.
An outstanding C-130 pilot and instructor, Col. Schatz combines flying and management skills that have earned him his plum assignment as commander of the 314 Airlift Wing.
The Air Force sends us the best, as Maj. Gen. Irv Halter, commander of the 19th Air Force, who officiated at Wednesday’s change-of-command ceremony, pointed out. The general praised Col. Schatz as a top-notch Air Mobility expert who is a natural to lead the wing to greater heights.
“Wayne is no stranger to the C-130 and Little Rock. This provides the wing an unusual advantage…He knows this mission and he knows this community. Minimum spin up required, he’s ready to roll,” Halter said.
“We have great confidence in you,” Halter told Schatz. “We have given you one of our toughest units at a pivotal time, and we could think of no one that is better for this job.”
With that kind of endorsement, it’s no surprise that Col. Schatz now leads the men and women of Little Rock Air Force Base. Welcome back!
EDITORIALS>>A preacher's legacy
If a pastor is God’s vicar on earth, his life ought to be measured by the number of souls that he saved or at least by his effort. By that assessment, Rev. Jerry Falwell, who died suddenly on Tuesday, would have to have been deemed a successful pastor because the vast church and television audience that his rich voice and promotional skills developed must have reached lots of lost sinners.
We can never be quite sure of that effect, but we are quite sure that his legacy is larger and very different from that. Falwell certainly believed that it was, and the reaction to his death — the fulsome or polite encomiums in the mainstream media and the ridicule in the blogging world — attests to it.
Jerry Falwell never believed Edmund Burke’s dictum that politics and the pulpit had little in agreement. “No sound ought to be heard in the church but the healing voice of Christian charity,” the great conservative statesman wrote to a member of the National Assembly in 1791.
Pastor Falwell did more than anyone else besides perhaps his friend and follower Pat Robertson to secularize religion, which is one of the central developments of our era. He delivered to the Republican Party in the United States its biggest favor or its biggest curse, depending on your view, by pronouncing the GOP to be God’s Own Party. He and Robertson embraced the Republican Party and its leaders unflinchingly, and the party over his generation refashioned itself into the Falwell mold — the scourge of abortion, homosexuals and women’s rights and the government enforcer of religious doctrine.
He placed his church’s and God’s stamp on whatever initiative a Republican president or the party leaders undertook: repeal of the tax on vast inheritances, repeal of taxes on investment income, opposition to the minimum wage and, of course, support for both invasions of Iraq.
What the George W. Bush administration carefully only hinted — that Saddam Hussein had something to do with the 9/11 attacks — Rev. Falwell stated as fact although that connection never materialized and President Bush would insist that he had never suggested that the dictator had anything to do with the attacks.
Occasionally, his exuberance or vitriol embarrassed the president as when he said that the United States deserved the 9/11 attacks. God was punishing the United States for its immoral drift, Rev. Falwell said, by continuing “to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve.” He said God was furious at the American Civil Liberties Union, the People for the American Way and federal courts and suggested that He took His fury out on the victims in the World Trade Center.
The worldwide scourge of AIDS, the preacher said, was God’s punishment to homosexuals although the disease touched millions, including children, who did not engage in homosexual sex. He suggested that HIV sufferers should be herded into compounds and quarantined like infected cattle or lepers.
He delivered all his screeds with biblical certitude and never made corrections for factual errors or missteps but only explanations as when to tamp down the fury over his 9/11 remarks, saying that he did not intend to shift blame from the terrorists.
His skills and his message brought him greater influence and wealth than any clergyman of the 20th century. He altered the politics of his time. Whether he advanced the faith or merely gave it a heartless face is another matter. That judgment is not left to us.
We can never be quite sure of that effect, but we are quite sure that his legacy is larger and very different from that. Falwell certainly believed that it was, and the reaction to his death — the fulsome or polite encomiums in the mainstream media and the ridicule in the blogging world — attests to it.
Jerry Falwell never believed Edmund Burke’s dictum that politics and the pulpit had little in agreement. “No sound ought to be heard in the church but the healing voice of Christian charity,” the great conservative statesman wrote to a member of the National Assembly in 1791.
Pastor Falwell did more than anyone else besides perhaps his friend and follower Pat Robertson to secularize religion, which is one of the central developments of our era. He delivered to the Republican Party in the United States its biggest favor or its biggest curse, depending on your view, by pronouncing the GOP to be God’s Own Party. He and Robertson embraced the Republican Party and its leaders unflinchingly, and the party over his generation refashioned itself into the Falwell mold — the scourge of abortion, homosexuals and women’s rights and the government enforcer of religious doctrine.
