By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
It is hard to believe that Graham Road was just two lanes about 18 months ago, City Engineer Jay Whisker told the Jacksonville City Council on Jan. 2.
He presented a brief update on road projects during the agenda meeting.
For decades, the city’s street plan and other area maps have shown a four-lane road connecting Hwy. 89 in Lonoke County to Hwy. 107 in Pulaski County. The $3.6 million widening of a one-mile section of Graham between Loop and North Oak Street to four lanes is part of the master plan. The project is 80 percent federally funded.
Whisker showed recent photos and photos of the road that were taken during earlier construction.
He said nice sidewalks with a 3-foot buffer are complete.
“(It’s) quite an improvement to the area. They’re almost done,” Whisker said.
The crews still have to lay asphalt and do striping for a change order.
This newspaper requested that the last block — near the intersection of Graham, Elm and Oak streets — allow for two-way instead of a one-way traffic because that would make the area more accessible for its customers and people traveling to and from Lonoke County.
Jacksonville is spending $15,000 on the change order, the mayor said.
Whisker explained that the original one-way plan would have caused a lot of drivers to make an additional trip around a block.
He also said the crews are just waiting for required temperatures of 40 degrees or higher to lay the asphalt.
Utility relocation for a roundabout being constructed at West Main Street and Harris Road is nearing completion, Whisker continued.
That project is coming in just under $1 million, and it is under budget, he said.
Whisker also told the council that the state Highway Department is bidding replacements of the West Main Street and Redmond Road bridges on Hwy. 67/167 together.
The department has also selected a design for section three of the freeway, which is between the Vandenberg and Main Street exits, Whisker said. But he didn’t share the details of that design.
The state Highway Department is spending an estimated $120 million to widen from four to six lanes the freeway between Cabot and the I-40 intersection in Jacksonville.
In other business, the council reappointed Avis Twitty, Rick White and Jim Moore to the Planning Commission for terms that will expire Jan. 1, 2017.
Friday, January 10, 2014
TOP STORY >> Saluting unsung heroes of 2013
Compiled by RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Yes, police, firefighters and military members constantly put their lives on the line, but so do everyday citizens.
In 2013, The Leader documented numerous events where regular John Q. Public stepped up without regard to life or stepped out to do something wonderful for others.
Who are these people?
A grandmother, teenagers, junior high students, construction workers and dog lovers.
GRANDMOTHER
In early October, Shelia Hart, a 51-year-old grandmother and veteran PCSSD school bus driver, remained calm and protected the children aboard her bus during a hijacking. She had been taking students to Pinewood Elementary.
Eleven children were on the bus. No one was injured.
Hart, explaining the situation, said, “He jumped on the bus and said drive and I said ‘what?’ He flipped the knife out and said ‘drive, shut the door and drive,’ and that’s what I did. I said ‘OK, where do you want to go and what’s wrong?’” Hart said she drove for about three blocks before Miller asked that they switch seats while the bus was moving.
Hart told him, “No, we can’t do that.” So they pulled over and she showed him how to work the controls. Hart said that, during the hijacking, “I kept telling him to be careful. I asked him couldn’t me and the babies get off; let’s just take them to school. I told him you could have this bus, just let us off.”
Hart explained that Miller said yes, but then missed a turn and started becoming more irritable. He also told them that he would drive the bus until it ran out of gas, Hart said.
She had recently completed training on how to handle a hijacking, but said, “No kind of training could prepare you for that. It helped.” Hart also said, “I guess my mother instinct kicked in.”
Reflecting on her actions during the hijacking, which included talking to Miller and keeping the kids calm, Hart added, “I think the right thing to do was talk to the person, keep a cool head.” She didn’t think she would have done anything differently.
At speeds around 40 mph, police followed the bus from the 3700 block of North First Street near the air base to Hwy. 367, John Harden Drive and Hwy. 5 in Cabot — where the 20-minute, 9-mile chase ended.
Superintendent Jerry Guess called Hart “a heroic person” during a ceremony at the school bus depot on Redmond Road. “Perhaps the events that occurred saved lives, the lives of those students,” he said.
The alleged hijacker, 22-year-old Nicholas John Miller, pleaded not guilty to felony vehicle piracy, 12 felony counts of kidnapping, two felony counts of aggravated assault, felony fleeing, misdemeanor driving while intoxicated-drugs and misdemeanor reckless driving.
A TEENAGER
Seventeen-year-old Tristan Wall was honored as a hero during a Cabot council meeting for using his body to protect a toddler during a car crash in April that took his friend’s life.
The “Cabot Hero Award” was only the second given by Mayor Bill Cypert.
Claudie Phillips e-mailed Cypert requesting the award, saying Wall’s action saved the life of his 2-year-old grandson, Lathan Webert.
He said, as a father, he believes he would have thrown himself over a child. But Wall, who sat next to the toddler in the back seat of the SUV, is a young man without those paternal instincts.
“Instead of covering his head and protecting himself, he protected the baby,” Phillips said. “My grandson was sitting on the same side that hit the tree, and he didn’t have a scratch on him. The only way you could tell he was in a wreck was one piece of glass in his diaper.
“Tristan did get whiplash, but I think God was protecting him because he was protecting Lathan,” Phillips said.
Jaden Herlacher, 15, died in the crash. Phillips’ daughter and Lathan’s mother, Chasity Webert, was seriously injured.
Phillips said she was unaccustomed to driving an SUV and something made her jerk the steering wheel. She lost control on the wet pavement on LeMay Road in Austin and hit a tree.
“God bless you and thank you for what you did,” Cypert told Wall during the presentation.
ANOTHER TEEN
A Jacksonville boy is alive today because his teen neighbor saved him from drowning in Beaverfork Lake in Conway.
Stephanie Swartz had taken her sons, Dalton Pewterbaugh, 7, and Bubba Rice, 12; her niece, Sarah McDermott, 5; and neighbor Tucker Felix for their weekly swim at a lake.
Felix and his family moved to Braden Street two years ago and the families had grown close.
The group was floating on inflatable lounge chairs in the middle of the murky lake when things suddenly turned for the worse.
“I was on the raft. I didn’t listen to my parents and got off of it,” Dalton said.
He panicked. Instead of reaching for the chair, he was actually pushing it away.
Swartz said, “It happened so fast. Dalton was coughing up water and making a God-awful noise. It scared me.”
She was on another raft and couldn’t swim fast enough to get to her son in time. So Swartz started to scream.
“Tucker saw me in distress and immediately dove in,” she said.
Felix, a certified lifeguard at the Stonewall subdivision swimming pool, said, “My adrenaline hit me and I immediately got off the raft and swam toward Dalton. The only thing out of the water was his nose.”
Felix said everything around him disappeared when he focused on Dalton.
Dalton was about 30 yards from Felix. He was submerged.
Felix reached him and pulled him out of the water. Felix told Dalton to grab his right side and then Felix helped him swim to shore.
“We were a good distance from the shore. I kept yelling to him to swim,” Felix said.
He kept holding Dalton until the water was shallow enough for the youngster to stand in.
Swartz said, “I cried when I got out (of the lake). There was nothing I could do. If Tucker wasn’t there, I would be burying my baby. He is my hero. Thank God he was there or things would have been a lot different. I have no doubt in my mind that my son wouldn’t be here.”
MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS
Two students from Middle School South spent an afternoon at the Cabot Kmart selling baked goods to send a Middle School North student they didn’t know to space camp.
Khristian Binnall and Brittney Quinn, both 10 years old, had already raised enough to ensure the boy a slot at the camp. They were working toward raising $200 to cover the full cost of the trip.
The children don’t know the boy they were trying to help, but they knew his mother was ill. And they knew they didn’t want him to miss such an opportunity, said Khristian’s mother, Rhonda Binnall.
“His parents can’t afford for him to go and going is a big deal,” Binnall said. “I would like to think that if my son was in that position that we’d be able to get some help.”
MIDDLE SCHOOL AGAIN
Cabot Middle School North fifth grader Bridget Mullins turned 11 years old in 2013. For her birthday party, she asked her friends to bring presents — not for her —to a senior staying at the Spring Creek Health and Rehab during Christmas.
“My grandma died this summer. I kind of feel bad for the people who have no family to give them presents (for Christmas),” she said.
Bridget Mullins and her mom, Leslie, contacted Spring Creek and learned that Pam McAdams, 67, didn’t have a family to celebrate Christmas with. They met with McAdams earlier in the week. McAdams said she wanted a small tabletop Christmas tree.
Leslie Mullins asked her daughter if she wanted her friends to buy gifts for children staying at the hospital. Bridget said she would rather give gifts to someone older.
The girls gathered at Spring Creek and went to McAdams’ room bearing boxes and bags of gifts. They gave McAdams a jewelry box, several bottles of perfume, socks, slippers, hand cream, two sweaters and a top, a bracelet, necklace, a blanket, a panda bear, a robe, a case of Dr. Pepper and Reese’s peanut butter cups.
McAdams said, “I think it is wonderful. It was real unselfish of them. I didn’t expect so much.”
THE VOICE
Cody Belew, a finalist on “The Voice,” came back to his hometown to support Beebe High School’s Project Graduation, an all-night party for seniors held after graduation. The project holds fundraisers throughout the year to purchase prizes and college necessities, such as laptops that are given away during the party.
“I participated in Project Graduation, my parents were heavily involved and my brother, Casey, did it. A great way to celebrate in a safe way,” said Belew, a 2003 Beebe High graduate.
“I haven’t been back to the school since freshman year in college,” he added.
The concert brought in a substantial amount of financial support as the auditorium was nearly full.
“It was a good crowd. I was worried we wouldn’t have a great crowd,” Belew said after the concert.
He performed in front of his home crowd, which supported his career and called in their votes during his run on “The Voice.”
“It meant the world and there’s no greater feeling than that (playing for Beebe residents),” Belew said.
“I didn’t bring home the trophy (on “The Voice”) but it felt that way,” he added.
Throughout the concert were cheers, screams and “I love you Cody, — We all love you,” from a group of tweens near the stage.
Beebe High 2013 honor graduates introduced Belew. He started the show by singing Beebe High’s alma mater. And, when the curtain opened, the singer was wearing his Beebe letterman’s choir jacket.
LITTLE ONES
Members of Cabot’s new Little Helpers chapter completed their first project in September.
And their success was sweet, literally, for the police officers, firefighters and EMTs who received the cookies nine children and three adults delivered on Sept. 11 as a thank you to everyday heroes.
The chapter’s co-founder, Shann Nobles, said the mission of Little Helpers is to teach children of all ages the importance of volunteering in their communities.
“This is a good way for kids to learn how to be more giving,” she explained.
Nobles noted that the program is designed to help young people understand the value of volunteering, recognize the blessings in their lives, broaden their community perspective and feel the sense of accomplishment received from lending a helping hand.
DOG LOVERS
Dog lovers from across central Arkansas joined together and collected $10,000 to save an abandoned daschund, Mr. Wiggles AKA Scooter.
Animal control officer Angela Spears was working late on Saturday, July 27 when she saw — out of the corner of her eye — something moving in the bushes outside.
“I didn’t know what he was,” she said. Mr. Wiggles dragged himself to Spears and she gently picked him up.
That is when the 4-year-old pup started licking her face. Spears said, “He sold me right there.”
Mr. Wiggles was suffering from a ruptured disc pressing against his spinal cord.
He was able to get corrective surgery in August at Hillcrest Animal Hospital, where the veterinarian found that he had a spinal cord inflated with spinal cord fluid instead of a dented spinal cord.
A dented spinal cord usually can’t be repaired, meaning Mr. Wiggles probably wouldn’t have been able to walk again, explained Julann Carney of Sherwood Animal Shelter Helpers — a volunteer organization that took it upon themselves to raise $5,000 for the surgery and more for his pre-operative screenings and post-surgery care.
The fact that he was standing up on his own and wagging his tail before the surgery was encouraging, she added.
“We had no idea the public was going to respond so compassionately and generously...We’re absolutely moved. It’s heartwarming,” Carney said.
One woman even let Mr. Wiggles borrow her dog’s wheelchair for a few days while he waited to receive a $150 dogcart from dogcartsplus.com. The cart was donated.
CONSTRUCTION GUYS
Sherwood construction workers were honored at a December city council meeting for helping save a life during an apartment fire.
When a Woodbine Apartments unit fire started, three nearby construction workers called the fire department, knocked on every door and made sure everyone was out. They got everyone out except for one woman in one of the upstairs apartments. When the firefighters arrived on scene, the entire upstairs’ landing was full of fire.
Fire Chief David Teague said the construction crew of Ben Hughes, Chris Smith and Richard Eberle “told us where we needed to go as soon as we got there.” The workers sent the firefighters to the one apartment that they feared someone was still in. Firefighters rescued a woman covered in soot and barely breathing from that unit.
Mayor Virginia Hillman told the workers, “We appreciate you guys risking your lives for those residents. Thank you so much.”
SEASON OF GIVING
And a thanks to all the area residents and groups that collected food, cots, blankets and cash to help those in need from Thanksgiving to Christmas and all year long. People like Tracy O’Bryan of Austin leading a coat drive, the Cabot Christmas Alliance for filling enough food boxes to feed 4,000-plus people, Cabot Christmas for Kids, the Junior Auxiliary of Cabot, the Lonoke County Christmas Coalition, the Beebe Angel Tree program, Jacksonville’s Fishnet Missions, Jacksonville’s Shop with a Cop, The Jacksonville Museum of History, the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, VFW Post 4548 and others.
Leader staff writer
Yes, police, firefighters and military members constantly put their lives on the line, but so do everyday citizens.
In 2013, The Leader documented numerous events where regular John Q. Public stepped up without regard to life or stepped out to do something wonderful for others.
Who are these people?
A grandmother, teenagers, junior high students, construction workers and dog lovers.
GRANDMOTHER
In early October, Shelia Hart, a 51-year-old grandmother and veteran PCSSD school bus driver, remained calm and protected the children aboard her bus during a hijacking. She had been taking students to Pinewood Elementary.
Eleven children were on the bus. No one was injured.
Hart, explaining the situation, said, “He jumped on the bus and said drive and I said ‘what?’ He flipped the knife out and said ‘drive, shut the door and drive,’ and that’s what I did. I said ‘OK, where do you want to go and what’s wrong?’” Hart said she drove for about three blocks before Miller asked that they switch seats while the bus was moving.
Hart told him, “No, we can’t do that.” So they pulled over and she showed him how to work the controls. Hart said that, during the hijacking, “I kept telling him to be careful. I asked him couldn’t me and the babies get off; let’s just take them to school. I told him you could have this bus, just let us off.”
Hart explained that Miller said yes, but then missed a turn and started becoming more irritable. He also told them that he would drive the bus until it ran out of gas, Hart said.
She had recently completed training on how to handle a hijacking, but said, “No kind of training could prepare you for that. It helped.” Hart also said, “I guess my mother instinct kicked in.”
Reflecting on her actions during the hijacking, which included talking to Miller and keeping the kids calm, Hart added, “I think the right thing to do was talk to the person, keep a cool head.” She didn’t think she would have done anything differently.
