By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Falcon Stadium had an electric buzz in the air on Friday night over homecoming 2007 for North Pulaski High School, but the real fireworks would not begin until the final gun sounded, when the Falcon faithful looked to the scoreboard and saw a result they had been waiting on for 32 games, their team on top 39-13 over Greene County Tech.
It was a long overdue and well-deserved win for North Pulaski, who relied on incredible kickoff returns of 82 yards and 80 yards respectively by junior Jerald Blair. Blair was the first Falcon to touch the ball in the contest, and did so dynamically with an 82-yard dash that tied the game at 7-7, and repeated that feat at the start of the second half to put the Falcons on top for the first time in the game at 14-13.
The North Pulaski defense moved backwards on the Eagles’ first possession, but they would give up very little from that point on, dominating the second half to take their first win in almost three years.
“It’s over!” North Pulaski coach Tony Bohannon declared after the game. “It feels good for me, but it’s great for them. We stop one streak, and we start a new one now. So we’re going to get after it.”
The defense did solid work in the first half despite giving up a last-second touchdown pass for GCT to give the Eagles a 14-13 lead at the half, but they would shut Tech down altogether in the second half. The Falcons gained confidence with every succeeding play, and the NP crowd grew louder with every tick of the clock.
The final four North Pulaski scores went unanswered by the Eagles, giving the Falcons a winning conference record, and emotion that had not been felt on their own field in quite some time.
“I’ve got four seniors that have stuck with me through all of this,” Bohannon said. “But we only have nine total; the rest of them decided to go somewhere else. Well, they can go if they want to start all over again. I’ll take these kids here and this win anytime. This feels wonderful.”
Falcons senior running back Melvin Tenner made it obvious from the early moments of the game that he was not to be denied. Tenner had one first-down run in the first half in which he literally dragged six GCT linemen 24 yards down to the Tech 21-yard line. Tenner would end up missing a 26-yard field goal attempt moments later, but his statement to the GCT defenders on his brutal second-quarter runs straight at the Eagles’ line seemed to have a profound impact on their mindset in the second half.
Blair’s second run back of an Eagle kickoff for a score to start the second half gave the Falcons a charge, and Greene County Tech would never have momentum in the game again. The run only put North Pulaski up 14-13, but the enthusiasm on the sideline made it obvious that this game would not have the same result as the previous 32.
‘There’s no way to explain this in words, it’s just great,” Tenner said after the game. “If you think about it, we’re tied for first place in the conference. That’s a big step for North Pulaski football right there. We all came out here with a mindset tonight to just play a game like it’s fun. We work hard on the practice field, but we came out here tonight and did our thing and had fun.”
Tenner’s kickoff after the run back by Blair went about six yards deep in the end zone, giving the Eagles first and 10 at their own 20. They would drive all the way down to the Falcons’ 20, but the defense would step up again to deny Tech of a score. A 35-yard field goal attempt by Tripod was well short, and the Falcons would take over at their 20 with 8:06 left in the third quarter.
Blair’s highlights were not limited to kick returns. The junior all-purpose player also came away with the most impressive reception of the night. On third and 17 at their own 44, Falcons quarterback A.J. Allen threw to Blair on a slant, but GCT defender Trevor Deangelo stepped in front of Allen’s pass. The two went up, and while Deangelo had the ball in the air, it would be Blair that came down with it after picking it clean from Deangelo’s hands for 17-yard gain. Jeremy Flint would cap off the drive with a six-yard touchdown run with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter to put the Falcons up 20-13.
What little life the Eagles had left was completely knocked out of them on their next drive, when cornerback Orlando Hicks swiped a Tripod pass at the NP 29-yard line. Hicks barely stayed in bounds on the interception catch, but dragged his foot just enough before the paint to get credit for the pick.
The first play of the final quarter would be the beginning of the end for the Eagles, as Tenner plowed his way 13 yards for only the second offensive touchdown for the offense at that point. That gave the Falcons a 26-13 lead, and the remaining 11:54 of the game would be all North Pulaski.
The next drive for Tech stalled out at midfield, and the Eagles would hand the ball over on downs. Tenner, who had been the workhorse all night while teammates performed dazzling feats all around him, put an exclamation point on the win with a perfect 32-yard halfback pass to Thurman for the final score of the game with 6:49 left to play.
One more interception by Blair added insult to injury for Tripod and the GCT offense, as the Falcons ran out the final 5:29 of the game.
Senior offensive guard Jimmy Mecalo was one of many Falcons overcome with emotion after the game. Even in the thrill of the big win, Mecalo was of the mindset that there were also Falcons on the field that could not be seen, as he referenced former teammate Chris Matthews, who parished in a tragic auto accident earlier this year.
“We get down, but we get back up,” Matthews said as he tried unsuccessfully to hold back tears. “I want to thank God and my friend Chris. I wish he were here with us. I felt like Chris was in my heart, and with the team helping us to victory.”
Tenner led the Falcons with 164 yards rushing and a touchdown on 15 carries. He also had one completion on one attempt for 32 yards and a touchdown. Blair had 265 yards of all-purpose offense, including two touchdowns. The Falcons finished with 332 total yards; compared to 224 for Tech. Tripod completed 8 of 18 pass attempts for 87 yards and one touchdown with four interceptions.
The Falcons are now 1-3 overall, and 1-0 in the 5A-East Conference. They will travel to Beebe next week to face the unbeaten Badgers, a 35-0 winner over Paragould last night.
Monday, September 24, 2007
EDITORIALS>>Still down and out
“Arkansas 8th in U.S. in growth of income” trumpeted the headline above the fold of the Friday edition of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. A few more such hopeful news items and Arkansas people may feel good about themselves even if the football Razorbacks continue to lose, notwithstanding the University of Arkansas chancellor’s formula for maintaining the self-esteem of Arkansas people. It hinges on winning Razorback teams, he said. Alas, people must not read the news too closely or critically. These headlines have been appearing with some regularity in the public prints for at least 50 years. The aggregate and per-capita rate of growth in personal income in Arkansas is greater than the national average and for short periods its growth percentage ranks among the highest in the United States.
There is a caveat: that word percentage. In the second quarter of the year, personal income in Arkansas grew by 1.6 percent, compared with only 1.2 percent for the nation as a whole. Every couple of years since the Commerce Department began publishing the income and gross domestic product figures by states, Arkansas newspapers have picked up on a higher growth rate for the state. The state Chamber of Commerce often forecast future parity with the rest of the nation as the trend continued.
In fact, rather than catching up, the state was often falling farther behind. If you start with a very low base even a small dollar increase in per-capita income from one year or quarter to the next can loom large compared with the growth in a state with a much higher base, like Connecticut, even though growth in the other state might have been more robust. The chamber finally caught on and no longer calls attention to the encouraging percentages.
Arkansas’s per-capita personal income is about 75 percent of the national average, slightly less than it was three years ago. Each year, Arkansas is either 47th or 48th among the states in per-capita income, just about where it was 50 years ago. Its per-capita income growth has exceeded the national average, percentagewise, most years since 1981. But Arkansas was about $2,500 behind the national average that year and now it is about $8,000 behind. So there is not much to cheer about, except that the agricultural sector is making a little more headway than in much of the country, accounting for much of the quarterly gain.
The chancellor may be right about us. We need the Razorbacks. Go Hogs. Beat Kentucky.
There is a caveat: that word percentage. In the second quarter of the year, personal income in Arkansas grew by 1.6 percent, compared with only 1.2 percent for the nation as a whole. Every couple of years since the Commerce Department began publishing the income and gross domestic product figures by states, Arkansas newspapers have picked up on a higher growth rate for the state. The state Chamber of Commerce often forecast future parity with the rest of the nation as the trend continued.
In fact, rather than catching up, the state was often falling farther behind. If you start with a very low base even a small dollar increase in per-capita income from one year or quarter to the next can loom large compared with the growth in a state with a much higher base, like Connecticut, even though growth in the other state might have been more robust. The chamber finally caught on and no longer calls attention to the encouraging percentages.
Arkansas’s per-capita personal income is about 75 percent of the national average, slightly less than it was three years ago. Each year, Arkansas is either 47th or 48th among the states in per-capita income, just about where it was 50 years ago. Its per-capita income growth has exceeded the national average, percentagewise, most years since 1981. But Arkansas was about $2,500 behind the national average that year and now it is about $8,000 behind. So there is not much to cheer about, except that the agricultural sector is making a little more headway than in much of the country, accounting for much of the quarterly gain.
The chancellor may be right about us. We need the Razorbacks. Go Hogs. Beat Kentucky.
EDITORIALS>>An initiative we don't need
We are in for another season of pious ranting about homosexuals and cohabiting sinners. The last one was 2004, when Arkansas and several other states amended their constitutions to prohibit any sort of public recognition of homosexual relationships, either marriage or civil union, that might convey rights upon them like inheritance or hospital visitation.
The Arkansas Family Council filed a proposed initiated act this week that would prohibit cohabiting couples from adopting children or serving as foster parents. It will easily obtain the roughly 62,000 voter signatures to get the proposition on the 2008 ballot and everyone running for public office next year will have to declare his or her support for the proposition. The Family Council tries to have some social proposition dealing with gays or abortion on the ballot at each election. It provides a marvelous distraction from the issues of the day.
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel rejected the first proposition earlier this month because the ballot title carried a preamble telling people why they should vote for the proposal: rearing kids in homes of unmarried people would lead to child abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence and poverty. The Supreme Court has ruled that ballot titles must be neutral, telling voters in the polling booth only what the act or amendment would do. The Family Council deleted the arguments and resubmitted it. That is indeed better, although the Supreme Court almost certainly would have tossed the proposition off the ballot next fall if McDaniel had let the illegal language stay.
Arkansas, like nearly all the other states, had no such restrictions on adoption or foster care until a state board imposed a ban on foster care in households inhabited by homosexual men or women. A trial judge and the Arkansas Supreme Court voided the requirement because it exceeded the board’s authority under Arkansas law. The legislature in its wisdom refused early this year to grant the board that authority or to impose the ban itself, so the Family Council rigged up an initiated act to do the job.
The Family Council underestimates the voters, who will recognize the meanness and danger of the proposition. The trial of the foster-care ban proved that children reared in homes where gays or lesbians resided were in no greater danger of abuse or emotional and mental problems than children reared in heterosexual settings.
More to the point, the number of neglected and abused children needing loving homes far exceeds their availability, and the state disserves these needy youngsters when it declares whole categories of parents off limits on some quasi-religious premise.
The proposal would strangely let unmarried or gay men and women adopt or house foster children as long as the parent didn’t share a bedroom with another adult. We will need a resolute band of bedroom police armed with warrants to monitor compliance if the proposition is enacted. It is too bad that in the year 2008 we must confront such a dismal prospect.
The Arkansas Family Council filed a proposed initiated act this week that would prohibit cohabiting couples from adopting children or serving as foster parents. It will easily obtain the roughly 62,000 voter signatures to get the proposition on the 2008 ballot and everyone running for public office next year will have to declare his or her support for the proposition. The Family Council tries to have some social proposition dealing with gays or abortion on the ballot at each election. It provides a marvelous distraction from the issues of the day.
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel rejected the first proposition earlier this month because the ballot title carried a preamble telling people why they should vote for the proposal: rearing kids in homes of unmarried people would lead to child abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence and poverty. The Supreme Court has ruled that ballot titles must be neutral, telling voters in the polling booth only what the act or amendment would do. The Family Council deleted the arguments and resubmitted it. That is indeed better, although the Supreme Court almost certainly would have tossed the proposition off the ballot next fall if McDaniel had let the illegal language stay.
Arkansas, like nearly all the other states, had no such restrictions on adoption or foster care until a state board imposed a ban on foster care in households inhabited by homosexual men or women. A trial judge and the Arkansas Supreme Court voided the requirement because it exceeded the board’s authority under Arkansas law. The legislature in its wisdom refused early this year to grant the board that authority or to impose the ban itself, so the Family Council rigged up an initiated act to do the job.
The Family Council underestimates the voters, who will recognize the meanness and danger of the proposition. The trial of the foster-care ban proved that children reared in homes where gays or lesbians resided were in no greater danger of abuse or emotional and mental problems than children reared in heterosexual settings.
More to the point, the number of neglected and abused children needing loving homes far exceeds their availability, and the state disserves these needy youngsters when it declares whole categories of parents off limits on some quasi-religious premise.
The proposal would strangely let unmarried or gay men and women adopt or house foster children as long as the parent didn’t share a bedroom with another adult. We will need a resolute band of bedroom police armed with warrants to monitor compliance if the proposition is enacted. It is too bad that in the year 2008 we must confront such a dismal prospect.
OBITUARIES >> 09-22-07
Maybell Neal
Maybell Bacus Neal, 86, of Beebe died Sept. 19.
She was born May 1, 1921, at Jacksonport to Jesse James Powell and Cora Bell House Powell.
She was the greatest mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and she had the biggest heart.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Elmer Bacus; a daughter, Margaret Martin; a son, LeRoy Bacus; her parents and brothers, Bill and John Powell.
Survivors include a son, Elmer Carl Bacus, III of McRae; five daughters, Margie Stephens of Mt. Vernon, Norma Jean Foster and Christine Young of Beebe, Patricia Secrest and Lorine Bacus of Florida; two sisters, Effie Addington of Oregon and Lucille Addington of Oklahoma; 30 grandchildren, 66 great-grandchildren and 34 great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe with burial in Beebe Cemetery.
Maudie Stringfellow
Maudie E. Stringfellow, 92, of Beebe went to be with the Lord Sept. 20.
She was born March 26, 1915, at Mountain Home to Andrew and Eller Grant Carson.
She is survived by one son, Don Whitman and wife Odette of Beebe; one stepson, Garry Whitman and wife Katherine of Blackwell, Okla.; one daughter, Linda Sellers and husband Ed of Vilonia; nine grandchildren, Tracy, Scott, Rex, Ronnie, Charles, Wayne, Patricia, Susan and Shelly; 21 great-grandchildren; two sisters, Plyna Doris of Cave City and Coy Foster of Norfolk.
Funeral will be at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe with burial in Antioch Cemetery.
Raymond Johnson
Raymond Dale Johnson, 52, of North Little Rock departed this life on Sept. 7 to join his parents, Ella Jean and Raymond Johnson.
He was born August 19, 1955 in Sparta, Wis.
He worked many years for Simpson Printing Company and Walkins Printing Company as a pressman. He was a Baptist and a member of 47th Street Baptist Church, North Little Rock. He was a husband, father, brother and friend and will be missed by all.
He is survived by his wife, Gail Lloyd Johnson; daughter, Tennille Cook and husbandPete; grandchildren, Gabrielle Clark and Lindsey Cook; sisters, Doris Hudson and husband Jack and Darlene Johnson; nephew, Kevin Hudson, and nieces, Kim Hudson and Karley Stoll; “special” brothers, David Sublett and Lynn Simpson; and “special” sister, Kathy Barber.
A memorial service will be held at the Shelby Smith Pavilion in Burn’s Park in North Little Rock on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 11 a.m. with dear friend and neighbor Elder Eddie Mill officiating.
This celebration is open to all friends and family.
The family requests no flowers; however, a love offering may be given for Dale’s favorite tree, the dogwood at service.
A special “thank you” to the nursing staff in the ER and ICU at Baptist Health-North Little Rock as well as Drs. Haley Shaw and Agustin Fernandez for his recent care and to Moore’s Funeral Home in Jacksonville for all their assistance.
Funeral arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
James Graham
James Howard “Jimmy” Graham, 58, of Des Arc walked through Heaven’s gates early on Sept. 19.
He was born at home in Hickory Plains on Sept. 1, 1949.
He had been in a coma since suffering a brain aneurysm on April 15, 2006.
Graham was a member of Hickory Plains Missionary Baptist Church for 48 years where he served as a young adult Sunday school teacher. He was a co-founder and member of Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department for 20 years.
He was serving as president at the time of his stroke. He was also an active member of other community organizations.
He graduated valedictorian of the Class of ’67 at D.A.H.S. He was a Vietnam veteran. He farmed with his dad and brothers all his life. He loved his family and church, and he also enjoyed hunting and fishing with his brother-in-law and best friend, Teddy Jones.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Leo and Juanita Graham.
He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Brenda Taylor Graham; two sons, Brad and wife Jennifer and Derek and wife Nikki Graham of Crossroads; one daughter, Tracy and husband Jon Ruelle of Jacksonville; eight grandchildren, Sydney, Heather, Trint, Tori, Austin, Lilly, Dylan and baby Abbigail; two brothers, Bobby and wife Mamie and Mickey and wife Vanessa Graham of Hickory Plains; two sisters, Anita and husband Jimmy VanHouten of Des Arc, Sandy and husband Chris Todd of Beebe; 17 nieces and nephews and a host of other relatives and friends.
Funeral was Sept. 21 at Hickory Plains Missionary Baptist Church with Pastor Tony Crye and Hospice Chaplain, Brad Vaden officiating. Burial was in Hickory Plains Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to Arkansas Hospice, 5600 West 12th Street, Little Rock, Ark., 72204 or Hickory Plains Missionary Baptist Church, P.O. Box 405, Hickory Plains, Ark., 72066.
Funeral arrangements were by Westbrook Funeral Home of Beebe.
Louie Hill
Louie A. Hill, 97, of Beebe passed away Sept. 13 and went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
He was born Dec. 13, 1909, to the late Charlie and Sally Hill and lived all his life on Hwy. 64 west of Beebe.
He was a long-time member of Union Valley Baptist Church where he served as choir director for many years.
He was a farmer and a carpenter and retired from Allstate Trailer Co in Jacksonville after working there 30 years.
He also worked at the Jacksonville Ordnance plant during the Second World War.
After retirement, he spent much of his time helping neighbors and friends with household repairs and projects and also delivering the beautiful birthday, anniversary, and wedding cakes made by “Miss Roe”.
He lost his beloved wife of 69 years, Roberta Dale Hill, and son, Dalton Hill, in 2001. He was also preceded in death by two sisters and one brother.
He never met a stranger and will be remembered for his sharp wit, practical wisdom and strong faith. He always had a story, many of which were fondly referred to as “Lou-isms”. One favorite was when he talked about how times were so tough on Highway 64, if you wanted to rob someone, you had to do it on credit.
He looked forward to his heavenly reunion with “Roe and Dalt”.
Survivors include his daughter, Wanda Price and husband Ferrel; grandchildren, Barry Sproul and wife Tracy, Ronda Shelman and husband Larry, all of Benton, JeanBeth Hill and husband Charles Galloway of Little Rock, and Lt. Col. Eric Price and wife Judi of Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. and great-grandchildren,Bradley and Corey Shelman, Dylan and Conner Sproul, and Amelia, Ryan, Robert Price. He is also survived by his sister, Charlene Melland of Albion, Neb., along with many other relatives and friends.
Funeral services were held Sept. 16 at Union Valley Baptist Church in Beebe.
A graveside service followed at Stoney Point Cemetery in Beebe with arrangements by Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe.
Memorials can be made to Union Valley Baptist Church, 932 Hwy. 64 West, Beebe, Ark., 72012.
The family would like to express their sincere appreciation to the staff at Benton Health Care Center for their loving care of Mr. Lou.