He placed his church’s and God’s stamp on whatever initiative a Republican president or the party leaders undertook: repeal of the tax on vast inheritances, repeal of taxes on investment income, opposition to the minimum wage and, of course, support for both invasions of Iraq.
What the George W. Bush administration carefully only hinted — that Saddam Hussein had something to do with the 9/11 attacks — Rev. Falwell stated as fact although that connection never materialized and President Bush would insist that he had never suggested that the dictator had anything to do with the attacks.
Occasionally, his exuberance or vitriol embarrassed the president as when he said that the United States deserved the 9/11 attacks. God was punishing the United States for its immoral drift, Rev. Falwell said, by continuing “to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve.” He said God was furious at the American Civil Liberties Union, the People for the American Way and federal courts and suggested that He took His fury out on the victims in the World Trade Center.
The worldwide scourge of AIDS, the preacher said, was God’s punishment to homosexuals although the disease touched millions, including children, who did not engage in homosexual sex. He suggested that HIV sufferers should be herded into compounds and quarantined like infected cattle or lepers.
He delivered all his screeds with biblical certitude and never made corrections for factual errors or missteps but only explanations as when to tamp down the fury over his 9/11 remarks, saying that he did not intend to shift blame from the terrorists.
His skills and his message brought him greater influence and wealth than any clergyman of the 20th century. He altered the politics of his time. Whether he advanced the faith or merely gave it a heartless face is another matter. That judgment is not left to us.
OBITUARIES >> 05-19-07
Robert Sharp
Robert Lee Sharp, 82, of Cabot, formerly of Kansas City, Kansas, passed away on May 17. He was born Sept. 23, 1924 to the late John C. and Violet A. Sharp.
He was a soldier in the Navy and fought in the Second World War.
He was also preceded in death by his wife, Geraldine Wilcox Sharp and one half brother, John Sharp.
Survivors include his only son, Ron Sharp and his wife Sheila of Ward; two grandchildren, Brian Sharp of Folsom, Calif. and Amy Sharp of Vacaville, Calif.; and three great-grandchildren, Brianna Sharp, Brennon Sharp and Alanna Castillo.
Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, May 21 at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Kansas City, Kansas.
Funeral arrangements are by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
Billy Shelton
Billy Ray Shelton, 79, of Jacksonville, passed away May 14. He was born Sept. 30, 1927 in Jacksonville to John and Zola Shelton.
He retired after 26 years with AFCO Steel, and opened his own business Superior LP Supply in Little Rock. After retiring from Superior LP Supply, he dabbled in real estate and enjoyed his family and friends.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Sarah Frances Shelton, and two grandchildren, Robert Keith Williamson II and Claire Olea Fisher.
He is survived by one brother, Virgil Shelton of Little Rock; one daughter, Linda and husband Bob of Cumby, Texas; three sons, Kenneth and wife Mary, Billy and wife Debbie, and Steven, all of Lonoke; 14 grandchildren, Ann Marie Wright, Laura Riddle, Kathy Brewington, Shauna Fisher, Juliana Ross, Keith Shelton, Kelli Ann Ash, Bradley Shelton, Craig Shelton, Cory Shelton, Ross Shelton, Lynle Shelton, Blake Shelton and Brent Shelton; and 18 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 19 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Jacksonville with burial in Chapel Hill Memorial Park in Jacksonville. Funeral arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
Sam Rawe
Sam Joseph Rawe, 80, of Cabot passed away May 16.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Veda Rose Rawe; father, Joe and stepmother, Alice Rawe; and sister, Ethel Loyer.
He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Delsie; sons, Andy and wife Cherryl and Mike and wife Tina; daughter, Ramona; seven grandchildren, Phillip, Joey, Tommie Jo, Jessica, Jodi, Magan and Jill; seven great-grandchildren, Zac, Rachel, Kassey, Abby, Christopher, Raelyn and Taylor. He is also survived by his sisters, Mabel Luszcz Alexander, Nellie Cleveland and Alice Faye McKenzie; and brothers, C.A. Rawe and John Rawe.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 19 at Old Austin United Methodist Church with burial in Old Austin Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are by Westbrook Funeral Home at Beebe.