At speeds around 40 mph, police followed the bus from the 3700 block of North First Street near the air base to Hwy. 367, John Harden Drive and Hwy. 5 in Cabot — where the 20-minute, 9-mile chase ended.
Superintendent Jerry Guess called Hart “a heroic person” during a ceremony at the school bus depot on Redmond Road. “Perhaps the events that occurred saved lives, the lives of those students,” he said.
The alleged hijacker, 22-year-old Nicholas John Miller, pleaded not guilty to felony vehicle piracy, 12 felony counts of kidnapping, two felony counts of aggravated assault, felony fleeing, misdemeanor driving while intoxicated-drugs and misdemeanor reckless driving.
A TEENAGER
Seventeen-year-old Tristan Wall was honored as a hero during a Cabot council meeting for using his body to protect a toddler during a car crash in April that took his friend’s life.
The “Cabot Hero Award” was only the second given by Mayor Bill Cypert.
Claudie Phillips e-mailed Cypert requesting the award, saying Wall’s action saved the life of his 2-year-old grandson, Lathan Webert.
He said, as a father, he believes he would have thrown himself over a child. But Wall, who sat next to the toddler in the back seat of the SUV, is a young man without those paternal instincts.
“Instead of covering his head and protecting himself, he protected the baby,” Phillips said. “My grandson was sitting on the same side that hit the tree, and he didn’t have a scratch on him. The only way you could tell he was in a wreck was one piece of glass in his diaper.
“Tristan did get whiplash, but I think God was protecting him because he was protecting Lathan,” Phillips said.
Jaden Herlacher, 15, died in the crash. Phillips’ daughter and Lathan’s mother, Chasity Webert, was seriously injured.
Phillips said she was unaccustomed to driving an SUV and something made her jerk the steering wheel. She lost control on the wet pavement on LeMay Road in Austin and hit a tree.
“God bless you and thank you for what you did,” Cypert told Wall during the presentation.
ANOTHER TEEN
A Jacksonville boy is alive today because his teen neighbor saved him from drowning in Beaverfork Lake in Conway.
Stephanie Swartz had taken her sons, Dalton Pewterbaugh, 7, and Bubba Rice, 12; her niece, Sarah McDermott, 5; and neighbor Tucker Felix for their weekly swim at a lake.
Felix and his family moved to Braden Street two years ago and the families had grown close.
The group was floating on inflatable lounge chairs in the middle of the murky lake when things suddenly turned for the worse.
“I was on the raft. I didn’t listen to my parents and got off of it,” Dalton said.
He panicked. Instead of reaching for the chair, he was actually pushing it away.
Swartz said, “It happened so fast. Dalton was coughing up water and making a God-awful noise. It scared me.”
She was on another raft and couldn’t swim fast enough to get to her son in time. So Swartz started to scream.
“Tucker saw me in distress and immediately dove in,” she said.
Felix, a certified lifeguard at the Stonewall subdivision swimming pool, said, “My adrenaline hit me and I immediately got off the raft and swam toward Dalton. The only thing out of the water was his nose.”
Felix said everything around him disappeared when he focused on Dalton.
Dalton was about 30 yards from Felix. He was submerged.
Felix reached him and pulled him out of the water. Felix told Dalton to grab his right side and then Felix helped him swim to shore.
“We were a good distance from the shore. I kept yelling to him to swim,” Felix said.
He kept holding Dalton until the water was shallow enough for the youngster to stand in.
Swartz said, “I cried when I got out (of the lake). There was nothing I could do. If Tucker wasn’t there, I would be burying my baby. He is my hero. Thank God he was there or things would have been a lot different. I have no doubt in my mind that my son wouldn’t be here.”
MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS
Two students from Middle School South spent an afternoon at the Cabot Kmart selling baked goods to send a Middle School North student they didn’t know to space camp.
Khristian Binnall and Brittney Quinn, both 10 years old, had already raised enough to ensure the boy a slot at the camp. They were working toward raising $200 to cover the full cost of the trip.
The children don’t know the boy they were trying to help, but they knew his mother was ill. And they knew they didn’t want him to miss such an opportunity, said Khristian’s mother, Rhonda Binnall.
“His parents can’t afford for him to go and going is a big deal,” Binnall said. “I would like to think that if my son was in that position that we’d be able to get some help.”
MIDDLE SCHOOL AGAIN
Cabot Middle School North fifth grader Bridget Mullins turned 11 years old in 2013. For her birthday party, she asked her friends to bring presents — not for her —to a senior staying at the Spring Creek Health and Rehab during Christmas.
“My grandma died this summer. I kind of feel bad for the people who have no family to give them presents (for Christmas),” she said.
Bridget Mullins and her mom, Leslie, contacted Spring Creek and learned that Pam McAdams, 67, didn’t have a family to celebrate Christmas with. They met with McAdams earlier in the week. McAdams said she wanted a small tabletop Christmas tree.
Leslie Mullins asked her daughter if she wanted her friends to buy gifts for children staying at the hospital. Bridget said she would rather give gifts to someone older.
The girls gathered at Spring Creek and went to McAdams’ room bearing boxes and bags of gifts. They gave McAdams a jewelry box, several bottles of perfume, socks, slippers, hand cream, two sweaters and a top, a bracelet, necklace, a blanket, a panda bear, a robe, a case of Dr. Pepper and Reese’s peanut butter cups.
McAdams said, “I think it is wonderful. It was real unselfish of them. I didn’t expect so much.”
THE VOICE
Cody Belew, a finalist on “The Voice,” came back to his hometown to support Beebe High School’s Project Graduation, an all-night party for seniors held after graduation. The project holds fundraisers throughout the year to purchase prizes and college necessities, such as laptops that are given away during the party.
“I participated in Project Graduation, my parents were heavily involved and my brother, Casey, did it. A great way to celebrate in a safe way,” said Belew, a 2003 Beebe High graduate.
“I haven’t been back to the school since freshman year in college,” he added.
The concert brought in a substantial amount of financial support as the auditorium was nearly full.
“It was a good crowd. I was worried we wouldn’t have a great crowd,” Belew said after the concert.
He performed in front of his home crowd, which supported his career and called in their votes during his run on “The Voice.”
“It meant the world and there’s no greater feeling than that (playing for Beebe residents),” Belew said.
“I didn’t bring home the trophy (on “The Voice”) but it felt that way,” he added.
Throughout the concert were cheers, screams and “I love you Cody, — We all love you,” from a group of tweens near the stage.
Beebe High 2013 honor graduates introduced Belew. He started the show by singing Beebe High’s alma mater. And, when the curtain opened, the singer was wearing his Beebe letterman’s choir jacket.
LITTLE ONES
Members of Cabot’s new Little Helpers chapter completed their first project in September.
And their success was sweet, literally, for the police officers, firefighters and EMTs who received the cookies nine children and three adults delivered on Sept. 11 as a thank you to everyday heroes.
The chapter’s co-founder, Shann Nobles, said the mission of Little Helpers is to teach children of all ages the importance of volunteering in their communities.
“This is a good way for kids to learn how to be more giving,” she explained.
Nobles noted that the program is designed to help young people understand the value of volunteering, recognize the blessings in their lives, broaden their community perspective and feel the sense of accomplishment received from lending a helping hand.
DOG LOVERS
Dog lovers from across central Arkansas joined together and collected $10,000 to save an abandoned daschund, Mr. Wiggles AKA Scooter.
Animal control officer Angela Spears was working late on Saturday, July 27 when she saw — out of the corner of her eye — something moving in the bushes outside.
“I didn’t know what he was,” she said. Mr. Wiggles dragged himself to Spears and she gently picked him up.
That is when the 4-year-old pup started licking her face. Spears said, “He sold me right there.”
Mr. Wiggles was suffering from a ruptured disc pressing against his spinal cord.
He was able to get corrective surgery in August at Hillcrest Animal Hospital, where the veterinarian found that he had a spinal cord inflated with spinal cord fluid instead of a dented spinal cord.
A dented spinal cord usually can’t be repaired, meaning Mr. Wiggles probably wouldn’t have been able to walk again, explained Julann Carney of Sherwood Animal Shelter Helpers — a volunteer organization that took it upon themselves to raise $5,000 for the surgery and more for his pre-operative screenings and post-surgery care.
The fact that he was standing up on his own and wagging his tail before the surgery was encouraging, she added.
“We had no idea the public was going to respond so compassionately and generously...We’re absolutely moved. It’s heartwarming,” Carney said.
One woman even let Mr. Wiggles borrow her dog’s wheelchair for a few days while he waited to receive a $150 dogcart from dogcartsplus.com. The cart was donated.
CONSTRUCTION GUYS
Sherwood construction workers were honored at a December city council meeting for helping save a life during an apartment fire.
When a Woodbine Apartments unit fire started, three nearby construction workers called the fire department, knocked on every door and made sure everyone was out. They got everyone out except for one woman in one of the upstairs apartments. When the firefighters arrived on scene, the entire upstairs’ landing was full of fire.
Fire Chief David Teague said the construction crew of Ben Hughes, Chris Smith and Richard Eberle “told us where we needed to go as soon as we got there.” The workers sent the firefighters to the one apartment that they feared someone was still in. Firefighters rescued a woman covered in soot and barely breathing from that unit.
Mayor Virginia Hillman told the workers, “We appreciate you guys risking your lives for those residents. Thank you so much.”
SEASON OF GIVING
And a thanks to all the area residents and groups that collected food, cots, blankets and cash to help those in need from Thanksgiving to Christmas and all year long. People like Tracy O’Bryan of Austin leading a coat drive, the Cabot Christmas Alliance for filling enough food boxes to feed 4,000-plus people, Cabot Christmas for Kids, the Junior Auxiliary of Cabot, the Lonoke County Christmas Coalition, the Beebe Angel Tree program, Jacksonville’s Fishnet Missions, Jacksonville’s Shop with a Cop, The Jacksonville Museum of History, the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, VFW Post 4548 and others.
EDITORIAL >> Darr resigns amid scandal
Beebe should ignore vacancy and save taxpayers’ money
Three days after vowing not to quit, Mark Darr resigned yesterday evening as Arkansas’ lieutenant governor, effective, he said, on Feb. 1. It was abrupt but predictable. Republican legislative leaders told him he had no choice because many of them would have to join Democrats and impeach him and that his chances of surviving a trial in the state Senate, where his party has a comfortable majority, were growing slimmer by the day.
Republicans had clamored for the resignation of a Democrat, state Sen. Paul Bookout of Jonesboro, and threatened him with impeachment and removal from office last year if he didn’t resign. Bookout had misspent campaign funds, one of the 11 violations of the law that Darr has admitted, although unlike Bookout he said he didn’t know he was violating the law. Bookout promptly resigned. Treating their own differently was going to be a public relations problem for Republican legislators and for the party.
Darr did the right thing, sparing the legislature the immensely painful task of condemning and removing one of its own. (Because he presides over the Senate, Darr is a small appendage of the legislative branch.) We remember the Senate’s convulsions 40 years ago when senators first voted not to expel Sen. Guy H. “Mutt” Jones, who had been convicted of federal income tax evasion, and then hastened into session again to remove their pal when the public anger became manifest.
But compliments are barely deserved. Darr took the occasion again to blame his troubles on others. He did not again blame others in government who didn’t tell him early enough that converting some $39,000 in public and campaign funds to personal use was illegal. But he said his legal troubles were just “politics” and “games.”
“Politics can be a toxic business,” he complained in a written statement, and he wasn’t going to subject his family to it any more. His earlier statement said enemies were attacking his family, although no one has found an instance where a family member was ever mentioned.
In his brief political life, Darr has practiced the trade more brutally than most. In his 2010 race, when he barely beat a Democratic legislator to win the lieutenant governor’s office, he ran against the unpopular President Obama, who had nothing to do with a lieutenant governor’s duties. When the Arkansas Democrat Gazette ran an article about Darr’s financial troubles—he was sued for foreclosure on a rental home he owned in Springdale—Darr blamed the bank, but then admitted he was in arrears. He accused the Republican-leaning newspaper of picking on him and blamed unnamed political enemies for his financial troubles. He attacked the attorney representing the plaintiff who sued him. She had run for a local nonpartisan judicial office and he had not supported her.
Let’s just say that Mark Darr will not be missed.
Immediately, he will not be missed in the lieutenant governor’s office. The lieutenant governor’s only duty is to preside over the Senate in the few days each year that it is in session. The short 2014 fiscal session will begin nine days after Darr’s resignation takes effect. The president pro tempore of the Senate, the good Republican Michael Lamoureux of Russellville, will preside and from time to time designate another senator to sit on the dais. The Senate will run smoothly and nothing will be amiss.
Governor Beebe said he might have to declare a vacancy in the office and hold a needless special election to fill the job for a few months until after the fall general election. The only need to have a lieutenant governor during that stretch will be to have someone to cash the lieutenant governor’s payroll check.
If Beebe needs a legal justification for leaving things alone, Mark Darr may have provided it. In his pique, Darr said he was not going to resign to a public official—i.e., Mike Beebe—but to the people of Arkansas. With no official notice, Beebe need not declare a vacancy and call an election to which no one in Arkansas will pay any attention.
Save the taxpayers a cool million dollars by avoiding an election and all those payroll checks. For a frugal governor, that would be a good day’s work.
Three days after vowing not to quit, Mark Darr resigned yesterday evening as Arkansas’ lieutenant governor, effective, he said, on Feb. 1. It was abrupt but predictable. Republican legislative leaders told him he had no choice because many of them would have to join Democrats and impeach him and that his chances of surviving a trial in the state Senate, where his party has a comfortable majority, were growing slimmer by the day.
Republicans had clamored for the resignation of a Democrat, state Sen. Paul Bookout of Jonesboro, and threatened him with impeachment and removal from office last year if he didn’t resign. Bookout had misspent campaign funds, one of the 11 violations of the law that Darr has admitted, although unlike Bookout he said he didn’t know he was violating the law. Bookout promptly resigned. Treating their own differently was going to be a public relations problem for Republican legislators and for the party.
Darr did the right thing, sparing the legislature the immensely painful task of condemning and removing one of its own. (Because he presides over the Senate, Darr is a small appendage of the legislative branch.) We remember the Senate’s convulsions 40 years ago when senators first voted not to expel Sen. Guy H. “Mutt” Jones, who had been convicted of federal income tax evasion, and then hastened into session again to remove their pal when the public anger became manifest.
But compliments are barely deserved. Darr took the occasion again to blame his troubles on others. He did not again blame others in government who didn’t tell him early enough that converting some $39,000 in public and campaign funds to personal use was illegal. But he said his legal troubles were just “politics” and “games.”
“Politics can be a toxic business,” he complained in a written statement, and he wasn’t going to subject his family to it any more. His earlier statement said enemies were attacking his family, although no one has found an instance where a family member was ever mentioned.
