If there was one thing as predictable as the planetary orbits, it was the ultimate failure of the great congressional deficit-reduction commission, which was supposed to plot a sure path to budget surpluses. But the markets reacted as if the commission’s surrender this week was a shock, and there is no doubt that the mood of the American people soured even more. Can the approval rating of the U. S. Congress sink lower than 9 percent? It surely will.
Still, there are reasons to be not so pessimistic. The deficit picture will improve even with paralysis, that is if the economy continues to improve even at the recent snail’s pace. The second-largest contributor to the deficit was a $500 billion decline (by fiscal 2009) in annual government revenues from the recession and the 2008 financial collapse, and the eventual recovery of the economy and government receipts will cut the deficit by a third. Congressional inaction by the end of next year, which seems likely, also will restore the tax rates of the Clinton era. You may remember the last four years of Clinton for the cumulative $558 billion in budget surpluses, which paid down the government debt, and also for the most furious job growth in U.S. history. Would it be so bad to return to the policies of that halcyon time?
Of course, those taxes will affect most of us at least a little and not merely families earning more than $250,000 a year as President Obama sought. Democrats, for obvious political reasons, want to restrict the restored tax rates to higher incomes and the most profitable corporations. But if we’re serious about eliminating deficits and cutting away at the gigantic national debt, we should all be willing to make some sacrifice. The awful truth about America today is that all of us believe that others, not us, should make the sacrifice.
Both parties must share some blame for the failure of the deficit-reduction panel, which was made up of equal delegations of Democrats and Republicans. But the Republican contingent had a more rigid mandate than did the Democrats, which is what defines the two parties today. Republicans insisted that the deficit had to be eliminated entirely by reduced federal spending, which would mean massive reductions in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, which account for about 60 percent of all government spending besides defense and interest payments on the debt. They were solidly against restoring any taxes on higher incomes and corporations. Democrats, following the president’s lead, would cut away at future social security and health-care benefits but only if it was matched by the restoration of some taxes on higher incomes and the closing of corporate tax loopholes.
The rising debt, which will soon hit $15 trillion, counting what we owe ourselves, is indeed daunting to contemplate. While the debt is not as scary as Europe’s—U.S. debt still sells for only 2 percent, a measure of global confidence in America—stabilizing it ought to the government’s No. 1 priority, that is, after getting the economy moving and creating jobs.
It may be helpful to review just how we got here, from the end of the Clinton era and its string of balanced budgets and economic growth. We know that the consecutive rounds of tax cuts between 2001 and 2005 undermined revenues, but what about all the spending growth that accompanied the revenue cuts?
Military spending, counting exploding veterans benefits from the Middle East wars, rose from $350 billion in 2001 to $910 billion in the year just ended. In an admittedly oversimplified accounting, that is some $550 billion of the yearly deficit. If Congress does nothing about deficit reduction, which seems likely until after the 2012 elections, defense spending must be sharply reduced under the terms of the debt-ceiling package that Congress enacted last summer. In the wake of the collapse of the debt-reduction initiative, Republicans are mustering to stop the military cuts. President Obama, too, says reductions of the magnitude that are required by current law would jeopardize global security. But sizable reductions in defense outlays must be a part of a serious debt-reduction program.
Annual Medicare outlays have grown by $277 billion and social security by $316 billion since 2001, owing to the aging of the baby-boom generation and the general spiraling of medical costs. Medicaid, which pays for long-term care of the aged and disabled and for health insurance for children and some poor adults, rose by comparable percentages. The new health-insurance reform law will curtail the growth of Medicare and Medicaid if Congress permits all its initiatives to take effect in 2014 and beyond, but Congress—perhaps a more responsible one after the 2012 elections—must do more to restrain those costs.
Republicans have spent most of the time hammering at other government spending—that associated with business regulation like environmental and consumer protection, financial regulation and workplace safety. But that is not a serious budget issue. All those functions account for a tiny fraction of the budget. All the government’s environmental work, for instance, consumes only two-tenths of one percent of the government’s outlays, although Republican rhetoric would have you believe that it is driving us to bankruptcy. There is a legitimate interest in staying the government’s hand in insuring clean water and air, but it is a philosophical issue, not a budget matter.
So let us not panic about the deficit but resolve to hold our congressional members accountable for their political posturing in the next election and hope that the rest of the country does, too.
Friday, November 25, 2011
TOP STORY > >Economy skyrockets hunger demands
ByPEG KENYON
Special to The Leader
Going without meat at suppertime may become a new reality for the working poor, who are just above the poverty level but cannot qualify for food stamps.
“We haven’t been able to give out any meat items for the past six weeks,” said Dewey Sims of Fishnet Missions, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization based in Jacksonville.
“Food and monetary donations are down right now, and meat items are nonexistent. In all of my 17 years here, this is the tightest I’ve ever seen it. The demand is up at least by 30 percent and we are in need of the public’s help,” he said.
Times are so tough that Sims’ only hope is to rely on deer hunters’ generosity and Hogg’s Meat Market in North Little Rock, owned by Mike and Peggy Hogg. The shop will process donated deer meat and take it to Fishnet.
“At our doorstep on each Tuesday and Thursday, we are having in the excess of 500 families show up,” Sims said. “And this does not include all the senior citizens and shut-ins and the seven churches we furnish food to.”
In October, Fishnet volunteers gave out more than 39 tons of food. Sims hopes hunters will donate for families in need this winter. For months now, long lines of people — the newly unemployed, the homeless, families and unemployed people whose benefits have been exhausted but are still without work — form along Swift Street just off Marshall Road in Jacksonville to receive free food from volunteers who stay extremely busy sacking up one bag after another as fast as they can.
“It’s a little scary. I’m hustling every day just trying to keep up with the demand brought on,” Sims said.
Saturday mornings, volunteers provide food, socks, blankets and other items to homeless people living under a bridge near the Arkansas River in downtown Little Rock.
“We average about 150 people there each Saturday,” Sims said.
One would think that Fishnet Missions may be stretched to the limit, but Sims is driven to do more. The organization also supports three soup kitchens. The group provides food to area churches’ soup kitchens as well as its own soup kitchen. Fishnet gives a free hot meal to anyone showing up at 6 p.m. Tuesdays.
“There’s no qualifying, no restrictions, and you don’t even have to have any identification,” Sims said.
And with Christmas just around the corner, Fishnet has scheduled a visit from Santa Claus for the children caught up in the “drastic downturned economy,” Sims said.
The event will begin at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21. As in the past, children will receive a toy of their choice.
“Last year, we gave out about 1,700 toys, and I expect to see an increase in toys that we’ll be giving out this year,” Sims said. “And we’re really in need of new toys.”
Special to The Leader
Going without meat at suppertime may become a new reality for the working poor, who are just above the poverty level but cannot qualify for food stamps.
“We haven’t been able to give out any meat items for the past six weeks,” said Dewey Sims of Fishnet Missions, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization based in Jacksonville.
“Food and monetary donations are down right now, and meat items are nonexistent. In all of my 17 years here, this is the tightest I’ve ever seen it. The demand is up at least by 30 percent and we are in need of the public’s help,” he said.
Times are so tough that Sims’ only hope is to rely on deer hunters’ generosity and Hogg’s Meat Market in North Little Rock, owned by Mike and Peggy Hogg. The shop will process donated deer meat and take it to Fishnet.
“At our doorstep on each Tuesday and Thursday, we are having in the excess of 500 families show up,” Sims said. “And this does not include all the senior citizens and shut-ins and the seven churches we furnish food to.”
In October, Fishnet volunteers gave out more than 39 tons of food. Sims hopes hunters will donate for families in need this winter. For months now, long lines of people — the newly unemployed, the homeless, families and unemployed people whose benefits have been exhausted but are still without work — form along Swift Street just off Marshall Road in Jacksonville to receive free food from volunteers who stay extremely busy sacking up one bag after another as fast as they can.
“It’s a little scary. I’m hustling every day just trying to keep up with the demand brought on,” Sims said.
Saturday mornings, volunteers provide food, socks, blankets and other items to homeless people living under a bridge near the Arkansas River in downtown Little Rock.
“We average about 150 people there each Saturday,” Sims said.
One would think that Fishnet Missions may be stretched to the limit, but Sims is driven to do more. The organization also supports three soup kitchens. The group provides food to area churches’ soup kitchens as well as its own soup kitchen. Fishnet gives a free hot meal to anyone showing up at 6 p.m. Tuesdays.
“There’s no qualifying, no restrictions, and you don’t even have to have any identification,” Sims said.
And with Christmas just around the corner, Fishnet has scheduled a visit from Santa Claus for the children caught up in the “drastic downturned economy,” Sims said.
The event will begin at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21. As in the past, children will receive a toy of their choice.
“Last year, we gave out about 1,700 toys, and I expect to see an increase in toys that we’ll be giving out this year,” Sims said. “And we’re really in need of new toys.”
TOP STORY > >Business is healthy for clinic
ByJOAN McCOY
Leader staff writer
Six months after it opened in the old health department building in Cabot, the nonprofit medical clinic ARcare is operating a booming business with 30 to 40 patients visiting daily.
Not to be confused with a free clinic, the nonprofit charges for its services. But patients aren’t turned away because they don’t have insurance like they are at some clinics. Instead, they pay on a sliding scale based on income and household size. Some patients pay as little as $20 for visits, including treatment, lab and X-rays.
And unlike most free clinics, ARcare is open five days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The clinic got its start 30 years ago in Augusta as White River Rural Health, when Dr. Steven Collier decided he wanted to move back home after medical school. Today, in addition to the relatively new clinic in Cabot, ARcare has clinics in 26 cities in 12 counties including Searcy, Carlisle, England, Augusta, Heber Springs, Jonesboro, Lake City, Parkin, Wynne, Batesville, Newport, Swifton, Brinkley, Des Arc, Hazen, Bald Knob, Kensett, Cotton Plant and McCrory.
Collier said this week that opening a nonprofit clinic wasreally his only option since he wanted to practice in the rural area where he grew up and he knew there was no way some of the people who lived there would be able to pay full price for medical care.
“To practice the style of medicine I wanted to practice, that was the vehicle for that,” he said.
Collier said besides being able to bring healthcare to areas with no clinics, what appealed to him was that he could help to create a system of healthcare. He couldn’t do that in urban areas, he said.
Eventually, the work progressed into activism. It wasn’t enough to simply provide healthcare in areas without any, he said. He and his associates now work to improve economic conditions in areas where their clinics are located by organizing education centers for the very young.
Collier said they are usually welcomed because they move in where people are suffering.
“We’re looking at populations that nobody else wants,” he said. “We don’t usually have any competition.”
Collier spoke to The Leader when he returned from a trip to Kentucky where he was helping to open the first Kentuckycare clinic. The ARcare vision, according to its website, is to become the “largest primary care provider in Arkansas, the provider of first choice in our communities, and a national leader of community health centers.”
Joey Miller, chief operating officer for ARcare, said the bottom line drives businesses, including many clinics. Some clinics don’t accept Medicare or Medicaid because those insurances pay set amounts. And the concern with self-pay patients is that there will be no pay for the clinics. Because ARcare gets federal grants to operate as a community health center, no one is turned away. All insurances are accepted and those without insurance pay on a sliding scale.
Miller said the move to Cabot came at the request of then Mayor Eddie Joe Williams, now a state senator, who said Cabot people needed it. And the city had a building that needed a new owner.
City records show ARcare has paid $100,000 toward the $150,000 purchase price with the last of three payments due in October 2012.
Williams said this week that he knew immediately when he inspected the old health department building after it was vacated for the new one that it would be a shame to use it for anything but a clinic.
It was set up with exam rooms and a waiting room, he said, so a clinic was its logical use.
He thought of ARcare, he said, because many Cabot residents had no access to healthcare.
“No matter what community you live in, you have people who are down on their luck,” Williams said.
For example, he said, a single mother of three might be able to get state insurance for her children, but have no insurance of her own.
He pointed out some doctors feel they can’t afford to take patients without private insurance.
“I was talking to a doctor in town who said he had 10 Medicaid patients and he couldn’t take anymore.”
Asked how he thinks the new clinic is performing, Williams said, “On a scale of one to 10, I’d give them an 11. I say that sincerely.”
He said he was amazed at how fast the old health department was renovated for the new occupants. They painted and replaced the carpet and moved in, Williams said, adding that he thinks that keeping overhead low by using existing buildings is one way ARcare is able to provide its services even to those who can’t afford them.
And considering that the new clinic in the old building once owned by the city is able to serve residents across northern Lonoke County, “I think we both got a bargain,” Williams said.
Leader staff writer
Six months after it opened in the old health department building in Cabot, the nonprofit medical clinic ARcare is operating a booming business with 30 to 40 patients visiting daily.
Not to be confused with a free clinic, the nonprofit charges for its services. But patients aren’t turned away because they don’t have insurance like they are at some clinics. Instead, they pay on a sliding scale based on income and household size. Some patients pay as little as $20 for visits, including treatment, lab and X-rays.
And unlike most free clinics, ARcare is open five days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The clinic got its start 30 years ago in Augusta as White River Rural Health, when Dr. Steven Collier decided he wanted to move back home after medical school. Today, in addition to the relatively new clinic in Cabot, ARcare has clinics in 26 cities in 12 counties including Searcy, Carlisle, England, Augusta, Heber Springs, Jonesboro, Lake City, Parkin, Wynne, Batesville, Newport, Swifton, Brinkley, Des Arc, Hazen, Bald Knob, Kensett, Cotton Plant and McCrory.
Collier said this week that opening a nonprofit clinic wasreally his only option since he wanted to practice in the rural area where he grew up and he knew there was no way some of the people who lived there would be able to pay full price for medical care.
“To practice the style of medicine I wanted to practice, that was the vehicle for that,” he said.
Collier said besides being able to bring healthcare to areas with no clinics, what appealed to him was that he could help to create a system of healthcare. He couldn’t do that in urban areas, he said.
Eventually, the work progressed into activism. It wasn’t enough to simply provide healthcare in areas without any, he said. He and his associates now work to improve economic conditions in areas where their clinics are located by organizing education centers for the very young.
Collier said they are usually welcomed because they move in where people are suffering.
“We’re looking at populations that nobody else wants,” he said. “We don’t usually have any competition.”
Collier spoke to The Leader when he returned from a trip to Kentucky where he was helping to open the first Kentuckycare clinic. The ARcare vision, according to its website, is to become the “largest primary care provider in Arkansas, the provider of first choice in our communities, and a national leader of community health centers.”
Joey Miller, chief operating officer for ARcare, said the bottom line drives businesses, including many clinics. Some clinics don’t accept Medicare or Medicaid because those insurances pay set amounts. And the concern with self-pay patients is that there will be no pay for the clinics. Because ARcare gets federal grants to operate as a community health center, no one is turned away. All insurances are accepted and those without insurance pay on a sliding scale.
Miller said the move to Cabot came at the request of then Mayor Eddie Joe Williams, now a state senator, who said Cabot people needed it. And the city had a building that needed a new owner.
City records show ARcare has paid $100,000 toward the $150,000 purchase price with the last of three payments due in October 2012.
Williams said this week that he knew immediately when he inspected the old health department building after it was vacated for the new one that it would be a shame to use it for anything but a clinic.
It was set up with exam rooms and a waiting room, he said, so a clinic was its logical use.
He thought of ARcare, he said, because many Cabot residents had no access to healthcare.
“No matter what community you live in, you have people who are down on their luck,” Williams said.
For example, he said, a single mother of three might be able to get state insurance for her children, but have no insurance of her own.
He pointed out some doctors feel they can’t afford to take patients without private insurance.
“I was talking to a doctor in town who said he had 10 Medicaid patients and he couldn’t take anymore.”
Asked how he thinks the new clinic is performing, Williams said, “On a scale of one to 10, I’d give them an 11. I say that sincerely.”
He said he was amazed at how fast the old health department was renovated for the new occupants. They painted and replaced the carpet and moved in, Williams said, adding that he thinks that keeping overhead low by using existing buildings is one way ARcare is able to provide its services even to those who can’t afford them.
And considering that the new clinic in the old building once owned by the city is able to serve residents across northern Lonoke County, “I think we both got a bargain,” Williams said.
TOP STORY > >First look at $19.7M budget
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
“Right now, our 2012 proposed budget is balanced,” Sherwood Mayor Virginia Hillman said. “But we may still do some tweaking to it.”
That’s why the $19.7 million budget will be presented to the city council at its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, but it won’t be voted on.
The council will also take a look at the 2012 street fund and wastewater budgets. “Those are pretty much set, but we’ll wait on voting on those, too,” the mayor explained.
The budget committee met last week and trimmed about $1 million to bring expenses even with projected revenues.
“We are still purchasing five new marked police cars, an automated trash truck and a knuckle boom truck. Those are some of our big ticket items,” she said, adding that the police department originally wanted eight new police cars.
The police cars are expected to cost about $26,000 each, while the garbage truck will cost around $200,000 and the knuckle boom, about $125,000.
Revenues for 2012 are expected to be $19.7 million, up about $600,000 from this year on the strength of higher income from the countywide sales tax.
Breaking down the $19.7 million general budget, the administrativedepartment is expecting to spend $4.4 million, down about $100,000 from this year. The police department is slated to spend $5.9 million, also down about $100,000 from this year. The hot check department is looking at a budget of $243,224, down about $4,000. The municipal court is looking at spending $671,744, down about $19,000 from this year. The senior center is looking at giving up $3,000.
Departments and areas with higher expenses this year include sanitation with a budget of $2.2 million, up almost $400,000 from this year. Parks and recreation is looking to spend $3.6 million, up about $80,000. Engineering and planning is coming in at $659,657, up $150,000 from this year. Public works is looking at spending $911,177, up $280,000 from this year. Human resources expects to spend $120,696, up almost $8,000. Computer services plans a budget of $320,800, up about $10,000 from this year. The senior center is looking at a $3,000 increase, asking for a budget of $248,435, and animal services will have a budget of $329,758, up about $17,000 from this year.
The big increase in the public works budget is an additional $250,000 added to the street-improvement funds so the city can make more repairs and overlays.
The 2012 street budget is slated at $1.8 million, up about $70,000 from this year. The wastewater utility has budgeted $1.4 million for 2012, down about $30,000 from this year, and the wastewater sales tax fund has a proposed 2012 budget of $5.3 million, up about $800,000 from this year.
Also on the council agenda:
An ordinance to update rules for collecting and enforcing the city’s two-cent advertising and promotion tax.
An ordinance adopting the advertising and promotion commission’s 2012 budget of $630,000.
An ordinance requesting the city add an additional lieutenant and a logistics-support technician in the police department, while removing a sergeant’s position.
An ordinance rezoning 11 acres of land, generally west of Brantley Ave. and north of 54th Street, from R-1 (single family homes) to R-4 (manufactured homes).
Leader staff writer
“Right now, our 2012 proposed budget is balanced,” Sherwood Mayor Virginia Hillman said. “But we may still do some tweaking to it.”
That’s why the $19.7 million budget will be presented to the city council at its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, but it won’t be voted on.
