Life can resume in the Natural State because the University of Arkansas has a new athletic director, or at least an athletic director in waiting for the day the Frank Broyles retires. Few people even in sports circles have heard of the man, Jeff Long, but Arkansas will pay him $450,000 plus perquisites.
There was a day when the athletic director of a university was the worn-out head football coach, and his remuneration was approximately in line with the less exalted status.
But no more.
Jeff Long will be paid far more than any non-athletic official of the university or, indeed, of the entire state government — six times as much as the governor. Long had been a minor administrator in several university athletic departments before becoming the athletic director at the University of Pittsburgh.
Broyles, after a half-century at the university, was allowed to announce his retirement early this year after the university’s Board of Trustees privately expressed its dismay at the mess that he and the head football coach had made of contentions over several freshmen football players.
Broyles asked to be allowed to retire at the end of year, and the board with proper good grace obliged. There was a feeling that Broyles had lost his magic touch. The basketball program, the best in the nation only 10 years ago, was an embarrassment, and Broyles had to hire as the new coach a lightly regarded coach who had a mediocre record in one of the weakest conferences in the land.
Jeff Long no doubt will steer the sports program wisely, and we wish him well. Our problem is with the university governance that offered the gentleman a five-year rollover contract at a sum far out of sync with the job’s relative importance. Chancellor John White disagrees.
He said the 2.5 million people of Arkansas considered themselves “winners” only if Razorback athletic teams excelled. The state needs to pay a high salary to an athletic director who will produce super teams so that the people of Arkansas can feel good about themselves.
Not since H.L. Mencken has anyone said anything so degrading about Arkansas. We only pray that he is not right.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
EDITORIALS>>Wedding – 'not'
A Fayetteville girl, her fiancé and her mother have sued to enforce the strict wording of a botched act of the legislature that would let children of any age marry as long as the parents consented. Now a judge will determine whether the law is the crazy version outlined in one inept sentence or the cleaned-up version of the Code Revision Commission.
That is what courts are for. The question needs to be quickly dispelled because amid the confusion county clerks are beginning to take the law into their own hands. One clerk said Friday she was just ignoring the whole law and following the old law, although that would seem to be the one thing a clerk should not do. That law was repealed. It made 17 the legal marrying age for girls and 18 for boys.
Meantime, there is no call for the governor to summon the legislature back to the Capitol to take the wandering word “not” out of the sentence. A legislative session requires a minimum of three days and it is not cheap. That may have to be done if the Arkansas Supreme Court rules that the errant “not” is indeed the law.
The sponsors of the legislation, introduced at the request of judges, intended to make the marrying age uniform at 18 because the gender distinction probably made the old law a violation of the equal-protection clause of the United States Constitution. An exception would be if the girl under 18 was pregnant and she had the consent of her parents to marry. The effect of the extra word was to allow children of any age to marry.
Tim Hutchinson of Lowell, a former state representative, filed the suit to force the Washington County clerk to issue a marriage license to the couple. Following the cleaned-up version of the law, the clerk refused.
Hutchinson said the legislature should meet to change the law because the Code Revision Commission has authority only to correct typographical and punctuation errors and that its deletion of the word “not” set a bad precedent.
But a typographical error is precisely what the stray “not” is. The word makes the rest of the act nonsense. A well established rule of common law is that courts interpret a law as best they can to make all the parts of the law fit.
If the law is that a girl “not pregnant” can be married at any age, as the botched sentence says, then the following language that sets out in detail how a pregnant girl can go about getting married would make no sense. You must assume — and the courts are obliged to make the assumption, too — that the legislators intended to make some sense when they enacted the law.
Gov. Beebe is right. Save the taxpayers some money and let the legislature lie doggo while the courts explain how the law works.
That is what courts are for. The question needs to be quickly dispelled because amid the confusion county clerks are beginning to take the law into their own hands. One clerk said Friday she was just ignoring the whole law and following the old law, although that would seem to be the one thing a clerk should not do. That law was repealed. It made 17 the legal marrying age for girls and 18 for boys.
Meantime, there is no call for the governor to summon the legislature back to the Capitol to take the wandering word “not” out of the sentence. A legislative session requires a minimum of three days and it is not cheap. That may have to be done if the Arkansas Supreme Court rules that the errant “not” is indeed the law.
The sponsors of the legislation, introduced at the request of judges, intended to make the marrying age uniform at 18 because the gender distinction probably made the old law a violation of the equal-protection clause of the United States Constitution. An exception would be if the girl under 18 was pregnant and she had the consent of her parents to marry. The effect of the extra word was to allow children of any age to marry.
Tim Hutchinson of Lowell, a former state representative, filed the suit to force the Washington County clerk to issue a marriage license to the couple. Following the cleaned-up version of the law, the clerk refused.
Hutchinson said the legislature should meet to change the law because the Code Revision Commission has authority only to correct typographical and punctuation errors and that its deletion of the word “not” set a bad precedent.
But a typographical error is precisely what the stray “not” is. The word makes the rest of the act nonsense. A well established rule of common law is that courts interpret a law as best they can to make all the parts of the law fit.
If the law is that a girl “not pregnant” can be married at any age, as the botched sentence says, then the following language that sets out in detail how a pregnant girl can go about getting married would make no sense. You must assume — and the courts are obliged to make the assumption, too — that the legislators intended to make some sense when they enacted the law.
Gov. Beebe is right. Save the taxpayers some money and let the legislature lie doggo while the courts explain how the law works.
OBITUARIES >> 09-15-07
Pearl Sanders
Pearl Sanders, 89, died Sept. 12.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles H. Sanders.
Survivors include her children, Virginia Edwards of Lonoke, Addie Hubbard and Eddie Sanders of Alabama and Charlene Madden of California; sister, Louise Barnhart of Cato; many grandchildren, great- and great-great-grandchildren and other relatives.
Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16 at Sunset Memorial Gardens.
Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15 at Boyd Funeral Home in Lonoke.
Herbert Greer
Herbert L. Greer, 85, of Jacksonville, son of Fred and Nellie Greer made his final flight Aug. 30 and was buried next to his wife of 63 years, Hazel Jean Greer.
Herbert was born in Chelan, Wash., Sept. 25, 1921 and was the eldest of three bothers and three sisters.
He is survived by his son, Ronald Lyndon Greer; daughter, Linda Diane Greer; grandson, Jonathan Daugherty; granddaughter, Susannah Cox and two great-grandchildren, Gracie and Jake Cox, all of Jacksonville.
Mr. Greer served 23 years in the Air Force, serving his country during the Second World War and Korea. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and has published his memoir “Fire From the Sky — A Diary Over Japan.”
The funeral was officiated by Dennis Carrow on Sept. 5, followed by entombment in Rest Hills Memorial Park with Military Honors. Arrangements were by Griffin Leggett Funeral Home.
“Yet from those of our number who fly no more, we must accept a trust – the trust of men who gave their lives in order that there may be a free life for others – and should we, in the future, treat lightly the foundations of that free life, we will have betrayed these men to whom, for all time, must we be indebted.”
James Douglass
James “Steven” Douglass, 50, of Ward passed away Sept. 10.
He was born May 7, 1957 in Little Rock.
Steven was an avid fisherman and the vice president of Douglass Services Incorporated. His loving wife, Angela Marie Douglass precedes him in death.
Survivors include son, Steven “Brent” and wife Lynn Douglass with their children; Frankie, Amber, Jacob and Zachary, all of Jacksonville; son, Bobby Wayne Foreman of Jacksonville; mother, Janet Douglass of Jacksonville; father and step-mother, Jim and Mary Douglass of Cabot; two sisters, Diane Bowlan and husband David of Jacksonville and Jill Douglass of Jacksonville; step-brother, Mark Dewey and wife Cin-dy and their two children, Christy and Charley, all of Bentonville; as well as a host of friends and family.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15 in the chapel of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home with Dr. Carol Goddard officiating. Burial will follow in Bayou Meto Cemetery in Jacksonville.
Dennis Chamblee
Dennis W. Chamblee, 85, of Ward, formerly of Buckeye, Ariz., went to be with the Lord Sept. 6.
He was born March 26, 1922, at Romance.
He is survived by his children, Phyllis and Dennis; siblings, Emma Madding, Joe Chamblee, Laura Eubanks; grand-children, Stacey, Shannon, Russell; and nine great-grandchildren.
Wondle was preceded in death by parents, Dewey and Geneva Chamblee; siblings, Moline Cook, James Marshall, Daphene Brewer, Lelan, Dewey, Jr., and grandson, Brent Chamblee.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 15 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe with burial in Apple Hill Cemetery.
William Taylor
William Alvie Taylor, 78, of Cabot, went to be with the Lord Sept. 11.
He was a member of McArthur Assembly of God Church and a retired master plumber.
He is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Mamie McClellan Taylor; four children, Connie Jones and husband Jim of Clinton, Phillip Taylor and wife Debbie, Stacy Taylor and wife Gloria, and Paula Snipes, all of Cabot; one brother, Bobby Joe Taylor of North Little Rock; and one sister, Mary Viala of Sherwood. Also surviving him are eight grandchildren, Jerry Wylie, Lance Witcher, Josh, Caleb, Alex, and Danielle Taylor, Megan and Brooke Richardson; and one great-grandchild, Lawson Taylor.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Dora Taylor; one son, Michael Dean Taylor; and three brothers, George, Lewis and Outhor Taylor.
Funeral services were held Sept. 14 at McArthur Assembly of God Church with the Rev. Larry Burton officiating the services.
Burial followed at Forrest Hills Cemetery in Alexander.
Pearl Sanders, 89, died Sept. 12.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles H. Sanders.
Survivors include her children, Virginia Edwards of Lonoke, Addie Hubbard and Eddie Sanders of Alabama and Charlene Madden of California; sister, Louise Barnhart of Cato; many grandchildren, great- and great-great-grandchildren and other relatives.
Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16 at Sunset Memorial Gardens.
Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15 at Boyd Funeral Home in Lonoke.
Herbert Greer
Herbert L. Greer, 85, of Jacksonville, son of Fred and Nellie Greer made his final flight Aug. 30 and was buried next to his wife of 63 years, Hazel Jean Greer.
Herbert was born in Chelan, Wash., Sept. 25, 1921 and was the eldest of three bothers and three sisters.
He is survived by his son, Ronald Lyndon Greer; daughter, Linda Diane Greer; grandson, Jonathan Daugherty; granddaughter, Susannah Cox and two great-grandchildren, Gracie and Jake Cox, all of Jacksonville.
Mr. Greer served 23 years in the Air Force, serving his country during the Second World War and Korea. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and has published his memoir “Fire From the Sky — A Diary Over Japan.”
The funeral was officiated by Dennis Carrow on Sept. 5, followed by entombment in Rest Hills Memorial Park with Military Honors. Arrangements were by Griffin Leggett Funeral Home.
“Yet from those of our number who fly no more, we must accept a trust – the trust of men who gave their lives in order that there may be a free life for others – and should we, in the future, treat lightly the foundations of that free life, we will have betrayed these men to whom, for all time, must we be indebted.”
James Douglass
James “Steven” Douglass, 50, of Ward passed away Sept. 10.
He was born May 7, 1957 in Little Rock.
Steven was an avid fisherman and the vice president of Douglass Services Incorporated. His loving wife, Angela Marie Douglass precedes him in death.
Survivors include son, Steven “Brent” and wife Lynn Douglass with their children; Frankie, Amber, Jacob and Zachary, all of Jacksonville; son, Bobby Wayne Foreman of Jacksonville; mother, Janet Douglass of Jacksonville; father and step-mother, Jim and Mary Douglass of Cabot; two sisters, Diane Bowlan and husband David of Jacksonville and Jill Douglass of Jacksonville; step-brother, Mark Dewey and wife Cin-dy and their two children, Christy and Charley, all of Bentonville; as well as a host of friends and family.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15 in the chapel of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home with Dr. Carol Goddard officiating. Burial will follow in Bayou Meto Cemetery in Jacksonville.
Dennis Chamblee
Dennis W. Chamblee, 85, of Ward, formerly of Buckeye, Ariz., went to be with the Lord Sept. 6.
He was born March 26, 1922, at Romance.
He is survived by his children, Phyllis and Dennis; siblings, Emma Madding, Joe Chamblee, Laura Eubanks; grand-children, Stacey, Shannon, Russell; and nine great-grandchildren.
Wondle was preceded in death by parents, Dewey and Geneva Chamblee; siblings, Moline Cook, James Marshall, Daphene Brewer, Lelan, Dewey, Jr., and grandson, Brent Chamblee.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 15 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe with burial in Apple Hill Cemetery.
William Taylor
William Alvie Taylor, 78, of Cabot, went to be with the Lord Sept. 11.
He was a member of McArthur Assembly of God Church and a retired master plumber.
He is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Mamie McClellan Taylor; four children, Connie Jones and husband Jim of Clinton, Phillip Taylor and wife Debbie, Stacy Taylor and wife Gloria, and Paula Snipes, all of Cabot; one brother, Bobby Joe Taylor of North Little Rock; and one sister, Mary Viala of Sherwood. Also surviving him are eight grandchildren, Jerry Wylie, Lance Witcher, Josh, Caleb, Alex, and Danielle Taylor, Megan and Brooke Richardson; and one great-grandchild, Lawson Taylor.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Dora Taylor; one son, Michael Dean Taylor; and three brothers, George, Lewis and Outhor Taylor.
Funeral services were held Sept. 14 at McArthur Assembly of God Church with the Rev. Larry Burton officiating the services.
Burial followed at Forrest Hills Cemetery in Alexander.
TOP STORY >>Mayor chooses commissioners
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
Cabot Mayor Eddie Joe Williams’ decision to replace city commissioners when their terms expire to give more residents the opportunity to serve came as a surprise to the first commissioner to lose his seat and angered two city council members who say the mayor preaches teamwork but doesn’t practice it.
Alderman Teri Miessner said during a budget and personnel committee meeting this week that when it was time for the mayor to appoint a new member to the parks commission, he asked council members for suggestions. But no one knew that Planning Commissioner Matt Webber was about to be replaced and that included Webber.
Questioned by Miessner, City Attorney Jim Taylor explained that the mayor appoints commissioners and the city council approves them. By state law, he said, the council doesn’t get to consider anyone that the mayor doesn’t want to appoint.
Miessner conceded that the mayor might have been within his statutory rights to replace Webber, but his actions did nothing to promote the teamwork he espouses. Alderman Becky Lemaster agreed.
Webber, who attended the meeting at Miessner’s request, told the aldermen who were present that he felt like he had been blindsided by the mayor’s decision. He heard “through the grapevine” that his term had expired Aug. 10 and that the mayor intended to replace him, he said.
Contacted Friday while he was on a trip to Vancouver, British Columbia with Metroplan to look at mass transit systems, Williams said his intent was only to bring new blood into the city’s commissions. “I sent a letter out when I first came in (to the commission chairs) so there wouldn’t be any surprises,” the mayor said, adding that eight years was long enough for Webber to sit on the planning commission.
“This city is full of great people who will bring new ideas and who want to serve,” he said.
Webber explained in an email to The Leader how he felt about being replaced: “I fully understand and appreciate the state statute, which allows the city mayor to select for appointment whomever he wishes,” Webber wrote. “That has not been the main issue with what has transpired over the past month or so. The biggest contention, that I have had, was the manner in which this whole matter was so poorly handled. I am very disappointed in the lack of respect that has exuded throughout this dilemma.
“Unlike elected officials, commissioners, in my opinion, do not pay as close attention to their terms of office. Since there is not an election process, the term length may go unnoticed by the individual, until they are courteously notified that a re-appointment is being considered or not-considered. If a commissioner has served the community well, has worked harmoniously with fellow commissioners and has not created any discord or problems…why not give that commissioner the option to continue serving. The experience-level is very valuable. If he/she declines, then by-all-means, a replacement should be sought.
“At the August City Council meeting, there was an individual being considered for appointment to the planning commission.
Chairman Ron Craig approached me and asked if I knew who this person was. At that time, I had no idea that my term was either expired or soon-to-expire. At about the same time that I told Ron that I didn’t know who the person was, the council was called to order. If it had not been for one or more alderman asking for a bio on Chuck Prater (and subsequently being tabled), he would have been voted on that night. I don’t know if he would have been voted onto the planning commission, but the possibility is very likely. Again, I had no idea, at that time that this person was to replace me.
“Let’s just say that Mr. Prater had been voted on that evening and the vote passed. Had I not gotten wind of this, in the next couple of days following the council meeting, and I had not confronted the mayor, I would likely have shown up at the next planning Commission meeting and there would have been someone sitting in the chair that I usually occupy. Can you say ‘awkward’?
“It is no secret that I have occasionally butted-heads with some engineers and developers in the past. I take the planning of our community very serious. I have never been one to just rubber-stamp something that is presented to me. I am going ask questions. If something doesn’t seem right, I’m going to dig. Evidently some folks don’t like that. To some, I am considered an outsider – an enemy. I have been accused of being anti-development. What a bunch of malarkey! Nothing could be further from the truth. What I want is smart development!”
Williams said Prater, whom he intends to appoint to the planning commission, is retired from the Air Force. He runs a cabinet shop and is not involved in development.
“He’s very methodical,” Williams said. “In his line of work, he understands how important it is to get it right the first time. And he doesn’t have an agenda.”
Leader staff writer
Cabot Mayor Eddie Joe Williams’ decision to replace city commissioners when their terms expire to give more residents the opportunity to serve came as a surprise to the first commissioner to lose his seat and angered two city council members who say the mayor preaches teamwork but doesn’t practice it.
Alderman Teri Miessner said during a budget and personnel committee meeting this week that when it was time for the mayor to appoint a new member to the parks commission, he asked council members for suggestions. But no one knew that Planning Commissioner Matt Webber was about to be replaced and that included Webber.
Questioned by Miessner, City Attorney Jim Taylor explained that the mayor appoints commissioners and the city council approves them. By state law, he said, the council doesn’t get to consider anyone that the mayor doesn’t want to appoint.
Miessner conceded that the mayor might have been within his statutory rights to replace Webber, but his actions did nothing to promote the teamwork he espouses. Alderman Becky Lemaster agreed.
Webber, who attended the meeting at Miessner’s request, told the aldermen who were present that he felt like he had been blindsided by the mayor’s decision. He heard “through the grapevine” that his term had expired Aug. 10 and that the mayor intended to replace him, he said.