In his brief political life, Darr has practiced the trade more brutally than most. In his 2010 race, when he barely beat a Democratic legislator to win the lieutenant governor’s office, he ran against the unpopular President Obama, who had nothing to do with a lieutenant governor’s duties. When the Arkansas Democrat Gazette ran an article about Darr’s financial troubles—he was sued for foreclosure on a rental home he owned in Springdale—Darr blamed the bank, but then admitted he was in arrears. He accused the Republican-leaning newspaper of picking on him and blamed unnamed political enemies for his financial troubles. He attacked the attorney representing the plaintiff who sued him. She had run for a local nonpartisan judicial office and he had not supported her.
Let’s just say that Mark Darr will not be missed.
Immediately, he will not be missed in the lieutenant governor’s office. The lieutenant governor’s only duty is to preside over the Senate in the few days each year that it is in session. The short 2014 fiscal session will begin nine days after Darr’s resignation takes effect. The president pro tempore of the Senate, the good Republican Michael Lamoureux of Russellville, will preside and from time to time designate another senator to sit on the dais. The Senate will run smoothly and nothing will be amiss.
Governor Beebe said he might have to declare a vacancy in the office and hold a needless special election to fill the job for a few months until after the fall general election. The only need to have a lieutenant governor during that stretch will be to have someone to cash the lieutenant governor’s payroll check.
If Beebe needs a legal justification for leaving things alone, Mark Darr may have provided it. In his pique, Darr said he was not going to resign to a public official—i.e., Mike Beebe—but to the people of Arkansas. With no official notice, Beebe need not declare a vacancy and call an election to which no one in Arkansas will pay any attention.
Save the taxpayers a cool million dollars by avoiding an election and all those payroll checks. For a frugal governor, that would be a good day’s work.
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
EDITORIAL >> Impeach Darr now
Here’s some shocking news: Lt. Gov. Mark Darr sends favored reporters a statement saying he will not resign because people who could have told him that he was a serial lawbreaker kept their mouths shut. If someone had simply told him that he couldn’t convert public and campaign funds to personal use he wouldn’t have done it or would have stopped long ago or at least fixed his books so that it would look better.
That was Darr’s long-awaited answer yesterday to the drumbeat of demands, lately from a few fellow Republicans, that he resign and spare the state the ordeal of impeachment proceedings and the prospect that he be tried in the Senate and removed from office. Speaker Davy Carter (R-Cabot) issued guidelines late Tuesday on how the House could begin impeachment proceedings, which would require Republicans to oust one of their own.
Neither Darr’s impeachment nor removal from office appeared likely until now, because Republicans just don’t do that to one another. But a few Republicans, including all four Arkansas congressmen, had called on him to resign to spare the party the ongoing embarrassment. The legislative Joint Auditing Committee and the state Ethics Commission, where Republicans were represented evenly or better, had concluded that Darr broke the law repeatedly and should pay a hefty fine and give the money back to the state treasury and to political donors.
But it was widely thought that, being a loyal Republican, Darr would acquiesce and head for the door. Few counted on his determination to keep his political ambitions on track or perhaps his need for the little government sinecure and its part-time salary and perks. His pizza business and personal finances are on the rocks.
Whatever his motivation, the statement—given to favored reporters rather than at a wide-open press conference—was as pitiful as it was nervy. He said that people who jumped on him for his misdeeds or called for his resignation or impeachment had attacked “my family.” No one but Darr has ever mentioned his family.
He said that he had owned up to all his mistakes and had apologized to the public for them and that every time he broke the law he did it with the best of intentions. In the case both of the misuse of campaign funds and of state treasury funds, Darr said, he just filled out paperwork erroneously. He deserved all the money he got in violation of the law, he pleaded.
That was patently untrue as the man who unearthed his bookkeeping “errors”—lawyer and Democratic blogger Matt Campbell—observed in monumental detail Tuesday afternoon. (See his bluehogreport.com if you have the interest or the patience.)
Darr didn’t go so far but his plaintive statement suggested that the people who should pay are those who should have caught his illegal reimbursements and warned him in time. He identified some of them, chiefly legislative auditors who had looked at his books after he took office in 2011 and didn’t tell him he couldn’t collect travel expenses from the taxpayers for running across the state and to Little Rock from his home in north Arkansas.
He mentioned his predecessor, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, but Halter had not done the same thing and, indeed, had paid federal income taxes on the legal state-proffered expenses he did get. Every elected official knows the IRS rules.
The lite governor also argued that he was saving the taxpayers money by not resigning because a special election to replace him would cost a million dollars. But not if the governor doesn’t call the unnecessary election. We will elect a lieutenant governor anyway in November and the state meantime has absolutely no use for one.
As we said previously, it is not a fixed judgment that a minor officeholder like Darr must resign for having violated multiple laws until he has been convicted of criminal acts in a court of law. But two Democratic officeholders resigned last year upon the demands of Republican and Democratic officialdom for acts no more serious than Darr’s and they have yet to be convicted of anything. It is just the decent and evenhanded thing to do.
That was Darr’s long-awaited answer yesterday to the drumbeat of demands, lately from a few fellow Republicans, that he resign and spare the state the ordeal of impeachment proceedings and the prospect that he be tried in the Senate and removed from office. Speaker Davy Carter (R-Cabot) issued guidelines late Tuesday on how the House could begin impeachment proceedings, which would require Republicans to oust one of their own.
Neither Darr’s impeachment nor removal from office appeared likely until now, because Republicans just don’t do that to one another. But a few Republicans, including all four Arkansas congressmen, had called on him to resign to spare the party the ongoing embarrassment. The legislative Joint Auditing Committee and the state Ethics Commission, where Republicans were represented evenly or better, had concluded that Darr broke the law repeatedly and should pay a hefty fine and give the money back to the state treasury and to political donors.
But it was widely thought that, being a loyal Republican, Darr would acquiesce and head for the door. Few counted on his determination to keep his political ambitions on track or perhaps his need for the little government sinecure and its part-time salary and perks. His pizza business and personal finances are on the rocks.
Whatever his motivation, the statement—given to favored reporters rather than at a wide-open press conference—was as pitiful as it was nervy. He said that people who jumped on him for his misdeeds or called for his resignation or impeachment had attacked “my family.” No one but Darr has ever mentioned his family.
He said that he had owned up to all his mistakes and had apologized to the public for them and that every time he broke the law he did it with the best of intentions. In the case both of the misuse of campaign funds and of state treasury funds, Darr said, he just filled out paperwork erroneously. He deserved all the money he got in violation of the law, he pleaded.
That was patently untrue as the man who unearthed his bookkeeping “errors”—lawyer and Democratic blogger Matt Campbell—observed in monumental detail Tuesday afternoon. (See his bluehogreport.com if you have the interest or the patience.)
Darr didn’t go so far but his plaintive statement suggested that the people who should pay are those who should have caught his illegal reimbursements and warned him in time. He identified some of them, chiefly legislative auditors who had looked at his books after he took office in 2011 and didn’t tell him he couldn’t collect travel expenses from the taxpayers for running across the state and to Little Rock from his home in north Arkansas.
He mentioned his predecessor, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, but Halter had not done the same thing and, indeed, had paid federal income taxes on the legal state-proffered expenses he did get. Every elected official knows the IRS rules.
The lite governor also argued that he was saving the taxpayers money by not resigning because a special election to replace him would cost a million dollars. But not if the governor doesn’t call the unnecessary election. We will elect a lieutenant governor anyway in November and the state meantime has absolutely no use for one.
As we said previously, it is not a fixed judgment that a minor officeholder like Darr must resign for having violated multiple laws until he has been convicted of criminal acts in a court of law. But two Democratic officeholders resigned last year upon the demands of Republican and Democratic officialdom for acts no more serious than Darr’s and they have yet to be convicted of anything. It is just the decent and evenhanded thing to do.
TOP STORY >> ‘Rock and Role’ license plates
By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
A new state-issued license plate was unveiled Monday to spread word of the “Rock and Role” branding partnership between Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville and the LRAFB Community Council.
Proceeds from the license plates will go directly to fund scholarships and community welfare projects provided by the Little Rock Spouses’ Club, an organization that serves the spouses of military personnel on LRAFB.
“It’s not for operations; it’s for us to give back,” Little Rock Spouses’ Club president Berri Dunn said.
According to Roger Duren, administrator for the Office of Motor Vehicles, the “Rock and Role” design was submitted on Dec. 22 so that sample license plates could be made. The sample plates will be sent to the base, the community council, the State Police and the Department of Revenue for approval.
After the sample plate is approved, it will be sent back to the license plate factory so that larger-scale production can begin. Duren said that process takes six to eight weeks.
The annual cost for the “Rock and Role” specialty plate is the state’s registration fee plus a $25 fundraising fee and a $10 administration fee.
On hand for the unveiling at the LRAFB University Center were Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Little Rock), state Rep. Mark Perry (D-Jacksonville), community council members, Little Rock Spouses’ Club members and air base leaders.
Griffin said the branding and the concept of “Rock and Role” could be taken all over the state on a license plate. It is telling the world about LRAFB and its community support, he said.
According to Dunn, the Spouses’ Club gave a total of $10,000 in scholarships last year to seven high school seniors from Air Force families, and two scholarships were to spouses.
Shayne Nichols, Spouses’ Club welfare and giving coordinator, said the organization gave $10,135 in grants to local schools.
The funds supplied new tables for North Pulaski High School administrators, microscopes for science classes and iPods for the Spanish department, she said. At Arnold Drive Elementary, the funding helped remodel the school’s cafeteria.
The Spouses’ Club also helped fund the summer reading program at Ward Central Elementary and bought benches for Cabot Middle School North. The club helped Mountain Springs Elementary, Northside Elementary and Cabot Junior High North with grants for iPads, books and physical education equipment.
Nichols said, over the last four years, the Spouses’ Club has given funding to all schools in the Cabot School District.
The Spouses’ Club also gave $4,000 in welfare grants to the transition assistance programs, the Air Force Village, the Air Force Enlisted Village, the USO and Fishnet Missions in Jacksonville, where the money was used repair a refrigerator and air conditioning at the food pantry.
Leader staff writer
A new state-issued license plate was unveiled Monday to spread word of the “Rock and Role” branding partnership between Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville and the LRAFB Community Council.
Proceeds from the license plates will go directly to fund scholarships and community welfare projects provided by the Little Rock Spouses’ Club, an organization that serves the spouses of military personnel on LRAFB.
“It’s not for operations; it’s for us to give back,” Little Rock Spouses’ Club president Berri Dunn said.
According to Roger Duren, administrator for the Office of Motor Vehicles, the “Rock and Role” design was submitted on Dec. 22 so that sample license plates could be made. The sample plates will be sent to the base, the community council, the State Police and the Department of Revenue for approval.
After the sample plate is approved, it will be sent back to the license plate factory so that larger-scale production can begin. Duren said that process takes six to eight weeks.
The annual cost for the “Rock and Role” specialty plate is the state’s registration fee plus a $25 fundraising fee and a $10 administration fee.
On hand for the unveiling at the LRAFB University Center were Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Little Rock), state Rep. Mark Perry (D-Jacksonville), community council members, Little Rock Spouses’ Club members and air base leaders.
Griffin said the branding and the concept of “Rock and Role” could be taken all over the state on a license plate. It is telling the world about LRAFB and its community support, he said.
According to Dunn, the Spouses’ Club gave a total of $10,000 in scholarships last year to seven high school seniors from Air Force families, and two scholarships were to spouses.
Shayne Nichols, Spouses’ Club welfare and giving coordinator, said the organization gave $10,135 in grants to local schools.
The funds supplied new tables for North Pulaski High School administrators, microscopes for science classes and iPods for the Spanish department, she said. At Arnold Drive Elementary, the funding helped remodel the school’s cafeteria.
The Spouses’ Club also helped fund the summer reading program at Ward Central Elementary and bought benches for Cabot Middle School North. The club helped Mountain Springs Elementary, Northside Elementary and Cabot Junior High North with grants for iPads, books and physical education equipment.
Nichols said, over the last four years, the Spouses’ Club has given funding to all schools in the Cabot School District.
The Spouses’ Club also gave $4,000 in welfare grants to the transition assistance programs, the Air Force Village, the Air Force Enlisted Village, the USO and Fishnet Missions in Jacksonville, where the money was used repair a refrigerator and air conditioning at the food pantry.
TOP STORY >> Housing makes slow recovery in many areas
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
Regional housing construction was up marginally during the first half of 2013.
Cabot saw the fastest growth in single-family housing construction with 35 percent growth compared to the first half of 2012, and Benton had the second-fastest growth in single-family housing construction with 16 percent.
That’s according to a section titled “Slow Housing Market During First Half of 2013” in the Metro Trends Economic Review and Outlook published by Metroplan in December.
PERMIT VALUES
Last year, the average new single-family home in Maumelle was $269,950, more than three times the value of the average new home in Jacksonville, which is $83,477.
You could build two new average homes, one in Cabot and the other in Sherwood, for the cost of a new home in Maumelle.
The average new home in Cabot in 2012 was $111,918. In Sherwood, it was $142,613.
Sixty-five single-family permits were issued for Cabot for the first half of 2013, after averaging about 46 new permits in the first six months of 2010, 2011 and 2012. That was the fastest up-tick in single-family housing, according to Metroplan demographer Jonathan Lupton.
In the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metropolitan area, total housing permits for the first six months of the year peaked at about 2,650 in 2004, then started a downward trend getting down to about 1,000 in 2012 and ticking up again to about 1,250 for 2013.
LITTLE ROCK GROWS
While Little Rock accounts for only 29 percent of the population of the four-county Central Arkansas Metropolitan Planning Area, it accounted for 39 percent of the new housing units in the first six months of 2013. That’s up from about 20 percent of new housing permits in 2006, according to Lupton’s figures.
Of the larger cities and towns in Pulaski, Lonoke, Saline and Faulkner counties, Benton had the second-fastest increase, up to 117 from 101 in 2012.
CABOT, SHERWOOD
Only Cabot, Little Rock and Sherwood issued more permits in the first half of 2013 than they did in 2010. Sherwood issued 73 permits, up four from the first half of 2012. That’s a six percent increase.
New single-family housing permits in Jacksonville remained flat at 15 for the first six months of 2013. The recent high for the first half of the year was 33 in 2010, but dropped to about half of that for the first half of 2011 and 2012.
No multi-family permits were issued for Cabot, Jacksonville or Sherwood for the first half of 2013. In Jacksonville, 12 multi-family permits were issued in 2009, six in 2010, none in 2011 and eight in 2012.
HOUSING BUBBLE
In the post-housing bubble economy, Jacksonville issued 33 single-family housing permits in the first half of 2010, 16 in 2011, 15 in 2012 and 15 in 2013. For the full years ending Dec. 31 Jacksonville issued 51 permits in 2009, 55 permits in 2010, 31 permits in 2011 and 100 permits in 2012, according to Metroplan’s semi-annual publication Metro Trends.
HEADED DOWNTOWN
In the Little Rock/North Little Rock area, where most Pulaski County residents live, between the 1990 and 2000 censuses, the concentration of 25 to 34-year-olds in west Little Rock dropped from more than 22.5 percent of those residents to less than 15 percent, demonstrating a preference for living in the urban center rather than outlying areas, Lupton said.