Pappy enjoyed showing the ways of the farm to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren as they spent time with Granny and Pappy. We will miss you Pappy.
Helen Travis
Helen “Polly” Travis, of Lonoke passed away Sept. 19.
She was a member of Lonoke Methodist Church.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Norwood Travis; parents, Walter and Ethel Lewis; two brothers and three sisters.
Survivors include son, Charlie and wife Florence Travis; daughter, Pat Jones; one brother, Ed Lewis of Beaumont, Texas; four grandchildren, Lance Travis, DeeDee Travis, Teresa Routon, and Jeff Jones and five great-grandchildren. Funeral services were Sept. 21 at Boyd Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Jimmy Wallace officiating. Burial followed in Sunset Memorial Gardens.
Maybell Bacus Neal, 86, of Beebe died Sept. 19.
She was born May 1, 1921, at Jacksonport to Jesse James Powell and Cora Bell House Powell.
She was the greatest mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and she had the biggest heart.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Elmer Bacus; a daughter, Margaret Martin; a son, LeRoy Bacus; her parents and brothers, Bill and John Powell.
Survivors include a son, Elmer Carl Bacus, III of McRae; five daughters, Margie Stephens of Mt. Vernon, Norma Jean Foster and Christine Young of Beebe, Patricia Secrest and Lorine Bacus of Florida; two sisters, Effie Addington of Oregon and Lucille Addington of Oklahoma; 30 grandchildren, 66 great-grandchildren and 34 great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe with burial in Beebe Cemetery.
Maudie Stringfellow
Maudie E. Stringfellow, 92, of Beebe went to be with the Lord Sept. 20.
She was born March 26, 1915, at Mountain Home to Andrew and Eller Grant Carson.
She is survived by one son, Don Whitman and wife Odette of Beebe; one stepson, Garry Whitman and wife Katherine of Blackwell, Okla.; one daughter, Linda Sellers and husband Ed of Vilonia; nine grandchildren, Tracy, Scott, Rex, Ronnie, Charles, Wayne, Patricia, Susan and Shelly; 21 great-grandchildren; two sisters, Plyna Doris of Cave City and Coy Foster of Norfolk.
Funeral will be at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe with burial in Antioch Cemetery.
Raymond Johnson
Raymond Dale Johnson, 52, of North Little Rock departed this life on Sept. 7 to join his parents, Ella Jean and Raymond Johnson.
He was born August 19, 1955 in Sparta, Wis.
He worked many years for Simpson Printing Company and Walkins Printing Company as a pressman. He was a Baptist and a member of 47th Street Baptist Church, North Little Rock. He was a husband, father, brother and friend and will be missed by all.
He is survived by his wife, Gail Lloyd Johnson; daughter, Tennille Cook and husbandPete; grandchildren, Gabrielle Clark and Lindsey Cook; sisters, Doris Hudson and husband Jack and Darlene Johnson; nephew, Kevin Hudson, and nieces, Kim Hudson and Karley Stoll; “special” brothers, David Sublett and Lynn Simpson; and “special” sister, Kathy Barber.
A memorial service will be held at the Shelby Smith Pavilion in Burn’s Park in North Little Rock on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 11 a.m. with dear friend and neighbor Elder Eddie Mill officiating.
This celebration is open to all friends and family.
The family requests no flowers; however, a love offering may be given for Dale’s favorite tree, the dogwood at service.
A special “thank you” to the nursing staff in the ER and ICU at Baptist Health-North Little Rock as well as Drs. Haley Shaw and Agustin Fernandez for his recent care and to Moore’s Funeral Home in Jacksonville for all their assistance.
Funeral arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
James Graham
James Howard “Jimmy” Graham, 58, of Des Arc walked through Heaven’s gates early on Sept. 19.
He was born at home in Hickory Plains on Sept. 1, 1949.
He had been in a coma since suffering a brain aneurysm on April 15, 2006.
Graham was a member of Hickory Plains Missionary Baptist Church for 48 years where he served as a young adult Sunday school teacher. He was a co-founder and member of Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department for 20 years.
He was serving as president at the time of his stroke. He was also an active member of other community organizations.
He graduated valedictorian of the Class of ’67 at D.A.H.S. He was a Vietnam veteran. He farmed with his dad and brothers all his life. He loved his family and church, and he also enjoyed hunting and fishing with his brother-in-law and best friend, Teddy Jones.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Leo and Juanita Graham.
He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Brenda Taylor Graham; two sons, Brad and wife Jennifer and Derek and wife Nikki Graham of Crossroads; one daughter, Tracy and husband Jon Ruelle of Jacksonville; eight grandchildren, Sydney, Heather, Trint, Tori, Austin, Lilly, Dylan and baby Abbigail; two brothers, Bobby and wife Mamie and Mickey and wife Vanessa Graham of Hickory Plains; two sisters, Anita and husband Jimmy VanHouten of Des Arc, Sandy and husband Chris Todd of Beebe; 17 nieces and nephews and a host of other relatives and friends.
Funeral was Sept. 21 at Hickory Plains Missionary Baptist Church with Pastor Tony Crye and Hospice Chaplain, Brad Vaden officiating. Burial was in Hickory Plains Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to Arkansas Hospice, 5600 West 12th Street, Little Rock, Ark., 72204 or Hickory Plains Missionary Baptist Church, P.O. Box 405, Hickory Plains, Ark., 72066.
Funeral arrangements were by Westbrook Funeral Home of Beebe.
Louie Hill
Louie A. Hill, 97, of Beebe passed away Sept. 13 and went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
He was born Dec. 13, 1909, to the late Charlie and Sally Hill and lived all his life on Hwy. 64 west of Beebe.
He was a long-time member of Union Valley Baptist Church where he served as choir director for many years.
He was a farmer and a carpenter and retired from Allstate Trailer Co in Jacksonville after working there 30 years.
He also worked at the Jacksonville Ordnance plant during the Second World War.
After retirement, he spent much of his time helping neighbors and friends with household repairs and projects and also delivering the beautiful birthday, anniversary, and wedding cakes made by “Miss Roe”.
He lost his beloved wife of 69 years, Roberta Dale Hill, and son, Dalton Hill, in 2001. He was also preceded in death by two sisters and one brother.
He never met a stranger and will be remembered for his sharp wit, practical wisdom and strong faith. He always had a story, many of which were fondly referred to as “Lou-isms”. One favorite was when he talked about how times were so tough on Highway 64, if you wanted to rob someone, you had to do it on credit.
He looked forward to his heavenly reunion with “Roe and Dalt”.
Survivors include his daughter, Wanda Price and husband Ferrel; grandchildren, Barry Sproul and wife Tracy, Ronda Shelman and husband Larry, all of Benton, JeanBeth Hill and husband Charles Galloway of Little Rock, and Lt. Col. Eric Price and wife Judi of Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. and great-grandchildren,Bradley and Corey Shelman, Dylan and Conner Sproul, and Amelia, Ryan, Robert Price. He is also survived by his sister, Charlene Melland of Albion, Neb., along with many other relatives and friends.
Funeral services were held Sept. 16 at Union Valley Baptist Church in Beebe.
A graveside service followed at Stoney Point Cemetery in Beebe with arrangements by Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe.
Memorials can be made to Union Valley Baptist Church, 932 Hwy. 64 West, Beebe, Ark., 72012.
The family would like to express their sincere appreciation to the staff at Benton Health Care Center for their loving care of Mr. Lou.
Pappy enjoyed showing the ways of the farm to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren as they spent time with Granny and Pappy. We will miss you Pappy.
Helen Travis
Helen “Polly” Travis, of Lonoke passed away Sept. 19.
She was a member of Lonoke Methodist Church.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Norwood Travis; parents, Walter and Ethel Lewis; two brothers and three sisters.
Survivors include son, Charlie and wife Florence Travis; daughter, Pat Jones; one brother, Ed Lewis of Beaumont, Texas; four grandchildren, Lance Travis, DeeDee Travis, Teresa Routon, and Jeff Jones and five great-grandchildren. Funeral services were Sept. 21 at Boyd Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Jimmy Wallace officiating. Burial followed in Sunset Memorial Gardens.
TOP STORY >>Foreclosures hurt homebuyers here
By ALIYA FELDMAN
Leader staff writer
Tired of having a landlord, Blake Barnes bought a house without concern that it could lead him to financial ruin.
Barnes bought a three-bedroom house in Cabot in 2005, when real estate was booming and mortgages were easy to get. No one at the real estate or mortgage agencies dissuaded Barnes, who was 21, from buying.
“I put down $200 for a $79,900 house,” he said, after aking one mortgage at 6.5 percent and another at 10 percent. “It was the only way they said they could get the house for me,” he said about taking out two mortgages. “I had an excellent credit rating and got the house for almost nothing down.” He initially paid $640, which he kept up until his monthly bills increased.
“My payments went up to $688, with utilities, truck payments and insurance, I got into a little bit of trouble. Payments started to slip,” he said.
After two years in the house, he is facing foreclosure.
Marshall Crawford of Neighbor-hood Works, a nonprofit created by Congress, said trillions of dollars in mortgages will reset by year’s end so homeowners who have been able to pay their mortgage bills until now may be at risk of missing house payments. “When you look at statistics for Arkansas, subprime rates are up and they will reset by the end of the year. Lenders focused here and were aggressive,” Crawford said.
Neighborhood Works provides funding and program training for organizations in Arkansas that help people facing foreclosure.
The state’s realtors are supporting government action to offset the loan crisis.
“Arkansas ranks 17th in the nation in foreclosure rates, so some home-owners in the Natural State may be relieved to know that help might be on the way,” said Ethan Nobles of Arkansas Realtors Association.
The real estate boom inspired mortgage financers like Countrywide Financial, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, to increase the number of subprime mortgages given to people considered high risk.
People with good credit are also defaulting on their mortgages according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
More than 5 percent of loans across the country were delinquent, up from last year. Delinquent loans do not include homes in foreclosure. MBA reports loans in foreclosure made up 1.4 percent of all outstanding loans this month.
With home sales down, real estate agents are wondering what will attract buyers. “In many instances, sellers will find themselves competing for buyers with other homes that are similar to the ones they own,” Nobles said.
On Aug. 31, the Federal Housing Administration presented a plan that Nobles said the National Association of Realtors “advocated a good number of changes outlined in the plan for the better part of the year.”
FHA claims the plan, called FHASecure, should help 240,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure.
Realtytrac, an online company that lists nationwide foreclosures, has 650,000 houses listed in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure proceedings.
Families who qualify for the FHA plan must have strong credit histories and must have been making mortgage payments on time before their mortgages reset.
They must also have 3 percent cash or equity in the home, be employed and make enough money to make future mortgage payments. Homeowners who face foreclosure are also at risk of predatory lenders who promise to save them from losing their homes if they sign the titles to their homes over.
“With the foreclosure rate running at a record-setting pace, I can understand why many homeowners are willing to do anything or sign anything to keep from losing their homes,” Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said. “At the same time, though, they should read the fine print, get advice from trustworthy professionals, and consider all their options before refinancing.”
McDaniel recommends reading loan documents to understand what the lender can do if payments are not made, working with the lender and contacting a financial counselor.
“I think I got in a hurry,” Barnes said about purchasing his home. “Look at all your options. Just because you think you can afford it, it doesn’t leave room for error,” he said.
The Family Service Agency offers free help to Arkansans in financial trouble. Visit their Webpage at www.helpingfamilies.org or call 1-800-255-2227.
To find out about the FHA Secure program, call the Arkansas HUD office at 501-324-5931. Victims of foreclosure-recovery scams can contact the Public Protection Department of the Attorney General’s Office by calling 1-800-482-8982.
Leader staff writer
Tired of having a landlord, Blake Barnes bought a house without concern that it could lead him to financial ruin.
Barnes bought a three-bedroom house in Cabot in 2005, when real estate was booming and mortgages were easy to get. No one at the real estate or mortgage agencies dissuaded Barnes, who was 21, from buying.
“I put down $200 for a $79,900 house,” he said, after aking one mortgage at 6.5 percent and another at 10 percent. “It was the only way they said they could get the house for me,” he said about taking out two mortgages. “I had an excellent credit rating and got the house for almost nothing down.” He initially paid $640, which he kept up until his monthly bills increased.
“My payments went up to $688, with utilities, truck payments and insurance, I got into a little bit of trouble. Payments started to slip,” he said.
After two years in the house, he is facing foreclosure.
Marshall Crawford of Neighbor-hood Works, a nonprofit created by Congress, said trillions of dollars in mortgages will reset by year’s end so homeowners who have been able to pay their mortgage bills until now may be at risk of missing house payments. “When you look at statistics for Arkansas, subprime rates are up and they will reset by the end of the year. Lenders focused here and were aggressive,” Crawford said.
Neighborhood Works provides funding and program training for organizations in Arkansas that help people facing foreclosure.
The state’s realtors are supporting government action to offset the loan crisis.
“Arkansas ranks 17th in the nation in foreclosure rates, so some home-owners in the Natural State may be relieved to know that help might be on the way,” said Ethan Nobles of Arkansas Realtors Association.
The real estate boom inspired mortgage financers like Countrywide Financial, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, to increase the number of subprime mortgages given to people considered high risk.
People with good credit are also defaulting on their mortgages according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
More than 5 percent of loans across the country were delinquent, up from last year. Delinquent loans do not include homes in foreclosure. MBA reports loans in foreclosure made up 1.4 percent of all outstanding loans this month.
With home sales down, real estate agents are wondering what will attract buyers. “In many instances, sellers will find themselves competing for buyers with other homes that are similar to the ones they own,” Nobles said.
On Aug. 31, the Federal Housing Administration presented a plan that Nobles said the National Association of Realtors “advocated a good number of changes outlined in the plan for the better part of the year.”
FHA claims the plan, called FHASecure, should help 240,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure.
Realtytrac, an online company that lists nationwide foreclosures, has 650,000 houses listed in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure proceedings.
Families who qualify for the FHA plan must have strong credit histories and must have been making mortgage payments on time before their mortgages reset.
They must also have 3 percent cash or equity in the home, be employed and make enough money to make future mortgage payments. Homeowners who face foreclosure are also at risk of predatory lenders who promise to save them from losing their homes if they sign the titles to their homes over.
“With the foreclosure rate running at a record-setting pace, I can understand why many homeowners are willing to do anything or sign anything to keep from losing their homes,” Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said. “At the same time, though, they should read the fine print, get advice from trustworthy professionals, and consider all their options before refinancing.”
McDaniel recommends reading loan documents to understand what the lender can do if payments are not made, working with the lender and contacting a financial counselor.
“I think I got in a hurry,” Barnes said about purchasing his home. “Look at all your options. Just because you think you can afford it, it doesn’t leave room for error,” he said.
The Family Service Agency offers free help to Arkansans in financial trouble. Visit their Webpage at www.helpingfamilies.org or call 1-800-255-2227.
To find out about the FHA Secure program, call the Arkansas HUD office at 501-324-5931. Victims of foreclosure-recovery scams can contact the Public Protection Department of the Attorney General’s Office by calling 1-800-482-8982.
TOP STORY >>Jacksonville appeals ruling on annexation
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
The 2,000 acres of undeveloped land north of Sherwood and west of Jacksonville that Sherwood just annexed could still end up in Jacksonville.
Jacksonville’s City Council unanimously voted Monday to appeal to the state Supreme Court a circuit court decision that allowed Sherwood to annex the land.
Even though the court decided earlier this summer for Sherwood, the order was just recently filed. Jacksonville City Attorney Robert Bamburg said the city had 30 days from the date of filing to appeal, if the council desired. The council desired and gave Bamburg the approval to issue the appeal.
The undeveloped acreage is owned by four individuals or companies. The owners of the acreage—Greg Heslep, Byron McKimmey, Metropolitan Realty and Lilac LLC--volunteered to come into Sherwood in earlier 2006. The city accepted the voluntary petition, but Jacksonville objected.
The issue was directed to the Pulaski Quorum Court where County Judge Buddy Villines ruled in favor of Sherwood taking in the land. Jacksonville appealed again and the case went to circuit court where Sherwood won again.
The property owners told Circuit Court Judge Kilgore Collins that it was financially more beneficial to be part of Sherwood rather than Jacksonville.
Jacksonville leaders had invested millions of dollars in water lines and utility infrastructure in the area, always assuming that the land, which reaches up to the back side of Little Rock Air Force Base, would eventually become part of the city.
Jacksonville also has planning jurisdiction over the area, which includes complying with Air Force’s restrictions on commercial and residential growth in the area. The Air Force requires low density housing in the areas off its runaway as a safety precaution. Sherwood has said it would honor the development agreement with the military.
“We are just as interested in doing the right thing with the Air Force as Jacksonville has been,” said Bill Harmon, mayor of Sherwood at the time the circuit court ruling came down.
“The developers wanted to be in our city and we wanted them to be in the city and now they will,” Harmon said after the last ruling.
At that time, Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim said, “It’s a disappointment to us. We did the things we needed to do to show that the land shouldn’t be annexed by Sherwood, but the judge ruled against us.”
The mayor added that Jacksonville had spent a lot of time, money and effort in preparing that area for the city’s future growth.
Jacksonville has argued in court that the land would be better served as part of Jacksonville, and that the city had utilities already in that area. Jacksonville also has plans to build a water tower on the 600-plus acres owned by Metropolitan Realty.
Jacksonville also felt that the Bayou Meto, which runs through the area, provided a natural boundary line between the two cities.
“We’ll just have to wait,” Swaim said Tuesday, “And see what the Supreme Court decides.”
Leader staff writer
The 2,000 acres of undeveloped land north of Sherwood and west of Jacksonville that Sherwood just annexed could still end up in Jacksonville.
Jacksonville’s City Council unanimously voted Monday to appeal to the state Supreme Court a circuit court decision that allowed Sherwood to annex the land.
Even though the court decided earlier this summer for Sherwood, the order was just recently filed. Jacksonville City Attorney Robert Bamburg said the city had 30 days from the date of filing to appeal, if the council desired. The council desired and gave Bamburg the approval to issue the appeal.
The undeveloped acreage is owned by four individuals or companies. The owners of the acreage—Greg Heslep, Byron McKimmey, Metropolitan Realty and Lilac LLC--volunteered to come into Sherwood in earlier 2006. The city accepted the voluntary petition, but Jacksonville objected.
The issue was directed to the Pulaski Quorum Court where County Judge Buddy Villines ruled in favor of Sherwood taking in the land. Jacksonville appealed again and the case went to circuit court where Sherwood won again.
The property owners told Circuit Court Judge Kilgore Collins that it was financially more beneficial to be part of Sherwood rather than Jacksonville.
Jacksonville leaders had invested millions of dollars in water lines and utility infrastructure in the area, always assuming that the land, which reaches up to the back side of Little Rock Air Force Base, would eventually become part of the city.
Jacksonville also has planning jurisdiction over the area, which includes complying with Air Force’s restrictions on commercial and residential growth in the area. The Air Force requires low density housing in the areas off its runaway as a safety precaution. Sherwood has said it would honor the development agreement with the military.
“We are just as interested in doing the right thing with the Air Force as Jacksonville has been,” said Bill Harmon, mayor of Sherwood at the time the circuit court ruling came down.
“The developers wanted to be in our city and we wanted them to be in the city and now they will,” Harmon said after the last ruling.
