IN SHORT: Former American League umpire is noted for being fired over efforts to unionize and has witnessed some of baseball’s most tragically memorable moments.
By Todd Traub
Leader sports editor
Notoriety comes the hard way sometimes.
No one knows that better than Bill Valentine.
The former Arkansas Travelers general manager and chief operating officer, who spent close to six years as an American League umpire in the 1960s, has seen firsthand the ways sports figures become household names.
It’s not always a pleasant process.
On June 2, American League umpire Jim Joyce made a safe call at first with one out to go to ruin a perfect game by Detroit Tigers’ pitcher Armando Galarraga. Replay showed Joyce blew the call and the remorseful umpire apologized to Galarraga.
“It was a terrible call,” Valentine said.
But Valentine said Galarraga, who forgave Joyce after the game, probably would be more famous for the classy way he handled his mishap.
If he had completed the perfect game, Galarraga would have been the 19th major leaguer to do so and the third this year, following Oakland’s Dallas Braden and Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay.
Instead of joining an admittedly select crowd, Galarraga, 28, has been on the Today show and cheered by fans and praised by managers and players for his professionalism, though he has said he wants to be remembered for more than a failed bid for perfection.
Valentine is no stranger to unwelcome fame himself.
Former Boston Red Sox manager and then-American League president Joe Cronin fired Valentine and fellow umpire Al Salerno in 1968 for their efforts to unionize the American League umpires.
Valentine is one of two umpires to have ejected Mickey Mantle, he was the youngest in his profession and he worked in Major League baseball’s last great heyday, yet he is still recognized for his being fired, Valentine said.
“I could have stayed in the big leagues 20 years and retired and no one would have ever known in a year or two who I was,” Valentine said. “So later on I started the union and got fired. Just a month or two ago I was in Tampa for a meeting and I was in the restaurant having a drink and someone introduces me and the guy said ‘You’re not the guy that started the umpires union are you?’
“I mean, 50 years later.”
Sometimes people simply find themselves in a marriage with fate that can’t be torn asunder.
If Valentine wasn’t known for being fired for forming a union, he might have been known as the umpire who witnessed one of baseball’s great tragedies.
Two actually.
Valentine was behind the plate in Boston on Aug. 18, 1967, when Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jack Hamilton shattered Tony Conigliaro’s cheekbone with an inside fastball.
The cheekbone healed, but Conigliaro missed all of the next season with a hole in his left retina.
He appeared to be making a miraculous comeback, with solid seasons in 1969 and 1970, before his deteriorating vision eventually forced him from the game in 1975.
Conigliaro died of a heart attack at age 45 in 1982.
“I was behind the plate when Conigliario got hit and two or three years ago ESPN came back on the anniversary or something because I was the guy behind the plate,” Valentine said.
Valentine was in the broadcast booth at North Little Rock’s Dickey-Stephens Park on July 22, 2007, when a foul ball struck and killed Tulsa first-base coach Mike Coolbaugh, leading to the rule that requires all professional base coaches to wear helmets.
The tragedy resurrected memories of Conigliario and in the course of questioning Valentine about Coolbaugh, writers and reporters brought up the Conigliario connection.
But when called on, Valentine doesn’t flinch from answering questions about some of the darker moments in baseball history.
He knows it comes with the territory.
And he is still unflinching in airing his opinions.
When Joyce drew praise for apologizing to Galarraga, Valentine said an umpire in his day would not have done so. And besides, Valentine said, the apology didn’t change anything.
“What good is an apology?” he said. “You shot my wife. ‘I’m sorry Bill, I didn’t know the gun was loaded.’ Okay, thank you but I’m still a widower.”
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
SPORTS >> Brown, defense carry Chevy Boys
IN SHORT: Gwatney gets error-free defense plus pitching in victory.
By Jason King
Leader sportswriter
Jacksonville Gwatney Chevrolet’s performance against North Little Rock didn’t need to be flashy.
The Chevy Boys played solid fundamental baseball on their way to a 5-1, junior American Legion victory over the Optimist Colts at Hickingbotham Field in Dupree Park on Tuesday.
Xavier Brown was the winning pitcher for Gwatney with five innings of work. Brown allowed six hits and one run before giving way to starting third baseman Zach Traylor in the top of the sixth.
Gwatney’s defense went error free and gave up only one run in the top of the second inning, while the offense placed some timely hits, especially in the bottom of the second.
The Colts took the lead in the top of the second when Brian Chastain singled and advanced on a walk to Paul Morris before Landon Gray drove him in with a single to left.
Jacksonville answered in the bottom of the inning. Brown led off with a bunt single, Alex Tucker walked and Traylor singled down the third-base line to load the bases.
Brown scored when Troy Allen’s liner to shortstop was mishandled for an error.
With two outs, Kenny Cummings bunted and the Colts committed another error that scored Tucker to make it 2-1.
Center fielder D’Vone McClure singled to right to bring in Traylor to give Gwatney a 3-1 lead.
Jacksonville’s Brandon Russell singled to lead off the fourth and scored when North Little Rock botched a double play on McClure’s infield hopper.
Brown retired the Colts in order in the third inning and gave up only one hit in the fourth before retiring the next three, but began to show some fatigue in the top of the fifth.
Gray led off with a single to left and took third on an infield single by Tyler Jaleel. But Brown struck out Blake Manning for the second out and Drew Denny grounded out to Traylor at third base to end the at-bat.
Brown walked to lead off the fifth but was forced out at second when Tucker hit into a fielder’s choice. Tucker tagged up and took second on a fly to right by Traylor and scored Gwatney’s final run when Allen doubled to left.
Traylor gave up three walks in the sixth and seventh innings combined, but allowed only one hit to Matthew Hinistedt, the first batter he faced in the top of the sixth.
The Colts tried to rally in the top of the seventh when Wesley Moore and Jaleel walked, but Traylor struck out Manning and got Denny to pop out to second, and then Hinistedt grounded to short for a game-ending fielder’s choice.
Brown also led Gwatney at the plate, going 2 for 2 with a double and a run. Tucker scored two runs and Allen finished with a double and two RBI.
For North Little Rock, Gray was 2 for 2 with an RBI and Hinistedt was 2 for 3.
By Jason King
Leader sportswriter
Jacksonville Gwatney Chevrolet’s performance against North Little Rock didn’t need to be flashy.
The Chevy Boys played solid fundamental baseball on their way to a 5-1, junior American Legion victory over the Optimist Colts at Hickingbotham Field in Dupree Park on Tuesday.
Xavier Brown was the winning pitcher for Gwatney with five innings of work. Brown allowed six hits and one run before giving way to starting third baseman Zach Traylor in the top of the sixth.
Gwatney’s defense went error free and gave up only one run in the top of the second inning, while the offense placed some timely hits, especially in the bottom of the second.
The Colts took the lead in the top of the second when Brian Chastain singled and advanced on a walk to Paul Morris before Landon Gray drove him in with a single to left.
Jacksonville answered in the bottom of the inning. Brown led off with a bunt single, Alex Tucker walked and Traylor singled down the third-base line to load the bases.
Brown scored when Troy Allen’s liner to shortstop was mishandled for an error.
With two outs, Kenny Cummings bunted and the Colts committed another error that scored Tucker to make it 2-1.
Center fielder D’Vone McClure singled to right to bring in Traylor to give Gwatney a 3-1 lead.
Jacksonville’s Brandon Russell singled to lead off the fourth and scored when North Little Rock botched a double play on McClure’s infield hopper.
Brown retired the Colts in order in the third inning and gave up only one hit in the fourth before retiring the next three, but began to show some fatigue in the top of the fifth.
Gray led off with a single to left and took third on an infield single by Tyler Jaleel. But Brown struck out Blake Manning for the second out and Drew Denny grounded out to Traylor at third base to end the at-bat.
Brown walked to lead off the fifth but was forced out at second when Tucker hit into a fielder’s choice. Tucker tagged up and took second on a fly to right by Traylor and scored Gwatney’s final run when Allen doubled to left.
Traylor gave up three walks in the sixth and seventh innings combined, but allowed only one hit to Matthew Hinistedt, the first batter he faced in the top of the sixth.
The Colts tried to rally in the top of the seventh when Wesley Moore and Jaleel walked, but Traylor struck out Manning and got Denny to pop out to second, and then Hinistedt grounded to short for a game-ending fielder’s choice.
Brown also led Gwatney at the plate, going 2 for 2 with a double and a run. Tucker scored two runs and Allen finished with a double and two RBI.
For North Little Rock, Gray was 2 for 2 with an RBI and Hinistedt was 2 for 3.
SPORTS >> Gwatney runs out of gas in loss
IN SHORT: Visiting North Little Rock overcomes 5-1 deficit to claim a victory at Dupree Park.
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Jacksonville got all it could in the first inning, but couldn’t make it last.
Gwatney Chevrolet’s senior American Legion team watched a four-run lead evaporate, as North Little Rock rallied for a 7-5 victory at Dupree Park Tuesday.
Gwatney starting pitcher Jesse Harbin took a 5-1 lead into the third then got into trouble as the Optimist Colts reeled off four straight hits to pull within 5-4.
Reliever Michael Lamb gave up a walk and an RBI single that tied the game.
North Little Rock pulled ahead in the top of the fourth on an infield error by Gwatney that led to a run, and Tyson Tackett hit a home run to right to complete the scoring.
Gwatney had its way with North Little Rock starter Will Harris in the bottom of the first inning. The entire lineup batted, and it scored all five of its runs.
D’Vone McClure started things off with a line-drive single to left and advanced when Harris hit A.J. Allen.
Williams Baptist signee Caleb Mitchell grounded out before cleanup hitter Patrick Castleberry scored McClure and Allen with a double to left to put Jacksonville up 2-1.
Jared Toney singled to score Castleberry, and Kenny Cummings gave Gwatney the 5-1 lead when he hit a home run over the right-field fence.
The Colts scored their first run when leadoff man Cain Cormier led off the game with a walk and scored on a single by cleanup hitter Cody Ward.
Harbin and the Jacksonville defense made up for an error to start the second inning with a 5-4-3 double play to retire the side. But Gwatney Chevrolet was not as fortunate in the top of the third.
Things looked promising for Jacksonville as Cormier grounded out to third and Zach Ketchum popped up to right for two quick outs.
But a single to left by No. 3 hitter Brooks Howard started the rally that proved to be the difference.
Howard scored when Ward doubled to left, and Alex Gosser doubled to right to drive in Ward and make it 5-3 Jacksonville. Tackett then singled to right to drive in Gosser and cut Gwatney’s lead to one and force a change at the mound.
North Little Rock tied it when Derek Houser singled to score Tackett.
Comier reached to start the Colts’ fourth when Mitchell misplayed his grounder at third for an error. Ketchum followed with a triple to deep center field to give North Little Rock its first lead.
Lamb recovered to strike out the next two batters and gave up only one more hit through the final two innings, but the hit he surrendered was a big one.
Tackett stepped into Lamb’s first pitch of the fifth and sent it over the right-field fence to make it 7-5.
Gwatney had a chance to at least tie in the bottom of the sixth when Gosser hit Cummings with a pitch and Cummings advanced when Tucker singled to left. Brown’s squeeze-bunt attempt backfired as Colts first baseman David Stracner quickly fielded it and made the play at third.
That still left two on for Jacksonville, but McClure grounded to short to start a double play.
Toney was 2 for 3 with a RBI for Gwatney and Tucker was also 2 for 3.
McClure was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
For North Little Rock, Ward was 2 for 3 with two RBI and a double, while Tackett was 2 for 4 with a home run, 2 RBI and two runs scored.
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Jacksonville got all it could in the first inning, but couldn’t make it last.
Gwatney Chevrolet’s senior American Legion team watched a four-run lead evaporate, as North Little Rock rallied for a 7-5 victory at Dupree Park Tuesday.
Gwatney starting pitcher Jesse Harbin took a 5-1 lead into the third then got into trouble as the Optimist Colts reeled off four straight hits to pull within 5-4.
Reliever Michael Lamb gave up a walk and an RBI single that tied the game.
North Little Rock pulled ahead in the top of the fourth on an infield error by Gwatney that led to a run, and Tyson Tackett hit a home run to right to complete the scoring.
Gwatney had its way with North Little Rock starter Will Harris in the bottom of the first inning. The entire lineup batted, and it scored all five of its runs.
D’Vone McClure started things off with a line-drive single to left and advanced when Harris hit A.J. Allen.
Williams Baptist signee Caleb Mitchell grounded out before cleanup hitter Patrick Castleberry scored McClure and Allen with a double to left to put Jacksonville up 2-1.
Jared Toney singled to score Castleberry, and Kenny Cummings gave Gwatney the 5-1 lead when he hit a home run over the right-field fence.
The Colts scored their first run when leadoff man Cain Cormier led off the game with a walk and scored on a single by cleanup hitter Cody Ward.
Harbin and the Jacksonville defense made up for an error to start the second inning with a 5-4-3 double play to retire the side. But Gwatney Chevrolet was not as fortunate in the top of the third.
Things looked promising for Jacksonville as Cormier grounded out to third and Zach Ketchum popped up to right for two quick outs.
But a single to left by No. 3 hitter Brooks Howard started the rally that proved to be the difference.
Howard scored when Ward doubled to left, and Alex Gosser doubled to right to drive in Ward and make it 5-3 Jacksonville. Tackett then singled to right to drive in Gosser and cut Gwatney’s lead to one and force a change at the mound.
North Little Rock tied it when Derek Houser singled to score Tackett.
Comier reached to start the Colts’ fourth when Mitchell misplayed his grounder at third for an error. Ketchum followed with a triple to deep center field to give North Little Rock its first lead.
Lamb recovered to strike out the next two batters and gave up only one more hit through the final two innings, but the hit he surrendered was a big one.
Tackett stepped into Lamb’s first pitch of the fifth and sent it over the right-field fence to make it 7-5.
Gwatney had a chance to at least tie in the bottom of the sixth when Gosser hit Cummings with a pitch and Cummings advanced when Tucker singled to left. Brown’s squeeze-bunt attempt backfired as Colts first baseman David Stracner quickly fielded it and made the play at third.
That still left two on for Jacksonville, but McClure grounded to short to start a double play.
Toney was 2 for 3 with a RBI for Gwatney and Tucker was also 2 for 3.
McClure was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
For North Little Rock, Ward was 2 for 3 with two RBI and a double, while Tackett was 2 for 4 with a home run, 2 RBI and two runs scored.
SPORTS >> Middle school gets turf
IN SHORT: Construction is nearly complete on Jacksonville Middle School field house booster project.
By TODD TRAUB
Leader sports editor
The grass is fake but the benefits should be real at Jacksonville Middle School’s new fieldhouse.
A community-wide effort came a step closer to completion last week with the installation of FieldTurf inside the fieldhouse.
The artificial turf came from Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium, undergoing a renovation of its own, and Jacksonville booster club president and state representative Mark Perry said its installation makes Jacksonville one of the few middle schools in the state to have such an indoor surface.
“It looks awesome,” said Perry, who has joined local coaches to help push the middle school project.
Perry said the cost of the turf and its installation was $15,000, an improvement over the $50,000 a brand new surface would have cost. Now, Perry said, Jacksonville will have a facility available for multiple uses, from football practice to youth sports like Sertoma football.
“The high school has their own,” Perry said. “The middle school, we can use it for football, baseball, track if you really have to, the Sertoma organization.”
Perry, coach of the Jacksonville High School shooting team, said he even got to take his shooters indoors to practice with laser guns. “That was phenomenal,” he said.
The fieldhouse will have a weight room and an upstairs study area with computers. Final stages of construction include finishing the painting and installing sprinklers for fire prevention.
“We have determined to get this thing finished before football season starts,” Perry said.
Donations of labor and materials played a large part in the fieldhouse construction, Perry said. Pinnacle Structures in Cabot donated the building itself.
“It was built by the community for the community,” Perry said. “The city has helped us, the water department. Any person I’ve asked to contribute has answered the call.”
Perry said any facility in which young people can have supervised athletic activities and a place to study is bound to be good for the city overall.
“Anything that you can do to give them a place,” Perry said. “It’s win-win.”
FieldTurf first appeared in the late 1990s as a competitor to AstroTurf, which was frequently blamed for abrasions and knee injuries because the surface was too unyielding.
The FieldTurf surface is a blend of synthetic fibers that more resembles and feels like natural grass while the infill has layers of rubber and sand that provide a cushion for athletes as they plant their feet and pivot.
A spray of rubber bits during a football tackle even resembles flying dirt, Perry said.
A five-year study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found injury rates were similar between natural grass and artificial surfaces like FieldTurf, though there were more skin injuries and muscle strains on the artificial surfaces and more concussions and ligament tears on natural grass.
Football players have praised FieldTurf and surfaces like it because they provide more cushion, are easier on the knees and joints and reduce turf burns. Stadium operators like it because of its durability and relatively low maintenance.
Most of the criticism of FieldTurf and its artificial-surface cousins has come from the professional soccer world.
High profile players like David Beckham have said natural grass should be used for all major soccer matches because the artificial surfaces take too much of a toll on players’ bodies and don’t play enough like real grass.
By TODD TRAUB
Leader sports editor
The grass is fake but the benefits should be real at Jacksonville Middle School’s new fieldhouse.
A community-wide effort came a step closer to completion last week with the installation of FieldTurf inside the fieldhouse.
The artificial turf came from Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium, undergoing a renovation of its own, and Jacksonville booster club president and state representative Mark Perry said its installation makes Jacksonville one of the few middle schools in the state to have such an indoor surface.
“It looks awesome,” said Perry, who has joined local coaches to help push the middle school project.
Perry said the cost of the turf and its installation was $15,000, an improvement over the $50,000 a brand new surface would have cost. Now, Perry said, Jacksonville will have a facility available for multiple uses, from football practice to youth sports like Sertoma football.
“The high school has their own,” Perry said. “The middle school, we can use it for football, baseball, track if you really have to, the Sertoma organization.”
Perry, coach of the Jacksonville High School shooting team, said he even got to take his shooters indoors to practice with laser guns. “That was phenomenal,” he said.
The fieldhouse will have a weight room and an upstairs study area with computers. Final stages of construction include finishing the painting and installing sprinklers for fire prevention.
“We have determined to get this thing finished before football season starts,” Perry said.
Donations of labor and materials played a large part in the fieldhouse construction, Perry said. Pinnacle Structures in Cabot donated the building itself.
“It was built by the community for the community,” Perry said. “The city has helped us, the water department. Any person I’ve asked to contribute has answered the call.”
Perry said any facility in which young people can have supervised athletic activities and a place to study is bound to be good for the city overall.
“Anything that you can do to give them a place,” Perry said. “It’s win-win.”
FieldTurf first appeared in the late 1990s as a competitor to AstroTurf, which was frequently blamed for abrasions and knee injuries because the surface was too unyielding.
The FieldTurf surface is a blend of synthetic fibers that more resembles and feels like natural grass while the infill has layers of rubber and sand that provide a cushion for athletes as they plant their feet and pivot.
A spray of rubber bits during a football tackle even resembles flying dirt, Perry said.
A five-year study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found injury rates were similar between natural grass and artificial surfaces like FieldTurf, though there were more skin injuries and muscle strains on the artificial surfaces and more concussions and ligament tears on natural grass.
Football players have praised FieldTurf and surfaces like it because they provide more cushion, are easier on the knees and joints and reduce turf burns. Stadium operators like it because of its durability and relatively low maintenance.
Most of the criticism of FieldTurf and its artificial-surface cousins has come from the professional soccer world.
High profile players like David Beckham have said natural grass should be used for all major soccer matches because the artificial surfaces take too much of a toll on players’ bodies and don’t play enough like real grass.
OBITUARIES >> 09-15-10
RUBY GOSHA
Ruby Christine “Granny” Gosha, 84, of Jacksonville died Sept. 11.
She was born Aug. 22, 1926, in Walnut Ridge to the late Jess Mitchell and Josie Maude Speck Fox.