That age group concentrated closer to the River Market and along the river in downtown Little Rock, and also in the Argenta area of North Little Rock.
The median value of new home permits in the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Conway areas climbed from about $131,319 in 2000 to about $171,300 in 2005 and 2006 but declined from 2007 through 2012, from about $160,500 to about $152,500.
Leader senior staff writer
Regional housing construction was up marginally during the first half of 2013.
Cabot saw the fastest growth in single-family housing construction with 35 percent growth compared to the first half of 2012, and Benton had the second-fastest growth in single-family housing construction with 16 percent.
That’s according to a section titled “Slow Housing Market During First Half of 2013” in the Metro Trends Economic Review and Outlook published by Metroplan in December.
PERMIT VALUES
Last year, the average new single-family home in Maumelle was $269,950, more than three times the value of the average new home in Jacksonville, which is $83,477.
You could build two new average homes, one in Cabot and the other in Sherwood, for the cost of a new home in Maumelle.
The average new home in Cabot in 2012 was $111,918. In Sherwood, it was $142,613.
Sixty-five single-family permits were issued for Cabot for the first half of 2013, after averaging about 46 new permits in the first six months of 2010, 2011 and 2012. That was the fastest up-tick in single-family housing, according to Metroplan demographer Jonathan Lupton.
In the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metropolitan area, total housing permits for the first six months of the year peaked at about 2,650 in 2004, then started a downward trend getting down to about 1,000 in 2012 and ticking up again to about 1,250 for 2013.
LITTLE ROCK GROWS
While Little Rock accounts for only 29 percent of the population of the four-county Central Arkansas Metropolitan Planning Area, it accounted for 39 percent of the new housing units in the first six months of 2013. That’s up from about 20 percent of new housing permits in 2006, according to Lupton’s figures.
Of the larger cities and towns in Pulaski, Lonoke, Saline and Faulkner counties, Benton had the second-fastest increase, up to 117 from 101 in 2012.
CABOT, SHERWOOD
Only Cabot, Little Rock and Sherwood issued more permits in the first half of 2013 than they did in 2010. Sherwood issued 73 permits, up four from the first half of 2012. That’s a six percent increase.
New single-family housing permits in Jacksonville remained flat at 15 for the first six months of 2013. The recent high for the first half of the year was 33 in 2010, but dropped to about half of that for the first half of 2011 and 2012.
No multi-family permits were issued for Cabot, Jacksonville or Sherwood for the first half of 2013. In Jacksonville, 12 multi-family permits were issued in 2009, six in 2010, none in 2011 and eight in 2012.
HOUSING BUBBLE
In the post-housing bubble economy, Jacksonville issued 33 single-family housing permits in the first half of 2010, 16 in 2011, 15 in 2012 and 15 in 2013. For the full years ending Dec. 31 Jacksonville issued 51 permits in 2009, 55 permits in 2010, 31 permits in 2011 and 100 permits in 2012, according to Metroplan’s semi-annual publication Metro Trends.
HEADED DOWNTOWN
In the Little Rock/North Little Rock area, where most Pulaski County residents live, between the 1990 and 2000 censuses, the concentration of 25 to 34-year-olds in west Little Rock dropped from more than 22.5 percent of those residents to less than 15 percent, demonstrating a preference for living in the urban center rather than outlying areas, Lupton said.
That age group concentrated closer to the River Market and along the river in downtown Little Rock, and also in the Argenta area of North Little Rock.
The median value of new home permits in the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Conway areas climbed from about $131,319 in 2000 to about $171,300 in 2005 and 2006 but declined from 2007 through 2012, from about $160,500 to about $152,500.
TOP STORY >> ‘Polar vortex’ moves out East
Compiled by Leader staff
The good news is that this polar vertex of cold air is retreating, and the area will be in the low 50s by the weekend. But there is a chance of rain through Sunday.
The arctic blast plummeted low temperatures into the single digits Monday and Tuesday.
People who braved the bone-chilling weather on Monday and Tuesday wore had to wear several layers of clothing to stay warm.
Jeff Loeschner of Cabot Waterworks was using a track hoe on Tuesday to dig for a water line along South Second Street.
Loeschner said he had to “just bundle up” to stay warm.
“Yesterday was pretty rough. We’re in the sun and the wind is not blowing today,” he continued.
Abraham Martinez was painting a wall on Tuesday inside the ninth-grade Freshman Academy under construction in Cabot.
He was wearing two pairs of pants and three coats. “That keeps me warm,” Martinez said.
Amy Weeks, a barista at Joe Bravo Espresso on South Pine Street, said, “Business has increased, especially in the afternoon. Definitely more people getting hot coffee.”
Sherwood Mayor Virginia Hillman said city directors tried to find jobs for crews to work on inside because they didn’t want to send employees into the body-numbing wind.
LIGHTS OUT
Beebe experienced the most outages in The Leader’s coverage area, according to spokeswomen with Entergy, First Electric Cooperative and North Little Rock Electric.
Entergy spokeswoman Sally Graham said that is because there is a long rural line in Beebe that doesn’t allow the utility to provide power from another source.
At 12:52 p.m. Tuesday, 1,765 Entergy customers in Beebe were in the dark, Graham said. She said more than 1,000 customers had their power restored by 2:19 p.m.
As for the 692 customers who remained without power, Graham’s advice for them was to turn their thermostats off and wait 30 minutes to fully use their electricity when lights come back on. “That provides a bit of breathing room so we can keep the surge on our system at a minimum,” she said.
“As with issues during high-heat summer days, we’re responding as safely and as quickly as possible to the effect of extreme cold weather on our facilities,” Graham said.
She explained in an e-mail, “We are switching the load of electricity where we can to restore power to customers. If we restore large circuits all at once, with folks using power at the max to heat their homes —just as triple-digit days (when) folks are cranking their air conditioners — this surge created is sometimes higher than the protective devices can handle, causing the device to trip.”
Graham said distribution personnel are monitoring levels to see when the voltage settles down. Then the utility can restore power to more customers in smaller batches without the risk of tripping the device.
“The process becomes more difficult as you proceed, since the existing load gives you a smaller bandwidth to play with when you bring on more customers,” she continued.
“We understand the inconvenience and ask for our customers’ patience because it’s a delicate process to restore under extreme conditions. There is a potential for tripping the feeders and having to start all over again.”On Tuesday, she added, “It’s helping that temperatures have warmed up a bit today.”
Scott Williams, a supervisor with the Entergy office in Searcy, agreed with Graham. He said extreme cold weather makes everyone’s heaters come on, creating an imbalance that makes the system think there is a problem and shut down.
But, Williams said, the Beebe-area outage involved a short circuit caused by wind knocking power lines together on Dewitt Henry Drive.
First Electric spokeswoman Tori Moss said, “First Electric Cooperative experienced an all-time peak winter demand due to the extreme cold temperatures January 6 and 7. Approximately 430 members experienced weather-related outages in the Jacksonville district, which includes portions of Pulaski, Lonoke and White counties. The high demand also caused intermittent blinking lights in the Ward and Cabot areas.”
On the other end of the spectrum, North Little Rock Electric spokeswoman Jill Ponder said there were no weather-related outages in Sherwood.
PIPES BURST
Electric providers weren’t the only utilities suffering during the unusually cold weather.
Charles Culpepper of Master Plumbing in Jacksonville said, “Water pipes have been freezing and busting.”
At a time of the year when business is slow, Culpepper said he took six calls Monday and six calls Tuesday about frozen and burst pipes.
His advice for area residents was to keep houses warm and open cabinets under sinks. Culpepper added that he didn’t know whether leaving faucets dripping helps, especially since waterfalls freeze and icicles form from dripping water.
Jacksonville Waterworks Director Jake Short said on Tuesday, “We’re getting a lot of calls from folks that are having some issues.”
But his advice was to keep a thin stream of water running from faucets and to disconnect outside hoses. Short said, “Moving water is less likely to freeze.”
Westlake Plumbing in Cabot was so busy that the manager couldn’t speak to The Leader because he had callers on four lines at the same time. The receptionist said the company’s phone had been ringing constantly.
Don Hindman, director of the Jack Evans Senior Center in Sherwood, said pipes around the city had cracked so that the water coming from his faucet was discolored.
Sherwood Mayor Virginia Hillman said those were Central Arkansas Water pipes.
But she clarified that none of the pipes in Sherwood burst.
WARMING CENTER
Most area residents stayed inside their heated homes.
Cabot Mayor Bill Cypert said on Tuesday that no one used the emergency warming center opened Monday night at the Cabot Senior Center for people who may have needed to escape the extreme cold after losing power or heat.
Hillman said Sherwood didn’t have a warming center but would have opened one at the Jack Evans Senior Center if any residents had requested that be done.
Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher said the warming center at the police department is usually opened only when there are power outages in the area.
He added that he thought area churches would open their doors to those in need, but “we just don’t have the homeless situation a lot of cities have.”
SCHOOLS, SENIORS
Cabot schools opened their doors 30 minutes earlier on Tuesday to make sure students were not shivering at bus stops or while walking to school.
Superintendent Tony Thurman said the district only opens buildings earlier when the temperature is abnormally cold.
Deputy Superintendent Harold Jeffcoat, who has been with the district for six years, said this is the first time he’s seen the buildings open earlier.
“We wanted no students to be left out in the cold. We have a number of walkers and bus riders waiting at bus stops,” Jeffcoat said.
Opening the schools earlier allowed parents to drive their children to school, get the kids into the building and still arrive at work on time, he continued.
Stagecoach Elementary principal Pam Waymack told Jeffcoat that several students came to school earlier.
Jeffcoat said the district takes other precautions, too. “When it is cold, we don’t let out students (for recess). Activities are provided inside the building,” he explained.
Jeffcoat said school administrators monitor both temperature and wind chill. If it is below freezing, students stay inside.
“Teachers do an excellent job making sure students are prepared and dressed appropriately,” Jeffcoat added.
He said school maintenance crews made sure all classrooms and facilities had heat. Crews worked all day, until 7 p.m. Monday night, making sure classrooms were heated, Jeffcoat noted.
Meanwhile, some elderly residents of Sherwood opted to stay in their heated homes.
Don Hindman, director of the Jack Evans Senior Center, said activities, including a monthly dinner on Monday, were not canceled. But attendance was about two-thirds of what it usually is, he said.
“We’re not having many folks coming out,” Hindman noted. Seniors also canceled visits to their doctors and other places rather than go out in the bitter cold, he added.
RECORDS BROKEN
This week’s frigid weather continued the cold which arrived in the state in December.
The cooler weather was spurred on in 2013. In fact, spring 2013 was the fifth coolest on record.
The unusually low temperatures curbed the outbreak of tornadoes and other storm activities last year, but the state didn’t escape deadly weather all together.
In 2013, there were 34 confirmed tornadoes in the state with 17 of them hitting in May. Another tornado that month devastated Moore, Okla.
There were eight weather-related deaths in 2013. Two were from tornadoes (one in May and one in December), one was from high winds ( in May) and six were from flash floods (all in May).
The average temperature for all of last year was below average.
In December alone, it was one degree below the average high and two inches wetter than normal. For 2013, the average temperature was 61.9 degrees — almost a full degree below normal, making the year one of the top 20 coolest on record.
That is a far cry from 2012 — the second warmest year on record.
On top of that, December brought almost 7.5 inches of rain, ice and more than an inch of snow that closed schools for two or more days.
Rain fell from Dec. 1 through Dec. 9, setting a new record for consecutive rain days in December.
The rain also set new daily records on Dec. 6, Dec. 20 and Dec. 21. The heavy December showers pushed the yearly total above normal.
The few days of snow in December dropped more than normal for that month. Daily snow records were set on Dec. 6, Dec. 9 and Dec. 30.
The National Weather Service called December a roller-coaster month because temperatures went from near record warmth on Dec. 4 to near record cold three days later and then to the lowest December temperatures in five years.
Below normal temperatures continued through the middle of the month when temperatures were warmer again, cooled again and warmed again near the end of the month.
But another strong front dropped temperatures below normal for the last two days of the month.
The good news is that this polar vertex of cold air is retreating, and the area will be in the low 50s by the weekend. But there is a chance of rain through Sunday.
The arctic blast plummeted low temperatures into the single digits Monday and Tuesday.
People who braved the bone-chilling weather on Monday and Tuesday wore had to wear several layers of clothing to stay warm.
Jeff Loeschner of Cabot Waterworks was using a track hoe on Tuesday to dig for a water line along South Second Street.
Loeschner said he had to “just bundle up” to stay warm.
“Yesterday was pretty rough. We’re in the sun and the wind is not blowing today,” he continued.
Abraham Martinez was painting a wall on Tuesday inside the ninth-grade Freshman Academy under construction in Cabot.
He was wearing two pairs of pants and three coats. “That keeps me warm,” Martinez said.
Amy Weeks, a barista at Joe Bravo Espresso on South Pine Street, said, “Business has increased, especially in the afternoon. Definitely more people getting hot coffee.”
Sherwood Mayor Virginia Hillman said city directors tried to find jobs for crews to work on inside because they didn’t want to send employees into the body-numbing wind.
LIGHTS OUT
Beebe experienced the most outages in The Leader’s coverage area, according to spokeswomen with Entergy, First Electric Cooperative and North Little Rock Electric.
Entergy spokeswoman Sally Graham said that is because there is a long rural line in Beebe that doesn’t allow the utility to provide power from another source.
At 12:52 p.m. Tuesday, 1,765 Entergy customers in Beebe were in the dark, Graham said. She said more than 1,000 customers had their power restored by 2:19 p.m.
As for the 692 customers who remained without power, Graham’s advice for them was to turn their thermostats off and wait 30 minutes to fully use their electricity when lights come back on. “That provides a bit of breathing room so we can keep the surge on our system at a minimum,” she said.
“As with issues during high-heat summer days, we’re responding as safely and as quickly as possible to the effect of extreme cold weather on our facilities,” Graham said.
She explained in an e-mail, “We are switching the load of electricity where we can to restore power to customers. If we restore large circuits all at once, with folks using power at the max to heat their homes —just as triple-digit days (when) folks are cranking their air conditioners — this surge created is sometimes higher than the protective devices can handle, causing the device to trip.”
Graham said distribution personnel are monitoring levels to see when the voltage settles down. Then the utility can restore power to more customers in smaller batches without the risk of tripping the device.
“The process becomes more difficult as you proceed, since the existing load gives you a smaller bandwidth to play with when you bring on more customers,” she continued.
“We understand the inconvenience and ask for our customers’ patience because it’s a delicate process to restore under extreme conditions. There is a potential for tripping the feeders and having to start all over again.”On Tuesday, she added, “It’s helping that temperatures have warmed up a bit today.”
Scott Williams, a supervisor with the Entergy office in Searcy, agreed with Graham. He said extreme cold weather makes everyone’s heaters come on, creating an imbalance that makes the system think there is a problem and shut down.
But, Williams said, the Beebe-area outage involved a short circuit caused by wind knocking power lines together on Dewitt Henry Drive.