The council will also take a look at the 2012 street fund and wastewater budgets. “Those are pretty much set, but we’ll wait on voting on those, too,” the mayor explained.
The budget committee met last week and trimmed about $1 million to bring expenses even with projected revenues.
“We are still purchasing five new marked police cars, an automated trash truck and a knuckle boom truck. Those are some of our big ticket items,” she said, adding that the police department originally wanted eight new police cars.
The police cars are expected to cost about $26,000 each, while the garbage truck will cost around $200,000 and the knuckle boom, about $125,000.
Revenues for 2012 are expected to be $19.7 million, up about $600,000 from this year on the strength of higher income from the countywide sales tax.
Breaking down the $19.7 million general budget, the administrativedepartment is expecting to spend $4.4 million, down about $100,000 from this year. The police department is slated to spend $5.9 million, also down about $100,000 from this year. The hot check department is looking at a budget of $243,224, down about $4,000. The municipal court is looking at spending $671,744, down about $19,000 from this year. The senior center is looking at giving up $3,000.
Departments and areas with higher expenses this year include sanitation with a budget of $2.2 million, up almost $400,000 from this year. Parks and recreation is looking to spend $3.6 million, up about $80,000. Engineering and planning is coming in at $659,657, up $150,000 from this year. Public works is looking at spending $911,177, up $280,000 from this year. Human resources expects to spend $120,696, up almost $8,000. Computer services plans a budget of $320,800, up about $10,000 from this year. The senior center is looking at a $3,000 increase, asking for a budget of $248,435, and animal services will have a budget of $329,758, up about $17,000 from this year.
The big increase in the public works budget is an additional $250,000 added to the street-improvement funds so the city can make more repairs and overlays.
The 2012 street budget is slated at $1.8 million, up about $70,000 from this year. The wastewater utility has budgeted $1.4 million for 2012, down about $30,000 from this year, and the wastewater sales tax fund has a proposed 2012 budget of $5.3 million, up about $800,000 from this year.
Also on the council agenda:
An ordinance to update rules for collecting and enforcing the city’s two-cent advertising and promotion tax.
An ordinance adopting the advertising and promotion commission’s 2012 budget of $630,000.
An ordinance requesting the city add an additional lieutenant and a logistics-support technician in the police department, while removing a sergeant’s position.
An ordinance rezoning 11 acres of land, generally west of Brantley Ave. and north of 54th Street, from R-1 (single family homes) to R-4 (manufactured homes).
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
EVENTS >> 11-23-11
COMMUNITY DINNER THURSDAY IN CABOT
The Cabot Community Thanksgiving Feast will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at Grace Fellowship Church at 601 S. Elm St., behind the Bank of the Ozarks downtown.
The meal is free and open to anyone. Carryout and delivery are available. For more information or to request meal delivery, call 501-259-3799.
Beebe First United Methodist Church will hold its free Thanksgiving dinner from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday. RSVP by calling 501-882-6427 or call Bill Palmisano at 501-882-9565, though reservations are not required. Take out and local delivery are available. Transportation can be arranged if needed in the Beebe area.
The church is located at 302 N. Main St.
The Salvation Army in Jacksonville, 209 S. Oak St., will serve Thanksgiving dinner from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m Thanksgiving Day. Anyone can attend the dinner.
First United Methodist Church of Jacksonville, 308 W. Main St., offers free meals from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday and Saturday in the family life center behind the sanctuary on Hickory Street. Everyone is welcome.
BEEBE HIGHLIGHTS SMALL BUSINESSES ON SATURDAY
The Beebe Chamber of Commerce will hold its second-annual Small Business Saturday this weekend to support small businesses on the busiest shopping weekend of the year. The chamber encourages residents to shop local, independent businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and build communities.
SANTA SHACK OPENS FRIDAY AT WALMART IN CABOT FRIDAY
Cabot’s Santa Shack will open Friday and continue until Dec. 18 at Walmart. The event is sponsored by Cabot City Beautiful.
Santa Claus will be available for photos with the kids, who will all receive free candy canes.
Santa’s Shack will be open until Dec. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. Fridays; from 9 to 11 a.m., noon to 2 p.m., 3 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Saturdays, and from 1 to 3 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Sundays. From Dec. 19 to Dec. 23, Santa’s Shack will be open from 3 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.
JACKSONVILLE SENIOR CENTER RENAMED NEXT WEEK
The Jacksonville Senior Center will be renamed the Jacksonville Senior Wellness and Activity Center during a grand re-opening ceremony at 2 p.m. next Wednesday.
PUSH-UP COMPETITION AT CABOT ANIMAL SHELTER
The Cabot Animal Shelter is holding its first push-up competition to see who can do the most push-ups in 60 seconds.
The event will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10 in the Veterans Park Community Center fitness room.
The cost to enter is $10 or $15 on the day of the event. Proceeds will benefit the shelter. The competition will have four divisions: men 20 years old and older, women 20 years old and older, young men 15- to 19-years-old and young women 15- to 19-years-old.
Winners of each division will receive medals. Each division will have participation prizes. For more information, call 501-843-2021.
SHERWOOD LOWERS ADOPTION FEE FOR CATS TO $5
This month, the Sherwood Animal Shelter is holding its $5 feline drive to help alleviate an over-abundance of cats. The shelter wants to find its cats good homes and offers rock-bottom prices.
The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from noon to 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Cabot Community Thanksgiving Feast will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at Grace Fellowship Church at 601 S. Elm St., behind the Bank of the Ozarks downtown.
The meal is free and open to anyone. Carryout and delivery are available. For more information or to request meal delivery, call 501-259-3799.
Beebe First United Methodist Church will hold its free Thanksgiving dinner from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday. RSVP by calling 501-882-6427 or call Bill Palmisano at 501-882-9565, though reservations are not required. Take out and local delivery are available. Transportation can be arranged if needed in the Beebe area.
The church is located at 302 N. Main St.
The Salvation Army in Jacksonville, 209 S. Oak St., will serve Thanksgiving dinner from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m Thanksgiving Day. Anyone can attend the dinner.
First United Methodist Church of Jacksonville, 308 W. Main St., offers free meals from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday and Saturday in the family life center behind the sanctuary on Hickory Street. Everyone is welcome.
BEEBE HIGHLIGHTS SMALL BUSINESSES ON SATURDAY
The Beebe Chamber of Commerce will hold its second-annual Small Business Saturday this weekend to support small businesses on the busiest shopping weekend of the year. The chamber encourages residents to shop local, independent businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and build communities.
SANTA SHACK OPENS FRIDAY AT WALMART IN CABOT FRIDAY
Cabot’s Santa Shack will open Friday and continue until Dec. 18 at Walmart. The event is sponsored by Cabot City Beautiful.
Santa Claus will be available for photos with the kids, who will all receive free candy canes.
Santa’s Shack will be open until Dec. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. Fridays; from 9 to 11 a.m., noon to 2 p.m., 3 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Saturdays, and from 1 to 3 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Sundays. From Dec. 19 to Dec. 23, Santa’s Shack will be open from 3 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.
JACKSONVILLE SENIOR CENTER RENAMED NEXT WEEK
The Jacksonville Senior Center will be renamed the Jacksonville Senior Wellness and Activity Center during a grand re-opening ceremony at 2 p.m. next Wednesday.
PUSH-UP COMPETITION AT CABOT ANIMAL SHELTER
The Cabot Animal Shelter is holding its first push-up competition to see who can do the most push-ups in 60 seconds.
The event will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10 in the Veterans Park Community Center fitness room.
The cost to enter is $10 or $15 on the day of the event. Proceeds will benefit the shelter. The competition will have four divisions: men 20 years old and older, women 20 years old and older, young men 15- to 19-years-old and young women 15- to 19-years-old.
Winners of each division will receive medals. Each division will have participation prizes. For more information, call 501-843-2021.
SHERWOOD LOWERS ADOPTION FEE FOR CATS TO $5
This month, the Sherwood Animal Shelter is holding its $5 feline drive to help alleviate an over-abundance of cats. The shelter wants to find its cats good homes and offers rock-bottom prices.
The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from noon to 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
SPORTS >> Beebe takes easy sweep of Rams
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Hot Springs Lakeside was able to answer Beebe’s first-half scoring run, but ran into a stifling Badgers defense in the second half that allowed only six points by the visiting team. Beebe rolled to a 65-26 mercy-rule victory in its season opener at Badger Sports Arena on Monday.
The Badgers had key offensive performances from different players at different times, most notably seniors Braden Jones and Zach May, who propelled Beebe to big leads in the first and second halves respectively.
But it was the strong defensive play, with the added help of rushed shots by Lakeside, which helped the Badgers to a dominant second-half showing.
“We challenged them at the half a little bit,” Beebe coach Ryan Marshall said. “And the goal was to keep them to 10 in a quarter. So, we felt good with that, we just turned the ball over in the middle of the first quarter there. And they were a scrappy bunch early; they kept hanging around.”
May was scoreless through the first half, but came alive at the 5:31 mark of the second quarter with an inside basket that gave the Badgers a 31-20 lead. He then hit three straight unanswered three-point baskets, and grabbed a defensive rebound he took the length of the floor to the basket and drew a foul. He hit both ends to cap off his game-high 13 points in a matter of 2:57.
“I’m hoping that’s the way we’re going to be night-in, night-out,” Marshall said. “I feel like we’ve got anywhere from six to eight guys who are going to lead us in scoring on any given night.
“Braden did a good job of finishing and establishing early, and May, we told him at half that he would get going, and boy, he just busted it wide open there. And you have to give credit to his teammates for getting him the ball.”
Jones was the early spark plug for Beebe with six of his total seven points in just over a minute mid-way through the first quarter. Jones scored inside and drew a foul with 4:09 remaining in the first half. He converted the foul shot and took an assist from Dayton Scott on Beebe’s next drive to give the Badgers a 12-3 lead. His next basket at the 3:07 mark upped the advantage to 14-3 and forced the Rams to take a timeout and regroup.
Scott finished with 12 points and seven rebounds for Beebe, and put his athleticism on display with a number of high leaps for rebounds as well as the most crowd-pleasing moment of the night, when he jumped from outside the left side of the lane for a dunk to give the Badgers a 44-22 lead with 2:01 left to play in the third quarter.
Lakeside battled back from the early deficit and got to within 22-20 when Mickey Jones laid it in off the glass with 2:48 remaining in the first half. Beebe responded with a basket by Scott and two free throws from Austin Burroughs. Scott tacked on two more free throws, but his big jam at the first-half buzzer was waved off by the officials to keep Beebe’s halftime lead at 28-20.
“We’re still a work in progress,” Marshall said. “There’s a lot of things we need to get better. But it was the first ballgame – I was a little worried about how anxious they would be because they have a lot of momentum carried over from last year, and they were ready to get out and get a new year started.”
Burroughs finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two steals for Beebe. For Lakeside, Chris Airigs led the way with 10 points.
The Lady Badgers were also victorious against the Lady Rams 49-30 in the first varsity game of the night to improve their season record to 2-2. Senior guard Jamie Jackson led the way with 18 points and went 8 for 8 from the free-throw line. Kalela Miller also had a strong night from the foul line, going 6 of 7 for just over half of her 12 total points. Angelina Williams added eight points for Beebe. Keri Manning led Lakeside with 11 points while Sarah Hamilton had 10 points.
The Badgers and Lady Badgers will play next Tuesday at Sylvan Hills.
Leader sportswriter
Hot Springs Lakeside was able to answer Beebe’s first-half scoring run, but ran into a stifling Badgers defense in the second half that allowed only six points by the visiting team. Beebe rolled to a 65-26 mercy-rule victory in its season opener at Badger Sports Arena on Monday.
The Badgers had key offensive performances from different players at different times, most notably seniors Braden Jones and Zach May, who propelled Beebe to big leads in the first and second halves respectively.
But it was the strong defensive play, with the added help of rushed shots by Lakeside, which helped the Badgers to a dominant second-half showing.
“We challenged them at the half a little bit,” Beebe coach Ryan Marshall said. “And the goal was to keep them to 10 in a quarter. So, we felt good with that, we just turned the ball over in the middle of the first quarter there. And they were a scrappy bunch early; they kept hanging around.”
May was scoreless through the first half, but came alive at the 5:31 mark of the second quarter with an inside basket that gave the Badgers a 31-20 lead. He then hit three straight unanswered three-point baskets, and grabbed a defensive rebound he took the length of the floor to the basket and drew a foul. He hit both ends to cap off his game-high 13 points in a matter of 2:57.
“I’m hoping that’s the way we’re going to be night-in, night-out,” Marshall said. “I feel like we’ve got anywhere from six to eight guys who are going to lead us in scoring on any given night.
“Braden did a good job of finishing and establishing early, and May, we told him at half that he would get going, and boy, he just busted it wide open there. And you have to give credit to his teammates for getting him the ball.”
Jones was the early spark plug for Beebe with six of his total seven points in just over a minute mid-way through the first quarter. Jones scored inside and drew a foul with 4:09 remaining in the first half. He converted the foul shot and took an assist from Dayton Scott on Beebe’s next drive to give the Badgers a 12-3 lead. His next basket at the 3:07 mark upped the advantage to 14-3 and forced the Rams to take a timeout and regroup.
Scott finished with 12 points and seven rebounds for Beebe, and put his athleticism on display with a number of high leaps for rebounds as well as the most crowd-pleasing moment of the night, when he jumped from outside the left side of the lane for a dunk to give the Badgers a 44-22 lead with 2:01 left to play in the third quarter.
Lakeside battled back from the early deficit and got to within 22-20 when Mickey Jones laid it in off the glass with 2:48 remaining in the first half. Beebe responded with a basket by Scott and two free throws from Austin Burroughs. Scott tacked on two more free throws, but his big jam at the first-half buzzer was waved off by the officials to keep Beebe’s halftime lead at 28-20.
“We’re still a work in progress,” Marshall said. “There’s a lot of things we need to get better. But it was the first ballgame – I was a little worried about how anxious they would be because they have a lot of momentum carried over from last year, and they were ready to get out and get a new year started.”
Burroughs finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two steals for Beebe. For Lakeside, Chris Airigs led the way with 10 points.
The Lady Badgers were also victorious against the Lady Rams 49-30 in the first varsity game of the night to improve their season record to 2-2. Senior guard Jamie Jackson led the way with 18 points and went 8 for 8 from the free-throw line. Kalela Miller also had a strong night from the foul line, going 6 of 7 for just over half of her 12 total points. Angelina Williams added eight points for Beebe. Keri Manning led Lakeside with 11 points while Sarah Hamilton had 10 points.
The Badgers and Lady Badgers will play next Tuesday at Sylvan Hills.
SPORTS >> Jacksonville ladies earn tourney title
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Lady Red Devils picked up two more wins over the weekend, moving their record to 4-0 so far in the early portion of the season. On Friday night the Lady Devils cruised past Mills 64-46 in their home opener. On Saturday morning they took the floor in the finals of the Pine Bluff Invitational and beat Dumas 61-42.
The two wins marks the first 4-0 start for head coach Katrina Mimms since arriving at Jacksonville in 2006. Saturday’s win was also the Jacksonville girls first tournament championship since the 2001-2002 season.
“It’s been a pretty good first week,” Mimms said. “There’s still lots of things we could do better and are going to have to do better. Our conference is very strong, and we’re going to have to get better. But for this early, I’m pretty pleased with how we’re playing.”
Friday’s game wasn’t as close as the final score indicates. Jacksonville completely dominated from the opening tip, and the game was decided midway through the first quarter. By quarter’s end, Jacksonville led 26-2 and Mimms began subbing freely the rest of the way.
She sat all her starters for the whole second quarter and Mills outscored Jacksonville 13-8. That made it 34-15 at halftime, so Mimms adjusted her substitution process in the second half.
“I still wanted to use everybody, but I mixed the subs and starters more,” Mimms said. “I wanted to keep a ball handler on the floor.”
One of the things Mimms didn’t like about the opener against Marianna was how her squad allowed Marianna’s best scorer to get to the bucket and rack up over 30 points. Mills’ Jasmine Perkins got 20 points on Friday, but Mimms was much more pleased with how her squad handled Perkins.
“She got her 20, but she didn’t score at all in the first quarter when we were going all out,” Mimms said.
Sophomore guard Tiffany Smith led a balanced Jacksonville attack with 13 points. Junior guard and returning leading scorer Jessica Jackson scored 12 points in her first start of the season. Sacha Richardson added 11 and Coyja Hood added 10 for the Lady Devils.
Against Dumas, Jacksonville led just 17-15 at the end of the first quarter, but still jumped out to a big lead. It wasn’t until starters Shakayla Hill and Jackson got into foul trouble that the Lady Bobcats were able to come back to keep it close.
The Lady Red Devils got back on track to start the second quarter. Jacksonville outscored Dumas 35-13 over the next two periods to head into the fourth quarter in control of the game.
“The thing I liked most in both games was the way we came out,” Mimms said. “One of the things that disappointed me most in the first two games was that we didn’t come out with much intensity. We really picked that up and were ready to play from the start in the last two.”
Smith again led Jacksonville in scoring. She hit five three pointers in the game and finished with 17 points. Finding more scorers is one of the things Mimms was looking for. Last year teams focused on Jackson. She hopes her team continues to develop and eliminates that as a strategy for opposing teams.
“Getting three or four in double figures a night is what we’re looking for,” Mimms said. “We don’t want to just look for Jessica. People know she can score. We’ve made adjustments, and that’s what we want. We just have to keep working hard and keep improving.”
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Lady Red Devils picked up two more wins over the weekend, moving their record to 4-0 so far in the early portion of the season. On Friday night the Lady Devils cruised past Mills 64-46 in their home opener. On Saturday morning they took the floor in the finals of the Pine Bluff Invitational and beat Dumas 61-42.
The two wins marks the first 4-0 start for head coach Katrina Mimms since arriving at Jacksonville in 2006. Saturday’s win was also the Jacksonville girls first tournament championship since the 2001-2002 season.
“It’s been a pretty good first week,” Mimms said. “There’s still lots of things we could do better and are going to have to do better. Our conference is very strong, and we’re going to have to get better. But for this early, I’m pretty pleased with how we’re playing.”
Friday’s game wasn’t as close as the final score indicates. Jacksonville completely dominated from the opening tip, and the game was decided midway through the first quarter. By quarter’s end, Jacksonville led 26-2 and Mimms began subbing freely the rest of the way.
She sat all her starters for the whole second quarter and Mills outscored Jacksonville 13-8. That made it 34-15 at halftime, so Mimms adjusted her substitution process in the second half.
“I still wanted to use everybody, but I mixed the subs and starters more,” Mimms said. “I wanted to keep a ball handler on the floor.”
One of the things Mimms didn’t like about the opener against Marianna was how her squad allowed Marianna’s best scorer to get to the bucket and rack up over 30 points. Mills’ Jasmine Perkins got 20 points on Friday, but Mimms was much more pleased with how her squad handled Perkins.
“She got her 20, but she didn’t score at all in the first quarter when we were going all out,” Mimms said.