Mrs. Gosha dedicated her life to her family and worked for Franklin Electric. She was also a member of North Jack-sonville Baptist Church.
In addition to her parents, Mrs. Gosha was preceded in death by her husband, George Gosha; a daughter, Charlotte Pennock; a grandson, Brent Ferguson Jr., and her brothers and sister, Kenneth Fox, Mitchell Fox, Ralph Fox, Russell Fox and Ruth Mayberry.
Mrs. Gosha is survived by her daughters, Barbara Sutton and her husband Don of Mayflower, Carol Besancon of Russellville, Nona Ferguson and her husband Brent of Jacksonville and and Sally Gosha of Jacksonville; a son-in-law, Robert Pennock Sr. of Lonoke; 14 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild as well as sisters-in-law, Nell Fox and Kate Fox, both of Pontiac, Mich., and a brother-in-law Homer Mayberry of Helman, Mich.
The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15 in the chapel of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home with Rev. Lindon Whitledge officiating. Burial will follow at Arkansas Memorial Gardens under the direction of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to Alzheimer’s Association National Office, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Floor 17, Chicago, Ill. 60601.
LAROSE LACKEY
LaRose Miles Lackey, 71, of Lonoke, known for her volunteerism and philanthropy, entered heaven’s gates on Sept. 12.
As a beloved teacher, mother, wife and community leader, LaRose will be deeply missed.
Born on Feb. 17, 1939, LaRose was a proud 1957 graduate of Lonoke High School. She was to be honored this year with the Lonoke High School Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus award.
LaRose has always been the “go to” person in Lonoke where she served as the first director of the Relay for Life committee, which raised more than $52,000 for cancer research.
In 1995, LaRose was recognized as Lonoke’s Educator of the Year. She loved teaching and dedicated 45 years of service in public schools and the Lonoke County Adult Education Center.
As a member of Lonoke First United Methodist Church, LaRose took her talents to Juarez, Mexico, on mission trips helping to build houses. She was always ready to deliver her homemade chicken and dumplings to anyone in need.
You may remember her from Lonoke’s “Uptown Saturday Night” singing Sister Act, riding on a homecoming parade with the Class of ‘57, asking for donations for a local charity, working on a Lonoke beautification project, or volunteering at the Clinton
Library. LaRose loved her community like she loved her family.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Lottie Mae and Leland L. “Sport” Miles and her sister, Freida Miles.
She is survived by her husband, Ralph Lackey; and two children, Mike Burgess and his wife Karen of Lonoke, and Michelle Young and her husband Greg of Cabot.
LaRose adored her three grandchildren, Ashley Simpson, Whitney Burgess and Charl Young, and her great-grandchildren, Brooklyn and Barrett Simpson.
She lived life to the fullest and found pleasure in the simplest of things. It is quite likely that she is organizing an “event” in heaven and has already signed up for several committees.
A memorial service to celebrate a life well lived will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15 at Lonoke First United Methodist Church.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Wade Knox Children’s Center, 1524 North Center, Lonoke, Ark. 72086, the Lonoke Scholarship Foundation, 221 Holly Lonoke, Ark. 72086 or the Lonoke County Museum, P.O. Box 873 Lonoke, Ark. 72086.
Arrangements are by Boyd Funeral Home in Lonoke.
LORIE DULANY
Lorie Gayle Dulany, 33, of Cabot passed away Sept. 13.
She was born Oct. 24, 1976, in Little Rock.
She was preceded in death by her father, Wayne Colbert.
She is survived by her loving husband Joe Dulany of the home; four children, Jeffery Feltner of Moberly, Mo., Sean Lackie of Cabot, Samantha Anthony of Ward and Joseph Feltner of El Paso, Texas; her mother and step-father, Tressia and Frank Wilhite of Lonoke; her father and step-mother, Floyd “Buddy” and Karen Walker of Jacksonville; three sisters, Zettie Eltrich of Jacksonville, Patricia Trejo-Trejo and Lindsey Colbert, both of Ward; her stepsister, Brenda McDonald of Ward; two step-brothers, William Young and Lewis Young, both of Jacksonville and a host of nieces and nephews, friends and loved ones.
Visitation will be held 2 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15 with family receiving friends from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16 at First Freedom Baptist Church in Butlerville. Interment will be in Monk Cemetery.
Arrangements are by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
GEORGE D. MCBRIDE
George D. McBride, 82, of Ward passed away Sept. 13.
He was born Jan. 1, 1928, in Lawtell, La.
George was a veteran who served his country in the Army and the Air Force.
He was a Catholic and a member of St. Judes Catholic Church.
He is survived by his wife, Kathleen; one daughter, Diane and her husband Gary Hollingshead; one son, Michael McBride; one brother, Thomas McBride of Florida; two grandchildren, Shawn and his wife Heather Hollingshead, and Brad and his wife Beth Hollingshead, and one great-granddaughter, Shelby Potter.
A Memorial Mass will be Saturday, Sept. 18 at St. Judes Catholic Church in Jacksonville.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Old Austin Baptist Church, 50 Old 38N, Austin, Ark. 72007.
Arrangements are by Wood Bean Family Memorial Center in Jacksonville.
JEFFREY WUELLING
Jeffrey Scott Wuelling, 45, of Bono, formerly of Jacksonville, died Sept. 14.
He was born Aug. 8, 1965 in Omaha, Neb. to Herbert and Phyllis Myers Wuelling.
He graduated from Jacksonville High School and worked at Quality Precast as a computer draftsman. He was a diehard Nebraska Cornhuskers fan and a musician.
He is survived by his wife, Nicole Hernandez Wuelling; his daughter, Ashley Cook and her husband William; son, Randall and his wife Kellie Wuelling; grandchild, Arleigh Wuelling, all of Jonesboro; his parents, Herbert and Phyllis Wuelling; siblings, Herbie Wuelling, Jr., Diana Edwards, Vicki Keck and her husband Chuck and Kim Dickens and Jerry Kamer, all from Jacksonville; nieces and nephews, Rachel Gibson, Sarah Wuelling, Candice Stephens and her husband Mike, Catherine Dickens, Chris Wuelling and Danielle McCollough and her husband Matt, all from Jacksonville; great nieces and nephews, Madison and Dakota Stephens, Zane Wuelling and Chance Christianson.
Visitation will be from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18 at Roller-Farmers Union Funeral Home in Jonesboro.
Ruby Christine “Granny” Gosha, 84, of Jacksonville died Sept. 11.
She was born Aug. 22, 1926, in Walnut Ridge to the late Jess Mitchell and Josie Maude Speck Fox.
Mrs. Gosha dedicated her life to her family and worked for Franklin Electric. She was also a member of North Jack-sonville Baptist Church.
In addition to her parents, Mrs. Gosha was preceded in death by her husband, George Gosha; a daughter, Charlotte Pennock; a grandson, Brent Ferguson Jr., and her brothers and sister, Kenneth Fox, Mitchell Fox, Ralph Fox, Russell Fox and Ruth Mayberry.
Mrs. Gosha is survived by her daughters, Barbara Sutton and her husband Don of Mayflower, Carol Besancon of Russellville, Nona Ferguson and her husband Brent of Jacksonville and and Sally Gosha of Jacksonville; a son-in-law, Robert Pennock Sr. of Lonoke; 14 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild as well as sisters-in-law, Nell Fox and Kate Fox, both of Pontiac, Mich., and a brother-in-law Homer Mayberry of Helman, Mich.
The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15 in the chapel of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home with Rev. Lindon Whitledge officiating. Burial will follow at Arkansas Memorial Gardens under the direction of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to Alzheimer’s Association National Office, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Floor 17, Chicago, Ill. 60601.
LAROSE LACKEY
LaRose Miles Lackey, 71, of Lonoke, known for her volunteerism and philanthropy, entered heaven’s gates on Sept. 12.
As a beloved teacher, mother, wife and community leader, LaRose will be deeply missed.
Born on Feb. 17, 1939, LaRose was a proud 1957 graduate of Lonoke High School. She was to be honored this year with the Lonoke High School Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus award.
LaRose has always been the “go to” person in Lonoke where she served as the first director of the Relay for Life committee, which raised more than $52,000 for cancer research.
In 1995, LaRose was recognized as Lonoke’s Educator of the Year. She loved teaching and dedicated 45 years of service in public schools and the Lonoke County Adult Education Center.
As a member of Lonoke First United Methodist Church, LaRose took her talents to Juarez, Mexico, on mission trips helping to build houses. She was always ready to deliver her homemade chicken and dumplings to anyone in need.
You may remember her from Lonoke’s “Uptown Saturday Night” singing Sister Act, riding on a homecoming parade with the Class of ‘57, asking for donations for a local charity, working on a Lonoke beautification project, or volunteering at the Clinton
Library. LaRose loved her community like she loved her family.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Lottie Mae and Leland L. “Sport” Miles and her sister, Freida Miles.
She is survived by her husband, Ralph Lackey; and two children, Mike Burgess and his wife Karen of Lonoke, and Michelle Young and her husband Greg of Cabot.
LaRose adored her three grandchildren, Ashley Simpson, Whitney Burgess and Charl Young, and her great-grandchildren, Brooklyn and Barrett Simpson.
She lived life to the fullest and found pleasure in the simplest of things. It is quite likely that she is organizing an “event” in heaven and has already signed up for several committees.
A memorial service to celebrate a life well lived will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15 at Lonoke First United Methodist Church.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Wade Knox Children’s Center, 1524 North Center, Lonoke, Ark. 72086, the Lonoke Scholarship Foundation, 221 Holly Lonoke, Ark. 72086 or the Lonoke County Museum, P.O. Box 873 Lonoke, Ark. 72086.
Arrangements are by Boyd Funeral Home in Lonoke.
LORIE DULANY
Lorie Gayle Dulany, 33, of Cabot passed away Sept. 13.
She was born Oct. 24, 1976, in Little Rock.
She was preceded in death by her father, Wayne Colbert.
She is survived by her loving husband Joe Dulany of the home; four children, Jeffery Feltner of Moberly, Mo., Sean Lackie of Cabot, Samantha Anthony of Ward and Joseph Feltner of El Paso, Texas; her mother and step-father, Tressia and Frank Wilhite of Lonoke; her father and step-mother, Floyd “Buddy” and Karen Walker of Jacksonville; three sisters, Zettie Eltrich of Jacksonville, Patricia Trejo-Trejo and Lindsey Colbert, both of Ward; her stepsister, Brenda McDonald of Ward; two step-brothers, William Young and Lewis Young, both of Jacksonville and a host of nieces and nephews, friends and loved ones.
Visitation will be held 2 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15 with family receiving friends from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16 at First Freedom Baptist Church in Butlerville. Interment will be in Monk Cemetery.
Arrangements are by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
GEORGE D. MCBRIDE
George D. McBride, 82, of Ward passed away Sept. 13.
He was born Jan. 1, 1928, in Lawtell, La.
George was a veteran who served his country in the Army and the Air Force.
He was a Catholic and a member of St. Judes Catholic Church.
He is survived by his wife, Kathleen; one daughter, Diane and her husband Gary Hollingshead; one son, Michael McBride; one brother, Thomas McBride of Florida; two grandchildren, Shawn and his wife Heather Hollingshead, and Brad and his wife Beth Hollingshead, and one great-granddaughter, Shelby Potter.
A Memorial Mass will be Saturday, Sept. 18 at St. Judes Catholic Church in Jacksonville.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Old Austin Baptist Church, 50 Old 38N, Austin, Ark. 72007.
Arrangements are by Wood Bean Family Memorial Center in Jacksonville.
JEFFREY WUELLING
Jeffrey Scott Wuelling, 45, of Bono, formerly of Jacksonville, died Sept. 14.
He was born Aug. 8, 1965 in Omaha, Neb. to Herbert and Phyllis Myers Wuelling.
He graduated from Jacksonville High School and worked at Quality Precast as a computer draftsman. He was a diehard Nebraska Cornhuskers fan and a musician.
He is survived by his wife, Nicole Hernandez Wuelling; his daughter, Ashley Cook and her husband William; son, Randall and his wife Kellie Wuelling; grandchild, Arleigh Wuelling, all of Jonesboro; his parents, Herbert and Phyllis Wuelling; siblings, Herbie Wuelling, Jr., Diana Edwards, Vicki Keck and her husband Chuck and Kim Dickens and Jerry Kamer, all from Jacksonville; nieces and nephews, Rachel Gibson, Sarah Wuelling, Candice Stephens and her husband Mike, Catherine Dickens, Chris Wuelling and Danielle McCollough and her husband Matt, all from Jacksonville; great nieces and nephews, Madison and Dakota Stephens, Zane Wuelling and Chance Christianson.
Visitation will be from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18 at Roller-Farmers Union Funeral Home in Jonesboro.
EVENTS >> 06-19-10
MOTORCYCLISTS RALLYING FOR POW/MIA TODAY
The seventh annual POW/MIA Awareness Poker Run is from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. today. The motorcycle run will begin at the Jacksonville Museum of Military History and end at VFW Post 4548. The cost is $20 per rider or $30 per couple.
A motorcycle show will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. at the VFW Post. The entry fee for the competition is $10.
For more information, call 501-413-772 or 501-590-6980.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOLS IN JACKSONVILLE, WARD
First Landmark Missionary Baptist Church in Ward will hold its vacation Bible school 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
Bible stories, crafts, music and refreshments are planned. All age groups are welcome. For more information, call 501-941-5994. The church is located at Markham and Church streets.
First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, 401 North First St., will host its vacation Bible school from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday. The program offers Bible study, memory verses, game time and missions study. Call 501-982-1519 to register or for more information.
CABOT BARBEQUE TO BENEFIT AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Grandpa’s Bar-B-Que will host a fundraiser for American Cancer Society from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 26 at Cabot High School Champs Hall’s parking lot.
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
Admission includes barbeque, drinks and live music of PLU and Fenix.
Kids 10 and under get in free and will get a free hot dog.
There will also be a raffle drawing for a 40” flat screen Samsung TV.
There will be bouncy houses and games for the kids.
The event will also include an amateur cookoff for a cash prize, trophy, and bragging rights for the best recipe in Lonoke County.
Call 501-413-7055 for more information.
SMALL-BUSINESS LUNCHEON TUESDAY IN JACKSONVILLE
The Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce will hold a free small-business roundtable luncheon at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday at Foxwood Golf Club.
Sean Cresswell of Centennial Bank will speak.
The event is open to small business owners or managers. You do not have to be a chamber member to attend.
The deadline to register is today; call 501-982-1511.
CHURCH WILL FEED LUNCH TO CHILDREN THROUGH AUG. 2
Emmanuel Bible Fellowship Church will provide free meals to Jacksonville children weekdays until Aug. 2 at the Jacksonville Boys and Girls Club, 1 Boys Club Drive from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Max Howell Place from 10:30 a.m. to noon, and Willow Bend Apartments, 300 Marshall Road, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. No lunch will be provided on Monday, July 5. The program is funded by the USDA.
JACKSONVILLE AND CABOT TO HOLD JOINT-CHAMBER LUNCH
The Jacksonville and Cabot chambers of commerce will hold a joint-general membership lunch at 11:30 a.m Tuesday, June 29 at the Jacksonville Community Center. The guest speakers will be Cabot Mayor Eddie Joe Williams and Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher.
The cost of the lunch is $12 per member and $15 for nonmembers. If reservations are not made before June 22, the cost is $15.
CHORIS FORMING FOR PATRIOTIC SPECTACULAR ON JULY 2
The Jacksonville Patriotic Spectacular is set for Friday, July 2.
Talented adults and children are needed for the patriotic adult and children’s choirs.
Adult and children’s choirs will perform “Because They Gave” with a spectacular firework finale. Anyone interested in joining the choirs should attend a rehearsal at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at First United Methodist Church, 220 W. Main St.
Call 501-680-3094 for more information.
CABOT POLICEMAN, FIREFIGHTERS HELP SPECIAL OLYMPICS
The Cabot Police and Fire departments will conduct a “Boots and Badges” fundraiser to benefit the Special Olympics from 1 to 8 p.m. today at the Cabot Walmart.
The state’s Arkansas law-enforcement community still needs to raise about $20,000 to meet its goal of $500,000.
HELP FORM A GOLD STAR MOTHERS CHAPTER IN ARKANSAS
Gold Star Mothers, an organization of mothers who have lost a child in combat, does not have an Arkansas chapter.
For more information about how to create one, e-mail Kei Torres at imtheirtexanmom@yahoo.com. Torres’ son, Corporal Jason K. LaFleur, was killed in action in Hawr Rajab, Iraq.
ALZHEIMER'S SUPPORT GROUP MEETS IN JACKSONVILLE
The Alzheimer’s Association offers an Alzheimer’s Support Group at 10 a.m. on the third Saturday of each month at Evangelistic Ministries Church, 101 N. Elm St. in Jacksonville. Call 501-265-0027 or 501-940-5271 for details.
NLR MOVIE SERIES CONTINUES THURSDAY WITH 'CORALINE'
North Little Rock’s River Flicks continues at 7 p.m. Thursday with “Coraline” at the River Walk Park. Admission is free. Bring lawn chairs or blankets. “The Lovely Bones” will be shown on Thursday, July 1.
The seventh annual POW/MIA Awareness Poker Run is from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. today. The motorcycle run will begin at the Jacksonville Museum of Military History and end at VFW Post 4548. The cost is $20 per rider or $30 per couple.
A motorcycle show will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. at the VFW Post. The entry fee for the competition is $10.
For more information, call 501-413-772 or 501-590-6980.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOLS IN JACKSONVILLE, WARD
First Landmark Missionary Baptist Church in Ward will hold its vacation Bible school 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
Bible stories, crafts, music and refreshments are planned. All age groups are welcome. For more information, call 501-941-5994. The church is located at Markham and Church streets.
First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, 401 North First St., will host its vacation Bible school from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday. The program offers Bible study, memory verses, game time and missions study. Call 501-982-1519 to register or for more information.
CABOT BARBEQUE TO BENEFIT AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Grandpa’s Bar-B-Que will host a fundraiser for American Cancer Society from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 26 at Cabot High School Champs Hall’s parking lot.
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
Admission includes barbeque, drinks and live music of PLU and Fenix.
Kids 10 and under get in free and will get a free hot dog.
There will also be a raffle drawing for a 40” flat screen Samsung TV.
There will be bouncy houses and games for the kids.
The event will also include an amateur cookoff for a cash prize, trophy, and bragging rights for the best recipe in Lonoke County.
Call 501-413-7055 for more information.
SMALL-BUSINESS LUNCHEON TUESDAY IN JACKSONVILLE
The Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce will hold a free small-business roundtable luncheon at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday at Foxwood Golf Club.
Sean Cresswell of Centennial Bank will speak.
The event is open to small business owners or managers. You do not have to be a chamber member to attend.
The deadline to register is today; call 501-982-1511.
CHURCH WILL FEED LUNCH TO CHILDREN THROUGH AUG. 2
Emmanuel Bible Fellowship Church will provide free meals to Jacksonville children weekdays until Aug. 2 at the Jacksonville Boys and Girls Club, 1 Boys Club Drive from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Max Howell Place from 10:30 a.m. to noon, and Willow Bend Apartments, 300 Marshall Road, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. No lunch will be provided on Monday, July 5. The program is funded by the USDA.
JACKSONVILLE AND CABOT TO HOLD JOINT-CHAMBER LUNCH
The Jacksonville and Cabot chambers of commerce will hold a joint-general membership lunch at 11:30 a.m Tuesday, June 29 at the Jacksonville Community Center. The guest speakers will be Cabot Mayor Eddie Joe Williams and Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher.
The cost of the lunch is $12 per member and $15 for nonmembers. If reservations are not made before June 22, the cost is $15.
CHORIS FORMING FOR PATRIOTIC SPECTACULAR ON JULY 2
The Jacksonville Patriotic Spectacular is set for Friday, July 2.