First Electric spokeswoman Tori Moss said, “First Electric Cooperative experienced an all-time peak winter demand due to the extreme cold temperatures January 6 and 7. Approximately 430 members experienced weather-related outages in the Jacksonville district, which includes portions of Pulaski, Lonoke and White counties. The high demand also caused intermittent blinking lights in the Ward and Cabot areas.”
On the other end of the spectrum, North Little Rock Electric spokeswoman Jill Ponder said there were no weather-related outages in Sherwood.
PIPES BURST
Electric providers weren’t the only utilities suffering during the unusually cold weather.
Charles Culpepper of Master Plumbing in Jacksonville said, “Water pipes have been freezing and busting.”
At a time of the year when business is slow, Culpepper said he took six calls Monday and six calls Tuesday about frozen and burst pipes.
His advice for area residents was to keep houses warm and open cabinets under sinks. Culpepper added that he didn’t know whether leaving faucets dripping helps, especially since waterfalls freeze and icicles form from dripping water.
Jacksonville Waterworks Director Jake Short said on Tuesday, “We’re getting a lot of calls from folks that are having some issues.”
But his advice was to keep a thin stream of water running from faucets and to disconnect outside hoses. Short said, “Moving water is less likely to freeze.”
Westlake Plumbing in Cabot was so busy that the manager couldn’t speak to The Leader because he had callers on four lines at the same time. The receptionist said the company’s phone had been ringing constantly.
Don Hindman, director of the Jack Evans Senior Center in Sherwood, said pipes around the city had cracked so that the water coming from his faucet was discolored.
Sherwood Mayor Virginia Hillman said those were Central Arkansas Water pipes.
But she clarified that none of the pipes in Sherwood burst.
WARMING CENTER
Most area residents stayed inside their heated homes.
Cabot Mayor Bill Cypert said on Tuesday that no one used the emergency warming center opened Monday night at the Cabot Senior Center for people who may have needed to escape the extreme cold after losing power or heat.
Hillman said Sherwood didn’t have a warming center but would have opened one at the Jack Evans Senior Center if any residents had requested that be done.
Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher said the warming center at the police department is usually opened only when there are power outages in the area.
He added that he thought area churches would open their doors to those in need, but “we just don’t have the homeless situation a lot of cities have.”
SCHOOLS, SENIORS
Cabot schools opened their doors 30 minutes earlier on Tuesday to make sure students were not shivering at bus stops or while walking to school.
Superintendent Tony Thurman said the district only opens buildings earlier when the temperature is abnormally cold.
Deputy Superintendent Harold Jeffcoat, who has been with the district for six years, said this is the first time he’s seen the buildings open earlier.
“We wanted no students to be left out in the cold. We have a number of walkers and bus riders waiting at bus stops,” Jeffcoat said.
Opening the schools earlier allowed parents to drive their children to school, get the kids into the building and still arrive at work on time, he continued.
Stagecoach Elementary principal Pam Waymack told Jeffcoat that several students came to school earlier.
Jeffcoat said the district takes other precautions, too. “When it is cold, we don’t let out students (for recess). Activities are provided inside the building,” he explained.
Jeffcoat said school administrators monitor both temperature and wind chill. If it is below freezing, students stay inside.
“Teachers do an excellent job making sure students are prepared and dressed appropriately,” Jeffcoat added.
He said school maintenance crews made sure all classrooms and facilities had heat. Crews worked all day, until 7 p.m. Monday night, making sure classrooms were heated, Jeffcoat noted.
Meanwhile, some elderly residents of Sherwood opted to stay in their heated homes.
Don Hindman, director of the Jack Evans Senior Center, said activities, including a monthly dinner on Monday, were not canceled. But attendance was about two-thirds of what it usually is, he said.
“We’re not having many folks coming out,” Hindman noted. Seniors also canceled visits to their doctors and other places rather than go out in the bitter cold, he added.
RECORDS BROKEN
This week’s frigid weather continued the cold which arrived in the state in December.
The cooler weather was spurred on in 2013. In fact, spring 2013 was the fifth coolest on record.
The unusually low temperatures curbed the outbreak of tornadoes and other storm activities last year, but the state didn’t escape deadly weather all together.
In 2013, there were 34 confirmed tornadoes in the state with 17 of them hitting in May. Another tornado that month devastated Moore, Okla.
There were eight weather-related deaths in 2013. Two were from tornadoes (one in May and one in December), one was from high winds ( in May) and six were from flash floods (all in May).
The average temperature for all of last year was below average.
In December alone, it was one degree below the average high and two inches wetter than normal. For 2013, the average temperature was 61.9 degrees — almost a full degree below normal, making the year one of the top 20 coolest on record.
That is a far cry from 2012 — the second warmest year on record.
On top of that, December brought almost 7.5 inches of rain, ice and more than an inch of snow that closed schools for two or more days.
Rain fell from Dec. 1 through Dec. 9, setting a new record for consecutive rain days in December.
The rain also set new daily records on Dec. 6, Dec. 20 and Dec. 21. The heavy December showers pushed the yearly total above normal.
The few days of snow in December dropped more than normal for that month. Daily snow records were set on Dec. 6, Dec. 9 and Dec. 30.
The National Weather Service called December a roller-coaster month because temperatures went from near record warmth on Dec. 4 to near record cold three days later and then to the lowest December temperatures in five years.
Below normal temperatures continued through the middle of the month when temperatures were warmer again, cooled again and warmed again near the end of the month.
But another strong front dropped temperatures below normal for the last two days of the month.
SPORTS STORY >> Cabot ladies pull away from Bryant
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
BRYANT – After a close first quarter, the Lady Panthers separated themselves from the Lady Hornets in the second and third quarters en route to a 45-34 victory Monday at the Hornets’ Nest.
Lady Hornet forward Aubree Allen scored the first point of Monday’s nonconference finale, but Cabot answered with a basket at the other end to take a 2-1 lead. The two teams traded leads for the remainder of the first quarter, but the Lady Panthers led 9-8 at the end of one, thanks to a Leighton Taylor putback after a CoCo Calhoon miss with 23 seconds left in the period.
Cabot (9-5) held Bryant (4-7) scoreless in the second quarter, which allowed the visiting Lady Panthers to gain a sizable 23-8 advantage at halftime. Even though the Lady Panthers outscored Bryant 14-0 in the second quarter, their shots weren’t falling like they wanted.
The Lady Panthers made just four field goals in the second quarter, but Calhoon got the bulk of Cabot’s points in that time at the free-throw line. Calhoon had all of the Lady Panthers’ free-throw attempts in the first half, going 9 of 14 at the stripe for 64 percent.
Things didn’t get much better for Bryant in the third quarter. Two quick baskets by junior forward Alyssa Hamilton sparked a 7-0 Cabot run to open the second half. The run was capped with a three-pointer by senior guard Lakyn Crumbly near the six-minute mark of the period.
Bryant scored its first points since the first quarter on a three-pointer by Peyton Weaver on the ensuing possession, but Crumbly gave the momentum right back to the Lady Panthers after getting her own putback just seconds later, which made the score 32-11 Cabot with 4:42 remaining in the period.
Cabot outscored Bryant 18-6 in the third quarter to lead by a comfortable 41-14 margin at the start of the fourth quarter.
Lady Panther coach Carla Crowder sat all but one her starters through the majority of the final eight minutes, which allowed Bryant to score a plethora of baskets down the stretch that in the end made the game appear to be closer than it actually was.
Sophomore forward Anna Sullivan was the only Lady Panther starter to play the bulk of the fourth quarter. Sullivan is a valuable floor contributor for the Lady Panthers, but normally plays off the bench.
Crowder had to adjust her lineup with junior guard Danielle McWilliams out with an ankle injury. McWilliams suffered the injury at an invitational tournament in Mansfield, Texas over the holiday break.
It isn’t a serious injury, but the timetable for her return to the floor is unknown. Other than Hamilton, the rest of the Lady Panther starters Monday were sophomores.
Those sophomores are Sullivan, Taylor, Calhoon and Rachel Allgood.
Cabot outrebounded Bryant 22-16 in the game. The Lady Panthers finished with 11 turnovers. Bryant had double the amount of turnovers with 22, 16 of which were Cabot takeaways. Cabot finished the game 16 of 42 from the floor for 38 percent, while Bryant was 12 of 30 for 40 percent.
Calhoon led all scorers with 15 points, all of which came in the first half. Hamilton was the only other Lady Panther to finish in double figures. She scored 12 points and had a game-high seven rebounds. Weaver and Allen each scored 14 points to lead Bryant.
The Lady Panthers will open 7A/6A East Conference play Friday at top-ranked North Little Rock. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
Leader sportswriter
BRYANT – After a close first quarter, the Lady Panthers separated themselves from the Lady Hornets in the second and third quarters en route to a 45-34 victory Monday at the Hornets’ Nest.
Lady Hornet forward Aubree Allen scored the first point of Monday’s nonconference finale, but Cabot answered with a basket at the other end to take a 2-1 lead. The two teams traded leads for the remainder of the first quarter, but the Lady Panthers led 9-8 at the end of one, thanks to a Leighton Taylor putback after a CoCo Calhoon miss with 23 seconds left in the period.
Cabot (9-5) held Bryant (4-7) scoreless in the second quarter, which allowed the visiting Lady Panthers to gain a sizable 23-8 advantage at halftime. Even though the Lady Panthers outscored Bryant 14-0 in the second quarter, their shots weren’t falling like they wanted.
The Lady Panthers made just four field goals in the second quarter, but Calhoon got the bulk of Cabot’s points in that time at the free-throw line. Calhoon had all of the Lady Panthers’ free-throw attempts in the first half, going 9 of 14 at the stripe for 64 percent.
Things didn’t get much better for Bryant in the third quarter. Two quick baskets by junior forward Alyssa Hamilton sparked a 7-0 Cabot run to open the second half. The run was capped with a three-pointer by senior guard Lakyn Crumbly near the six-minute mark of the period.
Bryant scored its first points since the first quarter on a three-pointer by Peyton Weaver on the ensuing possession, but Crumbly gave the momentum right back to the Lady Panthers after getting her own putback just seconds later, which made the score 32-11 Cabot with 4:42 remaining in the period.
Cabot outscored Bryant 18-6 in the third quarter to lead by a comfortable 41-14 margin at the start of the fourth quarter.
Lady Panther coach Carla Crowder sat all but one her starters through the majority of the final eight minutes, which allowed Bryant to score a plethora of baskets down the stretch that in the end made the game appear to be closer than it actually was.
Sophomore forward Anna Sullivan was the only Lady Panther starter to play the bulk of the fourth quarter. Sullivan is a valuable floor contributor for the Lady Panthers, but normally plays off the bench.
Crowder had to adjust her lineup with junior guard Danielle McWilliams out with an ankle injury. McWilliams suffered the injury at an invitational tournament in Mansfield, Texas over the holiday break.
It isn’t a serious injury, but the timetable for her return to the floor is unknown. Other than Hamilton, the rest of the Lady Panther starters Monday were sophomores.
Those sophomores are Sullivan, Taylor, Calhoon and Rachel Allgood.
Cabot outrebounded Bryant 22-16 in the game. The Lady Panthers finished with 11 turnovers. Bryant had double the amount of turnovers with 22, 16 of which were Cabot takeaways. Cabot finished the game 16 of 42 from the floor for 38 percent, while Bryant was 12 of 30 for 40 percent.
Calhoon led all scorers with 15 points, all of which came in the first half. Hamilton was the only other Lady Panther to finish in double figures. She scored 12 points and had a game-high seven rebounds. Weaver and Allen each scored 14 points to lead Bryant.
The Lady Panthers will open 7A/6A East Conference play Friday at top-ranked North Little Rock. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
SPORTS STORY >> Lady ’Rabs whip Bison
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
A Presley Carter free throw gave the Lady Bison the first lead of the game, but it was all Lonoke from that point on, as the Lady Jackrabbits soundly beat Carlisle 45-26 Friday at Bison Arena in the first meeting between the two high-school teams since the 2000 season.
Carter’s free throw put the first point on the board for the home team, but the Lady Rabbits (9-4) scored the final 12 points of the first quarter to lead 12-1 by the start of the second.
Carlisle (5-6) was held without a field goal in the first eight minutes of the game, and didn’t make its first basket from the field till the 4:17 mark of the second quarter, which came on a putback by Lady Bison post Faith Walker.
Walker’s putback cut Lonoke’s lead to 15-5, and by the end of the first half, the Lady Rabbits pushed their lead to 24-7. Lonoke’s defense held Carlisle to 1 of 17 shooting in the first half, which left Lady Rabbits’ coach Nathan Morris pleased with his team’s defensive play.
“We felt like we’d be able to defend on the perimeter,” said Morris. “We knew the Walker kid would be pretty good, and we really concentrated on putting our best defender (Amanda Sexton) on her and doubling around her, while also putting a lot of pressure on their guards and I feel like we did that and did that pretty well.”
Within the first two minutes of the second half, the Lady Bison doubled their first-half field goals, both of which came on baskets by Carter, who led Carlisle with 14 points in the game.
Carter’s second basket of the half cut Carlisle’s deficit to 26-11 with 6:10 to play in the third quarter, but Lonoke’s Jarrelyn McCall put the Lady Rabbits up 20 on a short jumper near the 5:00 mark of the period, which made the score 32-12.
Lonoke pushed its lead to 36-14 by the end of the period on an Ashlyn Allen bucket in transition just before the buzzer sounded. The visiting Lady Rabbits held their largest lead of the fourth quarter at 39-16, but Carlisle’s seniors were able to trim the deficit to 19 by the end of the game.
Even though his team got the easy win, Morris still sees a lot of room for improvement.
“There’s always a lot to work on,” Morris said. “It’s the same things we haven’t been doing. We’re still standing too high and we don’t block out very well. We play straight up on offense and defense, both dribbling and defensively, and we’re still limited on our defensive rebounds.
“So there’s always a lot to work on, and those are the things we’ll have to improve on going into the conference season.”
Lonoke finished the game 17 of 45 from the field for 38 percent, and outrebounded Carlisle 28-23. Carlisle finished 7 of 37 from the floor for 19 percent, and committed 10 more turnovers in the game than Lonoke did, finishing with 24.
Allen led Lonoke with 13 points. McCall finished with 11. For the Lady Bison, Carter added six rebounds to go with her game-high 14 points. Only two other Carlisle players scored in the game. Seniors Walker and Sloane Henderson, who made her season debut after returning from an ACL injury, scored six points apiece.
The Lady Rabbits play again Friday at home against Newport. The Carlisle ladies also play again Friday, but on road at Palestine Wheatley. Both are conference games and are set to tipoff at 6 p.m.
Leader sportswriter
A Presley Carter free throw gave the Lady Bison the first lead of the game, but it was all Lonoke from that point on, as the Lady Jackrabbits soundly beat Carlisle 45-26 Friday at Bison Arena in the first meeting between the two high-school teams since the 2000 season.
Carter’s free throw put the first point on the board for the home team, but the Lady Rabbits (9-4) scored the final 12 points of the first quarter to lead 12-1 by the start of the second.