At that time, Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim said, “It’s a disappointment to us. We did the things we needed to do to show that the land shouldn’t be annexed by Sherwood, but the judge ruled against us.”
The mayor added that Jacksonville had spent a lot of time, money and effort in preparing that area for the city’s future growth.
Jacksonville has argued in court that the land would be better served as part of Jacksonville, and that the city had utilities already in that area. Jacksonville also has plans to build a water tower on the 600-plus acres owned by Metropolitan Realty.
Jacksonville also felt that the Bayou Meto, which runs through the area, provided a natural boundary line between the two cities.
“We’ll just have to wait,” Swaim said Tuesday, “And see what the Supreme Court decides.”
TOP STORY >>Murder suspect is held in Cabot
By HEATHER HARTSELL
Leader staff writer
Cabot police are working their first homicide in more than 16 years after the body of Kevin Wayne Bell, 39, was found in his South First Street home just before 10 p.m. Thursday.
According to Sgt. Dwayne Roper with the criminal investigations division, Bell had been shot five times with a 9-millimeter pistol.
A suspect with a long criminal record, Shawn Kelly Yielding, 36, also of Cabot and an acquaintance of Bell’s, is in custody at the Cabot Detention Facility. The murder weapon has yet to be found.
Yielding is charged with first-degree murder and has a $100,000 bond. He will appear in Lonoke County Circuit Court Tuesday.
This is not Yielding’s first run-in with the law. According to Roper, Yielding was found guilty of second-degree murder in June 2000 in White County and has also had a few misdemeanor charges over the years.
In August 1999, Yielding was arrested for stabbing and killing a man at a Searcy apartment complex after a verbal altercation over $20, the White County prosecuting attorney’s office said. He was initially charged with first-degree murder but plead down to the lesser charge.
He was sentenced to 12 years in the Department of Corrections and was out on parole, the prosecuting attorney’s office said.
The length of time Yielding actually served for that sentence was not known at press time.
During the initial investigation, police learned neighbors had seen a gold Buick leaving the neighborhood earlier in the evening.
“The wife knew the car and the suspect and gave us a few addresses to look at,” Roper said.
Forced entry had been gained into the home through the back door.
“It seems there was not a struggle but rather a surprise entry into the home,” Roper said.
Yielding’s wife called the police, saying he wanted to talk and peacefully turned himself in, but he remains silent on what occurred.
“He has not made a statement yet,” Roper said during a press conference Friday morning.
Bell was an auto paint and body worker and the father of four. His parents lived in Cabot years ago and his father, Jerry Bell, was a local pastor.
“We are investigating this to the fullest,” Mayor Eddie Joe Williams said. “We’ll do our very best to leave no stones unturned.”
“When things like this happen, we do our very best to investigate them and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Williams said.
Leader staff writer
Cabot police are working their first homicide in more than 16 years after the body of Kevin Wayne Bell, 39, was found in his South First Street home just before 10 p.m. Thursday.
According to Sgt. Dwayne Roper with the criminal investigations division, Bell had been shot five times with a 9-millimeter pistol.
A suspect with a long criminal record, Shawn Kelly Yielding, 36, also of Cabot and an acquaintance of Bell’s, is in custody at the Cabot Detention Facility. The murder weapon has yet to be found.
Yielding is charged with first-degree murder and has a $100,000 bond. He will appear in Lonoke County Circuit Court Tuesday.
This is not Yielding’s first run-in with the law. According to Roper, Yielding was found guilty of second-degree murder in June 2000 in White County and has also had a few misdemeanor charges over the years.
In August 1999, Yielding was arrested for stabbing and killing a man at a Searcy apartment complex after a verbal altercation over $20, the White County prosecuting attorney’s office said. He was initially charged with first-degree murder but plead down to the lesser charge.
He was sentenced to 12 years in the Department of Corrections and was out on parole, the prosecuting attorney’s office said.
The length of time Yielding actually served for that sentence was not known at press time.
During the initial investigation, police learned neighbors had seen a gold Buick leaving the neighborhood earlier in the evening.
“The wife knew the car and the suspect and gave us a few addresses to look at,” Roper said.
Forced entry had been gained into the home through the back door.
“It seems there was not a struggle but rather a surprise entry into the home,” Roper said.
Yielding’s wife called the police, saying he wanted to talk and peacefully turned himself in, but he remains silent on what occurred.
“He has not made a statement yet,” Roper said during a press conference Friday morning.
Bell was an auto paint and body worker and the father of four. His parents lived in Cabot years ago and his father, Jerry Bell, was a local pastor.
“We are investigating this to the fullest,” Mayor Eddie Joe Williams said. “We’ll do our very best to leave no stones unturned.”
“When things like this happen, we do our very best to investigate them and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Williams said.
TOP STORY >>Two die as driver goes wrong way
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
Two were killed and three were injured in a three-vehicle collision Thursday night north of Jacksonville when a woman drove onto the wrong side of the freeway reportedly somewhere in White County and ran head on into a pickup driven by members of a Texas church group on their way to northeast Arkansas where they were building a church.
Candace J. Hazlatt, 58, of 64 Stonewall Drive, Jacksonville, and Amanda K. Barfield, 32, 101 Jamie Drive, Whitehouse, Texas, were killed in the collision.
Barfield’s husband William, also 32 and, Bradley D. Jordon, 37, 201 Eastgate, Whitehouse, Texas, the driver of the pickup, were injured.
Jacqueline L. Harris, 47, 110 Dean Street, Searcy, a nursing instructor on her way home from late shift clinicals who was driving behind Jordon also was injured.
Seven of Harris’ students who were ahead of her on the freeway escaped injury, but the driver of one of the two cars they were in had to swerve off the road near Austin to avoid being hit head on.
State Police say it is not known why Hazlatt was driving south in the northbound lane on Hwy. 67-167.
Test results for alcohol and drugs will not be available for about a week.
Hazlatt’s husband George Hazlatt, said he was not aware of any medical condition that would have caused his wife to be unaware that she was driving on the wrong side of the road but that she did take several medications including Zanax, which is prescribed for anxiety.
The vehicles collided at 11:20 p.m. in the northbound lane near the liquor stores just outside Cabot in Pulaski County.
Nursing student Jesaca McCartney, of Beebe, said Hannah Plexico, the driver of the car she was riding in had time to move over and avoid hitting the car driven by Hazlatt.
“We moved over and she zoomed past us,” McCartney said. “We came within inches of being sideswiped because when we got over we were behind another car and the rear end was still over in the other lane a little. We called 911 and they were already aware of it.”
McCartney said the nursing students who were ahead of them in traffic were not injured when driver Sarah Peel was forced off the road. Nursing classes were canceled Friday at Harding University.
Brenda Westphall, secretary to the pastor of Southern Oaks Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas, the church that Barfields and Jordan attended, said they had been helping build a church in Alicia, Arkansas for about six months.
Alicia is in Laurence County between Newport and Walnut Ridge.
The congregation had outgrown their small building so Southern Oaks members had volunteered to provide most of the labor to build a new one, Westphall said.
“This was their last trip. They took the steeple and doors,” she said. “There were 16 or 18 of them. About half were already up there and the rest were going up last night.”
In Whitehouse, where the Barfields and Jordon lived, City Manager Ronny Fate said the city court opened late to honor Amanda Barfield, who was the court clerk there.
“She was well-liked,” Fate said. “She was quite a gal.”
Leader staff writer
Two were killed and three were injured in a three-vehicle collision Thursday night north of Jacksonville when a woman drove onto the wrong side of the freeway reportedly somewhere in White County and ran head on into a pickup driven by members of a Texas church group on their way to northeast Arkansas where they were building a church.
Candace J. Hazlatt, 58, of 64 Stonewall Drive, Jacksonville, and Amanda K. Barfield, 32, 101 Jamie Drive, Whitehouse, Texas, were killed in the collision.
Barfield’s husband William, also 32 and, Bradley D. Jordon, 37, 201 Eastgate, Whitehouse, Texas, the driver of the pickup, were injured.
Jacqueline L. Harris, 47, 110 Dean Street, Searcy, a nursing instructor on her way home from late shift clinicals who was driving behind Jordon also was injured.
Seven of Harris’ students who were ahead of her on the freeway escaped injury, but the driver of one of the two cars they were in had to swerve off the road near Austin to avoid being hit head on.
State Police say it is not known why Hazlatt was driving south in the northbound lane on Hwy. 67-167.
Test results for alcohol and drugs will not be available for about a week.
Hazlatt’s husband George Hazlatt, said he was not aware of any medical condition that would have caused his wife to be unaware that she was driving on the wrong side of the road but that she did take several medications including Zanax, which is prescribed for anxiety.
The vehicles collided at 11:20 p.m. in the northbound lane near the liquor stores just outside Cabot in Pulaski County.
Nursing student Jesaca McCartney, of Beebe, said Hannah Plexico, the driver of the car she was riding in had time to move over and avoid hitting the car driven by Hazlatt.
“We moved over and she zoomed past us,” McCartney said. “We came within inches of being sideswiped because when we got over we were behind another car and the rear end was still over in the other lane a little. We called 911 and they were already aware of it.”
McCartney said the nursing students who were ahead of them in traffic were not injured when driver Sarah Peel was forced off the road. Nursing classes were canceled Friday at Harding University.
Brenda Westphall, secretary to the pastor of Southern Oaks Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas, the church that Barfields and Jordan attended, said they had been helping build a church in Alicia, Arkansas for about six months.
Alicia is in Laurence County between Newport and Walnut Ridge.
The congregation had outgrown their small building so Southern Oaks members had volunteered to provide most of the labor to build a new one, Westphall said.
“This was their last trip. They took the steeple and doors,” she said. “There were 16 or 18 of them. About half were already up there and the rest were going up last night.”
In Whitehouse, where the Barfields and Jordon lived, City Manager Ronny Fate said the city court opened late to honor Amanda Barfield, who was the court clerk there.
“She was well-liked,” Fate said. “She was quite a gal.”
TOP STORY >>POW/MIAs recognized in ceremony held Friday
By HEATHER HARTSELL
Leader staff writer
Airmen at Little Rock Air Force Base gathered Friday to honor a special group of patriots during a National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony.
“We meet here today to honor those who once were bound and remember those that are still missing,” Chaplin Tony Wade said during the prayer. “As we honor their sacrifice, we renew our commitment to the Airmen Creed – ‘I will never leave an Airman behind.’ This is our creed, this is our commitment,” Wade said.
Former prisoners of war Silas B. Legrow, Audrey T. Harris, Thomas W. Bonds, Marion Morgan, Wayne Elliott and David O. Bowlan were honored for their sacrifices during the ceremony. All are Arkansas residents.
“Their presence here today is a testament to human perseverance and is proof positive that our government will leave no stone unturned in its efforts to repatriate every American prisoner of war,” Sr. Master Sgt. John Spillane, of the 29th Weapons Squadron and ceremony coordinator, said.
Friday’s ceremony on base, as well as others held throughout the country, was about honoring and remembering – remembering those captured and repatriated, and remembering those who have not yet returned.
“Currently there are more than 88,000 Americans remaining missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War and the Vietnam War,” Spillane said.
The six Arkansans honored Friday all returned home and epitomized the military code of conduct, a guide for the behavior of military members who are captured by hostile forces that was established in 1955 by President Dwight Eisenhower.
“They have demonstrated they have not forgotten that they are Americans. They have fought for the freedoms we enjoy every single day in our great country. They are responsible for their actions and dedicated to the principles that make our country free,” Spillane said.
Legrow, who lives in north Pulaski County, was a member of the 192nd Tank Battalion in the Philippines. After four months of brutal fighting, no ammunition, with medicine running low and two days of rations left, his unit commander surrendered to the enemy to prevent an all-out slaughter.
After his capture he was forced to march to San Fernando, Pampanga, as part of the Bataan Death March. During the 10-day march without food or water, 1,500 prisoners died within the first 40 days, some from falling behind and 50 more died each day thereafter. Legrow was repatriated in August 1945.
Harris was sent to Korea in July 1950 where his unit was constantly engaged by North Korean forces. In January 1951, while on mobile patrol, his unit was ambushed by Chinese forces; 10 died and seven were captured. He was held at three different camps and was released in August 1953 after two years and seven months.
Bonds voluntarily joined the infantry in WWII and was a B-24 copilot. He was shot down and captured in Italy after flying 19 missions over enemy territory. He returned with honor at the end of the war.
Morgan joined the Army at 19 and spent a total of six years in Korea and 32 months as a POW. He wrote a book about his experiences called “Telling the Folks Back Home.”
Elliott was drafted into the Army at the age of 18.
In France in 1944, his unit lost communications with its commanding regiment and was engaged with enemy forces, quickly becoming outnumbered.
His units’ weapons became ineffective and eventually were no longer able to inflict damage upon the enemy. The unit could no longer resist.
After their capture, he and his unit endured an 11-day forced march through the snow to a Stalag POW camp. He was repatriated in May 1945.
Bowlan was an Army Air Corp engineer and top-turret gunner on a B-24 Liberator.
On May 10, 1944, while flying his 25th mission over enemy territory, his aircraft was shot down.
He suffered burns and was captured and hospitalized for two months and eventually transferred to POW camp Stalag Luft Four.
In February 1945, all prisoners who could walk set off to the west on the Black March. He and 6,000 other American and British airmen marched more than 600 miles in 87 days.
He was repatriated April 16, 1945 and later wrote “I was a guest of the Germans for 342 days.”
Base commander Brig. Gen. (Select) Rowayne Schatz felt truly inspired Friday by the honored POWs.
“What I feel most today is inspiration. To be amongst our guests today is truly inspiring, we are in debt of gratitude for your services,” Schatz said. “I for one hope to God if I were ever in that situation that I came back as honorably as all of you have,” he told those honored.
To pay tribute to those who could not be there with them, a table set for five was reserved to honor Americans still missing from each of the five services — Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
On the round table, which recognized the everlasting concern for those missing, was a white tablecloth symbolizing the purity of motives when answering the call of duty; a single red rose representing the loved ones who have kept the faith as they await their return and answers; a vase tied with a yellow ribbon symbolizing the nation’s continued determination to look for the missing; a slice of lemon on each plate to remind all of the bitter fate of those captured and missing on a foreign land; a pinch of salt for tears for those missing and the families that seek answers; inverted glasses and empty chairs to remind everyone that those missing are not in attendance.
Leader staff writer
Airmen at Little Rock Air Force Base gathered Friday to honor a special group of patriots during a National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony.
“We meet here today to honor those who once were bound and remember those that are still missing,” Chaplin Tony Wade said during the prayer. “As we honor their sacrifice, we renew our commitment to the Airmen Creed – ‘I will never leave an Airman behind.’ This is our creed, this is our commitment,” Wade said.
Former prisoners of war Silas B. Legrow, Audrey T. Harris, Thomas W. Bonds, Marion Morgan, Wayne Elliott and David O. Bowlan were honored for their sacrifices during the ceremony. All are Arkansas residents.
“Their presence here today is a testament to human perseverance and is proof positive that our government will leave no stone unturned in its efforts to repatriate every American prisoner of war,” Sr. Master Sgt. John Spillane, of the 29th Weapons Squadron and ceremony coordinator, said.
Friday’s ceremony on base, as well as others held throughout the country, was about honoring and remembering – remembering those captured and repatriated, and remembering those who have not yet returned.
“Currently there are more than 88,000 Americans remaining missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War and the Vietnam War,” Spillane said.
The six Arkansans honored Friday all returned home and epitomized the military code of conduct, a guide for the behavior of military members who are captured by hostile forces that was established in 1955 by President Dwight Eisenhower.
“They have demonstrated they have not forgotten that they are Americans. They have fought for the freedoms we enjoy every single day in our great country. They are responsible for their actions and dedicated to the principles that make our country free,” Spillane said.
Legrow, who lives in north Pulaski County, was a member of the 192nd Tank Battalion in the Philippines. After four months of brutal fighting, no ammunition, with medicine running low and two days of rations left, his unit commander surrendered to the enemy to prevent an all-out slaughter.
After his capture he was forced to march to San Fernando, Pampanga, as part of the Bataan Death March. During the 10-day march without food or water, 1,500 prisoners died within the first 40 days, some from falling behind and 50 more died each day thereafter. Legrow was repatriated in August 1945.
Harris was sent to Korea in July 1950 where his unit was constantly engaged by North Korean forces. In January 1951, while on mobile patrol, his unit was ambushed by Chinese forces; 10 died and seven were captured. He was held at three different camps and was released in August 1953 after two years and seven months.
Bonds voluntarily joined the infantry in WWII and was a B-24 copilot. He was shot down and captured in Italy after flying 19 missions over enemy territory. He returned with honor at the end of the war.
Morgan joined the Army at 19 and spent a total of six years in Korea and 32 months as a POW. He wrote a book about his experiences called “Telling the Folks Back Home.”
Elliott was drafted into the Army at the age of 18.
In France in 1944, his unit lost communications with its commanding regiment and was engaged with enemy forces, quickly becoming outnumbered.
His units’ weapons became ineffective and eventually were no longer able to inflict damage upon the enemy. The unit could no longer resist.
After their capture, he and his unit endured an 11-day forced march through the snow to a Stalag POW camp. He was repatriated in May 1945.
Bowlan was an Army Air Corp engineer and top-turret gunner on a B-24 Liberator.
On May 10, 1944, while flying his 25th mission over enemy territory, his aircraft was shot down.
He suffered burns and was captured and hospitalized for two months and eventually transferred to POW camp Stalag Luft Four.
In February 1945, all prisoners who could walk set off to the west on the Black March. He and 6,000 other American and British airmen marched more than 600 miles in 87 days.
He was repatriated April 16, 1945 and later wrote “I was a guest of the Germans for 342 days.”
Base commander Brig. Gen. (Select) Rowayne Schatz felt truly inspired Friday by the honored POWs.
“What I feel most today is inspiration. To be amongst our guests today is truly inspiring, we are in debt of gratitude for your services,” Schatz said. “I for one hope to God if I were ever in that situation that I came back as honorably as all of you have,” he told those honored.
To pay tribute to those who could not be there with them, a table set for five was reserved to honor Americans still missing from each of the five services — Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
On the round table, which recognized the everlasting concern for those missing, was a white tablecloth symbolizing the purity of motives when answering the call of duty; a single red rose representing the loved ones who have kept the faith as they await their return and answers; a vase tied with a yellow ribbon symbolizing the nation’s continued determination to look for the missing; a slice of lemon on each plate to remind all of the bitter fate of those captured and missing on a foreign land; a pinch of salt for tears for those missing and the families that seek answers; inverted glasses and empty chairs to remind everyone that those missing are not in attendance.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
SPORTS >>Red Devils hoping for more focus
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Jacksonville has no time left to fix the problems that plagued them in the first three weeks of the season. The Red Devils lost mercy-rule shutouts in two of the first three games, but they were non-conference games, which have no bearing on a team’s playoff hopes.
This week, working out kinks in non-conference is not an option; things have to be fixed because the Devils are embarking on perhaps the most difficult road trip in the state to Mountain Home.
After weeks one and two, a loss to Cabot and a win over North Pulaski, Jacksonville coach Mark Whatley felt the biggest area of concern was his team’s tendency to step outside of the things it worked on and prepared for.
He felt that got better last week, despite a 36-0 loss to Lake Hamilton. The new concern is focus.