Contacted Friday while he was on a trip to Vancouver, British Columbia with Metroplan to look at mass transit systems, Williams said his intent was only to bring new blood into the city’s commissions. “I sent a letter out when I first came in (to the commission chairs) so there wouldn’t be any surprises,” the mayor said, adding that eight years was long enough for Webber to sit on the planning commission.
“This city is full of great people who will bring new ideas and who want to serve,” he said.
Webber explained in an email to The Leader how he felt about being replaced: “I fully understand and appreciate the state statute, which allows the city mayor to select for appointment whomever he wishes,” Webber wrote. “That has not been the main issue with what has transpired over the past month or so. The biggest contention, that I have had, was the manner in which this whole matter was so poorly handled. I am very disappointed in the lack of respect that has exuded throughout this dilemma.
“Unlike elected officials, commissioners, in my opinion, do not pay as close attention to their terms of office. Since there is not an election process, the term length may go unnoticed by the individual, until they are courteously notified that a re-appointment is being considered or not-considered. If a commissioner has served the community well, has worked harmoniously with fellow commissioners and has not created any discord or problems…why not give that commissioner the option to continue serving. The experience-level is very valuable. If he/she declines, then by-all-means, a replacement should be sought.
“At the August City Council meeting, there was an individual being considered for appointment to the planning commission.
Chairman Ron Craig approached me and asked if I knew who this person was. At that time, I had no idea that my term was either expired or soon-to-expire. At about the same time that I told Ron that I didn’t know who the person was, the council was called to order. If it had not been for one or more alderman asking for a bio on Chuck Prater (and subsequently being tabled), he would have been voted on that night. I don’t know if he would have been voted onto the planning commission, but the possibility is very likely. Again, I had no idea, at that time that this person was to replace me.
“Let’s just say that Mr. Prater had been voted on that evening and the vote passed. Had I not gotten wind of this, in the next couple of days following the council meeting, and I had not confronted the mayor, I would likely have shown up at the next planning Commission meeting and there would have been someone sitting in the chair that I usually occupy. Can you say ‘awkward’?
“It is no secret that I have occasionally butted-heads with some engineers and developers in the past. I take the planning of our community very serious. I have never been one to just rubber-stamp something that is presented to me. I am going ask questions. If something doesn’t seem right, I’m going to dig. Evidently some folks don’t like that. To some, I am considered an outsider – an enemy. I have been accused of being anti-development. What a bunch of malarkey! Nothing could be further from the truth. What I want is smart development!”
Williams said Prater, whom he intends to appoint to the planning commission, is retired from the Air Force. He runs a cabinet shop and is not involved in development.
“He’s very methodical,” Williams said. “In his line of work, he understands how important it is to get it right the first time. And he doesn’t have an agenda.”
TOP STORY >>Construction starting on new library
By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
Jacksonville officials broke ground Wednesday on the city’s first library in 38 years.
The Esther D. Nixon Library should be ready for its readers in 14 months, according to Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) Director Bobby Roberts.
The library will be built on Main Street across from Jacksonville Shopping Center. It will sit on 2.6 acres of land with a park and a gazebo.
The building will be 13,500 square-feet, compared to the old library built in 1969 with 9,265 square feet.
Many people attending the event agreed the new library is a plus for the city.
“This is a wonderful start to the downtown revitalization of Jacksonville. It will have curb appeal for the city. It will attract residents to come to the downtown area,” said Joe Crim, vice president commercial loan officer at Jacksonville’s Metropolitan National Bank.
“This is a project that shows patience pays off. It will better serve the citizens of Jacksonville,” Mayor Tommy Swaim said.
The new facility will have reading nooks, study rooms, a multipurpose meeting room for the community to use before and after library hours. It will have more computers and have wireless Internet access. The library will have an expanded collection of books for adults and children, depending on shelving space, Carrie Snodgrass, CALS media liaison, said.
“It’s a great day for Jacksonville. The library will have new energy and excitement,” said Alderman Kenny Elliott.
Swaim said money is still needed for the library and there has been lots of funding from private citizens to help the library.
Sue Khoo, owner of Unique Furniture, had a kung-fu fundraiser in June for the library. The event raised nearly $5,000 according to Khoo. She also mentioned 500 books were donated by Key International Centre for research and consultation company, Tianjin, China. A solar hot water system for the building with complete installation was donated by Jiangyin Wanlongyuan Technology Co. of Jiangsu, China.
The old Nixon library is limited on space, Jamie Melson, former library staff member said.
“During the summer reading program, we had between 65 to 100 people in the library. It doesn’t accommodate the growth of the community.
“Keeping the library anchored on Main Street is important for area businesses,” she said. The importance of the library is evident for people like Amy Miller, former library assistant manager, who believes it can help build her community.
“A library used as a community resource helps build the whole community,” she said.
Wilkins Construction of North Little Rock is building the $3.6 million library. Funds for the library are from a $2.5 million bond issue, $450,000 from the Central Arkansas Library System, $400,000 from capital improvement funds and $300,000 projected from the sale if the old library building is sold.
Neighboring First United Methodist Church could buy the old library. Jacksonville and CALS are in a partnership with the new library. The city will provide furniture and CALS will provide staff, supplies and materials for the library.
Leader staff writer
Jacksonville officials broke ground Wednesday on the city’s first library in 38 years.
The Esther D. Nixon Library should be ready for its readers in 14 months, according to Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) Director Bobby Roberts.
The library will be built on Main Street across from Jacksonville Shopping Center. It will sit on 2.6 acres of land with a park and a gazebo.
The building will be 13,500 square-feet, compared to the old library built in 1969 with 9,265 square feet.
Many people attending the event agreed the new library is a plus for the city.
“This is a wonderful start to the downtown revitalization of Jacksonville. It will have curb appeal for the city. It will attract residents to come to the downtown area,” said Joe Crim, vice president commercial loan officer at Jacksonville’s Metropolitan National Bank.
“This is a project that shows patience pays off. It will better serve the citizens of Jacksonville,” Mayor Tommy Swaim said.
The new facility will have reading nooks, study rooms, a multipurpose meeting room for the community to use before and after library hours. It will have more computers and have wireless Internet access. The library will have an expanded collection of books for adults and children, depending on shelving space, Carrie Snodgrass, CALS media liaison, said.
“It’s a great day for Jacksonville. The library will have new energy and excitement,” said Alderman Kenny Elliott.
Swaim said money is still needed for the library and there has been lots of funding from private citizens to help the library.
Sue Khoo, owner of Unique Furniture, had a kung-fu fundraiser in June for the library. The event raised nearly $5,000 according to Khoo. She also mentioned 500 books were donated by Key International Centre for research and consultation company, Tianjin, China. A solar hot water system for the building with complete installation was donated by Jiangyin Wanlongyuan Technology Co. of Jiangsu, China.
The old Nixon library is limited on space, Jamie Melson, former library staff member said.
“During the summer reading program, we had between 65 to 100 people in the library. It doesn’t accommodate the growth of the community.
“Keeping the library anchored on Main Street is important for area businesses,” she said. The importance of the library is evident for people like Amy Miller, former library assistant manager, who believes it can help build her community.
“A library used as a community resource helps build the whole community,” she said.
Wilkins Construction of North Little Rock is building the $3.6 million library. Funds for the library are from a $2.5 million bond issue, $450,000 from the Central Arkansas Library System, $400,000 from capital improvement funds and $300,000 projected from the sale if the old library building is sold.
Neighboring First United Methodist Church could buy the old library. Jacksonville and CALS are in a partnership with the new library. The city will provide furniture and CALS will provide staff, supplies and materials for the library.
TOP STORY >>$1.5M deficit hurts PCSSD as pupils lost
By Aliya Feldman
Leader staff writer
With little discussion, the Pulaski County Special School District board approved a half million dollars in expenses amidst a warning of a $1.5 million projected deficit caused by the loss of nearly 500 students.
Superintendent James Sharpe said Tuesday that the last few weeks proved the district was “off to a tremendous school start,” but the Teachers Association reported class sizes beyond the district’s allowable number.
The budget vote was moved to a special meeting on Wednesday after members asked the superintendent for details.
At that meeting, Chief Financial Officer Larry O’ Briant said he projected a $1,549,952 deficit for the 2007-08 school year.
Employees’ salaries and benefits make up 85 percent of the budget at $87,450,100 and operating expenses total $42,881,022.
“There is very little money the Board has control over because it’s determined by personnel,” O’Briant said, referring to the largest portion of the budget. “You have very little money to juggle around,” he said.
O’ Briant said the district is “just holding in there.” The state identified the PCSSD as being in fiscal distress until this year.
O’Briant blamed the deficit on a failure to keep students enrolled in PCSSD schools. The district receives $5,770 in state and local funds for each student. This year, 460 fewer students are attending PCSSD schools, causing a loss of almost $3 million.
Board members have noticed the students’ exodus.
“I have gotten comments that they are moving to subdivisions,” President Gwendolyn Williams said, noting that the appearance of the buildings drives parents away from being interested in the schools. “I don’t like how we have advertised our schools,” she said. “We need to do more to promote them.”
“Children leave because AP courses are not offered in Jacksonville,” James Bolden said. He said that the brightest students are leaving in search of the advanced classes students can take for college credit.
Bolden received good news on Tuesday when the Arkansas Highway Department gave the Jacksonville Middle School for Boys a grant that will be used to build new sidewalks around the school. Bolden also introduced an item to name the boys school’s gym in honor of Eugene Stuckey, who has been a coach there for 37 years. The board approved it unanimously.
O’Briant said Jacksonville schools will receive an approximate $250,000 for building improvements. The middle school for girls will get new roofing over the cafeteria and some classrooms. The high school will get new roofs over the auditorium and media center.
The board voted on Tuesday to purchase a new Chevrolet Malibu for $12,259, approved a salary increase for administrators totaling $409,114 and formally hired Arkansas Educational Consulting (AEC) to negotiate a contract between the district and the support staff. AEC’s services will cost the district $25,000.
Teachers Association president Marty Nix said Tuesday that teachers are reporting teaching beyond the allowable number of students. She said PCSSD has a “well-established” teacher-student ratio of 150 students per teacher. Nix said many teachers are teaching seven or eight classes, which could mean some are seeing over 200 children a day.
Teachers have also reported problems with new computer systems intended to encourage communication between parents and teachers, Nix said. The programs, Edline and Gradequick, are web-based services that allow parents to view grades and class assignments. Many teachers have reported entering data only to find it has later been lost.
“Teachers don’t have computers, Internet or five or six hours to spend on Saturday only to get back to school to find the data is gone,” Nix said. Board members did not respond to either of Nix’s concerns.
Leader staff writer
With little discussion, the Pulaski County Special School District board approved a half million dollars in expenses amidst a warning of a $1.5 million projected deficit caused by the loss of nearly 500 students.
Superintendent James Sharpe said Tuesday that the last few weeks proved the district was “off to a tremendous school start,” but the Teachers Association reported class sizes beyond the district’s allowable number.
The budget vote was moved to a special meeting on Wednesday after members asked the superintendent for details.
At that meeting, Chief Financial Officer Larry O’ Briant said he projected a $1,549,952 deficit for the 2007-08 school year.
Employees’ salaries and benefits make up 85 percent of the budget at $87,450,100 and operating expenses total $42,881,022.
“There is very little money the Board has control over because it’s determined by personnel,” O’Briant said, referring to the largest portion of the budget. “You have very little money to juggle around,” he said.
O’ Briant said the district is “just holding in there.” The state identified the PCSSD as being in fiscal distress until this year.
O’Briant blamed the deficit on a failure to keep students enrolled in PCSSD schools. The district receives $5,770 in state and local funds for each student. This year, 460 fewer students are attending PCSSD schools, causing a loss of almost $3 million.
Board members have noticed the students’ exodus.
“I have gotten comments that they are moving to subdivisions,” President Gwendolyn Williams said, noting that the appearance of the buildings drives parents away from being interested in the schools. “I don’t like how we have advertised our schools,” she said. “We need to do more to promote them.”
“Children leave because AP courses are not offered in Jacksonville,” James Bolden said. He said that the brightest students are leaving in search of the advanced classes students can take for college credit.
Bolden received good news on Tuesday when the Arkansas Highway Department gave the Jacksonville Middle School for Boys a grant that will be used to build new sidewalks around the school. Bolden also introduced an item to name the boys school’s gym in honor of Eugene Stuckey, who has been a coach there for 37 years. The board approved it unanimously.
O’Briant said Jacksonville schools will receive an approximate $250,000 for building improvements. The middle school for girls will get new roofing over the cafeteria and some classrooms. The high school will get new roofs over the auditorium and media center.
The board voted on Tuesday to purchase a new Chevrolet Malibu for $12,259, approved a salary increase for administrators totaling $409,114 and formally hired Arkansas Educational Consulting (AEC) to negotiate a contract between the district and the support staff. AEC’s services will cost the district $25,000.
Teachers Association president Marty Nix said Tuesday that teachers are reporting teaching beyond the allowable number of students. She said PCSSD has a “well-established” teacher-student ratio of 150 students per teacher. Nix said many teachers are teaching seven or eight classes, which could mean some are seeing over 200 children a day.
Teachers have also reported problems with new computer systems intended to encourage communication between parents and teachers, Nix said. The programs, Edline and Gradequick, are web-based services that allow parents to view grades and class assignments. Many teachers have reported entering data only to find it has later been lost.
“Teachers don’t have computers, Internet or five or six hours to spend on Saturday only to get back to school to find the data is gone,” Nix said. Board members did not respond to either of Nix’s concerns.
TOP STORY >>School candidates face off Tuesday
By HEATHER HARTSELL
Leader staff writer
School board elections are Tuesday and candidates in local districts are urging residents to get out and vote.
Voting will take place from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at all area polling locations. Look for election results in the Wednesday edition of The Leader.
Polling sites have been consolidated this year for board elections in the Pulaski County Special School District and the Cabot School District.
For the local PCSSD seat, Zone 6 between incumbent Dr. James Bolden III and Bill Vasquez, the two major polling sites are the Jack Evans Senior Citizens Center in Sherwood, and the Jacksonville Community Center.
According to Pulaski County Clerk Pat O’Brien, all voters will go to their regular precinct locations to vote, unless they live in an area with combined polling locations. “PCSSD is an odd shaped district and we want voters to be aware of what zone they are in,” O’Brien said, adding 95 percent of residents will vote at their normal precinct.
First Baptist Church, 401 N. 1st St., is also a polling site for PCSSD’s Zone 6 seat.
Zone 6 is split into two areas along Hwy. 67/167. The boundary area of Zone 6 to the west of Hwy. 67/167 includes Hwy. 107 to the southern boundary of precinct 30 down to Jacksonville/Main to Hwy. 67/167, but excludes Delta, Tara Mount and Lisa, continuing south along Hwy. 67/167 following Precinct 32 and 33 southern boundaries until hitting Oneida and heading northwest.
The Zone 6 area located to the east of Hwy. 67/167 boundaries include Hwy. 67/167 to the Lonoke County line, east to the Lonoke County line and then south running parallel with Governor Wells. The western boundary extends to include the Melrose/Yellowstone area off Redmond Road and does not include the Pinewood, Park, Beverly and some Carolyn, Keaton and Nina areas.
A map of the zones is available online at www.votepulaski.net by following the links for PCSSD.
Cabot
The two polling sites for the Cabot School Board election are the Family Life Center at First Baptist Church of Cabot, and the Youth Center at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church of Cabot.
Each polling location will have four voting machines.
Residents of York, Cabot Wards one and two, Butlerville Township, Austin and Caroline, Austin Station and Caroline, Austin Station and Magness Township, Ward City and Ward Township will all vote at First Baptist Church.
Residents of Cabot Wards three and four, Oakgrove Township, Eagle, Gray and Goodrum will all vote at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church.
Arthur Evans and incumbent Jim Coy are running for Position 3; Ken Kincaid is running unopposed for Position 7.
Beebe
Beebe School District residents have numerous polling sites available to vote for either Brenda K. McKown or Christopher Mark Goss for the open school board seat.
Beebe residents, as well as Prairie County residents within Beebe schools, will vote at the Beebe Church of Christ. Other locations include: in Antioch, the Antioch Church Fellowship Hall; in El Paso, the El Paso Community Center; in Floyd, the Floyd Fire Station; in Garner, Garner City Hall; and in McRae, the McRae Multipurpose Building.
Lonoke
Lonoke residents will have the opportunity to vote Tuesday at the Lonoke Depot.
Incumbent Ray Kelleybrew is running unopposed for his Zone 1, Position 3 seat; incumbent Richard Pennington and Darrell Parks are running for the Zone 3, Position 2 seat; and Mike Brown is a write-in candidate for a one-year term.
Leader staff writer
School board elections are Tuesday and candidates in local districts are urging residents to get out and vote.
Voting will take place from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at all area polling locations. Look for election results in the Wednesday edition of The Leader.
Polling sites have been consolidated this year for board elections in the Pulaski County Special School District and the Cabot School District.
For the local PCSSD seat, Zone 6 between incumbent Dr. James Bolden III and Bill Vasquez, the two major polling sites are the Jack Evans Senior Citizens Center in Sherwood, and the Jacksonville Community Center.
According to Pulaski County Clerk Pat O’Brien, all voters will go to their regular precinct locations to vote, unless they live in an area with combined polling locations. “PCSSD is an odd shaped district and we want voters to be aware of what zone they are in,” O’Brien said, adding 95 percent of residents will vote at their normal precinct.
First Baptist Church, 401 N. 1st St., is also a polling site for PCSSD’s Zone 6 seat.
Zone 6 is split into two areas along Hwy. 67/167. The boundary area of Zone 6 to the west of Hwy. 67/167 includes Hwy. 107 to the southern boundary of precinct 30 down to Jacksonville/Main to Hwy. 67/167, but excludes Delta, Tara Mount and Lisa, continuing south along Hwy. 67/167 following Precinct 32 and 33 southern boundaries until hitting Oneida and heading northwest.
The Zone 6 area located to the east of Hwy. 67/167 boundaries include Hwy. 67/167 to the Lonoke County line, east to the Lonoke County line and then south running parallel with Governor Wells. The western boundary extends to include the Melrose/Yellowstone area off Redmond Road and does not include the Pinewood, Park, Beverly and some Carolyn, Keaton and Nina areas.
A map of the zones is available online at www.votepulaski.net by following the links for PCSSD.
Cabot
The two polling sites for the Cabot School Board election are the Family Life Center at First Baptist Church of Cabot, and the Youth Center at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church of Cabot.
Each polling location will have four voting machines.
Residents of York, Cabot Wards one and two, Butlerville Township, Austin and Caroline, Austin Station and Caroline, Austin Station and Magness Township, Ward City and Ward Township will all vote at First Baptist Church.