Talented adults and children are needed for the patriotic adult and children’s choirs.
Adult and children’s choirs will perform “Because They Gave” with a spectacular firework finale. Anyone interested in joining the choirs should attend a rehearsal at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at First United Methodist Church, 220 W. Main St.
Call 501-680-3094 for more information.
CABOT POLICEMAN, FIREFIGHTERS HELP SPECIAL OLYMPICS
The Cabot Police and Fire departments will conduct a “Boots and Badges” fundraiser to benefit the Special Olympics from 1 to 8 p.m. today at the Cabot Walmart.
The state’s Arkansas law-enforcement community still needs to raise about $20,000 to meet its goal of $500,000.
HELP FORM A GOLD STAR MOTHERS CHAPTER IN ARKANSAS
Gold Star Mothers, an organization of mothers who have lost a child in combat, does not have an Arkansas chapter.
For more information about how to create one, e-mail Kei Torres at imtheirtexanmom@yahoo.com. Torres’ son, Corporal Jason K. LaFleur, was killed in action in Hawr Rajab, Iraq.
ALZHEIMER'S SUPPORT GROUP MEETS IN JACKSONVILLE
The Alzheimer’s Association offers an Alzheimer’s Support Group at 10 a.m. on the third Saturday of each month at Evangelistic Ministries Church, 101 N. Elm St. in Jacksonville. Call 501-265-0027 or 501-940-5271 for details.
NLR MOVIE SERIES CONTINUES THURSDAY WITH 'CORALINE'
North Little Rock’s River Flicks continues at 7 p.m. Thursday with “Coraline” at the River Walk Park. Admission is free. Bring lawn chairs or blankets. “The Lovely Bones” will be shown on Thursday, July 1.
TOP STORY >> Lawyer pins hope on a new district
IN SHORT: Group will have a petition drive on Friday at Walmart.
By NANCY DOCKTER
Leader staff writer
A petition being circulated around Jacksonville is the latest strategy of proponents for a school district in Jacksonville and north Pulaski County, independent of Pulaski County Special School District.
Retired lawyer Ben Rice, who initiated the petition drive about a month ago, hopes a stack of signed petitions would win the backing of another lawyer, John Walker.
Walker is the attorney for Joshua Interveners, a group that for many years has advocated for educational equity for minority students in PCSSD as well as the two other school districts in Pulaski County.
Specifically, the petition supports the establishment of a separate district without the new district having to shoulder any of the debt for new school construction in Maumelle, Sherwood or Chenal, effective upon PCSSD achieving unitary status. The petition states that schools in PCSSD zone 6 (Jacksonville) and zone 5 (north Pulaski County) have been neglected by the district, alluding to research done this spring by Jacksonville High School seniors that showed that those two zones have been recipients of 2 percent and 1 percent, respectively, of all district capital improvement funding during the last 10 years. Those two zones contribute about a third of total property tax revenues collected for PCSSD, Rice told a gathering Thursday of members of the local chapter of the National Association of Retired and Active Federal Employees (NARAFE).
“That is not right. If you are sympathetic to our plight, please sign it,” Rice told the group as petition sheets were passed around. “We want to get a stack of them as thick as we can. If we can convince John Walker, that should pave the way for this thing to happen. But we will deliver this petition not only to Mr. Walker, but to the state Board of Education. I hope that they can read between the lines and give us a new school district.”
Rice said when he recently sat at a table in front of the Jacksonville Walmart asking for passersby to sign the petition, “African Americans were more ready to sign than Caucasians.”
The Jacksonville chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is one of several groups in town working on the separate school district issue, said Rizelle Aaron, who attended the NARAFE meeting.
Aaron said that he was optimistic that Walker could be won over, but in order to do so, there must be community unity on the issue and an authorized spokesman who can say that a separate district is truly the will of the community.
“Mr. Walker wants to meet with people out here, but if we are not organized, he is likely to walk out and leave us sitting at the table,” Aaron said. “Unless we can come together and have one voice it will be difficult.”
More support from city government as well as civic organizations and churches would help the cause, Aaron said. “Otherwise, it doesn’t appear to be a cohesive group.”
Ivory Tillman, president of the local chapters of the NARAFE and as well as the NAACP, said, “This is not a political meeting, we want that understood. But our concern is to do all we possibly can to get a separate school district.”
Rice told the group that 14 of the 36 PCSSD school facilities are in Jacksonville and north Pulaski County. According to an assessment of conditions of Arkansas’ 1,129 school facilities, 12 of those 14 schools are among the 300 worst in the state. Eight are among the 200 worst, and four are among the 100 worst. The poor condition of Jacksonville schools is hurting the local economy, because people with school-age children are not choosing Jacksonville as their home, Rice said.
In the last 10 years, enrollment in schools in neighboring Cabot has increased 40 percent, while enrollment in Jacksonville schools has declined 23 percent, said Rice, citing statistics in the study by Jacksonville seniors on the impacts of conditions at their school on learning.
As he gathered petition signatures recently, Rice said, one couple from Cabot told him that they moved away from Jacksonville because they did not like the schools.
“They told me if Jacksonville gets its own district, they’d move back,” Rice said.
“Property values are being affected by the schools – that is a very important fact,” Rice said. “This can’t be allowed to limp along. This needs to be brought to a head.”
Rice said that the poor conditions of local schools would be a challenge that a newly formed school district would have to tackle. However, he pointed to two studies on the financial impacts of decoupling from PCSSD. Both concluded that there would be no added financial burden for PCSSD or the new district and in fact found that “it would be better for both to separate.”
Rice, along with Jacksonville Alderman Reedie Ray and state Rep. Mark Perry, D-Jacksonville, earlier this year filed a brief in federal court asking Judge Brian Miller to rule that Jacksonville and north Pulaski County are entitled to a separate school district. Miller has not yet ruled on that, nor has he issued his findings in the PCSSD desegregation case. In that case, the district is seeking a declaration from Miller that it has attained unity status and should be released from federal court oversight of its desegregation plan, which was instituted in 1989.
If Miller finds that PCSSD has indeed complied with its desegregation plan, that would improve the chances for a separate Jacksonville-north Pulaski County school district.
“There is still potential to have an independent district, even without Miller declaring the district is unitary,” asserted Aaron. “It is easy to get discouraged, but we are on the right track.”
Supporters of an independent school district will hold a petition drive at the Jacksonville Walmart from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday.
By NANCY DOCKTER
Leader staff writer
A petition being circulated around Jacksonville is the latest strategy of proponents for a school district in Jacksonville and north Pulaski County, independent of Pulaski County Special School District.
Retired lawyer Ben Rice, who initiated the petition drive about a month ago, hopes a stack of signed petitions would win the backing of another lawyer, John Walker.
Walker is the attorney for Joshua Interveners, a group that for many years has advocated for educational equity for minority students in PCSSD as well as the two other school districts in Pulaski County.
Specifically, the petition supports the establishment of a separate district without the new district having to shoulder any of the debt for new school construction in Maumelle, Sherwood or Chenal, effective upon PCSSD achieving unitary status. The petition states that schools in PCSSD zone 6 (Jacksonville) and zone 5 (north Pulaski County) have been neglected by the district, alluding to research done this spring by Jacksonville High School seniors that showed that those two zones have been recipients of 2 percent and 1 percent, respectively, of all district capital improvement funding during the last 10 years. Those two zones contribute about a third of total property tax revenues collected for PCSSD, Rice told a gathering Thursday of members of the local chapter of the National Association of Retired and Active Federal Employees (NARAFE).
“That is not right. If you are sympathetic to our plight, please sign it,” Rice told the group as petition sheets were passed around. “We want to get a stack of them as thick as we can. If we can convince John Walker, that should pave the way for this thing to happen. But we will deliver this petition not only to Mr. Walker, but to the state Board of Education. I hope that they can read between the lines and give us a new school district.”
Rice said when he recently sat at a table in front of the Jacksonville Walmart asking for passersby to sign the petition, “African Americans were more ready to sign than Caucasians.”
The Jacksonville chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is one of several groups in town working on the separate school district issue, said Rizelle Aaron, who attended the NARAFE meeting.
Aaron said that he was optimistic that Walker could be won over, but in order to do so, there must be community unity on the issue and an authorized spokesman who can say that a separate district is truly the will of the community.
“Mr. Walker wants to meet with people out here, but if we are not organized, he is likely to walk out and leave us sitting at the table,” Aaron said. “Unless we can come together and have one voice it will be difficult.”
More support from city government as well as civic organizations and churches would help the cause, Aaron said. “Otherwise, it doesn’t appear to be a cohesive group.”
Ivory Tillman, president of the local chapters of the NARAFE and as well as the NAACP, said, “This is not a political meeting, we want that understood. But our concern is to do all we possibly can to get a separate school district.”
Rice told the group that 14 of the 36 PCSSD school facilities are in Jacksonville and north Pulaski County. According to an assessment of conditions of Arkansas’ 1,129 school facilities, 12 of those 14 schools are among the 300 worst in the state. Eight are among the 200 worst, and four are among the 100 worst. The poor condition of Jacksonville schools is hurting the local economy, because people with school-age children are not choosing Jacksonville as their home, Rice said.
In the last 10 years, enrollment in schools in neighboring Cabot has increased 40 percent, while enrollment in Jacksonville schools has declined 23 percent, said Rice, citing statistics in the study by Jacksonville seniors on the impacts of conditions at their school on learning.
As he gathered petition signatures recently, Rice said, one couple from Cabot told him that they moved away from Jacksonville because they did not like the schools.
“They told me if Jacksonville gets its own district, they’d move back,” Rice said.
“Property values are being affected by the schools – that is a very important fact,” Rice said. “This can’t be allowed to limp along. This needs to be brought to a head.”
Rice said that the poor conditions of local schools would be a challenge that a newly formed school district would have to tackle. However, he pointed to two studies on the financial impacts of decoupling from PCSSD. Both concluded that there would be no added financial burden for PCSSD or the new district and in fact found that “it would be better for both to separate.”
Rice, along with Jacksonville Alderman Reedie Ray and state Rep. Mark Perry, D-Jacksonville, earlier this year filed a brief in federal court asking Judge Brian Miller to rule that Jacksonville and north Pulaski County are entitled to a separate school district. Miller has not yet ruled on that, nor has he issued his findings in the PCSSD desegregation case. In that case, the district is seeking a declaration from Miller that it has attained unity status and should be released from federal court oversight of its desegregation plan, which was instituted in 1989.
If Miller finds that PCSSD has indeed complied with its desegregation plan, that would improve the chances for a separate Jacksonville-north Pulaski County school district.
“There is still potential to have an independent district, even without Miller declaring the district is unitary,” asserted Aaron. “It is easy to get discouraged, but we are on the right track.”
Supporters of an independent school district will hold a petition drive at the Jacksonville Walmart from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday.
TOP STORY >> Cabot outscores state average on Benchmark tests
IN SHORT: Lonoke and Beebe also do well on mandated examinations.
By Rick Kron
Leader staff writer
The state education commissioner Tom Kimbrell was pleased that state scores on the annually mandated Benchmark test went up, but the Cabot School Superintendent Tony Thurman is probably more proud that his district blew by all the state averages.
The annual testing measures students’ ability to accomplish grade-level work.
The No Child Left Behind Act requires all students to score proficient or advance in the areas of math and literacy by the end of the 2013-2014 school year.
To reach that goal, most schools need to be at or above what the state calls the adequate yearly progress rate, which is near 70 percent proficient or advanced.
Not only did Cabot do well, so did Beebe, Lonoke and the Lisa Academy North Charter School.
Jacksonville’s first new school in more than two decades, the Lighthouse Charter School, failed to beat the Pulaski County Special School District average in most grade levels, and all the PCSSD averages are below the state average (see related story at right).
Not only were the Cabot scores above the state average, but there wasn’t a big gap of scores between the schools like in some other area districts.
When the Benchmark scores were released Tuesday, Kimbrell said, “When you have the achievement gap closing while scores of each student subgroup improve, you know that the system is working together to produce the right results. You can’t ask for a much better trend than that.”
Beebe
On the math portion of the Benchmark exam, Badger and Beebe elementary school third-graders scored 84 percent proficient or advanced, one point above the state average of 83 percent.
In literacy, the state average was 71 percent and at Badger Elementary, third-graders were 66 percent proficient or better. At Beebe Elementary, 71 percent reached the goal of proficient or better.
Among fourth graders at Badger Elementary, 84 percent were proficient or better on the math portion and at Beebe Elementary, 90 percent made the grade. The state average was 80 percent.
In literacy, the Badger fourth- graders were 85 percent proficient or better and Beebe Elementary had 84 percent make the grade. The state average was 77 percent.
On the math test, fifth-graders at Beebe Middle School were 77 percent proficient or better. The state average was 74 percent.
In literacy, the fifth-graders were 83 percent proficient or better, nine points better than the state average.
Beebe Middle School sixth- graders were 82 percent proficient or better on the math portion of the Benchmark, compared to the state average of 75 percent. In literacy, the sixth-graders were 75 proficient or better. The state average was 71 percent.
Among seventh-graders, 77 percent were proficient or better on the math portion, which was two points higher than the statewide average. In literacy, 74 percent were proficient or advanced. The state average was 68 percent.
At Beebe Junior High, 66 percent of the eighth-graders were proficient or better in math and at the Badger Academy, just 17 percent made the cut. The state math average was 63 percent. In literacy, 77 percent made the cut at Beebe Junior High and 67 percent did so at Badger Academy. The state average in literacy was 76 percent.
Cabot
The district average for third- graders on the math portion of the Benchmark was 91 percent proficient of advanced, nine points above the state average. In literacy, 79 percent of the third-graders were proficient or better. Statewide, the average was 71 percent.
At Stagecoach, 95 percent of the third-graders were proficient or better in math and 84 percent did the same in literacy. Ward Central saw 86 percent of its students make the grade in math and 65 percent in literacy. At Magness Creek, 96 percent were proficient or better in math and 90 percent did the same in literacy.
Among Westside third-graders, 84 percent were proficient or better in math and 70 made the cut in literacy. Northside had 90 percent make the cut in math and 72 percent score proficient or better in literacy.
Eastside had 91 percent of its students score proficient or above in math and 82 percent did the same in literacy. At Southside, 94 percent made the cut in math and 83 percent did the same in literacy.
Central Elementary saw 90 percent of its students score proficient or higher in math and 86 percent also in literacy.
At the fourth-grade level, the district average in math was 89 percent, nine points higher than the state average, and in literacy it was 86 percent, again nine points higher than the state.
At Eastside, 86 percent of the fourth-graders scored proficient or advanced on the math portion of the benchmark and 80 percent did the same in literacy.
Among Northside students, 91 percent made the cut in math and 80 percent were proficient or better in literacy. At Magness Creek, 94 percent were proficient or above in math and 88 percent did the same in literacy. While at Central Elementary, 81 percent were proficient or better in math and 79 percent made the grade in literacy.
Among Westside fourth-graders, 85 percent were proficient or advanced in math and 86 percent did so in literacy. Ward Central had 76 percent of its students score proficient or better in math and 78 percent did the same in literacy.
Stagecoach saw 97 percent of its fourth-graders make the cut in math and 94 percent did so in literacy.
At Southside, 88 percent scored proficient or advanced in math and the same percent did so in literacy.
At the fifth-grade level, the state average was 74 percent proficient or better in math and 72 percent in literacy. Cabot averaged 84 percent in both math and literacy.
Among fifth-graders at Cabot Middle School South, 81 percent were proficient or advanced in math and 82 percent did the same in literacy. Middle School North had 85 percent of its fifth-graders make the cut in math and 86 percent scored proficient or advanced in literacy.
At the sixth-grade level, the district averaged 87 proficient or better in math, 12 points better than the state average. On the literacy portion of the test, the district average was 83 percent proficient or better, also 12 points better than the state.
At Cabot Middle School South, 85 percent of the sixth-graders scored proficient or better in math and 85 percent also did so in literacy.
Among Cabot Middle School North students, 88 percent made the cut in math and 82 percent did the same in literacy.
Among seventh-graders statewide, the average was 75 percent proficient or better in math and 68 percent did equally well in literacy. The district beat the state math average by four percentage points and the literacy average by 10 points.
Seventh-graders at Cabot Junior High South had 83 percent of its students score proficient or better in math and 76 percent do the same in literacy. At Cabot Junior High North, 78 percent made the grade in math and 79 percent were proficient or advanced in literacy. At the Academic Center for Excellence, 73 percent were proficient or better in math and 54 percent made the cut in literacy.
In eighth-grade, the district average for scoring proficient or advanced in math was 75 percent, 12 points better than the state average. In literacy, the district average was 89 percent, 14 points over the state average.
At Cabot Junior High North, 78 percent of the eighth-graders were proficient or better in math and 89 percent did the same in literacy. Among eighth-graders at Cabot Junior High South, 74 percent made the grade in math and 89 percent did so in literacy.
Lighthouse Charter
In its first year, the Jacksonville Lighthouse Charter School, which is in the Pulaski County Special School District attendance zone, did not do as well as the district average at most grade levels.
Among the school’s third-graders, 80 percent were proficient or advanced in math, compared to the PCSSD average of 81 percent. In literacy, 70 percent of the charter students were proficient or better. The district’s average was 66 percent.
In fourth-grade, 70 percent of the students were proficient or better in math. The district average was 77 percent. In literacy, 72 percent made the cut compared to 76 percent in PCSSD.
Among fifth-graders, 65 percent were proficient or advanced in math and 65 percent did the same in literacy. The district’s average was 66 percent in math and 73 percent in literacy.
On the sixth-grader math portion of the benchmark, 59 percent of the students were proficient or advanced. The district average was 63 percent. In literacy, 67 percent made the cut compared to the district average of 71 percent.
Lisa Academy North
Lisa Academy North is a charter school that occupies the old Best Buy off Hwy. 67/167 and Wildwood Avenue that is in the PCSSD attendance zone and did beat the district average at most grade levels.
Among the academy’s third- graders, 76 were proficient or advanced in math. The PCSSD average was 81 percent. In literacy, 88 percent were proficient or better, compared to a district average of 66 percent.
In fourth-grade, 92 percent of the students were proficient or better in math and 96 percent in literacy.
The averages were 77 percent in math and 76 percent in literacy.
On the math portion of the test, 80 percent of the fifth-graders made the cut, 14 points above the state average. In literacy, 80 percent were proficient or advanced. The district average was 73 percent.
Sixth-graders were 82 percent proficient or better on the math portion of the benchmark, 19 points above the district average. In literacy, 84 percent were proficient or better, compared to a district average of 71 percent.
Among seventh graders, 83 percent were proficient or better in math and 80 percent made the cut in literacy. The district average was 67 percent in math and 59 percent in literacy.
In the eighth-grade, 84 percent of the academy students scored proficient or better in math and 85 percent did as well in literacy. At the district level the averages were 49 percent in math and 67 percent in literacy.
Lonoke
Lonoke third-graders were 82 percent proficient or advanced on the math portion of the benchmark and scored 62 percent proficient or better in literacy. The state average was 83 percent in math and 71 percent in literacy.
Fourth-graders were 78 percent proficient or better on the math exam, compared to the state average of 80 percent. In literacy, 77 percent made the grade. The state average in literacy was also 77 percent.
Among fifth-graders in Lonoke, 77 percent were proficient or better in math and 84 percent did the same in literacy. The state average was 74 percent in both math and literacy.
On the math portion, sixth- graders were 79 percent proficient or advanced, four points over the state average. In literacy, 72 percent were proficient or better. The state average was 71 percent.
On the seventh-grade math portion, 75 percent of the students were proficient or better and 73 percent did the same in literacy. The state average in math was 75 percent and it was 68 percent in literacy.
Among eighth-graders, 68 percent were proficient or better in math.
The state average was 63 percent. In literacy the eighth-graders were 79 percent proficient or better. The state average was 76 percent.