“You have to be ready mentally as well as physically, and I think there’s been a lack of mental preparation prior to the football game,” Whatley said. “They practice hard and they’re ready to go physically, but the mental preparation is not there. In this classification, you have to have both if you want to succeed.”
Dropped passes were commonplace last week, as were off-sides and motion penalties. The most glaring problem from last Friday was motion penalties. The Red Devils were called for three on one set of downs after reaching the Lake Hamilton 6-yard line. There was also an off-sides penalty on the defense on a crucial third down for Lake Hamilton. Those are all things that Whatley believes comes down to focus.
“I thought the offense executed pretty well some of the time. It would have been a lot better if we’d catch the ball. I think the line did a good job, gave us time, we’re just not catching the ball, not lining up, just being lazy.”
Focus will have to be there Friday. Mountain Home runs a wishbone offense that requires discipline to defend. They’ve also shown some spread this year, but Whatley is concentrating on stopping the wishbone.
“They show you a little spread and they give you a lot of unbalanced lines,” Whatley said. “Their bread and butter, though, is the veer and the straight-line option.”
This week, though, Whatley is more concerned about his team scoring a touchdown.
“The main thing we’re going to work on is we’re going to try to find a way to get in the end zone,” Whatley said. “I may walk ‘em down there and show them that line with the big “G” on it, and see if we can’t step across it a few times.”
Leader sports editor
Jacksonville has no time left to fix the problems that plagued them in the first three weeks of the season. The Red Devils lost mercy-rule shutouts in two of the first three games, but they were non-conference games, which have no bearing on a team’s playoff hopes.
This week, working out kinks in non-conference is not an option; things have to be fixed because the Devils are embarking on perhaps the most difficult road trip in the state to Mountain Home.
After weeks one and two, a loss to Cabot and a win over North Pulaski, Jacksonville coach Mark Whatley felt the biggest area of concern was his team’s tendency to step outside of the things it worked on and prepared for.
He felt that got better last week, despite a 36-0 loss to Lake Hamilton. The new concern is focus.
“You have to be ready mentally as well as physically, and I think there’s been a lack of mental preparation prior to the football game,” Whatley said. “They practice hard and they’re ready to go physically, but the mental preparation is not there. In this classification, you have to have both if you want to succeed.”
Dropped passes were commonplace last week, as were off-sides and motion penalties. The most glaring problem from last Friday was motion penalties. The Red Devils were called for three on one set of downs after reaching the Lake Hamilton 6-yard line. There was also an off-sides penalty on the defense on a crucial third down for Lake Hamilton. Those are all things that Whatley believes comes down to focus.
“I thought the offense executed pretty well some of the time. It would have been a lot better if we’d catch the ball. I think the line did a good job, gave us time, we’re just not catching the ball, not lining up, just being lazy.”
Focus will have to be there Friday. Mountain Home runs a wishbone offense that requires discipline to defend. They’ve also shown some spread this year, but Whatley is concentrating on stopping the wishbone.
“They show you a little spread and they give you a lot of unbalanced lines,” Whatley said. “Their bread and butter, though, is the veer and the straight-line option.”
This week, though, Whatley is more concerned about his team scoring a touchdown.
“The main thing we’re going to work on is we’re going to try to find a way to get in the end zone,” Whatley said. “I may walk ‘em down there and show them that line with the big “G” on it, and see if we can’t step across it a few times.”
SPORTS >>Badgers set for real test
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Beebe Badgers were still floating when they arrived for Saturday’s practice after coming from 29 points down to topple high-octane Vilonia the night before.
By Monday, though, it was back to business, and the Badgers began preparation for their first conference road game. Beebe makes the long road trip to Paragould this Friday to take on the Paragould High Rams.
Paragould won its opener, an annual non-conference affair with crosstown rival Greene County Tech, easily. Things haven’t gone as well since. The Rams were soundly beaten in week two by Pocahontas, then lost a heartbreaker to Trumann 16-12 last week.
Scores don’t always tell the whole story, and that’s what Beebe coach John Shannon believes about his team’s opponent this week.
Paragould gives opponents many things to prepare for. So when asked what the Rams do offensively, Shannon replied, “The question is, what do they not do? Watching film of two of their games, we saw them in about 29 different formations.”
So change the question to what do they do well?
“They run the ball pretty good,” Shannon said. “Their running back is a good back and their quarterback is a good runner. They’ve got a big ol’ offensive line, so that’s what we’re expecting. We’re expecting them to do what they’ve done well.”
Shannon also doesn’t count on Paragould making the amount of mistakes it made in its first few games. He believes if they play mistake-free ball, the Rams are dangerous.
“In the games they lost they turned the ball over a bunch of times,” Shannon said. “We can’t go in there expecting that though, we have to be ready for their best. When they’ve held on to the ball, they haven’t looked bad.”
Paragould coach Brian Carter agrees.
“We’ve moved the ball between the 20s,” Carter said. “We’ve just got to be able to put the ball in the end zone better than we have. We have to shore up some things in the kicking game too because that cost us last week.”
Paragould took a safety on a bad punt snap while trailing by two points to Trumann.
For Carter, the biggest task this week is to prepare his team for an offense that most of his players have never faced.
“They’re physical and they’re playing well,” Carter said of the Badgers. “They’re running an outstanding system that not that many people are running anymore. We’ve played spread teams so far, so it’s difficult to turn around and play that style. It’s a different mindset. We show the kids film, show them two or three things that Beebe’s doing well and try to stop it. It’ll be an adjustment. I don’t know if our kids are tough enough to stand up play that smashmouth style, but we’ll find out Friday.”
For all the accolades that comes with rallying from 29 points down, there’s still a reality to deal with, the reality of having fallen behind by 29 points. Beebe gave up 41 points in the first half alone last week, and that’s something that will have any coach anxious to fix some wrongs.
Shannon, though, believes he and his staff have spotted what went wrong.
“We’re just going to go back and hit fundamentals real hard,” Shannon said. “That was our problem the other night, we just didn’t tackle. We had people around the ball, but no one would make the tackle.”
Offensively, Shannon has little to complain about. His team has shown signs of significant improvement each week, and it culminated in Friday’s thrilling comeback.
“Friday night was kind of our coming out party offensively,” Shannon said. “The first two games I think the defense carried us. We were starting to get better on offense, but Friday we really put things together. (Fullback) Sammy Williams is figuring out where he’s supposed to hit the hole, and he’s running harder. He’s figuring out his role in this offense. I’m just real pleased with the progress and hopefully we can continue to get better.”
Progress will have to continue now that the real season is at hand, the part of the season when wins and losses make and break playoff hopes.
Shannon is pleased with what his team has shown so far, but knows it’s not as important as how they play in the games ahead, starting this week.
“We’ve accomplished a lot and I’m very proud of my kids,” Shannon said. But nothing we’ve done in the first three weeks will matter if we don’t carry it over into the important part of the season.”
Leader sports editor
The Beebe Badgers were still floating when they arrived for Saturday’s practice after coming from 29 points down to topple high-octane Vilonia the night before.
By Monday, though, it was back to business, and the Badgers began preparation for their first conference road game. Beebe makes the long road trip to Paragould this Friday to take on the Paragould High Rams.
Paragould won its opener, an annual non-conference affair with crosstown rival Greene County Tech, easily. Things haven’t gone as well since. The Rams were soundly beaten in week two by Pocahontas, then lost a heartbreaker to Trumann 16-12 last week.
Scores don’t always tell the whole story, and that’s what Beebe coach John Shannon believes about his team’s opponent this week.
Paragould gives opponents many things to prepare for. So when asked what the Rams do offensively, Shannon replied, “The question is, what do they not do? Watching film of two of their games, we saw them in about 29 different formations.”
So change the question to what do they do well?
“They run the ball pretty good,” Shannon said. “Their running back is a good back and their quarterback is a good runner. They’ve got a big ol’ offensive line, so that’s what we’re expecting. We’re expecting them to do what they’ve done well.”
Shannon also doesn’t count on Paragould making the amount of mistakes it made in its first few games. He believes if they play mistake-free ball, the Rams are dangerous.
“In the games they lost they turned the ball over a bunch of times,” Shannon said. “We can’t go in there expecting that though, we have to be ready for their best. When they’ve held on to the ball, they haven’t looked bad.”
Paragould coach Brian Carter agrees.
“We’ve moved the ball between the 20s,” Carter said. “We’ve just got to be able to put the ball in the end zone better than we have. We have to shore up some things in the kicking game too because that cost us last week.”
Paragould took a safety on a bad punt snap while trailing by two points to Trumann.
For Carter, the biggest task this week is to prepare his team for an offense that most of his players have never faced.
“They’re physical and they’re playing well,” Carter said of the Badgers. “They’re running an outstanding system that not that many people are running anymore. We’ve played spread teams so far, so it’s difficult to turn around and play that style. It’s a different mindset. We show the kids film, show them two or three things that Beebe’s doing well and try to stop it. It’ll be an adjustment. I don’t know if our kids are tough enough to stand up play that smashmouth style, but we’ll find out Friday.”
For all the accolades that comes with rallying from 29 points down, there’s still a reality to deal with, the reality of having fallen behind by 29 points. Beebe gave up 41 points in the first half alone last week, and that’s something that will have any coach anxious to fix some wrongs.
Shannon, though, believes he and his staff have spotted what went wrong.
“We’re just going to go back and hit fundamentals real hard,” Shannon said. “That was our problem the other night, we just didn’t tackle. We had people around the ball, but no one would make the tackle.”
Offensively, Shannon has little to complain about. His team has shown signs of significant improvement each week, and it culminated in Friday’s thrilling comeback.
“Friday night was kind of our coming out party offensively,” Shannon said. “The first two games I think the defense carried us. We were starting to get better on offense, but Friday we really put things together. (Fullback) Sammy Williams is figuring out where he’s supposed to hit the hole, and he’s running harder. He’s figuring out his role in this offense. I’m just real pleased with the progress and hopefully we can continue to get better.”
Progress will have to continue now that the real season is at hand, the part of the season when wins and losses make and break playoff hopes.
Shannon is pleased with what his team has shown so far, but knows it’s not as important as how they play in the games ahead, starting this week.
“We’ve accomplished a lot and I’m very proud of my kids,” Shannon said. But nothing we’ve done in the first three weeks will matter if we don’t carry it over into the important part of the season.”
SPORTS >>Cabot set for first Conway visit since ’96
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
This week’s matchup between Cabot and Conway will be a game between longtime rivals. While the game will be between familiar foes, it won’t be in a familiar place, at least not for the visiting Wampus Cats. Cabot and Conway have faced each other every season for the last 13 years, but have not played at Panther Stadium since 1996. The Wampus Cats walked away with a triple-overtime playoff victory in that last meeting in Cabot. Since then, the two teams always met in week one of the season in some sort of bowl or classic game.
They’ve played at War Memorial, Estes Stadium in Conway, and the past three years at Conway High School. The Wampus Cats have gotten the best of the Panthers the past two years. Already a heated rival, they aren’t expecting a warm welcome when they grace Panther Stadium for the first time in 10 years this Friday.
“I’m sure it’ll be a treat for us,” Conway coach Kenny Smith said. “They get us coming in there when they’re really on a roll. I think it will be nice though because of that wonderful facility they have there now.”
Smith coached at Cabot for three years, and has fond feelings for the hometown of his rival, but is quick to point out it’s a friendly rivalry.
“I have the utmost respect for Cabot,” Smith said. “(Athletic director) Johnny White is one of my very best friends. I love the support of the community. Cabot and Conway almost mirror each other in many respects. And I’m one person that’s been fortunate enough to live and work in both places.”
For his fondness for the city, it stops when game time starts. He’s quick to point out he wants badly to beat Cabot.
“I’m the kind of guy, I can turn on the weather channel, and if Cabot is 80 degrees, I want Conway to show 81,” Smith said.
When it comes to game preparation, Smith feels his team has its work cut out for it this week. He believes this is Cabot’s best team in several years, and says that he thinks Cabot’s coach thinks so too.
“I can tell Michael (Cabot coach Mike Malham) really likes this team,” Smith said. “I can tell by the play calling and some of the things he’s doing that he really has a lot of confidence in that bunch. This is probably the best offensive line he’s had in some time. I’m very impressed with that group. The backs are always the same. They’ve never had a back that didn’t run hard and that’s no different this year. They’re a north and south football team, and they’ve scored a lot points doing that this year.”
Malham does have confidence in the team, and has been pleased with its ability to move the ball and score, but didn’t like one thing he saw last week against Searcy. An old, nasty pest reared its head again in the first half of that game, fumbles.
“We do pretty good when we don’t put the ball on the ground,” Malham said. “We’d better not do that this week or it’ll hurt us a lot worse than it did.”
Malham didn’t believe that Conway’s outing against Bentonville was as bad as the score indicated. He has been impressed with the Wampus Cat offense in all three games.
“They’ve moved the ball on everybody they’ve played,” Malham said. “They had some mistakes and Bentonville got all the breaks in that one. We’ve got to get ready to play because this is definitely going to be the best team we’ve seen so far.”
Conway lost some key players before the season ever got started. It led to a rough opener, but things have steadily improved since a big opening loss to Bentonville.
The Wampus Cats played defending champion Fort Smith Southside to within one point, then beat Benton last week.
One of the players Conway lost was an All-State fullback, which is the feature position in Conway’s offense. The departed players was replaced by Ivan Mendoza, who has shown progress, and recorded his first 100-yard game last week.
“Ivan has done a great job for us since stepping into that role,” Smith said. “Obviously nobody likes to lose an all-state football player, but we’ve got kids stepping up and playing well.”
Lester Robinson is carrying the ball frequently from the wing back position, and returning All-State player Isaiah Jackson is back. Jackson did the most damage to the Panthers last year, and Malham remembers it well.
“He made us look bad last year,” Malham said.
Smith expects Cabot to key on him this week, but knows Cabot won’t sell out to stop him.
“He’s a threat to break it all the time,” Smith said. “He’s just that kind of player. What I like about this team though, is that they’ve had to step up and show something about themselves, and I think they have. I think they’ve gotten to the point that you can’t just say you’re going to stop Isaiah and you’ll stop Conway. But defensive coordinators aren’t stupid, and Cabot has an outstanding one. They see what all we have and I expect ‘em to be well-prepared like they always are.”
Cabot has stopped its opponents so far this year. The Panthers have given up just one touchdown and eight total points in three games. The offense has scored exactly 100 points so far, but has played in two mercy-rule shortened games by virtue of reaching 35 points so quickly.
Conway has shown improvement in dealing with big offensive lines, as evidenced by the different outcomes of the games against Bentonville and Southside.
Though Smith says there’s something a little different about playing Cabot.
“Against Bentonville, our interior people were getting wiped out,” Smith said. “Against Southside they did a nice job.
Southside was huge and we held our own. We didn’t get a win, but it was a much better effort. Against Cabot, you have got to be the aggressor. You can’t sit back and let them come to you or you’re beat because they’re aggressive. They are hard-nosed, aggressive kids and you got to meet ‘em. If you sit back and wait for them, they’ve done run over you.” That’s more like Southside plays, and we did a better job against them. We’d better keep improving too. They (the Panthers) have scored a lot and pitched two shutouts, so we’d better be ready.”
Aggression, though, is something that’s only effective if the ball doesn’t come loose. Taking care of the ball and playing smart defense will be the key for Cabot.
“If we don’t put the ball on the ground, and don’t give up the big pass over the top, I think we’ll give ourselves a chance to win,” Malham said. “If they’re going to beat us, make ‘em beat us. Let’s not try to give it away.”
Leader sports editor
This week’s matchup between Cabot and Conway will be a game between longtime rivals. While the game will be between familiar foes, it won’t be in a familiar place, at least not for the visiting Wampus Cats. Cabot and Conway have faced each other every season for the last 13 years, but have not played at Panther Stadium since 1996. The Wampus Cats walked away with a triple-overtime playoff victory in that last meeting in Cabot. Since then, the two teams always met in week one of the season in some sort of bowl or classic game.
They’ve played at War Memorial, Estes Stadium in Conway, and the past three years at Conway High School. The Wampus Cats have gotten the best of the Panthers the past two years. Already a heated rival, they aren’t expecting a warm welcome when they grace Panther Stadium for the first time in 10 years this Friday.
“I’m sure it’ll be a treat for us,” Conway coach Kenny Smith said. “They get us coming in there when they’re really on a roll. I think it will be nice though because of that wonderful facility they have there now.”
Smith coached at Cabot for three years, and has fond feelings for the hometown of his rival, but is quick to point out it’s a friendly rivalry.
“I have the utmost respect for Cabot,” Smith said. “(Athletic director) Johnny White is one of my very best friends. I love the support of the community. Cabot and Conway almost mirror each other in many respects. And I’m one person that’s been fortunate enough to live and work in both places.”
For his fondness for the city, it stops when game time starts. He’s quick to point out he wants badly to beat Cabot.
“I’m the kind of guy, I can turn on the weather channel, and if Cabot is 80 degrees, I want Conway to show 81,” Smith said.
When it comes to game preparation, Smith feels his team has its work cut out for it this week. He believes this is Cabot’s best team in several years, and says that he thinks Cabot’s coach thinks so too.
“I can tell Michael (Cabot coach Mike Malham) really likes this team,” Smith said. “I can tell by the play calling and some of the things he’s doing that he really has a lot of confidence in that bunch. This is probably the best offensive line he’s had in some time. I’m very impressed with that group. The backs are always the same. They’ve never had a back that didn’t run hard and that’s no different this year. They’re a north and south football team, and they’ve scored a lot points doing that this year.”
Malham does have confidence in the team, and has been pleased with its ability to move the ball and score, but didn’t like one thing he saw last week against Searcy. An old, nasty pest reared its head again in the first half of that game, fumbles.
“We do pretty good when we don’t put the ball on the ground,” Malham said. “We’d better not do that this week or it’ll hurt us a lot worse than it did.”
Malham didn’t believe that Conway’s outing against Bentonville was as bad as the score indicated. He has been impressed with the Wampus Cat offense in all three games.
“They’ve moved the ball on everybody they’ve played,” Malham said. “They had some mistakes and Bentonville got all the breaks in that one. We’ve got to get ready to play because this is definitely going to be the best team we’ve seen so far.”
Conway lost some key players before the season ever got started. It led to a rough opener, but things have steadily improved since a big opening loss to Bentonville.
The Wampus Cats played defending champion Fort Smith Southside to within one point, then beat Benton last week.
One of the players Conway lost was an All-State fullback, which is the feature position in Conway’s offense. The departed players was replaced by Ivan Mendoza, who has shown progress, and recorded his first 100-yard game last week.
“Ivan has done a great job for us since stepping into that role,” Smith said. “Obviously nobody likes to lose an all-state football player, but we’ve got kids stepping up and playing well.”
Lester Robinson is carrying the ball frequently from the wing back position, and returning All-State player Isaiah Jackson is back. Jackson did the most damage to the Panthers last year, and Malham remembers it well.
“He made us look bad last year,” Malham said.
Smith expects Cabot to key on him this week, but knows Cabot won’t sell out to stop him.