Residents of Cabot Wards three and four, Oakgrove Township, Eagle, Gray and Goodrum will all vote at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church.
Arthur Evans and incumbent Jim Coy are running for Position 3; Ken Kincaid is running unopposed for Position 7.
Beebe
Beebe School District residents have numerous polling sites available to vote for either Brenda K. McKown or Christopher Mark Goss for the open school board seat.
Beebe residents, as well as Prairie County residents within Beebe schools, will vote at the Beebe Church of Christ. Other locations include: in Antioch, the Antioch Church Fellowship Hall; in El Paso, the El Paso Community Center; in Floyd, the Floyd Fire Station; in Garner, Garner City Hall; and in McRae, the McRae Multipurpose Building.
Lonoke
Lonoke residents will have the opportunity to vote Tuesday at the Lonoke Depot.
Incumbent Ray Kelleybrew is running unopposed for his Zone 1, Position 3 seat; incumbent Richard Pennington and Darrell Parks are running for the Zone 3, Position 2 seat; and Mike Brown is a write-in candidate for a one-year term.
TOP STORY >>School candidates face off Tuesday
By HEATHER HARTSELL
Leader staff writer
For the first time in 12 years, the Pulaski County Special School District Zone 6 school board seat is being contested.
Bill Vasquez is challenging incumbent Dr. James Bolden, III, for the seat he has held since 2003.
Voters across PCSSD, as well as Cabot, Lonoke and Beebe school districts, have the opportunity to elect their next school board representatives from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, at area polling locations.
To better inform residents of their choices for local school board candidates in this year’s election, The Leader posed questions to those facing opposition. The following information and answers are from candidates in the Pulaski County Special, Cabot, Lonoke and Beebe school districts.
PCSSD
On the PCSSD board, Dr. James Bolden, III, who is seeking his second term, is running against Bill Vasquez for the Zone 6 seat with a four-year term.
Bolden, 49, has lived in his district for 13 years and has two children, a seventh- and ninth-grader.
He is a retired combat veteran with 24 years of military service and is the founder and senior pastor at Evangelistic Ministries Church in Jacksonville and also owns Lil Motivators Childcare. Vasquez, 50, has lived in the district for 20 years and has six children who have all attended PCSSD schools in his zone; his youngest is a sophomore at Jacksonville High School.
Vasquez has 22 years of military service with the Air Force and spent his final years as an instructor/evaluator pilot for the Arkansas Air National Guard here at Little Rock Air Force Base with the 189th Airlift Wing. He currently works for Lockheed Martin as a C-130E flight simulator instructor pilot at LRAFB, is the volunteer soccer and golf coach at Jacksonville High School and is a member of the booster club there.
Cabot
On the Cabot School Board incumbent Jim Coy is facing opposition from Arthur Evans for the Position 3 seat, which has a five-year term.
Coy, 45, has lived in the Cabot district for 13 years and is the father of a Cabot High School junior. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in sales and marketing and is a sales executive for Acxiom Corporation. He has served as chairman of the policies, personnel and curriculum and instruction committees of the Cabot School Board during his five years on the board.
Evans, 58, has lived in Cabot for 14 years and is the father of a senior at CHS. He attended the University of Arkansas majoring in accounting with a minor in economics and is the assistant facilities manager at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock.
Lonoke
On the Lonoke School Board, incumbent Richard Pennington faces Darrell Park for the Zone 3, Position 2 seat, which has a term of five years.
Pennington, 54, has lived in the Lonoke School District for 15 years and is the father of twins in the eighth grade. He has a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from the University of Arkansas for Medical Science , is a pharmacist and owns Lyons Drug Store.
Park, 45, was born and raised in Lonoke, graduated from Lonoke High School and has lived there all his life. He has two children in Lonoke schools, a senior and an eighth grader, and works for the United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency.
Beebe
Running for the open seat on the Beebe School Board, with a term of five years, are Christopher Mark Goss and Brenda K. McKown.
Goss, 34, has lived in the Beebe-McRae area all his life and graduated from McRae in 1991. He has three children, a ninth and sixth grader and one in Beebe’s new pre-kindergarten program.
He is self-employed; he and his parents operate Goss and Son Meat Company in Romance and with the help of his children, operates Goss and Sons Lawn Service.
McKown has lived in the district for 27 years and served on the McRae School Board for 10 years, serving as president of the board when that school consolidated with Beebe three years ago.
Her youngest daughter is a senior this year and her oldest daughter is a graduate of McRae High School.
She is the director of administration for Catlett and Stodola, PLC, a law firm in Little Rock; Catlett Tower Partnership, an office building in downtown Little Rock and Catlett, Inc., an international business company; she is also a legal assistant to Mr. Catlett, prepares budgets, accounts receivable and payable and reports.
PCSSD
Q. Why did you decide to run for school board, or if the incumbent, run for re-election?
Bolden: I am seeking re-election for the PCSSD Zone 6 seat because the children are my major concern in the Jacksonville area and the Pulaski County district with major emphasis on Jacksonville area students.
Vasquez: I decided to run for the school board because, as a concerned parent, I want the best for my children and the children in our community. I believe that the tax dollars from Jacksonville need to be used on the children in Jacksonville – we have been paying taxes for too long to see our students continually left out when it is time to discuss school improvements and new construction; also running because some of our campuses are still not yet fully handicapped accessible, and because the bathrooms in many of our schools seem less than satisfactory.
I am also running because concerned parents asked me to; we are not pleased with the direction we see the district going and the lack of interest and resources being directed to schools in the Jacksonville area – we see our children as being equal to and just as deserving as any other child in the district.
Q. What do you feel you would bring, or do bring if the incumbent, to the school board?
Bolden: If re-elected, I will bring the very presence of the community’s concerns, hopes and visions as I have always done at every board meeting I have attended. I have always, even before getting on the board in 2003, fought for Jacksonville’s vision.
Vasquez: I bring a lifetime of experience as a professional educator; what is taught and how well it is taught and learned by our children is critical to their success or failure as they begin life’s journey on the road to achieve their dreams.
As a military pilot and officer for nearly 22 years, I have learned to tackle the hard problems and choices of life head on and to seek solutions to problems, not to turn my head away and hope they will disappear. I have also dealt with large programs concerning large amounts of money and am not intimidated by the financial decisions of the $131 million Pulaski County Special School District budget or the challenges of facing our school district in the 21st Century.
Q. What are the areas that you see as needing to be addressed in your district?
Bolden: First, getting unitary status so that we can proceed in the process of getting our own school district here in Jacksonville. Second, while doing this, always making sure that we get what we deserve in the Jacksonville area of more advanced placement courses, better facilities, and quicker response to our area needs while ensuring that every child in PCSSD gets the same opportunity.
Vasquez: Pulaski County has to address both the academic achievement gap between majority and minority students as well as substandard benchmark test scores and accelerate the use of modern technology in the classroom. The answer to the achievement gap and test scores is the same – student literacy. It stands to reason that regardless of race, a student’s academic success more than ever before is tied to their literacy skills; we simply must ensure our children learn to read and read well.
To accomplish this we must take full advantage of educational technology in our classrooms, particularly in the core subject areas. The district needs to immediately seek to invest in Smartboard technology in all core subject classrooms to facilitate the use of Internet and interactive technologies in math, science, history and English.
These technologies not only enrich the learning experience for our children, they allow our teachers to be more efficient and effective in the classroom. We must make a commitment to help our children succeed by ensuring our educators have the tools they need to reach and teach our children.
Q. What do you hope to accomplish if elected or re-elected?
Bolden: I will continue my support of my fellow board members while also pushing for our own district that will give us better opportunities in our Jacksonville area. Remember: Proven leadership with proven results.
Vasquez: I hope to bring education in Pulaski County into the 21st Century. Today’s student is technologically savvy and is not afraid of being challenged intellectually in the classroom. Today we know more about teaching and learning than ever before and with modern technologies we can help even the most severely challenged students find success. But, we cannot successfully educate our children if we choose to retain the status quo; we must continually change and improve to be successful.
Our schools are entering a new era in education; we must empower our students with the learning skills they will need for a lifetime, not just to get to the next grade level. Our children must become lifelong learners to meet the challenges of the workplace, at home and in the community as technology advances in the future.
Q. What are your views on a Jacksonville district?
Bolden: I am 100 percent in favor of it and it is long overdue.
Vasquez: Jacksonville cannot become an independent school district soon enough to satisfy the citizens of our city, but we are up to the task. We believe we have the most to gain or lose from the success or failure of our schools and are ready to go the extra mile to ensure our students succeed.
Q. What are your thoughts on Jacksonville opening a charter school in the future?
Bolden: I believe the two will complement each other.
Vasquez: Without an independent Jacksonville school district, as well as a major commitment to new school construction in Jacksonville, a charter school is inevitable and may come regardless of whether we become an independent district.
However, as an American, I don’t see the competition from a charter school as a threat to education but as an enhanced educational opportunity for those seeking an alternative to the traditional public school setting.
CABOT
Q. Why did you decide to run for school board, or if the incumbent, run for re-election?
Coy: I am running for re-election (to the Cabot board) because I feel that I have the competency and servant attitude to be a great board member. I also feel it is a great way to give back to the community.
Evans: I want to be on the school board because I desire to see the kids continue to get the best education possible.
Q. What do you feel you would bring, or do bring if the incumbent, to the school board?
Coy: As an incumbent, I would continue to find ways to improve the processes already in place. In my current role as a sales executive for Acxiom Corporation, my main responsibilities include solving complex problems, resolving conflict and negotiating large multi-million dollar contracts. Most, if not all, of my skill sets have been used in my current roles as a Cabot School Board member.
Evans: My management and abilities and the understanding of the budget process. I also have the ability to see both sides of any issue.
Q. What are the areas that you see as needing to be addressed within your district?
Coy: The No Child Left Behind unfunded mandates – state mandates that require additional paperwork for teachers with an already jammed-packed day. To resolve this, I will work with our state senator and state representative to minimize the paper- work and give back more time for instruction.
Evans: The need to stay ahead of the growth curve financially. I will closely monitor the budget and try to plan years ahead for new facilities and teachers.
Q. What do you hope to accomplish if elected or re-elected?
Coy: I will continue to find ways to save money in our budget in order to fund raises and save money for future growth.
Evans: I will help make the Cabot School District even better than it is today.
The Cabot Teachers Association also submitted questions for Coy and Evans:
Q. How do you feel about the salaries/benefits provided by our district in terms of recruiting and training the best possible employees?
Coy: I feel our benefits are competitive with other districts our size. We have done a great job of recruiting top talent from other districts and new college graduates.
Evans: They are low, especially for experienced employees who have “topped out” in step increases.
Q. What priority do you believe needs to be given to efforts to significantly increase employee salaries in the district?
Coy: Top priority is we need to continue to find ways to improve the current process and save money for additional raises.
Evans: They have to grow as the district grows.
Q. If our district were to receive unexpected funds, what would you list as the top three priorities for these monies?
Coy: Teachers’ salaries; benefits; teachers’ salaries.
Evans: Buy new equipment (copiers, computers, etc.); new facilities and upgrades to old facilities and needed supplies for teachers.
Q. What types of things do you believe the school district can do to improve community relations and build more community support?
Coy: Continue to engage the superintendent with all the different civic organizations in the community and when a major decision faces the district, we need to form community groups to help drive that specific decision.
Evans: Doing more of what the district has been doing.
Q. If you wish to obtain information about the condition of the school system regarding student, teacher and support personnel morale; the physical quality of the environment that exists for learning; the curriculum or any other school related issues, to whom or where would you go?
Coy: I would interact directly with the person responsible for that information. If you did not have access to the people responsible for that information, I would go directly to central office and ask for direction on where to find the data.
Evans: While surveys would be a good starting point, going to each school and talking to the employees would be the best way of getting firsthand knowledge.
LONOKE
Q. Why did you decide to run for school board, or if the incumbent, run for re-election?
Pennington: I have been on the (Lonoke) board for 15 years and will run for one more term only.
Park: I am running because I think any parent should be concerned about and interested in their children’s educations. What better way than to be involved in the decision-making that pertains to that education?
Q. What do you feel you would bring, or do bring if the incumbent, to the school board?
Pennington: I bring experience and a concern for a quality education to the Lonoke board.
Park: An open mind; I’m willing to listen to all concerns.
Q. What are the areas that you see as needing to be addressed within your district?
Pennington: Lonoke High School facilities and expanded vocational offerings.
Park: I love the Lonoke School District. We are fortunate to have good administrators, teachers, students and board members. I want to see that continue.
Q. What do you hope to accomplish if elected or re-elected?
Pennington: I hope we can expand our vocational programs, decrease the number of students who require remediation in college and improve our facilities at the high school.
Park: We have a good school system and I want to continue this trend and have Lonoke School District known as a quality school district that does an excellent job of preparing its students for furthering their education and preparing them for life.
BEEBE
Q. Why did you decide to run for school board, or if the incumbent, run for re-election?
Goss: I’ve always been involved in my kids’ educations and with their different school functions. My kids will be in Beebe schools for the next 14 years; being on the school board is another way to get involved.
The schools we have now are second to none; they’ve done a really good job with our facilities and it’s something I would like to be part of. Running for school board has been on my mind for a couple of years now and with my youngest in school now, I can take a more in-depth step in their education and have more than a spectator position in their education.
McKown: Our district is experiencing constant growth. I believe my past experience on the board, along with my knowledge of the educational process, can contribute to continuing the program. I have been involved with building programs, the annexation and other aspects of school management. In addition, my background in law will provide another perspective to planning and progress.
Q. What do you feel you would bring, or do bring if the incumbent, to the school board?
Goss: I’m not out to change the world, but just want to have a deeper and more active role in Beebe schools.
I think we are better off after consolidating McRae with Beebe; being from there and graduating there, I felt both sides of the spectrum, but I see the benefits of what we have now.
McKown: I bring experience and knowledge, as well as numerous hours of school board continuing education.
All board members are required to obtain continuing education hours each year; over my ten-year period, I was fortunate enough to attend many training sessions to help me in the role of a board member.
Q. What are the areas that you see as needing to be addressed within your district?
Goss: There are not any areas I feel need addressed. We’re at the onset of the gas industry now and there are a lot of decisions that we will have to make once we start seeing that county income. We’re having growing pains right now, but that’s a good problem to have; we purchased land and a building, but we need more.
I look forward to seeing the schools develop more. I think we are one of the top in the state for academics, our campus facilities are out of this world and I look forward to the growth we will experience in the next five, 10, 15 years.
McKown: It is my desire to continue to push for higher education for our district. Although our district continues to exceed state and federal standards, we must strive to educate our children with higher levels of education at an earlier age.
For instance, there are universities and hospitals in our state that cannot find enough qualified employees to fill positions requiring higher levels of education; these companies look outside of our state and in many instances, out of the country, to fill these positions.
Concurrent credit and advanced placement classes, which I support, give our students opportunities to fill this void.
In addition to providing increased educational opportunities at the secondary level, the district has also implemented the pre-K program on our campus. Successful programs and curricular offerings such as these are examples of what I would like to see continued and expanded in our district.
I would also like for the EAST Lab to continue expansion for every grade to ensure every child has the opportunity to be a part of this program while a student at Beebe schools.
Q. What do you hope to accomplish if elected or re-elected?
Goss: I would like to see our students have the tools and resources that can help them prepare for their future and college. I think a lot of the time we let them down by not giving them the tools they need. I want to see us provide all we can to get them (the students) able to meet the challenges that come with graduating.
McKown: We have a quality education system of which I am very proud. I believe our teachers and administrators are some of the best to be found.
If elected, I hope to be a part of the continued improvement toward a better education system for all students in the Beebe school system.
Leader staff writer
For the first time in 12 years, the Pulaski County Special School District Zone 6 school board seat is being contested.
Bill Vasquez is challenging incumbent Dr. James Bolden, III, for the seat he has held since 2003.
Voters across PCSSD, as well as Cabot, Lonoke and Beebe school districts, have the opportunity to elect their next school board representatives from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, at area polling locations.
To better inform residents of their choices for local school board candidates in this year’s election, The Leader posed questions to those facing opposition. The following information and answers are from candidates in the Pulaski County Special, Cabot, Lonoke and Beebe school districts.
PCSSD
On the PCSSD board, Dr. James Bolden, III, who is seeking his second term, is running against Bill Vasquez for the Zone 6 seat with a four-year term.
Bolden, 49, has lived in his district for 13 years and has two children, a seventh- and ninth-grader.
He is a retired combat veteran with 24 years of military service and is the founder and senior pastor at Evangelistic Ministries Church in Jacksonville and also owns Lil Motivators Childcare. Vasquez, 50, has lived in the district for 20 years and has six children who have all attended PCSSD schools in his zone; his youngest is a sophomore at Jacksonville High School.
Vasquez has 22 years of military service with the Air Force and spent his final years as an instructor/evaluator pilot for the Arkansas Air National Guard here at Little Rock Air Force Base with the 189th Airlift Wing. He currently works for Lockheed Martin as a C-130E flight simulator instructor pilot at LRAFB, is the volunteer soccer and golf coach at Jacksonville High School and is a member of the booster club there.
Cabot
On the Cabot School Board incumbent Jim Coy is facing opposition from Arthur Evans for the Position 3 seat, which has a five-year term.
Coy, 45, has lived in the Cabot district for 13 years and is the father of a Cabot High School junior. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in sales and marketing and is a sales executive for Acxiom Corporation. He has served as chairman of the policies, personnel and curriculum and instruction committees of the Cabot School Board during his five years on the board.
Evans, 58, has lived in Cabot for 14 years and is the father of a senior at CHS. He attended the University of Arkansas majoring in accounting with a minor in economics and is the assistant facilities manager at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock.
Lonoke
On the Lonoke School Board, incumbent Richard Pennington faces Darrell Park for the Zone 3, Position 2 seat, which has a term of five years.
Pennington, 54, has lived in the Lonoke School District for 15 years and is the father of twins in the eighth grade. He has a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from the University of Arkansas for Medical Science , is a pharmacist and owns Lyons Drug Store.
Park, 45, was born and raised in Lonoke, graduated from Lonoke High School and has lived there all his life. He has two children in Lonoke schools, a senior and an eighth grader, and works for the United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency.
Beebe
Running for the open seat on the Beebe School Board, with a term of five years, are Christopher Mark Goss and Brenda K. McKown.
Goss, 34, has lived in the Beebe-McRae area all his life and graduated from McRae in 1991. He has three children, a ninth and sixth grader and one in Beebe’s new pre-kindergarten program.