By Rick Kron
Leader staff writer
The state education commissioner Tom Kimbrell was pleased that state scores on the annually mandated Benchmark test went up, but the Cabot School Superintendent Tony Thurman is probably more proud that his district blew by all the state averages.
The annual testing measures students’ ability to accomplish grade-level work.
The No Child Left Behind Act requires all students to score proficient or advance in the areas of math and literacy by the end of the 2013-2014 school year.
To reach that goal, most schools need to be at or above what the state calls the adequate yearly progress rate, which is near 70 percent proficient or advanced.
Not only did Cabot do well, so did Beebe, Lonoke and the Lisa Academy North Charter School.
Jacksonville’s first new school in more than two decades, the Lighthouse Charter School, failed to beat the Pulaski County Special School District average in most grade levels, and all the PCSSD averages are below the state average (see related story at right).
Not only were the Cabot scores above the state average, but there wasn’t a big gap of scores between the schools like in some other area districts.
When the Benchmark scores were released Tuesday, Kimbrell said, “When you have the achievement gap closing while scores of each student subgroup improve, you know that the system is working together to produce the right results. You can’t ask for a much better trend than that.”
Beebe
On the math portion of the Benchmark exam, Badger and Beebe elementary school third-graders scored 84 percent proficient or advanced, one point above the state average of 83 percent.
In literacy, the state average was 71 percent and at Badger Elementary, third-graders were 66 percent proficient or better. At Beebe Elementary, 71 percent reached the goal of proficient or better.
Among fourth graders at Badger Elementary, 84 percent were proficient or better on the math portion and at Beebe Elementary, 90 percent made the grade. The state average was 80 percent.
In literacy, the Badger fourth- graders were 85 percent proficient or better and Beebe Elementary had 84 percent make the grade. The state average was 77 percent.
On the math test, fifth-graders at Beebe Middle School were 77 percent proficient or better. The state average was 74 percent.
In literacy, the fifth-graders were 83 percent proficient or better, nine points better than the state average.
Beebe Middle School sixth- graders were 82 percent proficient or better on the math portion of the Benchmark, compared to the state average of 75 percent. In literacy, the sixth-graders were 75 proficient or better. The state average was 71 percent.
Among seventh-graders, 77 percent were proficient or better on the math portion, which was two points higher than the statewide average. In literacy, 74 percent were proficient or advanced. The state average was 68 percent.
At Beebe Junior High, 66 percent of the eighth-graders were proficient or better in math and at the Badger Academy, just 17 percent made the cut. The state math average was 63 percent. In literacy, 77 percent made the cut at Beebe Junior High and 67 percent did so at Badger Academy. The state average in literacy was 76 percent.
Cabot
The district average for third- graders on the math portion of the Benchmark was 91 percent proficient of advanced, nine points above the state average. In literacy, 79 percent of the third-graders were proficient or better. Statewide, the average was 71 percent.
At Stagecoach, 95 percent of the third-graders were proficient or better in math and 84 percent did the same in literacy. Ward Central saw 86 percent of its students make the grade in math and 65 percent in literacy. At Magness Creek, 96 percent were proficient or better in math and 90 percent did the same in literacy.
Among Westside third-graders, 84 percent were proficient or better in math and 70 made the cut in literacy. Northside had 90 percent make the cut in math and 72 percent score proficient or better in literacy.
Eastside had 91 percent of its students score proficient or above in math and 82 percent did the same in literacy. At Southside, 94 percent made the cut in math and 83 percent did the same in literacy.
Central Elementary saw 90 percent of its students score proficient or higher in math and 86 percent also in literacy.
At the fourth-grade level, the district average in math was 89 percent, nine points higher than the state average, and in literacy it was 86 percent, again nine points higher than the state.
At Eastside, 86 percent of the fourth-graders scored proficient or advanced on the math portion of the benchmark and 80 percent did the same in literacy.
Among Northside students, 91 percent made the cut in math and 80 percent were proficient or better in literacy. At Magness Creek, 94 percent were proficient or above in math and 88 percent did the same in literacy. While at Central Elementary, 81 percent were proficient or better in math and 79 percent made the grade in literacy.
Among Westside fourth-graders, 85 percent were proficient or advanced in math and 86 percent did so in literacy. Ward Central had 76 percent of its students score proficient or better in math and 78 percent did the same in literacy.
Stagecoach saw 97 percent of its fourth-graders make the cut in math and 94 percent did so in literacy.
At Southside, 88 percent scored proficient or advanced in math and the same percent did so in literacy.
At the fifth-grade level, the state average was 74 percent proficient or better in math and 72 percent in literacy. Cabot averaged 84 percent in both math and literacy.
Among fifth-graders at Cabot Middle School South, 81 percent were proficient or advanced in math and 82 percent did the same in literacy. Middle School North had 85 percent of its fifth-graders make the cut in math and 86 percent scored proficient or advanced in literacy.
At the sixth-grade level, the district averaged 87 proficient or better in math, 12 points better than the state average. On the literacy portion of the test, the district average was 83 percent proficient or better, also 12 points better than the state.
At Cabot Middle School South, 85 percent of the sixth-graders scored proficient or better in math and 85 percent also did so in literacy.
Among Cabot Middle School North students, 88 percent made the cut in math and 82 percent did the same in literacy.
Among seventh-graders statewide, the average was 75 percent proficient or better in math and 68 percent did equally well in literacy. The district beat the state math average by four percentage points and the literacy average by 10 points.
Seventh-graders at Cabot Junior High South had 83 percent of its students score proficient or better in math and 76 percent do the same in literacy. At Cabot Junior High North, 78 percent made the grade in math and 79 percent were proficient or advanced in literacy. At the Academic Center for Excellence, 73 percent were proficient or better in math and 54 percent made the cut in literacy.
In eighth-grade, the district average for scoring proficient or advanced in math was 75 percent, 12 points better than the state average. In literacy, the district average was 89 percent, 14 points over the state average.
At Cabot Junior High North, 78 percent of the eighth-graders were proficient or better in math and 89 percent did the same in literacy. Among eighth-graders at Cabot Junior High South, 74 percent made the grade in math and 89 percent did so in literacy.
Lighthouse Charter
In its first year, the Jacksonville Lighthouse Charter School, which is in the Pulaski County Special School District attendance zone, did not do as well as the district average at most grade levels.
Among the school’s third-graders, 80 percent were proficient or advanced in math, compared to the PCSSD average of 81 percent. In literacy, 70 percent of the charter students were proficient or better. The district’s average was 66 percent.
In fourth-grade, 70 percent of the students were proficient or better in math. The district average was 77 percent. In literacy, 72 percent made the cut compared to 76 percent in PCSSD.
Among fifth-graders, 65 percent were proficient or advanced in math and 65 percent did the same in literacy. The district’s average was 66 percent in math and 73 percent in literacy.
On the sixth-grader math portion of the benchmark, 59 percent of the students were proficient or advanced. The district average was 63 percent. In literacy, 67 percent made the cut compared to the district average of 71 percent.
Lisa Academy North
Lisa Academy North is a charter school that occupies the old Best Buy off Hwy. 67/167 and Wildwood Avenue that is in the PCSSD attendance zone and did beat the district average at most grade levels.
Among the academy’s third- graders, 76 were proficient or advanced in math. The PCSSD average was 81 percent. In literacy, 88 percent were proficient or better, compared to a district average of 66 percent.
In fourth-grade, 92 percent of the students were proficient or better in math and 96 percent in literacy.
The averages were 77 percent in math and 76 percent in literacy.
On the math portion of the test, 80 percent of the fifth-graders made the cut, 14 points above the state average. In literacy, 80 percent were proficient or advanced. The district average was 73 percent.
Sixth-graders were 82 percent proficient or better on the math portion of the benchmark, 19 points above the district average. In literacy, 84 percent were proficient or better, compared to a district average of 71 percent.
Among seventh graders, 83 percent were proficient or better in math and 80 percent made the cut in literacy. The district average was 67 percent in math and 59 percent in literacy.
In the eighth-grade, 84 percent of the academy students scored proficient or better in math and 85 percent did as well in literacy. At the district level the averages were 49 percent in math and 67 percent in literacy.
Lonoke
Lonoke third-graders were 82 percent proficient or advanced on the math portion of the benchmark and scored 62 percent proficient or better in literacy. The state average was 83 percent in math and 71 percent in literacy.
Fourth-graders were 78 percent proficient or better on the math exam, compared to the state average of 80 percent. In literacy, 77 percent made the grade. The state average in literacy was also 77 percent.
Among fifth-graders in Lonoke, 77 percent were proficient or better in math and 84 percent did the same in literacy. The state average was 74 percent in both math and literacy.
On the math portion, sixth- graders were 79 percent proficient or advanced, four points over the state average. In literacy, 72 percent were proficient or better. The state average was 71 percent.
On the seventh-grade math portion, 75 percent of the students were proficient or better and 73 percent did the same in literacy. The state average in math was 75 percent and it was 68 percent in literacy.
Among eighth-graders, 68 percent were proficient or better in math.
The state average was 63 percent. In literacy the eighth-graders were 79 percent proficient or better. The state average was 76 percent.
TOP STORY >> List of state fair finalists growing
IN SHORT: City’s bid for the event complicated by Saline County’s push to raise $60 million to build complex.
By Nancy Dockter
Leader staff writer
A vote by the Saline County Quorum Court to hold a special election on a 1 percent sales tax to raise up to $60 million to build facilities in hopes of luring the state fair to Benton has Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher perplexed, but unruffled.
In a special election Aug. 10, Saline County voters will decide on two taxes amounting to one cent on the dollar to pay for improvements and maintenance of a former airport facility now used as the county fairgrounds.
The word last winter from the governing board of the Arkansas Livestock Show Association was that the original field of 19 potential sites for a new, improved and larger state fairgrounds had been whittled down to three south of Jacksonville and the current site in Little Rock. So, a news report last week that the Benton venue, if renovated, would be considered as a site for the state fair came as a surprise to Fletcher.
“It was a little disheartening because it had been narrowed down to three sites,” Fletcher said. “We had heard that the fair would not go there, so they need to tell people that.”
The state fair association is considering either making upgrades to the current Little Rock location or moving the fair to a spot that would provide easier access and better parking as well as more space to construct facilities for events year-round.
Ralph Shoptaw, manager of the State Fair, was unavailable for comment on Tuesday to confirm a report that he said last week the Benton site as well as the 18 others are still in the running as the new state fairgrounds location.
Fletcher went on to say he doubts the Benton location could beat what the Jacksonville site has to offer.
The city of Jacksonville has offered to acquire 445 acres which are southeast of town to the north of Interstate 40, give the land to the state fair association and provide utilities at no cost. Highway access would be from Wooten Road at the Highway 161 and I-440 interchange.
There are plans to raise up to $1 million to buy the land – taking it by eminent domain if necessary. There are nine owners of the land, including individuals and real estate investors. Fletcher said that title searches and efforts to acquire the various parcels are under way.
With the site’s proximity to I-40, it “will be able to draw from the Memphis area,” Fletcher said. “The Benton site is out of the way. I don’t think it lends itself to be a big, expansive project. It is harder to get to. You’ve got to get to it on frontage roads.”
The land being offered by Jacksonville is one of three sites, along with the current fairgrounds, reportedly making up the short list chosen last winter. There are shared boundaries among the three sites, all of which are north of I-40.
One site consists of 827 acres owned by Davidson Ranch, south of the land offered by the city. It carries a $2,995 per acre price tag. The site does not meet highway access criteria, according to an analysis of all 19 sites made last winter. Existing access is along a two-lane for almost two miles from the Galloway Road/ I-40 interchange.
The third site is the southernmost of the three. It consists of 632 acres with three owners. The price is $4,512 per acre. The tract is bounded by Ink Bayou to the east and I-440 to the west. The site does not meet access requirements, requiring travel for two miles from the Galloway Road/I-40 interchange.
State fair officials say that they might pick tracts from among the three sites to put together an ideal location for the fair. Still to come in the decision-making process are two studies – an economic- impact study to evaluate the benefits to state and local economies of the fair, were it moved to a new location, as well as a feasibility study that would analyze the income potential of various facilities considered for construction at the new site. The goal is to create a venue that offers year-round income generation rather than only during the two weeks each fall when the state fair happens.
The state fair association is in the process of raising the money for the two studies, which reportedly will cost about $60,000.
Fletcher said that the city has offered to cover the costs of the two studies “if they’d go ahead and select Jacksonville,” but the association did not accept.
“All we can do is make offers,” Fletcher said. “It is not moving as fast as we’d like, but Ralph Shoptaw is in the driver’s seat. They say that they need numbers before they can move forward, and these studies will provide those numbers. It will be later on this year.”
By Nancy Dockter
Leader staff writer
A vote by the Saline County Quorum Court to hold a special election on a 1 percent sales tax to raise up to $60 million to build facilities in hopes of luring the state fair to Benton has Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher perplexed, but unruffled.
In a special election Aug. 10, Saline County voters will decide on two taxes amounting to one cent on the dollar to pay for improvements and maintenance of a former airport facility now used as the county fairgrounds.
The word last winter from the governing board of the Arkansas Livestock Show Association was that the original field of 19 potential sites for a new, improved and larger state fairgrounds had been whittled down to three south of Jacksonville and the current site in Little Rock. So, a news report last week that the Benton venue, if renovated, would be considered as a site for the state fair came as a surprise to Fletcher.
“It was a little disheartening because it had been narrowed down to three sites,” Fletcher said. “We had heard that the fair would not go there, so they need to tell people that.”
The state fair association is considering either making upgrades to the current Little Rock location or moving the fair to a spot that would provide easier access and better parking as well as more space to construct facilities for events year-round.
Ralph Shoptaw, manager of the State Fair, was unavailable for comment on Tuesday to confirm a report that he said last week the Benton site as well as the 18 others are still in the running as the new state fairgrounds location.
Fletcher went on to say he doubts the Benton location could beat what the Jacksonville site has to offer.
The city of Jacksonville has offered to acquire 445 acres which are southeast of town to the north of Interstate 40, give the land to the state fair association and provide utilities at no cost. Highway access would be from Wooten Road at the Highway 161 and I-440 interchange.
There are plans to raise up to $1 million to buy the land – taking it by eminent domain if necessary. There are nine owners of the land, including individuals and real estate investors. Fletcher said that title searches and efforts to acquire the various parcels are under way.
With the site’s proximity to I-40, it “will be able to draw from the Memphis area,” Fletcher said. “The Benton site is out of the way. I don’t think it lends itself to be a big, expansive project. It is harder to get to. You’ve got to get to it on frontage roads.”
The land being offered by Jacksonville is one of three sites, along with the current fairgrounds, reportedly making up the short list chosen last winter. There are shared boundaries among the three sites, all of which are north of I-40.
One site consists of 827 acres owned by Davidson Ranch, south of the land offered by the city. It carries a $2,995 per acre price tag. The site does not meet highway access criteria, according to an analysis of all 19 sites made last winter. Existing access is along a two-lane for almost two miles from the Galloway Road/ I-40 interchange.
The third site is the southernmost of the three. It consists of 632 acres with three owners. The price is $4,512 per acre. The tract is bounded by Ink Bayou to the east and I-440 to the west. The site does not meet access requirements, requiring travel for two miles from the Galloway Road/I-40 interchange.
State fair officials say that they might pick tracts from among the three sites to put together an ideal location for the fair. Still to come in the decision-making process are two studies – an economic- impact study to evaluate the benefits to state and local economies of the fair, were it moved to a new location, as well as a feasibility study that would analyze the income potential of various facilities considered for construction at the new site. The goal is to create a venue that offers year-round income generation rather than only during the two weeks each fall when the state fair happens.
The state fair association is in the process of raising the money for the two studies, which reportedly will cost about $60,000.
Fletcher said that the city has offered to cover the costs of the two studies “if they’d go ahead and select Jacksonville,” but the association did not accept.
“All we can do is make offers,” Fletcher said. “It is not moving as fast as we’d like, but Ralph Shoptaw is in the driver’s seat. They say that they need numbers before they can move forward, and these studies will provide those numbers. It will be later on this year.”
TOP STORY >> Community named best for support
IN SHORT: Prestigious Abilene Trophy presented to air base boosters.
By John Hofheimer
Leader senior staff writer
Gov. Mike Beebe was on hand Tuesday at the Little Rock Air Force Base Community Council meeting when members of the Abilene (Texas) Chamber of Commerce presented the prestigious Abilene Trophy to Jacksonville and its neighbors for being the Air Mobility Command’s most supportive community.
The award, a sculpted eagle, was presented to Col. Greg Otey and a flock of local mayors and representatives.
Mayors or their representatives were on hand from Ward, Austin, Cabot, Jacksonville, Sherwood, North Little Rock and Maumelle.
The Abilene Trophy is presented annually to a civilian community for outstanding support to a nearby AMC base and the winner is determined by a selection group of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee with final approval by AMC.
The governor didn’t speak and left immediately after the presentation, but he had promised to make himself available for it whenever it occurred and he made good on that promise.
Otey credited not only the long history of good works done by the local community, centered at Jacksonville, but stretching from Cabot to Maumelle, but also Cindi Maddox, who put 4.25 inches worth of documentation into the three-inch application notebook.
Otey noted that community support ran all the way back to the base’s beginning, when local leaders raised $1.2 million to buy 6,600 acres to give the Air Force create 1955.
He said that three generations of some families—he named the Wilsons and the Grays—had been supportive of the base.
In an earlier letter to community council members, Otey said that among the community contributions to the base were:
• Jacksonville’s support of the new Joint Education Center. The residents of Jacksonville taxed themselves and raised $5 million toward the new center, currently under construction outside the gate but on the base.
• The mayor of Jacksonville briefs Little Rock AFB’s New-comers Orientation each week, so every new airman knows the local mayor.
• Airpower Arkansas, a subset of the Community Council consisting of local community members, raised funds for the base’s 2010 Air show, collecting over $50,000 from local businesses and individuals.
• Community members donated over $22,000 in support of the Little Rock AFB Rodeo teams. In addition to the outstanding financial support, many attended the pre-departure breakfast and the post-RODEO celebrations and a few community members even accompanied the Little Rock AFB Rodeo teams to the competition.
• Civic leaders sponsored base events including the Air Force Ball, the Annual Awards Ceremony, and the Black Knight Heritage Dinner enabling deep discounts for Airmen ticket prices. These leaders also made time on Thanksgiving and Christmas to serve meals to Airmen at the base dining facility.
• Community members sponsor the base’s quarterly deployed families dinner, resulting in an outstanding (and free) event for spouses and children of deployed members.
• Local concert and sporting event venues showed their support by not just offering military discounts, but scheduling one or two concerts or sporting events each month that are offered to military members at drastically reduced prices (or even free).
In turn, the base generates about $500 million in goods and services from the local communities.
Kristina Jones, a representative of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce, said the judges were very impressed by the Joint Education Center, which will house six different educational facilities to offer opportunities to young men and women on the base and also in the community.
The award is a sculpture of an Eagle, with its wingtip touching the representation of a rock.
It represents partnership between the Air Force and the community, she said, with the outstretched wings of the eagle representing the Air Force and all it does to extend freedoms across the world, and the base is a rock because the community is the foundation by which the eagle much be supported to take off into the air.
Otey led attendees in singing Happy Birthday to Jacksonville resident Gen. Dub Myers, calling him a long-time friend of the base.
Formally known as the Air Mobility Command Community Support Award, the Abilene Trophy has been awarded since its establishment in 1998. The award’s sponsor is the Abilene, Texas Chamber of Commerce. Abilene is home to Dyess Air Force Base, which has an AMC contingent, the 317th Airlift Group; however, the main host, the 7th Bomb Wing, is under the Air Combat Command, and thus Dyess would not be eligible for an award sponsored by its host city.
Charleston (Charleston Air Force Base) has won the award three times and Grand Forks (Grand Forks Air Force Base), Dover, (Dover Air Force Base) Spokane (Fairchild Air Force Base) and Tampa (McDill Air Force Base) have each won twice.