“He’s a threat to break it all the time,” Smith said. “He’s just that kind of player. What I like about this team though, is that they’ve had to step up and show something about themselves, and I think they have. I think they’ve gotten to the point that you can’t just say you’re going to stop Isaiah and you’ll stop Conway. But defensive coordinators aren’t stupid, and Cabot has an outstanding one. They see what all we have and I expect ‘em to be well-prepared like they always are.”
Cabot has stopped its opponents so far this year. The Panthers have given up just one touchdown and eight total points in three games. The offense has scored exactly 100 points so far, but has played in two mercy-rule shortened games by virtue of reaching 35 points so quickly.
Conway has shown improvement in dealing with big offensive lines, as evidenced by the different outcomes of the games against Bentonville and Southside.
Though Smith says there’s something a little different about playing Cabot.
“Against Bentonville, our interior people were getting wiped out,” Smith said. “Against Southside they did a nice job.
Southside was huge and we held our own. We didn’t get a win, but it was a much better effort. Against Cabot, you have got to be the aggressor. You can’t sit back and let them come to you or you’re beat because they’re aggressive. They are hard-nosed, aggressive kids and you got to meet ‘em. If you sit back and wait for them, they’ve done run over you.” That’s more like Southside plays, and we did a better job against them. We’d better keep improving too. They (the Panthers) have scored a lot and pitched two shutouts, so we’d better be ready.”
Aggression, though, is something that’s only effective if the ball doesn’t come loose. Taking care of the ball and playing smart defense will be the key for Cabot.
“If we don’t put the ball on the ground, and don’t give up the big pass over the top, I think we’ll give ourselves a chance to win,” Malham said. “If they’re going to beat us, make ‘em beat us. Let’s not try to give it away.”
OBITUARIES >> 09-19-07
Ethard Graham
Ethard W. “Dub” Graham, 78, of Romance passed from our world and into God’s arms on Sept. 16.
In his final hours, “Pappy” was surrounded by those who loved him and taught us one last lesson in dignity and grace.
Born in Lubbock, Texas, on Dec. 6, 1928, he is survived by the love of his life, Marie T. Graham, to whom he was married for 55 years; two daughters, Susan Dempsey and husband Larry and Raena Rawlinson and husband Mark; two sons, Myles Graham and wife Carol and Mark Graham and wife Kim; 11 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; two brothers and two sisters.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Evertt W. Graham and Dovie Dale Graham; one sister and one brother.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19 at Mt. Vernon Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon, with burial at Grissard Cemetery in El Paso. Funeral arrangements will be by Westbrook Funeral Home of Beebe.
Billie Morris
Billie Jean Hughes Morris, 70, of Austin passed away Sept. 16.
She was born Oct. 12, 1936 in Little Rock to the late Wilson Woodrow Hughes and Leanora E. Ellis-Hughes.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Rubert “Fats” Morris; mother, Leanora Hughes in October 2004 and father, Wilson Woodrow Hughes in April 1980.
Survivors include two sons, Garry McCormick of Austin and Harold McCormick and wife Laurie of Bossier City, La.; brother, Jackie D. and wife Shirley Hughes of Austin; sister, Judy and husband Art Hunt of Austin; six grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren and one great-grandchild on the way along with many other family members and friends.
Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19 at Hickory Plains Cemetery in Hickory Plains with Bro. Nipper officiating. Arrangements are by Thomas Funeral Service.
Delia Waller
Delia Irene Johnsey Waller went home to be with her heavenly Father Sept. 14.
She was born to Harrison and Mary Ellen Johnsey on June 5, 1912.
She was a Christian of the Baptist faith and loved “God and His precious Son Jesus,” a favorite expression of hers.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Wilton Waller, a grandson, Lawrence Hogun and one great-grandson, Eddie Hogun; two brothers and wives and one sister and her husband.
Survivors include her daughter, Lilly Rucker; four grandchildren, Don Hogun and family of Red Bluff, Calif., Marilyn Hogun and family of Sandpoint, Idaho, Lillie Ann Ward and family of Exeter, Calif., Pam Coates and family of Carson City, Nev.; 12 great-grandchildren, 20 great-great-grandchildren and three great-great-great-grandchildren.
She loved her neighbors at Newberry Court and will be missed. She loved reading her Bible and clippings of Billy Graham, which she collected over the years.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19 at Boyd Funeral Home in Lonoke. Burial will follow in Salem Cemetery.
Charles Wood
Charles Wayne Wood, 42, of Independence, Mo. died Sept. 15.
He was born August 2, 1965 in Little Rock to Gerald Wood and Sophia Radcliff Wood Harris.
He graduated from Old Main High School in Little Rock and was currently a member of Spirit of Hope Metropolitan Community Church in Kansas City, Mo.
Wood is survived by his daughter, Ashlyn Danielle Wood of Benton; his father Gerald Wood and stepmother, Shirley Wood of Sherwood and mother, Sophia Harris and stepfather, Jim Harris of Ward. Also surviving him are two stepsons, Zachary and Steven Cardinal and their mother Robin Cardinal; siblings, Harrell Stone of Ward, Becky Roberts of North Little Rock, Michael Stone of Ward, Johnny Lakey of Menifee, Monica Underwood of El Paso, Texas, Kathy Wages of North Little Rock, Karen Mullinex of Benton, Rod Borges of North Little Rock and Randy Wood of Little Rock as well as his best friend, Yale Turnham of Independence, Mo. and a host of family and friends.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20 in the chapel of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home with visitation from noon until service time. Burial will follow in Mount Carmel Cemetery in Cabot.
Earl Rodgers
Earl Riley Rodgers, 78, of Beebe died Sept. 16 in Beebe.
He was born March 29, 1929, in Sikeston, Mo. He is survived by his wife, Margaret; five sons; four daughters and several grandchildren.
Cremation arrangements are by Westbrook Funeral Home, Beebe.
Katheryn Knox
Katheryn Fae “Kathy” Knox, 37, of Beebe, died Sept. 16.
She was born Feb. 26, 1970 in Chicago to Robert Allen and Katie Hobanez Price.
She graduated from Hobart High in Indiana in 1988 and served in the Army 34th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Platoon at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. She was a member of Operating Engineers Local 150.
Kathy is survived by her husband, Johnny Knox; stepson, Clint Knox of Beebe; grandson, Ethan Knox of Beebe and brother, Allen Robert Price of Hobart, Ind.; brother-in-law Larry Knox (Deborah) of El Paso; sister-in-law Vickie Fowlkes of Beebe and many nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts and friends.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 20 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe with family receiving friends from 9 a.m. until funeral time.
Lillie Brannon
Lillie Alice “Bomer” Brannon, of Lonoke passed away Sept. 17.
She was born Feb. 29, 1912 in Hannah, Okla., to the Late John James and Rose Alice Robertson Bomer.
She was also preceded in death by her brothers, Ott Robertson and Clarence Sherrell as well as her sisters, Lottie Hill and Susie Williams. Brannon was a protestant and lived most of her adult life in the central Arkansas-Pulaski County area.
Survivors include her son, David V. Brannon and wife Anita of Lonoke; three grandchildren, Rita Atkins and husband Joe of Franklin, Tenn., Denise McMahon and husband Greg of Sherwood and Elise Bills and husband Jimmy of Savannah, Tenn.; nine great-grandchildren, Will, Maggie and Ben Atkins, Jared Humphries, Brannon and Chance McMahon, Jeremy, Josh and Jayson Bills; two stepgrandchildren, Todd Yates and Brandi Brannon of Lonoke; as well as three stepgreat-grandchildren, Alicia, Mike and Lauren.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 20 at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home chapel.
Burial will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Park.
Visitation will be at the funeral home from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Arkansas Hospice, 3022 S. 2nd St., Cabot Ark. 72023.
Ethard W. “Dub” Graham, 78, of Romance passed from our world and into God’s arms on Sept. 16.
In his final hours, “Pappy” was surrounded by those who loved him and taught us one last lesson in dignity and grace.
Born in Lubbock, Texas, on Dec. 6, 1928, he is survived by the love of his life, Marie T. Graham, to whom he was married for 55 years; two daughters, Susan Dempsey and husband Larry and Raena Rawlinson and husband Mark; two sons, Myles Graham and wife Carol and Mark Graham and wife Kim; 11 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; two brothers and two sisters.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Evertt W. Graham and Dovie Dale Graham; one sister and one brother.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19 at Mt. Vernon Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon, with burial at Grissard Cemetery in El Paso. Funeral arrangements will be by Westbrook Funeral Home of Beebe.
Billie Morris
Billie Jean Hughes Morris, 70, of Austin passed away Sept. 16.
She was born Oct. 12, 1936 in Little Rock to the late Wilson Woodrow Hughes and Leanora E. Ellis-Hughes.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Rubert “Fats” Morris; mother, Leanora Hughes in October 2004 and father, Wilson Woodrow Hughes in April 1980.
Survivors include two sons, Garry McCormick of Austin and Harold McCormick and wife Laurie of Bossier City, La.; brother, Jackie D. and wife Shirley Hughes of Austin; sister, Judy and husband Art Hunt of Austin; six grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren and one great-grandchild on the way along with many other family members and friends.
Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19 at Hickory Plains Cemetery in Hickory Plains with Bro. Nipper officiating. Arrangements are by Thomas Funeral Service.
Delia Waller
Delia Irene Johnsey Waller went home to be with her heavenly Father Sept. 14.
She was born to Harrison and Mary Ellen Johnsey on June 5, 1912.
She was a Christian of the Baptist faith and loved “God and His precious Son Jesus,” a favorite expression of hers.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Wilton Waller, a grandson, Lawrence Hogun and one great-grandson, Eddie Hogun; two brothers and wives and one sister and her husband.
Survivors include her daughter, Lilly Rucker; four grandchildren, Don Hogun and family of Red Bluff, Calif., Marilyn Hogun and family of Sandpoint, Idaho, Lillie Ann Ward and family of Exeter, Calif., Pam Coates and family of Carson City, Nev.; 12 great-grandchildren, 20 great-great-grandchildren and three great-great-great-grandchildren.
She loved her neighbors at Newberry Court and will be missed. She loved reading her Bible and clippings of Billy Graham, which she collected over the years.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19 at Boyd Funeral Home in Lonoke. Burial will follow in Salem Cemetery.
Charles Wood
Charles Wayne Wood, 42, of Independence, Mo. died Sept. 15.
He was born August 2, 1965 in Little Rock to Gerald Wood and Sophia Radcliff Wood Harris.
He graduated from Old Main High School in Little Rock and was currently a member of Spirit of Hope Metropolitan Community Church in Kansas City, Mo.
Wood is survived by his daughter, Ashlyn Danielle Wood of Benton; his father Gerald Wood and stepmother, Shirley Wood of Sherwood and mother, Sophia Harris and stepfather, Jim Harris of Ward. Also surviving him are two stepsons, Zachary and Steven Cardinal and their mother Robin Cardinal; siblings, Harrell Stone of Ward, Becky Roberts of North Little Rock, Michael Stone of Ward, Johnny Lakey of Menifee, Monica Underwood of El Paso, Texas, Kathy Wages of North Little Rock, Karen Mullinex of Benton, Rod Borges of North Little Rock and Randy Wood of Little Rock as well as his best friend, Yale Turnham of Independence, Mo. and a host of family and friends.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20 in the chapel of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home with visitation from noon until service time. Burial will follow in Mount Carmel Cemetery in Cabot.
Earl Rodgers
Earl Riley Rodgers, 78, of Beebe died Sept. 16 in Beebe.
He was born March 29, 1929, in Sikeston, Mo. He is survived by his wife, Margaret; five sons; four daughters and several grandchildren.
Cremation arrangements are by Westbrook Funeral Home, Beebe.
Katheryn Knox
Katheryn Fae “Kathy” Knox, 37, of Beebe, died Sept. 16.
She was born Feb. 26, 1970 in Chicago to Robert Allen and Katie Hobanez Price.
She graduated from Hobart High in Indiana in 1988 and served in the Army 34th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Platoon at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. She was a member of Operating Engineers Local 150.
Kathy is survived by her husband, Johnny Knox; stepson, Clint Knox of Beebe; grandson, Ethan Knox of Beebe and brother, Allen Robert Price of Hobart, Ind.; brother-in-law Larry Knox (Deborah) of El Paso; sister-in-law Vickie Fowlkes of Beebe and many nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts and friends.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 20 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe with family receiving friends from 9 a.m. until funeral time.
Lillie Brannon
Lillie Alice “Bomer” Brannon, of Lonoke passed away Sept. 17.
She was born Feb. 29, 1912 in Hannah, Okla., to the Late John James and Rose Alice Robertson Bomer.
She was also preceded in death by her brothers, Ott Robertson and Clarence Sherrell as well as her sisters, Lottie Hill and Susie Williams. Brannon was a protestant and lived most of her adult life in the central Arkansas-Pulaski County area.
Survivors include her son, David V. Brannon and wife Anita of Lonoke; three grandchildren, Rita Atkins and husband Joe of Franklin, Tenn., Denise McMahon and husband Greg of Sherwood and Elise Bills and husband Jimmy of Savannah, Tenn.; nine great-grandchildren, Will, Maggie and Ben Atkins, Jared Humphries, Brannon and Chance McMahon, Jeremy, Josh and Jayson Bills; two stepgrandchildren, Todd Yates and Brandi Brannon of Lonoke; as well as three stepgreat-grandchildren, Alicia, Mike and Lauren.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 20 at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home chapel.
Burial will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Park.
Visitation will be at the funeral home from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Arkansas Hospice, 3022 S. 2nd St., Cabot Ark. 72023.
TOP STORY >>Buying golf course in Sherwood plans
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Alderman Becki Vassar will ask the Sherwood City Council Monday night to give the city attorney permission to start negotiations to buy the North Hills Country Club golf course.
Vassar explained that this doesn’t commit the city to buying it and the ordinance contains no price parameters.
“It’s to show that we are serious about this property,” Vassar said, adding that it is “far too valuable as a greenbelt in the heart of the city” not to make a good-faith effort to buy the property.
“The ordinance will allow our attorney to talk to the property owner’s attorney. It’s a communication tool,” Vassar said.
Mayor Virginia Hillman said she has no problems with the proposed ordinance. “The city needs to explore the feasibility of buying the property and this is a good start,” she said.
Hillman still wants the public to have a major say and doesn’t want to use condemnation procedures to obtain the golf course. “If we buy it we need to pay fair market price for it,” the mayor said.
That price varies from a city-funded feasibility study suggesting Sherwood buy the property for $1.5 million to a city-funded appraisal that puts the property’s value at $2.215 million to the county’s tax appraisal of $3.1 million to Campbell’s $5.1 million offer.
Vassar said the city needs to do something as the six-month building moratorium the council placed on the 106 acres back in April is close to expiring. “We need a plan,” she said.
The moratorium issue is the center of a lawsuit that the golf course owners filed against the city in June.
The owners, Club Properties, have alleged that city had no right to place restriction on the property. At the time of the moratorium Club Properties was negotiating the $5.1 million deal with Campbell.
Campbell had plans to build a high-end gated community of 200 homes on the property. The moratorium thwarted the financing for that deal.
Campbell later came back to community leaders with a plan for just 34 homes and deeding a portion of the golf course land to the city for a park.
“I think this plans covers the three objections the city has—traffic congestions, overburdening the sewer system and keeping green space,” Rodgers said presenting the plan back in May.
His plan garnered no public support from aldermen who have been mum on the golf course since the lawsuit was filed even though Campbell is not part of the suit.
Ronald E. Bragg performed the city-funded appraisal, which cost $8,000. In his report, Bragg states “it is my opinion that the highest and best use of the subject property is no longer as a country club and golf course, but as single-family residential development, and as of the date of my inspection, May 8, 2007, it is my opinion that the subject property had a market value of $2,215,000.”
City Attorney Steve Cobb said even though Bragg recommended that the best use of the property would be as a single-family home development that “this of course does not preclude this property being used for a gold course, park or any other recreational use.”
After receiving the study, former Mayor Bill Harmon appointed what he called a blue-ribbon committee of Sherwood citizens to review the feasibility study. The consensus of the committee was for the city to proceed with attempts to purchase the golf course.
Vassar is looking forward to the golf course becoming part of the city’s parks system.
Leader staff writer
Alderman Becki Vassar will ask the Sherwood City Council Monday night to give the city attorney permission to start negotiations to buy the North Hills Country Club golf course.
Vassar explained that this doesn’t commit the city to buying it and the ordinance contains no price parameters.
“It’s to show that we are serious about this property,” Vassar said, adding that it is “far too valuable as a greenbelt in the heart of the city” not to make a good-faith effort to buy the property.
“The ordinance will allow our attorney to talk to the property owner’s attorney. It’s a communication tool,” Vassar said.
Mayor Virginia Hillman said she has no problems with the proposed ordinance. “The city needs to explore the feasibility of buying the property and this is a good start,” she said.
Hillman still wants the public to have a major say and doesn’t want to use condemnation procedures to obtain the golf course. “If we buy it we need to pay fair market price for it,” the mayor said.
That price varies from a city-funded feasibility study suggesting Sherwood buy the property for $1.5 million to a city-funded appraisal that puts the property’s value at $2.215 million to the county’s tax appraisal of $3.1 million to Campbell’s $5.1 million offer.
Vassar said the city needs to do something as the six-month building moratorium the council placed on the 106 acres back in April is close to expiring. “We need a plan,” she said.
The moratorium issue is the center of a lawsuit that the golf course owners filed against the city in June.
The owners, Club Properties, have alleged that city had no right to place restriction on the property. At the time of the moratorium Club Properties was negotiating the $5.1 million deal with Campbell.
Campbell had plans to build a high-end gated community of 200 homes on the property. The moratorium thwarted the financing for that deal.
Campbell later came back to community leaders with a plan for just 34 homes and deeding a portion of the golf course land to the city for a park.
“I think this plans covers the three objections the city has—traffic congestions, overburdening the sewer system and keeping green space,” Rodgers said presenting the plan back in May.
His plan garnered no public support from aldermen who have been mum on the golf course since the lawsuit was filed even though Campbell is not part of the suit.
Ronald E. Bragg performed the city-funded appraisal, which cost $8,000. In his report, Bragg states “it is my opinion that the highest and best use of the subject property is no longer as a country club and golf course, but as single-family residential development, and as of the date of my inspection, May 8, 2007, it is my opinion that the subject property had a market value of $2,215,000.”
City Attorney Steve Cobb said even though Bragg recommended that the best use of the property would be as a single-family home development that “this of course does not preclude this property being used for a gold course, park or any other recreational use.”
After receiving the study, former Mayor Bill Harmon appointed what he called a blue-ribbon committee of Sherwood citizens to review the feasibility study. The consensus of the committee was for the city to proceed with attempts to purchase the golf course.
Vassar is looking forward to the golf course becoming part of the city’s parks system.
TOP STORY >>Cabot council, mayor set to talk
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
The Monday night Cabot City Council meeting was a short one in part because all the real business on the agenda was postponed until October to give council members time to talk with Mayor Eddie Joe Williams, who has been out of town.
The council tabled a resolution appointing Chuck Prater and reappointing David Hicks to the planning commission. An ordinance abolishing the council committees where city business is discussed before council meetings was read but not voted upon. That ordinance will be read again in October, and the council could decide at that time to read it for a third time or postpone the third reading and the vote to pass or fail in November.