He is self-employed; he and his parents operate Goss and Son Meat Company in Romance and with the help of his children, operates Goss and Sons Lawn Service.
McKown has lived in the district for 27 years and served on the McRae School Board for 10 years, serving as president of the board when that school consolidated with Beebe three years ago.
Her youngest daughter is a senior this year and her oldest daughter is a graduate of McRae High School.
She is the director of administration for Catlett and Stodola, PLC, a law firm in Little Rock; Catlett Tower Partnership, an office building in downtown Little Rock and Catlett, Inc., an international business company; she is also a legal assistant to Mr. Catlett, prepares budgets, accounts receivable and payable and reports.
PCSSD
Q. Why did you decide to run for school board, or if the incumbent, run for re-election?
Bolden: I am seeking re-election for the PCSSD Zone 6 seat because the children are my major concern in the Jacksonville area and the Pulaski County district with major emphasis on Jacksonville area students.
Vasquez: I decided to run for the school board because, as a concerned parent, I want the best for my children and the children in our community. I believe that the tax dollars from Jacksonville need to be used on the children in Jacksonville – we have been paying taxes for too long to see our students continually left out when it is time to discuss school improvements and new construction; also running because some of our campuses are still not yet fully handicapped accessible, and because the bathrooms in many of our schools seem less than satisfactory.
I am also running because concerned parents asked me to; we are not pleased with the direction we see the district going and the lack of interest and resources being directed to schools in the Jacksonville area – we see our children as being equal to and just as deserving as any other child in the district.
Q. What do you feel you would bring, or do bring if the incumbent, to the school board?
Bolden: If re-elected, I will bring the very presence of the community’s concerns, hopes and visions as I have always done at every board meeting I have attended. I have always, even before getting on the board in 2003, fought for Jacksonville’s vision.
Vasquez: I bring a lifetime of experience as a professional educator; what is taught and how well it is taught and learned by our children is critical to their success or failure as they begin life’s journey on the road to achieve their dreams.
As a military pilot and officer for nearly 22 years, I have learned to tackle the hard problems and choices of life head on and to seek solutions to problems, not to turn my head away and hope they will disappear. I have also dealt with large programs concerning large amounts of money and am not intimidated by the financial decisions of the $131 million Pulaski County Special School District budget or the challenges of facing our school district in the 21st Century.
Q. What are the areas that you see as needing to be addressed in your district?
Bolden: First, getting unitary status so that we can proceed in the process of getting our own school district here in Jacksonville. Second, while doing this, always making sure that we get what we deserve in the Jacksonville area of more advanced placement courses, better facilities, and quicker response to our area needs while ensuring that every child in PCSSD gets the same opportunity.
Vasquez: Pulaski County has to address both the academic achievement gap between majority and minority students as well as substandard benchmark test scores and accelerate the use of modern technology in the classroom. The answer to the achievement gap and test scores is the same – student literacy. It stands to reason that regardless of race, a student’s academic success more than ever before is tied to their literacy skills; we simply must ensure our children learn to read and read well.
To accomplish this we must take full advantage of educational technology in our classrooms, particularly in the core subject areas. The district needs to immediately seek to invest in Smartboard technology in all core subject classrooms to facilitate the use of Internet and interactive technologies in math, science, history and English.
These technologies not only enrich the learning experience for our children, they allow our teachers to be more efficient and effective in the classroom. We must make a commitment to help our children succeed by ensuring our educators have the tools they need to reach and teach our children.
Q. What do you hope to accomplish if elected or re-elected?
Bolden: I will continue my support of my fellow board members while also pushing for our own district that will give us better opportunities in our Jacksonville area. Remember: Proven leadership with proven results.
Vasquez: I hope to bring education in Pulaski County into the 21st Century. Today’s student is technologically savvy and is not afraid of being challenged intellectually in the classroom. Today we know more about teaching and learning than ever before and with modern technologies we can help even the most severely challenged students find success. But, we cannot successfully educate our children if we choose to retain the status quo; we must continually change and improve to be successful.
Our schools are entering a new era in education; we must empower our students with the learning skills they will need for a lifetime, not just to get to the next grade level. Our children must become lifelong learners to meet the challenges of the workplace, at home and in the community as technology advances in the future.
Q. What are your views on a Jacksonville district?
Bolden: I am 100 percent in favor of it and it is long overdue.
Vasquez: Jacksonville cannot become an independent school district soon enough to satisfy the citizens of our city, but we are up to the task. We believe we have the most to gain or lose from the success or failure of our schools and are ready to go the extra mile to ensure our students succeed.
Q. What are your thoughts on Jacksonville opening a charter school in the future?
Bolden: I believe the two will complement each other.
Vasquez: Without an independent Jacksonville school district, as well as a major commitment to new school construction in Jacksonville, a charter school is inevitable and may come regardless of whether we become an independent district.
However, as an American, I don’t see the competition from a charter school as a threat to education but as an enhanced educational opportunity for those seeking an alternative to the traditional public school setting.
CABOT
Q. Why did you decide to run for school board, or if the incumbent, run for re-election?
Coy: I am running for re-election (to the Cabot board) because I feel that I have the competency and servant attitude to be a great board member. I also feel it is a great way to give back to the community.
Evans: I want to be on the school board because I desire to see the kids continue to get the best education possible.
Q. What do you feel you would bring, or do bring if the incumbent, to the school board?
Coy: As an incumbent, I would continue to find ways to improve the processes already in place. In my current role as a sales executive for Acxiom Corporation, my main responsibilities include solving complex problems, resolving conflict and negotiating large multi-million dollar contracts. Most, if not all, of my skill sets have been used in my current roles as a Cabot School Board member.
Evans: My management and abilities and the understanding of the budget process. I also have the ability to see both sides of any issue.
Q. What are the areas that you see as needing to be addressed within your district?
Coy: The No Child Left Behind unfunded mandates – state mandates that require additional paperwork for teachers with an already jammed-packed day. To resolve this, I will work with our state senator and state representative to minimize the paper- work and give back more time for instruction.
Evans: The need to stay ahead of the growth curve financially. I will closely monitor the budget and try to plan years ahead for new facilities and teachers.
Q. What do you hope to accomplish if elected or re-elected?
Coy: I will continue to find ways to save money in our budget in order to fund raises and save money for future growth.
Evans: I will help make the Cabot School District even better than it is today.
The Cabot Teachers Association also submitted questions for Coy and Evans:
Q. How do you feel about the salaries/benefits provided by our district in terms of recruiting and training the best possible employees?
Coy: I feel our benefits are competitive with other districts our size. We have done a great job of recruiting top talent from other districts and new college graduates.
Evans: They are low, especially for experienced employees who have “topped out” in step increases.
Q. What priority do you believe needs to be given to efforts to significantly increase employee salaries in the district?
Coy: Top priority is we need to continue to find ways to improve the current process and save money for additional raises.
Evans: They have to grow as the district grows.
Q. If our district were to receive unexpected funds, what would you list as the top three priorities for these monies?
Coy: Teachers’ salaries; benefits; teachers’ salaries.
Evans: Buy new equipment (copiers, computers, etc.); new facilities and upgrades to old facilities and needed supplies for teachers.
Q. What types of things do you believe the school district can do to improve community relations and build more community support?
Coy: Continue to engage the superintendent with all the different civic organizations in the community and when a major decision faces the district, we need to form community groups to help drive that specific decision.
Evans: Doing more of what the district has been doing.
Q. If you wish to obtain information about the condition of the school system regarding student, teacher and support personnel morale; the physical quality of the environment that exists for learning; the curriculum or any other school related issues, to whom or where would you go?
Coy: I would interact directly with the person responsible for that information. If you did not have access to the people responsible for that information, I would go directly to central office and ask for direction on where to find the data.
Evans: While surveys would be a good starting point, going to each school and talking to the employees would be the best way of getting firsthand knowledge.
LONOKE
Q. Why did you decide to run for school board, or if the incumbent, run for re-election?
Pennington: I have been on the (Lonoke) board for 15 years and will run for one more term only.
Park: I am running because I think any parent should be concerned about and interested in their children’s educations. What better way than to be involved in the decision-making that pertains to that education?
Q. What do you feel you would bring, or do bring if the incumbent, to the school board?
Pennington: I bring experience and a concern for a quality education to the Lonoke board.
Park: An open mind; I’m willing to listen to all concerns.
Q. What are the areas that you see as needing to be addressed within your district?
Pennington: Lonoke High School facilities and expanded vocational offerings.
Park: I love the Lonoke School District. We are fortunate to have good administrators, teachers, students and board members. I want to see that continue.
Q. What do you hope to accomplish if elected or re-elected?
Pennington: I hope we can expand our vocational programs, decrease the number of students who require remediation in college and improve our facilities at the high school.
Park: We have a good school system and I want to continue this trend and have Lonoke School District known as a quality school district that does an excellent job of preparing its students for furthering their education and preparing them for life.
BEEBE
Q. Why did you decide to run for school board, or if the incumbent, run for re-election?
Goss: I’ve always been involved in my kids’ educations and with their different school functions. My kids will be in Beebe schools for the next 14 years; being on the school board is another way to get involved.
The schools we have now are second to none; they’ve done a really good job with our facilities and it’s something I would like to be part of. Running for school board has been on my mind for a couple of years now and with my youngest in school now, I can take a more in-depth step in their education and have more than a spectator position in their education.
McKown: Our district is experiencing constant growth. I believe my past experience on the board, along with my knowledge of the educational process, can contribute to continuing the program. I have been involved with building programs, the annexation and other aspects of school management. In addition, my background in law will provide another perspective to planning and progress.
Q. What do you feel you would bring, or do bring if the incumbent, to the school board?
Goss: I’m not out to change the world, but just want to have a deeper and more active role in Beebe schools.
I think we are better off after consolidating McRae with Beebe; being from there and graduating there, I felt both sides of the spectrum, but I see the benefits of what we have now.
McKown: I bring experience and knowledge, as well as numerous hours of school board continuing education.
All board members are required to obtain continuing education hours each year; over my ten-year period, I was fortunate enough to attend many training sessions to help me in the role of a board member.
Q. What are the areas that you see as needing to be addressed within your district?
Goss: There are not any areas I feel need addressed. We’re at the onset of the gas industry now and there are a lot of decisions that we will have to make once we start seeing that county income. We’re having growing pains right now, but that’s a good problem to have; we purchased land and a building, but we need more.
I look forward to seeing the schools develop more. I think we are one of the top in the state for academics, our campus facilities are out of this world and I look forward to the growth we will experience in the next five, 10, 15 years.
McKown: It is my desire to continue to push for higher education for our district. Although our district continues to exceed state and federal standards, we must strive to educate our children with higher levels of education at an earlier age.
For instance, there are universities and hospitals in our state that cannot find enough qualified employees to fill positions requiring higher levels of education; these companies look outside of our state and in many instances, out of the country, to fill these positions.
Concurrent credit and advanced placement classes, which I support, give our students opportunities to fill this void.
In addition to providing increased educational opportunities at the secondary level, the district has also implemented the pre-K program on our campus. Successful programs and curricular offerings such as these are examples of what I would like to see continued and expanded in our district.
I would also like for the EAST Lab to continue expansion for every grade to ensure every child has the opportunity to be a part of this program while a student at Beebe schools.
Q. What do you hope to accomplish if elected or re-elected?
Goss: I would like to see our students have the tools and resources that can help them prepare for their future and college. I think a lot of the time we let them down by not giving them the tools they need. I want to see us provide all we can to get them (the students) able to meet the challenges that come with graduating.
McKown: We have a quality education system of which I am very proud. I believe our teachers and administrators are some of the best to be found.
If elected, I hope to be a part of the continued improvement toward a better education system for all students in the Beebe school system.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
SPORTS >>Jacksonville falls twice at Harrison
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
The first dents appeared in what has been near-flawless armor on the Jacksonville Lady Red Devils this year, with a disappointing 1-2 performance at the Harrison Parks and Recreation volleyball tournament last weekend. The Lady Devils dropped a close opener with host team Harrison that sent them into the consolation bracket, and it all went downhill from there.
Jacksonville did come away with one win, but a 25-4, 25-11 performance against struggling Little Rock Hall preceded a 23-25, 13-25 loss to Greenbrier, a team that the Lady Red Devils had already decisively beaten two weeks earlier.
“They all had expectations of winning that first game and advancing into the winner’s bracket,” Jacksonville coach Melissa Reeves said. “When that didn’t happen, it just seemed like they gave up a little bit.” The long journey to Harrison and early start to the tournament did little to help the Lady Red Devils’ efforts, but Reeves says that adapting to stringent schedules is necessary if they want to be contenders when the postseason arrives.
“We did have to travel quite a ways and spend the night, and we had to get up at 6:30 because we played at 10 o’clock,” Reeves said. “But they are just going to have to get used to doing that. If we are going to make it to the state tournament and be competitive, we will have to be prepared for situations like that, because some of those games will be played early in the morning also.”
The tournament started out tough for Jacksonville against the Lady Goblins, with a 28-26 win in game one before a tough 15-25 loss in game two. The second game has been the biggest letdown for Jacksonville in the early season, and Saturday would be no exception. Errors on the back row led to an eventual 2-1 loss to Harrison, putting the Lady Red Devils in the loser’s bracket.
One of the main goals for Reeves during the tourney was for her squad to see different teams besides the local schools in the Pulaski County area, but the trip to the consolation bracket meant repeat contests against the Lady Warriors and Lady Panthers.
Raven Pickett has been solid from the libero position in the early stages of the 2007 season, and plans for a new rotation around the junior should give her more control over gray-area hits.
“We’ve been running our poor setter all over the floor,” Reeves said. “Some of them are not understanding that if the ball gets into the gray to let Raven have it. We are going to adjust things to leave her in the backcourt by herself a little more, kind of like we did last year with Rachele (Holder). When we get that first good pass, everything goes alright, but when we send the ball everywhere on the court, it makes it tough.” Starting setter Baylee Herlacher sat out most of the match against Greenbrier injured, leaving sophomore Allison Cox with the setting duty for the remainder of the tournament. Reeves said Cox did a good job in substitution for Herlacher, but is ready to see how the adjustments on the back will improve strategy at the front.
The Lady Red Devils played a rematch against Mills at The Galaxy last night after Leader deadlines, and will stay on the road Thursday with their conference opener at West Memphis.
Leader sportswriter
The first dents appeared in what has been near-flawless armor on the Jacksonville Lady Red Devils this year, with a disappointing 1-2 performance at the Harrison Parks and Recreation volleyball tournament last weekend. The Lady Devils dropped a close opener with host team Harrison that sent them into the consolation bracket, and it all went downhill from there.
Jacksonville did come away with one win, but a 25-4, 25-11 performance against struggling Little Rock Hall preceded a 23-25, 13-25 loss to Greenbrier, a team that the Lady Red Devils had already decisively beaten two weeks earlier.
“They all had expectations of winning that first game and advancing into the winner’s bracket,” Jacksonville coach Melissa Reeves said. “When that didn’t happen, it just seemed like they gave up a little bit.” The long journey to Harrison and early start to the tournament did little to help the Lady Red Devils’ efforts, but Reeves says that adapting to stringent schedules is necessary if they want to be contenders when the postseason arrives.
“We did have to travel quite a ways and spend the night, and we had to get up at 6:30 because we played at 10 o’clock,” Reeves said. “But they are just going to have to get used to doing that. If we are going to make it to the state tournament and be competitive, we will have to be prepared for situations like that, because some of those games will be played early in the morning also.”
The tournament started out tough for Jacksonville against the Lady Goblins, with a 28-26 win in game one before a tough 15-25 loss in game two. The second game has been the biggest letdown for Jacksonville in the early season, and Saturday would be no exception. Errors on the back row led to an eventual 2-1 loss to Harrison, putting the Lady Red Devils in the loser’s bracket.
One of the main goals for Reeves during the tourney was for her squad to see different teams besides the local schools in the Pulaski County area, but the trip to the consolation bracket meant repeat contests against the Lady Warriors and Lady Panthers.
Raven Pickett has been solid from the libero position in the early stages of the 2007 season, and plans for a new rotation around the junior should give her more control over gray-area hits.
“We’ve been running our poor setter all over the floor,” Reeves said. “Some of them are not understanding that if the ball gets into the gray to let Raven have it. We are going to adjust things to leave her in the backcourt by herself a little more, kind of like we did last year with Rachele (Holder). When we get that first good pass, everything goes alright, but when we send the ball everywhere on the court, it makes it tough.” Starting setter Baylee Herlacher sat out most of the match against Greenbrier injured, leaving sophomore Allison Cox with the setting duty for the remainder of the tournament. Reeves said Cox did a good job in substitution for Herlacher, but is ready to see how the adjustments on the back will improve strategy at the front.
The Lady Red Devils played a rematch against Mills at The Galaxy last night after Leader deadlines, and will stay on the road Thursday with their conference opener at West Memphis.
SPORTS >>Red Devils must stop turnovers, start faster
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Jacksonville got a big win last week after suffering a big loss in week one. Little about either game is likely to give much of a hint as to what may happen this week when the Red Devils host Lake Hamilton at Jan Crow Stadium. One clue could be found about the potential outcome, however, if the Red Devils don’t fix one major downfall.
Jacksonville has committed four turnovers in each of its first two games. It spelled disaster in week one. In week two, Jacksonville was the better team, and got the ball back on turnovers just as many times as it lost it.
If there are four turnovers against Lake Hamilton, Whatley isn’t expecting great things.
“When you turn it over that many times, bad things happen,” Whatley said. “Lake Hamilton has been a very opportunistic team. They’ve got a lot of turnovers and they turned them into points real quick. I think their scores show just how good that offense can be, and if you give them the ball and a short field, they’re going to make you pay.”
The Wolves have won their two games by a combined score of 93-18. They beat JA Fair 48-6 in the opener, then hammered class 7A Pine Bluff 43-12 last week at Pine Bluff.
Whatley can see the long strides the team has made since their meeting in week two of last season.
“They are a much-improved football team,” Whatley said. “They got pretty much everybody back. The quarterback is very much improved. They’re doing a lot more things than they did last year and they do them all pretty good. The balance it out pretty well too. They give you a lot of stuff to have to prepare for.”
Lake Hamilton coach Larry Clay is pleased with the improvement his team has shown as well, but believes Jacksonville will be better than his team’s previous two opponents.
“I think Jacksonville is the best team we’ve played to this point,” Clay said. “They have comparable speed to Pine Bluff, but overall I think they’re a little better. They’re pretty efficient at what they do. I’d say the quarterback this year is much more of a threat to run, and that gives them an extra element they didn’t have last year.”