Phillip Thomas
Phillip I. Thomas, 19, of Sherwood, went home to be with the Lord May 14 in Nashville, Tenn. He was born April 15, 1988 to Robert and Adrienne Brown Thomas in Fayetteville, N.C.
Phillip was a mechanic for Maverick Transportation, friend, brother, and son.
Survivors include his parents of Sherwood; brothers, Jamar Stone of Decatur, Ga., Robert Thomas and wife Kimberly, Steven Thomas, and Benjamin Thomas; sisters, Alicia Thomas and Lorienne Thomas all of Sherwood; two nieces, Jaylin and Alexa as well as many other family and friends.
A going-home celebration will be held in Phillip’s honor at 11 a.m. Monday, May 21 at the Base Chapel on the Little Rock Air Force Base.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 19 at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
Thomas Dunlap
Thomas Jefferson Dunlap, 38, formerly of Cabot, joined his loved ones in heaven from his Auburn, Wash., home on May 16.
Thomas was born March 30, 1969 in Clarksville to Diane Painter Dunlap Schmidt and the late Thomas Laser Dunlap.
He was also preceded in death by his sister, Laser Dunlap.
Survivors include his beloved, Rita Cederblom; his mother and stepfather, Bryan Schmidt; brothers, Michael Dunlap, Jacob Schmidt, and Sean Cheney; sisters, Dawn Charlton, Jenny Boster, Jaime Aistrup, and Jill Schmidt; grandmother, Ruth Painter; niece, Alexis and nephews, Joey, Colin, Sam, Gabriel and Elijah.
Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 22 at Moore’s Funeral Home in Jacksonville.
Burial will follow in Sumner Cemetery in Cabot. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, May 21 at the funeral home.
LaVerne Wallace
LaVerne “Bud” Wallace Sr., 79, of Sherwood, formerly of Jacksonville passed away May 16.
Bud was a regular attendee of the Jacksonville Senior Citizen Center where he loved to play dominoes and bingo.
He was preceded in death by one son, LaVerne Culwell Wallace, Jr., of Fulton, Mo.
He is survived by five children, Cindy Tyson of Sherwood, Connie and husband Jim Waller, Ronald Wallace, John Wallace and Jimmy and wife Pauline Wallace all of Fulton, Mo.; five grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and one brother Ed Wallace of Mexico, Mo.
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 20 between at Griffin Leggett Rest Hills Funeral Home in North Little Rock.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 21 at the funeral home. The family would like to sincerely thank Arkansas Hospice for all the loving care and support the staff their provided during Mr. Wallace’s illness.
Shirley Polk
Shirley Lee Polk, 71 of Jacksonville passed away May 15. She was born May 14, 1936 in Newport to the late Earnest and Anna Ice Goins. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Audrey Polk and a sister.
Survivors include her son, Allen Polk; daughter, Tracy Sears and husband Steve; four grandchildren, James, Justin, Aber, and Jacob Sears; and a brother, Donald Goins. Memorial services were May 16 in Moore’s Funeral Home Chapel in Jacksonville.
Robert Lee Sharp, 82, of Cabot, formerly of Kansas City, Kansas, passed away on May 17. He was born Sept. 23, 1924 to the late John C. and Violet A. Sharp.
He was a soldier in the Navy and fought in the Second World War.
He was also preceded in death by his wife, Geraldine Wilcox Sharp and one half brother, John Sharp.
Survivors include his only son, Ron Sharp and his wife Sheila of Ward; two grandchildren, Brian Sharp of Folsom, Calif. and Amy Sharp of Vacaville, Calif.; and three great-grandchildren, Brianna Sharp, Brennon Sharp and Alanna Castillo.
Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, May 21 at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Kansas City, Kansas.
Funeral arrangements are by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
Billy Shelton
Billy Ray Shelton, 79, of Jacksonville, passed away May 14. He was born Sept. 30, 1927 in Jacksonville to John and Zola Shelton.
He retired after 26 years with AFCO Steel, and opened his own business Superior LP Supply in Little Rock. After retiring from Superior LP Supply, he dabbled in real estate and enjoyed his family and friends.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Sarah Frances Shelton, and two grandchildren, Robert Keith Williamson II and Claire Olea Fisher.