The planning commission appointments drew sharp criticism from Alderman Teri Miessner, who asked that they be tabled until after she has talked to the mayor.
Miessner takes issue with the way the matter has been handled. Matt Webber, who is known in Cabot for community service work like the annual cleanup, is being removed from the commission after eight years.
Although the mayor said last week that he sent letters to all commission chairmen saying that no members would be reappointed unless there were extenuating circumstances, Webber was apparently unaware that his term was up and that someone else would soon fill his seat.
“I want to publicly apologize to Mr. Webber,” Williams said Monday night. “I wish it hadn’t happened, but it did.”
Although the reappointment of Hicks might appear to be a contradiction of the mayor’s new non-reappointment policy, the mayor said last week that Hicks’ departure from the planning commission during the administration of former Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh, meets his standard for “extenuating circumstances.”
Three years ago, the city council appointed Hicks to the newly created public utilities commission to run the water and wastewater departments. Stumbaugh insisted that Hicks resign as chairman of the planning commission saying he could not serve on two at the same time.
Then a few months later when the public utilities commission was revamped into the Cabot Water and Wastewater Commission, with more authority than its short-lived predecessor, the mayor not the council appointed the members, and Stumbaugh did not appoint Hicks.
Since Williams took office in January, the city council has met in committees to discuss proposed legislation.
As the committee system was explained then, all proposed legislation was to be assigned to at least one of three committees.
And just like the state legislature, if it didn’t pass out of committee, it wouldn’t make it to the full council.
But in reality, the ordinance establishing the committees did not exclude the mayor or council members from bringing legislation to the full council that was not passed at the committee level.
Aldermen Miessner and Becky Lemaster learned that last month when the council passed a resolution from Alderman Eddie Cook calling for non-partisan elections in 2008.
Miessner and Lemaster, who are Republicans and want partisan elections, said the resolution didn’t make it out of committee and that it shouldn’t have even gone before the full council.
The day after the August council meeting, Lemaster asked City Attorney Jim Taylor to draft legislation abolishing the committees.
The council this week did pass an ordinance establishing a fine schedule for city residents whose malfunctioning alarm systems waste the time of firefighters and police officers.
Section 6 of the ordinance says residents will be fined these amounts for more than three false alarms in a three month period: $100 for the fourth, fifth or sixth false alarms; $250 for the seventh, eighth and ninth false alarms.
The emergency clause was not attached to the ordinance at the request of Police Chief Jackie Davis, who told the council he wants residents to have time to make necessary repairs to their systems.
In other business, the association that runs the soccer program in the city told the council that more restrooms, paved parking, a bigger concession stand and lights are needed at the soccer fields.
Sabrina Blankenship, spokesperson for the association, told the council 1,140 children play soccer in Cabot and the economic impact to the city is great.
Leader staff writer
The Monday night Cabot City Council meeting was a short one in part because all the real business on the agenda was postponed until October to give council members time to talk with Mayor Eddie Joe Williams, who has been out of town.
The council tabled a resolution appointing Chuck Prater and reappointing David Hicks to the planning commission. An ordinance abolishing the council committees where city business is discussed before council meetings was read but not voted upon. That ordinance will be read again in October, and the council could decide at that time to read it for a third time or postpone the third reading and the vote to pass or fail in November.
The planning commission appointments drew sharp criticism from Alderman Teri Miessner, who asked that they be tabled until after she has talked to the mayor.
Miessner takes issue with the way the matter has been handled. Matt Webber, who is known in Cabot for community service work like the annual cleanup, is being removed from the commission after eight years.
Although the mayor said last week that he sent letters to all commission chairmen saying that no members would be reappointed unless there were extenuating circumstances, Webber was apparently unaware that his term was up and that someone else would soon fill his seat.
“I want to publicly apologize to Mr. Webber,” Williams said Monday night. “I wish it hadn’t happened, but it did.”
Although the reappointment of Hicks might appear to be a contradiction of the mayor’s new non-reappointment policy, the mayor said last week that Hicks’ departure from the planning commission during the administration of former Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh, meets his standard for “extenuating circumstances.”
Three years ago, the city council appointed Hicks to the newly created public utilities commission to run the water and wastewater departments. Stumbaugh insisted that Hicks resign as chairman of the planning commission saying he could not serve on two at the same time.
Then a few months later when the public utilities commission was revamped into the Cabot Water and Wastewater Commission, with more authority than its short-lived predecessor, the mayor not the council appointed the members, and Stumbaugh did not appoint Hicks.
Since Williams took office in January, the city council has met in committees to discuss proposed legislation.
As the committee system was explained then, all proposed legislation was to be assigned to at least one of three committees.
And just like the state legislature, if it didn’t pass out of committee, it wouldn’t make it to the full council.
But in reality, the ordinance establishing the committees did not exclude the mayor or council members from bringing legislation to the full council that was not passed at the committee level.
Aldermen Miessner and Becky Lemaster learned that last month when the council passed a resolution from Alderman Eddie Cook calling for non-partisan elections in 2008.
Miessner and Lemaster, who are Republicans and want partisan elections, said the resolution didn’t make it out of committee and that it shouldn’t have even gone before the full council.
The day after the August council meeting, Lemaster asked City Attorney Jim Taylor to draft legislation abolishing the committees.
The council this week did pass an ordinance establishing a fine schedule for city residents whose malfunctioning alarm systems waste the time of firefighters and police officers.
Section 6 of the ordinance says residents will be fined these amounts for more than three false alarms in a three month period: $100 for the fourth, fifth or sixth false alarms; $250 for the seventh, eighth and ninth false alarms.
The emergency clause was not attached to the ordinance at the request of Police Chief Jackie Davis, who told the council he wants residents to have time to make necessary repairs to their systems.
In other business, the association that runs the soccer program in the city told the council that more restrooms, paved parking, a bigger concession stand and lights are needed at the soccer fields.
Sabrina Blankenship, spokesperson for the association, told the council 1,140 children play soccer in Cabot and the economic impact to the city is great.
FROM THE PUBLISHER >>No troops when you need them
Most people in Little Rock resented the arrival of the 101st Airborne Division to ensure the integration of Central High School 50 years ago — many of those troops were flown into Little Rock Air Force Base — but almost exactly the year before, I would have welcomed the 101st into my native Hungary.
That was back when the Soviets reoccupied Hungary after they crushed a people’s uprising. Hungarians pleaded for help from the West, but none arrived.
I often wonder what would have happened if President Eisenhower had sent the 101st into Hungary in 1956. That move could have started World War III, but as my fellow Hungarian emigre Edward Teller, the father of the hydrogen bomb, might have said, the doomsday option isn’t necessarily the end of the world.
As it happened, Eisenhower weighed his options and decided Hungary wasn’t worth risking a world war over, although I’m not sure the Soviets would have fought us on the ground in Hungary.
In any event, the Soviet empire began to crumble 30 years later, starting in Hungary, and the rest of the empire fell a few years after that without a shot being fired.
Eisenhower was a far more capable general than many people realize, and he had good political instincts, too. Although he avoided a confrontation with the Soviets over Hungary, he knew he couldn’t let Faubus and his fellow insurrectionists defy court orders to integrate Central High School. Ike had no choice but to send the troops to Little Rock.
Since I know several (white) people who attended Central in 1957, I’ve written about their experiences during the integration crisis and their resentment at being assigned minor roles during the upcoming 50th anniversary celebrations.
I don’t know Ralph Brodie, the former Central star athlete and student council president, but his book, “Central in Our Lives: Voices from Little Rock Central High School, 1957-59,” written with Marvin Schwartz, does a lot to correct the misconception that few white students acted honorably during those dark days.
The forgotten young white men and women, now well into their 60s, are bitter, perhaps for good reason, but not as bitter as me: I was a little kid living in a lousy refugee camp in Austria back then because the West allowed the Soviets to retake Hungary.
Sure, that’s ancient history and it happened on the other side of the world, while just across the river, Central shaped the future of the civil rights movement, as well as the lives of its young people and changed the course of its politics as Winthrop Rockefeller succeeded Orval Faubus and put the racists out of business.
Faubus, who tried to prevent nine black students from entering Central so he would keep his job, and the ringleaders who egged him on have long been discredited. They didn’t care about education — they closed down a high school that was ranked 38th in the U.S. academically and had 22 National Merit semifinalists — or even about athletics — they wrecked a national-champion football team just to keep nine kids out.
A lot of people lost their minds over Central, and a lot of others didn’t even have minds to lose — they were that dumb.
But the world next week will honor those black and white kids who learned together, prayed together, joked together. They survived tough times, and many of them did very well, including Ernest Green, Central’s first black graduate, who has excelled in business and politics, and Brodie, who became a prominent tax lawyer.
It took 50 years for Brodie to tell his story. The book includes interviews with some 100 participants in the Central drama, who showed up for classes in defiance of the demagogues. Only a tiny minority caused trouble at Central, and most of them, if they’re still alive, will stay away from next week’s festivities.
Brodie has been invited to speak, and when he embraces the Little Rock Nine, imagine if you could turn the clock back 50 years and make it seem as if September 1957 were a routine start of another school year — no troops, no mobs, no hatred.
Nothing to be scared of but Latin, as one of the students entering the school said 50 years ago.
That was back when the Soviets reoccupied Hungary after they crushed a people’s uprising. Hungarians pleaded for help from the West, but none arrived.
I often wonder what would have happened if President Eisenhower had sent the 101st into Hungary in 1956. That move could have started World War III, but as my fellow Hungarian emigre Edward Teller, the father of the hydrogen bomb, might have said, the doomsday option isn’t necessarily the end of the world.
As it happened, Eisenhower weighed his options and decided Hungary wasn’t worth risking a world war over, although I’m not sure the Soviets would have fought us on the ground in Hungary.
In any event, the Soviet empire began to crumble 30 years later, starting in Hungary, and the rest of the empire fell a few years after that without a shot being fired.
Eisenhower was a far more capable general than many people realize, and he had good political instincts, too. Although he avoided a confrontation with the Soviets over Hungary, he knew he couldn’t let Faubus and his fellow insurrectionists defy court orders to integrate Central High School. Ike had no choice but to send the troops to Little Rock.
Since I know several (white) people who attended Central in 1957, I’ve written about their experiences during the integration crisis and their resentment at being assigned minor roles during the upcoming 50th anniversary celebrations.
I don’t know Ralph Brodie, the former Central star athlete and student council president, but his book, “Central in Our Lives: Voices from Little Rock Central High School, 1957-59,” written with Marvin Schwartz, does a lot to correct the misconception that few white students acted honorably during those dark days.
The forgotten young white men and women, now well into their 60s, are bitter, perhaps for good reason, but not as bitter as me: I was a little kid living in a lousy refugee camp in Austria back then because the West allowed the Soviets to retake Hungary.
Sure, that’s ancient history and it happened on the other side of the world, while just across the river, Central shaped the future of the civil rights movement, as well as the lives of its young people and changed the course of its politics as Winthrop Rockefeller succeeded Orval Faubus and put the racists out of business.
Faubus, who tried to prevent nine black students from entering Central so he would keep his job, and the ringleaders who egged him on have long been discredited. They didn’t care about education — they closed down a high school that was ranked 38th in the U.S. academically and had 22 National Merit semifinalists — or even about athletics — they wrecked a national-champion football team just to keep nine kids out.
A lot of people lost their minds over Central, and a lot of others didn’t even have minds to lose — they were that dumb.
But the world next week will honor those black and white kids who learned together, prayed together, joked together. They survived tough times, and many of them did very well, including Ernest Green, Central’s first black graduate, who has excelled in business and politics, and Brodie, who became a prominent tax lawyer.
It took 50 years for Brodie to tell his story. The book includes interviews with some 100 participants in the Central drama, who showed up for classes in defiance of the demagogues. Only a tiny minority caused trouble at Central, and most of them, if they’re still alive, will stay away from next week’s festivities.
Brodie has been invited to speak, and when he embraces the Little Rock Nine, imagine if you could turn the clock back 50 years and make it seem as if September 1957 were a routine start of another school year — no troops, no mobs, no hatred.
Nothing to be scared of but Latin, as one of the students entering the school said 50 years ago.
TOP STORY >>School patrons choose winners
By HEATHER HARTSELL
Leader staff writer
Pulaski County Special School District Zone 6 challenger Bill Vasquez beat incumbent Dr. James Bolden, III, by nearly 100 votes in Tuesday’s school elections.
With 100 percent of the precincts in, Vasquez had collected 427 votes to Bolden’s 328.
“We are extremely jubilant,” Vasquez said. “We ran a grassroots campaign and focused on putting children first. We will now do whatever it takes to put the children first,” he said after hearing that he had won the school board seat.
But the PCSSD election did not run smoothly.
At least 60 people were turned away from the Jacksonville Community Center Tuesday as they attempted to vote for either Bolden or Vasquez to represent Jacksonville area schools for the next four years.
One voter had the chief judge at the Jacksonville polling site call Pulaski County Clerk Pat O’Brien’s office after he, a long-time Zone 6 voter, was told the only ballot he could vote was for Mildred Tatum in Zone 1 in Little Rock.
O’Brien’s office ran the Jacksonville resident’s information through the commission’s computer and found that he was indeed eligible to vote Zone 6.
“They (O’Brien’s office) admitted they made a blunder with their mapping and will have to fix it,” the voter said.
Vasquez said he had received a number of calls from parents who tried to vote, but were turned away. He said most of the problem had to do with the boundaries of the Jacksonville zone, which has a gap in the center of the city.
“These parents send their children to Zone 6 schools, so they thought they were in that zone, but the way the zone is cut, they weren’t,” Vasquez said.
In the Cabot School Board election, incumbent Jim Coy retained his Position 3 seat by a landslide.
Coy received 183 votes against opponent Arthur Evans’ 44 votes.
“I’m very excited to be re-elected and serve another five years,” Coy said. “I appreciate the confidence of the voters in re-electing me and look forward to driving some more changes within Cabot schools.”
Ken Kincade, who was unopposed, also won in Cabot, receiving 204 votes.
Incumbent Richard Pennington was re-elected to the Zone 3, Position 2 seat on the Lonoke School Board, beating Darrell Park by a mere two votes.
Pennington received 44 votes against Park’s 42 votes to represent Lonoke schools for the next five years.
Pennington hopes to expand Lonoke’s vocational programs, decrease the number of students who require remediation in college, and improve facilities at the high school.
Incumbent Ray Kelleybrew, who was unopposed, also retained his Lonoke seat, receiving 20 votes.
On the Beebe School Board, Brenda K. McKown claimed the open five-year seat against Christopher Mark Goss.
McKown, the former president of the McRae School Board, garnered a total of 270 votes against Goss’ 161 votes.
She intends to use her past board experience, along with her knowledge of the educational process, to continue to push for higher education for the Beebe district. She also wants to continue improving the district to ensure a better education system for all students in the Beebe school system.
Leader staff writer Rick Kron contributed to this article.
Leader staff writer
Pulaski County Special School District Zone 6 challenger Bill Vasquez beat incumbent Dr. James Bolden, III, by nearly 100 votes in Tuesday’s school elections.
With 100 percent of the precincts in, Vasquez had collected 427 votes to Bolden’s 328.
“We are extremely jubilant,” Vasquez said. “We ran a grassroots campaign and focused on putting children first. We will now do whatever it takes to put the children first,” he said after hearing that he had won the school board seat.
But the PCSSD election did not run smoothly.
At least 60 people were turned away from the Jacksonville Community Center Tuesday as they attempted to vote for either Bolden or Vasquez to represent Jacksonville area schools for the next four years.
One voter had the chief judge at the Jacksonville polling site call Pulaski County Clerk Pat O’Brien’s office after he, a long-time Zone 6 voter, was told the only ballot he could vote was for Mildred Tatum in Zone 1 in Little Rock.
O’Brien’s office ran the Jacksonville resident’s information through the commission’s computer and found that he was indeed eligible to vote Zone 6.
“They (O’Brien’s office) admitted they made a blunder with their mapping and will have to fix it,” the voter said.
Vasquez said he had received a number of calls from parents who tried to vote, but were turned away. He said most of the problem had to do with the boundaries of the Jacksonville zone, which has a gap in the center of the city.
“These parents send their children to Zone 6 schools, so they thought they were in that zone, but the way the zone is cut, they weren’t,” Vasquez said.
In the Cabot School Board election, incumbent Jim Coy retained his Position 3 seat by a landslide.
Coy received 183 votes against opponent Arthur Evans’ 44 votes.
“I’m very excited to be re-elected and serve another five years,” Coy said. “I appreciate the confidence of the voters in re-electing me and look forward to driving some more changes within Cabot schools.”
Ken Kincade, who was unopposed, also won in Cabot, receiving 204 votes.
Incumbent Richard Pennington was re-elected to the Zone 3, Position 2 seat on the Lonoke School Board, beating Darrell Park by a mere two votes.
Pennington received 44 votes against Park’s 42 votes to represent Lonoke schools for the next five years.
Pennington hopes to expand Lonoke’s vocational programs, decrease the number of students who require remediation in college, and improve facilities at the high school.
Incumbent Ray Kelleybrew, who was unopposed, also retained his Lonoke seat, receiving 20 votes.
On the Beebe School Board, Brenda K. McKown claimed the open five-year seat against Christopher Mark Goss.
McKown, the former president of the McRae School Board, garnered a total of 270 votes against Goss’ 161 votes.
She intends to use her past board experience, along with her knowledge of the educational process, to continue to push for higher education for the Beebe district. She also wants to continue improving the district to ensure a better education system for all students in the Beebe school system.
Leader staff writer Rick Kron contributed to this article.
TOP STORY >>AF milestone
By HEATHER HARTSELL
Leader staff writer
The Air Force celebrates its 60th anniversary this week, festivities are being held throughout the country, including a military ball hosted by Little Rock Air Force Base Saturday evening at the Statehouse Convention Center.
The Air Force was established Sept. 18, 1947.
Little Rock AFB has been an established Air Force base since October 1955.
Of the close to 700,000 airmen who make up the total Air Force (active duty, civilians, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve), 6,014 are stationed here at Little Rock AFB, and more than 500 local airmen are deployed in support of the global war on terror.
Thousands of retired Air Force members and their families, about 25,400, also live in Jacksonville and the surrounding areas.
A number of official events were held Tuesday in the nation’s capital in honor of the Air Force’s 60th anniversary, including a birthday celebration attended by members of the Tuskegee Airmen and Women Air Force Service Pilots, Vietnam veterans, Berlin Airlifters, Medal of Honor recipients, Air Force astronauts and family members of the first chief of staff of the Air Force, Gen. Carl A. Spaatz.
“The events here in the national capital region not only gave us a chance to reflect on our remarkable Air Force heritage, but also gave us the opportunity to celebrate our 60th birthday as an independent service,” said Brig. Gen. Janet A. Therianos, director of the Air Force 60th anniversary task force.
She described the events as a way to capture the spirit of the past and the enthusiasm for the future, and “bestow honors to the sacrifices of all who have given so much for our country” by recognizing “those Americans who volunteer to selflessly serve our great country.”
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley and Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne heralded the Air Force’s 60th birthday as an opportunity to reflect on the nation’s progression in powered flight, rocketry and access to space.