Last year’s game saw the Wolves cough the ball up six times, helping the Red Devils to an easy win down in Pearcy.
Lake Hamilton has been the beneficiary of turnovers so far this season, and Clay has been pleased with how his team has handled the luck.
“We’ve been fortunate to have some things turn our way,” Clay said. “We’ve had short fields to work with, but we’ve done what we needed to do when we got those opportunities.”
The Wolves have four starters back on an offensive line that has created holes in the running game and provided ample time for an effective passing game.
“This line is seasoned,” Clay said. “We’re trying to do a little more power football this year. Last year the line was young wasn’t really ready to do that. This year they’re a year older, they’re stronger and they’re playing pretty well.”
Lake Hamilton hopes to be able to minimize some of Jacksonville’s speed, especially on kickoffs. The Wolves kicker, ??, is one of the state’s best.
“We have an outstanding kicker,” Clay said. “That helps against everybody, especially these really athletic teams. He kicks it into the end zone on kickoffs about 90 percent of the time. Of course, if they score as fast as they did last year it won’t matter how far we kick it.”
Jacksonville will try to guard against turnovers, but overall execution still needs to improve, according to the head Red Devil.
“By no means are we where we need to be,” Whatley said. “We didn’t execute real well. We played a better second half in both games, but we’ve got to get out of the box faster than we have. Two weeks ago we couldn’t overcome it. Last week we were able to, but we can’t get keep doing that.”
Leader sports editor
Jacksonville got a big win last week after suffering a big loss in week one. Little about either game is likely to give much of a hint as to what may happen this week when the Red Devils host Lake Hamilton at Jan Crow Stadium. One clue could be found about the potential outcome, however, if the Red Devils don’t fix one major downfall.
Jacksonville has committed four turnovers in each of its first two games. It spelled disaster in week one. In week two, Jacksonville was the better team, and got the ball back on turnovers just as many times as it lost it.
If there are four turnovers against Lake Hamilton, Whatley isn’t expecting great things.
“When you turn it over that many times, bad things happen,” Whatley said. “Lake Hamilton has been a very opportunistic team. They’ve got a lot of turnovers and they turned them into points real quick. I think their scores show just how good that offense can be, and if you give them the ball and a short field, they’re going to make you pay.”
The Wolves have won their two games by a combined score of 93-18. They beat JA Fair 48-6 in the opener, then hammered class 7A Pine Bluff 43-12 last week at Pine Bluff.
Whatley can see the long strides the team has made since their meeting in week two of last season.
“They are a much-improved football team,” Whatley said. “They got pretty much everybody back. The quarterback is very much improved. They’re doing a lot more things than they did last year and they do them all pretty good. The balance it out pretty well too. They give you a lot of stuff to have to prepare for.”
Lake Hamilton coach Larry Clay is pleased with the improvement his team has shown as well, but believes Jacksonville will be better than his team’s previous two opponents.
“I think Jacksonville is the best team we’ve played to this point,” Clay said. “They have comparable speed to Pine Bluff, but overall I think they’re a little better. They’re pretty efficient at what they do. I’d say the quarterback this year is much more of a threat to run, and that gives them an extra element they didn’t have last year.”
Last year’s game saw the Wolves cough the ball up six times, helping the Red Devils to an easy win down in Pearcy.
Lake Hamilton has been the beneficiary of turnovers so far this season, and Clay has been pleased with how his team has handled the luck.
“We’ve been fortunate to have some things turn our way,” Clay said. “We’ve had short fields to work with, but we’ve done what we needed to do when we got those opportunities.”
The Wolves have four starters back on an offensive line that has created holes in the running game and provided ample time for an effective passing game.
“This line is seasoned,” Clay said. “We’re trying to do a little more power football this year. Last year the line was young wasn’t really ready to do that. This year they’re a year older, they’re stronger and they’re playing pretty well.”
Lake Hamilton hopes to be able to minimize some of Jacksonville’s speed, especially on kickoffs. The Wolves kicker, ??, is one of the state’s best.
“We have an outstanding kicker,” Clay said. “That helps against everybody, especially these really athletic teams. He kicks it into the end zone on kickoffs about 90 percent of the time. Of course, if they score as fast as they did last year it won’t matter how far we kick it.”
Jacksonville will try to guard against turnovers, but overall execution still needs to improve, according to the head Red Devil.
“By no means are we where we need to be,” Whatley said. “We didn’t execute real well. We played a better second half in both games, but we’ve got to get out of the box faster than we have. Two weeks ago we couldn’t overcome it. Last week we were able to, but we can’t get keep doing that.”
SPORTS >>Cabot expecting best from Lions
By RAY BENTON AND JASON KING
Leader sports staff
On paper, Cabot’s week-three matchup at home against Searcy should be its easiest to date. Searcy is mired in a long losing streak while Cabot appears to be on the road back to contender status in the state’s largest classification.
None of that seems to matter much to Cabot coach Mike Malham, who knows that there are two factors working against that point of view.
The first is Searcy played its best game of the season last week, in losing a second-half lead and falling 28-20 to Batesville. Though still a loss, it was a step in the right direction for a team that’s searching for signs of improvement.
The other factor is that no matter the situation, Searcy always plays Cabot well.
“This is a big game for them and they always come ready to play,” Malham said. “Last year they might’ve gone 0-10, but they were ahead of us going into the fourth quarter. They always play us tough and I’m not expecting anything easy. We’re not good enough to do that. We’re the kind of team, if we come ready to play and execute and don’t make mistakes, I think we can beat anybody. But we can also be beat by just about anybody if we show up thinking we’re going to win just for showing up.”
Searcy’s last outing was a vast improvement from its week one loss to Vilonia, and from its scrimmage game against Bryant two weeks before the season. Searcy coach Bart McFarland sees Friday’s close loss with Batesville as something that can serve as a foundation to be built on. The head Lion believes that the strong performance against the Pioneers can do wonders for team morale, as long as it was a legitimate sign of things to come, and not just a one-game wonder.
“This will improve the attitude of the team, no doubt,” McFarland said. “But we have to continue that. We can’t just go out there and play strong for one week and expect everything else to just fall into place, we have to find a way to take this and turn it into wins.”
McFarland says that being prepared for the Panthers on Friday means being ready for the size that the offensive and defensive line for Cabot possesses.
“They’re big up front,” McFarland said. “They come off the ball really hard; they’re just fundamentally sound. We’ll see if we can find any holes in their armor or not, but they are definitely solid.”
While most everyone would rather have an easy win than a tough one, in a way Malham is glad that Searcy’s outing last week was better.
“You can see the improvement they’re making in the Wing T,” Malham said. “They played a lot better, and I’m glad they did it last week. Hopefully that’ll mean our guys will get ready to play and we won’t have to worry about being overconfident. We don’t want to be the team they get it all going against.”
Cabot’s win in week two, a 23-8 victory at Sylvan Hills, wasn’t as dominant as its 42-0 win in week one, but Malham was still pleased with the overall outing.
“Well I thought we did what we needed to do,” Malham said. “Most of the credit for it being close goes to Sylvan Hills. We didn’t really make a lot of mistakes, they just played tough and didn’t give up. It would have been really easy for them to lay down going into halftime down by three scores, but they didn’t. I thought we played pretty good defense. On offense we only had six possessions and scored on four of them. One we turned it over on downs and one we ended the game with, so the offense did its job for the most part. Sylvan Hills just played us a tough game.”
The Panthers did get senior Jake Davis back last week. He missed most of preseason with an injury. When he went down, he was the projected starting fullback, but he played defensive tackle last week, which is where he is likely to remain.
“He did a good job for us on defense and having him there on the line gives us a few more options in other places,” Malham said. “Whether he’ll play any running back I don’t know. The ones we have there now are doing a pretty good job.”
Cabot and Searcy will kickoff from Panther Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday.
Leader sports staff
On paper, Cabot’s week-three matchup at home against Searcy should be its easiest to date. Searcy is mired in a long losing streak while Cabot appears to be on the road back to contender status in the state’s largest classification.
None of that seems to matter much to Cabot coach Mike Malham, who knows that there are two factors working against that point of view.
The first is Searcy played its best game of the season last week, in losing a second-half lead and falling 28-20 to Batesville. Though still a loss, it was a step in the right direction for a team that’s searching for signs of improvement.
The other factor is that no matter the situation, Searcy always plays Cabot well.
“This is a big game for them and they always come ready to play,” Malham said. “Last year they might’ve gone 0-10, but they were ahead of us going into the fourth quarter. They always play us tough and I’m not expecting anything easy. We’re not good enough to do that. We’re the kind of team, if we come ready to play and execute and don’t make mistakes, I think we can beat anybody. But we can also be beat by just about anybody if we show up thinking we’re going to win just for showing up.”
Searcy’s last outing was a vast improvement from its week one loss to Vilonia, and from its scrimmage game against Bryant two weeks before the season. Searcy coach Bart McFarland sees Friday’s close loss with Batesville as something that can serve as a foundation to be built on. The head Lion believes that the strong performance against the Pioneers can do wonders for team morale, as long as it was a legitimate sign of things to come, and not just a one-game wonder.
“This will improve the attitude of the team, no doubt,” McFarland said. “But we have to continue that. We can’t just go out there and play strong for one week and expect everything else to just fall into place, we have to find a way to take this and turn it into wins.”
McFarland says that being prepared for the Panthers on Friday means being ready for the size that the offensive and defensive line for Cabot possesses.
“They’re big up front,” McFarland said. “They come off the ball really hard; they’re just fundamentally sound. We’ll see if we can find any holes in their armor or not, but they are definitely solid.”
While most everyone would rather have an easy win than a tough one, in a way Malham is glad that Searcy’s outing last week was better.
“You can see the improvement they’re making in the Wing T,” Malham said. “They played a lot better, and I’m glad they did it last week. Hopefully that’ll mean our guys will get ready to play and we won’t have to worry about being overconfident. We don’t want to be the team they get it all going against.”
Cabot’s win in week two, a 23-8 victory at Sylvan Hills, wasn’t as dominant as its 42-0 win in week one, but Malham was still pleased with the overall outing.
“Well I thought we did what we needed to do,” Malham said. “Most of the credit for it being close goes to Sylvan Hills. We didn’t really make a lot of mistakes, they just played tough and didn’t give up. It would have been really easy for them to lay down going into halftime down by three scores, but they didn’t. I thought we played pretty good defense. On offense we only had six possessions and scored on four of them. One we turned it over on downs and one we ended the game with, so the offense did its job for the most part. Sylvan Hills just played us a tough game.”
The Panthers did get senior Jake Davis back last week. He missed most of preseason with an injury. When he went down, he was the projected starting fullback, but he played defensive tackle last week, which is where he is likely to remain.
“He did a good job for us on defense and having him there on the line gives us a few more options in other places,” Malham said. “Whether he’ll play any running back I don’t know. The ones we have there now are doing a pretty good job.”
Cabot and Searcy will kickoff from Panther Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday.
OBITUARIES >> 09-12-07
Ellis Sanders
Ellis Leonard Sanders, 89, of Beebe joined his beloved wife of 44 years, Lula, in heaven on Sept. 10.
He was born May 1, 1918, to the late Walter Edgar and Lora Sanders Dukes at Butlerville.
He was a proud member of the Army, serving his country during the Second World War. He retired from Western Waterproofing Company after 38 years of employment, and devoted his time to his great passions in life; family, church, friends and his love of hunting and fishing.
He was a long-standing member of Union Valley Baptist Church and a faithful member of the Joy Sunday school class. His legacy will be his family, his love of life and his “kind, gentle heart.”
He is survived by four children, Jeannie Holland and husband Jerry, Rodney Sanders and wife Margaret, Cathie Ammons and husband Richard and Faye Poe and husband James; 10 grandchildren, Jerry Holland, Michael Holland, Sherri Taylor, Christi Johnston, Nikki Holland, Laura O’Neal, Patrick Ammons, Timothy Ammons, Stephen Poe and Cortney Poe; 15 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
He is also survived by two brothers, Pete Dukes and wife Jane, and Charles Dukes.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe.
Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13 at the funeral home with burial in Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers are his grandsons, Jerry Holland, Jr., Michael Holland, Patrick Ammons, Timothy Ammons, Stephen Poe, and his oldest great-grandson, Shanon Holland. Honorary pallbearers will be Kyle Holland, Tim Taylor, Trint Taylor, Joshua Holland, James Johnston, Gary Dukes, Raymond O’Neal and Jason Gibbs.
Raedyn Garrity
Raedyn Garrity, 3 months old, of Ward died Sept. 6.
Graveside services were Sept. 10 at Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens by Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe.
Delpha David
Delpha May David, 90, of Austin died Sept. 6.
She was born May 13, 1917, at Wattensaw to Willie Harvey and Allie Virtie Ellis Jones.
She was retired from Franklin Electric and was a Methodist.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Luther; three brothers, Dewitte, Bill and Elmer Jones; and one great-granddaughter, Jennifer David.
She is survived by two sons, Bobby David of Judsonia and James Earl David of Austin; two daughters, June David and Sue and husband Donald Cates, both of Austin; 13 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; and one sister, Evelyn Busby of Ward.
Funeral services were Sept. 10 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe with burial in Butlerville Cemetery.
Icie Blakemore
Icie Blakemore, 96, of Beebe died Sept. 9.
She was born June 7, 1911, at Mt. Vernon to Boliver and Balzoria Burton Hogue.
She is survived by several nieces and nephews.
Graveside services were Sept. 11 at Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens. Funeral arrangements were by Westbrook Funeral Home of Beebe.
Bernice Caruthers
Bernice Conder Caruthers, 98, of Romance died August 31 at Woodhills Healthcare in Jacksonville.
She was born to Milburn and Elzada Davis Belew at Romance.
She was preceded in death by her parents and husbands, Bailey Conder and Clayton Caruthers.
She is survived by her brother, Glenn Belew; children, Mary Anne and husband Marvin Holeman, Carl Bailey and wife Norweita Conder, Delbert Conder, Bobby and wife Sue Conder and Johnny and wife Linda Conder; 12 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; two steps-sons, Bruce and James Caruthers; and one step-daughter, Mary Myers. Services were Sept. 2 at Romance Church of Christ with burial at Romance Cemetery.
Funeral arrangements were by Searcy-McEuen Funeral Home of Searcy.
Ellis Leonard Sanders, 89, of Beebe joined his beloved wife of 44 years, Lula, in heaven on Sept. 10.
He was born May 1, 1918, to the late Walter Edgar and Lora Sanders Dukes at Butlerville.
He was a proud member of the Army, serving his country during the Second World War. He retired from Western Waterproofing Company after 38 years of employment, and devoted his time to his great passions in life; family, church, friends and his love of hunting and fishing.
He was a long-standing member of Union Valley Baptist Church and a faithful member of the Joy Sunday school class. His legacy will be his family, his love of life and his “kind, gentle heart.”
He is survived by four children, Jeannie Holland and husband Jerry, Rodney Sanders and wife Margaret, Cathie Ammons and husband Richard and Faye Poe and husband James; 10 grandchildren, Jerry Holland, Michael Holland, Sherri Taylor, Christi Johnston, Nikki Holland, Laura O’Neal, Patrick Ammons, Timothy Ammons, Stephen Poe and Cortney Poe; 15 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
He is also survived by two brothers, Pete Dukes and wife Jane, and Charles Dukes.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe.
Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13 at the funeral home with burial in Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers are his grandsons, Jerry Holland, Jr., Michael Holland, Patrick Ammons, Timothy Ammons, Stephen Poe, and his oldest great-grandson, Shanon Holland. Honorary pallbearers will be Kyle Holland, Tim Taylor, Trint Taylor, Joshua Holland, James Johnston, Gary Dukes, Raymond O’Neal and Jason Gibbs.
Raedyn Garrity
Raedyn Garrity, 3 months old, of Ward died Sept. 6.
Graveside services were Sept. 10 at Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens by Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe.
Delpha David
Delpha May David, 90, of Austin died Sept. 6.
She was born May 13, 1917, at Wattensaw to Willie Harvey and Allie Virtie Ellis Jones.
She was retired from Franklin Electric and was a Methodist.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Luther; three brothers, Dewitte, Bill and Elmer Jones; and one great-granddaughter, Jennifer David.
She is survived by two sons, Bobby David of Judsonia and James Earl David of Austin; two daughters, June David and Sue and husband Donald Cates, both of Austin; 13 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; and one sister, Evelyn Busby of Ward.
Funeral services were Sept. 10 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe with burial in Butlerville Cemetery.
Icie Blakemore
Icie Blakemore, 96, of Beebe died Sept. 9.
She was born June 7, 1911, at Mt. Vernon to Boliver and Balzoria Burton Hogue.
She is survived by several nieces and nephews.
Graveside services were Sept. 11 at Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens. Funeral arrangements were by Westbrook Funeral Home of Beebe.
Bernice Caruthers
Bernice Conder Caruthers, 98, of Romance died August 31 at Woodhills Healthcare in Jacksonville.
She was born to Milburn and Elzada Davis Belew at Romance.
She was preceded in death by her parents and husbands, Bailey Conder and Clayton Caruthers.
She is survived by her brother, Glenn Belew; children, Mary Anne and husband Marvin Holeman, Carl Bailey and wife Norweita Conder, Delbert Conder, Bobby and wife Sue Conder and Johnny and wife Linda Conder; 12 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; two steps-sons, Bruce and James Caruthers; and one step-daughter, Mary Myers. Services were Sept. 2 at Romance Church of Christ with burial at Romance Cemetery.
Funeral arrangements were by Searcy-McEuen Funeral Home of Searcy.
EDITORIALS>>Arkansas fights battle of bulge
More and more Arkansas adults are getting fatter and fatter, more and more unhealthy. The trend may be affecting children, too, in spite of the state government’s efforts to stem the obesity epidemic.
That is bad news for former Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is campaigning for president partly on the claim of stupendous leadership on that front. Huckabee can crack a few jokes and divert attention from the failing, but it doesn’t work for the rest of us.
Obesity is a costly proposition, for all of us and not merely those of us who suffer from fat-related diseases like diabetes. It raises health-care costs for everyone owing to the cost shifting that is endemic to the U. S. healthcare system. Each of us is spending about $250 a year through the state Medicaid program and other government health services to treat obesity-related diseases.
Arkansas ranks sixth or seventh, depending on the year, in the percentage of adults who are obese. More than one in four Arkansans qualifies as being extremely overweight. For children, the figures are not quite as bad, about one in five. The figure inched up slightly the last school year after a couple of years of light decline.