By John Hofheimer
Leader senior staff writer
Gov. Mike Beebe was on hand Tuesday at the Little Rock Air Force Base Community Council meeting when members of the Abilene (Texas) Chamber of Commerce presented the prestigious Abilene Trophy to Jacksonville and its neighbors for being the Air Mobility Command’s most supportive community.
The award, a sculpted eagle, was presented to Col. Greg Otey and a flock of local mayors and representatives.
Mayors or their representatives were on hand from Ward, Austin, Cabot, Jacksonville, Sherwood, North Little Rock and Maumelle.
The Abilene Trophy is presented annually to a civilian community for outstanding support to a nearby AMC base and the winner is determined by a selection group of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee with final approval by AMC.
The governor didn’t speak and left immediately after the presentation, but he had promised to make himself available for it whenever it occurred and he made good on that promise.
Otey credited not only the long history of good works done by the local community, centered at Jacksonville, but stretching from Cabot to Maumelle, but also Cindi Maddox, who put 4.25 inches worth of documentation into the three-inch application notebook.
Otey noted that community support ran all the way back to the base’s beginning, when local leaders raised $1.2 million to buy 6,600 acres to give the Air Force create 1955.
He said that three generations of some families—he named the Wilsons and the Grays—had been supportive of the base.
In an earlier letter to community council members, Otey said that among the community contributions to the base were:
• Jacksonville’s support of the new Joint Education Center. The residents of Jacksonville taxed themselves and raised $5 million toward the new center, currently under construction outside the gate but on the base.
• The mayor of Jacksonville briefs Little Rock AFB’s New-comers Orientation each week, so every new airman knows the local mayor.
• Airpower Arkansas, a subset of the Community Council consisting of local community members, raised funds for the base’s 2010 Air show, collecting over $50,000 from local businesses and individuals.
• Community members donated over $22,000 in support of the Little Rock AFB Rodeo teams. In addition to the outstanding financial support, many attended the pre-departure breakfast and the post-RODEO celebrations and a few community members even accompanied the Little Rock AFB Rodeo teams to the competition.
• Civic leaders sponsored base events including the Air Force Ball, the Annual Awards Ceremony, and the Black Knight Heritage Dinner enabling deep discounts for Airmen ticket prices. These leaders also made time on Thanksgiving and Christmas to serve meals to Airmen at the base dining facility.
• Community members sponsor the base’s quarterly deployed families dinner, resulting in an outstanding (and free) event for spouses and children of deployed members.
• Local concert and sporting event venues showed their support by not just offering military discounts, but scheduling one or two concerts or sporting events each month that are offered to military members at drastically reduced prices (or even free).
In turn, the base generates about $500 million in goods and services from the local communities.
Kristina Jones, a representative of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce, said the judges were very impressed by the Joint Education Center, which will house six different educational facilities to offer opportunities to young men and women on the base and also in the community.
The award is a sculpture of an Eagle, with its wingtip touching the representation of a rock.
It represents partnership between the Air Force and the community, she said, with the outstretched wings of the eagle representing the Air Force and all it does to extend freedoms across the world, and the base is a rock because the community is the foundation by which the eagle much be supported to take off into the air.
Otey led attendees in singing Happy Birthday to Jacksonville resident Gen. Dub Myers, calling him a long-time friend of the base.
Formally known as the Air Mobility Command Community Support Award, the Abilene Trophy has been awarded since its establishment in 1998. The award’s sponsor is the Abilene, Texas Chamber of Commerce. Abilene is home to Dyess Air Force Base, which has an AMC contingent, the 317th Airlift Group; however, the main host, the 7th Bomb Wing, is under the Air Combat Command, and thus Dyess would not be eligible for an award sponsored by its host city.
Charleston (Charleston Air Force Base) has won the award three times and Grand Forks (Grand Forks Air Force Base), Dover, (Dover Air Force Base) Spokane (Fairchild Air Force Base) and Tampa (McDill Air Force Base) have each won twice.
Monday, June 14, 2010
SPORTS >> Gwatney cashes in on walks, miscues
IN SHORT: Jacksonville takes junior American Legion victory
as Sylvan Hills pitchers falter.
By Jason King
Leader sportswriter
It wasn’t the two second-inning hits by Jacksonville Gwatney Chevrolet that did the damage in a 15-5, junior American Legion victory Tuesday.
It was the seven walks given up by three Sylvan Hills pitchers and three untimely passed balls, led to eight runs Jacksonville runs on the way to a rout of Sylvan Hills at Kevin McReynolds Field.
D’Vone McClure hit a three-run home run in the top of the third inning, and Jacksonville scored four runs against the depleted Sylvan Hills staff in the top of the fifth to win by the run rule.
Bruins starter J.D. Miller looked strong in the first inning, but Trey Sims relieved him two batters into the second after Miller gave up back-to-back walks. Sims also struggled, giving up a single to Zach Traylor and three more walks before leaving the mound for Forrest Harrison.
Harrison issued a fourth-straight walk before finally getting McClure to pop up to center. Gwatney had already scored four runs at that point — two on passed balls, one on Traylor’s RBI grounder to right field and another on a bases-loaded walk
Jesse Harbin stretched Gwatney’s lead with a two-RBI single to left field that scored Brandon Whitmore and Troy Allen to give Jacksonville a 6-1 lead. Harbin added the final run of the inning when he scored on a fielder’s choice at first.
Harrison walked Brandon Russell to lead off the top of the third and hit Allen before McClure cleared the left field wall with his home run to make it 9-3.
Sylvan Hills took advantage of some erratic pitching and defense early when Sims was hit by a pitch to lead off the first and later scored on a passed ball. Aaron Sarna walked to open the second and advanced around the bases and scored on three straight passed balls by Gwatney.
Dalton Freeling had a similar trip when he was hit by a pitch and rounded the bases on passed balls to cut Jacksonville’s lead to 8-3.
McClure got the runs back for Gwatney with his homer in the third, and Jacksonville renewed its assault in the top of the fifth beginning with a walk to Troy Allen.
Kenny Cummings singled to advance Troy Allen and Austin Allen drove him in with a single to left. Chris McClendon walked and Cummings and Austin Allen scored on an error at third on Alex Tucker’s grounder.
McClendon added Jacksonville’s final run on a passed ball.
Sylvan Hills needed a 12-run miracle to tie in the bottom of the fifth as the game neared its two-hour time limit, but got only two. Greg Atchinson was hit by a pitch and later scored on an error at second, while Robert Brock reached on an error at first and scored on another error at first to set the final margin.
Tucker got the victory for Jacksonville after he relieved McClure in the bottom of the second with Sylvan Hills holding a 1-0 lead.
McClure hit four batters through 1 2/3 innings, but Tucker allowed only two hits the rest of the way.
Jacksonville had four errors, three in the bottom of the fifth.
Sylvan Hills pitchers walked 12 and gave up six hits. Though the Bruins had only one error, they had six passed balls.
as Sylvan Hills pitchers falter.
By Jason King
Leader sportswriter
It wasn’t the two second-inning hits by Jacksonville Gwatney Chevrolet that did the damage in a 15-5, junior American Legion victory Tuesday.
It was the seven walks given up by three Sylvan Hills pitchers and three untimely passed balls, led to eight runs Jacksonville runs on the way to a rout of Sylvan Hills at Kevin McReynolds Field.
D’Vone McClure hit a three-run home run in the top of the third inning, and Jacksonville scored four runs against the depleted Sylvan Hills staff in the top of the fifth to win by the run rule.
Bruins starter J.D. Miller looked strong in the first inning, but Trey Sims relieved him two batters into the second after Miller gave up back-to-back walks. Sims also struggled, giving up a single to Zach Traylor and three more walks before leaving the mound for Forrest Harrison.
Harrison issued a fourth-straight walk before finally getting McClure to pop up to center. Gwatney had already scored four runs at that point — two on passed balls, one on Traylor’s RBI grounder to right field and another on a bases-loaded walk
Jesse Harbin stretched Gwatney’s lead with a two-RBI single to left field that scored Brandon Whitmore and Troy Allen to give Jacksonville a 6-1 lead. Harbin added the final run of the inning when he scored on a fielder’s choice at first.
Harrison walked Brandon Russell to lead off the top of the third and hit Allen before McClure cleared the left field wall with his home run to make it 9-3.
Sylvan Hills took advantage of some erratic pitching and defense early when Sims was hit by a pitch to lead off the first and later scored on a passed ball. Aaron Sarna walked to open the second and advanced around the bases and scored on three straight passed balls by Gwatney.
Dalton Freeling had a similar trip when he was hit by a pitch and rounded the bases on passed balls to cut Jacksonville’s lead to 8-3.
McClure got the runs back for Gwatney with his homer in the third, and Jacksonville renewed its assault in the top of the fifth beginning with a walk to Troy Allen.
Kenny Cummings singled to advance Troy Allen and Austin Allen drove him in with a single to left. Chris McClendon walked and Cummings and Austin Allen scored on an error at third on Alex Tucker’s grounder.
McClendon added Jacksonville’s final run on a passed ball.
Sylvan Hills needed a 12-run miracle to tie in the bottom of the fifth as the game neared its two-hour time limit, but got only two. Greg Atchinson was hit by a pitch and later scored on an error at second, while Robert Brock reached on an error at first and scored on another error at first to set the final margin.
Tucker got the victory for Jacksonville after he relieved McClure in the bottom of the second with Sylvan Hills holding a 1-0 lead.
McClure hit four batters through 1 2/3 innings, but Tucker allowed only two hits the rest of the way.
Jacksonville had four errors, three in the bottom of the fifth.
Sylvan Hills pitchers walked 12 and gave up six hits. Though the Bruins had only one error, they had six passed balls.
SPORTS >> After one season, Beebe basketball coach moves on
IN SHORT: Parker lands with Midsouth Community College as Badgers begin search for replacement, hope to find continuity.
By Todd Traub
Leader sports editor
Beebe boys basketball coach Chris Parker has resigned after one season to take a job at Midsouth Community College in West Memphis.
The Badgers were 4-25 under Parker in his lone season after replacing Brian Martin, who left the previous year to coach his alma mater Greenwood.
“You take a chance but you try to plan around that,” said Beebe athletic director Jerry Jordan of the departures.
Jordan said the school would try to find Parker’s replacement as quickly as possible.
“Ideally it would be to fill it in the next couple of weeks, but we don’t know if that’s going to be realistic,” Jordan said.
Jordan said Beebe was advertising the vacancy in newspapers, online and through the Arkansas Activities Association.
“We’re in the process of bringing some candidates together to interview,” Jordan siad.
With Parker leaving after one year and his predecessor Martin leaving after two, Beebe, which last won a state boys basketball championship in 1941, is looking for someone wanting to make a long-term commitment as coach, Jordan said.
“I think what we have to have is someone who may want to settle in our community,” Jordan said. “It had been an issue to be honest. We’ve had some good coaches here. One was here two years but he left to go back to his hometown, you can’t blame a person for that.
“Coach Parker came to us and had a chance to go back to the college ranks, his first love.”
Jordan said it is hard to build a winning program without consistency at the top.
“Yes, it’s definitely been a disadvantage to our kids,” Jordan said. “One of the things we’re really hoping we can do is find someone who can add some stability to our program.”
But the ideal candidate also needs to be a quality coach and not just a Beebe homebody, Jordan said. The Badgers, who had no seniors last season and return four this year, will compete in the 5A-East Conference with Batesville, Blytheville, Forrest City, Greene Co. Tech, Nettleton, Paragould and Wynne.
“We want to try to find somebody that has some good experience because we’re in a tough league,” Jordan said. “Blytheville, Greene Co. Tech and Wynne, they’re state
contenders every year and we’ve got to have somebody that knows what they’re doing.”
Jordan said the rest of the basketball staff would handle duties like camps and sanctioned workouts until Parker’s replacement is found.
By Todd Traub
Leader sports editor
Beebe boys basketball coach Chris Parker has resigned after one season to take a job at Midsouth Community College in West Memphis.
The Badgers were 4-25 under Parker in his lone season after replacing Brian Martin, who left the previous year to coach his alma mater Greenwood.
“You take a chance but you try to plan around that,” said Beebe athletic director Jerry Jordan of the departures.
Jordan said the school would try to find Parker’s replacement as quickly as possible.
“Ideally it would be to fill it in the next couple of weeks, but we don’t know if that’s going to be realistic,” Jordan said.
Jordan said Beebe was advertising the vacancy in newspapers, online and through the Arkansas Activities Association.
“We’re in the process of bringing some candidates together to interview,” Jordan siad.
With Parker leaving after one year and his predecessor Martin leaving after two, Beebe, which last won a state boys basketball championship in 1941, is looking for someone wanting to make a long-term commitment as coach, Jordan said.
“I think what we have to have is someone who may want to settle in our community,” Jordan said. “It had been an issue to be honest. We’ve had some good coaches here. One was here two years but he left to go back to his hometown, you can’t blame a person for that.
“Coach Parker came to us and had a chance to go back to the college ranks, his first love.”
Jordan said it is hard to build a winning program without consistency at the top.
“Yes, it’s definitely been a disadvantage to our kids,” Jordan said. “One of the things we’re really hoping we can do is find someone who can add some stability to our program.”
But the ideal candidate also needs to be a quality coach and not just a Beebe homebody, Jordan said. The Badgers, who had no seniors last season and return four this year, will compete in the 5A-East Conference with Batesville, Blytheville, Forrest City, Greene Co. Tech, Nettleton, Paragould and Wynne.
“We want to try to find somebody that has some good experience because we’re in a tough league,” Jordan said. “Blytheville, Greene Co. Tech and Wynne, they’re state
contenders every year and we’ve got to have somebody that knows what they’re doing.”
Jordan said the rest of the basketball staff would handle duties like camps and sanctioned workouts until Parker’s replacement is found.
SPORTS >> Major league player
Former Cabot Panther Sam Bates drafted to Florida Marlins
Story by Todd Traub
Leader sports editor
Sam Bates had already earned the honor of being Cabot’s first baseball player to sign with the Razorbacks.
Now he is Cabot’s first Major League draft pick.
The Florida Marlins took Bates, a slugging first baseman at Crowder Community College, in the 39th round of the amateur draft Tuesday. Bates signed with Arkansas in the spring and now has the option of playing professional baseball instead.
“For us around here it’s kind of a rarity,” said Andy Runyan, who assists Cabot High School head coach Jay Fitch and coaches in the city’s American Legion program.
“Baseball tradition is not what Cabot is known for and Jay and I are just grinning from ear to ear,” Runyan said.
It has been a hectic time for Bates, who is coming off a trip to the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series with Crowder, located in Neosho, Mo. Bates did not immediately return a message left on his cell phone Friday because he was on his way to El Dorado, Kan., which plays in the collegiate summer wood-bat league and won the National Baseball Congress national championship last year.
The Crowder Roughriders went 1-2 in the NJCAA World Series, losing twice to eventual champion Iowa Western Community College and beating Alabama’s Faulkner State Community College 19-18.
Runyan said Bates may have helped his draft status with a wood-bat home run during the series.
“He wore it out this year, he hit over .400 his second year in a row,” Runyan said.
Bates hit .432 in the regular season and led the Roughriders in hits (82), doubles (20) and was second in home runs (13) and RBI (60).
Bates, a 6-4, left-handed power hitter, played third base and shortstop for Cabot then moved to first and the corner outfield spots at Crowder.
“He probably got into a defensive position that was more suited for him in college,” said Runyan, who coached Bates in American Legion.
Bates was a three-time all-conference selection for Cabot High School and had already provided his former coaches with a thrill when he became the first of Fitch’s former players to sign with the Hogs.
“He’s going to end up with better money and a better position,” Runyan said.
Now Bates has to decide if he wants to play for Arkansas, his long-time dream, for at least a season and possibly improve his status in next year’s draft or take the plunge into professional baseball with the Marlins now.
If Bates signs with the Marlins he would likely be sent to a short-season minor league team and begin his pro career later this month.
Otherwise Bates will report to Arkansas in the fall.
A good year with a high-profile program like Arkansas, which is competing in the NCAA Super Regional in Tempe, Ariz., this weekend, could get Bates drafted in an earlier round next June.
The Razorbacks had seven players selected this year, plus a handful of signees like Bates.
“I’m not sure what he’s thinking right now,” Runyan said. “He’s an outstanding student. He’s communicated to us he’s dreamed about being a Razorback since he was a kid.”
Story by Todd Traub
Leader sports editor
Sam Bates had already earned the honor of being Cabot’s first baseball player to sign with the Razorbacks.
Now he is Cabot’s first Major League draft pick.
The Florida Marlins took Bates, a slugging first baseman at Crowder Community College, in the 39th round of the amateur draft Tuesday. Bates signed with Arkansas in the spring and now has the option of playing professional baseball instead.
“For us around here it’s kind of a rarity,” said Andy Runyan, who assists Cabot High School head coach Jay Fitch and coaches in the city’s American Legion program.
“Baseball tradition is not what Cabot is known for and Jay and I are just grinning from ear to ear,” Runyan said.
It has been a hectic time for Bates, who is coming off a trip to the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series with Crowder, located in Neosho, Mo. Bates did not immediately return a message left on his cell phone Friday because he was on his way to El Dorado, Kan., which plays in the collegiate summer wood-bat league and won the National Baseball Congress national championship last year.
The Crowder Roughriders went 1-2 in the NJCAA World Series, losing twice to eventual champion Iowa Western Community College and beating Alabama’s Faulkner State Community College 19-18.
Runyan said Bates may have helped his draft status with a wood-bat home run during the series.
“He wore it out this year, he hit over .400 his second year in a row,” Runyan said.
Bates hit .432 in the regular season and led the Roughriders in hits (82), doubles (20) and was second in home runs (13) and RBI (60).
Bates, a 6-4, left-handed power hitter, played third base and shortstop for Cabot then moved to first and the corner outfield spots at Crowder.
“He probably got into a defensive position that was more suited for him in college,” said Runyan, who coached Bates in American Legion.
Bates was a three-time all-conference selection for Cabot High School and had already provided his former coaches with a thrill when he became the first of Fitch’s former players to sign with the Hogs.
“He’s going to end up with better money and a better position,” Runyan said.
Now Bates has to decide if he wants to play for Arkansas, his long-time dream, for at least a season and possibly improve his status in next year’s draft or take the plunge into professional baseball with the Marlins now.
If Bates signs with the Marlins he would likely be sent to a short-season minor league team and begin his pro career later this month.
Otherwise Bates will report to Arkansas in the fall.
A good year with a high-profile program like Arkansas, which is competing in the NCAA Super Regional in Tempe, Ariz., this weekend, could get Bates drafted in an earlier round next June.
The Razorbacks had seven players selected this year, plus a handful of signees like Bates.
“I’m not sure what he’s thinking right now,” Runyan said. “He’s an outstanding student. He’s communicated to us he’s dreamed about being a Razorback since he was a kid.”
SPORTS >> Sylvan Hills takes a 10-2 victory over Jacksonville
IN SHORT: Spears’ home run in sixth is a blow that stops Gwatney comeback in senior American Legion game on Tuesday night.
By Jason King
Leader sportswriter
Austin Spears hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Sylvan Hills a run-ruled, 10-2 victory over Jacksonville Gwatney Chevrolet in senior American Legion action at Sherwood’s Kevin McReynolds Field on Tuesday.
Jacksonville had runners in scoring position in the second and third innings but couldn’t capitalize while Sylvan Hills took a 5-0 lead entering the bottom of the third.
Jacksonville fought back with a pair of runs in the fourth, and Gwatney reliever Jarod Toney held Sylvan Hills scoreless in the bottom of the fourth and fifth.
But with two out and two on for Sylvan Hills in the bottom of the sixth, Jacksonville committed two errors leading to runs and set the stage for Spears, who hit a blast over the left-field wall for the eight-run lead after six innings that triggered the run rule and denied Jacksonville a final shot at the plate.