“We also honor the extraordinary achievements and gallant sacrifices America’s airmen have made in the defense of freedom. Born of the revolutionary ideas of military aviation and rocketry and forged in the fire of combat throughout the wars of the 20th century, a handful of visionary pioneers helped shape the most dominant Air Force the world has ever known,” Moseley and Wynne said in a statement.
While marking this milestone in Air Force history, the two congratulated the airmen who make up today’s Air Force.
“Total Force Airmen of the U.S. Air Force past, present and future can take pride in their roles in the Air Force’s success,” they said. “Your service, dedication and sacrifice guarantee our ability to fly, fight and win for America and into the future.”
Leader staff writer
The Air Force celebrates its 60th anniversary this week, festivities are being held throughout the country, including a military ball hosted by Little Rock Air Force Base Saturday evening at the Statehouse Convention Center.
The Air Force was established Sept. 18, 1947.
Little Rock AFB has been an established Air Force base since October 1955.
Of the close to 700,000 airmen who make up the total Air Force (active duty, civilians, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve), 6,014 are stationed here at Little Rock AFB, and more than 500 local airmen are deployed in support of the global war on terror.
Thousands of retired Air Force members and their families, about 25,400, also live in Jacksonville and the surrounding areas.
A number of official events were held Tuesday in the nation’s capital in honor of the Air Force’s 60th anniversary, including a birthday celebration attended by members of the Tuskegee Airmen and Women Air Force Service Pilots, Vietnam veterans, Berlin Airlifters, Medal of Honor recipients, Air Force astronauts and family members of the first chief of staff of the Air Force, Gen. Carl A. Spaatz.
“The events here in the national capital region not only gave us a chance to reflect on our remarkable Air Force heritage, but also gave us the opportunity to celebrate our 60th birthday as an independent service,” said Brig. Gen. Janet A. Therianos, director of the Air Force 60th anniversary task force.
She described the events as a way to capture the spirit of the past and the enthusiasm for the future, and “bestow honors to the sacrifices of all who have given so much for our country” by recognizing “those Americans who volunteer to selflessly serve our great country.”
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley and Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne heralded the Air Force’s 60th birthday as an opportunity to reflect on the nation’s progression in powered flight, rocketry and access to space.
“We also honor the extraordinary achievements and gallant sacrifices America’s airmen have made in the defense of freedom. Born of the revolutionary ideas of military aviation and rocketry and forged in the fire of combat throughout the wars of the 20th century, a handful of visionary pioneers helped shape the most dominant Air Force the world has ever known,” Moseley and Wynne said in a statement.
While marking this milestone in Air Force history, the two congratulated the airmen who make up today’s Air Force.
“Total Force Airmen of the U.S. Air Force past, present and future can take pride in their roles in the Air Force’s success,” they said. “Your service, dedication and sacrifice guarantee our ability to fly, fight and win for America and into the future.”
TOP STORY >>Schatz tells of goals at air base
By HEATHER HARTSELL
Leader staff writer
Little Rock Air Force Base commander Brig. Gen. (Select) Rowayne Schatz last week addressed the Air Force’s three current priorities: win the global war on terror, develop and take care of the airmen and recapitalize and modernize the force.
“Fifty-three percent of active duty are online supporting Combatant Command requirements every day,” Schatz said during the September LRAFB Community Council luncheon. “Little Rock has more than 515 airmen deployed, about average for every day of the year.”
More than 31,000 airmen are deployed worldwide with 60,000 Airmen stationed forward, he said. “Our operational mission is vital to saving lives in Iraq. Little Rock’s mission has direct (impact on the global war on terror) – C-130s capabilities have kept more than 6,900 convoys off Iraqi roads,” the commander said.
In one month, C-130s and C-17s reduce ground convoy requirements by airlifting the equivalent of cargo carried by 3,500 trucks allowing the ground forces to re-task their troops for other duty, Schatz added.
The Air Force also flies about 430 combat missions in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility every day.
“On average, 108 C-130 missions are flown each day over Iraq and Afghanistan. On any given day in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, C-130s move 163 short tons of supplies and equipment and 1,800 people throughout the combat zone,” Schatz said.
In developing and taking care of the airmen, Schatz described them as amazing, innovative, everywhere and in demand.
“Our airmen are flawlessly performing their mission no matter the constraint. We need their (innovative) ideas to recapitalize our Air Force,” he said. “They are deployed around the world at all times to fight the long, global war on terrorism and keep our great nations safe; other services recognize that our training and people are second to none,” Schatz said.
According to Schatz, who will be promoted to brigadier general Sept. 28, Air Force weapons systems must be recapitalized to remain viable in the fight, as well as modernizing the aircraft fleet. Currently, the average age of Air Force aircraft is 24 years – “older than the airmen we’re recruiting,” Schatz said.
“We have some of the oldest and most tired C-130s in the Air Force,” he said, adding, “We’re retiring older E models and bringing online the new J.”
Col. Mark Vlahos, 314th Airlift Wing vice commander, told The Leader that although the C-130E models, which are more than 40 years old, continue to prove their reliability and effectiveness, they still need to be replaced.
“The C-130J is a technologically advanced platform that climbs faster and higher, flies farther at a higher cruise speed, and takes off and lands in a shorter distance,” Vlahos said. “The J-model ensures Team Little Rock’s ability to support the nation’s combat airlift capability with world-class training and combat ready aircrews long into the future,” he said.
According to Air Mobility Command headquarters at Scott AFB, Ill., base realignment and closure-directed realignments and current C-130J acquisitions, 52 C-130s (22 C-130Es, 14 C-130H3s and 16 C-130Js) will be based at Little Rock AFB by the end of fiscal year 2009.
Air Force efforts to recapitalize the intra-theater airlift fleet and retire C-130E models are ongoing, AMC officials said.
In addition, the 314th Airlift Wing will have 24 C-130s for training, bring the total to 76.
LRAFB focus areas
Schatz is also focused on ensuring airmen and their families have the tools needed to successfully deploy, accomplish the mission and handle the stresses that come with a high operations tempo.
Schatz told the base community council that he plans to focus on improving the education opportunities for the children and Airmen of LRAFB with projects like the joint-education center, an Arnold Drive Elementary School replacement, Pulaski County Special School District unitary status and an independent Jacksonville school district.
“We continue to work with the Pulaski County Special School District to secure funding to replace Arnold Elementary School with new construction,” he said. “We have a site selected across the street from North Pulaski High School. I mentioned this to Cong. Vic Snyder (D-Little Rock) when he visited and also to the Lt. Gov. Bill Halter when he visited.”
Schatz has also met with PCSSD Superintendent James Sharpe earlier in the summer about the quality of schools in the area.
“The ultimate goal is the best education possible for the children of our airmen – they deserve no less,” Schatz said. “I told him I supported a Jacksonville independent school district as the best way to achieve the goal of the best resourced schools for the children of Little Rock Air Force Base.”
He will also continue to advocate for infrastructure recapitalization and improvement and get the privatized housing project back on track. “Little Rock is an enduring base that needs to replace older facilities. We need to develop a long-range plan to do this smartly, to include a runway, dormitories, community center and some flight line buildings,” Schatz said.
The base broke ground two weeks ago for two new buildings, a new headquarters for the 463rd Airlift Wing and a corrosion control facility, as part of Little Rock’s expansion under BRAC. The Senate, on Sept. 6, approved $9.8 million for runway repairs on base.
“We currently have over $60 million in new BRAC military construction on the books, which is great,” he said. According to Schatz, housing privatization at Little Rock AFB is a key goal.
“We will likely see a new developer brought in to replace American Eagle; all local subcontractors will be made whole as a result of the selling, restructuring of the project,” he said. Schatz hopes to begin construction again around June 2008.
“The goal is to have the best available home for our airmen and families.”
Leader staff writer
Little Rock Air Force Base commander Brig. Gen. (Select) Rowayne Schatz last week addressed the Air Force’s three current priorities: win the global war on terror, develop and take care of the airmen and recapitalize and modernize the force.
“Fifty-three percent of active duty are online supporting Combatant Command requirements every day,” Schatz said during the September LRAFB Community Council luncheon. “Little Rock has more than 515 airmen deployed, about average for every day of the year.”
More than 31,000 airmen are deployed worldwide with 60,000 Airmen stationed forward, he said. “Our operational mission is vital to saving lives in Iraq. Little Rock’s mission has direct (impact on the global war on terror) – C-130s capabilities have kept more than 6,900 convoys off Iraqi roads,” the commander said.
In one month, C-130s and C-17s reduce ground convoy requirements by airlifting the equivalent of cargo carried by 3,500 trucks allowing the ground forces to re-task their troops for other duty, Schatz added.
The Air Force also flies about 430 combat missions in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility every day.
“On average, 108 C-130 missions are flown each day over Iraq and Afghanistan. On any given day in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, C-130s move 163 short tons of supplies and equipment and 1,800 people throughout the combat zone,” Schatz said.
In developing and taking care of the airmen, Schatz described them as amazing, innovative, everywhere and in demand.
“Our airmen are flawlessly performing their mission no matter the constraint. We need their (innovative) ideas to recapitalize our Air Force,” he said. “They are deployed around the world at all times to fight the long, global war on terrorism and keep our great nations safe; other services recognize that our training and people are second to none,” Schatz said.
According to Schatz, who will be promoted to brigadier general Sept. 28, Air Force weapons systems must be recapitalized to remain viable in the fight, as well as modernizing the aircraft fleet. Currently, the average age of Air Force aircraft is 24 years – “older than the airmen we’re recruiting,” Schatz said.
“We have some of the oldest and most tired C-130s in the Air Force,” he said, adding, “We’re retiring older E models and bringing online the new J.”
Col. Mark Vlahos, 314th Airlift Wing vice commander, told The Leader that although the C-130E models, which are more than 40 years old, continue to prove their reliability and effectiveness, they still need to be replaced.
“The C-130J is a technologically advanced platform that climbs faster and higher, flies farther at a higher cruise speed, and takes off and lands in a shorter distance,” Vlahos said. “The J-model ensures Team Little Rock’s ability to support the nation’s combat airlift capability with world-class training and combat ready aircrews long into the future,” he said.
According to Air Mobility Command headquarters at Scott AFB, Ill., base realignment and closure-directed realignments and current C-130J acquisitions, 52 C-130s (22 C-130Es, 14 C-130H3s and 16 C-130Js) will be based at Little Rock AFB by the end of fiscal year 2009.
Air Force efforts to recapitalize the intra-theater airlift fleet and retire C-130E models are ongoing, AMC officials said.
In addition, the 314th Airlift Wing will have 24 C-130s for training, bring the total to 76.
LRAFB focus areas
Schatz is also focused on ensuring airmen and their families have the tools needed to successfully deploy, accomplish the mission and handle the stresses that come with a high operations tempo.
Schatz told the base community council that he plans to focus on improving the education opportunities for the children and Airmen of LRAFB with projects like the joint-education center, an Arnold Drive Elementary School replacement, Pulaski County Special School District unitary status and an independent Jacksonville school district.
“We continue to work with the Pulaski County Special School District to secure funding to replace Arnold Elementary School with new construction,” he said. “We have a site selected across the street from North Pulaski High School. I mentioned this to Cong. Vic Snyder (D-Little Rock) when he visited and also to the Lt. Gov. Bill Halter when he visited.”
Schatz has also met with PCSSD Superintendent James Sharpe earlier in the summer about the quality of schools in the area.
“The ultimate goal is the best education possible for the children of our airmen – they deserve no less,” Schatz said. “I told him I supported a Jacksonville independent school district as the best way to achieve the goal of the best resourced schools for the children of Little Rock Air Force Base.”
He will also continue to advocate for infrastructure recapitalization and improvement and get the privatized housing project back on track. “Little Rock is an enduring base that needs to replace older facilities. We need to develop a long-range plan to do this smartly, to include a runway, dormitories, community center and some flight line buildings,” Schatz said.
The base broke ground two weeks ago for two new buildings, a new headquarters for the 463rd Airlift Wing and a corrosion control facility, as part of Little Rock’s expansion under BRAC. The Senate, on Sept. 6, approved $9.8 million for runway repairs on base.
“We currently have over $60 million in new BRAC military construction on the books, which is great,” he said. According to Schatz, housing privatization at Little Rock AFB is a key goal.
“We will likely see a new developer brought in to replace American Eagle; all local subcontractors will be made whole as a result of the selling, restructuring of the project,” he said. Schatz hopes to begin construction again around June 2008.
“The goal is to have the best available home for our airmen and families.”
EDITORIALS>>Good choice to lead Justice
The name and face of Michael Mukasey are unfamiliar to 19 of every 20 Americans, which may be his strongest recommendation to be attorney general of the United States. Mukasey, a former U. S. district judge appointed by President Ronald Reagan, may be the conservative ideologue that the president assumes him to be, but he is neither a Washington insider nor a confidant of the president.
Mukasey should be an independent arbiter of the law and a devotee of the Constitution, and that is what the nation ought to expect and what it has sorely missed. The relief was palpable when the White House let it be known over the weekend that the president would not choose another crony for the job but would turn to someone with a reputation for sticking to the law without favor.
Alberto Gonzales had changed the definition of attorney general. Most of his career had been spent in the political service of George W. Bush, and only the title changed when Bush moved him from presidential counselor to attorney general. When he turned the Justice Department into a Republican recruitment office and threw out district attorneys, including the prosecutor for the eastern district of Arkansas, because they had not advanced the party’s election goals, even Republicans in Congress had enough.
The president’s first choice to replace Gonzales apparently was Theodore Olson, who if anything is a fiercer partisan than Gonzales. He had a central role in the infamous Arkansas Project, a shadowy effort of right-wingers led by the weird billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife to concoct smears against Bill and Hillary Clinton in the 1990s. Senate Democrats made it clear that Olson would not be confirmed.
Whatever the president’s motive, he deserves the nation’s thanks for restoring independence to the Department of Justice. Mukasey said he would support federal prosecutors, not undermine them. That is good enough for us.
Mukasey should be an independent arbiter of the law and a devotee of the Constitution, and that is what the nation ought to expect and what it has sorely missed. The relief was palpable when the White House let it be known over the weekend that the president would not choose another crony for the job but would turn to someone with a reputation for sticking to the law without favor.
Alberto Gonzales had changed the definition of attorney general. Most of his career had been spent in the political service of George W. Bush, and only the title changed when Bush moved him from presidential counselor to attorney general. When he turned the Justice Department into a Republican recruitment office and threw out district attorneys, including the prosecutor for the eastern district of Arkansas, because they had not advanced the party’s election goals, even Republicans in Congress had enough.
The president’s first choice to replace Gonzales apparently was Theodore Olson, who if anything is a fiercer partisan than Gonzales. He had a central role in the infamous Arkansas Project, a shadowy effort of right-wingers led by the weird billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife to concoct smears against Bill and Hillary Clinton in the 1990s. Senate Democrats made it clear that Olson would not be confirmed.
Whatever the president’s motive, he deserves the nation’s thanks for restoring independence to the Department of Justice. Mukasey said he would support federal prosecutors, not undermine them. That is good enough for us.
EDITORIALS>>Ripping off the elderly
We are in parlous times when the state government must set up barriers to protect people from the perfidy of the federal government. That bizarre circumstance came to pass this week when the attorney general and state insurance commissioner announced a program to halt the victimization of elderly people by health insurance salesmen.
Insurance salesmen are persuading elderly Medicare beneficiaries to leave the traditional Medicare program for one of the “Medicare Advantage” policies that the Bush administration urges people to acquire. As Attorney General Dustin McDaniel described it: “These are private insurance companies making money selling policies to people that they do not want, need or understand, and that is wrong.”
People buy the policies with the promise of lower premiums and much better benefits than Medicare and then often discover that their costs are higher and the benefits worse. Their doctor may not even honor the Advantage policy. Since the Republican Congress adopted the Bush plan, which is aimed at eventually dismantling Medicare, about 8 percent of the elderly in Arkansas have switched to a Medicare Advantage plan by a private company. Insurance Commissioner Julie Benafield Bowman said complaints from victimized elderly people have been especially strong from retirement areas like Baxter County.
The attorney general has set up an office to take complaints and advise people about Medicare coverage. The trouble is that, unless someone commits ordinary fraud, such as forging a customer’s name to a policy application, it’s all perfectly legal under the Medicare Modernization Act, which Congress passed late one night in 2003.
The act was the first step toward the privatization of Medicare. It pays insurance companies, with your tax money, to provide medical coverage to the elderly. A Medicare Advantage plan costs taxpayers on average 12 percent more than traditional Medicare, the margin of course covering the insurance company’s profits. The subsidy to the insurance companies amounts to about $50 billion over five years and speeds the day of Medicare’s insolvency. The Medicare administration subtly encourages people to turn to Advantage plans.
Bowman said the plans sound enticing to many elderly people because they may have smaller monthly premiums. But higher co-payments than traditional Medicare make the plans costly to chronically sick people.
Democrats have not done much with their new majority in Congress, but they deserve credit for having some remedy for the Medicare scam. A House bill would roll back the Medicare subsidies to insurance companies and use the $50 billion instead to expand health insurance for children. Bush promised a veto if the bill passed — he wants no more children insured and no insurance company disadvantaged — and Democrats do not have a sufficient majority to overcome the veto.
A remedy will have to await the next election. Meantime, we will have to be content that at least the state’s chief law-enforcement official and top insurance regulator have a sense of duty to the vulnerable.
Insurance salesmen are persuading elderly Medicare beneficiaries to leave the traditional Medicare program for one of the “Medicare Advantage” policies that the Bush administration urges people to acquire. As Attorney General Dustin McDaniel described it: “These are private insurance companies making money selling policies to people that they do not want, need or understand, and that is wrong.”
People buy the policies with the promise of lower premiums and much better benefits than Medicare and then often discover that their costs are higher and the benefits worse. Their doctor may not even honor the Advantage policy. Since the Republican Congress adopted the Bush plan, which is aimed at eventually dismantling Medicare, about 8 percent of the elderly in Arkansas have switched to a Medicare Advantage plan by a private company. Insurance Commissioner Julie Benafield Bowman said complaints from victimized elderly people have been especially strong from retirement areas like Baxter County.
The attorney general has set up an office to take complaints and advise people about Medicare coverage. The trouble is that, unless someone commits ordinary fraud, such as forging a customer’s name to a policy application, it’s all perfectly legal under the Medicare Modernization Act, which Congress passed late one night in 2003.
The act was the first step toward the privatization of Medicare. It pays insurance companies, with your tax money, to provide medical coverage to the elderly. A Medicare Advantage plan costs taxpayers on average 12 percent more than traditional Medicare, the margin of course covering the insurance company’s profits. The subsidy to the insurance companies amounts to about $50 billion over five years and speeds the day of Medicare’s insolvency. The Medicare administration subtly encourages people to turn to Advantage plans.
Bowman said the plans sound enticing to many elderly people because they may have smaller monthly premiums. But higher co-payments than traditional Medicare make the plans costly to chronically sick people.
Democrats have not done much with their new majority in Congress, but they deserve credit for having some remedy for the Medicare scam. A House bill would roll back the Medicare subsidies to insurance companies and use the $50 billion instead to expand health insurance for children. Bush promised a veto if the bill passed — he wants no more children insured and no insurance company disadvantaged — and Democrats do not have a sufficient majority to overcome the veto.