Dr. Joe Thompson, the state surgeon general, tried to put a good twist on the latest figures this week by pointing out that fewer children last year subjected themselves to the body mass index, from which the statistics come. But the reality is probably worse, not better, than the statistics because parents of obese children might keep them home on the day of the weigh-ins to protect them from embarrassment.
Clearly, the steps that the state has taken – the body mass index, the notes to parents and light regulation of high-calorie, low-nutrition, vending-machine foods in the schools are not getting the job done. Huckabee’s personal example of weight loss and training and his occasional lecture about healthy lifestyles, while laudable, have done nothing to change the habits of people. Few states have done much more.
Obesity runs highest among the very poor. In four school districts, all in the most desperately poor areas of east and south Arkansas, more than half the children are obese, a community catastrophe in the making. Bad eating habits and lack of exercise are parallel with poor education.
There are tough steps government could take to drive down obesity, like high taxes on empty snack foods and sodas, but they are heavy-handed and of limited help. Many simply buy fewer nutritional foods.
Better would be a persistent and high-tempo educational campaign to persuade people of the grave risks of poor eating and recreational habits.
It has worked well to sharply reduce tobacco use. Poor nutrition is at least as deadly as tobacco. The state has used some of its tobacco-settlement funds to advertise the perils of smoking in collaboration with national antismoking campaigns. There could be no wiser investment of state funds than to raise the level of public fitness.
– Ernie Dumas
That is bad news for former Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is campaigning for president partly on the claim of stupendous leadership on that front. Huckabee can crack a few jokes and divert attention from the failing, but it doesn’t work for the rest of us.
Obesity is a costly proposition, for all of us and not merely those of us who suffer from fat-related diseases like diabetes. It raises health-care costs for everyone owing to the cost shifting that is endemic to the U. S. healthcare system. Each of us is spending about $250 a year through the state Medicaid program and other government health services to treat obesity-related diseases.
Arkansas ranks sixth or seventh, depending on the year, in the percentage of adults who are obese. More than one in four Arkansans qualifies as being extremely overweight. For children, the figures are not quite as bad, about one in five. The figure inched up slightly the last school year after a couple of years of light decline.
Dr. Joe Thompson, the state surgeon general, tried to put a good twist on the latest figures this week by pointing out that fewer children last year subjected themselves to the body mass index, from which the statistics come. But the reality is probably worse, not better, than the statistics because parents of obese children might keep them home on the day of the weigh-ins to protect them from embarrassment.
Clearly, the steps that the state has taken – the body mass index, the notes to parents and light regulation of high-calorie, low-nutrition, vending-machine foods in the schools are not getting the job done. Huckabee’s personal example of weight loss and training and his occasional lecture about healthy lifestyles, while laudable, have done nothing to change the habits of people. Few states have done much more.
Obesity runs highest among the very poor. In four school districts, all in the most desperately poor areas of east and south Arkansas, more than half the children are obese, a community catastrophe in the making. Bad eating habits and lack of exercise are parallel with poor education.
There are tough steps government could take to drive down obesity, like high taxes on empty snack foods and sodas, but they are heavy-handed and of limited help. Many simply buy fewer nutritional foods.
Better would be a persistent and high-tempo educational campaign to persuade people of the grave risks of poor eating and recreational habits.
It has worked well to sharply reduce tobacco use. Poor nutrition is at least as deadly as tobacco. The state has used some of its tobacco-settlement funds to advertise the perils of smoking in collaboration with national antismoking campaigns. There could be no wiser investment of state funds than to raise the level of public fitness.
– Ernie Dumas
EDITORIALS>>State studies global warming
Arkansas now has an official agency commissioned to do something about global warming on our small province of the planet, the Governor’s Commission on Global Warming. Gov. Beebe, who appointed 17 of the 21 members, had some hopeful things to say about it on its send-off.
But we all know, don’t we, that nothing much ever comes from these study commissions. This one will suggest some small energy-saving steps, talk about encouraging the development of clean-burning biofuels and renewable energy sources, and what else? Once finished, the report will take up a little shelf space in the state archives.
Could this commission be different? After all, the sponsor of the act creating the commission, the indefatigable idealist Rep. Kathy Webb, also will be on the commission, having been appointed by House Speaker Benny Petrus Jr. Webb gets things done and she may be able to get a workable consensus from the corporate bureaucrats and nonprofit representatives on the commission and then get the legislature to implement some of the solutions. We’d like to hope.
Arkansas is a tiny part of this rapidly heating planet and it can do no more than make a barely discernible reduction in the greenhouse gases that are heating the atmosphere and melting the polar icecaps. But it can do that, and it might set an example for others.
The commission and Gov. Beebe could do one thing immediately that would contribute far more than anything else it is liable to do. They could intervene at the Public Service Commission and urge the commissioners not to grant a certificate for the construction of the big coal-fired generating plant in Hempstead County sought by Southwestern Electric Power Co.
Once in operation, the plant will send more warming carbon dioxide into the air every year than all the automobiles and commercial machinery in Arkansas combined.
The environmental hearing looks almost exclusively at mercury, sulfur dioxide and other emissions that tend to have immediate and localized effect on the streams, forests and air.
It could jeopardize the verdant and pristine Grassy Lake region. But the carbon dioxide that the plant will produce rises into the atmosphere to affect the whole planet for hundreds of years. Arkansas’ existing three coal-burning plants pump nearly 30 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. That is enough from us.
Time may be too short for the new commission to intervene effectively (the PSC will make its decision this fall), but it would be an energizing start.
But we all know, don’t we, that nothing much ever comes from these study commissions. This one will suggest some small energy-saving steps, talk about encouraging the development of clean-burning biofuels and renewable energy sources, and what else? Once finished, the report will take up a little shelf space in the state archives.
Could this commission be different? After all, the sponsor of the act creating the commission, the indefatigable idealist Rep. Kathy Webb, also will be on the commission, having been appointed by House Speaker Benny Petrus Jr. Webb gets things done and she may be able to get a workable consensus from the corporate bureaucrats and nonprofit representatives on the commission and then get the legislature to implement some of the solutions. We’d like to hope.
Arkansas is a tiny part of this rapidly heating planet and it can do no more than make a barely discernible reduction in the greenhouse gases that are heating the atmosphere and melting the polar icecaps. But it can do that, and it might set an example for others.
The commission and Gov. Beebe could do one thing immediately that would contribute far more than anything else it is liable to do. They could intervene at the Public Service Commission and urge the commissioners not to grant a certificate for the construction of the big coal-fired generating plant in Hempstead County sought by Southwestern Electric Power Co.
Once in operation, the plant will send more warming carbon dioxide into the air every year than all the automobiles and commercial machinery in Arkansas combined.
The environmental hearing looks almost exclusively at mercury, sulfur dioxide and other emissions that tend to have immediate and localized effect on the streams, forests and air.
It could jeopardize the verdant and pristine Grassy Lake region. But the carbon dioxide that the plant will produce rises into the atmosphere to affect the whole planet for hundreds of years. Arkansas’ existing three coal-burning plants pump nearly 30 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. That is enough from us.
Time may be too short for the new commission to intervene effectively (the PSC will make its decision this fall), but it would be an energizing start.
TOP STORY >>Payday borrowers will get break from lenders
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
Some local banks have shown interest in making short-term, lower-interest payday alternative loans (PAL) similar to those to be available by month’s end to members of the military and their families, according to Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending.
These loans would be in competition with the short-term, high-interest loans made to so-called sub-prime lenders, typically $300 for two weeks, with about $50 additional owed in interest.
The PAL loans that some banks may soon be making will provide affordable installment loans of as much as $500 with a unique savings component equal to 100 percent of the loan amount, according to Lyn Haralson, community affairs specialist for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Little Rock branch.
Haralson is chairman of the AAAPL alternatives committee. “There is clearly a significant demand for affordable small-dollar loans,” she said.
“The stories of borrowers paying 10 times the original amount borrowed before they are able to satisfy the debt is of grave concern,” she added.
She said AAAPL and its founder, Hank Klein, have held workshops for interested banks, but that she doesn’t yet know of any banks that have started PALs.
Arkansas Federal Credit Union will begin offering military appreciation loans at 18 percent annual interest by Oct. 1, according to Terry Vick, vice president of lending for the credit union.
A new federal law takes effect by then, limiting to 36 percent the interest rate that members of the military can be charged on a loan.
The loan is intended to help the troops get out of payday difficulties, Vick says.
Vick said the credit union would lend as much as $750 to members of the military plus put an additional $375 into a savings account, funded by the interest payments.
The money in the savings account is placed on hold until the entire loan is paid off over the course of a single year.
Haralson said the bank loans would be capped at 17 percent.
“These are bank customers, they already have accounts,” said Haralson. “Banks are trying to figure out how to meet those needs without going outside regulated institutions. We’re looking to create opportunities where a person banks right now.”
She said PAL loans are a good alternative not only to payday loans, which charge hundreds of percent interest, but also for those who need short-term loans to get out of so-called “courtesy pay”, also known as overdraft protection. Overdraft protection can be more expensive than even a payday loan in some circumstances.
Meanwhile, the Government Accounting Office has found fault with assumptions upon which Congress bases its new military lending law, limiting interest to 36 percent, according to a press release from the Community Financial Services Association of America—the payday lending industry’s trade group.
“Our suspicion that the (Department of Defense) worked closely with payday lending critics and relied on limited information and flawed methodology to come up with their recommendations has been confirmed,” said Darrin Andersen, president of the association.
Leader senior staff writer
Some local banks have shown interest in making short-term, lower-interest payday alternative loans (PAL) similar to those to be available by month’s end to members of the military and their families, according to Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending.
These loans would be in competition with the short-term, high-interest loans made to so-called sub-prime lenders, typically $300 for two weeks, with about $50 additional owed in interest.
The PAL loans that some banks may soon be making will provide affordable installment loans of as much as $500 with a unique savings component equal to 100 percent of the loan amount, according to Lyn Haralson, community affairs specialist for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Little Rock branch.
Haralson is chairman of the AAAPL alternatives committee. “There is clearly a significant demand for affordable small-dollar loans,” she said.
“The stories of borrowers paying 10 times the original amount borrowed before they are able to satisfy the debt is of grave concern,” she added.
She said AAAPL and its founder, Hank Klein, have held workshops for interested banks, but that she doesn’t yet know of any banks that have started PALs.
Arkansas Federal Credit Union will begin offering military appreciation loans at 18 percent annual interest by Oct. 1, according to Terry Vick, vice president of lending for the credit union.
A new federal law takes effect by then, limiting to 36 percent the interest rate that members of the military can be charged on a loan.
The loan is intended to help the troops get out of payday difficulties, Vick says.
Vick said the credit union would lend as much as $750 to members of the military plus put an additional $375 into a savings account, funded by the interest payments.
The money in the savings account is placed on hold until the entire loan is paid off over the course of a single year.
Haralson said the bank loans would be capped at 17 percent.
“These are bank customers, they already have accounts,” said Haralson. “Banks are trying to figure out how to meet those needs without going outside regulated institutions. We’re looking to create opportunities where a person banks right now.”
She said PAL loans are a good alternative not only to payday loans, which charge hundreds of percent interest, but also for those who need short-term loans to get out of so-called “courtesy pay”, also known as overdraft protection. Overdraft protection can be more expensive than even a payday loan in some circumstances.
Meanwhile, the Government Accounting Office has found fault with assumptions upon which Congress bases its new military lending law, limiting interest to 36 percent, according to a press release from the Community Financial Services Association of America—the payday lending industry’s trade group.
“Our suspicion that the (Department of Defense) worked closely with payday lending critics and relied on limited information and flawed methodology to come up with their recommendations has been confirmed,” said Darrin Andersen, president of the association.
TOP STORY >>City still unhappy with route
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Sherwood’s rapid growth and development have already added years and millions of dollars to the cost of constructing the next leg of the North Belt Loop from Highway 67/167, and they might now add even more to the cost.
The city is taking offense at the Highway Department’s plans for an I-440 interchange near the intersection of Brockington and Oakdale. The city thinks current plans put the interchange too close to the intersection and will choke commercial development of the four corners of the intersection.
The problem is if the area develops commercially before design plans are locked in, it could spell trouble for completion of the North Belt.
Alderman Steve Fender told Sherwood’s City Council recently that a planned North Belt freeway interchange close to Oakdale and Brockington could prevent the development of commercially-zoned land in the area.
In question are two tracts of commercial land, totaling more than 100 acres. “The development of this four- corners area is very important to the city,” Fender told the city council at its meeting last month.
“Right now with the design the Highway Department is advocating, the city is faced with either having the freeway and interchange or having development on the four corners of that area,” he said.
Randy Ort, a spokesman for the Highway Department, said the highway extension was still very early in the planning stages and interchange designs could be changed.
“We are aware of the city’s concerns and always try to work with a community,” he said. “No matter what we come up with some people are going to be negatively impacted. The growth that will be generated by the North Belt will benefit not only Sherwood, but all of central Arkansas,” Ort said.
Ort explained that once a design is developed there will be public hearings on it. “The department will use the comments from those hearings to finalize the design, making any changes that are necessary,” he explained.
Ort said that a route was tentatively planned for the North Belt leg between Highway 67/167 and Highway 107 back in the early 1990’s. “We even had federal approval, but Sherwood had different plans for a portion of the land we wanted for the North Belt,” he said. The city went to Metroplan to plead its case, and Metroplan agreed. “Without Metroplan’s backing, we can’t get federal money and you need federal money for a project of this size,” Ort said.
Now 13 years later, the piece of land is Miller’s Crossing subdivision and a new route has been proposed for the leg. “We had to look at alternative routes and do a new environmental impact study,” Ort said.
According to Fender, the Highway Department doesn’t have the power to place a moratorium on construction in the planned interchange area. Only the city can do that, and the department needs to know that no construction will take place in the right of way that it needs for the interchange.
But until the city issues a moratorium, it cannot deny any development requests for that land if all other criteria have been met.
The concern, according to City Engineer Michael Clayton, is that the on and off ramps will be too close to the signal-light intersection, preventing commercial growth. Clayton said he is working with the developers and owners of the property to come up with a consensus on what is the best solution to move forward on this thorny issue.
According to Highway Department officials, once the city ensures the department that no development will take place; the state will proceed with the survey and the preliminary designs.
Both Clayton and Fender hope to present to the council at its next meeting a recommendation based on consensus of the developers and the Highway Department to protect the integrity of the interchange and still allow for some commercial growth.
Leader staff writer
Sherwood’s rapid growth and development have already added years and millions of dollars to the cost of constructing the next leg of the North Belt Loop from Highway 67/167, and they might now add even more to the cost.
The city is taking offense at the Highway Department’s plans for an I-440 interchange near the intersection of Brockington and Oakdale. The city thinks current plans put the interchange too close to the intersection and will choke commercial development of the four corners of the intersection.
The problem is if the area develops commercially before design plans are locked in, it could spell trouble for completion of the North Belt.
Alderman Steve Fender told Sherwood’s City Council recently that a planned North Belt freeway interchange close to Oakdale and Brockington could prevent the development of commercially-zoned land in the area.
In question are two tracts of commercial land, totaling more than 100 acres. “The development of this four- corners area is very important to the city,” Fender told the city council at its meeting last month.
“Right now with the design the Highway Department is advocating, the city is faced with either having the freeway and interchange or having development on the four corners of that area,” he said.
Randy Ort, a spokesman for the Highway Department, said the highway extension was still very early in the planning stages and interchange designs could be changed.
“We are aware of the city’s concerns and always try to work with a community,” he said. “No matter what we come up with some people are going to be negatively impacted. The growth that will be generated by the North Belt will benefit not only Sherwood, but all of central Arkansas,” Ort said.
Ort explained that once a design is developed there will be public hearings on it. “The department will use the comments from those hearings to finalize the design, making any changes that are necessary,” he explained.
Ort said that a route was tentatively planned for the North Belt leg between Highway 67/167 and Highway 107 back in the early 1990’s. “We even had federal approval, but Sherwood had different plans for a portion of the land we wanted for the North Belt,” he said. The city went to Metroplan to plead its case, and Metroplan agreed. “Without Metroplan’s backing, we can’t get federal money and you need federal money for a project of this size,” Ort said.
Now 13 years later, the piece of land is Miller’s Crossing subdivision and a new route has been proposed for the leg. “We had to look at alternative routes and do a new environmental impact study,” Ort said.
According to Fender, the Highway Department doesn’t have the power to place a moratorium on construction in the planned interchange area. Only the city can do that, and the department needs to know that no construction will take place in the right of way that it needs for the interchange.
But until the city issues a moratorium, it cannot deny any development requests for that land if all other criteria have been met.
The concern, according to City Engineer Michael Clayton, is that the on and off ramps will be too close to the signal-light intersection, preventing commercial growth. Clayton said he is working with the developers and owners of the property to come up with a consensus on what is the best solution to move forward on this thorny issue.
According to Highway Department officials, once the city ensures the department that no development will take place; the state will proceed with the survey and the preliminary designs.
Both Clayton and Fender hope to present to the council at its next meeting a recommendation based on consensus of the developers and the Highway Department to protect the integrity of the interchange and still allow for some commercial growth.
FROM THE PUBLISHER >>All voices need to be heard now
No one at the Little Rock School District or at Central High School will tell us if the city will honor white students and their teachers who stood up to the bigots outside Central High School when Gov. Faubus tried to keep nine black kids out of their neighborhood school 50 years ago this month.
Nobody has called us back with a comment about the anniversary celebrations later this month, maybe because the public-relations staff is busy doing interviews with out-of-state media. Why bother talking to a suburban newspaper when you have the New York Times and the BBC on the line?
Hundreds of journalists from around the world will cover the anniversary events on Sept. 25. Perhaps they’ll also interview the decent people who didn’t attack and humiliate the Little Rock Nine. The dark side of humanity was on display that September 50 years ago, but good triumphed over bad: The bad guys eventually lost, as they always do.
Several former white students feel slighted that they’re not getting the recognition due them. Last week, Gene Bowman, a Jacksonville insurance agent who was a sophomore during the integration troubles, told us some of the white kids deserve a little recognition, too.
Apparently, some people think Bowman shouldn’t speak out.
A reader complained to the insurance company Bowman works for, presumably because he spoke his mind, but his boss told him he did nothing wrong by talking to us, so Gene is sticking to his position: The students who didn’t act like a bunch of jerks deserve some recognition.
This is not to take anything away from the nine courageous black students who risked their lives going into Central with a mob out in front.