“We had mostly good defense,” Bruins coach Jim Fink said. “It’s still early, and we’ve still got a lot of work to do. The team is starting to play a little bit better together, but we’ve still got a long way to go.”
Korey Arnold worked four innings for the Bruins to get the victory and Josh Fortner relieved him to start the fifth. Arnold started the game with three strikeouts and gave up only two hits while striking out eight and walking four and was charged with both Gwatney runs.
Catcher Trey Sims set the tone for the Bruins in the bottom of the first with a home run over the left-field fence to make it 1-0. Michael Lamb walked Michael Lock to lead off the Sylvan Hills third and also walked Michael Maddox.
Sims came up big again with a two-RBI double down the third base line and scored when Spears tripled to deep right center to put the Bruins up 5-0.
Jacksonville got to a tiring Arnold in the top of the fourth when Patrick Castleberry led off with a double and Daniel Thurman walked two batters later. Both runners crossed the plate on passed balls in what turned out to be Sylvan Hills’ only defensive lapse.
Shortstop A.J. Allen made Jacksonville’s best defensive play in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Toney walked Justin Cook, then Maddox sent a dribbler to Allen, who fielded the ball and made the tag on Cook, then made a throw on the run to Lamb at first for the inning’s final out.
Toney walked Blake Rasdon to lead off the Sylvan Hills sixth, but got him out at second on Michael Lock’s bunt back to the mound.
Cook hit into a fielder’s choice that got Lock hung up between second and third for the second out.
Toney walked Maddox and Sims popped up to left center, but Gwatney’s D’Vone McClure lost the ball in the lights to allow Cook and Maddox to score. Arnold got a break when Allen misplayed a routine grounder at shortstop to set up Spears’ game-ending homer.
Spears was 3 for 4 with a home run, a double, five RBI and three runs. Sims was 2 for 3 with a home run, a triple, four RBI and two runs.
By Jason King
Leader sportswriter
Austin Spears hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Sylvan Hills a run-ruled, 10-2 victory over Jacksonville Gwatney Chevrolet in senior American Legion action at Sherwood’s Kevin McReynolds Field on Tuesday.
Jacksonville had runners in scoring position in the second and third innings but couldn’t capitalize while Sylvan Hills took a 5-0 lead entering the bottom of the third.
Jacksonville fought back with a pair of runs in the fourth, and Gwatney reliever Jarod Toney held Sylvan Hills scoreless in the bottom of the fourth and fifth.
But with two out and two on for Sylvan Hills in the bottom of the sixth, Jacksonville committed two errors leading to runs and set the stage for Spears, who hit a blast over the left-field wall for the eight-run lead after six innings that triggered the run rule and denied Jacksonville a final shot at the plate.
“We had mostly good defense,” Bruins coach Jim Fink said. “It’s still early, and we’ve still got a lot of work to do. The team is starting to play a little bit better together, but we’ve still got a long way to go.”
Korey Arnold worked four innings for the Bruins to get the victory and Josh Fortner relieved him to start the fifth. Arnold started the game with three strikeouts and gave up only two hits while striking out eight and walking four and was charged with both Gwatney runs.
Catcher Trey Sims set the tone for the Bruins in the bottom of the first with a home run over the left-field fence to make it 1-0. Michael Lamb walked Michael Lock to lead off the Sylvan Hills third and also walked Michael Maddox.
Sims came up big again with a two-RBI double down the third base line and scored when Spears tripled to deep right center to put the Bruins up 5-0.
Jacksonville got to a tiring Arnold in the top of the fourth when Patrick Castleberry led off with a double and Daniel Thurman walked two batters later. Both runners crossed the plate on passed balls in what turned out to be Sylvan Hills’ only defensive lapse.
Shortstop A.J. Allen made Jacksonville’s best defensive play in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Toney walked Justin Cook, then Maddox sent a dribbler to Allen, who fielded the ball and made the tag on Cook, then made a throw on the run to Lamb at first for the inning’s final out.
Toney walked Blake Rasdon to lead off the Sylvan Hills sixth, but got him out at second on Michael Lock’s bunt back to the mound.
Cook hit into a fielder’s choice that got Lock hung up between second and third for the second out.
Toney walked Maddox and Sims popped up to left center, but Gwatney’s D’Vone McClure lost the ball in the lights to allow Cook and Maddox to score. Arnold got a break when Allen misplayed a routine grounder at shortstop to set up Spears’ game-ending homer.
Spears was 3 for 4 with a home run, a double, five RBI and three runs. Sims was 2 for 3 with a home run, a triple, four RBI and two runs.
SPORTS >> Redman speaks on track
IN SHORT: Soft-spoken mod racer lets action do his talking on oval at Beebe Speedway.
By Jason King
Leader sportswriter
Beebe’s Ryan Redman prefers to let his actions on the track speak for themselves.
Because when it comes to speaking for himself, Redman isn’t quite as well versed as he is when behind the wheel.
Redman, one of the front-runners in the economy-modified class at Beebe Speedway, got his start five years ago in the fairly young division. The 23-year-old has earned the respect of his fellow drivers and developed a reputation as a solid, clean driver.
But those accomplishments haven’t translated to confidence when it comes to discussing his career with strangers, particularly strangers with tape recorders in hand.
“I’m not a very good guy to interview,” Redman said. “I’m not too interesting.”
Despite his claim, Redman has had an interesting start this season in the E-mod class at Beebe and at Conway County Super Speedway. Redman has a string of top-five finishes, including a feature victory at Conway County in Plumerville.
Redman has finished out of the top five only once in seven starts this year at Beebe. He began the season with a fifth-place run March 23, and started April strong with a third-place finish followed by a fourth.
His worst finish so far was 10th, but Redman helped himself in the season points standings two weeks ago with back-to-back top fives when the USCS sprint cars ran a Thursday Speedweek show. He finished second to winner Blake Jones on Thursday, and bounced back from an early spin in the Friday feature to finish fifth.
He earned his first feature victory at Plumerville last season, and now with a new car for this year and a number of consistent runs in the first half of the season, 2010 has the potential to be an interesting year for the young driver.
The self-described car buff caught the racing bug as a kid watching his uncle build racing chassis, but racing on an oval was not Redman’s first choice.
“I wanted to four wheeler race, but that’s too dangerous,” Redman said.
Redman has been nothing but consistent throughout his short career. His first season in 2006 resulted in a sixth-place points finish when Redman was still a teenager.
He finished fifth in the points standings in 2007 and 2008, and finished runner-up last year to champion Robert Woodard.
Redman works as an electrician during the week to support himself and his racing habit. His operation is family based, with dad Fred Redman serving as crew chief, his mom Christine serving as a one-person film crew and longtime friend John Douglass also helping out with the car.
“I like everything about racing,” Redman said. “It’s good for family — I don’t know how to explain it. I like the thrill and the challenge.”
Redman is clearly humble and a bit leery of the spotlight. But when discussing the car itself, Redman opens up.
“I’ve got a new car this year,” Redman said. “It’s a lot better than the one I’ve been racing the previous years. I’ve won two heat races this year — just waiting to win a feature.”
Drivers prefer different track conditions for different reasons. Redman likes the challenge of a dry-slick track, which is the most difficult condition to set up for and race on.
As the term implies, the track suffers from a complete lack of grip, and races more like an asphalt surface covered with ice rather than clay mud with tackiness.
The condition also lends itself to a lot of wheel spin, particularly with cars sporting big horsepower engines. Some racers even consider dry-slick conditions to be an equalizer between the horsepower haves and have-nots.
“It doesn’t usually take as much motor,” Redman said. “It’s just better for me.”
By Jason King
Leader sportswriter
Beebe’s Ryan Redman prefers to let his actions on the track speak for themselves.
Because when it comes to speaking for himself, Redman isn’t quite as well versed as he is when behind the wheel.
Redman, one of the front-runners in the economy-modified class at Beebe Speedway, got his start five years ago in the fairly young division. The 23-year-old has earned the respect of his fellow drivers and developed a reputation as a solid, clean driver.
But those accomplishments haven’t translated to confidence when it comes to discussing his career with strangers, particularly strangers with tape recorders in hand.
“I’m not a very good guy to interview,” Redman said. “I’m not too interesting.”
Despite his claim, Redman has had an interesting start this season in the E-mod class at Beebe and at Conway County Super Speedway. Redman has a string of top-five finishes, including a feature victory at Conway County in Plumerville.
Redman has finished out of the top five only once in seven starts this year at Beebe. He began the season with a fifth-place run March 23, and started April strong with a third-place finish followed by a fourth.
His worst finish so far was 10th, but Redman helped himself in the season points standings two weeks ago with back-to-back top fives when the USCS sprint cars ran a Thursday Speedweek show. He finished second to winner Blake Jones on Thursday, and bounced back from an early spin in the Friday feature to finish fifth.
He earned his first feature victory at Plumerville last season, and now with a new car for this year and a number of consistent runs in the first half of the season, 2010 has the potential to be an interesting year for the young driver.
The self-described car buff caught the racing bug as a kid watching his uncle build racing chassis, but racing on an oval was not Redman’s first choice.
“I wanted to four wheeler race, but that’s too dangerous,” Redman said.
Redman has been nothing but consistent throughout his short career. His first season in 2006 resulted in a sixth-place points finish when Redman was still a teenager.
He finished fifth in the points standings in 2007 and 2008, and finished runner-up last year to champion Robert Woodard.
Redman works as an electrician during the week to support himself and his racing habit. His operation is family based, with dad Fred Redman serving as crew chief, his mom Christine serving as a one-person film crew and longtime friend John Douglass also helping out with the car.
“I like everything about racing,” Redman said. “It’s good for family — I don’t know how to explain it. I like the thrill and the challenge.”
Redman is clearly humble and a bit leery of the spotlight. But when discussing the car itself, Redman opens up.
“I’ve got a new car this year,” Redman said. “It’s a lot better than the one I’ve been racing the previous years. I’ve won two heat races this year — just waiting to win a feature.”
Drivers prefer different track conditions for different reasons. Redman likes the challenge of a dry-slick track, which is the most difficult condition to set up for and race on.
As the term implies, the track suffers from a complete lack of grip, and races more like an asphalt surface covered with ice rather than clay mud with tackiness.
The condition also lends itself to a lot of wheel spin, particularly with cars sporting big horsepower engines. Some racers even consider dry-slick conditions to be an equalizer between the horsepower haves and have-nots.
“It doesn’t usually take as much motor,” Redman said. “It’s just better for me.”
EDITORIAL >> Blanche in trouble
Sen. Blanche Lincoln squeaked out a narrow victory in the Democratic runoff primary Tuesday, confounding the national media that had become enthralled with an Arkansas election for the first time in 35 years, since a young governor defeated the international icon J. William Fulbright for the Senate.
The election was supposed to be a barometer of the national mood, the extent to which people were furious with Washington and with incumbents and whether a waffling centrist Democrat could be ousted by the angry left, such as it is, in her own party. Those were good story lines for the pundits, but they had little to do with the Arkansas election.
The race between Lincoln and Lt. Gov. Bill Halter was as traditional as it gets. A weak senator with 12 years in the Senate and four in the House of Representatives under her belt barely withstood the challenge of an energetic politician whom too many traditional Democrats, even those of liberal persuasion, did not trust.
After a three-week runoff campaign marked by wasted extravagance and mindless demagoguery from both candidates and surrogate groups, neither side could get its voters back to the polls in big numbers. Lincoln lost 13,000 votes in the three weeks, but Halter lost even more, 16,000. With help from Bill Clinton and President Obama, Lincoln was able to get more of the Democratic faithful back to the polls even if they were not wildly enthusiastic.
The result was not a good portent for her in November. But she has a small glimmer of hope. Her Republican opponent is Rep. John Boozman, who is as close to a kindred spirit as one can be and hail from the other party. She is a waffling and undependable Democrat and he a somnolent Republican who votes in lockstep with the Republican leadership. When we say lockstep we mean 100 percent of the time. That is how the country got into the mess it’s in. She is not the best person to make that case, but it is at least a possibility.
Lincoln now will have to defend her vote for national health insurance and do it straightforwardly and unapologetically. That is about all that separates the two candidates, and he made it clear the day after the election that health insurance would be his big issue.
If she were a Dale Bumpers, she would educate the people of Arkansas on that complicated law and have them loving it by November. She has few options to trying it anyway. Maybe she could have Bumpers and David Pryor stand in for her. We’ll ask them.
—Ernie Dumas
The election was supposed to be a barometer of the national mood, the extent to which people were furious with Washington and with incumbents and whether a waffling centrist Democrat could be ousted by the angry left, such as it is, in her own party. Those were good story lines for the pundits, but they had little to do with the Arkansas election.
The race between Lincoln and Lt. Gov. Bill Halter was as traditional as it gets. A weak senator with 12 years in the Senate and four in the House of Representatives under her belt barely withstood the challenge of an energetic politician whom too many traditional Democrats, even those of liberal persuasion, did not trust.
After a three-week runoff campaign marked by wasted extravagance and mindless demagoguery from both candidates and surrogate groups, neither side could get its voters back to the polls in big numbers. Lincoln lost 13,000 votes in the three weeks, but Halter lost even more, 16,000. With help from Bill Clinton and President Obama, Lincoln was able to get more of the Democratic faithful back to the polls even if they were not wildly enthusiastic.
The result was not a good portent for her in November. But she has a small glimmer of hope. Her Republican opponent is Rep. John Boozman, who is as close to a kindred spirit as one can be and hail from the other party. She is a waffling and undependable Democrat and he a somnolent Republican who votes in lockstep with the Republican leadership. When we say lockstep we mean 100 percent of the time. That is how the country got into the mess it’s in. She is not the best person to make that case, but it is at least a possibility.
Lincoln now will have to defend her vote for national health insurance and do it straightforwardly and unapologetically. That is about all that separates the two candidates, and he made it clear the day after the election that health insurance would be his big issue.
If she were a Dale Bumpers, she would educate the people of Arkansas on that complicated law and have them loving it by November. She has few options to trying it anyway. Maybe she could have Bumpers and David Pryor stand in for her. We’ll ask them.
—Ernie Dumas
EDITORIAL >> Stone Age politicians
In the midst of the worst man-made ecological disaster in history and murderous fuel explosions in Texas, you would think that every political leader would have absorbed the earth’s urgent message that they do something now to curb the country’s appetite for fossil fuels.
But a sizable bloc of the U.S. Senate, which sadly includes our own two senators, cling to the idea of the 1970s that the government’s primary task is to satisfy the cravings for fossil-based energy and protect the profits of the energy companies. But they are, thankfully, a minority. The Senate on Thursday defeated a resolution pushed by the petroleum industry and electric utilities to stop the federal Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions, the principal cause of the earth’s warming.
The Clean Air Act, that great monument to President Richard M. Nixon, requires the EPA to regulate emissions that are harmful to public health and welfare. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled three years ago that the EPA could not duck its responsibility under the law to do that in the case of carbon dioxide tailpipe emissions.
So Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, aided by the Republican roll call in the Senate and our own Sen. Blanche Lincoln, set out to stop the regulation anyway. Murkowski and Lincoln, by the way, lead the U. S. Senate in election cash gleaned from the oil industry — $286,000 in this election cycle for Lincoln, who this week narrowly survived her primary challenge in Arkansas.
Lincoln has said she knew that the country needed to brake its petroleum consumption and convert to clean and renewable energy, both to curb global warming and to reduce the nation’s dependence on energy from the world’s most dangerous regions. But she thinks Congress should do all that by law rather than let the unelected EPA scientists and administrators do it, although there did not seem to be a problem with EPA setting pollution standards the past 35 years until it got to carbon dioxide. Sen. Mark Pryor said he supported the Murkowski-Lincoln resolution for the same reason: It is Congress’ duty to address these matters, and Congress is where the country will get its most dependable regulation.
We suspect that most people will not agree that Congress will do it just right. In fact, polls show an overwhelming majority of Americans support EPA regulation of greenhouse gases.
But here is the more compelling argument. It is disingenuous for Lincoln and the Republicans to say that the country should let Congress do it. The Senate is not going to act seriously on greenhouse gases and a new energy policy because the Republicans and a tiny band of Democrats, including Lincoln, will not permit it. She joined Republicans last year in opposing even a weak climate bill that created incentives to convert to clean, renewable energy.
She is not going to support an energy bill that the oil and gas industry, the big coal-burning electric companies like SWEPCO and the chamber of commerce do not support, and given the current composition of the Senate and the likely one after the elections, an effective energy law cannot be enacted without both Lincoln and Pryor. We hope we underestimate her.
Perhaps still another environmental cataclysm or scorching evidence of climate change would do the trick, but probably not. The Stone Age did not end when the earth ran out of stones but when man found better tools. Stone Age politicians did not have to deal with campaign and lobbying cash from the stone crushers. We may have to wait until we exhaust hydrocarbons to adapt. It would be nice to have the time.
But a sizable bloc of the U.S. Senate, which sadly includes our own two senators, cling to the idea of the 1970s that the government’s primary task is to satisfy the cravings for fossil-based energy and protect the profits of the energy companies. But they are, thankfully, a minority. The Senate on Thursday defeated a resolution pushed by the petroleum industry and electric utilities to stop the federal Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions, the principal cause of the earth’s warming.
The Clean Air Act, that great monument to President Richard M. Nixon, requires the EPA to regulate emissions that are harmful to public health and welfare. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled three years ago that the EPA could not duck its responsibility under the law to do that in the case of carbon dioxide tailpipe emissions.
So Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, aided by the Republican roll call in the Senate and our own Sen. Blanche Lincoln, set out to stop the regulation anyway. Murkowski and Lincoln, by the way, lead the U. S. Senate in election cash gleaned from the oil industry — $286,000 in this election cycle for Lincoln, who this week narrowly survived her primary challenge in Arkansas.
Lincoln has said she knew that the country needed to brake its petroleum consumption and convert to clean and renewable energy, both to curb global warming and to reduce the nation’s dependence on energy from the world’s most dangerous regions. But she thinks Congress should do all that by law rather than let the unelected EPA scientists and administrators do it, although there did not seem to be a problem with EPA setting pollution standards the past 35 years until it got to carbon dioxide. Sen. Mark Pryor said he supported the Murkowski-Lincoln resolution for the same reason: It is Congress’ duty to address these matters, and Congress is where the country will get its most dependable regulation.
We suspect that most people will not agree that Congress will do it just right. In fact, polls show an overwhelming majority of Americans support EPA regulation of greenhouse gases.
But here is the more compelling argument. It is disingenuous for Lincoln and the Republicans to say that the country should let Congress do it. The Senate is not going to act seriously on greenhouse gases and a new energy policy because the Republicans and a tiny band of Democrats, including Lincoln, will not permit it. She joined Republicans last year in opposing even a weak climate bill that created incentives to convert to clean, renewable energy.
She is not going to support an energy bill that the oil and gas industry, the big coal-burning electric companies like SWEPCO and the chamber of commerce do not support, and given the current composition of the Senate and the likely one after the elections, an effective energy law cannot be enacted without both Lincoln and Pryor. We hope we underestimate her.
Perhaps still another environmental cataclysm or scorching evidence of climate change would do the trick, but probably not. The Stone Age did not end when the earth ran out of stones but when man found better tools. Stone Age politicians did not have to deal with campaign and lobbying cash from the stone crushers. We may have to wait until we exhaust hydrocarbons to adapt. It would be nice to have the time.
TOP STORY >> C-130 deliveries replacing trucks
IN SHORT: Squadron is saving lives with flights instead of road deliveries.
By Amn. Rochelle Sollars
19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
The C-130s from Little Rock Air Force Base assigned to Iraq have helped replace 20,429 truck convoys in May, setting a record.
They are saving lives by taking thousands of military members off dangerous roads, where improvised-explosive devices are often set by insurgents.
Through the efforts of these airmen, the C-130s are a safer means of transportation for all branches of the military in combat zones.