A remedy will have to await the next election. Meantime, we will have to be content that at least the state’s chief law-enforcement official and top insurance regulator have a sense of duty to the vulnerable.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
SPORTS >>Conway breaks down Panthers
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Visiting Conway dominated at the net against the Lady Panthers in Tuesday’s 7A-Central Conference matchup at the Panther gymnasium with a 3-0 sweep. Cabot (5-2, 1-2 conf.) did keep things close in the final two games after an easy Lady ’Cats’ win in game one.
In fact, the Lady Panthers appeared to have great momentum in the early stages of game two, rushing out to a 7-3 lead before Conway (8-3, 2-0 conf.) regrouped to come back and overtake the lead by the middle stages of the frame.
The hitting duo of Bridget Thomas and Chelsea Sublett gave the Lady Wampus Cats a dual threat, with Thomas’ precision hits finding holes all over the Cabot side of the floor, and Sublett’s hits simply overpowering blocks at the net by the Lady Panthers.
Junior hitter Torey Hendrix gave the Lady Panthers momentum at the start of game two with three early kills that helped Cabot take the lead, as starters Katie Mantione and Erika McCaghren rested on the bench. Mantione’s entry back into the match moments later resulted in another Cabot kill, forcing the Lady ’Cats to regroup facing a four-point deficit.
Three straight kills from Sublett took Conway from an 11-10 deficit to a 13-11 lead, and the Lady Wampus Cats would never trail again.
Conway got off to a blistering start in game one, taking a fast seven-point advantage that would hold up for the remainder of the frame. Thomas’ near-perfect placement caused problems for the Lady Panther defense, and helped Conway take a 25-17 win.
The Lady Panthers’ most aggressive play would come in the early going of the second game, with Hendrix leading the way at the net with assists from Cherie Barfield and Morgan Young.
The Lady Wampus Cats took over the lead by the mid-point of the game, but kills by Young and McCaghren evened things up at 14-14. Mantione kept Cabot in the game with a kill and a block, and another block by Ashton Seidl pulled the Lady Panthers to within one, 23-22. A Conway error made it 23 all, but the Lady ’Cats took the final two points to secure the win, taking a 2-0 advantage in the match.
Conway held the lead throughout the third and final game, but the Lady Panthers stayed within striking distance most of the way. Janell Reando had a strong performance for Cabot in game three with a pair of kills and an ace, along with two kills and a block for McCaghren.
The lead began to stretch for Conway in the ladder stages, but Cabot had one final rally in them before Thomas closed out the game for the Lady ’Cats with a trick pass and a tip for the final two points to take the win 25-23 and a 3-0 overall win.
The Lady Panthers rebounded for a conference win at Bryant on Thursday. The junior varsity started things off with a win in two games, 25-20 and 25-16 before the varsity team swept the Lady Hornets in straight games, 25-12, 25-22 and 25-14. Morgan Young and Torey Hendrix led the way for Cabot, with Young recording five kills on no errors and Hendrix grabbing 10 kills on one error.
“We’re still working on a lot of things,” Cabot coach Terry Williams said. “We did some good things Thursday that we really didn’t do against Conway Tuesday. We’re still open to improvement, but I think things have gone okay for us so far.”
Cabot will play in the Russellville invitational tournament this weekend. The Lady Panthers will share a pool with Alma, Vilonia and conference rival Mt. Saint Mary.
Leader sportswriter
Visiting Conway dominated at the net against the Lady Panthers in Tuesday’s 7A-Central Conference matchup at the Panther gymnasium with a 3-0 sweep. Cabot (5-2, 1-2 conf.) did keep things close in the final two games after an easy Lady ’Cats’ win in game one.
In fact, the Lady Panthers appeared to have great momentum in the early stages of game two, rushing out to a 7-3 lead before Conway (8-3, 2-0 conf.) regrouped to come back and overtake the lead by the middle stages of the frame.
The hitting duo of Bridget Thomas and Chelsea Sublett gave the Lady Wampus Cats a dual threat, with Thomas’ precision hits finding holes all over the Cabot side of the floor, and Sublett’s hits simply overpowering blocks at the net by the Lady Panthers.
Junior hitter Torey Hendrix gave the Lady Panthers momentum at the start of game two with three early kills that helped Cabot take the lead, as starters Katie Mantione and Erika McCaghren rested on the bench. Mantione’s entry back into the match moments later resulted in another Cabot kill, forcing the Lady ’Cats to regroup facing a four-point deficit.
Three straight kills from Sublett took Conway from an 11-10 deficit to a 13-11 lead, and the Lady Wampus Cats would never trail again.
Conway got off to a blistering start in game one, taking a fast seven-point advantage that would hold up for the remainder of the frame. Thomas’ near-perfect placement caused problems for the Lady Panther defense, and helped Conway take a 25-17 win.
The Lady Panthers’ most aggressive play would come in the early going of the second game, with Hendrix leading the way at the net with assists from Cherie Barfield and Morgan Young.
The Lady Wampus Cats took over the lead by the mid-point of the game, but kills by Young and McCaghren evened things up at 14-14. Mantione kept Cabot in the game with a kill and a block, and another block by Ashton Seidl pulled the Lady Panthers to within one, 23-22. A Conway error made it 23 all, but the Lady ’Cats took the final two points to secure the win, taking a 2-0 advantage in the match.
Conway held the lead throughout the third and final game, but the Lady Panthers stayed within striking distance most of the way. Janell Reando had a strong performance for Cabot in game three with a pair of kills and an ace, along with two kills and a block for McCaghren.
The lead began to stretch for Conway in the ladder stages, but Cabot had one final rally in them before Thomas closed out the game for the Lady ’Cats with a trick pass and a tip for the final two points to take the win 25-23 and a 3-0 overall win.
The Lady Panthers rebounded for a conference win at Bryant on Thursday. The junior varsity started things off with a win in two games, 25-20 and 25-16 before the varsity team swept the Lady Hornets in straight games, 25-12, 25-22 and 25-14. Morgan Young and Torey Hendrix led the way for Cabot, with Young recording five kills on no errors and Hendrix grabbing 10 kills on one error.
“We’re still working on a lot of things,” Cabot coach Terry Williams said. “We did some good things Thursday that we really didn’t do against Conway Tuesday. We’re still open to improvement, but I think things have gone okay for us so far.”
Cabot will play in the Russellville invitational tournament this weekend. The Lady Panthers will share a pool with Alma, Vilonia and conference rival Mt. Saint Mary.
SPORTS >>Cabot keeps streak alive versus Lions
By RICK BUTLER
Leader football writer
CABOT – If the Searcy-Cabot series involved a traveling trophy, the Cabot Panthers might be looking to give it a permanent foundation.
The Panthers (3-0) wrapped up their nonconference season here Friday night with a 35-0 win over Searcy, the 12th consecutive time Cabot has beaten the Lions dating back to 1992.
Searcy, which hasn’t won since the final week of the 2005 season, fell to 0-3 with its 13th consecutive setback, tied for the fifth longest losing streak in Arkansas.
Cabot physically dominated the smaller Lions, holding Searcy to just 29 yards of offense and three first downs. The Panthers, meanwhile, didn’t attempt a pass and didn’t need to. Cabot ran the ball 59 times for 364 yards against a Searcy defense that kept the Lions in the game thanks to several first-half turnovers by the Panthers.
Cabot led just 13-0 at the half. After the Panthers scored on their first two possessions, they fumbled the ball away on their next three, including one deep inside their own territory. Jarrod Overstreet recovered for Searcy with just more than a minute to play in the first half at the Cabot 4-yard line. Two carries by fullback Aaron Lynch moved the ball to the 2, where Trace Madden was stopped for a one-yard loss. Ryan Wilbourn then missed wide left on a 20-yard field goal attempt.
“That goal line stand was big,” Cabot coach Mike Malham said afterward. “We were planning on going down and scoring and being up three scores at the half. If they score right there, then all of a sudden it’s a one-possession game.”
It was the best chance Searcy would get to crack the scoreboard. The Lions got the ball just four times in the second half and punted on three of those, never leaving their side of the field. Searcy also had the ball when the clock ran out.
Searcy coach Bart McFarland had a simple answer for the Lions’ offensive woes.
“They’re a good defense, that’s what the problem was,” McFarland said. “Everything we tried, they were all over us. That’s a playoff team right there.”
One possession after Cabot opened the second half by punting – for their only time in the game – the Panthers found some cushion when fullback Michael James bulled his way in from two yards out. Quarterback Seth Bloomberg’s two-point run gave Cabot a 21-0 lead with 2:43 left in the third quarter.
James, like Bloomberg a sophomore, led the Panthers’ attack with 130 yards on 21 carries. Chris Bayles, a junior, added 90 yards on just 10 carries.
“We’re a young football team,” Malham said. “The offense did a great job tonight. If we can continue that into conference play, we’ve got a chance to be in the thick of things.”
Senior running back Jordan Carlisle stretched the Cabot lead to 28-0 with a two-yard TD run with 6:22 to play and Wesley Sowell capped the scoring with a 6-yard run with 1:11 left.
McFarland stopped well short of praising his team’s effort against the Class 7A Panthers.
“We’ve played some good teams in nonconference, but we really need some confidence right now,” he said. “Next week is a new season for us. We’ve got to regroup and get ready for it.”
Cabot was dominant to begin the game, scoring quickly on its first two possessions.
After a snap over the punter Wilbourn’s head on the Lions’ first possession, the senior ran down the ball and avoided the rush to get away a kick, something Wilbourn found himself doing most of the game.
It took Cabot just five plays before James ran the final 22 yards for a 6-0 lead with 8:46 left in the first.
After another bad snap on another Searcy punt, the Panthers drove 82 yards in just six plays with Bayles getting the final 44 untouched through the left side for a 13-0 lead.
Searcy begins 6A-East play at Marion next Friday. Cabot hosts Conway in the 7A-Central opener for both teams.
Leader football writer
CABOT – If the Searcy-Cabot series involved a traveling trophy, the Cabot Panthers might be looking to give it a permanent foundation.
The Panthers (3-0) wrapped up their nonconference season here Friday night with a 35-0 win over Searcy, the 12th consecutive time Cabot has beaten the Lions dating back to 1992.
Searcy, which hasn’t won since the final week of the 2005 season, fell to 0-3 with its 13th consecutive setback, tied for the fifth longest losing streak in Arkansas.
Cabot physically dominated the smaller Lions, holding Searcy to just 29 yards of offense and three first downs. The Panthers, meanwhile, didn’t attempt a pass and didn’t need to. Cabot ran the ball 59 times for 364 yards against a Searcy defense that kept the Lions in the game thanks to several first-half turnovers by the Panthers.
Cabot led just 13-0 at the half. After the Panthers scored on their first two possessions, they fumbled the ball away on their next three, including one deep inside their own territory. Jarrod Overstreet recovered for Searcy with just more than a minute to play in the first half at the Cabot 4-yard line. Two carries by fullback Aaron Lynch moved the ball to the 2, where Trace Madden was stopped for a one-yard loss. Ryan Wilbourn then missed wide left on a 20-yard field goal attempt.
“That goal line stand was big,” Cabot coach Mike Malham said afterward. “We were planning on going down and scoring and being up three scores at the half. If they score right there, then all of a sudden it’s a one-possession game.”
It was the best chance Searcy would get to crack the scoreboard. The Lions got the ball just four times in the second half and punted on three of those, never leaving their side of the field. Searcy also had the ball when the clock ran out.
Searcy coach Bart McFarland had a simple answer for the Lions’ offensive woes.
“They’re a good defense, that’s what the problem was,” McFarland said. “Everything we tried, they were all over us. That’s a playoff team right there.”
One possession after Cabot opened the second half by punting – for their only time in the game – the Panthers found some cushion when fullback Michael James bulled his way in from two yards out. Quarterback Seth Bloomberg’s two-point run gave Cabot a 21-0 lead with 2:43 left in the third quarter.
James, like Bloomberg a sophomore, led the Panthers’ attack with 130 yards on 21 carries. Chris Bayles, a junior, added 90 yards on just 10 carries.
“We’re a young football team,” Malham said. “The offense did a great job tonight. If we can continue that into conference play, we’ve got a chance to be in the thick of things.”
Senior running back Jordan Carlisle stretched the Cabot lead to 28-0 with a two-yard TD run with 6:22 to play and Wesley Sowell capped the scoring with a 6-yard run with 1:11 left.
McFarland stopped well short of praising his team’s effort against the Class 7A Panthers.
“We’ve played some good teams in nonconference, but we really need some confidence right now,” he said. “Next week is a new season for us. We’ve got to regroup and get ready for it.”
Cabot was dominant to begin the game, scoring quickly on its first two possessions.
After a snap over the punter Wilbourn’s head on the Lions’ first possession, the senior ran down the ball and avoided the rush to get away a kick, something Wilbourn found himself doing most of the game.
It took Cabot just five plays before James ran the final 22 yards for a 6-0 lead with 8:46 left in the first.
After another bad snap on another Searcy punt, the Panthers drove 82 yards in just six plays with Bayles getting the final 44 untouched through the left side for a 13-0 lead.
Searcy begins 6A-East play at Marion next Friday. Cabot hosts Conway in the 7A-Central opener for both teams.
SPORTS >>NP ladies slowly take over to defeat Badgers
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
The Lady Falcons recovered from a difficult opening game to take a 3-1 win over Beebe Thursday night at the North Pulaski High School gymnasium. The momentum was slow to build in the contest for North Pulaski (3-4, 1-3 conf.) in the 5A East Conference matchup, but the NP ladies were in complete control by the end of game three. Beebe (2-7, 0-4 conf.) began to show fatigue by game four, but frequent hitter substitutions for North Pulaski gave the home team fresher legs for what would be the final game.
“We’ve talked a lot about momentum,” NP coach Amanda Hill said. “How important it is in volleyball, and we’ve done some drills together to emphasize momentum. It took the kids a while to finally realize how important that is, but once we started doing it, I think it rattled Beebe a little bit, and gave us that extra boost of confidence that we needed.”
Hill attributed the better communication from her team in the last three games to added confidence after giving up the first game.
“That just comes with confidence,” Hill said. “When you have that confidence, you’re able to communicate better, and it looked a lot smoother than it did in that first game. When one team gets on a roll, it seems to always take some of the wind out of the other team.”
Beebe hitter Stephanie Faught posed serious problems for the Lady Falcons in the first game. Faught was the strongest of the Lady Badger net players, and a strong service game from teammate Micah Cox helped Beebe overcome a 15-10 deficit to take the lead in the late going.
A kill by Emily Rodgers tied things up at 19-19, and she followed that with an ace to give the Lady Badgers the lead and eventual 25-21 win.
The Lady Falcons didn’t let the loss in game one rattle them. In fact, the back-row play improved dramatically, but it would take a little longer for things to pan out on the front row.
It was errors from Beebe that mostly led to the early lead for the Lady Falcons in game two. North Pulaski used the hits into the net by Beebe to build up a 17-10 lead before NP setter Gabriella Cuellar made the play of the game on a kill attempt by Faught.
Cuellar dove out of bounds to knock the ball back to the Lady Badgers after a reactionary hit by Kalayah Anderson when Faught drove the ball straight to her.
Beebe was not able to return it, and the Lady Falcons’ lead increased to 18-10 en route to a 25-18 win that tied the match at one game each.
Once North Pulaski’s overall offense picked up steam in game three, the Lady Badgers struggled to stay in the game.
Jennifer Peters generated opportunities all over the court for the Lady Falcons in the third frame, and Tauneishia Ridgeway and Anderson thwarted most of Beebe’s kill attempts.
North Pulaski sophomore front row players Ashley Bures and Rae Robinson also seemed to improve their timing at the net, recording some impressive kills in the final two games after a number of errors early on.
Faught and Cox lost some of their energy during the final game, leaving teammate Megan Hensley as essentially the lone points generator for the quickly depleting Lady Badgers squad.
North Pulaski took the third game decisively at 25-14, completing the 3-1 win for the Lady Falcons’ first league win of the season.
The Lady Falcons will play at Paragould on Tuesday before returning home on Thursday to take on the Blytheville Lady Chickasaws.
The Lady Badgers will host Nettleton on Tuesday, and will remain at home on Thursday when the Lady Rams of Paragould visit for another 5A-East Conference matchup.
Leader sportswriter
The Lady Falcons recovered from a difficult opening game to take a 3-1 win over Beebe Thursday night at the North Pulaski High School gymnasium. The momentum was slow to build in the contest for North Pulaski (3-4, 1-3 conf.) in the 5A East Conference matchup, but the NP ladies were in complete control by the end of game three. Beebe (2-7, 0-4 conf.) began to show fatigue by game four, but frequent hitter substitutions for North Pulaski gave the home team fresher legs for what would be the final game.
“We’ve talked a lot about momentum,” NP coach Amanda Hill said. “How important it is in volleyball, and we’ve done some drills together to emphasize momentum. It took the kids a while to finally realize how important that is, but once we started doing it, I think it rattled Beebe a little bit, and gave us that extra boost of confidence that we needed.”
Hill attributed the better communication from her team in the last three games to added confidence after giving up the first game.
“That just comes with confidence,” Hill said. “When you have that confidence, you’re able to communicate better, and it looked a lot smoother than it did in that first game. When one team gets on a roll, it seems to always take some of the wind out of the other team.”
Beebe hitter Stephanie Faught posed serious problems for the Lady Falcons in the first game. Faught was the strongest of the Lady Badger net players, and a strong service game from teammate Micah Cox helped Beebe overcome a 15-10 deficit to take the lead in the late going.
A kill by Emily Rodgers tied things up at 19-19, and she followed that with an ace to give the Lady Badgers the lead and eventual 25-21 win.
The Lady Falcons didn’t let the loss in game one rattle them. In fact, the back-row play improved dramatically, but it would take a little longer for things to pan out on the front row.
It was errors from Beebe that mostly led to the early lead for the Lady Falcons in game two. North Pulaski used the hits into the net by Beebe to build up a 17-10 lead before NP setter Gabriella Cuellar made the play of the game on a kill attempt by Faught.
Cuellar dove out of bounds to knock the ball back to the Lady Badgers after a reactionary hit by Kalayah Anderson when Faught drove the ball straight to her.
Beebe was not able to return it, and the Lady Falcons’ lead increased to 18-10 en route to a 25-18 win that tied the match at one game each.
Once North Pulaski’s overall offense picked up steam in game three, the Lady Badgers struggled to stay in the game.
Jennifer Peters generated opportunities all over the court for the Lady Falcons in the third frame, and Tauneishia Ridgeway and Anderson thwarted most of Beebe’s kill attempts.
North Pulaski sophomore front row players Ashley Bures and Rae Robinson also seemed to improve their timing at the net, recording some impressive kills in the final two games after a number of errors early on.
Faught and Cox lost some of their energy during the final game, leaving teammate Megan Hensley as essentially the lone points generator for the quickly depleting Lady Badgers squad.
North Pulaski took the third game decisively at 25-14, completing the 3-1 win for the Lady Falcons’ first league win of the season.
The Lady Falcons will play at Paragould on Tuesday before returning home on Thursday to take on the Blytheville Lady Chickasaws.
The Lady Badgers will host Nettleton on Tuesday, and will remain at home on Thursday when the Lady Rams of Paragould visit for another 5A-East Conference matchup.
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