But many white students at Central who reached out to the Little Rock Nine are speaking out in a new book. It’s called “Central in Our Lives: Voices from Little Rock Central High School, 1957-58,” by Ralph Brodie, a Little Rock lawyer who was the student council president, and Marvin Schwartz, a Little Rock freelance writer.
Jane Emery Prather, Class of 1958, says in the book, “Will preconceived notions about Southern racism prevent the (media) from hearing that the majority of white students were, in fact, the unsung heroes who kept their classroom situation calm enough for the school year to proceed?”
Shirley Swaim Stancil, a guidance counselor at Central: “I remember telling my homeroom students regularly, ‘Don’t do anything today that you can’t live with the rest of your life.’”
Coach Wilson Matthews told a varsity team meeting Sept. 23, 1957, at the height of the integration crisis: “Don’t look out the window and worry about what’s going on outside. If I hear any of you getting involved in any of this, you are finished with football. You will answer to me.”
There were plenty of courageous people at Central, from the administration down to the youngest students who befriended the new black kids. Their side of the story is told in “Central in Our Lives,” which we’ll review in our next column.
Nobody has called us back with a comment about the anniversary celebrations later this month, maybe because the public-relations staff is busy doing interviews with out-of-state media. Why bother talking to a suburban newspaper when you have the New York Times and the BBC on the line?
Hundreds of journalists from around the world will cover the anniversary events on Sept. 25. Perhaps they’ll also interview the decent people who didn’t attack and humiliate the Little Rock Nine. The dark side of humanity was on display that September 50 years ago, but good triumphed over bad: The bad guys eventually lost, as they always do.
Several former white students feel slighted that they’re not getting the recognition due them. Last week, Gene Bowman, a Jacksonville insurance agent who was a sophomore during the integration troubles, told us some of the white kids deserve a little recognition, too.
Apparently, some people think Bowman shouldn’t speak out.
A reader complained to the insurance company Bowman works for, presumably because he spoke his mind, but his boss told him he did nothing wrong by talking to us, so Gene is sticking to his position: The students who didn’t act like a bunch of jerks deserve some recognition.
This is not to take anything away from the nine courageous black students who risked their lives going into Central with a mob out in front.
But many white students at Central who reached out to the Little Rock Nine are speaking out in a new book. It’s called “Central in Our Lives: Voices from Little Rock Central High School, 1957-58,” by Ralph Brodie, a Little Rock lawyer who was the student council president, and Marvin Schwartz, a Little Rock freelance writer.
Jane Emery Prather, Class of 1958, says in the book, “Will preconceived notions about Southern racism prevent the (media) from hearing that the majority of white students were, in fact, the unsung heroes who kept their classroom situation calm enough for the school year to proceed?”
Shirley Swaim Stancil, a guidance counselor at Central: “I remember telling my homeroom students regularly, ‘Don’t do anything today that you can’t live with the rest of your life.’”
Coach Wilson Matthews told a varsity team meeting Sept. 23, 1957, at the height of the integration crisis: “Don’t look out the window and worry about what’s going on outside. If I hear any of you getting involved in any of this, you are finished with football. You will answer to me.”
There were plenty of courageous people at Central, from the administration down to the youngest students who befriended the new black kids. Their side of the story is told in “Central in Our Lives,” which we’ll review in our next column.
TOP STORY >>Lawmakers must leave because of term limits
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
Whether or not you think term limits are a good idea, your current state representative won’t be there for you when the state House of Representatives next reconvenes in 2009 if you live in or around Jacksonville, Cabot, Sherwood or Lonoke.
Gone from office will be Reps. Will Bond, Sandra Prater, Jeff Wood, Susan Schulte and Lenville Evans.
The current law limits state representatives to three two-year terms and state senators to two four-year terms.
But Bond points out that by the end of his six years in office, the legislature will have been in session less than one year, including special sessions.
The Arkansas General Assembly meets every two years for 90 days—so that’s three years times 90 days, or 270 days.
Actually, the current crop of area representatives will have “termed out” after four years and 91 days, according to his reckoning.
Bond, the Jacksonville representative, has been particularly outspoken in his opposition to term limits as they now exist, and for his articulate and outspoken advocacy for change, U.S. Termlimits Inc., a national group, has mocked him in a 30-second television spot that features dancing cartoon pigs in a hay loft.
“Bond wants to gut term limits, just so (he) can dance with the lobbyists a little longer,” an off-screen voice says.
Bond sponsored an act to let voters decide whether or not to let both state representatives and senators each serve 12 years, but his act—far from partying with the lobbyists—would have prohibited any legislator from taking any sort of gratuity, trip, item, drink, meal or anything from a lobbyist. It also would have prohibited legislators from going to work as a lobbyist for 12 months after leaving office.
Called the Government Reform act, it “would have banned lobbying and entertainment,” said Bond.
“It made it to the joint committee, which adjourned without referring the bill out,” Bond said.
Bond said he had been accused of trying to extend his own term, but “I’m done. I’m not running for the House again, even if (limits) are extended.”
Including federal funds that pass through the legislature, lawmakers budget more than $14 billion, while employing about 10,000 state employees—more than Wal-Mart, and it’s not a job for a lot of inexperienced people.
“We oversee appropriations,” said Bond. “We make determinations of budgets. No business would operate with anyone with less than one year’s experience making those decisions.”
Evans, Schulte, Prater and Wood each agreed that representatives could be more effective if term limits were longer.
Each of the legislators expressed pride at the work done in the General Assembly during their three terms.
BOND
“As a group, legislatively, we’ve committed a tremendous amount of resources to education,” Bond said.
“In 2004, we made tough tax decisions on Lakeview school adequacy,” he said. “I’m proud of the consolidation measure, it made a whole lot of sense.”
He said lawmakers enacted meaningful sentencing reform, including use of transitional housing as an option for some inmates.
“We have a moral imperative to give folks an opportunity at redemption,” he said.
For many of his constituents, the leadership Bond asserted in advancing the possibility of a stand-alone Jacksonville school district may be his legislative legacy.
In 2005, he arranged for the state Education Department to hire consultants to assess the feasibility of a Jacksonville district.
Now that the idea has been found feasible, Bond promoted bills intended to help the state save about $60 million a year in desegregation costs, and to hire consultants and lawyers to help get all Pulaski County school districts in compliance with the court-ordered desegregation agreement.
PRATER
Rep. Prater, who worked closely with Bond on several issues, sponsored a new law that requires additional training in Alzheimer’s and other dementia for certified nurse assistants, so they would better understand the disease process and be better able to take care of such patients in a nursing home, she said.
This session, she also passed a law creating the Traumatic Brain Injury Task Force. She said she had been asked to serve on that task force.
It can help families who have to deal with family members with such injuries, including those coming back from Iraq. “We want to develop a statewide plan to move us forward, looking at treatment and at the same time having opportunities for families to get formation for necessary help,” she said.
She was lead sponsor on a bill that requires counseling and helps patients and their families assess various services available, including home health care, assisted living or nursing homes.
“We think the cost factor will be better as well,” she said, “costing fewer Medicaid dollars.”
Prater wouldn’t rule out running for another office in the future, perhaps the seat to be vacated by state Sen. John Paul Capps in 2010.
WOOD
Rep. Jeff Wood, D-Sherwood, said he would miss the people and the process, but would get to spend more time with his family.
“I enjoyed working the bills through the legislature and making a difference in lives of my constitutents.”
Wood said he believed that term limits weakens the legislative body while strengthening the judicial and executive branches and the lobbyists.
He said he would consider running for the state Senate after Mary Ann Salmon is term limited, depending on redistricting and other variables.
“We’ll wait and see,” he said. Wood, a lawyer in the National Guard’s JAG corps, frequently sponsored legislation helpful to Arkansas soldiers.
“I really enjoyed getting the income-tax exemption raised from $6,000 to $10,000 for enlisted men and officers,” he said. “I like working more behind the scenes to get the bill passed.”
He sponsored the Military Protection Act, passed in 2005. He said when the new law passed by Congress takes effect on October 1, payday lenders will have to limit loans to military and their families to 36 percent.
Ironically, he said, his law was used as an excuse in the past to continue making high interest loans—several hundred percent in interest—to the military, so as to not discriminate against the military.
“I’m going to miss serving with Will (Bond) and Sandra (Prater),” he said. “I think we built a real strong relationship working together.”
SCHULTE
“This was a quiet session for me,” Rep. Schulte said. “I was excited to see the energy bill that Lindsley Smith (D-Fayetteville) passed.”
She said it should provide an incentive to chicken farmers to capture and burn the naturally occurring methane gas in used chicken litter to generate electricity for their own use and to sell back to power companies on the electric grid.
“I think over my three terms I’ve seen a progressively conservative legislature,” said Schulte, the area’s only Republican representative.
“It’s been gratifying to see more pro-life bills have passed and that we were able to reduce taxes this time and to take care of some of the gaps we had in services with the surplus.”
She said it was difficult for a small business owner like her to juggle the responsibilities of work and duty during the sessions, but, “I feel very lucky to have been able to do this—to see how government works.”
She said a beneficial aspect of term limits is that regular folks come in and “have a hand protecting the government and changing it to be what they think it ought to be.”
She thinks the terms should be extended however.
“We come in with so little knowledge and don’t have any kind of (institutional) memory.”
She said she’d be in favor of a constitutional amendment that would require the General Assembly to meet annually, dealing with the budget the first year of the biennium and other matters in the second.
“Whenever we enacted term limits, we didn’t understand the unintended consequences,” she said.
EVANS
Rep. Evans, who served about six years as Lonoke mayor before his election as state representative, says he favors term limits, but the current limits are too short.
He said the highlight of his terms in office was “getting the schools situated.”
“We should be through with Lakeview now,” referring to the landmark school-funding case. He said he also was proud that legislators greatly reduced the tax on groceries.
He said he also was proud of “some of the stuff I voted against,” but he didn’t elaborate.
“This has been a very rewarding, humbling experience,” he added.
Leader senior staff writer
Whether or not you think term limits are a good idea, your current state representative won’t be there for you when the state House of Representatives next reconvenes in 2009 if you live in or around Jacksonville, Cabot, Sherwood or Lonoke.
Gone from office will be Reps. Will Bond, Sandra Prater, Jeff Wood, Susan Schulte and Lenville Evans.
The current law limits state representatives to three two-year terms and state senators to two four-year terms.
But Bond points out that by the end of his six years in office, the legislature will have been in session less than one year, including special sessions.
The Arkansas General Assembly meets every two years for 90 days—so that’s three years times 90 days, or 270 days.
Actually, the current crop of area representatives will have “termed out” after four years and 91 days, according to his reckoning.
Bond, the Jacksonville representative, has been particularly outspoken in his opposition to term limits as they now exist, and for his articulate and outspoken advocacy for change, U.S. Termlimits Inc., a national group, has mocked him in a 30-second television spot that features dancing cartoon pigs in a hay loft.
“Bond wants to gut term limits, just so (he) can dance with the lobbyists a little longer,” an off-screen voice says.
Bond sponsored an act to let voters decide whether or not to let both state representatives and senators each serve 12 years, but his act—far from partying with the lobbyists—would have prohibited any legislator from taking any sort of gratuity, trip, item, drink, meal or anything from a lobbyist. It also would have prohibited legislators from going to work as a lobbyist for 12 months after leaving office.
Called the Government Reform act, it “would have banned lobbying and entertainment,” said Bond.
“It made it to the joint committee, which adjourned without referring the bill out,” Bond said.
Bond said he had been accused of trying to extend his own term, but “I’m done. I’m not running for the House again, even if (limits) are extended.”
Including federal funds that pass through the legislature, lawmakers budget more than $14 billion, while employing about 10,000 state employees—more than Wal-Mart, and it’s not a job for a lot of inexperienced people.
“We oversee appropriations,” said Bond. “We make determinations of budgets. No business would operate with anyone with less than one year’s experience making those decisions.”
Evans, Schulte, Prater and Wood each agreed that representatives could be more effective if term limits were longer.
Each of the legislators expressed pride at the work done in the General Assembly during their three terms.
BOND
“As a group, legislatively, we’ve committed a tremendous amount of resources to education,” Bond said.
“In 2004, we made tough tax decisions on Lakeview school adequacy,” he said. “I’m proud of the consolidation measure, it made a whole lot of sense.”
He said lawmakers enacted meaningful sentencing reform, including use of transitional housing as an option for some inmates.
“We have a moral imperative to give folks an opportunity at redemption,” he said.
For many of his constituents, the leadership Bond asserted in advancing the possibility of a stand-alone Jacksonville school district may be his legislative legacy.
In 2005, he arranged for the state Education Department to hire consultants to assess the feasibility of a Jacksonville district.
Now that the idea has been found feasible, Bond promoted bills intended to help the state save about $60 million a year in desegregation costs, and to hire consultants and lawyers to help get all Pulaski County school districts in compliance with the court-ordered desegregation agreement.
PRATER
Rep. Prater, who worked closely with Bond on several issues, sponsored a new law that requires additional training in Alzheimer’s and other dementia for certified nurse assistants, so they would better understand the disease process and be better able to take care of such patients in a nursing home, she said.
This session, she also passed a law creating the Traumatic Brain Injury Task Force. She said she had been asked to serve on that task force.
It can help families who have to deal with family members with such injuries, including those coming back from Iraq. “We want to develop a statewide plan to move us forward, looking at treatment and at the same time having opportunities for families to get formation for necessary help,” she said.
She was lead sponsor on a bill that requires counseling and helps patients and their families assess various services available, including home health care, assisted living or nursing homes.
“We think the cost factor will be better as well,” she said, “costing fewer Medicaid dollars.”
Prater wouldn’t rule out running for another office in the future, perhaps the seat to be vacated by state Sen. John Paul Capps in 2010.
WOOD
Rep. Jeff Wood, D-Sherwood, said he would miss the people and the process, but would get to spend more time with his family.
“I enjoyed working the bills through the legislature and making a difference in lives of my constitutents.”
Wood said he believed that term limits weakens the legislative body while strengthening the judicial and executive branches and the lobbyists.
He said he would consider running for the state Senate after Mary Ann Salmon is term limited, depending on redistricting and other variables.
“We’ll wait and see,” he said. Wood, a lawyer in the National Guard’s JAG corps, frequently sponsored legislation helpful to Arkansas soldiers.
“I really enjoyed getting the income-tax exemption raised from $6,000 to $10,000 for enlisted men and officers,” he said. “I like working more behind the scenes to get the bill passed.”
He sponsored the Military Protection Act, passed in 2005. He said when the new law passed by Congress takes effect on October 1, payday lenders will have to limit loans to military and their families to 36 percent.
Ironically, he said, his law was used as an excuse in the past to continue making high interest loans—several hundred percent in interest—to the military, so as to not discriminate against the military.
“I’m going to miss serving with Will (Bond) and Sandra (Prater),” he said. “I think we built a real strong relationship working together.”
SCHULTE
“This was a quiet session for me,” Rep. Schulte said. “I was excited to see the energy bill that Lindsley Smith (D-Fayetteville) passed.”
She said it should provide an incentive to chicken farmers to capture and burn the naturally occurring methane gas in used chicken litter to generate electricity for their own use and to sell back to power companies on the electric grid.
“I think over my three terms I’ve seen a progressively conservative legislature,” said Schulte, the area’s only Republican representative.
“It’s been gratifying to see more pro-life bills have passed and that we were able to reduce taxes this time and to take care of some of the gaps we had in services with the surplus.”
She said it was difficult for a small business owner like her to juggle the responsibilities of work and duty during the sessions, but, “I feel very lucky to have been able to do this—to see how government works.”
She said a beneficial aspect of term limits is that regular folks come in and “have a hand protecting the government and changing it to be what they think it ought to be.”
She thinks the terms should be extended however.
“We come in with so little knowledge and don’t have any kind of (institutional) memory.”
She said she’d be in favor of a constitutional amendment that would require the General Assembly to meet annually, dealing with the budget the first year of the biennium and other matters in the second.
“Whenever we enacted term limits, we didn’t understand the unintended consequences,” she said.
EVANS
Rep. Evans, who served about six years as Lonoke mayor before his election as state representative, says he favors term limits, but the current limits are too short.
He said the highlight of his terms in office was “getting the schools situated.”
“We should be through with Lakeview now,” referring to the landmark school-funding case. He said he also was proud that legislators greatly reduced the tax on groceries.
He said he also was proud of “some of the stuff I voted against,” but he didn’t elaborate.
“This has been a very rewarding, humbling experience,” he added.
TOP STORY >>Cabot passes budget
By HEATHER HARTSELL
Leader staff writer
The Cabot School Board met Tuesday evening to approve an $82.8 million district budget for the 2007-08 school year.
The current school year budget includes $29.8 million for salaries, $26.6 million for operating expenses, $2.6 million for the district’s debt services, and a total of $23.7 million for categorical and federal funds.
Last school year, Cabot spent $29.16 million on salaries and $25.6 million for operating expenses.
Operational expenses, including ransportation, textbooks, and district-wide equipment and supplies, received an additional $1.053 million for the current school year.
Of the 29 categories that comprise the operating fund, all but four, including expenses for Junior High North, saw an increase in funding.
Last year, JHN had $1.6 million in expenses, but only $650,000 is set aside for this school year.
Superintendent Dr. Tony Thurman credits not having to set up the JHN village from scratch as the reason for eliminating $958,781 in costs for Junior High North operations.
“The initial cost to get the village running was tremendous; this included the utility set-up for water and electrical, gravel, phones and more,” Thurman said.
“Basically, needing things set up quickly last year was extremely expensive and those are costs we will not incur this year,” he said.
The teacher salary fund received an overall increase of $661,216 for this school year, but some teacher categories were cut.
Kindergarten teacher funds were cut by $118,515, special-education teacher funds were reduced by $54,691 and the $18,500 for professional development stipends were cut all together. However, elementary teacher funds saw a $154,893 increase, junior high teacher funds gained $171,840, and principals have an additional $92,477 in their salary fund.
This year’s building fund has $12.39 million allocated for district construction projects; last year the amount was $8.65 million and in 2005-06 it was $13.08 million.
“This will complete the cost of Stagecoach Elementary and the balance will be used toward the construction of Junior High North,” Thurman said.
The budget also includes a total of $4.736 million in title and categorical funds and grants used by the district’s federal and special initiative programs.
Title funds, $1.077 million, pay for contract services for teacher licensure, professional development, extended-learning services for the four campuses listed on school improvement, the Partners in Active Learning Support (PALS) program at Cabot High School, and will cover purchasing calculators for middle school students.