“Twenty thousand (vehicles) is significant because every vehicle we take off IED-laden roads in Iraq and Afghanistan lowers the risk to soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines on the ground performing convoy duty,” said Col. David Kasberg, 19th Operations Group commander at Little Rock Air Force Base.
“By airlifting cargo and passengers, we also take a target away from the enemy, which undermines their information- operations campaign,” he added.
According to Col. Nathan Allerheiligen, commander of the 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, which coordinates the airlifts and airdrops, “It’s the mighty power of the Air Force mobility machine that enables the U.S. to be able to operate in austere locations like Iraq and Afghanistan.”
“The Dragon Warriors hauled over 15,000 passengers and logged nearly 1,000 effective sorties in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom,” said Allerheiligen. “Needless to say, I’m very proud of our operators and our adopted maintainers who have worked so diligently to hack the (mission).”
“The No. 1 hostile threat to lives of soldiers is roadside bombs, improvised explosive devices. Our adversary has learned how to create, hide and detonate sinister devices that can harm our soldiers traveling the roads of Iraq,” said Allerheiligen.
“By reducing the convoys, we reduce the number of vehicles, and thus, precious lives, who are exposed to those dangerous weapons.”
According to Allerheiligen, a typical bus carries about 40 people, without luggage, but a C-130 can carry 80 military personnel with their luggage. A flat-bed truck may carry four to six pallets, which is the same as a C-130’s cargo capacity.
“Thus, every mission is another opportunity to remove several trucks from having to carry stuff on the ground,” he said. “Occasionally, we actually carry the smaller trucks themselves.”
“The teamwork required to make these missions happen is incredible,” Kasberg said. “It really takes the entire (Department of Defense) team, military and civilian, to make every sortie effective.”
“Every training sortie conducted at Little Rock Air Force Base is one more combat airlifter ready to take convoys off the roads,” Kasberg said.
“Combat resupply, whether through airland or airdrop operations, is what we in the air mobility world live for,” said Kasberg. “It isn’t as glamorous as putting bombs on target, but the effect of getting the right cargo and passengers to the right destination on time every time is what enables the U.S. and its coalition partners to be successful.”
“The Air Force is all in. The earliest legacies of air power come from our ability to haul men, material and equipment over vast distances,” said Allerheiligen. “The heritage started through great operations like ‘The Hump’ and the Berlin Airlift.
(The) are continued today through the efforts of airmen who are delivering the goods all over the world, but especially within Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.”
By Amn. Rochelle Sollars
19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
The C-130s from Little Rock Air Force Base assigned to Iraq have helped replace 20,429 truck convoys in May, setting a record.
They are saving lives by taking thousands of military members off dangerous roads, where improvised-explosive devices are often set by insurgents.
Through the efforts of these airmen, the C-130s are a safer means of transportation for all branches of the military in combat zones.
“Twenty thousand (vehicles) is significant because every vehicle we take off IED-laden roads in Iraq and Afghanistan lowers the risk to soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines on the ground performing convoy duty,” said Col. David Kasberg, 19th Operations Group commander at Little Rock Air Force Base.
“By airlifting cargo and passengers, we also take a target away from the enemy, which undermines their information- operations campaign,” he added.
According to Col. Nathan Allerheiligen, commander of the 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, which coordinates the airlifts and airdrops, “It’s the mighty power of the Air Force mobility machine that enables the U.S. to be able to operate in austere locations like Iraq and Afghanistan.”
“The Dragon Warriors hauled over 15,000 passengers and logged nearly 1,000 effective sorties in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom,” said Allerheiligen. “Needless to say, I’m very proud of our operators and our adopted maintainers who have worked so diligently to hack the (mission).”
“The No. 1 hostile threat to lives of soldiers is roadside bombs, improvised explosive devices. Our adversary has learned how to create, hide and detonate sinister devices that can harm our soldiers traveling the roads of Iraq,” said Allerheiligen.
“By reducing the convoys, we reduce the number of vehicles, and thus, precious lives, who are exposed to those dangerous weapons.”
According to Allerheiligen, a typical bus carries about 40 people, without luggage, but a C-130 can carry 80 military personnel with their luggage. A flat-bed truck may carry four to six pallets, which is the same as a C-130’s cargo capacity.
“Thus, every mission is another opportunity to remove several trucks from having to carry stuff on the ground,” he said. “Occasionally, we actually carry the smaller trucks themselves.”
“The teamwork required to make these missions happen is incredible,” Kasberg said. “It really takes the entire (Department of Defense) team, military and civilian, to make every sortie effective.”
“Every training sortie conducted at Little Rock Air Force Base is one more combat airlifter ready to take convoys off the roads,” Kasberg said.
“Combat resupply, whether through airland or airdrop operations, is what we in the air mobility world live for,” said Kasberg. “It isn’t as glamorous as putting bombs on target, but the effect of getting the right cargo and passengers to the right destination on time every time is what enables the U.S. and its coalition partners to be successful.”
“The Air Force is all in. The earliest legacies of air power come from our ability to haul men, material and equipment over vast distances,” said Allerheiligen. “The heritage started through great operations like ‘The Hump’ and the Berlin Airlift.
(The) are continued today through the efforts of airmen who are delivering the goods all over the world, but especially within Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.”
TOP STORY >> PCSSD scores below average
IN SHORT: Arnold Drive tops district at multiple grade levels, but it’s not enough.
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Every fifth-grade student at Arnold Drive Elementary School scored proficient or advanced on the annual benchmark exam, but even though 100 percent of students did well, it was not enough to push the district past the state average.
Based on a 55-page report from the district, Pulaski County Special School District students did make gains in most areas of the state and federally mandated benchmark exam, but still ended under the state average at all grade levels.
Third-, fourth- and fifth- grade students were close to pulling even with the state average, but the gap widens for sixth-, seventh- and eight-graders.
Students in grades third through eight, took the benchmark exams in literacy, math and science in April. According to No Child Left Behind requirements, students are required to score proficient or advanced in literacy and math by the end of the 2013-2014 school year. No deadline has been set yet for all students to be proficient or better in science.
For this year, schools and districts should have about 70 percent or more of their students scoring proficient or better.
Bright spots in the preliminary test data provided by PCSSD included:
• Arnold Drive fourth- and fifth-graders topped the district in math and literacy. At the third- grade level, Arnold Drive students were first in the district in math and second only to Chenal in literacy.
• At the sixth-grade level, Northwood Middle and the girls at Jacksonville Middle topped the district in math.
Even though the boys and girls campuses of Jacksonville Middle School have been combined back into one campus, the scores were still gender segregated.
• Northwood Middle School eighth-graders were the best in the District on the literacy section of the benchmark.
• Warren Dupree third-graders had the largest gains in the district between 2009 and 2010, going up 36 percent in math and 34 percent in literacy.
• The seventh-grade boys at Jacksonville Middle School jumped 25 percent in literacy and 21 percent in math from 2009 to this year.
Points of concern include:
•The district score dropped 5 percent from 2009 for sixth-graders taking the math portion of the test and dropped 2 percent for eighth graders taking the math portion.
• No sixth-grade or seventh-grade school in the district reached required levels in literacy and no eighth-grade school made the required annual yearly progress in math.
Based on scores, students are placed in one of four categories: Advanced, proficient, basic and below basic.
Students scoring advanced on a segment of the benchmark test are said to be fully ready for the next grade (basically the equivalent of an A); proficient means the student would occasionally need some help or assistance (the general equivalent of a B).
A student with a basic score would struggle in the next grade or level and need lots of help (the general equivalency of a C) and a student is below basic is not ready for the next grade without near constant help or assistance.
At the third-grade level in math, the state average was 83 percent proficient or advanced and PCSSD had a proficient or better rate of 81 percent. In literacy, the state was 71 percent with the district coming in at 66 percent.
In the fourth grade, the state average in the math segment of the benchmark was 80 percent proficient or advanced and at the district level that dropped to 77 percent. In literacy, the state average was 77 percent and the district almost matched that, coming in at 76 percent proficient or advanced.
At the fifth-grade level on the math portion, the state average was 74 percent and the district average was 66 percent. In literacy, the state had 74 percent of its students score proficient or better and the district was one point off at 73 percent.
For sixth-graders, the state average on the math portion was 75 percent and the district was 12 points off that pace at 63 percent proficient or better. In literacy, the state average was 71 percent and the district’s average was 59 percent.
At the seventh-grade level, 75 percent of the students across the state were proficient or better on the math exam, but for PCSSD that fell to 67 percent. In literacy the state average was 68 percent and the district dipped to 59 percent.
For eighth-graders, 63 percent of the students across the state were proficient or advanced at math. At the district level, it was 49 percent. In literacy, the state average was 76 percent and the district average was 67 percent.
Third grade
Arnold Drive and Warren Dupree had the best math scores with 96 percent of their third graders scoring proficient or advanced on the math segment of the benchmark. At Bayou Meto, 92 percent of the students made the grade.
In fact, only three schools failed to reach the annual yearly progress rate of 70 percent. Pinewood had 69 percent of its students score proficient or advanced, Murrell Taylor was at 57 percent and Harris had 47 percent of its students making the cut.
At other area schools, Sylvan Hills and Cato had 88 percent of their students score proficient or advanced, Clinton was at 83 percent proficient or better, Oakbrooke at 80 percent, Tolleson at 75 percent, Sherwood Elementary at 72 percent and Jacksonville Elementary had 71 percent of its students at proficient or better.
On the literacy portion of the state exam, Arnold Drive had the second best scores in the district with 89 percent of its students scoring proficient or advanced.
Eight area schools failed to reach the annual yearly progress rate of 71.2 percent. They were Clinton Elementary, where 69 percent of its students scored proficient or advanced; Tolleson was at 65 percent; Oakbrooke at 61 percent; Sherwood at 57 percent; Murrell Taylor at 52 percent; Pinewood at 50 percent; Jacksonville at 42 percent, and Harris had 41 percent of its students score proficient or better.
Fourth grade
Arnold Drive fourth-graders topped the district in the math portion of the state test with 96 percent of its students scoring proficient or advanced. At Bayou Meto, 91 percent of its students were proficient or better.
Four area schools fell below the annual yearly progress rate of 70 percent. They were Pinewood at 67 percent proficient or advanced, Jacksonville at 66 percent, Murrell Taylor at 64 percent and Harris at 55 percent.
At other area schools, Dupree was 84 percent proficient or advanced, Tolleson was 83 percent, Oakbrooke at 81 percent, Cato at 80 percent, Clinton and Sylvan Hills both had 77 percent of their students at proficient or advanced and Sherwood at 72 percent.
Arnold Drive students also topped the district in literacy with 96 percent of its fourth-graders scoring proficient or better.
Four schools scored below the required baseline of 71.2 percent. They were Sherwood Elementary at 67 percent proficient or better, Jacksonville at 61 percent, Harris at 60 percent and Murrell Taylor at 58 percent.
Other scores include Warren Dupree with 84 percent of its students at proficient or better, Tolleson at 81 percent, Cato and Oakbrooke both at 78 percent, Clinton at 77 percent, Bayou Meto at 74 percent, Sylvan Hills at 73 percent and Pinewood at 72 percent.
Fifth grade
Arnold Drive fifth-graders were perfect on the math portion of the state exam with 100 percent scoring proficient or better. But things fell off fast from there with eight schools not making the grade.
Falling below the 70 percent annual yearly progress rate were Oakbrooke at 68 percent, Sylvan Hills at 67 percent, Sherwood at 63 percent, Clinton at 57 percent, Jacksonville at 56 percent, Pinewood at 52 percent, Murrell Taylor at 42 percent and Harris Elementary had only 37 percent of its fifth-graders score proficient or better.
Between Arnold Drive and the under-performing schools were Cato with 75 percent of its students proficient or advanced, Warren Dupree and Tolleson at 74 percent, and Bayou Meto with 72 percent of its students making the grade.
In literacy, Arnold Drive was again the top school in the district as 92 percent of its fifth-graders scored proficient or advanced.
Sherwood just missed the required baseline average of 71.2 percent as 71 percent of its students were proficient or advanced.
Also missing the cut were Pinewood at 70 percent, Jacksonville at 67 percent, Murrell Taylor at 50 percent and Harris at 41 percent.
At other area schools, Cato had 82 percent of its students at proficient or advanced, Tolleson was at 80 percent, Oakbrook and Sylvan Hills were at 76 percent, Warren Dupree was at 74 percent, Clinton was at 73 percent and Bayou Meto at 72 percent of its students scored proficient or better.
Sixth grade
The Jacksonville Middle School sixth-grade girls and Northwood Middle students had the best math scores in the district with 70 percent at proficient or better.
Both Sylvan Hills, at 61 percent proficient or advanced, and the boys at Jacksonville Middle School, at 55 percent, were below the annual yearly progress rate of 64.55 percent.
On the literacy portion of the test, not a single PCSSD school topped the annual yearly progress rate of 67.6 percent.
Sylvan Hills Middle was closest at 63 percent, Northwood had 62 percent, the girls at Jacksonville Middle were at 60 percent proficient or better, and the boys at Jacksonville Middle were a dismal 32 percent.
Seventh grade
On the math portion of the state and federally mandated exams, Northwood Middle students were second best in the district with 73 percent scoring proficient or advanced.
Northwood was the only area school to be above the baseline mark of 64.55 percent.
The Jacksonville Middle School boys were at 64 percent, Sylvan Hills Middle School was at 61 percent and 54 percent of the girls at Jacksonville Middle School scored proficient of higher.
On the literacy portion, no school in the district reached the annual yearly progress rate of 67.6 percent.
Sylvan Hills Middle had 61 percent of its students score proficient or advance, Northwood Middle had 59 percent and only 49 percent of the girls and 48 percent of the boys at Jacksonville Middle School were proficient or better.
Eighth grade
No district eighth- grade school reached the baseline rate of 65 percent on the math portion of the benchmark.
Northwood Middle had 54 percent of its students score proficient or advanced, Sylvan Hills Middle had 45 percent, and only 33 percent of the boys and 27 percent of the girls at Jacksonville Middle School made the cut.
On the literacy portion of the benchmark, Northwood had 78 percent of its students at proficient or better, and Sylvan Hills Middle School was at 70 percent.
Both the boys and the girls at Jacksonville Middle School were below the annual yearly progress rate of 67.6 percent, with the girls registering 58 percent and the boys at 44 percent.
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Every fifth-grade student at Arnold Drive Elementary School scored proficient or advanced on the annual benchmark exam, but even though 100 percent of students did well, it was not enough to push the district past the state average.
Based on a 55-page report from the district, Pulaski County Special School District students did make gains in most areas of the state and federally mandated benchmark exam, but still ended under the state average at all grade levels.
Third-, fourth- and fifth- grade students were close to pulling even with the state average, but the gap widens for sixth-, seventh- and eight-graders.
Students in grades third through eight, took the benchmark exams in literacy, math and science in April. According to No Child Left Behind requirements, students are required to score proficient or advanced in literacy and math by the end of the 2013-2014 school year. No deadline has been set yet for all students to be proficient or better in science.
For this year, schools and districts should have about 70 percent or more of their students scoring proficient or better.
Bright spots in the preliminary test data provided by PCSSD included:
• Arnold Drive fourth- and fifth-graders topped the district in math and literacy. At the third- grade level, Arnold Drive students were first in the district in math and second only to Chenal in literacy.
• At the sixth-grade level, Northwood Middle and the girls at Jacksonville Middle topped the district in math.
Even though the boys and girls campuses of Jacksonville Middle School have been combined back into one campus, the scores were still gender segregated.
• Northwood Middle School eighth-graders were the best in the District on the literacy section of the benchmark.
• Warren Dupree third-graders had the largest gains in the district between 2009 and 2010, going up 36 percent in math and 34 percent in literacy.
• The seventh-grade boys at Jacksonville Middle School jumped 25 percent in literacy and 21 percent in math from 2009 to this year.
Points of concern include:
•The district score dropped 5 percent from 2009 for sixth-graders taking the math portion of the test and dropped 2 percent for eighth graders taking the math portion.
• No sixth-grade or seventh-grade school in the district reached required levels in literacy and no eighth-grade school made the required annual yearly progress in math.
Based on scores, students are placed in one of four categories: Advanced, proficient, basic and below basic.
Students scoring advanced on a segment of the benchmark test are said to be fully ready for the next grade (basically the equivalent of an A); proficient means the student would occasionally need some help or assistance (the general equivalent of a B).
A student with a basic score would struggle in the next grade or level and need lots of help (the general equivalency of a C) and a student is below basic is not ready for the next grade without near constant help or assistance.
At the third-grade level in math, the state average was 83 percent proficient or advanced and PCSSD had a proficient or better rate of 81 percent. In literacy, the state was 71 percent with the district coming in at 66 percent.
In the fourth grade, the state average in the math segment of the benchmark was 80 percent proficient or advanced and at the district level that dropped to 77 percent. In literacy, the state average was 77 percent and the district almost matched that, coming in at 76 percent proficient or advanced.
At the fifth-grade level on the math portion, the state average was 74 percent and the district average was 66 percent. In literacy, the state had 74 percent of its students score proficient or better and the district was one point off at 73 percent.
For sixth-graders, the state average on the math portion was 75 percent and the district was 12 points off that pace at 63 percent proficient or better. In literacy, the state average was 71 percent and the district’s average was 59 percent.
At the seventh-grade level, 75 percent of the students across the state were proficient or better on the math exam, but for PCSSD that fell to 67 percent. In literacy the state average was 68 percent and the district dipped to 59 percent.
For eighth-graders, 63 percent of the students across the state were proficient or advanced at math. At the district level, it was 49 percent. In literacy, the state average was 76 percent and the district average was 67 percent.
Third grade
Arnold Drive and Warren Dupree had the best math scores with 96 percent of their third graders scoring proficient or advanced on the math segment of the benchmark. At Bayou Meto, 92 percent of the students made the grade.
In fact, only three schools failed to reach the annual yearly progress rate of 70 percent. Pinewood had 69 percent of its students score proficient or advanced, Murrell Taylor was at 57 percent and Harris had 47 percent of its students making the cut.
At other area schools, Sylvan Hills and Cato had 88 percent of their students score proficient or advanced, Clinton was at 83 percent proficient or better, Oakbrooke at 80 percent, Tolleson at 75 percent, Sherwood Elementary at 72 percent and Jacksonville Elementary had 71 percent of its students at proficient or better.
On the literacy portion of the state exam, Arnold Drive had the second best scores in the district with 89 percent of its students scoring proficient or advanced.
Eight area schools failed to reach the annual yearly progress rate of 71.2 percent. They were Clinton Elementary, where 69 percent of its students scored proficient or advanced; Tolleson was at 65 percent; Oakbrooke at 61 percent; Sherwood at 57 percent; Murrell Taylor at 52 percent; Pinewood at 50 percent; Jacksonville at 42 percent, and Harris had 41 percent of its students score proficient or better.
Fourth grade
Arnold Drive fourth-graders topped the district in the math portion of the state test with 96 percent of its students scoring proficient or advanced. At Bayou Meto, 91 percent of its students were proficient or better.
Four area schools fell below the annual yearly progress rate of 70 percent. They were Pinewood at 67 percent proficient or advanced, Jacksonville at 66 percent, Murrell Taylor at 64 percent and Harris at 55 percent.
At other area schools, Dupree was 84 percent proficient or advanced, Tolleson was 83 percent, Oakbrooke at 81 percent, Cato at 80 percent, Clinton and Sylvan Hills both had 77 percent of their students at proficient or advanced and Sherwood at 72 percent.
Arnold Drive students also topped the district in literacy with 96 percent of its fourth-graders scoring proficient or better.
Four schools scored below the required baseline of 71.2 percent. They were Sherwood Elementary at 67 percent proficient or better, Jacksonville at 61 percent, Harris at 60 percent and Murrell Taylor at 58 percent.
Other scores include Warren Dupree with 84 percent of its students at proficient or better, Tolleson at 81 percent, Cato and Oakbrooke both at 78 percent, Clinton at 77 percent, Bayou Meto at 74 percent, Sylvan Hills at 73 percent and Pinewood at 72 percent.