Sophomore guard Tiffany Smith led a balanced Jacksonville attack with 13 points. Junior guard and returning leading scorer Jessica Jackson scored 12 points in her first start of the season. Sacha Richardson added 11 and Coyja Hood added 10 for the Lady Devils.
Against Dumas, Jacksonville led just 17-15 at the end of the first quarter, but still jumped out to a big lead. It wasn’t until starters Shakayla Hill and Jackson got into foul trouble that the Lady Bobcats were able to come back to keep it close.
The Lady Red Devils got back on track to start the second quarter. Jacksonville outscored Dumas 35-13 over the next two periods to head into the fourth quarter in control of the game.
“The thing I liked most in both games was the way we came out,” Mimms said. “One of the things that disappointed me most in the first two games was that we didn’t come out with much intensity. We really picked that up and were ready to play from the start in the last two.”
Smith again led Jacksonville in scoring. She hit five three pointers in the game and finished with 17 points. Finding more scorers is one of the things Mimms was looking for. Last year teams focused on Jackson. She hopes her team continues to develop and eliminates that as a strategy for opposing teams.
“Getting three or four in double figures a night is what we’re looking for,” Mimms said. “We don’t want to just look for Jessica. People know she can score. We’ve made adjustments, and that’s what we want. We just have to keep working hard and keep improving.”
SPORTS >> Bison hope to stop Gurdon
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
What started two weeks ago as a field of 44 has been condensed to just eight teams as the quarterfinal round of the 2A state playoffs are set for Friday, and things do not appear to get any easier for local No. 1 seed Carlisle as the Bison prepare to face Gurdon, the top seed in the 2A-7 Conference.
The Bison (11-0) survived a big first-half scare against a determined Danville team last week. The Little Johns surprised Carlisle with blazing speed, two early touchdowns and a field goal to go up 16-0 before the Bison, who did not play in week 11 after receiving a first-round playoff bye, were able to shake off the rust and finally claim a 22-16 victory.
The Go Devils (10-2) have been dominant since the start of postseason play with a 37-6 victory over Cross County in the first round and a 35-7 win against Spring Hill in the second round last week.
“Number one, they’re an undefeated football team,” Gurdon coach John Pace said of Carlisle. “Number two, they’re a physical bunch. That’s what we see a lot of on film. They have a good average on offense and defense, and they have good running backs.
“Then, to complicate things further, they can change quarterbacks and spread it and throw on you, so they give you multiple things to be prepared for.”
Bo Weddle led the rushing attack for the Bison last week against Danville with 161 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score in the final two minutes. Braxton Petrus rushed for 70 yards and Ty Vaughn carried eight times for 60 yards in what has been a balanced rushing attack all season for Carlisle.
The Go Devils are primarily a spread/wishbone team that formerly used the double-wing formation, which happens to be Carlisle’s main offensive scheme.
“We haven’t played against it any this year, but we use to run it,” Pace said. “So we’re not totally blind to it. We do have a basis of approach defensively.”
The Go Devils earned their conference title on the field, but almost lost it due to a violation by the 2A-7 co-champion. Mineral Springs used an ineligible player in its win over Mt. Ida in week five. Mt. Ida beat Gurdon in week 10. The week before the playoffs, the Arkansas Activities Association ruled that Mineral Springs did not have to forfeit its game to Mt. Ida. If it did have to forfeit, it would have been a three-way tie, and Mt. Ida would have been the No. 1 seed.
Gurdon has a mixed bag of experience in its offensive backfield, led by sophomore quarterback Austin Kirkpatrick, who has 900 rushing yards and more than 900 yards passing. Senior running back A.J. Brown has enhanced the rushing attack for the Go Devils with close to 700 yards, while another senior running back, Kedreas Norvell, is flirting with the 1,000 rushing-yards mark.
“They’re a good ball club,” Carlisle coach Scott Waymire said. “And they’ve won some big ballgames. Offensively, they run a lot of power sets. Their quarterback – he’s a sophomore – is a tough kid. He’s a winner. He gets the job done for them. They play very hard on defense, and they’ll get after you.”
Gurdon also has a rare luxury among 2A teams of having few players work on both sides of the ball. Waymire, who does have to use several of his players both ways, said heart can be the best determining factor late.
“We’re not real loaded,” Waymire said. “We ask a lot of guys to go both ways. We’ve been pleased with the conditioning of our guys to be able to do that. We’ve had some young guys who have been able to step in and give breaks. But when it comes down to the third and fourth quarters, it has a lot to do with character, and we have a lot of kids with character.”
Leader sportswriter
What started two weeks ago as a field of 44 has been condensed to just eight teams as the quarterfinal round of the 2A state playoffs are set for Friday, and things do not appear to get any easier for local No. 1 seed Carlisle as the Bison prepare to face Gurdon, the top seed in the 2A-7 Conference.
The Bison (11-0) survived a big first-half scare against a determined Danville team last week. The Little Johns surprised Carlisle with blazing speed, two early touchdowns and a field goal to go up 16-0 before the Bison, who did not play in week 11 after receiving a first-round playoff bye, were able to shake off the rust and finally claim a 22-16 victory.
The Go Devils (10-2) have been dominant since the start of postseason play with a 37-6 victory over Cross County in the first round and a 35-7 win against Spring Hill in the second round last week.
“Number one, they’re an undefeated football team,” Gurdon coach John Pace said of Carlisle. “Number two, they’re a physical bunch. That’s what we see a lot of on film. They have a good average on offense and defense, and they have good running backs.
“Then, to complicate things further, they can change quarterbacks and spread it and throw on you, so they give you multiple things to be prepared for.”
Bo Weddle led the rushing attack for the Bison last week against Danville with 161 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score in the final two minutes. Braxton Petrus rushed for 70 yards and Ty Vaughn carried eight times for 60 yards in what has been a balanced rushing attack all season for Carlisle.
The Go Devils are primarily a spread/wishbone team that formerly used the double-wing formation, which happens to be Carlisle’s main offensive scheme.
“We haven’t played against it any this year, but we use to run it,” Pace said. “So we’re not totally blind to it. We do have a basis of approach defensively.”
The Go Devils earned their conference title on the field, but almost lost it due to a violation by the 2A-7 co-champion. Mineral Springs used an ineligible player in its win over Mt. Ida in week five. Mt. Ida beat Gurdon in week 10. The week before the playoffs, the Arkansas Activities Association ruled that Mineral Springs did not have to forfeit its game to Mt. Ida. If it did have to forfeit, it would have been a three-way tie, and Mt. Ida would have been the No. 1 seed.
Gurdon has a mixed bag of experience in its offensive backfield, led by sophomore quarterback Austin Kirkpatrick, who has 900 rushing yards and more than 900 yards passing. Senior running back A.J. Brown has enhanced the rushing attack for the Go Devils with close to 700 yards, while another senior running back, Kedreas Norvell, is flirting with the 1,000 rushing-yards mark.
“They’re a good ball club,” Carlisle coach Scott Waymire said. “And they’ve won some big ballgames. Offensively, they run a lot of power sets. Their quarterback – he’s a sophomore – is a tough kid. He’s a winner. He gets the job done for them. They play very hard on defense, and they’ll get after you.”
Gurdon also has a rare luxury among 2A teams of having few players work on both sides of the ball. Waymire, who does have to use several of his players both ways, said heart can be the best determining factor late.
“We’re not real loaded,” Waymire said. “We ask a lot of guys to go both ways. We’ve been pleased with the conditioning of our guys to be able to do that. We’ve had some young guys who have been able to step in and give breaks. But when it comes down to the third and fourth quarters, it has a lot to do with character, and we have a lot of kids with character.”
EDITORIAL >> Amendment not needed
For every complex human problem, H. L. Mencken said, there is always one grand answer that is neat, plausible and wrong.
The current grand design is the balanced-budget amendment, but luckily we will not have to yet again endure the fulfillment of Mencken’s axiom. The U. S. House of Representatives failed last week to adopt the amendment and send it to the Senate.
All four Arkansas congressmen voted for the amendment, then immediately put out statements trumpeting their courage and denouncing the perfidy of the Democrats (and handful of Republicans) who voted to deny the American people this great solution to their travails.
Rep. Mike Ross, the South Arkansas Democrat, was “very disappointed” and noted that he had signed as a sponsor of the amendment in every session since he arrived in Washington a decade ago. Indeed he has.
Rep. Steve Womack of the mountain district was “disappointed that this Congress missed a watershed moment.”
Our own Rep. Tim Griffin was “incredibly disappointed” that Democrats chose to play politics and defeat the amendment. (He didn’t mention the Republicans who voted against it or explain how it is playing politics to vote against a crowd-pleaser like the balanced-budget amendment.)
Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro put out a statement calling the vote “disappointing” as well as irresponsible and shameful.
But not one of them could really have been disappointed. They were secretly ecstatic, as has been every thinking member of Congress for three decades who has voted for the amendment or signed on as a sponsor. They get to register a pleasing vote and not have to worry about having contributed to the country’s ruin.
The vote on a balanced-budget amendment was just good theater, a chance to tell people back home, “Look, I voted to solve this debt problem so my hands are clean. Don’t blame me for the deficits or any calamity that follows from this standoff over the budget.”
Politicians have been doing this for years. Some 35 years ago, there was a drive to get state legislatures to petition Congress to propose a balanced-budget amendment. Both houses of the Arkansas legislature whooped it through without a debate, pausing only to get a roll call vote so that they could show they voted to balance the federal budget. It was a meaningless vote, substantively. Only one lawmaker voted against it. Rep. J. Gayle Windsor of Little Rock, probably the most conservative member of the House and counsel for the Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries, wanted his vote recorded as no. He did not want his friends and family to think that he would vote so casually for a politically pleasing resolution that would be so destructive to his country on the unlikely chance that if it were ever to be enacted.
People love to point out that Thomas Jefferson favored amending the Constitution to prohibit the federal government from borrowing. He did, but then he was grateful for his lack of success for it would have prohibited the United States in 1803 from borrowing much of the $15 million with which he bought the Louisiana Territory. Otherwise, we might be colonies of the French or Spaniards today.
Ronald Reagan loved the theory, but if it had been in place he could not have borrowed the trillion dollars or so that he spent to pull the country out of the deepest recession since the ’30s.
A rigid balanced-budget law would be fine were the nation never to experience wars or domestic cataclysms or if the political system could be expected to put aside political grasping and vote in lopsided numbers in the national interest when such a crisis does occur. We know the answer to that.
What Griffin and the others say is that Congress—by that, he means Democrats—cannot be relied upon to balance the budget so you have to force them by the Constitution. But remember that the last time the Democrats were in charge—the 1990s—they passed the Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, which shrank the mammoth Reagan-Bush deficits and then produced four straight years of balanced budgets—no, four years of surpluses. It was extremely unpopular, leading to the defeat of many Democrats in both houses who voted for it, a Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in 1994 and deep drop in the popularity of the president who pushed it.
Who was playing politics then?
The current grand design is the balanced-budget amendment, but luckily we will not have to yet again endure the fulfillment of Mencken’s axiom. The U. S. House of Representatives failed last week to adopt the amendment and send it to the Senate.
All four Arkansas congressmen voted for the amendment, then immediately put out statements trumpeting their courage and denouncing the perfidy of the Democrats (and handful of Republicans) who voted to deny the American people this great solution to their travails.
Rep. Mike Ross, the South Arkansas Democrat, was “very disappointed” and noted that he had signed as a sponsor of the amendment in every session since he arrived in Washington a decade ago. Indeed he has.
Rep. Steve Womack of the mountain district was “disappointed that this Congress missed a watershed moment.”
Our own Rep. Tim Griffin was “incredibly disappointed” that Democrats chose to play politics and defeat the amendment. (He didn’t mention the Republicans who voted against it or explain how it is playing politics to vote against a crowd-pleaser like the balanced-budget amendment.)
Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro put out a statement calling the vote “disappointing” as well as irresponsible and shameful.
But not one of them could really have been disappointed. They were secretly ecstatic, as has been every thinking member of Congress for three decades who has voted for the amendment or signed on as a sponsor. They get to register a pleasing vote and not have to worry about having contributed to the country’s ruin.
The vote on a balanced-budget amendment was just good theater, a chance to tell people back home, “Look, I voted to solve this debt problem so my hands are clean. Don’t blame me for the deficits or any calamity that follows from this standoff over the budget.”
Politicians have been doing this for years. Some 35 years ago, there was a drive to get state legislatures to petition Congress to propose a balanced-budget amendment. Both houses of the Arkansas legislature whooped it through without a debate, pausing only to get a roll call vote so that they could show they voted to balance the federal budget. It was a meaningless vote, substantively. Only one lawmaker voted against it. Rep. J. Gayle Windsor of Little Rock, probably the most conservative member of the House and counsel for the Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries, wanted his vote recorded as no. He did not want his friends and family to think that he would vote so casually for a politically pleasing resolution that would be so destructive to his country on the unlikely chance that if it were ever to be enacted.
People love to point out that Thomas Jefferson favored amending the Constitution to prohibit the federal government from borrowing. He did, but then he was grateful for his lack of success for it would have prohibited the United States in 1803 from borrowing much of the $15 million with which he bought the Louisiana Territory. Otherwise, we might be colonies of the French or Spaniards today.
Ronald Reagan loved the theory, but if it had been in place he could not have borrowed the trillion dollars or so that he spent to pull the country out of the deepest recession since the ’30s.
A rigid balanced-budget law would be fine were the nation never to experience wars or domestic cataclysms or if the political system could be expected to put aside political grasping and vote in lopsided numbers in the national interest when such a crisis does occur. We know the answer to that.
What Griffin and the others say is that Congress—by that, he means Democrats—cannot be relied upon to balance the budget so you have to force them by the Constitution. But remember that the last time the Democrats were in charge—the 1990s—they passed the Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, which shrank the mammoth Reagan-Bush deficits and then produced four straight years of balanced budgets—no, four years of surpluses. It was extremely unpopular, leading to the defeat of many Democrats in both houses who voted for it, a Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in 1994 and deep drop in the popularity of the president who pushed it.
Who was playing politics then?
TOP STORY >> For Air Guard, doing more on a small budget
By GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader executive editor
The Air National Guard at Little Rock Air Force Base is hiring, even though it’s facing possible budget cuts like the rest of the military.
Because of the failure of a congressional super-committee to reach an agreement this week on spending cuts and tax increases, the defense department could face up to 50 percent of mandatory reductions in its $170 billion budget starting in 2013.
But Col. Steve Eggensperger, commander of the 189th Airlift Wing, said Monday that the Air National Guard has continued to do more with less. With only 6 percent of the Air Force budget, the Air National Guard carries out more than a third of the Air Force mission.
“Yes, defense budget cuts will affect all components of the Department of Defense to include the National Guard,” he said. “The Air National Guard uses approximately 6 percent of the USAF budget but provides approximately 35 percent of the capability of the USAF. So you can see that the citizen airmen of the Air Guard are a great value for America particularly in these fiscally challenging times. Hopefully, this fact will be taken into consideration when budget decisions are made.”
He heads the most decorated Guard unit in the nation.
“The Guard has been in central Arkansas since 1923,” he points out.
Eggensperger still hopes to fill 37 key positions that are open at one of the busiest training centers in the Air Force. Another 60 positions will open up through attrition and retirement.
He prefers people with Air Force experience, but he’ll hire high school graduates with enthusiasm. The Guard will give them a signing bonus and put them through college.
The 189th trains crews from around the world on older C-130s. Almost half the trainers are full-time Guard members. Like Eggensperger, many of them joined the active-duty Air Force before moving to the Guard.
“One of the keys to our success is we have all that experience. The average instructor pilot has 4,000 flying hours. The average maintainer has 17 years experience.
“When people separate from the Air Force, we at Little Rock Air Force Base can keep that experience,” the commander said. “Some stay till they’re 60.”
The Guard here, Eggensperger says, trains more advanced crews than the Reserve command: “We’ll train the trainers,” he explains.
He has nine C-130s, all of them 25 years old, under his command. Last year, the wing graduated 369 flying instructors.
Work starts at 4:30 a.m. and ends at 11 p.m. “It’s a busy place,” the colonel says.
Despite budget cutbacks, the wing has several key openings, including:
Command post controller
Aircrew flight-equipment specialist
Aircraft mechanic
Vehicle operations manager
Computer specialist
Security-forces defender
Paralegal assistant
Chaplain assistant
Public health officer
Family physician
Aircraft-propulsion mechanic
Personnel craftsman
Aerospace medical craftsman.
“Because our flying mission involves teaching the C-130 instructor school curriculum, the aviators we hire must be experienced C-130 instructors — pilots, navigators, flight engineers, and loadmasters — and we typically hire these instructors from the active-duty Air Force. Any time we can hire a trained and experienced airman from the Air Force, it saves the training cost to the Air Guard,” Eggensperger says.
“However, sometimes we can’t hire a trained individual, so we hire high school or college graduates, and then we send them to basic training and technical school to provide them with the training to become qualified in their chosen career field. And, of course, our new recruits are eligible for some great educational benefits to help them continue their education.
“Because the 189th Airlift Wing does the full-time C-130 training mission, a larger percentage of our force is full-time,” Eggensperger explained.
“But about 57 percent of our members are drill-status Guardsmen. These DSGs work approximately one weekend a month and do at least 15 days of military duty at some time during the year.
“In addition, our aviators must complete some additional flight training periods each month so they work on average a couple days more per month than a non-flyer.”
Eggensperger was born in Fayetteville and grew up in Conway and now lives in Cabot. He graduated from the Air Force Academy and has a master’s degree from the University of Arkansas.
He started as a pilot instructor with the 50th Tactical Airlift Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base in 1990 and then joined the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing before moving on to the Air National Guard at the base.
Eggensperger is the former 189th Operations Group commander. Before that, he was 154th Training Squadron commander.
He became commander of the 189th Airlift Wing last May, succeeding Col. Jim Summers.
Leader executive editor
The Air National Guard at Little Rock Air Force Base is hiring, even though it’s facing possible budget cuts like the rest of the military.
Because of the failure of a congressional super-committee to reach an agreement this week on spending cuts and tax increases, the defense department could face up to 50 percent of mandatory reductions in its $170 billion budget starting in 2013.
But Col. Steve Eggensperger, commander of the 189th Airlift Wing, said Monday that the Air National Guard has continued to do more with less. With only 6 percent of the Air Force budget, the Air National Guard carries out more than a third of the Air Force mission.
“Yes, defense budget cuts will affect all components of the Department of Defense to include the National Guard,” he said. “The Air National Guard uses approximately 6 percent of the USAF budget but provides approximately 35 percent of the capability of the USAF. So you can see that the citizen airmen of the Air Guard are a great value for America particularly in these fiscally challenging times. Hopefully, this fact will be taken into consideration when budget decisions are made.”
He heads the most decorated Guard unit in the nation.
“The Guard has been in central Arkansas since 1923,” he points out.
Eggensperger still hopes to fill 37 key positions that are open at one of the busiest training centers in the Air Force. Another 60 positions will open up through attrition and retirement.