Carlisle (5-6) was held without a field goal in the first eight minutes of the game, and didn’t make its first basket from the field till the 4:17 mark of the second quarter, which came on a putback by Lady Bison post Faith Walker.
Walker’s putback cut Lonoke’s lead to 15-5, and by the end of the first half, the Lady Rabbits pushed their lead to 24-7. Lonoke’s defense held Carlisle to 1 of 17 shooting in the first half, which left Lady Rabbits’ coach Nathan Morris pleased with his team’s defensive play.
“We felt like we’d be able to defend on the perimeter,” said Morris. “We knew the Walker kid would be pretty good, and we really concentrated on putting our best defender (Amanda Sexton) on her and doubling around her, while also putting a lot of pressure on their guards and I feel like we did that and did that pretty well.”
Within the first two minutes of the second half, the Lady Bison doubled their first-half field goals, both of which came on baskets by Carter, who led Carlisle with 14 points in the game.
Carter’s second basket of the half cut Carlisle’s deficit to 26-11 with 6:10 to play in the third quarter, but Lonoke’s Jarrelyn McCall put the Lady Rabbits up 20 on a short jumper near the 5:00 mark of the period, which made the score 32-12.
Lonoke pushed its lead to 36-14 by the end of the period on an Ashlyn Allen bucket in transition just before the buzzer sounded. The visiting Lady Rabbits held their largest lead of the fourth quarter at 39-16, but Carlisle’s seniors were able to trim the deficit to 19 by the end of the game.
Even though his team got the easy win, Morris still sees a lot of room for improvement.
“There’s always a lot to work on,” Morris said. “It’s the same things we haven’t been doing. We’re still standing too high and we don’t block out very well. We play straight up on offense and defense, both dribbling and defensively, and we’re still limited on our defensive rebounds.
“So there’s always a lot to work on, and those are the things we’ll have to improve on going into the conference season.”
Lonoke finished the game 17 of 45 from the field for 38 percent, and outrebounded Carlisle 28-23. Carlisle finished 7 of 37 from the floor for 19 percent, and committed 10 more turnovers in the game than Lonoke did, finishing with 24.
Allen led Lonoke with 13 points. McCall finished with 11. For the Lady Bison, Carter added six rebounds to go with her game-high 14 points. Only two other Carlisle players scored in the game. Seniors Walker and Sloane Henderson, who made her season debut after returning from an ACL injury, scored six points apiece.
The Lady Rabbits play again Friday at home against Newport. The Carlisle ladies also play again Friday, but on road at Palestine Wheatley. Both are conference games and are set to tipoff at 6 p.m.
SPORTS STORY >> Panthers pour in 74 in victory
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
BRYANT – Leading by a point at the end of the first quarter of Monday’s nonconference finale at the Hornets’ Nest, Cabot gained separation in the second quarter and never looked back, as the Panthers left Saline County with a 74-52 win over the Bryant Hornets.
Thanks to a baseline three-pointer by senior point guard Hunter York in the waning seconds of the first quarter, Cabot led Bryant 11-10 at the start of the second quarter. That momentum carried over into the second quarter as the Panthers opened the period with a 10-0 run, pushing their lead to 21-10.
The run was capped with a three-pointer by junior two-guard Jake Ferguson with 5:24 remaining in the opening half, and Cabot maintained its double-digit lead at halftime, leading 31-19.
“I just think we had good shot selection,” said Cabot coach Jerry Bridges of his team’s second-quarter run. “I told our guys coming in ‘Guys, if you make four or five passes they’re going to want to get the ball going on the other end so bad that they may give up some good shots for us.’
“I just thought we did a good job of executing what we did and trying to defend their three, and we did a good job rebounding for the most part. I just thought we did a good job of getting everybody involved and I thought our scoring was fairly balanced, too.”
The Panthers use nine players in their normal rotation, and all nine scored Monday. York led the way offensively with 16 points and fellow senior Adolfo Iglesias came off the bench to score 14. Sophomores Garrett Rowe and Hunter Southerland scored nine points apiece.
Ferguson scored eight points. Senior post Michael Smith finished with seven points, and fellow seniors Nick Thomas and Jeremiah Penner added four. Sophomore post Jared Dixon rounded out the scoring for Cabot. He scored two points.
As far as the team’s shot selection, Cabot couldn’t have had a much better showing from the floor. The Panthers finished the game 27 of 50 from the floor for 54 percent, bettering Bryant’s 41 percent on 18 of 44 shooting.
“These kids, they’ve worked hard for us and done what we’ve asked,” Bridges said. “They try to take good shots for us. We don’t really take a lot of bad shots. I’m not going to say we don’t take any, but they try to take good shots. To come on the road and get that, you’ve got to like it.”
Cabot pushed its lead to 15 with 5:40 to play in the third quarter on a corner three by York, which made the score 36-21. Bryant never got within 15 points of the Panthers’ lead for the remainder of the game.
A pair of free throws by Smith with 3:06 left in the third quarter put the Panthers up 19 with the score 43-24, and Cabot maintained that 19-point lead by the start of the fourth quarter, leading 49-30.
An inside bucket by Thomas at the beginning of the fourth quarter pushed the Panther lead to 21.
Bryant (4-7) was able to trim its deficit to 15 on a couple of occasions in the game’s final minutes, but the Panthers didn’t let up, and with 41.4 seconds remaining, Cabot gained its largest lead at 23 on a free throw by Rowe, which made the score 74-51.
Bryant’s Cedarrian Crosby set the final score with a free throw in the waning seconds. Cabot finished the game with two fewer turnovers than Bryant with 15, but the most noticeable stat was on the boards. The Panthers had nearly double the rebounds as the Hornets, winning that margin 31-16.
Cabot finished its nonconference schedule 9-3, but will face a significant leap in competition Friday in the team’s 7A/6A East Conference opener, as the Panthers travel to North Little Rock for a matchup with the Charging Wildcats, last year’s class 7A state champions.
The boys’ game will tip-off after the girls’ matchup, which starts at 6 p.m.
Leader sportswriter
BRYANT – Leading by a point at the end of the first quarter of Monday’s nonconference finale at the Hornets’ Nest, Cabot gained separation in the second quarter and never looked back, as the Panthers left Saline County with a 74-52 win over the Bryant Hornets.
Thanks to a baseline three-pointer by senior point guard Hunter York in the waning seconds of the first quarter, Cabot led Bryant 11-10 at the start of the second quarter. That momentum carried over into the second quarter as the Panthers opened the period with a 10-0 run, pushing their lead to 21-10.
The run was capped with a three-pointer by junior two-guard Jake Ferguson with 5:24 remaining in the opening half, and Cabot maintained its double-digit lead at halftime, leading 31-19.
“I just think we had good shot selection,” said Cabot coach Jerry Bridges of his team’s second-quarter run. “I told our guys coming in ‘Guys, if you make four or five passes they’re going to want to get the ball going on the other end so bad that they may give up some good shots for us.’
“I just thought we did a good job of executing what we did and trying to defend their three, and we did a good job rebounding for the most part. I just thought we did a good job of getting everybody involved and I thought our scoring was fairly balanced, too.”
The Panthers use nine players in their normal rotation, and all nine scored Monday. York led the way offensively with 16 points and fellow senior Adolfo Iglesias came off the bench to score 14. Sophomores Garrett Rowe and Hunter Southerland scored nine points apiece.
Ferguson scored eight points. Senior post Michael Smith finished with seven points, and fellow seniors Nick Thomas and Jeremiah Penner added four. Sophomore post Jared Dixon rounded out the scoring for Cabot. He scored two points.
As far as the team’s shot selection, Cabot couldn’t have had a much better showing from the floor. The Panthers finished the game 27 of 50 from the floor for 54 percent, bettering Bryant’s 41 percent on 18 of 44 shooting.
“These kids, they’ve worked hard for us and done what we’ve asked,” Bridges said. “They try to take good shots for us. We don’t really take a lot of bad shots. I’m not going to say we don’t take any, but they try to take good shots. To come on the road and get that, you’ve got to like it.”
Cabot pushed its lead to 15 with 5:40 to play in the third quarter on a corner three by York, which made the score 36-21. Bryant never got within 15 points of the Panthers’ lead for the remainder of the game.
A pair of free throws by Smith with 3:06 left in the third quarter put the Panthers up 19 with the score 43-24, and Cabot maintained that 19-point lead by the start of the fourth quarter, leading 49-30.
An inside bucket by Thomas at the beginning of the fourth quarter pushed the Panther lead to 21.
Bryant (4-7) was able to trim its deficit to 15 on a couple of occasions in the game’s final minutes, but the Panthers didn’t let up, and with 41.4 seconds remaining, Cabot gained its largest lead at 23 on a free throw by Rowe, which made the score 74-51.
Bryant’s Cedarrian Crosby set the final score with a free throw in the waning seconds. Cabot finished the game with two fewer turnovers than Bryant with 15, but the most noticeable stat was on the boards. The Panthers had nearly double the rebounds as the Hornets, winning that margin 31-16.
Cabot finished its nonconference schedule 9-3, but will face a significant leap in competition Friday in the team’s 7A/6A East Conference opener, as the Panthers travel to North Little Rock for a matchup with the Charging Wildcats, last year’s class 7A state champions.
The boys’ game will tip-off after the girls’ matchup, which starts at 6 p.m.
SPORTS STORY >> Devils change approach, beat Rockets Friday
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Red Devils enter conference play on a five-game winning streak after beating Little Rock Catholic 59-42 Friday at the Devils’ Den gymnasium. Jacksonville trailed for most of the first half, but a change in how to attack the Rockets’ 1-2-2 zone defense made the difference in the second half.
The change wasn’t so much one of strategy, but of implementation of the original strategy.
“In the second half, they finally started doing what they were asked to do,” said Jacksonville coach Vic Joyner. “We had to attack the middle. They jumped into that 1-2-2, sort of 3-2 look and extended it out. The ball needed to be either driven inside, or passed inside. We didn’t do that in the first half. We settled for jumpers.”
Jacksonville attempted 10 three-point shots in the first half and made just two, one in each quarter. In the second half, guards Sergio Berkley and Devin Campbell attacked the rim more often, and got the ball inside to post player Kanaan Jackson. Those three led the Red Devils in scoring. Campbell had 22, Berkley 12 and Jackson 10 points.
“It’s hard to not shoot a wide-open three, and they were just giving them to us,” Joyner said. “But when you’re shooting at a low percentage, you have to know to try something else. At halftime I just told them to pass those up and concentrate on getting it inside. Once we did that and had some success, it got them out of that zone and into a man, and they couldn’t hold us in man.”
Catholic ran its offense very well in the first quarter. Point guard Chad Wharton had four assists in the first quarter, repeatedly finding open teammates near the basket. Wharton finished the game with just five assists, and two factors played a role in that. One was foul trouble. He picked up his third foul early in the second quarter and sat the rest of the half. He got his fourth right away in the third quarter, and fouled out shortly after taking the floor in the fourth.
The other factor was simply better defense by Jacksonville.
“Catholic is patient, passing the ball 20, 30 times waiting for that guy to come open under the basket. That’s why I like playing them in nonconference because you have to be disciplined on defense and it gives you an idea of where you’re at. But in the first quarter, they didn’t even have to pass it four or five times. We had a lot of breakdowns, trapping, people not rotating and leaving people under the goal. They’re waiting for you to make a mistake and we gave them opportunities in the first half. We did a lot better in the second half. Again, that’s why I like playing them.”
The Rockets built a 19-11 lead with 45 seconds left in the first quarter when Lance Thomas got a putback. Jacksonville’s Reggie Barnes hit a three pointer before the end of the half to make it a five-point game.
Jacksonville’s defense began turning things around in the second quarter, making it a one-point deficit at 26-25 at halftime, until the offense could catch up and take over.
Starting with Barnes’ three at the end of the first quarter, Jacksonville went on a 12-2 run, but it was a slow run. Back-to-back steals by Berkley and Tedrick Wolfe ended in layups and a 23-21 Jacksonville lead with three minutes left in the half.
After that, the game turned into a turnover contest. Jacksonville forced four turnovers in the final 2:50 of the half, but committed six in that time.
Jacksonville started the third quarter with a 10-2 run to take a 35-28 lead. LaQuan Smith got two steals on consecutive possessions. The first resulted in a missed shot, the second ended with Jackson feeding Campbell in transition for a three-point play.
Catholic came right back with six straight to make it a one-point game with 2:30 left in the third quarter.
Jacksonville led 38-36 with 30 seconds left when Jarvis McChriston scored all four of his points. He hit one of two free throws before Jacksonville forced a turnover.
McChriston got the ball out on the wing with 10 seconds left and lost it off his knee. The ball rolled between his defender’s legs. McChriston ran around the defender, scooped up the loose ball and drained a three pointer at the buzzer for a 42-26 lead and the momentum.
“We tell them to give quality minutes when you’re out there,” Joyner said. “All of them want to play the whole game and that can’t happen. So we tell them to make them count when you’re out there. Jarvis probably didn’t play as much as he wanted to, but he gave us a spark going into that last quarter with the game on the line. Any time you can grab the momentum that’s a good thing.”
Just like in the two previous quarters, Jacksonville started the fourth with a run. Campbell, Berkley and Jackson scored the first six points of the quarter, giving Jacksonville its biggest lead of the game at 48-36. Only this time, the Red Devils held the Rockets off and thwarted any comeback attempt.
Jacksonville punctuated the win with 3:47 remaining when Wolfe knocked the ball loose before sprinting to the basket. Campbell picked up the loose ball on the run and lobbed it toward the rim where Wolfe slammed it for a 53-37 lead.
Wolfe finished the game with six points, but led all players with 10 rebounds. Jackson added seven rebounds and four blocks to his 10 points.
“The coaching staff and his teammates have been imploring Kanaan to come on,” Joyner said. “He kind of issued himself a challenge because he knew he wasn’t playing up to the level he was at last year. He had a great tournament down in Monticello. So the last three or four games he’s finally answering that challenge. Him and Damarion Freeman and Wolfe have all been playing better. And that’s huge because it gives you a whole new dimension when you got your bigs playing well.”
Only two Catholic starters scored in the game and they were the leading scorers. Thomas finished with 18 points while William Hancock had 12.
Jacksonville began conference play on the road at Mills on Tuesday. Look for that game report on Saturday’s edition of The Leader. The Red Devils will also play Little Rock Christian at home on Friday.
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Red Devils enter conference play on a five-game winning streak after beating Little Rock Catholic 59-42 Friday at the Devils’ Den gymnasium. Jacksonville trailed for most of the first half, but a change in how to attack the Rockets’ 1-2-2 zone defense made the difference in the second half.
The change wasn’t so much one of strategy, but of implementation of the original strategy.
“In the second half, they finally started doing what they were asked to do,” said Jacksonville coach Vic Joyner. “We had to attack the middle. They jumped into that 1-2-2, sort of 3-2 look and extended it out. The ball needed to be either driven inside, or passed inside. We didn’t do that in the first half. We settled for jumpers.”