The $2.28 million in categorical funds is comprised of National School Lunch Act (NSLA) funds and professional development, Alternative Learning Environment (ALE) and limited English (ELL) expenses.
Leader staff writer
The Cabot School Board met Tuesday evening to approve an $82.8 million district budget for the 2007-08 school year.
The current school year budget includes $29.8 million for salaries, $26.6 million for operating expenses, $2.6 million for the district’s debt services, and a total of $23.7 million for categorical and federal funds.
Last school year, Cabot spent $29.16 million on salaries and $25.6 million for operating expenses.
Operational expenses, including ransportation, textbooks, and district-wide equipment and supplies, received an additional $1.053 million for the current school year.
Of the 29 categories that comprise the operating fund, all but four, including expenses for Junior High North, saw an increase in funding.
Last year, JHN had $1.6 million in expenses, but only $650,000 is set aside for this school year.
Superintendent Dr. Tony Thurman credits not having to set up the JHN village from scratch as the reason for eliminating $958,781 in costs for Junior High North operations.
“The initial cost to get the village running was tremendous; this included the utility set-up for water and electrical, gravel, phones and more,” Thurman said.
“Basically, needing things set up quickly last year was extremely expensive and those are costs we will not incur this year,” he said.
The teacher salary fund received an overall increase of $661,216 for this school year, but some teacher categories were cut.
Kindergarten teacher funds were cut by $118,515, special-education teacher funds were reduced by $54,691 and the $18,500 for professional development stipends were cut all together. However, elementary teacher funds saw a $154,893 increase, junior high teacher funds gained $171,840, and principals have an additional $92,477 in their salary fund.
This year’s building fund has $12.39 million allocated for district construction projects; last year the amount was $8.65 million and in 2005-06 it was $13.08 million.
“This will complete the cost of Stagecoach Elementary and the balance will be used toward the construction of Junior High North,” Thurman said.
The budget also includes a total of $4.736 million in title and categorical funds and grants used by the district’s federal and special initiative programs.
Title funds, $1.077 million, pay for contract services for teacher licensure, professional development, extended-learning services for the four campuses listed on school improvement, the Partners in Active Learning Support (PALS) program at Cabot High School, and will cover purchasing calculators for middle school students.
The $2.28 million in categorical funds is comprised of National School Lunch Act (NSLA) funds and professional development, Alternative Learning Environment (ALE) and limited English (ELL) expenses.
TOP STORY >>$1B invested on base
By HEATHER HARTSELL
Leader staff writer
Little Rock Air Force Base could soon have half a billion dollars in construction projects and upgrades once Congress approves $22.4 million in funding, in addition to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of new aircraft the base will see in the coming years.
Current construction projects at LRAFB total around $28 million – $7 million for a new headquarters building for the 463rd Airlift Group, $10 million for a C-130J corrosion-control facility, $7 million for a new dining facility and $3.9 million for a new child development center.
There will be a net gain of 22 airplanes and a possible 315 airmen at the base.
The additional $22.4 million in appropriations could be completed by October and should include money not just for a new runway but also for a new joint-education center, as well as money to modernize the base’s aerospace ground equipment and engine facility.
According to Lisa Ackerman, spokesperson for Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), the $109.2 billion fiscal year 2008 military construction and veterans affairs appropriations bill has little opposition in Congress and should be signed by Oct. 1, which marks the beginning of the fiscal year for the U.S. government.
But before the defense bill is sent to President Bush, both the Senate and the House of Representatives will meet in conference committees to reconcile the differences between the Senate and the House versions of the bill.
The big difference for LRAFB in the two bills is funding of the base’s joint-education center — the House bill includes $9.8 million for the project, but the Senate bill does not.
“The committee will negotiate the differences for the final version of the bill, and we are hopeful it will include both projects for Little Rock Air Force Base,” Ackerman said.
“Once it is conferenced, the bill is voted on by the Senate and the House and then it is signed by the president,” she added.
The Senate approved its version of the bill last Thursday, calling for a total of $12.6 million for improvements at LRAFB – $9.8 million to repair the 314th Airlift Wing’s aging airfield, and $2.8 million to modernize the aerospace ground equipment and engine facility on base.
The House passed its bill June 15, including $9.8 million for the Jacksonville/LRAFB education center. The city is contributing $5 million toward the center.
Although the House gave its blessing on funding a new flightline, that bill didn’t include money for it.
The Senate Armed Services subcommittee had stripped money for the education center from the Senate bill.
Current projects
The 463rd Airlift Group broke ground Aug. 30 for two new projects, a $7 million headquarters building and a $10 million C-130J corrosion-control facility, both of which support implementation of the base realignment and closure process (BRAC).
Under BRAC, the 463rd AG will be reorganized as an operational combat wing. Currently, the more than 1,200 airmen and 30 C-130s that comprise the 463rd AG report directly to Air Mobility Command, their parent command.
The new headquarters will encompass both the wing and maintenance-group leadership teams as they move to 52 C-130s and four flying squadrons.
There are three flying squadrons among the 463rd AG – the 41st, 50th and 61st Airlift squadrons.
The 41st AS is the base’s first combat-ready C-130J squadron and includes 150 aircrew and their families and 16 C-130Js.
To date, they have received four and will welcome their fifth J model Wednesday.
Once the 463rd AG becomes a wing, the fourth flying squadron will be the 53rd AS, which will go from a training squadron to an operations squadron.
The 463rd is also comprised of the following squadrons: the 463rd Operations Support Squadron, the 463rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, the 463rd Maintenance Operations Squadron, and the 30th Airlift Squadron, a detached unit located in Wyoming.
The new C-130J corrosion-control facility will improve the 463rd AG’s maintenance capability as they continue to fight the global war on terrorism, Col. Jeff Hoffer, 463rd AG commander, said.
Base improvements are also underway for a new $7 million Hercules Dining Facility that is scheduled to open in the spring of 2008. Construction began following a groundbreaking ceremony in February.
The 18,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility will replace the current dining facility, Razorback Inn, which was built in 1955, and will have a 60 percent increase in seating with a total seating capacity to accommodate 250 customers.
A new $3.8 million Child Development Center, located across from the Consolidated Support Facility building, is nearing completion.
Future projects
Once the $9.8 million is appropriated, the base could begin work to upgrade its runway, ensuring it is fully functional for the 314th Airlift Wing’s training missions and the 463rd AG’s combat missions.
The funding will allow the base to repair the deteriorated runway and shoulder pavements, remove or eliminate airfield obstructions, replace runway lighting, and reorganize instrument guidance and navigation systems.
The airfield was built in 1955 and is in a state of deterioration, which could adversely affect combat readiness and may endanger aircrew lives and aircraft assets.
The joint-education center, a first-of-its-kind collaboration between a community and a base, should receive $9.8 million in appropriations once the bill is passed. The center is expected to cost about $15 million; Jacksonville already has its part, $5 million, in the bank after residents taxed themselves in 2003 with a two-year penny sales tax.
The 50,000-square-foot center will be constructed on base property but outside the fence to make classes more accessible to civilians at times of high alert on base.
It is authorized as a multi-purpose educational facility that meets Air Force standards for distance learning, video teleconferencing and seminar needs.
LRAFB is also slated to receive $2.8 million to modernize its aerospace ground equipment and engine facility.
Aircraft
Air Force officials announced last year that under BRAC, Little Rock Air Force Base will increase the number of airplanes of Air Mobility Command (AMC) to 52 C-130s and four flying squadrons, an addition of 22 aircraft.
The 41st AS alone will receive 11 more C-130Js in the future, a total of about $550 million in new aircraft built by Lockheed Martin.
At a cost of about $50 million apiece for a new J model, about $12 million each for an E model, and just over $30 million for a C-130H model, the remaining 11 additional planes needed could cost anywhere from $132 million to $550 million, if new.
But with the 53rd AS, currently a training squadron, moving over to AMC this winter, their planes will likely move with them, thus eliminating the additional cost for 11 C-130 Hercules. The number of airmen on base will remain about the same, but Air Education and Training Command (AETC) will decrease the 314th AW’s aircraft to 24 C-130s and two flying squadrons – the 48th AS, which flies training missions on the C-130Js, and the 62nd AS, which trains on the C-130E.
In addition, AMC personnel at Little Rock AFB will increase by 1,346 and AETC will lose 1,302 people here.
Overall, the numbers reflect a net increase of about 315 airmen for the base.
But this number does not reflect gains and losses of family members.
When BRAC officials originally made their recommendations, the thought was that Little Rock AFB would become a single location for the U.S.’s active-duty C-130 force structure.
Leader staff writer
Little Rock Air Force Base could soon have half a billion dollars in construction projects and upgrades once Congress approves $22.4 million in funding, in addition to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of new aircraft the base will see in the coming years.
Current construction projects at LRAFB total around $28 million – $7 million for a new headquarters building for the 463rd Airlift Group, $10 million for a C-130J corrosion-control facility, $7 million for a new dining facility and $3.9 million for a new child development center.
There will be a net gain of 22 airplanes and a possible 315 airmen at the base.
The additional $22.4 million in appropriations could be completed by October and should include money not just for a new runway but also for a new joint-education center, as well as money to modernize the base’s aerospace ground equipment and engine facility.
According to Lisa Ackerman, spokesperson for Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), the $109.2 billion fiscal year 2008 military construction and veterans affairs appropriations bill has little opposition in Congress and should be signed by Oct. 1, which marks the beginning of the fiscal year for the U.S. government.
But before the defense bill is sent to President Bush, both the Senate and the House of Representatives will meet in conference committees to reconcile the differences between the Senate and the House versions of the bill.
The big difference for LRAFB in the two bills is funding of the base’s joint-education center — the House bill includes $9.8 million for the project, but the Senate bill does not.
“The committee will negotiate the differences for the final version of the bill, and we are hopeful it will include both projects for Little Rock Air Force Base,” Ackerman said.
“Once it is conferenced, the bill is voted on by the Senate and the House and then it is signed by the president,” she added.
The Senate approved its version of the bill last Thursday, calling for a total of $12.6 million for improvements at LRAFB – $9.8 million to repair the 314th Airlift Wing’s aging airfield, and $2.8 million to modernize the aerospace ground equipment and engine facility on base.
The House passed its bill June 15, including $9.8 million for the Jacksonville/LRAFB education center. The city is contributing $5 million toward the center.
Although the House gave its blessing on funding a new flightline, that bill didn’t include money for it.
The Senate Armed Services subcommittee had stripped money for the education center from the Senate bill.
Current projects
The 463rd Airlift Group broke ground Aug. 30 for two new projects, a $7 million headquarters building and a $10 million C-130J corrosion-control facility, both of which support implementation of the base realignment and closure process (BRAC).
Under BRAC, the 463rd AG will be reorganized as an operational combat wing. Currently, the more than 1,200 airmen and 30 C-130s that comprise the 463rd AG report directly to Air Mobility Command, their parent command.
The new headquarters will encompass both the wing and maintenance-group leadership teams as they move to 52 C-130s and four flying squadrons.
There are three flying squadrons among the 463rd AG – the 41st, 50th and 61st Airlift squadrons.
The 41st AS is the base’s first combat-ready C-130J squadron and includes 150 aircrew and their families and 16 C-130Js.
To date, they have received four and will welcome their fifth J model Wednesday.
Once the 463rd AG becomes a wing, the fourth flying squadron will be the 53rd AS, which will go from a training squadron to an operations squadron.
The 463rd is also comprised of the following squadrons: the 463rd Operations Support Squadron, the 463rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, the 463rd Maintenance Operations Squadron, and the 30th Airlift Squadron, a detached unit located in Wyoming.
The new C-130J corrosion-control facility will improve the 463rd AG’s maintenance capability as they continue to fight the global war on terrorism, Col. Jeff Hoffer, 463rd AG commander, said.
Base improvements are also underway for a new $7 million Hercules Dining Facility that is scheduled to open in the spring of 2008. Construction began following a groundbreaking ceremony in February.
The 18,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility will replace the current dining facility, Razorback Inn, which was built in 1955, and will have a 60 percent increase in seating with a total seating capacity to accommodate 250 customers.
A new $3.8 million Child Development Center, located across from the Consolidated Support Facility building, is nearing completion.
Future projects
Once the $9.8 million is appropriated, the base could begin work to upgrade its runway, ensuring it is fully functional for the 314th Airlift Wing’s training missions and the 463rd AG’s combat missions.
The funding will allow the base to repair the deteriorated runway and shoulder pavements, remove or eliminate airfield obstructions, replace runway lighting, and reorganize instrument guidance and navigation systems.
The airfield was built in 1955 and is in a state of deterioration, which could adversely affect combat readiness and may endanger aircrew lives and aircraft assets.
The joint-education center, a first-of-its-kind collaboration between a community and a base, should receive $9.8 million in appropriations once the bill is passed. The center is expected to cost about $15 million; Jacksonville already has its part, $5 million, in the bank after residents taxed themselves in 2003 with a two-year penny sales tax.
The 50,000-square-foot center will be constructed on base property but outside the fence to make classes more accessible to civilians at times of high alert on base.
It is authorized as a multi-purpose educational facility that meets Air Force standards for distance learning, video teleconferencing and seminar needs.
LRAFB is also slated to receive $2.8 million to modernize its aerospace ground equipment and engine facility.
Aircraft
Air Force officials announced last year that under BRAC, Little Rock Air Force Base will increase the number of airplanes of Air Mobility Command (AMC) to 52 C-130s and four flying squadrons, an addition of 22 aircraft.
The 41st AS alone will receive 11 more C-130Js in the future, a total of about $550 million in new aircraft built by Lockheed Martin.
At a cost of about $50 million apiece for a new J model, about $12 million each for an E model, and just over $30 million for a C-130H model, the remaining 11 additional planes needed could cost anywhere from $132 million to $550 million, if new.
But with the 53rd AS, currently a training squadron, moving over to AMC this winter, their planes will likely move with them, thus eliminating the additional cost for 11 C-130 Hercules. The number of airmen on base will remain about the same, but Air Education and Training Command (AETC) will decrease the 314th AW’s aircraft to 24 C-130s and two flying squadrons – the 48th AS, which flies training missions on the C-130Js, and the 62nd AS, which trains on the C-130E.
In addition, AMC personnel at Little Rock AFB will increase by 1,346 and AETC will lose 1,302 people here.
Overall, the numbers reflect a net increase of about 315 airmen for the base.
But this number does not reflect gains and losses of family members.
When BRAC officials originally made their recommendations, the thought was that Little Rock AFB would become a single location for the U.S.’s active-duty C-130 force structure.
Monday, September 10, 2007
SPORTS >>JHS ladies dominate net, beat Lutheran
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Another easy win catapulted the Jacksonville Lady Red Devils to a 6-1 season record on Tuesday. This time, it was the Lutheran Lady Lions who were the unlucky challengers. Jacksonville took the match in straight games, 25-15, 25-9, and 25-12 for a home stand sweep.
It was the only match for Jacksonville during the week, and served as a primer for this weekend’s annual Harrison Parks and Recreation Tournament, which will include Greenbrier, Springdale, Little Rock Hall, host team Harrison and 6A-East Conference mates Mountain Home along with the Lady Devils.
At this point in the season, Jacksonville coach Melissa Reeves says that the only thing needed by her team is a few polishing touches.
“We need to fine tune a few things,” Reeves said. “We’ve been missing a few of our serves. That is something we shouldn’t be struggling with at this point, and it aggravates me to death when we do. Other than that, we just need to work on talking on the court; calling the ball. We’re pretty sure that the tournament will show us some stuff.”
The usual suspects took control at the front against Lutheran, with hitters ?Jessica Lanier and Vanessa Brown dominating the net for most of the contest. Brittany Harrison also got back into the mix against the Lady Lions after quiet performances last week against Robinson and Mills. Harrison had more kills in the Lutheran match than her last two matches combined, as the Lady Red Devils have begun to solidify a triple-threat up front.
The Lady Red Devils have become accustomed to winning at this point, but still marvel over the difference between this year’s Jacksonville team and that of one year ago.
“My kids were talking the other day,” Reeves said, “that at this point last year, we still had not won a single match. We went to the Harrison tournament last year without a win, so we’re pretty excited about how things have gone this year. We’ve played some tough teams, but we have Mountain Home, Jonesboro and Marion when we start conference, so we really won’t know everything until we get there.”
The Lady Red Devils will kick off the tournament in Harrison today with a 10 a.m. match against the host Lady Goblins.
Jacksonville will return Tuesday for its final non-conference match in a rematch at Mills. Conference play will begin Thursday for Jacksonville, with a home match against West Memphis.
Leader sportswriter
Another easy win catapulted the Jacksonville Lady Red Devils to a 6-1 season record on Tuesday. This time, it was the Lutheran Lady Lions who were the unlucky challengers. Jacksonville took the match in straight games, 25-15, 25-9, and 25-12 for a home stand sweep.
It was the only match for Jacksonville during the week, and served as a primer for this weekend’s annual Harrison Parks and Recreation Tournament, which will include Greenbrier, Springdale, Little Rock Hall, host team Harrison and 6A-East Conference mates Mountain Home along with the Lady Devils.
At this point in the season, Jacksonville coach Melissa Reeves says that the only thing needed by her team is a few polishing touches.
“We need to fine tune a few things,” Reeves said. “We’ve been missing a few of our serves. That is something we shouldn’t be struggling with at this point, and it aggravates me to death when we do. Other than that, we just need to work on talking on the court; calling the ball. We’re pretty sure that the tournament will show us some stuff.”
The usual suspects took control at the front against Lutheran, with hitters ?Jessica Lanier and Vanessa Brown dominating the net for most of the contest. Brittany Harrison also got back into the mix against the Lady Lions after quiet performances last week against Robinson and Mills. Harrison had more kills in the Lutheran match than her last two matches combined, as the Lady Red Devils have begun to solidify a triple-threat up front.
The Lady Red Devils have become accustomed to winning at this point, but still marvel over the difference between this year’s Jacksonville team and that of one year ago.
“My kids were talking the other day,” Reeves said, “that at this point last year, we still had not won a single match. We went to the Harrison tournament last year without a win, so we’re pretty excited about how things have gone this year. We’ve played some tough teams, but we have Mountain Home, Jonesboro and Marion when we start conference, so we really won’t know everything until we get there.”
The Lady Red Devils will kick off the tournament in Harrison today with a 10 a.m. match against the host Lady Goblins.
Jacksonville will return Tuesday for its final non-conference match in a rematch at Mills. Conference play will begin Thursday for Jacksonville, with a home match against West Memphis.
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