He prefers people with Air Force experience, but he’ll hire high school graduates with enthusiasm. The Guard will give them a signing bonus and put them through college.
The 189th trains crews from around the world on older C-130s. Almost half the trainers are full-time Guard members. Like Eggensperger, many of them joined the active-duty Air Force before moving to the Guard.
“One of the keys to our success is we have all that experience. The average instructor pilot has 4,000 flying hours. The average maintainer has 17 years experience.
“When people separate from the Air Force, we at Little Rock Air Force Base can keep that experience,” the commander said. “Some stay till they’re 60.”
The Guard here, Eggensperger says, trains more advanced crews than the Reserve command: “We’ll train the trainers,” he explains.
He has nine C-130s, all of them 25 years old, under his command. Last year, the wing graduated 369 flying instructors.
Work starts at 4:30 a.m. and ends at 11 p.m. “It’s a busy place,” the colonel says.
Despite budget cutbacks, the wing has several key openings, including:
Command post controller
Aircrew flight-equipment specialist
Aircraft mechanic
Vehicle operations manager
Computer specialist
Security-forces defender
Paralegal assistant
Chaplain assistant
Public health officer
Family physician
Aircraft-propulsion mechanic
Personnel craftsman
Aerospace medical craftsman.
“Because our flying mission involves teaching the C-130 instructor school curriculum, the aviators we hire must be experienced C-130 instructors — pilots, navigators, flight engineers, and loadmasters — and we typically hire these instructors from the active-duty Air Force. Any time we can hire a trained and experienced airman from the Air Force, it saves the training cost to the Air Guard,” Eggensperger says.
“However, sometimes we can’t hire a trained individual, so we hire high school or college graduates, and then we send them to basic training and technical school to provide them with the training to become qualified in their chosen career field. And, of course, our new recruits are eligible for some great educational benefits to help them continue their education.
“Because the 189th Airlift Wing does the full-time C-130 training mission, a larger percentage of our force is full-time,” Eggensperger explained.
“But about 57 percent of our members are drill-status Guardsmen. These DSGs work approximately one weekend a month and do at least 15 days of military duty at some time during the year.
“In addition, our aviators must complete some additional flight training periods each month so they work on average a couple days more per month than a non-flyer.”
Eggensperger was born in Fayetteville and grew up in Conway and now lives in Cabot. He graduated from the Air Force Academy and has a master’s degree from the University of Arkansas.
He started as a pilot instructor with the 50th Tactical Airlift Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base in 1990 and then joined the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing before moving on to the Air National Guard at the base.
Eggensperger is the former 189th Operations Group commander. Before that, he was 154th Training Squadron commander.
He became commander of the 189th Airlift Wing last May, succeeding Col. Jim Summers.
TOP STORY >> Reserves taking off
By GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader executive editor
Col. Edsel A. (Archie) Frye, who heads the new Air Force Reserve Command at Little Rock Air Force Base, showed a visitor around the base last week and introduced his small but growing group that will eventually reach more than 700 reservists and support staff in the next three years.
Frye has the enthusiasm of a motivational speaker and the organizational skills of a business school graduate. He’s building from the ground up — there are still unopened boxes in some of the offices where his staff is settling in.
Frye, who was named commander in February, has so far recruited some 70 reservists and support staff, who are spread out over several buildings around the base.
He says several times, “We’re going to make this the best unit in Air Force history.”
Although the air base has announced cuts in civilian jobs and is reducing the numbers of young officers, and more cuts are likely, both the Reserves and Air National Guard are hiring. (See related story on this page.)
Frye says he’s reaching out across the country to fill the open positions, but, he adds, “We’re recruiting 250 people from Arkansas.”
Barring possible budget cuts, half the jobs will be full time. Some will make $70,000 a year, the colonel says.
Their slogan is “Stationed locally — serving globally.”
Frye says the Reserves can stretch a dollar further because they have many part-timers.
The unit — called Detachment 1, which is part of the 22nd Air Force — will replace active-duty missions and train flight crews on 10 old C-130s. The maintainers, who are already at work on the flight line with five experienced pilots, will make sure the planes are in top shape.
“When they’re this old, you have to give them tender-loving care,” says Maj. Claude Smith, who with several years of experience under his belt in the Air Force, commands the maintenance team.
He’s standing with Sgt. Ralph Babcock, another maintainer and an Air Force veteran. Babcock says all their planes will be vintage 1960s through 1980s.
The group goes into another room with a U.S. flag for a re-enlistment ceremony for Babcock led by Smith.
“They have 50 years experience,” Frye says of Smith and Babcock. “One of the keys to our success is we have all that experience.”
Frye was born in West Virginia and grew up in Duncan, S.C., where, he said, “We’re taught to win. The attitude is we can do anything.”
The little town of 3,100 has produced football players and an engineer who laid out the new power grid in Iraq, Frye says.
He sounds like the general manager of a new sports franchise who can’t wait to build his team and get to the Super Bowl.
The colonel says he’s hired “one of the best quarterbacks,” Lt. Joe Janik, a pilot, as one of his top commanders.
Maj. Rick Rogers, another pilot, joined the Reserves after a career in the Air Force and as a commercial pilot.
Rogers says he flew into Iraq and Afghanistan for a contractor, but called it quits so he could spend more time with his wife and children, who live outside Montgomery, Ala.
Rogers parks a Cessna at the Carlisle airport and flies home most weekends.
Lt. Col. Amy Boehle, the personnel director, has six people working in her office. Their job is to fill some 600 positions, including pilots, navigators, maintainers, loadmasters and a public-affairs specialist.
Boehle has hired a doctor and a dentist and advertises open positions online at usajobs.gov. A military background is needed for most of the civilian jobs.
Plans call for a $2 million headquarters building. The command’s annual budget is $16 million, says Barry Seidel, a former master sergeant, now a civilian, who heads the finance department.
Frye was previously commander of the 931st Air Refueling Group at McConnell Air Force Base, where he also stressed the importance of a team effort.
He drew inspiration from a Will Ferrell movie, “Semi-Pro,” about a struggling basketball team owned by Ferrell, who strives for excellence even as he tries to keep the franchise going.
Frye, who started his career 35 years ago as an enlisted man, won several awards at McConnell for leadership.
His wife, Col. Tammy Hatcher-Frye, is National Guard staff director at Camp Robinson.
Little Rock Air Force Base is his last assignment, he says. It will take him four years to get the command up and running.
“This place is full of opportunity. Keep your eyes on this unit,” he says. “We’re going to build a dream team.”
His office is in a small building that once housed the state headquarters of the Arkansas National Guard.
Across the street is the headquarters building of the Air National Guard, where the 189th Airlift Wing, commanded by Col. Steve Eggensperger, is cooperating with the reserve command. The 189th will be the lead wing for both units.
The reservists will augment the Guard’s training mission. They will both train on older C-130s, while the other training unit on base, the 314th Airlift Wing, will have all-new, advanced C-130Js.
Frye points to a huge hangar across the street from his temporary quarters. The base is spending $350,000 to remodel the upper sections for the Reserve’s offices.
“If you can’t stand prosperity, don’t join this unit,” he tells recruits.
“What an incredible blessing to bring in people who are hungry and promote them,” Frye says. “We’re trying to build an outstanding team. We have to do more with less.
“We have a lot of blue-chip employees,” Frye says. “I’m lucky to have this job. I couldn’t have scripted it better.”
Leader executive editor
Col. Edsel A. (Archie) Frye, who heads the new Air Force Reserve Command at Little Rock Air Force Base, showed a visitor around the base last week and introduced his small but growing group that will eventually reach more than 700 reservists and support staff in the next three years.
Frye has the enthusiasm of a motivational speaker and the organizational skills of a business school graduate. He’s building from the ground up — there are still unopened boxes in some of the offices where his staff is settling in.
Frye, who was named commander in February, has so far recruited some 70 reservists and support staff, who are spread out over several buildings around the base.
He says several times, “We’re going to make this the best unit in Air Force history.”
Although the air base has announced cuts in civilian jobs and is reducing the numbers of young officers, and more cuts are likely, both the Reserves and Air National Guard are hiring. (See related story on this page.)
Frye says he’s reaching out across the country to fill the open positions, but, he adds, “We’re recruiting 250 people from Arkansas.”
Barring possible budget cuts, half the jobs will be full time. Some will make $70,000 a year, the colonel says.
Their slogan is “Stationed locally — serving globally.”
Frye says the Reserves can stretch a dollar further because they have many part-timers.
The unit — called Detachment 1, which is part of the 22nd Air Force — will replace active-duty missions and train flight crews on 10 old C-130s. The maintainers, who are already at work on the flight line with five experienced pilots, will make sure the planes are in top shape.
“When they’re this old, you have to give them tender-loving care,” says Maj. Claude Smith, who with several years of experience under his belt in the Air Force, commands the maintenance team.
He’s standing with Sgt. Ralph Babcock, another maintainer and an Air Force veteran. Babcock says all their planes will be vintage 1960s through 1980s.
The group goes into another room with a U.S. flag for a re-enlistment ceremony for Babcock led by Smith.
“They have 50 years experience,” Frye says of Smith and Babcock. “One of the keys to our success is we have all that experience.”
Frye was born in West Virginia and grew up in Duncan, S.C., where, he said, “We’re taught to win. The attitude is we can do anything.”
The little town of 3,100 has produced football players and an engineer who laid out the new power grid in Iraq, Frye says.
He sounds like the general manager of a new sports franchise who can’t wait to build his team and get to the Super Bowl.
The colonel says he’s hired “one of the best quarterbacks,” Lt. Joe Janik, a pilot, as one of his top commanders.
Maj. Rick Rogers, another pilot, joined the Reserves after a career in the Air Force and as a commercial pilot.
Rogers says he flew into Iraq and Afghanistan for a contractor, but called it quits so he could spend more time with his wife and children, who live outside Montgomery, Ala.
Rogers parks a Cessna at the Carlisle airport and flies home most weekends.
Lt. Col. Amy Boehle, the personnel director, has six people working in her office. Their job is to fill some 600 positions, including pilots, navigators, maintainers, loadmasters and a public-affairs specialist.
Boehle has hired a doctor and a dentist and advertises open positions online at usajobs.gov. A military background is needed for most of the civilian jobs.
Plans call for a $2 million headquarters building. The command’s annual budget is $16 million, says Barry Seidel, a former master sergeant, now a civilian, who heads the finance department.
Frye was previously commander of the 931st Air Refueling Group at McConnell Air Force Base, where he also stressed the importance of a team effort.
He drew inspiration from a Will Ferrell movie, “Semi-Pro,” about a struggling basketball team owned by Ferrell, who strives for excellence even as he tries to keep the franchise going.
Frye, who started his career 35 years ago as an enlisted man, won several awards at McConnell for leadership.
His wife, Col. Tammy Hatcher-Frye, is National Guard staff director at Camp Robinson.
Little Rock Air Force Base is his last assignment, he says. It will take him four years to get the command up and running.
“This place is full of opportunity. Keep your eyes on this unit,” he says. “We’re going to build a dream team.”
His office is in a small building that once housed the state headquarters of the Arkansas National Guard.
Across the street is the headquarters building of the Air National Guard, where the 189th Airlift Wing, commanded by Col. Steve Eggensperger, is cooperating with the reserve command. The 189th will be the lead wing for both units.
The reservists will augment the Guard’s training mission. They will both train on older C-130s, while the other training unit on base, the 314th Airlift Wing, will have all-new, advanced C-130Js.
Frye points to a huge hangar across the street from his temporary quarters. The base is spending $350,000 to remodel the upper sections for the Reserve’s offices.
“If you can’t stand prosperity, don’t join this unit,” he tells recruits.
“What an incredible blessing to bring in people who are hungry and promote them,” Frye says. “We’re trying to build an outstanding team. We have to do more with less.
“We have a lot of blue-chip employees,” Frye says. “I’m lucky to have this job. I couldn’t have scripted it better.”
Saturday, November 19, 2011
SPORTS>>Quick-strike Cards race past Badgers
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Time management didn’t work for Beebe against a fast-scoring Camden Fairview team Friday. The Cardinals used big offensive plays to down the Badgers 56-17 in the quarterfinal round of the Class 5A state playoffs at Cardinal Stadium in Camden.
With the victory, Camden Fair-view, 11-1, will face Greenwood next week in the semifinals in a rematch of last year’s 5A state championship game in which the Bulldogs won in a 36-35 thriller.
Beebe, 7-5, carried out its usual strategy of sustained offensive drives but came up short with most of their first-half efforts. Junior running back Michael Kirby found his way into the end zone twice in the hird quarter on a pair of one-yard runs, but the scores occurred after the Cardinals had the contest well in hand.
“We knew they had the ability to score quick,” Beebe coach John Shannon said. “Their athletic ability took over. Wasn’t a whole lot we could do about it, but the kids played hard, and I’m proud of them for that.”
The Cardinals struck fast on their opening possession with a five-play, 67-yard drive that put Camden Fairview quarterback Austin Booth’s ability in the air on display. The senior hit Jamie Smith for a 33-yard completion to take the ball into Badger territory at the 30-yard line. Booth then found Derrick Keaton on a screen pass that Keaton took the distance for the score with 8:56 remaining in the first quarter to give Camden Fairview a 7-0 lead.
The Badgers answered with a long drive that went 12 plays and took the ball from the Beebe 24-yard line to the Cardinal 18 before an incompletion by senior quarterback Dustin Stallnaker brought up fourth down. Senior kicker Matt Pursell then put up Beebe’s only points of the first half with a 37-yard field goal with 1:56 left to play in the first quarter to make it 7-3 Cardinals.
The Badger defense held on Camden Fairview’s next drive and forced the offense to stall out on downs at the Beebe 44-yard line in just four plays. That set the Badgers up with their best starting field position of the night, and they drove into Cardinal territory with runs by Jay Holdway, Jeremy Van Winkle and Kirby, who converted a third-and-inches play to set Beebe up with a new set of downs at the Camden Fairview 34-yard line.
But their luck ran out on the next set of downs as the Cardinals stopped Kirby just short of the markers on fourth and two.
That gave Camden Fairview possession deep in its own territory, and the Badgers stopped a pair of quarterback draws by Booth to set up a third and nine at the 25. But Jerry Moorehead stepped under center on third down and completed a pass to Dominique Reed for a 75-yard touchdown with 4:52 remaining in the first half. The successful extra-point put the Cardinals up 14-3. Moorehead took most of the snaps in the second half in place of Booth, who is still not fully recovered from an injury he sustained in the regular season.
Beebe went three and out on its next possession, and Stallnaker’s punt set the Cardinals up with a first down at their own 37-yard line. Booth found Smith for a touchdown pass on first down, but the play was called back on an illegal block.
The flag did little to slow them down, however, as Keaton pushed the ball into Badger territory on the next play with a 33-yard run, and Moorehead stepped under center again for another touchdown pass. This one was also to Reed, this time for 18 yards and another score to push the margin to 21-3 with 2:03 left in the first half.
Beebe helped the Cardinals out with another score just before the half when a high snap to punter Stallnaker on fourth down ended up on the turf, setting Camden Fairview up with a first down at the Badger 7-yard line with 1:15 remaining.
It took one run by Reed to punch it in, giving the Cardinals a 28-3 lead at the break.
Holdway led the Badgers with 18 carries for 85 yards. Kirby finished with 18 carries for 70 yards and two touchdowns, as the Badgers finished with 324 total yards compared to 455 for Camden Fairview.
The Badgers reached the quarterfinals for the second time in Shannon’s five-year tenure at Beebe. Shannon, who has expressed a desire to develop Beebe football into an elite program, said his seniors will be leaving the program in better shape than their arrival three seasons ago.
“I told the seniors that they had taken us to another level,” Shannon said. “They did things that we haven’t done in a long, long time. This year, we won a road playoff game to get to the quarterfinals, so I feel like we’ve taken a step in the right direction.”
Leader sportswriter
Time management didn’t work for Beebe against a fast-scoring Camden Fairview team Friday. The Cardinals used big offensive plays to down the Badgers 56-17 in the quarterfinal round of the Class 5A state playoffs at Cardinal Stadium in Camden.
With the victory, Camden Fair-view, 11-1, will face Greenwood next week in the semifinals in a rematch of last year’s 5A state championship game in which the Bulldogs won in a 36-35 thriller.
Beebe, 7-5, carried out its usual strategy of sustained offensive drives but came up short with most of their first-half efforts. Junior running back Michael Kirby found his way into the end zone twice in the hird quarter on a pair of one-yard runs, but the scores occurred after the Cardinals had the contest well in hand.
“We knew they had the ability to score quick,” Beebe coach John Shannon said. “Their athletic ability took over. Wasn’t a whole lot we could do about it, but the kids played hard, and I’m proud of them for that.”
The Cardinals struck fast on their opening possession with a five-play, 67-yard drive that put Camden Fairview quarterback Austin Booth’s ability in the air on display. The senior hit Jamie Smith for a 33-yard completion to take the ball into Badger territory at the 30-yard line. Booth then found Derrick Keaton on a screen pass that Keaton took the distance for the score with 8:56 remaining in the first quarter to give Camden Fairview a 7-0 lead.
The Badgers answered with a long drive that went 12 plays and took the ball from the Beebe 24-yard line to the Cardinal 18 before an incompletion by senior quarterback Dustin Stallnaker brought up fourth down. Senior kicker Matt Pursell then put up Beebe’s only points of the first half with a 37-yard field goal with 1:56 left to play in the first quarter to make it 7-3 Cardinals.
The Badger defense held on Camden Fairview’s next drive and forced the offense to stall out on downs at the Beebe 44-yard line in just four plays. That set the Badgers up with their best starting field position of the night, and they drove into Cardinal territory with runs by Jay Holdway, Jeremy Van Winkle and Kirby, who converted a third-and-inches play to set Beebe up with a new set of downs at the Camden Fairview 34-yard line.
But their luck ran out on the next set of downs as the Cardinals stopped Kirby just short of the markers on fourth and two.
That gave Camden Fairview possession deep in its own territory, and the Badgers stopped a pair of quarterback draws by Booth to set up a third and nine at the 25. But Jerry Moorehead stepped under center on third down and completed a pass to Dominique Reed for a 75-yard touchdown with 4:52 remaining in the first half. The successful extra-point put the Cardinals up 14-3. Moorehead took most of the snaps in the second half in place of Booth, who is still not fully recovered from an injury he sustained in the regular season.
Beebe went three and out on its next possession, and Stallnaker’s punt set the Cardinals up with a first down at their own 37-yard line. Booth found Smith for a touchdown pass on first down, but the play was called back on an illegal block.
The flag did little to slow them down, however, as Keaton pushed the ball into Badger territory on the next play with a 33-yard run, and Moorehead stepped under center again for another touchdown pass. This one was also to Reed, this time for 18 yards and another score to push the margin to 21-3 with 2:03 left in the first half.
Beebe helped the Cardinals out with another score just before the half when a high snap to punter Stallnaker on fourth down ended up on the turf, setting Camden Fairview up with a first down at the Badger 7-yard line with 1:15 remaining.