Jacksonville attempted 10 three-point shots in the first half and made just two, one in each quarter. In the second half, guards Sergio Berkley and Devin Campbell attacked the rim more often, and got the ball inside to post player Kanaan Jackson. Those three led the Red Devils in scoring. Campbell had 22, Berkley 12 and Jackson 10 points.
“It’s hard to not shoot a wide-open three, and they were just giving them to us,” Joyner said. “But when you’re shooting at a low percentage, you have to know to try something else. At halftime I just told them to pass those up and concentrate on getting it inside. Once we did that and had some success, it got them out of that zone and into a man, and they couldn’t hold us in man.”
Catholic ran its offense very well in the first quarter. Point guard Chad Wharton had four assists in the first quarter, repeatedly finding open teammates near the basket. Wharton finished the game with just five assists, and two factors played a role in that. One was foul trouble. He picked up his third foul early in the second quarter and sat the rest of the half. He got his fourth right away in the third quarter, and fouled out shortly after taking the floor in the fourth.
The other factor was simply better defense by Jacksonville.
“Catholic is patient, passing the ball 20, 30 times waiting for that guy to come open under the basket. That’s why I like playing them in nonconference because you have to be disciplined on defense and it gives you an idea of where you’re at. But in the first quarter, they didn’t even have to pass it four or five times. We had a lot of breakdowns, trapping, people not rotating and leaving people under the goal. They’re waiting for you to make a mistake and we gave them opportunities in the first half. We did a lot better in the second half. Again, that’s why I like playing them.”
The Rockets built a 19-11 lead with 45 seconds left in the first quarter when Lance Thomas got a putback. Jacksonville’s Reggie Barnes hit a three pointer before the end of the half to make it a five-point game.
Jacksonville’s defense began turning things around in the second quarter, making it a one-point deficit at 26-25 at halftime, until the offense could catch up and take over.
Starting with Barnes’ three at the end of the first quarter, Jacksonville went on a 12-2 run, but it was a slow run. Back-to-back steals by Berkley and Tedrick Wolfe ended in layups and a 23-21 Jacksonville lead with three minutes left in the half.
After that, the game turned into a turnover contest. Jacksonville forced four turnovers in the final 2:50 of the half, but committed six in that time.
Jacksonville started the third quarter with a 10-2 run to take a 35-28 lead. LaQuan Smith got two steals on consecutive possessions. The first resulted in a missed shot, the second ended with Jackson feeding Campbell in transition for a three-point play.
Catholic came right back with six straight to make it a one-point game with 2:30 left in the third quarter.
Jacksonville led 38-36 with 30 seconds left when Jarvis McChriston scored all four of his points. He hit one of two free throws before Jacksonville forced a turnover.
McChriston got the ball out on the wing with 10 seconds left and lost it off his knee. The ball rolled between his defender’s legs. McChriston ran around the defender, scooped up the loose ball and drained a three pointer at the buzzer for a 42-26 lead and the momentum.
“We tell them to give quality minutes when you’re out there,” Joyner said. “All of them want to play the whole game and that can’t happen. So we tell them to make them count when you’re out there. Jarvis probably didn’t play as much as he wanted to, but he gave us a spark going into that last quarter with the game on the line. Any time you can grab the momentum that’s a good thing.”
Just like in the two previous quarters, Jacksonville started the fourth with a run. Campbell, Berkley and Jackson scored the first six points of the quarter, giving Jacksonville its biggest lead of the game at 48-36. Only this time, the Red Devils held the Rockets off and thwarted any comeback attempt.
Jacksonville punctuated the win with 3:47 remaining when Wolfe knocked the ball loose before sprinting to the basket. Campbell picked up the loose ball on the run and lobbed it toward the rim where Wolfe slammed it for a 53-37 lead.
Wolfe finished the game with six points, but led all players with 10 rebounds. Jackson added seven rebounds and four blocks to his 10 points.
“The coaching staff and his teammates have been imploring Kanaan to come on,” Joyner said. “He kind of issued himself a challenge because he knew he wasn’t playing up to the level he was at last year. He had a great tournament down in Monticello. So the last three or four games he’s finally answering that challenge. Him and Damarion Freeman and Wolfe have all been playing better. And that’s huge because it gives you a whole new dimension when you got your bigs playing well.”
Only two Catholic starters scored in the game and they were the leading scorers. Thomas finished with 18 points while William Hancock had 12.
Jacksonville began conference play on the road at Mills on Tuesday. Look for that game report on Saturday’s edition of The Leader. The Red Devils will also play Little Rock Christian at home on Friday.
Friday, January 03, 2014
EDITORIAL >> Revitalizing Downtowns
Leslie Richardson, a Beebe resident who is concerned about the future of her city’s charmingly all-American downtown, recently asked city officials to approve her application to join the Arkansas Downtown Network. The organization awards local businesses grants to improve their storefronts, supports other beautification projects and even offers general business advice to help revitalize downtown areas that were once the heart of economic activity before big-box stores changed things forever.
The council supported the plan, but did not provide the $4,750 membership fee. So she will have to raise the money to get her city access to all of the services that the preservation group provides, like helping businesses get grants for restoration projects, suggesting looks for stores, beautification projects, guidance about how to bring new life to downtown and even general business consultancy for owners who are willing to make a go of it in the old part of town.
Richardson’s unique qualifications offer Beebe a strong chance of getting the most out of the program: She was the executive director of the Heber Springs Arkansas Downtown Network for two years and was also involved with the Searcy Main Street project.
“My first experience moving to Beebe was going downtown shopping. The Powell building was still open. Everybody used to shop downtown. It was the center of the community. When people drive through a town with downtown buildings, it makes an impression, if people want to work and live here,” Richardson said.
With insider know-how, she touted that “business owners also get a 40 percent (state) tax credit for anything they do to the building for participating in this project.”
Simply put, she wants downtown to again be a destination for shopping, restaurants and special events and attract new businesses to vacant buildings.
To get there, she needs volunteers and donations to start a Beebe Downtown Network. (To get involved, call her at 501-882-3348 or e-mail lcrichardson777@yahoo.com.)
With Richardson’s experience and Beebe’s recent sales-tax windfall from the new Walmart Supercenter, the Beebe City Council should pay the reasonable annual fee to join the Arkansas Downtown Network and feel confident in supporting the endeavor.
JACKSONVILLE
Jacksonville, too, should join the Arkansas Downtown Network, which is part of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.Perhaps if led by the city’s chamber of commerce and with money from the advertising and promotions commission — an organization that has long struggled to find meaningful programs to pursue — Jacksonville could begin a new chapter in boosting the appeal of downtown.
It would be a logical continuation of the beautification projects and economic development already taking place here, while countering the urban blight that has been underway for some time. It also offers a chance for the city and chamber to find common goals and work together again.
Though downtown Jacksonville lacks the turn of the 20th Century buildings that distinguish Beebe, Samantha Evans, assistant director of Main Street Arkansas, said Jacksonville would be a strong candidate for the program.
A city does not need to have historic buildings to join, she said. Any city interested in urban renewal can join, and local business owners would have access to a variety of expertise — from making storefronts more appealing to improving retail displays and more.
Evans said any resident or civic group can form a downtown network as a first step in applying to the program and that the chamber of commerce would be a good place to initiate the process.
Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher oversaw a beautification project at Main and James streets when he first took office. We hope that expensive project hasn’t discouraged him or other officials from undertaking similar efforts. But, while the city’s budget problems continue, the Arkansas Downtown Network might be a thrifty and efficient alternative.
The council supported the plan, but did not provide the $4,750 membership fee. So she will have to raise the money to get her city access to all of the services that the preservation group provides, like helping businesses get grants for restoration projects, suggesting looks for stores, beautification projects, guidance about how to bring new life to downtown and even general business consultancy for owners who are willing to make a go of it in the old part of town.
Richardson’s unique qualifications offer Beebe a strong chance of getting the most out of the program: She was the executive director of the Heber Springs Arkansas Downtown Network for two years and was also involved with the Searcy Main Street project.
“My first experience moving to Beebe was going downtown shopping. The Powell building was still open. Everybody used to shop downtown. It was the center of the community. When people drive through a town with downtown buildings, it makes an impression, if people want to work and live here,” Richardson said.
With insider know-how, she touted that “business owners also get a 40 percent (state) tax credit for anything they do to the building for participating in this project.”
Simply put, she wants downtown to again be a destination for shopping, restaurants and special events and attract new businesses to vacant buildings.
To get there, she needs volunteers and donations to start a Beebe Downtown Network. (To get involved, call her at 501-882-3348 or e-mail lcrichardson777@yahoo.com.)
With Richardson’s experience and Beebe’s recent sales-tax windfall from the new Walmart Supercenter, the Beebe City Council should pay the reasonable annual fee to join the Arkansas Downtown Network and feel confident in supporting the endeavor.
JACKSONVILLE
Jacksonville, too, should join the Arkansas Downtown Network, which is part of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.Perhaps if led by the city’s chamber of commerce and with money from the advertising and promotions commission — an organization that has long struggled to find meaningful programs to pursue — Jacksonville could begin a new chapter in boosting the appeal of downtown.
It would be a logical continuation of the beautification projects and economic development already taking place here, while countering the urban blight that has been underway for some time. It also offers a chance for the city and chamber to find common goals and work together again.
Though downtown Jacksonville lacks the turn of the 20th Century buildings that distinguish Beebe, Samantha Evans, assistant director of Main Street Arkansas, said Jacksonville would be a strong candidate for the program.
A city does not need to have historic buildings to join, she said. Any city interested in urban renewal can join, and local business owners would have access to a variety of expertise — from making storefronts more appealing to improving retail displays and more.
Evans said any resident or civic group can form a downtown network as a first step in applying to the program and that the chamber of commerce would be a good place to initiate the process.
Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher oversaw a beautification project at Main and James streets when he first took office. We hope that expensive project hasn’t discouraged him or other officials from undertaking similar efforts. But, while the city’s budget problems continue, the Arkansas Downtown Network might be a thrifty and efficient alternative.
TOP STORY >> Read all about it: WWII ends
By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
Sam and Jean Ross of Cabot have several California newspapers from 1945 that were printed as the Second World War was ending and they plan to give the historical treasure trove to a local museum.
The couple reflected on their 70-year marriage while flipping through the yellowing pages, which report on a victorious nation that had made great sacrifices.
The 89-year-olds first met in 1941 on a blind date. They are high school sweethearts and graduated from North Little Rock High School in 1943.
Sam was 18 when he joined the service during World War II. He was a carpenter’s mate first class in the Navy on the USS J. Franklin Bell for three years. From 1943 to 1945, he spent most of his time sailing in the South Pacific.
Sam and Jean were engaged before he left for the war. He was on a 10-day leave from the Navy when they were married in June 1943.
“It was nearly a year and a half later before I saw him again,” Jean said.
Communication between loved ones was different then than it is today. Sam said if he sent a letter to the U.S. then, it would take three weeks or even months to arrive. It was always uncertain when letters would arrive because mail was sent by ship.
While her husband was serving in the military, Jean moved to California and stayed with a friend’s wife.
She was an electrician’s helper at the Calship Yard in Los Angeles, where she ran wiring and lights in battleships under construction.
Jean later became a secretary for the port of importation processing special clothing orders for servicemen.
Sam said the USS J. Frank-lin Bell delivered American troops during the invasions of eight different islands in the Pacific.
He received eight bronze battle stars during the war. As a carpenter, Sam made repairs on small boats and landing crafts.
His ship was docked in San Francisco for repairs on Sept. 1, 1945, after a kamikaze plane buckled one of the plates on the ship. Torpedoes were also shot at them, though the ship was never hit by those.
His wife, who was working in a shipyard in the Wilmington neighborhood of Los Angeles, came up to San Francisco to visit him while repairs were made.
Sam was on his way to Jean’s hotel when news came that Japan had surrendered and the war was over.
“Traffic stopped. I had to walk from the Pacific cable car to her hotel when war was declared over,” he said.
“People were climbing light poles. Mobs were everywhere celebrating,” Jean said.
After the war, the couple returned to Arkansas.
Sam purchased a car dealership with Victor Wright and operated Ross Wright Chrysler Plymouth in North Little Rock off Broadway there for 30 years — from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Jean was a housewife and raised their three children.
Recently, while looking in a cedar chest, she remembered buying the newspapers because Sam did not have a chance to read them when he was in the service.
Jean saved the April 16, 1945, edition of the Los Angeles Examiner.
It was published the day after President Franklin D. Roosevelt was buried.
She also saved Aug. 15, 1945, editions of the San Francisco Chronicle-Extra and the Call-Bulletin of San Francisco; the Sept. 2, 1945, edition of the Call-Bulletin of San Francisco; and the Sept. 2, 1945, edition of the San Francisco Examiner.
“They had paperboys along the streets — ‘Extra Extra read all about it.’ That’s what you heard on all the streets,” Jean said.
“It was interesting at the time. We’d forgotten that we had kept them. She was getting ready to throw them away. I told her, ‘Whoa, don’t throw those away,” he said
The newspapers will be donated to the Jacksonville Museum of Military History or the Cabot School District’s Museum of American History.
Leader staff writer
Sam and Jean Ross of Cabot have several California newspapers from 1945 that were printed as the Second World War was ending and they plan to give the historical treasure trove to a local museum.
The couple reflected on their 70-year marriage while flipping through the yellowing pages, which report on a victorious nation that had made great sacrifices.
The 89-year-olds first met in 1941 on a blind date. They are high school sweethearts and graduated from North Little Rock High School in 1943.
Sam was 18 when he joined the service during World War II. He was a carpenter’s mate first class in the Navy on the USS J. Franklin Bell for three years. From 1943 to 1945, he spent most of his time sailing in the South Pacific.
Sam and Jean were engaged before he left for the war. He was on a 10-day leave from the Navy when they were married in June 1943.
“It was nearly a year and a half later before I saw him again,” Jean said.
Communication between loved ones was different then than it is today. Sam said if he sent a letter to the U.S. then, it would take three weeks or even months to arrive. It was always uncertain when letters would arrive because mail was sent by ship.
While her husband was serving in the military, Jean moved to California and stayed with a friend’s wife.
She was an electrician’s helper at the Calship Yard in Los Angeles, where she ran wiring and lights in battleships under construction.
Jean later became a secretary for the port of importation processing special clothing orders for servicemen.
Sam said the USS J. Frank-lin Bell delivered American troops during the invasions of eight different islands in the Pacific.
He received eight bronze battle stars during the war. As a carpenter, Sam made repairs on small boats and landing crafts.
His ship was docked in San Francisco for repairs on Sept. 1, 1945, after a kamikaze plane buckled one of the plates on the ship. Torpedoes were also shot at them, though the ship was never hit by those.
His wife, who was working in a shipyard in the Wilmington neighborhood of Los Angeles, came up to San Francisco to visit him while repairs were made.
Sam was on his way to Jean’s hotel when news came that Japan had surrendered and the war was over.
“Traffic stopped. I had to walk from the Pacific cable car to her hotel when war was declared over,” he said.
“People were climbing light poles. Mobs were everywhere celebrating,” Jean said.