He is survived by one brother, Virgil Shelton of Little Rock; one daughter, Linda and husband Bob of Cumby, Texas; three sons, Kenneth and wife Mary, Billy and wife Debbie, and Steven, all of Lonoke; 14 grandchildren, Ann Marie Wright, Laura Riddle, Kathy Brewington, Shauna Fisher, Juliana Ross, Keith Shelton, Kelli Ann Ash, Bradley Shelton, Craig Shelton, Cory Shelton, Ross Shelton, Lynle Shelton, Blake Shelton and Brent Shelton; and 18 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 19 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Jacksonville with burial in Chapel Hill Memorial Park in Jacksonville. Funeral arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
Sam Rawe
Sam Joseph Rawe, 80, of Cabot passed away May 16.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Veda Rose Rawe; father, Joe and stepmother, Alice Rawe; and sister, Ethel Loyer.
He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Delsie; sons, Andy and wife Cherryl and Mike and wife Tina; daughter, Ramona; seven grandchildren, Phillip, Joey, Tommie Jo, Jessica, Jodi, Magan and Jill; seven great-grandchildren, Zac, Rachel, Kassey, Abby, Christopher, Raelyn and Taylor. He is also survived by his sisters, Mabel Luszcz Alexander, Nellie Cleveland and Alice Faye McKenzie; and brothers, C.A. Rawe and John Rawe.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 19 at Old Austin United Methodist Church with burial in Old Austin Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are by Westbrook Funeral Home at Beebe.
Phillip Thomas
Phillip I. Thomas, 19, of Sherwood, went home to be with the Lord May 14 in Nashville, Tenn. He was born April 15, 1988 to Robert and Adrienne Brown Thomas in Fayetteville, N.C.
Phillip was a mechanic for Maverick Transportation, friend, brother, and son.
Survivors include his parents of Sherwood; brothers, Jamar Stone of Decatur, Ga., Robert Thomas and wife Kimberly, Steven Thomas, and Benjamin Thomas; sisters, Alicia Thomas and Lorienne Thomas all of Sherwood; two nieces, Jaylin and Alexa as well as many other family and friends.
A going-home celebration will be held in Phillip’s honor at 11 a.m. Monday, May 21 at the Base Chapel on the Little Rock Air Force Base.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 19 at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
Thomas Dunlap
Thomas Jefferson Dunlap, 38, formerly of Cabot, joined his loved ones in heaven from his Auburn, Wash., home on May 16.
Thomas was born March 30, 1969 in Clarksville to Diane Painter Dunlap Schmidt and the late Thomas Laser Dunlap.
He was also preceded in death by his sister, Laser Dunlap.
Survivors include his beloved, Rita Cederblom; his mother and stepfather, Bryan Schmidt; brothers, Michael Dunlap, Jacob Schmidt, and Sean Cheney; sisters, Dawn Charlton, Jenny Boster, Jaime Aistrup, and Jill Schmidt; grandmother, Ruth Painter; niece, Alexis and nephews, Joey, Colin, Sam, Gabriel and Elijah.
Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 22 at Moore’s Funeral Home in Jacksonville.
Burial will follow in Sumner Cemetery in Cabot. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, May 21 at the funeral home.
LaVerne Wallace
LaVerne “Bud” Wallace Sr., 79, of Sherwood, formerly of Jacksonville passed away May 16.
Bud was a regular attendee of the Jacksonville Senior Citizen Center where he loved to play dominoes and bingo.
He was preceded in death by one son, LaVerne Culwell Wallace, Jr., of Fulton, Mo.
He is survived by five children, Cindy Tyson of Sherwood, Connie and husband Jim Waller, Ronald Wallace, John Wallace and Jimmy and wife Pauline Wallace all of Fulton, Mo.; five grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and one brother Ed Wallace of Mexico, Mo.
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 20 between at Griffin Leggett Rest Hills Funeral Home in North Little Rock.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 21 at the funeral home. The family would like to sincerely thank Arkansas Hospice for all the loving care and support the staff their provided during Mr. Wallace’s illness.
Shirley Polk
Shirley Lee Polk, 71 of Jacksonville passed away May 15. She was born May 14, 1936 in Newport to the late Earnest and Anna Ice Goins. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Audrey Polk and a sister.
Survivors include her son, Allen Polk; daughter, Tracy Sears and husband Steve; four grandchildren, James, Justin, Aber, and Jacob Sears; and a brother, Donald Goins. Memorial services were May 16 in Moore’s Funeral Home Chapel in Jacksonville.
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