It took one run by Reed to punch it in, giving the Cardinals a 28-3 lead at the break.
Holdway led the Badgers with 18 carries for 85 yards. Kirby finished with 18 carries for 70 yards and two touchdowns, as the Badgers finished with 324 total yards compared to 455 for Camden Fairview.
The Badgers reached the quarterfinals for the second time in Shannon’s five-year tenure at Beebe. Shannon, who has expressed a desire to develop Beebe football into an elite program, said his seniors will be leaving the program in better shape than their arrival three seasons ago.
“I told the seniors that they had taken us to another level,” Shannon said. “They did things that we haven’t done in a long, long time. This year, we won a road playoff game to get to the quarterfinals, so I feel like we’ve taken a step in the right direction.”
SPORTS>>Cabot puts Lady ’Rabbits away early
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
The outcome was never in question as Cabot advanced to the consolation finals of the Arkansas Alumni Classic basketball tournament with a 64-31 victory over Lonoke at Hall High School on Thursday.
The Lady Panthers applied a heavy press early and forced 10 turnovers from the Lady Jackrabbits in the first four minutes of play. Senior and University of Arkansas signee Melissa Wolff led the scoring charge for Cabot with 17 points and four steals, while junior Elliott Taylor added 10 points for the Lady Panthers.
“The girls played real hard; I’m real proud of them,” Cabot coach Carla Crowder said. “Lonoke, they’re really young, and I think they’re going to get it. They’re just a very young team. We’ve got four starters back, so that’s a big difference.”
Cabot started the game on a 9-0 run with an inside basket by Sydney Wacker, followed by a shot just inside the three-point line by Wolff, who then made the front end of a two-shot foul before two baskets by Taylor put the Lady Panthers up 9-0 with 13:19 left to play in the first half.
Strong defense inside by Cabot made things tough on the drive dependant Lady Jackrabbits, who earned many of their points the hard way by drawing contact on their way to the rim for a trip to the free-throw line. Senior guard Derrika Mays led the scoring for Lonoke with 11 points, while fellow senior and post player Anna Himstedt finished with eight points, including a 6-for-6 performance at the free-throw line.
Cabot put together another run of unanswered scores midway through the first half. Taylor and Wacker both scored on put backs, while senior Laci Boyett drove the paint to put the Lady Panthers up 22-7 at the 5:46 mark of the first half. Wolff completed the 8-0 run with a banker off the left side on an in-bounds play to make it 24-7.
Most of Cabot’s damage had been done from the inside early, but that changed when junior Maddie Smith checked into the game with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. Smith took an assist from Boyett and launched a three pointer that put the Lady Panthers up 27-10 and struck again from the outside just over a minute later to make it 32-12 with 3:17 remaining in the half.
Wolff decided to get in on the action outside with back-to-back threes inside of three minutes. Her second with 2:05 left to play lifted Cabot to a 38-14 lead.
Wolff, Taylor, and the rest of the Cabot starters sat on the bench most of the second half. Wolff scored two quick baskets to start the half, followed by two baskets for Taylor, who finished her night unassisted with a steal at midcourt and a drive inside the paint that gave the Lady Panthers an insurmountable 47-16 lead with 13:41 remaining.
Wolff, Taylor, Wacker and Boyett were all pulled after that, leaving juniors Jaylin Bridges and Ally Van Enk as the only players in the main rotation still on the court.
Van Enk had an all-purpose night for the Lady Panthers with five points, five rebounds and three steals.
“Ally is probably one of the best athletes we have,” Crowder said. “She just needs to get her confidence up to play. She’s a very good player when she gets ready to play.”
Himstedt led the Lady Jackrabbits on the boards with six rebounds. Lonoke committed 34 turnovers, while Cabot gave the ball away 14 times.
“We’ve just got to do a really good job rebounding,” Crowder said. “We’ve got to be a good defensive team and keep executing on offense. So we have to keep challenging them to get better.”
Cabot will play in the consolation finals of the Alumni Classic at 2:30 Saturday against Pulaski Academy or Little Rock Hall.
Leader sportswriter
The outcome was never in question as Cabot advanced to the consolation finals of the Arkansas Alumni Classic basketball tournament with a 64-31 victory over Lonoke at Hall High School on Thursday.
The Lady Panthers applied a heavy press early and forced 10 turnovers from the Lady Jackrabbits in the first four minutes of play. Senior and University of Arkansas signee Melissa Wolff led the scoring charge for Cabot with 17 points and four steals, while junior Elliott Taylor added 10 points for the Lady Panthers.
“The girls played real hard; I’m real proud of them,” Cabot coach Carla Crowder said. “Lonoke, they’re really young, and I think they’re going to get it. They’re just a very young team. We’ve got four starters back, so that’s a big difference.”
Cabot started the game on a 9-0 run with an inside basket by Sydney Wacker, followed by a shot just inside the three-point line by Wolff, who then made the front end of a two-shot foul before two baskets by Taylor put the Lady Panthers up 9-0 with 13:19 left to play in the first half.
Strong defense inside by Cabot made things tough on the drive dependant Lady Jackrabbits, who earned many of their points the hard way by drawing contact on their way to the rim for a trip to the free-throw line. Senior guard Derrika Mays led the scoring for Lonoke with 11 points, while fellow senior and post player Anna Himstedt finished with eight points, including a 6-for-6 performance at the free-throw line.
Cabot put together another run of unanswered scores midway through the first half. Taylor and Wacker both scored on put backs, while senior Laci Boyett drove the paint to put the Lady Panthers up 22-7 at the 5:46 mark of the first half. Wolff completed the 8-0 run with a banker off the left side on an in-bounds play to make it 24-7.
Most of Cabot’s damage had been done from the inside early, but that changed when junior Maddie Smith checked into the game with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. Smith took an assist from Boyett and launched a three pointer that put the Lady Panthers up 27-10 and struck again from the outside just over a minute later to make it 32-12 with 3:17 remaining in the half.
Wolff decided to get in on the action outside with back-to-back threes inside of three minutes. Her second with 2:05 left to play lifted Cabot to a 38-14 lead.
Wolff, Taylor, and the rest of the Cabot starters sat on the bench most of the second half. Wolff scored two quick baskets to start the half, followed by two baskets for Taylor, who finished her night unassisted with a steal at midcourt and a drive inside the paint that gave the Lady Panthers an insurmountable 47-16 lead with 13:41 remaining.
Wolff, Taylor, Wacker and Boyett were all pulled after that, leaving juniors Jaylin Bridges and Ally Van Enk as the only players in the main rotation still on the court.
Van Enk had an all-purpose night for the Lady Panthers with five points, five rebounds and three steals.
“Ally is probably one of the best athletes we have,” Crowder said. “She just needs to get her confidence up to play. She’s a very good player when she gets ready to play.”
Himstedt led the Lady Jackrabbits on the boards with six rebounds. Lonoke committed 34 turnovers, while Cabot gave the ball away 14 times.
“We’ve just got to do a really good job rebounding,” Crowder said. “We’ve got to be a good defensive team and keep executing on offense. So we have to keep challenging them to get better.”
Cabot will play in the consolation finals of the Alumni Classic at 2:30 Saturday against Pulaski Academy or Little Rock Hall.
SPORTS>>Hogs secure McClure
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Jacksonville senior D’Vone McClure signed his national letter of intent to play baseball for the University of Arkansa. McClure signed early in the morning in front of students and faculty at the Devils Den gymnasium Wednesday.
McClure, a centerfielder, was part of a state-championship winning Red Devils team back in the spring, and is one of only two returning starters from that team.
The Jacksonville High School Juke Box Band set the mood with a short performance before athletic director Jerry Wilson led the student body in calling the Hogs.
That was followed by a brief speech by baseball coach Larry Burrows before McClure spoke to the crowd. McClure thanked his coaches and his friends for always pushing him, and thanked his family for being there for him.
“He’s been a leader since he came up,” Burrows said. “It’s nice when your best player is the hardest worker, and he’s always worked extremely hard. He’s been a good teammate, and he’s had a lot of good teammates around him. They’ve sort of put us back on the map.”
McClure was the hitting leader on a Jacksonville team which had six players batting .300 or better. In 100 at-bats, McClure had 46 hits, including nine home runs for an average of .460 and an on-base percentage of .589. He was also second to Patrick Castleberry in RBIs with 31.
The signing comes just after McClure and the Red Devils football team fell out of the Class 6A state playoffs with a 15-10 loss to Sheridan.
McClure was a starting wide receiver on the football team, making him a true two-sport standout.
“It was a lot of hard work,” McClure said. “But I love both sports, so I just kept on playing them.”
With heavy hitters such as Castleberry, Jacob Abrahamson, Kenny Cummings and Tommy Sanders all graduated from last year’s state championship team, it leaves McClure and pitcher Jessie Harbin as the only experienced players returning next spring. But McClure, with a championship ring on his hand and a prestigious scholarship in his pocket, pledges to keep doing what he’s always done – work hard.
“At the end, we’ll play better,” McClure said. “We’ll come together as a team. Me and Harbin will show them around a little bit. Once they get familiar with it, we’ll be better. It would be awesome to get another ring, but I know it’s going to be a lot of hard work.”
Leader sportswriter
Jacksonville senior D’Vone McClure signed his national letter of intent to play baseball for the University of Arkansa. McClure signed early in the morning in front of students and faculty at the Devils Den gymnasium Wednesday.
McClure, a centerfielder, was part of a state-championship winning Red Devils team back in the spring, and is one of only two returning starters from that team.
The Jacksonville High School Juke Box Band set the mood with a short performance before athletic director Jerry Wilson led the student body in calling the Hogs.
That was followed by a brief speech by baseball coach Larry Burrows before McClure spoke to the crowd. McClure thanked his coaches and his friends for always pushing him, and thanked his family for being there for him.
“He’s been a leader since he came up,” Burrows said. “It’s nice when your best player is the hardest worker, and he’s always worked extremely hard. He’s been a good teammate, and he’s had a lot of good teammates around him. They’ve sort of put us back on the map.”
McClure was the hitting leader on a Jacksonville team which had six players batting .300 or better. In 100 at-bats, McClure had 46 hits, including nine home runs for an average of .460 and an on-base percentage of .589. He was also second to Patrick Castleberry in RBIs with 31.
The signing comes just after McClure and the Red Devils football team fell out of the Class 6A state playoffs with a 15-10 loss to Sheridan.
McClure was a starting wide receiver on the football team, making him a true two-sport standout.
“It was a lot of hard work,” McClure said. “But I love both sports, so I just kept on playing them.”
With heavy hitters such as Castleberry, Jacob Abrahamson, Kenny Cummings and Tommy Sanders all graduated from last year’s state championship team, it leaves McClure and pitcher Jessie Harbin as the only experienced players returning next spring. But McClure, with a championship ring on his hand and a prestigious scholarship in his pocket, pledges to keep doing what he’s always done – work hard.
“At the end, we’ll play better,” McClure said. “We’ll come together as a team. Me and Harbin will show them around a little bit. Once they get familiar with it, we’ll be better. It would be awesome to get another ring, but I know it’s going to be a lot of hard work.”
SPORTS>>Beebe ladies handle Bears
By GRAHAM POWELL
Special to The Leader
Through all four quarters Friday night, Beebe and Sylvan Hills struggled with turnovers. Despite a late effort from the Lady Bears, the Lady Badgers’ Kalela Miller kept making play after play when her team needed it the most.
Miller, a sophomore guard, scored 12 of her 22 points in the second half to lead the Lady Badgers to a 61-48 win over Sylvan Hills in the seventh place game of the Heavenly Hoops Classic held at Mount St. Mary’s Academy.
“It was a little sloppy,” said Beebe head coach Greg Richey about the game, “but it’s a win. That’s what’s important right now. We were just trying to get us a win here, but we had some kids do some good things.”
The final score made the game look a lot closer than it really was. Sylvan Hills held a 10-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Beebe came out strong in the second, outscoring the Lady Bears 20-8 to take a 28-18 lead going into the half.
Beebe’s junior point guard Jamie Jackson scored 12 points in the first half, with the majority of those points coming in the second quarter to help give the Lady Badgers a boost offensively.
“She’s been a good player for us,” Richey said of Jackson. “She’s had a double-double in every game we’ve played this year.”
Jackson didn’t get her usual double-double, likely due to her fouling out early in the fourth quarter. She still managed to finish the game with 20 points.
Beebe dominated the third quarter much like they did the second, outscoring the Lady Bears 20-11, giving the Lady Badgers a comfortable 48-29 lead going into the fourth.
“The last two games we played I was very proud of our efforts,” said Sylvan Hills head coach Shelley Davis about her team’s play. “I thought we played very hard and made good strides and learned some things. Tonight, a totally different team.
“I didn’t feel like our enthusiasm was there. I didn’t feel like the energy was there, and we didn’t come out ready. You can’t do that against teams with good athletes like Beebe.”
Despite the Lady Badgers’ comfortable lead going into the fourth quarter, Sylvan Hills came out strong and kept competing. The Lady Bears hit four three pointers in the fourth quarter and outscored the Lady Badgers 19-13.
Even though the Lady Bears didn’t quit, many of the team’s points came late with Beebe playing it safe.
“I was very pleased up until tonight,” Davis said, “I thought I saw a little bit of spark back in us in the fourth quarter. It was just disoriented at times, very sloppy, and no emotion whatsoever. They play hard and they play with a lot of emotion, so that’s what was frustrating watching them. I didn’t feel like we were mentally ready.”
Senior point guard Kashima Wright, and junior guard Naomi Gregory led the Lady Bears’ late scoring run. Gregory led the Lady Bears with 15 points, while also adding 2 rebounds, 1 block and 3 steals.
Wright finished the game with 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Wright and Gregory hit three of the team’s four three pointers at the end of the game.
Even though Beebe got the win, the Lady Badgers had more turnovers, 19, than the Lady Bears’ 15. Davis is disappointed with the loss, but believes her team will be better the next time they play.
“We played two great games Monday and Wednesday,” Davis said, “and we come in tonight and I was just disappointed. We could’ve beat them, but we get another shot at them next week.”
Special to The Leader
Through all four quarters Friday night, Beebe and Sylvan Hills struggled with turnovers. Despite a late effort from the Lady Bears, the Lady Badgers’ Kalela Miller kept making play after play when her team needed it the most.
Miller, a sophomore guard, scored 12 of her 22 points in the second half to lead the Lady Badgers to a 61-48 win over Sylvan Hills in the seventh place game of the Heavenly Hoops Classic held at Mount St. Mary’s Academy.
“It was a little sloppy,” said Beebe head coach Greg Richey about the game, “but it’s a win. That’s what’s important right now. We were just trying to get us a win here, but we had some kids do some good things.”
The final score made the game look a lot closer than it really was. Sylvan Hills held a 10-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Beebe came out strong in the second, outscoring the Lady Bears 20-8 to take a 28-18 lead going into the half.
Beebe’s junior point guard Jamie Jackson scored 12 points in the first half, with the majority of those points coming in the second quarter to help give the Lady Badgers a boost offensively.
“She’s been a good player for us,” Richey said of Jackson. “She’s had a double-double in every game we’ve played this year.”
Jackson didn’t get her usual double-double, likely due to her fouling out early in the fourth quarter. She still managed to finish the game with 20 points.
Beebe dominated the third quarter much like they did the second, outscoring the Lady Bears 20-11, giving the Lady Badgers a comfortable 48-29 lead going into the fourth.
“The last two games we played I was very proud of our efforts,” said Sylvan Hills head coach Shelley Davis about her team’s play. “I thought we played very hard and made good strides and learned some things. Tonight, a totally different team.
“I didn’t feel like our enthusiasm was there. I didn’t feel like the energy was there, and we didn’t come out ready. You can’t do that against teams with good athletes like Beebe.”
Despite the Lady Badgers’ comfortable lead going into the fourth quarter, Sylvan Hills came out strong and kept competing. The Lady Bears hit four three pointers in the fourth quarter and outscored the Lady Badgers 19-13.
Even though the Lady Bears didn’t quit, many of the team’s points came late with Beebe playing it safe.
“I was very pleased up until tonight,” Davis said, “I thought I saw a little bit of spark back in us in the fourth quarter. It was just disoriented at times, very sloppy, and no emotion whatsoever. They play hard and they play with a lot of emotion, so that’s what was frustrating watching them. I didn’t feel like we were mentally ready.”
Senior point guard Kashima Wright, and junior guard Naomi Gregory led the Lady Bears’ late scoring run. Gregory led the Lady Bears with 15 points, while also adding 2 rebounds, 1 block and 3 steals.
Wright finished the game with 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Wright and Gregory hit three of the team’s four three pointers at the end of the game.
Even though Beebe got the win, the Lady Badgers had more turnovers, 19, than the Lady Bears’ 15. Davis is disappointed with the loss, but believes her team will be better the next time they play.
“We played two great games Monday and Wednesday,” Davis said, “and we come in tonight and I was just disappointed. We could’ve beat them, but we get another shot at them next week.”
SPORTS>>Carlisle overcomes 16-point deficit for win
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Resiliency was the characteristic that shined Friday at Fred Hardke Field in Carlisle. The Bison were down and looked like they might be overmatched by the visiting Danville Little Johns in their second-round class 2A playoff matchup. Danville’s speed helped it race out to a 16-0 lead, but Carlisle buckled down and mounted a slow, methodical comeback to win 22-16 and advance to the quarterfinal round.
“This group of kids is just a great group of young men,” Carlisle coach Scott Waymire said. “I think the world of those seniors. I’ve been around them six years. They just played like Carlisle Bison tonight. We’ve had great groups since I got here and before. The kids just have great character. It’s a just a great place. Carlisle’s a great town and has a lot of great kids.”
Carlisle, 11-0, started the game-winning drive on its own 9-yard line with 6:58 left in the game. On second and three from the Danville 11, Bo Weddle took the fullback trap up the middle, cut left and raced into the end zone to give Carlisle a 20-16 lead with 2:09 remaining in the game. Deron Ricks added the two-point conversion on a sweep left to set the final margin, but the game was not yet over.
Danville, 9-3, took possession, and despite several penalties on the final drive, still threatened. The Little Johns had first down at the Carlisle 16 with 21 seconds left. An illegal procedure penalty moved them back five yards. On the next play, Dakota Long caught a 5-yard pass, but didn’t get out of bounds. With no timeouts left, Danville ran out of time before it could snap the ball again.
A key play of the drive was a 20-yard reception on third and one that was called back for illegal motion.
“We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times, and they did too,” Waymire said. “But that speed that they have can help you overcome that a lot of times.”
Indeed early on, Danville’s speed looked like it might be too much for Carlisle.
Danville got on the board with its first drive of the game. Starting from its own 34, four plays got it to the Carlisle 42. That’s where senior tailback Sean Tyra showed his exceptional speed for the first time. From the I formation, Tyra got through the first layer of defenders up the 2 hole, cut left and ran untouched 42 yards for the score with 10:19 left in the first quarter.