Fifth grade
Arnold Drive fifth-graders were perfect on the math portion of the state exam with 100 percent scoring proficient or better. But things fell off fast from there with eight schools not making the grade.
Falling below the 70 percent annual yearly progress rate were Oakbrooke at 68 percent, Sylvan Hills at 67 percent, Sherwood at 63 percent, Clinton at 57 percent, Jacksonville at 56 percent, Pinewood at 52 percent, Murrell Taylor at 42 percent and Harris Elementary had only 37 percent of its fifth-graders score proficient or better.
Between Arnold Drive and the under-performing schools were Cato with 75 percent of its students proficient or advanced, Warren Dupree and Tolleson at 74 percent, and Bayou Meto with 72 percent of its students making the grade.
In literacy, Arnold Drive was again the top school in the district as 92 percent of its fifth-graders scored proficient or advanced.
Sherwood just missed the required baseline average of 71.2 percent as 71 percent of its students were proficient or advanced.
Also missing the cut were Pinewood at 70 percent, Jacksonville at 67 percent, Murrell Taylor at 50 percent and Harris at 41 percent.
At other area schools, Cato had 82 percent of its students at proficient or advanced, Tolleson was at 80 percent, Oakbrook and Sylvan Hills were at 76 percent, Warren Dupree was at 74 percent, Clinton was at 73 percent and Bayou Meto at 72 percent of its students scored proficient or better.
Sixth grade
The Jacksonville Middle School sixth-grade girls and Northwood Middle students had the best math scores in the district with 70 percent at proficient or better.
Both Sylvan Hills, at 61 percent proficient or advanced, and the boys at Jacksonville Middle School, at 55 percent, were below the annual yearly progress rate of 64.55 percent.
On the literacy portion of the test, not a single PCSSD school topped the annual yearly progress rate of 67.6 percent.
Sylvan Hills Middle was closest at 63 percent, Northwood had 62 percent, the girls at Jacksonville Middle were at 60 percent proficient or better, and the boys at Jacksonville Middle were a dismal 32 percent.
Seventh grade
On the math portion of the state and federally mandated exams, Northwood Middle students were second best in the district with 73 percent scoring proficient or advanced.
Northwood was the only area school to be above the baseline mark of 64.55 percent.
The Jacksonville Middle School boys were at 64 percent, Sylvan Hills Middle School was at 61 percent and 54 percent of the girls at Jacksonville Middle School scored proficient of higher.
On the literacy portion, no school in the district reached the annual yearly progress rate of 67.6 percent.
Sylvan Hills Middle had 61 percent of its students score proficient or advance, Northwood Middle had 59 percent and only 49 percent of the girls and 48 percent of the boys at Jacksonville Middle School were proficient or better.
Eighth grade
No district eighth- grade school reached the baseline rate of 65 percent on the math portion of the benchmark.
Northwood Middle had 54 percent of its students score proficient or advanced, Sylvan Hills Middle had 45 percent, and only 33 percent of the boys and 27 percent of the girls at Jacksonville Middle School made the cut.
On the literacy portion of the benchmark, Northwood had 78 percent of its students at proficient or better, and Sylvan Hills Middle School was at 70 percent.
Both the boys and the girls at Jacksonville Middle School were below the annual yearly progress rate of 67.6 percent, with the girls registering 58 percent and the boys at 44 percent.
TOP STORY >> Elliott eager to build on primary win
IN SHORT: Optimistic Elliott hits ground running after primary runoff victory, but faces tough challenger.
By John Hofheimer
Leader senior staff writer
Fresh on the heels of an impressive 55 percent to 45 percent Democratic primary runoff victory against Robbie Wills Tuesday, state Sen. Joyce Elliott by Thursday was already hard at work, campaigning to become Arkansas’ first black congressman.
Actually, Elliott says, she’s not running to be the first black elected to Congress from Arkansas, but simply to be the next to hold the Second Congressional District seat currently occupied by Rep. Vic Snyder, a popular progressive.
“I’m not sure I accept that race is a factor,” Elliott said during a rainy-day phone interview wedged between two appearances. “I don’t think it’s going to be a factor. Most people have gotten past that.”
Elliott was the clear leader of the five-person May 18 Democratic primary with 40 percent of the vote, while Wills got 28 percent.
Wills has said he would fully support Elliott in her November general election race against Republican Tim Griffin, a Karl Rove protege who replaced Bud Cummins as interim U.S. Attorney in a political move by the Bush administration.
Griffin defeated Scott Wallace in the Republican primary.
Elliott said she would welcome support by President Barack Obama, who carried only four Arkansas counties in his victory over Sen. John McCain in 2008. Pulaski County was one of those four counties.
“I’m glad this first phase is over,” Elliott said. “When I look back, it was as much work as I thought it would be, but some of the most exhilarating. My victory affirms how important it is to lift up politics. We don’t have to reduce ourselves to the lowest terms to get our point across and represent our beliefs.”
Wills sent out campaign mailers widely decried as dishonestly misrepresenting Elliott’s beliefs and record.
How does she feel about that?
“I have made it a practice all my life that what’s done is done, move on to the next thing. It’s important to lose with grace, but essential to win with grace.”
The key to winning in November is one-on-one campaigning, activating a small group in every county and building coalitions, she said.
“I’m making sure people know what my record is and what I stand for. It’s my responsibility to make sure that what’s real is what’s represented.”
As Senate majority leader and during her tenure in both Arkansas houses, she said she had “brought people together working for education and health care and working on issues that have to do with good jobs and living wages, and being fiscally responsible. That’s what my record reflects.
“I am an even-handed type of policy person. I don’t believe all the power should go to any one side. Any close examination of my record will show that.”
She said she expects an aggressive, issue-oriented campaign from her opponent. “We’ll have many opportunities to distinguish our differences and showcase some of the things we agree on,” she said.
She expects a lot of support from Pulaski County, which she won in the primary and which carried Snyder to victory even when he lost all his other counties.
“But I’m going to build alliances in every one of those counties outside of Pulaski,” Elliott said.
She needs to raise new campaign funds, but said there would be a coordinated campaign of the state’s Democrats, including Gov. Mike Beebe, aspiring secretary of state Pat O’Brien, the other candidates for constitutional offices and Sen. Blanche Lincoln, which would concentrate support.
“Everybody comes together and works together,” she said.
By John Hofheimer
Leader senior staff writer
Fresh on the heels of an impressive 55 percent to 45 percent Democratic primary runoff victory against Robbie Wills Tuesday, state Sen. Joyce Elliott by Thursday was already hard at work, campaigning to become Arkansas’ first black congressman.
Actually, Elliott says, she’s not running to be the first black elected to Congress from Arkansas, but simply to be the next to hold the Second Congressional District seat currently occupied by Rep. Vic Snyder, a popular progressive.
“I’m not sure I accept that race is a factor,” Elliott said during a rainy-day phone interview wedged between two appearances. “I don’t think it’s going to be a factor. Most people have gotten past that.”
Elliott was the clear leader of the five-person May 18 Democratic primary with 40 percent of the vote, while Wills got 28 percent.
Wills has said he would fully support Elliott in her November general election race against Republican Tim Griffin, a Karl Rove protege who replaced Bud Cummins as interim U.S. Attorney in a political move by the Bush administration.
Griffin defeated Scott Wallace in the Republican primary.
Elliott said she would welcome support by President Barack Obama, who carried only four Arkansas counties in his victory over Sen. John McCain in 2008. Pulaski County was one of those four counties.
“I’m glad this first phase is over,” Elliott said. “When I look back, it was as much work as I thought it would be, but some of the most exhilarating. My victory affirms how important it is to lift up politics. We don’t have to reduce ourselves to the lowest terms to get our point across and represent our beliefs.”
Wills sent out campaign mailers widely decried as dishonestly misrepresenting Elliott’s beliefs and record.
How does she feel about that?
“I have made it a practice all my life that what’s done is done, move on to the next thing. It’s important to lose with grace, but essential to win with grace.”
The key to winning in November is one-on-one campaigning, activating a small group in every county and building coalitions, she said.
“I’m making sure people know what my record is and what I stand for. It’s my responsibility to make sure that what’s real is what’s represented.”
As Senate majority leader and during her tenure in both Arkansas houses, she said she had “brought people together working for education and health care and working on issues that have to do with good jobs and living wages, and being fiscally responsible. That’s what my record reflects.
“I am an even-handed type of policy person. I don’t believe all the power should go to any one side. Any close examination of my record will show that.”
She said she expects an aggressive, issue-oriented campaign from her opponent. “We’ll have many opportunities to distinguish our differences and showcase some of the things we agree on,” she said.
She expects a lot of support from Pulaski County, which she won in the primary and which carried Snyder to victory even when he lost all his other counties.
“But I’m going to build alliances in every one of those counties outside of Pulaski,” Elliott said.
She needs to raise new campaign funds, but said there would be a coordinated campaign of the state’s Democrats, including Gov. Mike Beebe, aspiring secretary of state Pat O’Brien, the other candidates for constitutional offices and Sen. Blanche Lincoln, which would concentrate support.
“Everybody comes together and works together,” she said.
TOP STORY >> O’Brien switches focus to fall race
IN SHORT: Jacksonville native wins big, enjoys the lull before the general election.
By John Hofheimer
Leader staff writer
With his landslide Democratic primary victory for his party’s nomination as secretary of state in the rearview mirror, Pat O’Brien says he’s going to take a week or two off from actively campaigning to recharge his batteries, then start working toward a November general election victory over Rep. Mark Martin, his Republican opponent.
“Then tell why I’m the best qualified for the job and move on through November,” he said.
Batteries aren’t all he needs to charge for the impending race. The coffers are empty, he said. His campaign spent all of the $425,000 raised for the primary and the runoff, said the Jacksonville native, businessman and lawyer.
O’Brien said he didn’t know how much he would need to raise to run a successful campaign in November, but that in the next few days he would start working on a budget.
“Jacksonville and Pulaski County are the backbone of my campaign,” he said.
“We’ll do a lot of what we did before,” he said, “travel the state and build the momentum to where it will climax in November.”
Although there hasn’t been a Republican secretary of state in at least 100 years, O’Brien said, “I’m not going to rest on my laurels.”
He said the electorate is campaign-weary right now. “I don’t think anyone wants to see (campaign) TV commercials anytime soon. But this is not the end but the end of the beginning,” he said.
As for the general election campaign, “I will emphasize northwest Arkansas more. In terms of the Democratic primary, that area doesn’t perform as well in the primaries, but I would hazard a guess that the Third District might (have) the highest voting percentage.”
“I’m going after independents and moderate Republicans in addition to Democrats,” he said.
O’Brien said Democrats would run a coordinated campaign in November and that money would be spent more efficiently—and that he might not have to raise as much as he needed to defeat Doris Tate and Mark Wilcox in the primary.
“I’ve talked with Wilcox and Tate, and both are on board and will work hard to bring their supporters into the fold pretty quickly,” he said.
O’Brien said if he is elected, he would probably bring some people from his leadership team in the Pulaski County/Circuit Clerk’s office with him to the new office.
“I haven’t made any decisions but I always have the same philosophy—the best player plays. (The secretary of state’s office has) 160 employees and I’m sure a lot of them would stay.”
“I cannot thank enough the people of Arkansas who supported me during this race,” he said.
By John Hofheimer
Leader staff writer
With his landslide Democratic primary victory for his party’s nomination as secretary of state in the rearview mirror, Pat O’Brien says he’s going to take a week or two off from actively campaigning to recharge his batteries, then start working toward a November general election victory over Rep. Mark Martin, his Republican opponent.
“Then tell why I’m the best qualified for the job and move on through November,” he said.
Batteries aren’t all he needs to charge for the impending race. The coffers are empty, he said. His campaign spent all of the $425,000 raised for the primary and the runoff, said the Jacksonville native, businessman and lawyer.
O’Brien said he didn’t know how much he would need to raise to run a successful campaign in November, but that in the next few days he would start working on a budget.
“Jacksonville and Pulaski County are the backbone of my campaign,” he said.
“We’ll do a lot of what we did before,” he said, “travel the state and build the momentum to where it will climax in November.”
Although there hasn’t been a Republican secretary of state in at least 100 years, O’Brien said, “I’m not going to rest on my laurels.”
He said the electorate is campaign-weary right now. “I don’t think anyone wants to see (campaign) TV commercials anytime soon. But this is not the end but the end of the beginning,” he said.
As for the general election campaign, “I will emphasize northwest Arkansas more. In terms of the Democratic primary, that area doesn’t perform as well in the primaries, but I would hazard a guess that the Third District might (have) the highest voting percentage.”
“I’m going after independents and moderate Republicans in addition to Democrats,” he said.
O’Brien said Democrats would run a coordinated campaign in November and that money would be spent more efficiently—and that he might not have to raise as much as he needed to defeat Doris Tate and Mark Wilcox in the primary.
“I’ve talked with Wilcox and Tate, and both are on board and will work hard to bring their supporters into the fold pretty quickly,” he said.
O’Brien said if he is elected, he would probably bring some people from his leadership team in the Pulaski County/Circuit Clerk’s office with him to the new office.
“I haven’t made any decisions but I always have the same philosophy—the best player plays. (The secretary of state’s office has) 160 employees and I’m sure a lot of them would stay.”
“I cannot thank enough the people of Arkansas who supported me during this race,” he said.
TOP STORY >> Audit shows PCSSD fast and loose with money
By John Hofheimer
Leader senior staff writer
The Pulaski County Special School Board on Friday afternoon reversed itself, implementing for the first time a “no-cash-advance” policy for traveling board members, just hours after the state Legislative Audit Committee chastised the board for its failure to rein in the self-enrichment of some members through improper advances and restitution.
Board expenses from July 1, 2006 to March 3, 2009 included $37,855 for travel reimbursements and $8,544 for food and catering for workshops and meetings. Board policy does not impose a limit on food purchases.
The audit found about $7,000 of that improper.
When it met in May, the Legislative Audit Committee discussed having the state take over the district for financial malfeasance and incompetence, and at its June meeting on Friday, it decided to audit the school district annually.
In May, the auditors said more than half a million dollars had been stolen or misappropriated over the past six years.
Some employees, including former maintenance supervisor James Deimer, will go to jail.
Deimer stole about $440,000 worth of school property for resale. He has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
Among the audit findings were that two PCSSD school board members, Mildred Tatum and Gwen Williams, owe $2,788 and $619 respectively for travel reimbursements they received that are not allowed by state law. They include reimbursements to Tatum of $116 for a ticket to a Broadway play and $321 for two nights and valet parking at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock, when she attended a local conference.
Tatum lives a few miles outside Little Rock.
Both women submitted virtually identical letters to the auditors vaguely detailing their intention to repay the debts, but not laying out a schedule of payments.
This is not the first time Williams has received improper cash advances or reimbursements. Several years ago she received an advance of about $2,000 for a workshop that she didn’t attend, and she did not repay the money for more than a year, until it was discovered and made public.
The audit committee members, unhappy with the district’s response to its findings about the board, said they wanted the entire board to attend the next meeting, which will be in September.
Only board president Tim Clark attended the Legislative Audit Committee meeting Friday, and he also was censured.
The committee members expressed concern over mileage reimbursements of $2,030 for 100 trips, 58 miles each from Clark’s home to the central office and back between February and December 2009.
Tatum was paid $1,447 in mileage between July 2007 and September 2009. Williams billed the district and was paid $339.
Board members Charlie Wood, Bill Vasquez, Sandra Sawyer and Danny Gilliland apparently asked for no reimbursement.
Clark, who requested the audit shortly after taking office, could be glad now that former Superintendent James Sharpe rejected one of his reimbursement requests.
He asked Sharpe to sign off on a $2,753 bill for a party Clark threw at the Maumelle Country Club in celebration of the groundbreaking for the new high school at Maumelle.
Sharpe refused, Clark paid it himself, and soon after, the board forced Sharpe to resign.
Interim Superintendent Rob McGill put an item on the agenda for Tuesday’s regular board meeting that would have prohibited cash advances for board members in the face of abuse by at least two of the board members.
But the board tabled the motion and ordered McGill to direct Chief Financial Officer Anita Farver to create a policy that would not place a hardship on the board members.
McGill said that violated the committee’s wishes and refused.
In a special PCSSD board meeting Friday, after the Legislative Audit Committee meeting, the board unanimously reversed itself, prohibiting cash advances to board members by a 4-0 vote. Clark, Gilliland, Tatum and Wood were the only members present.
The board on Tuesday also defeated McGill’s agenda item that would have required Williams and Tatum to pay the district by July 15 for the improper reimbursements or advancements they got or face possible charges.
Leader senior staff writer
The Pulaski County Special School Board on Friday afternoon reversed itself, implementing for the first time a “no-cash-advance” policy for traveling board members, just hours after the state Legislative Audit Committee chastised the board for its failure to rein in the self-enrichment of some members through improper advances and restitution.
Board expenses from July 1, 2006 to March 3, 2009 included $37,855 for travel reimbursements and $8,544 for food and catering for workshops and meetings. Board policy does not impose a limit on food purchases.
The audit found about $7,000 of that improper.
When it met in May, the Legislative Audit Committee discussed having the state take over the district for financial malfeasance and incompetence, and at its June meeting on Friday, it decided to audit the school district annually.
In May, the auditors said more than half a million dollars had been stolen or misappropriated over the past six years.
Some employees, including former maintenance supervisor James Deimer, will go to jail.
Deimer stole about $440,000 worth of school property for resale. He has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
Among the audit findings were that two PCSSD school board members, Mildred Tatum and Gwen Williams, owe $2,788 and $619 respectively for travel reimbursements they received that are not allowed by state law. They include reimbursements to Tatum of $116 for a ticket to a Broadway play and $321 for two nights and valet parking at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock, when she attended a local conference.
Tatum lives a few miles outside Little Rock.
Both women submitted virtually identical letters to the auditors vaguely detailing their intention to repay the debts, but not laying out a schedule of payments.
This is not the first time Williams has received improper cash advances or reimbursements. Several years ago she received an advance of about $2,000 for a workshop that she didn’t attend, and she did not repay the money for more than a year, until it was discovered and made public.
The audit committee members, unhappy with the district’s response to its findings about the board, said they wanted the entire board to attend the next meeting, which will be in September.
Only board president Tim Clark attended the Legislative Audit Committee meeting Friday, and he also was censured.
The committee members expressed concern over mileage reimbursements of $2,030 for 100 trips, 58 miles each from Clark’s home to the central office and back between February and December 2009.
Tatum was paid $1,447 in mileage between July 2007 and September 2009. Williams billed the district and was paid $339.
Board members Charlie Wood, Bill Vasquez, Sandra Sawyer and Danny Gilliland apparently asked for no reimbursement.
Clark, who requested the audit shortly after taking office, could be glad now that former Superintendent James Sharpe rejected one of his reimbursement requests.
He asked Sharpe to sign off on a $2,753 bill for a party Clark threw at the Maumelle Country Club in celebration of the groundbreaking for the new high school at Maumelle.
Sharpe refused, Clark paid it himself, and soon after, the board forced Sharpe to resign.
Interim Superintendent Rob McGill put an item on the agenda for Tuesday’s regular board meeting that would have prohibited cash advances for board members in the face of abuse by at least two of the board members.
But the board tabled the motion and ordered McGill to direct Chief Financial Officer Anita Farver to create a policy that would not place a hardship on the board members.
McGill said that violated the committee’s wishes and refused.
In a special PCSSD board meeting Friday, after the Legislative Audit Committee meeting, the board unanimously reversed itself, prohibiting cash advances to board members by a 4-0 vote. Clark, Gilliland, Tatum and Wood were the only members present.
The board on Tuesday also defeated McGill’s agenda item that would have required Williams and Tatum to pay the district by July 15 for the improper reimbursements or advancements they got or face possible charges.
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