Carlisle’s evening got off to a rough start with a mishandled kickoff that left the offense on its own 13 to start its first drive. Still, the Bison had a good drive going when a huge penalty thwarted momentum.
After 10 plays, Carlisle faced third and 8 from the Danville 27. Braxton Petrus picked up the first down on an option pitch from King, but receiver Justice Bryant was called for an illegal block in the back. Instead of first down, Carlisle faced third and 19. An option pass was the call, but Danville sniffed it out and King’s throw was under pressure and incomplete.
Carlisle’s punt was downed by King inside the Danville 1-yard line, but that didn’t help stop the Little John offense.
Danville drove 14 plays, and because of a holding penalty in the course of the drive, 109 yards to score. The key play of the drive was a 13-yard pass completion from Giles to Daniel Parker on third and five. Danville got about half the yardage on 12 plays. The final two went for 54. On second and 16, Giles hit Dadrian Ester for a 20-yard completion.
On the next play Tyra got loose again, this time straight up the middle 34 yards for the score. The extra point was no good, leaving it 13-0 Danville with 11:34 left in the first half.
Carlisle’s next drive ended on downs at the Danville 48. More penalties hurt the Little Johns, who had to settle for a 39-yard field goal by Kevin Dominguez with 6:08 left in the half that made it 16-0.
The Bison had to have something good happen on its next drive, and it did. The Bison started at their own 26 and put together a 13-play scoring drive. Disaster almost struck on second and goal from the 5-yard line. The snap hit the ground, but Carlisle covered it for a 3-yard loss. Carlisle called timeout to talk about the third-down play.
Out of the timeout, quarterback Zac King kept it on a bootleg that Danville didn’t recognize. King walked into the end zone with 17 seconds left in the first half. The same call to the other side was good for the conversion and Carlisle had cut Danville’s lead in half just before halftime.
Carlisle got it back to start the second half. After a first down from a Danville personal foul, and another on a 10-yard run by Ty Vaughn, the Bison started committing the penalties. Two illegal procedure penalties and an incomplete pass set up fourth and 19, forcing Carlisle to punt. Danville’s first drive of the second half was three and out, a huge win for the Bison defense.
The Bison offense responded by scoring.
A poor punt set Carlisle up at its own 49. Three plays got just four yards, but Carlisle caught another big break when Danville was flagged for an illegal substitution. That made it fourth and one. Senior Braxton Petrus got the call.
He was initially hit two yards in the backfield, but a second effort got him through the line of scrimmage for a 2-yard gain that kept the drive alive.
A holding penalty on the next play backed Carlisle up again, but Petrus picked up 36 on first and long to set up first and goal at the 9.
Seven yards from Vaughn and two from Weddle got it into the end zone. The conversion failed and Carlisle trailed 16-14 with 3:56 left in the third quarter.
The two teams traded turnovers on the next two possessions. Danville got it back on an interception by Ester at the Little John 20-yard line.
From there, Danville marched 14 plays to the Carlisle 11, but a huge defensive play stopped the drive.
On third and goal at the 11, Weddle hammered Danville quarterback Mike Jiles, forcing a fumble that King recovered, setting up Carlisle’s winning drive.
Danville won the yardage battle, piling up 371 yards of offense to 307 for Carlisle. Weddle led the Bison with 161 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Petrus added 70 yards on 14 carries and Vaughn had eight carries for 60 yards.
Tyra led Danville with 12 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns.
Carlisle will face the Gurdon Go-Devils next week. Gurdon beat Spring Hill 35-7 on Friday.
Leader sports editor
Resiliency was the characteristic that shined Friday at Fred Hardke Field in Carlisle. The Bison were down and looked like they might be overmatched by the visiting Danville Little Johns in their second-round class 2A playoff matchup. Danville’s speed helped it race out to a 16-0 lead, but Carlisle buckled down and mounted a slow, methodical comeback to win 22-16 and advance to the quarterfinal round.
“This group of kids is just a great group of young men,” Carlisle coach Scott Waymire said. “I think the world of those seniors. I’ve been around them six years. They just played like Carlisle Bison tonight. We’ve had great groups since I got here and before. The kids just have great character. It’s a just a great place. Carlisle’s a great town and has a lot of great kids.”
Carlisle, 11-0, started the game-winning drive on its own 9-yard line with 6:58 left in the game. On second and three from the Danville 11, Bo Weddle took the fullback trap up the middle, cut left and raced into the end zone to give Carlisle a 20-16 lead with 2:09 remaining in the game. Deron Ricks added the two-point conversion on a sweep left to set the final margin, but the game was not yet over.
Danville, 9-3, took possession, and despite several penalties on the final drive, still threatened. The Little Johns had first down at the Carlisle 16 with 21 seconds left. An illegal procedure penalty moved them back five yards. On the next play, Dakota Long caught a 5-yard pass, but didn’t get out of bounds. With no timeouts left, Danville ran out of time before it could snap the ball again.
A key play of the drive was a 20-yard reception on third and one that was called back for illegal motion.
“We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times, and they did too,” Waymire said. “But that speed that they have can help you overcome that a lot of times.”
Indeed early on, Danville’s speed looked like it might be too much for Carlisle.
Danville got on the board with its first drive of the game. Starting from its own 34, four plays got it to the Carlisle 42. That’s where senior tailback Sean Tyra showed his exceptional speed for the first time. From the I formation, Tyra got through the first layer of defenders up the 2 hole, cut left and ran untouched 42 yards for the score with 10:19 left in the first quarter.
Carlisle’s evening got off to a rough start with a mishandled kickoff that left the offense on its own 13 to start its first drive. Still, the Bison had a good drive going when a huge penalty thwarted momentum.
After 10 plays, Carlisle faced third and 8 from the Danville 27. Braxton Petrus picked up the first down on an option pitch from King, but receiver Justice Bryant was called for an illegal block in the back. Instead of first down, Carlisle faced third and 19. An option pass was the call, but Danville sniffed it out and King’s throw was under pressure and incomplete.
Carlisle’s punt was downed by King inside the Danville 1-yard line, but that didn’t help stop the Little John offense.
Danville drove 14 plays, and because of a holding penalty in the course of the drive, 109 yards to score. The key play of the drive was a 13-yard pass completion from Giles to Daniel Parker on third and five. Danville got about half the yardage on 12 plays. The final two went for 54. On second and 16, Giles hit Dadrian Ester for a 20-yard completion.
On the next play Tyra got loose again, this time straight up the middle 34 yards for the score. The extra point was no good, leaving it 13-0 Danville with 11:34 left in the first half.
Carlisle’s next drive ended on downs at the Danville 48. More penalties hurt the Little Johns, who had to settle for a 39-yard field goal by Kevin Dominguez with 6:08 left in the half that made it 16-0.
The Bison had to have something good happen on its next drive, and it did. The Bison started at their own 26 and put together a 13-play scoring drive. Disaster almost struck on second and goal from the 5-yard line. The snap hit the ground, but Carlisle covered it for a 3-yard loss. Carlisle called timeout to talk about the third-down play.
Out of the timeout, quarterback Zac King kept it on a bootleg that Danville didn’t recognize. King walked into the end zone with 17 seconds left in the first half. The same call to the other side was good for the conversion and Carlisle had cut Danville’s lead in half just before halftime.
Carlisle got it back to start the second half. After a first down from a Danville personal foul, and another on a 10-yard run by Ty Vaughn, the Bison started committing the penalties. Two illegal procedure penalties and an incomplete pass set up fourth and 19, forcing Carlisle to punt. Danville’s first drive of the second half was three and out, a huge win for the Bison defense.
The Bison offense responded by scoring.
A poor punt set Carlisle up at its own 49. Three plays got just four yards, but Carlisle caught another big break when Danville was flagged for an illegal substitution. That made it fourth and one. Senior Braxton Petrus got the call.
He was initially hit two yards in the backfield, but a second effort got him through the line of scrimmage for a 2-yard gain that kept the drive alive.
A holding penalty on the next play backed Carlisle up again, but Petrus picked up 36 on first and long to set up first and goal at the 9.
Seven yards from Vaughn and two from Weddle got it into the end zone. The conversion failed and Carlisle trailed 16-14 with 3:56 left in the third quarter.
The two teams traded turnovers on the next two possessions. Danville got it back on an interception by Ester at the Little John 20-yard line.
From there, Danville marched 14 plays to the Carlisle 11, but a huge defensive play stopped the drive.
On third and goal at the 11, Weddle hammered Danville quarterback Mike Jiles, forcing a fumble that King recovered, setting up Carlisle’s winning drive.
Danville won the yardage battle, piling up 371 yards of offense to 307 for Carlisle. Weddle led the Bison with 161 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Petrus added 70 yards on 14 carries and Vaughn had eight carries for 60 yards.
Tyra led Danville with 12 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns.
Carlisle will face the Gurdon Go-Devils next week. Gurdon beat Spring Hill 35-7 on Friday.
Friday, November 18, 2011
EDITORIAL >>Corporate free loaders
The late, great Leland Duvall, the farm and business writer for the Arkansas Gazette, occasionally invoked Moreland’s Laws of Economics to explain the conduct of institutions of finance or commerce. Moreland’s Sixth Law might be “Profits are never high enough.” Moreland’s Fourth Law could be “Taxes are never low enough.” Moreland was the Ozark mountain community where Duvall was reared. His numbering was a matter of whim and varied according to the occasion.
Duvall’s formulation on the optimum level of business taxes would explain the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce’s presentation this week to the legislature’s Joint Revenue and Tax Committee. It hired a big accounting firm to analyze Arkansas’ various taxes on corporations and those of the surrounding states and, for some reason, Kansas.
What do you think the chamber’s study showed? Exactly. It showed what the chamber wanted it to show. Arkansas needs not to impose so many taxes on corporations. They would grow and hire more people if Arkansas taxed them like states with lower corporate tax burdens.
The chamber and the corporations for which it fights want the legislature to lower tax rates and create more exemptions when it gathers again in regular session, in 2013, or in the 2012 session in January if the governor and the legislature could be persuaded to extend its fiscal session for the purpose of helping industry and creating jobs. Who can blame them? You would like to pay fewer taxes, too, wouldn’t you, if your state and local governments could provide the essential services without them?
You could be forgiven your skepticism if you doubted the efficacy of a comparative study of state tax climates. So disparate are the tax laws of the states that you can massage the tax rates, exemptions, credits, deductions and special deals for this or that kind of business to show whatever you want the study to show. This one is a good case in point.
The study concluded that when you weighed the various taxes that affect investments by a corporation, Arkansas was near the top in a number of categories. The overall “effective tax rate” on corporations ranged from Texas’ 9.1 percent to Louisiana’s 12.7 percent. Arkansas’ rate, the corporate accountants said, was second highest at 11.5 percent. The differences actually don’t look so forbidding, but another scholar might establish an entirely different set of numbers.
Texas was supposed to levy negligible income and franchise taxes while Arkansas levied a tiny franchise tax, but an income tax that graduates to 6.5 percent on net income above $100,000. Arkansas’ income- tax rate is higher than those of Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma but lower than Tennessee’s, Missouri’s, Louisiana’s and Kansas’. (Kansas’ is commonly listed as a 4 percent tax, but on net income over $50,000 it rises to 7 percent, higher than Arkansas.)
While Texas does not have a corporate income tax, it has a margin tax that reaps huge revenues for the state. It is not based on a company’s net profits but—big difference—upon its total revenues or gross receipts after wages and salaries. Also, unlike Arkansas, the states of Kansas and Texas require combined reporting by multistate corporations so that they pay taxes on all the revenues the companies collect in those states. Arkansas permits the corporations to shift their Arkansas income to subsidiaries in tax havens to avoid paying taxes in Arkansas. The chamber’s accounting scholars would consider the effective tax rate of one of the big oil companies high in Arkansas, but it really would be negligible.
Arkansas’ property taxes are considerably lower than those of the competing neighbors. We impose a high sales tax, but corporations, particularly manufacturers, have won exemptions for their major transactions.
Did they factor in severance taxes on minerals? Energy is Texas’ big industry. While Texas’ margin tax on the big oil and gas producers and Oklahoma’s income tax on them are not particularly high, the states charge the companies 6 to 7 percent of the market value of the gas they produce. Arkansas collects less than 2 percent.
But the more important consideration is that the effective state corporate tax rate has little to do with business expansion. While every business would love to pay lower taxes, there are far more critical factors that determine when and where you launch or expand. If Arkansas’ income tax rate is a little higher than, say, Mississippi’s or Texas’, the Arkansas business takes a greater deduction when it pays its taxes to Uncle Sam.
Here is why the chamber’s lobbying for lower corporate taxes is important to you: If corporate taxes are lower, then at some point taxes on everyone else—consumers and workers—will need to be higher. It just works that way. That explosion of economic growth and new government revenues that is supposed to follow tax cuts for corporations and investors never happens.
Let’s hope the legislature keeps that in mind when it ponders the chamber’s tax study.
Duvall’s formulation on the optimum level of business taxes would explain the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce’s presentation this week to the legislature’s Joint Revenue and Tax Committee. It hired a big accounting firm to analyze Arkansas’ various taxes on corporations and those of the surrounding states and, for some reason, Kansas.
What do you think the chamber’s study showed? Exactly. It showed what the chamber wanted it to show. Arkansas needs not to impose so many taxes on corporations. They would grow and hire more people if Arkansas taxed them like states with lower corporate tax burdens.
The chamber and the corporations for which it fights want the legislature to lower tax rates and create more exemptions when it gathers again in regular session, in 2013, or in the 2012 session in January if the governor and the legislature could be persuaded to extend its fiscal session for the purpose of helping industry and creating jobs. Who can blame them? You would like to pay fewer taxes, too, wouldn’t you, if your state and local governments could provide the essential services without them?
You could be forgiven your skepticism if you doubted the efficacy of a comparative study of state tax climates. So disparate are the tax laws of the states that you can massage the tax rates, exemptions, credits, deductions and special deals for this or that kind of business to show whatever you want the study to show. This one is a good case in point.
The study concluded that when you weighed the various taxes that affect investments by a corporation, Arkansas was near the top in a number of categories. The overall “effective tax rate” on corporations ranged from Texas’ 9.1 percent to Louisiana’s 12.7 percent. Arkansas’ rate, the corporate accountants said, was second highest at 11.5 percent. The differences actually don’t look so forbidding, but another scholar might establish an entirely different set of numbers.
Texas was supposed to levy negligible income and franchise taxes while Arkansas levied a tiny franchise tax, but an income tax that graduates to 6.5 percent on net income above $100,000. Arkansas’ income- tax rate is higher than those of Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma but lower than Tennessee’s, Missouri’s, Louisiana’s and Kansas’. (Kansas’ is commonly listed as a 4 percent tax, but on net income over $50,000 it rises to 7 percent, higher than Arkansas.)
While Texas does not have a corporate income tax, it has a margin tax that reaps huge revenues for the state. It is not based on a company’s net profits but—big difference—upon its total revenues or gross receipts after wages and salaries. Also, unlike Arkansas, the states of Kansas and Texas require combined reporting by multistate corporations so that they pay taxes on all the revenues the companies collect in those states. Arkansas permits the corporations to shift their Arkansas income to subsidiaries in tax havens to avoid paying taxes in Arkansas. The chamber’s accounting scholars would consider the effective tax rate of one of the big oil companies high in Arkansas, but it really would be negligible.
Arkansas’ property taxes are considerably lower than those of the competing neighbors. We impose a high sales tax, but corporations, particularly manufacturers, have won exemptions for their major transactions.
Did they factor in severance taxes on minerals? Energy is Texas’ big industry. While Texas’ margin tax on the big oil and gas producers and Oklahoma’s income tax on them are not particularly high, the states charge the companies 6 to 7 percent of the market value of the gas they produce. Arkansas collects less than 2 percent.
But the more important consideration is that the effective state corporate tax rate has little to do with business expansion. While every business would love to pay lower taxes, there are far more critical factors that determine when and where you launch or expand. If Arkansas’ income tax rate is a little higher than, say, Mississippi’s or Texas’, the Arkansas business takes a greater deduction when it pays its taxes to Uncle Sam.
Here is why the chamber’s lobbying for lower corporate taxes is important to you: If corporate taxes are lower, then at some point taxes on everyone else—consumers and workers—will need to be higher. It just works that way. That explosion of economic growth and new government revenues that is supposed to follow tax cuts for corporations and investors never happens.
Let’s hope the legislature keeps that in mind when it ponders the chamber’s tax study.
TOP STORY > >Council approves limited fireworks
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
By a 9 to 1 vote, the Jack-sonville City Council on Thursday adopted a new fireworks ordinance that allows restricted use of fireworks with a permit and increases fines for use outside of the times that the ordinance allows.
Alderman Mike Traylor was the lone dissenter.
He believed the new ordinance would not accomplish the council’s goals of reducing police calls. Over the July 4th holiday, the 911 center had so many calls that it crashed the system.
“How does this stop the calls?” Traylor asked.
Even after Alderman Reedie Ray, who was the chairman of a committee that met six times on the issue, went over the ordinance and said police won’t have to respond to calls from areas with permits. Traylor re-mained unconvinced.
Alderman Marshall Smith admitted that there would be just as many calls the first year, but as residents became more familiar with the rules, there would be fewer calls.
Ray told the council that the committee didn’t want to completely say no to fireworks, which the old ordinance did. “It’s like the fire chief says, fireworks are as American as baseball and apple pie,” Ray said.
“We now allow a certain period for their use,” Ray continued, adding that he wanted a “show of force.”
Code officers, auxiliary officers, police placed around the city, especially in areas where the 911 center received the most complaint calls. “But it didn’t get in,” Ray said.
What is included are higher fines and more parent responsibilities for children shooting off fireworks. Fines can now be as high as $750 plus court costs. “This gives us more control,” Ray said.
When asked how many citations had been issued in the past, City Attorney Robert Bamburg said he could count the number of citations on one hand.
He said this Fourth of July only one citation was issued but the person was found not guilty because the old ordinance was not clear about the parent’s role.
“This version holds the parent much more responsible,” said Mayor Gary Fletcher.
The new law does let “any private land owner or organization to provide a July Fourth fireworks display from 6 to 11 p.m.” provide the landowner or organization has obtained approval and permits for each display from the city and state fire marshals.
The permits will be free.
However, those seeking permission to discharge fireworks must also provide payment or make other assurances for security, traffic control and timely trash cleanup.
The fire and police departments also need 72 hours notice.
Outside of the permitted use, the ordinance prohibits any person from discharging, exploding, firing, manufacturing, possessing, selling or allowing to be discharged, exploded, fired, manufactured, possessed or sold any “bombs, firecrackers, Roman candles, squids, torpedoes, or other such items containing powder or combustible or explosive material” within city limits.
It goes on to state that “no parent or guardian of a minor shall furnish money or a thing of value to a minor for the purchase of fireworks or encourage, act in conjunction with or in any manner aid, allow, instigate, or permit a minor to buy, discharge, explode, fire, manufacture, possess, receive, sell, transport, or use fireworks” within the city limits.
A parent can be found guilty of this section even if the child is not found guilty of using fireworks.
Even though the ordinance restricts the use of fireworks and increases the fines, it does allow the sale of fireworks within the city by the one fireworks company that was annexed into the city when the property along Hwy. 67/167 south of Cabot was added.
The ordinance grandfathers the business in, but it will not apply if the business is sold, transferred or moved.
Both the mayor and police chief had said that they would have liked to have the city set certain days and times for fireworks to help stop police from being inundated with phone calls every Fourth of July and Christmas Eve.
“I’d like our officers to be working really crime and not having to chase down these calls,” Mayor Gary Fletcher previously told the committee and council.
Police Chief Gary Sipes agreed, adding that whenever a complaint call comes in, the department responds but by the time the patrols get to a site of a fireworks call, the kids or adults shooting off the fireworks are usually gone.
He said even though his department received close to 200 calls this past Fourth of July, there were no arrests.
Fire Chief John Vanderhoof said fire damage and injuries from fireworks over the years had been minimal.
He told the committee in one of its meetings, that the only serious fire incident he could recall was when a young boy set off large fireworks in his bedroom. “Other than that it’s just been a few grass fires,” he said.
The ordinance will take effect in 30 days.
Leader staff writer
By a 9 to 1 vote, the Jack-sonville City Council on Thursday adopted a new fireworks ordinance that allows restricted use of fireworks with a permit and increases fines for use outside of the times that the ordinance allows.
Alderman Mike Traylor was the lone dissenter.
He believed the new ordinance would not accomplish the council’s goals of reducing police calls. Over the July 4th holiday, the 911 center had so many calls that it crashed the system.
“How does this stop the calls?” Traylor asked.
Even after Alderman Reedie Ray, who was the chairman of a committee that met six times on the issue, went over the ordinance and said police won’t have to respond to calls from areas with permits. Traylor re-mained unconvinced.
Alderman Marshall Smith admitted that there would be just as many calls the first year, but as residents became more familiar with the rules, there would be fewer calls.
Ray told the council that the committee didn’t want to completely say no to fireworks, which the old ordinance did. “It’s like the fire chief says, fireworks are as American as baseball and apple pie,” Ray said.
“We now allow a certain period for their use,” Ray continued, adding that he wanted a “show of force.”
Code officers, auxiliary officers, police placed around the city, especially in areas where the 911 center received the most complaint calls. “But it didn’t get in,” Ray said.
What is included are higher fines and more parent responsibilities for children shooting off fireworks. Fines can now be as high as $750 plus court costs. “This gives us more control,” Ray said.
When asked how many citations had been issued in the past, City Attorney Robert Bamburg said he could count the number of citations on one hand.
He said this Fourth of July only one citation was issued but the person was found not guilty because the old ordinance was not clear about the parent’s role.
“This version holds the parent much more responsible,” said Mayor Gary Fletcher.
The new law does let “any private land owner or organization to provide a July Fourth fireworks display from 6 to 11 p.m.” provide the landowner or organization has obtained approval and permits for each display from the city and state fire marshals.
The permits will be free.
However, those seeking permission to discharge fireworks must also provide payment or make other assurances for security, traffic control and timely trash cleanup.
The fire and police departments also need 72 hours notice.
Outside of the permitted use, the ordinance prohibits any person from discharging, exploding, firing, manufacturing, possessing, selling or allowing to be discharged, exploded, fired, manufactured, possessed or sold any “bombs, firecrackers, Roman candles, squids, torpedoes, or other such items containing powder or combustible or explosive material” within city limits.
It goes on to state that “no parent or guardian of a minor shall furnish money or a thing of value to a minor for the purchase of fireworks or encourage, act in conjunction with or in any manner aid, allow, instigate, or permit a minor to buy, discharge, explode, fire, manufacture, possess, receive, sell, transport, or use fireworks” within the city limits.
A parent can be found guilty of this section even if the child is not found guilty of using fireworks.
Even though the ordinance restricts the use of fireworks and increases the fines, it does allow the sale of fireworks within the city by the one fireworks company that was annexed into the city when the property along Hwy. 67/167 south of Cabot was added.
The ordinance grandfathers the business in, but it will not apply if the business is sold, transferred or moved.
Both the mayor and police chief had said that they would have liked to have the city set certain days and times for fireworks to help stop police from being inundated with phone calls every Fourth of July and Christmas Eve.
“I’d like our officers to be working really crime and not having to chase down these calls,” Mayor Gary Fletcher previously told the committee and council.
Police Chief Gary Sipes agreed, adding that whenever a complaint call comes in, the department responds but by the time the patrols get to a site of a fireworks call, the kids or adults shooting off the fireworks are usually gone.
He said even though his department received close to 200 calls this past Fourth of July, there were no arrests.
Fire Chief John Vanderhoof said fire damage and injuries from fireworks over the years had been minimal.
He told the committee in one of its meetings, that the only serious fire incident he could recall was when a young boy set off large fireworks in his bedroom. “Other than that it’s just been a few grass fires,” he said.
The ordinance will take effect in 30 days.
TOP STORY > >Not guilty pleas in murder case
By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
Four people accused of involvement in the murder of Walter Jones, 28, in Lonoke on Sept. 18 pleaded not guilty Friday in Lonoke County Circuit Court before Judge Barbara Elmore.
Jeremy Walker, 24, of 101 Plantation Drive is charged with second-degree murder and engaging in a violent group activity. Cortney McClain, 24, and Kimo McClain, 21, both of 302 Teresa Lane, are both charged with second-degree murder, engaging in a violent group activity and hindering apprehension.
Fantasia Williams, 26, of Longview, Texas, who was dating Kimo McClain, is charged with hindering apprehension.
All four requested mental evaluations before their trials begin. They have not bonded out and are at the Lonoke County Detention Center. Walker is being held on $500,000 bond. The McClains and Williams are being held on $250,000 bond.
A bond hearing is set for 9 a.m. Dec. 9. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. March 5 and a jury trial is set to begin at 9 a.m. March 7.
If convicted, a second-degree murder charge enhanced with engaging in a violent group activity carries up to 40 years in prison. Hindering apprehension carries up to 20 years in prison, according to Lonoke County Prosecutor Chuck Graham.
Police found Jones of 105 Teresa Lane dead near three mailboxes at 101 Plantation Drive. Jones had a gunshot wound on the left side of his head near his left ear. A silver revolver with blood on it was found in the grass next to Jones’ body.
Cortney McClain was walking east in the 100 block of Plantation Drive with a gunshot wound to his left forearm. Plantation Drive is across the street from Teresa Lane.
McClain told police that he and Jones began to fight. During the fight, Jones pulled a silver revolver. McClain said he attempted to gain control of the weapon.
During the struggle McClain said he was shot in the left forearm and Jones was shot.
The shooting may be related to a fight that occurred the night before at a nightclub in Scott.
Police do not believe the gun found next to Jones was the weapon used in the shooting.
According to the arrest affidavit, police interviewed Shameka McClain, who was at the scene during the shooting. She told police she had an argument with Jones on Plantation Drive.
She was followed by her brothers, Cortney and Kimo McClain and Jeremy Walker. She heard voices telling her to get back. Cortney McClain rushed Walter. Walter pulled a gun and shot it in the air.
She turned to run and said she did not see who shot or where Kimo McClain and Walker were during the incident, but heard two different sounding gunshots.
A witness reported seeing Jones and Cortney McClain fighting. He said he saw a tall black man run up behind them and shoot about four times. The tall black man went running with another black man. The two men entered a car parked at a home on Plantation Road with Texas plates driven by a black female.
The witness identified Walker as the shooter and Kimo McClain was identified as running with Walker after the shooting occurred in a photo line-up.
When police interviewed Cortney McClain he denied knowing where the suspects were.
Five days after the shooting authorities found Cortney McClain, Kimo McClain and Jeremy Walker in Longview, Texas hiding out at William’s apartment.
All four waived extradition and were returned to Lonoke.
In a suspected act of revenge, McClain’s grandmother’s house at 302 Teresa Lane was set on fire during the night after the shooting. No one was at home when the fire occurred.
A state police arson investigator found traces of an accelerant in the fire. No arrests have been made in the arson.
Leader staff writer
Four people accused of involvement in the murder of Walter Jones, 28, in Lonoke on Sept. 18 pleaded not guilty Friday in Lonoke County Circuit Court before Judge Barbara Elmore.
Jeremy Walker, 24, of 101 Plantation Drive is charged with second-degree murder and engaging in a violent group activity. Cortney McClain, 24, and Kimo McClain, 21, both of 302 Teresa Lane, are both charged with second-degree murder, engaging in a violent group activity and hindering apprehension.
Fantasia Williams, 26, of Longview, Texas, who was dating Kimo McClain, is charged with hindering apprehension.
All four requested mental evaluations before their trials begin. They have not bonded out and are at the Lonoke County Detention Center. Walker is being held on $500,000 bond. The McClains and Williams are being held on $250,000 bond.
A bond hearing is set for 9 a.m. Dec. 9. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. March 5 and a jury trial is set to begin at 9 a.m. March 7.
If convicted, a second-degree murder charge enhanced with engaging in a violent group activity carries up to 40 years in prison. Hindering apprehension carries up to 20 years in prison, according to Lonoke County Prosecutor Chuck Graham.
Police found Jones of 105 Teresa Lane dead near three mailboxes at 101 Plantation Drive. Jones had a gunshot wound on the left side of his head near his left ear. A silver revolver with blood on it was found in the grass next to Jones’ body.
Cortney McClain was walking east in the 100 block of Plantation Drive with a gunshot wound to his left forearm. Plantation Drive is across the street from Teresa Lane.
McClain told police that he and Jones began to fight. During the fight, Jones pulled a silver revolver. McClain said he attempted to gain control of the weapon.
During the struggle McClain said he was shot in the left forearm and Jones was shot.
The shooting may be related to a fight that occurred the night before at a nightclub in Scott.
Police do not believe the gun found next to Jones was the weapon used in the shooting.
According to the arrest affidavit, police interviewed Shameka McClain, who was at the scene during the shooting. She told police she had an argument with Jones on Plantation Drive.
She was followed by her brothers, Cortney and Kimo McClain and Jeremy Walker. She heard voices telling her to get back. Cortney McClain rushed Walter. Walter pulled a gun and shot it in the air.
She turned to run and said she did not see who shot or where Kimo McClain and Walker were during the incident, but heard two different sounding gunshots.
A witness reported seeing Jones and Cortney McClain fighting. He said he saw a tall black man run up behind them and shoot about four times. The tall black man went running with another black man. The two men entered a car parked at a home on Plantation Road with Texas plates driven by a black female.
The witness identified Walker as the shooter and Kimo McClain was identified as running with Walker after the shooting occurred in a photo line-up.
When police interviewed Cortney McClain he denied knowing where the suspects were.
Five days after the shooting authorities found Cortney McClain, Kimo McClain and Jeremy Walker in Longview, Texas hiding out at William’s apartment.
All four waived extradition and were returned to Lonoke.
In a suspected act of revenge, McClain’s grandmother’s house at 302 Teresa Lane was set on fire during the night after the shooting. No one was at home when the fire occurred.
A state police arson investigator found traces of an accelerant in the fire. No arrests have been made in the arson.
TOP STORY > >‘Double-dip’ ends at last for treasurer
By JOAN McCOY
Leader staff writer
Speculation has it that Lonoke County Treasurer Karol DePriest is the latest and perhaps last elected official in Arkansas to receive a letter saying she will no longer be able to draw a retirement check while she continues to work.
DePriest and former Lonoke County Assessor Jerry Adams were among the 10 or so mostly county officials, who retired in name only for three months in 2009 to draw retirement pay while continuing their official duties.
But whether DePriest has become the last to be cut off from drawing retirement from the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System while continuing to work is not known because APERS is prohibited by law from telling, and DePriest isn’t talking.
“My attorney has said not to talk about this,” DePriest said Friday though for just a moment she seemed inclined to tell. “I suppose there’s going to be a story about it anyway,” she said then added, “My retirement is private. It has nothing to do with the county.”
DePriest stopped drawing her paycheck from the county for three months in 2009 to be eligible to draw retirement. She was retired on the books, but in reality she was at work like always and attended quorum court meetings. So did Adams.
But DePriest has always maintained that APERS officials taught that “off the payroll for three months” was defined as retired for APERS’ purposes.
Adams was defeated for re-election and now draws retirement. DePriest ran unopposed and would have continued to work and also draw retirement until she received a letter from APERS saying she was not eligible for retirement benefits.
Denise Hoggard, the attorney of four elected officials accused of double-dipping — though not DePriest — said all of the elected officials, who have been caught up in the double-dipping scandal continued to go to work while they were off payroll. Those who were out of their offices were deemed to have “terminated employment correctly” and have not been told that they violated state law.
Hoggard also pointed out that it was only elected officials who have been ostracized for following what they believed was APERS policy.
High-ranking state officials like Artee Williams, director of Workforce Services and chairman of the APERS board of directors, left his state job in July, only to be rehired a month later so he could draw retirement and a salary.
Leader staff writer
Speculation has it that Lonoke County Treasurer Karol DePriest is the latest and perhaps last elected official in Arkansas to receive a letter saying she will no longer be able to draw a retirement check while she continues to work.
DePriest and former Lonoke County Assessor Jerry Adams were among the 10 or so mostly county officials, who retired in name only for three months in 2009 to draw retirement pay while continuing their official duties.
But whether DePriest has become the last to be cut off from drawing retirement from the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System while continuing to work is not known because APERS is prohibited by law from telling, and DePriest isn’t talking.
“My attorney has said not to talk about this,” DePriest said Friday though for just a moment she seemed inclined to tell. “I suppose there’s going to be a story about it anyway,” she said then added, “My retirement is private. It has nothing to do with the county.”
DePriest stopped drawing her paycheck from the county for three months in 2009 to be eligible to draw retirement. She was retired on the books, but in reality she was at work like always and attended quorum court meetings. So did Adams.
But DePriest has always maintained that APERS officials taught that “off the payroll for three months” was defined as retired for APERS’ purposes.
Adams was defeated for re-election and now draws retirement. DePriest ran unopposed and would have continued to work and also draw retirement until she received a letter from APERS saying she was not eligible for retirement benefits.
Denise Hoggard, the attorney of four elected officials accused of double-dipping — though not DePriest — said all of the elected officials, who have been caught up in the double-dipping scandal continued to go to work while they were off payroll. Those who were out of their offices were deemed to have “terminated employment correctly” and have not been told that they violated state law.
Hoggard also pointed out that it was only elected officials who have been ostracized for following what they believed was APERS policy.
High-ranking state officials like Artee Williams, director of Workforce Services and chairman of the APERS board of directors, left his state job in July, only to be rehired a month later so he could draw retirement and a salary.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
EVENTS >> 11-16-11
FREE THANKSGIVING DINNER SET IN CABOT
The Cabot Community Thanksgiving Feast will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 24 at Grace Fellowship Church at 601 S. Elm St., behind the Bank of Ozarks in downtown Cabot.
The meal is free and open to anyone. Volunteers will cook traditional Thanksgiving turkeys with side dishes and desserts in their homes and bring them to the church. Carryout is available and so is delivery for those who cannot get out to the church.
Organizers Heather Moore and her husband, Dane, are collecting donations of food and money for the event.
Turkeys, hams, food gift certificates, aluminum roasting pans, onions, potatoes, stuffing mix, rolls, bread, cranberry sauce, gravy, canned vegetables and fruit, cake and pie mixes, juices, paper plates, cups, napkins, forks, spoons and disposable utensils.
For more information, or to request meal delivery, call Heather Moore at 501-259-3799.
CRAFT-FAIR FUNDRAISER AT CABOT'S FREE CLINIC
A fundraiser holiday craft fair to be held Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18-19 at the Lonoke County Christian Clinic will be held inside the clinic at 502 Richie Road in Cabot.
The craft fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18 and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19.
The free clinic is for Lonoke County residents, who don’t have insurance and are too young for Medicare and are too old for the state health care program for children.
Booths are available for $20 each. Rental fees will be donated to the clinic.
For more information or to rent a booth, call Brandy Everett at 501-605-7177 or e-mail brandye@gmail.com.
MOUNT PISGAH HONORS PASTOR'S 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Mount Pisgah Baptist Church, 1017 Ray Road in Jacksonville, will celebrate Rev. Craig B. Collier Sr.’s 20th year with the church. The event will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20 at First Baptist Church, 2015 Main St. in North Little Rock. Pastor Quinton E. Hammonds of Birmingham, Ala., will give the sermon.
The theme is “A Spiritual Calling—Continuing to Minister to God’s People,” Timothy 1:12-17.
The public is invited. For more information, call 501-982-6215.
JACKSONVILLE VFW SENIOR DINNER 1P.M. SATURDAY
Jacksonville’s VFW Ladies Auxiliary will host its annual senior citizens Thanksgiving dinner at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. The event is open to the public, and will be held at the post on Toneyville Road.
ASU-BEEBE WILL HOST HOLIDAY MADRIGAL FEAST
The Arkansas State University at Beebe Singers will hold a Yuletide Madrigal Feast at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1 and Saturday, Dec. 3.
Merrie Olde England will be brought to life in the University Cafe in the student center on campus at 610 N. Pecan St. The evening will include a wassail and a feast. Tickets are $20 and are available by calling 501-882-8951 or at the student center.
Live music will accompany each course, with fair ladies and gentlemen, a court jester and general merriment under the direction of Dr. Timothy Bartlett. Dr. Brent Bristow will conduct the instrumental offerings, and Mary Jo Parker is the accompanist.
CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE
The Cabot Chamber of Commerce will hold its Christmas open house Sunday, Nov. 20. Retail businesses throughout Cabot will participate. To register for the event, call 501-843-2136 or e-mail chamber@cabotcc.org.
JACKSONVILLE'S HOLIDAY CRAFT SHOW THIS WEEKEND
The Jacksonville Parks and Recreation Department will hold its 34th annual holiday craft and gift sale Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 19 and 20 at the Jacksonville Community Center.
Jewelry, painted wood, dolls, quilts, Christmas decorations and other handmade items will be for sale. Concessions and baked goods will also be sold.
Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children ages 12-18.
Vendor spaces are available. For more information, call Dana at 501-982-0818.
JACKSONVILLE SENIOR CENTER FUNDRAISER LUNCH TODAY
The Jacksonville Senior Center’s annual fundraising Beans and Cornbread Feast will be held at 11 a.m. next Wednesday.
Tickets are $5 and are available at the center, from board members and at the door.
The center is at 100 Victory Circle in Jacksonville. The public is invited. There will also be a ceramics display showcasing artists from Jacksonville Senior Center and Cabot Senior Center.
DEADLINES NEAR FOR CHRISTMAS PARADES
Christmas parade themes and dates have been set in Sherwood, Jacksonville and Cabot.
Jacksonville’s parade is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3. The theme is “Storybook Christmas.” Entry fee is $20. The deadline to register is Friday. Entry forms are available at the Jacksonville Boys and Girls Club, 1 Boys Club Drive.
The Sherwood Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Christmas parade at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4. The theme will be “Christmas Around the World.” For entry forms, call 501-835-7600 or e-mail shwdchamber@att.net.
Cabot’s Christmas Parade is set for 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11.
The theme will be “Let There Be Peace On Earth.” Dewey Faught, former director of the Cabot Chamber of Commerce, will be the grand marshal.
Entry forms are available at the Veterans Park Community Center, the Cabot chamber and online at www.cabotparks.net. Deadline to enter is Dec. 3. Entry fee is $10.
For details, call 501-920-2122 or e-mail cabotbeautiful@yahoo.com.
PUSH-UP COMPETITION AT CABOT ANIMAL SHELTER
The Cabot Animal Shelter is holding its first push-up competition to see who can do the most push-ups in 60 seconds.
The event will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10 at the Veterans Park Community Center fitness room.
The cost to enter is $10 or $15 on the day of the event. All proceeds will benefit the shelter. The competition will have four divisions: men 20 years old and older, women 20 years old and older, young men 15- to 19-years-old and young women 15- to 19-years-old.
Winners of each division will receive medals. Each division will have a participation prizes. For more information call, 501-843-2021.
The Cabot Community Thanksgiving Feast will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 24 at Grace Fellowship Church at 601 S. Elm St., behind the Bank of Ozarks in downtown Cabot.
The meal is free and open to anyone. Volunteers will cook traditional Thanksgiving turkeys with side dishes and desserts in their homes and bring them to the church. Carryout is available and so is delivery for those who cannot get out to the church.
Organizers Heather Moore and her husband, Dane, are collecting donations of food and money for the event.
Turkeys, hams, food gift certificates, aluminum roasting pans, onions, potatoes, stuffing mix, rolls, bread, cranberry sauce, gravy, canned vegetables and fruit, cake and pie mixes, juices, paper plates, cups, napkins, forks, spoons and disposable utensils.
For more information, or to request meal delivery, call Heather Moore at 501-259-3799.
CRAFT-FAIR FUNDRAISER AT CABOT'S FREE CLINIC
A fundraiser holiday craft fair to be held Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18-19 at the Lonoke County Christian Clinic will be held inside the clinic at 502 Richie Road in Cabot.
The craft fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18 and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19.
The free clinic is for Lonoke County residents, who don’t have insurance and are too young for Medicare and are too old for the state health care program for children.
Booths are available for $20 each. Rental fees will be donated to the clinic.
For more information or to rent a booth, call Brandy Everett at 501-605-7177 or e-mail brandye@gmail.com.
MOUNT PISGAH HONORS PASTOR'S 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Mount Pisgah Baptist Church, 1017 Ray Road in Jacksonville, will celebrate Rev. Craig B. Collier Sr.’s 20th year with the church. The event will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20 at First Baptist Church, 2015 Main St. in North Little Rock. Pastor Quinton E. Hammonds of Birmingham, Ala., will give the sermon.
The theme is “A Spiritual Calling—Continuing to Minister to God’s People,” Timothy 1:12-17.
The public is invited. For more information, call 501-982-6215.
JACKSONVILLE VFW SENIOR DINNER 1P.M. SATURDAY
Jacksonville’s VFW Ladies Auxiliary will host its annual senior citizens Thanksgiving dinner at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. The event is open to the public, and will be held at the post on Toneyville Road.
ASU-BEEBE WILL HOST HOLIDAY MADRIGAL FEAST
The Arkansas State University at Beebe Singers will hold a Yuletide Madrigal Feast at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1 and Saturday, Dec. 3.
Merrie Olde England will be brought to life in the University Cafe in the student center on campus at 610 N. Pecan St. The evening will include a wassail and a feast. Tickets are $20 and are available by calling 501-882-8951 or at the student center.
Live music will accompany each course, with fair ladies and gentlemen, a court jester and general merriment under the direction of Dr. Timothy Bartlett. Dr. Brent Bristow will conduct the instrumental offerings, and Mary Jo Parker is the accompanist.
CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE
The Cabot Chamber of Commerce will hold its Christmas open house Sunday, Nov. 20. Retail businesses throughout Cabot will participate. To register for the event, call 501-843-2136 or e-mail chamber@cabotcc.org.
JACKSONVILLE'S HOLIDAY CRAFT SHOW THIS WEEKEND
The Jacksonville Parks and Recreation Department will hold its 34th annual holiday craft and gift sale Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 19 and 20 at the Jacksonville Community Center.
Jewelry, painted wood, dolls, quilts, Christmas decorations and other handmade items will be for sale. Concessions and baked goods will also be sold.
Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children ages 12-18.
Vendor spaces are available. For more information, call Dana at 501-982-0818.
JACKSONVILLE SENIOR CENTER FUNDRAISER LUNCH TODAY
The Jacksonville Senior Center’s annual fundraising Beans and Cornbread Feast will be held at 11 a.m. next Wednesday.
Tickets are $5 and are available at the center, from board members and at the door.
The center is at 100 Victory Circle in Jacksonville. The public is invited. There will also be a ceramics display showcasing artists from Jacksonville Senior Center and Cabot Senior Center.
DEADLINES NEAR FOR CHRISTMAS PARADES
Christmas parade themes and dates have been set in Sherwood, Jacksonville and Cabot.
Jacksonville’s parade is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3. The theme is “Storybook Christmas.” Entry fee is $20. The deadline to register is Friday. Entry forms are available at the Jacksonville Boys and Girls Club, 1 Boys Club Drive.
The Sherwood Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Christmas parade at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4. The theme will be “Christmas Around the World.” For entry forms, call 501-835-7600 or e-mail shwdchamber@att.net.
Cabot’s Christmas Parade is set for 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11.
The theme will be “Let There Be Peace On Earth.” Dewey Faught, former director of the Cabot Chamber of Commerce, will be the grand marshal.
Entry forms are available at the Veterans Park Community Center, the Cabot chamber and online at www.cabotparks.net. Deadline to enter is Dec. 3. Entry fee is $10.
For details, call 501-920-2122 or e-mail cabotbeautiful@yahoo.com.
PUSH-UP COMPETITION AT CABOT ANIMAL SHELTER
The Cabot Animal Shelter is holding its first push-up competition to see who can do the most push-ups in 60 seconds.
The event will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10 at the Veterans Park Community Center fitness room.
The cost to enter is $10 or $15 on the day of the event. All proceeds will benefit the shelter. The competition will have four divisions: men 20 years old and older, women 20 years old and older, young men 15- to 19-years-old and young women 15- to 19-years-old.
Winners of each division will receive medals. Each division will have a participation prizes. For more information call, 501-843-2021.
OBITUARIES >> 11-19-11
JEFREY HAMILTON
Jeffrey Leeroy Hamilton, 54, of El Paso died Nov. 15.
He was born Aug. 29, 1957, in Detroit to Lorraine Lawrence Hamilton Johnson and the late Joseph Lee Hamilton.
Hamilton served his country in the Air Force and was a member of Beebe First Baptist Church.
In addition to his father, he was preceded in death by his grandmother, Ossie Jane Hamilton.
Hamilton is survived by his wife, Mercelita Hamilton, of El Paso; his children, Theresa Dinkins and Andre Hamilton, both of Detroit, Jeffrey Hamilton Jr., Latasha Hamilton and Erica Hamilton, all of California, and Gabriel Hamilton of El Paso; his stepchildren, Timothy and Brent Chapman; his mother, Lorraine Lawrence Hamilton Johnson; his brothers and sisters, Stephen Hamilton, Adrian Hamilton, Sharon Nagallon, Tania Johnson and Tracy Parker, as well as three grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19 at Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20 at Beebe First Baptist Church, with Bro. Bob Hall officiating. Burial will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Arkansas State Veteran’s Cemetery in North Little Rock.
JERREL STAMPS
Jerrel N. Stamps, a long-time resident of Little Rock, peacefully passed away Nov. 16 at the age of 86. He was born in 1925 in El Paso to the late William Earl and Maude Evelyn Stamps, the baby of the family. He was preceded in death by his siblings Elbridge and Loyal Stamps, Geneva Fecher and Marlene Taylor. Known to his family and long-time friends as Nelson, his business associates knew him as Jerrel.
He was the most wonderful provider to his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and was affectionately known as Papa to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He was predeceased by his wife of nearly 58 years, Moleta, in 2009.
He had a 60-year career in the electrical transformer business, beginning employment at Arkansas Electric Cooperatives in April 1951 in Jacksonville. The business later moved to North Little Rock on Broadway, then eventually to southwest Little Rock.
He is survived by his daughters, Cathy Alley of Little Rock, Sissy Stamps of Beebe, Shelly Herndon Leggieri of Beebe and Kelly Brundage of Sarasota, Fla.; grandsons, Justin and his wife Mindi Alley, of Little Rock, Jeremy Herndon of Little Rock, John Taylor Leggieri of Beebe and Cody Brundage of Sarasota, Fla., and great-granddaughters, Haven Grace Alley and Addison Rose Alley of Little Rock. In addition, he is survived by his sister-in-law, Alta Rea Stamps of Conway, and a host of nieces and nephews. He will be truly missed in the lives of many.
The family wishes to thank Dr. Delbra Caradine and Margaret of the House Calls Program at UAMS for providing support and comfort to the family and to Arkansas Hospice for its care as well.
The family will receive friends from noon until 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe, with graveside service to follow at 2 p.m. at Stoney Point Cemetery. Casual attire is acceptable. Memorials may be made to any charity of choice.
DEBORAH HOPE
Deborah Sue Hope of Jacksonville went to be with the Lord on Nov. 17. She was a loving mother, grandmother and sister.
She was born May 6, 1957, to the late Charles William Akins and Rebecca Sue Elliott Akins.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her niece Amanda Porterfield.
She is survived by her children, Gregory Patrick Hope II and his wife, Ellen; Tiffany Rae Hope and her husband, James Zajac; siblings, Danny William Akins, Ronald Dennis Akins and Dawn Renee Porterfield; grandchildren, Oliver Patrick Hope, Gregory Taylor Rhodes, Christopher Bryson Hope and Christopher Zajac, and a host of other family and friends.
Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20 at the funeral home.
The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21 at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
The family wishes to express its deep appreciation for the memorial fund given by employees of Gwatney Chevrolet.
Arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
VINCENT CUCCO
Vincent C. Cucco, 66, of Cabot died Nov. 16.
He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Cabot and the VFW. Vincent served 31 years of active duty for the Army National Guard. After his retirement, he was a direct salesman for Sears. He was preceded in death by his father, Fredrick Joseph Cucco.
Vincent is survived by his wife, Lynda Copenhaver Cucco of Cabot; his sons, Vincent S. Cucco of Rogers and Jeremy L. Cucco and his wife, Elizabeth, of Frederick- burg, Va.; his mother, Opal Wittemore Redding Cucco; his siblings, Fredrick J. Cucco Jr., Toni Cross and Elizabeth Thomas, all of Pennsylvania, and one grandson, William J. Cucco.
Visitation will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22 in the chapel of Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23 at the First Baptist Church in Cabot, with Rev. Dick Avey officiating. Burial will follow in Mt. Carmel Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to your local VFW or the American Cancer Society.
Arrangements are by Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home.
CHARLES KECK SR.
Charles E. Keck Sr., 75, of Quitman passed away Nov. 16. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War. He loved fishing, hunting, boating and traveling.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy L. Keck; sons, Chuck Keck and his wife, Vicki, of Jackson-ville, Grady Keck and his wife, Carrie, of Allen Park, Mich., and Tracy Keck and his wife, Terry, of Cabot; daughter Belinda Keck of Jacksonville; brother Dwain Keck of Carlisle; one stepsister, Virginia Santinelli of Jacksonville, 10 stepchildren, 26 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and other family and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Edwin and Ollie Keck; grandson Taylor Keck; one step-grandson, James Hinkle, two sisters and one brother.
Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, 901 N. University Ave., Little Rock, Ark., 72207, or the Arkansas Game and Fish Com-mission Educational Programs, 2 Natural Resources Drive, Little Rock, Ark., 72205.
JAMES BECKHAM
James “Jim” Briggs Beckham III, 55, of Mountain Home, formerly of Cabot, passed away Nov. 13.
He was born March 14, 1956, to James and June Beckham Jr. in Nashville, Tenn.
He is preceded in death by his daughter Ruth Anne Beckham; father, James Briggs Beckham Jr., and stepfather, Johnny Martin.
He is survived by his wife, Tammy Beckham, of the home; three children, James “Jay” Beckham IV of Mountain View, Alicen Cunningham of Mountain Home and Matthew Beckham of the home; mother, June Martin, of North Little Rock; four grandchildren, James Briggs Beckham V, Cain Cunningham, Ryder Beckham and Myia Cunningham; his good friend Jay Pierson of Mountain Home, and his babies, Little Girl and Little Bittie.
A private funeral was held Nov. 16.
Arrangements were by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
Jeffrey Leeroy Hamilton, 54, of El Paso died Nov. 15.
He was born Aug. 29, 1957, in Detroit to Lorraine Lawrence Hamilton Johnson and the late Joseph Lee Hamilton.
Hamilton served his country in the Air Force and was a member of Beebe First Baptist Church.
In addition to his father, he was preceded in death by his grandmother, Ossie Jane Hamilton.
Hamilton is survived by his wife, Mercelita Hamilton, of El Paso; his children, Theresa Dinkins and Andre Hamilton, both of Detroit, Jeffrey Hamilton Jr., Latasha Hamilton and Erica Hamilton, all of California, and Gabriel Hamilton of El Paso; his stepchildren, Timothy and Brent Chapman; his mother, Lorraine Lawrence Hamilton Johnson; his brothers and sisters, Stephen Hamilton, Adrian Hamilton, Sharon Nagallon, Tania Johnson and Tracy Parker, as well as three grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19 at Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20 at Beebe First Baptist Church, with Bro. Bob Hall officiating. Burial will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Arkansas State Veteran’s Cemetery in North Little Rock.
JERREL STAMPS
Jerrel N. Stamps, a long-time resident of Little Rock, peacefully passed away Nov. 16 at the age of 86. He was born in 1925 in El Paso to the late William Earl and Maude Evelyn Stamps, the baby of the family. He was preceded in death by his siblings Elbridge and Loyal Stamps, Geneva Fecher and Marlene Taylor. Known to his family and long-time friends as Nelson, his business associates knew him as Jerrel.
He was the most wonderful provider to his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and was affectionately known as Papa to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He was predeceased by his wife of nearly 58 years, Moleta, in 2009.
He had a 60-year career in the electrical transformer business, beginning employment at Arkansas Electric Cooperatives in April 1951 in Jacksonville. The business later moved to North Little Rock on Broadway, then eventually to southwest Little Rock.
He is survived by his daughters, Cathy Alley of Little Rock, Sissy Stamps of Beebe, Shelly Herndon Leggieri of Beebe and Kelly Brundage of Sarasota, Fla.; grandsons, Justin and his wife Mindi Alley, of Little Rock, Jeremy Herndon of Little Rock, John Taylor Leggieri of Beebe and Cody Brundage of Sarasota, Fla., and great-granddaughters, Haven Grace Alley and Addison Rose Alley of Little Rock. In addition, he is survived by his sister-in-law, Alta Rea Stamps of Conway, and a host of nieces and nephews. He will be truly missed in the lives of many.
The family wishes to thank Dr. Delbra Caradine and Margaret of the House Calls Program at UAMS for providing support and comfort to the family and to Arkansas Hospice for its care as well.
The family will receive friends from noon until 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe, with graveside service to follow at 2 p.m. at Stoney Point Cemetery. Casual attire is acceptable. Memorials may be made to any charity of choice.
DEBORAH HOPE
Deborah Sue Hope of Jacksonville went to be with the Lord on Nov. 17. She was a loving mother, grandmother and sister.
She was born May 6, 1957, to the late Charles William Akins and Rebecca Sue Elliott Akins.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her niece Amanda Porterfield.
She is survived by her children, Gregory Patrick Hope II and his wife, Ellen; Tiffany Rae Hope and her husband, James Zajac; siblings, Danny William Akins, Ronald Dennis Akins and Dawn Renee Porterfield; grandchildren, Oliver Patrick Hope, Gregory Taylor Rhodes, Christopher Bryson Hope and Christopher Zajac, and a host of other family and friends.
Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20 at the funeral home.
The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21 at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
The family wishes to express its deep appreciation for the memorial fund given by employees of Gwatney Chevrolet.
Arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
VINCENT CUCCO
Vincent C. Cucco, 66, of Cabot died Nov. 16.
He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Cabot and the VFW. Vincent served 31 years of active duty for the Army National Guard. After his retirement, he was a direct salesman for Sears. He was preceded in death by his father, Fredrick Joseph Cucco.
Vincent is survived by his wife, Lynda Copenhaver Cucco of Cabot; his sons, Vincent S. Cucco of Rogers and Jeremy L. Cucco and his wife, Elizabeth, of Frederick- burg, Va.; his mother, Opal Wittemore Redding Cucco; his siblings, Fredrick J. Cucco Jr., Toni Cross and Elizabeth Thomas, all of Pennsylvania, and one grandson, William J. Cucco.
Visitation will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22 in the chapel of Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23 at the First Baptist Church in Cabot, with Rev. Dick Avey officiating. Burial will follow in Mt. Carmel Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to your local VFW or the American Cancer Society.
Arrangements are by Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home.
CHARLES KECK SR.
Charles E. Keck Sr., 75, of Quitman passed away Nov. 16. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War. He loved fishing, hunting, boating and traveling.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy L. Keck; sons, Chuck Keck and his wife, Vicki, of Jackson-ville, Grady Keck and his wife, Carrie, of Allen Park, Mich., and Tracy Keck and his wife, Terry, of Cabot; daughter Belinda Keck of Jacksonville; brother Dwain Keck of Carlisle; one stepsister, Virginia Santinelli of Jacksonville, 10 stepchildren, 26 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and other family and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Edwin and Ollie Keck; grandson Taylor Keck; one step-grandson, James Hinkle, two sisters and one brother.
Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, 901 N. University Ave., Little Rock, Ark., 72207, or the Arkansas Game and Fish Com-mission Educational Programs, 2 Natural Resources Drive, Little Rock, Ark., 72205.
JAMES BECKHAM
James “Jim” Briggs Beckham III, 55, of Mountain Home, formerly of Cabot, passed away Nov. 13.
He was born March 14, 1956, to James and June Beckham Jr. in Nashville, Tenn.
He is preceded in death by his daughter Ruth Anne Beckham; father, James Briggs Beckham Jr., and stepfather, Johnny Martin.
He is survived by his wife, Tammy Beckham, of the home; three children, James “Jay” Beckham IV of Mountain View, Alicen Cunningham of Mountain Home and Matthew Beckham of the home; mother, June Martin, of North Little Rock; four grandchildren, James Briggs Beckham V, Cain Cunningham, Ryder Beckham and Myia Cunningham; his good friend Jay Pierson of Mountain Home, and his babies, Little Girl and Little Bittie.
A private funeral was held Nov. 16.
Arrangements were by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
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