After the war, the couple returned to Arkansas.
Sam purchased a car dealership with Victor Wright and operated Ross Wright Chrysler Plymouth in North Little Rock off Broadway there for 30 years — from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Jean was a housewife and raised their three children.
Recently, while looking in a cedar chest, she remembered buying the newspapers because Sam did not have a chance to read them when he was in the service.
Jean saved the April 16, 1945, edition of the Los Angeles Examiner.
It was published the day after President Franklin D. Roosevelt was buried.
She also saved Aug. 15, 1945, editions of the San Francisco Chronicle-Extra and the Call-Bulletin of San Francisco; the Sept. 2, 1945, edition of the Call-Bulletin of San Francisco; and the Sept. 2, 1945, edition of the San Francisco Examiner.
“They had paperboys along the streets — ‘Extra Extra read all about it.’ That’s what you heard on all the streets,” Jean said.
“It was interesting at the time. We’d forgotten that we had kept them. She was getting ready to throw them away. I told her, ‘Whoa, don’t throw those away,” he said
The newspapers will be donated to the Jacksonville Museum of Military History or the Cabot School District’s Museum of American History.
TOP STORY >> Hopson’s estate will get $75,000
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
Former and fired Pulaski County Special School District Superintendent Charles Hopson’s $500,000 lawsuit against the district was settled days before Christmas by the district and Hopson’s estate for $75,000.
Hopson alleged that he was entitled to a judgment, damages, attorneys’ fees and costs because the district had breached his contract.
A former deputy superintendent of Portland, Ore., public schools, Hopson was working as a high school improvement officer for the Houston School District when he died Oct. 9, 2012, from an illness.
District Judge D. Price Marshall authorized his widow, Patricia Hopson, and the estate to substitute for Hopson as plaintiff in the suit against the district.
The settlement was reached days before the case was set to go to trial, according to Allen Roberts, one of the PCSSD attorneys.
“It was primarily Jay Bequette’s case,” Roberts said, and Bequette got a pre-trial ruling from District Judge Price Marshall Jr. that the district could go into the reasons for firing Hopson and whether or not there had been cause to terminate.
“Jay furnished documents from the state Department of Education,” to Hopson’s attorney, Ricky Hicks, and “Hicks felt that his hand was diminished,” Roberts said Thursday.
In exchange for the award, the Hopson estate agreed that the matter was settled and there would be no further suits or appeals.
Central Arkansas Risk Management Associates was to have paid the award to the Hopson estate within 10 days of the Dec. 20, 2013 agreement.
“The payment burden eventually falls on the district,” Roberts said. “It’s figured back into the rate (the district pays for membership) the next year,” he said.
The settlement was signed by Patricia Hopson for the estate, Superintendent Jerry Guess for the district and lawyers Hicks and Bequette.
After a professional search, a troubled PCSSD hired Hopson as superintendent with a three-year contract April 2010 at $242,000 a year plus benefits.
At the time, the district already had financial and academic problems. Hopson said he received assurances from Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell before taking the job that the state wouldn’t take over the district.
But that’s exactly what happened in June 2011, when the state Board of Education put the district in fiscal distress and took it over. Kimbrell dissolved the school board, fired Hopson and hired Guess.
Hopson alleged that the state and district illegally voided his contract, which had about two years left on it, hired Hicks and sued.
Agents arrived at Hopson’s office, told him to clean out his desk and escorted him off the property, which Hopson later described as “humiliating.”
At the time he was hired, Hopson worked for the progressive Portland, Ore., School District, and he tried to implement at PCSSD some of the forward-thinking ideas he learned at that district.
He was met with both enthusiasm and skepticism from a school board that had been dysfunctional for many years.
Hopson was a Prescott native who worked as a special-education teacher at Northwood Junior High.
His father was a Jackson-ville-area minister. His mother was a district cook. His brother, Tim Hopson, is an assistant principal at North Pulaski High School, according to PCSSD spokeswoman Deborah Roush.
Leader senior staff writer
Former and fired Pulaski County Special School District Superintendent Charles Hopson’s $500,000 lawsuit against the district was settled days before Christmas by the district and Hopson’s estate for $75,000.
Hopson alleged that he was entitled to a judgment, damages, attorneys’ fees and costs because the district had breached his contract.
A former deputy superintendent of Portland, Ore., public schools, Hopson was working as a high school improvement officer for the Houston School District when he died Oct. 9, 2012, from an illness.
District Judge D. Price Marshall authorized his widow, Patricia Hopson, and the estate to substitute for Hopson as plaintiff in the suit against the district.
The settlement was reached days before the case was set to go to trial, according to Allen Roberts, one of the PCSSD attorneys.
“It was primarily Jay Bequette’s case,” Roberts said, and Bequette got a pre-trial ruling from District Judge Price Marshall Jr. that the district could go into the reasons for firing Hopson and whether or not there had been cause to terminate.
“Jay furnished documents from the state Department of Education,” to Hopson’s attorney, Ricky Hicks, and “Hicks felt that his hand was diminished,” Roberts said Thursday.
In exchange for the award, the Hopson estate agreed that the matter was settled and there would be no further suits or appeals.
Central Arkansas Risk Management Associates was to have paid the award to the Hopson estate within 10 days of the Dec. 20, 2013 agreement.
“The payment burden eventually falls on the district,” Roberts said. “It’s figured back into the rate (the district pays for membership) the next year,” he said.
The settlement was signed by Patricia Hopson for the estate, Superintendent Jerry Guess for the district and lawyers Hicks and Bequette.
After a professional search, a troubled PCSSD hired Hopson as superintendent with a three-year contract April 2010 at $242,000 a year plus benefits.
At the time, the district already had financial and academic problems. Hopson said he received assurances from Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell before taking the job that the state wouldn’t take over the district.
But that’s exactly what happened in June 2011, when the state Board of Education put the district in fiscal distress and took it over. Kimbrell dissolved the school board, fired Hopson and hired Guess.
Hopson alleged that the state and district illegally voided his contract, which had about two years left on it, hired Hicks and sued.
Agents arrived at Hopson’s office, told him to clean out his desk and escorted him off the property, which Hopson later described as “humiliating.”
At the time he was hired, Hopson worked for the progressive Portland, Ore., School District, and he tried to implement at PCSSD some of the forward-thinking ideas he learned at that district.
He was met with both enthusiasm and skepticism from a school board that had been dysfunctional for many years.
Hopson was a Prescott native who worked as a special-education teacher at Northwood Junior High.
His father was a Jackson-ville-area minister. His mother was a district cook. His brother, Tim Hopson, is an assistant principal at North Pulaski High School, according to PCSSD spokeswoman Deborah Roush.
TOP STORY >> Council reworks loan for budget
By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
The Jacksonville City Council on Thursday passed an ordinance to refinance a five-year loan with Motorola for 911 equipment.
Officials agreed to extend the loan into a sixth year, make monthly payments instead of annual payments and pay interest on the loan, which was first offered at an interest rate of zero percent.
Jacksonville made one annual payment in 2013, Finance Director Cheryl Erkel told the council. The city still owes $2.66 million, which includes 3.243 percent in interest, she said.
Director of Administration Jim Durham added that the refinancing is the same as it would be if the city got a new loan at a 2.5 percent interest rate for the entire loan period.
The city will pay less each year for 2014, 2015 and 2016 than the $602,528 annual payment that would have been due this month without the refinancing, Erkel continued.
The $602,528 would have been due in January 2015, 2016 and 2017 too, she explained.
Erkel said, if Jacksonville does not pay the loan off early, it will spend $417,862 this year, $324,135 in 2015, $324,135 in 2016, $797,650 in 2017 and $797,650 in 2018.
There isn’t a payment due this month. The first monthly payment will be $147,750, which is due in February. For the next 34 months, the payment is $27,011, Erkel continued. Payments will increase to $66,470 for the remaining 24 months, she said.
Erkel added that there is no penalty for making higher payments and taking care of the loan early, which would help the city avoid footing the bill for some of the interest.
The ordinance was unanimously approved with an emergency clause, meaning it went into effect immediately.
Mayor Gary Fletcher said, “Another really good thing about this, it’s not just the smaller payments. It also gives us a better ability for cash flow.”
He said Motorola representatives weren’t surprised when the city approached them about reworking the deal.
“We’re not the first city. A lot of other cities are having to do the same thing,” Fletcher explained. “This is going to give us a lot of relief, some breathing room.”
Alderman Mike Traylor asked if city officials had looked at refinancing the loan with another company to get a lower interest rate.
The answer was no, but Traylor was told the loan could be refinanced at any time with another entity if the city finds a lower interest rate.
Durham pointed out that, under state law, Motorola can’t repossess 911 equipment and must work with Jacksonville if the city chooses to get the loan from another source.
But, he explained to The Leader on Friday, Motorola is the only state-approved vendor for the 911 system the city chose to use. The system was the most economical option, Durham said.
Refinancing the loan was one step Jacksonville took to balance the 2014 budget. Erkel presented an unbalanced budget to the council in early November. It included all funding requests from every department.
The budget presented then showed that the city had to make up for a $2.95 million shortfall by making cuts and/or generating more revenue. The council did both.
Last month, aldermen approved a $22 million budget for 2014.
It includes $40,000 in revenue from an increase in the sales tax on alcoholic beverages and more than $157,000 in cuts to employee benefits.
The tax was recently increased to 10 percent of a business’ gross profits, the same rate several surrounding cities have, according to the mayor.
He has blamed the tight budget on flat tax revenue and the city’s loss of $1 million in federal turnback revenue, which happened when the 2010 census — certified in 2011 — showed Jacksonville had lost about 1,500 of its population.
The population drop can be attributed to airmen who were overseas or elsewhere while homes were renovated on Little Rock Air Force Base, Fletcher has said.
Leader staff writer
The Jacksonville City Council on Thursday passed an ordinance to refinance a five-year loan with Motorola for 911 equipment.
Officials agreed to extend the loan into a sixth year, make monthly payments instead of annual payments and pay interest on the loan, which was first offered at an interest rate of zero percent.
Jacksonville made one annual payment in 2013, Finance Director Cheryl Erkel told the council. The city still owes $2.66 million, which includes 3.243 percent in interest, she said.
Director of Administration Jim Durham added that the refinancing is the same as it would be if the city got a new loan at a 2.5 percent interest rate for the entire loan period.
The city will pay less each year for 2014, 2015 and 2016 than the $602,528 annual payment that would have been due this month without the refinancing, Erkel continued.
The $602,528 would have been due in January 2015, 2016 and 2017 too, she explained.
Erkel said, if Jacksonville does not pay the loan off early, it will spend $417,862 this year, $324,135 in 2015, $324,135 in 2016, $797,650 in 2017 and $797,650 in 2018.
There isn’t a payment due this month. The first monthly payment will be $147,750, which is due in February. For the next 34 months, the payment is $27,011, Erkel continued. Payments will increase to $66,470 for the remaining 24 months, she said.
Erkel added that there is no penalty for making higher payments and taking care of the loan early, which would help the city avoid footing the bill for some of the interest.
The ordinance was unanimously approved with an emergency clause, meaning it went into effect immediately.
Mayor Gary Fletcher said, “Another really good thing about this, it’s not just the smaller payments. It also gives us a better ability for cash flow.”
He said Motorola representatives weren’t surprised when the city approached them about reworking the deal.
“We’re not the first city. A lot of other cities are having to do the same thing,” Fletcher explained. “This is going to give us a lot of relief, some breathing room.”
Alderman Mike Traylor asked if city officials had looked at refinancing the loan with another company to get a lower interest rate.
The answer was no, but Traylor was told the loan could be refinanced at any time with another entity if the city finds a lower interest rate.
Durham pointed out that, under state law, Motorola can’t repossess 911 equipment and must work with Jacksonville if the city chooses to get the loan from another source.
But, he explained to The Leader on Friday, Motorola is the only state-approved vendor for the 911 system the city chose to use. The system was the most economical option, Durham said.
Refinancing the loan was one step Jacksonville took to balance the 2014 budget. Erkel presented an unbalanced budget to the council in early November. It included all funding requests from every department.
The budget presented then showed that the city had to make up for a $2.95 million shortfall by making cuts and/or generating more revenue. The council did both.
Last month, aldermen approved a $22 million budget for 2014.
It includes $40,000 in revenue from an increase in the sales tax on alcoholic beverages and more than $157,000 in cuts to employee benefits.
The tax was recently increased to 10 percent of a business’ gross profits, the same rate several surrounding cities have, according to the mayor.
He has blamed the tight budget on flat tax revenue and the city’s loss of $1 million in federal turnback revenue, which happened when the 2010 census — certified in 2011 — showed Jacksonville had lost about 1,500 of its population.
The population drop can be attributed to airmen who were overseas or elsewhere while homes were renovated on Little Rock Air Force Base, Fletcher has said.
TOP STORY >> 2013 IN REVIEW: Year ends with drama
(Editor’s note: This is the fourth of a five-part series looking back at 2013. It was compiled by Leader staff writer Rick Kron.)
Dastardly deeds, deserving deeds and district decisions delivered us into December. Among the dastardly was a saboteur who cut and damaged area electrical lines and grids. Among the deserving were numerous groups helping the less fortunate. And Jacksonville got the decision it wanted to form a new school district while Sherwood did not.
OCTOBER
• Playing our song: Jacksonville residents formed an all-volunteer community orchestra with Christina Null, a lifelong Jacksonville resident, as its conductor.
• Community servant dies: Donald Hughes, a retired Air Force veteran and Sherwood’s 2012 Man of the Year, died at the age of 80.
• Sequestration hits base: About 355 Little Rock Air Force Base civilian employees were furloughed as sequestration tightened its grip on military expenditures. The government found enough money to end furloughs about two weeks later.
• Hiring vets: Former presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clark, Medal of Honor winner Sgt. Dakota Meyer joined others at a town-hall meeting in Jacksonville pushing the need to hire veterans.
• More electrical hijinks: Attacks continued on the power grid between Cabot, Furlough and Keo, putting 10,000 Cabot residents in the dark for a few hours. The FBI raised its reward for information leading to an arrest from $20,000 to $25,000.
• Commission chair out: A week after a tumultuous Cabot Planning Commission meeting where he and audience members traded insults, chairman Ron Craig resigned.
• Strange bedfellows: Area liquor store owners and a confederation of about a dozen churches joined forces to battle efforts to expand alcohol sales in Jacksonville and parts of Sherwood, claiming crime will increase and saying there are better ways to attract businesses and jobs to the city.
• Veteran goes to Washington: Virgle Cook of Lonoke County was one of several veterans flown to Washington to visit the World War II memorial. He was prepared to storm the barricades in front of it because of the federal government shutdown, but the barricade was moved three days before his arrival.
• Hallmark festival: Cabot celebrated its recovery from the devastating 1978 tornado with its 35th CabotFest that featured crafts, food vendors, bands, dancers, entertainment and more.
• Grid saboteur caught: Jason Woodring, a pool maintenance man from Jacksonville, was arrested and charged in four attacks on area power lines that occurred over a six-week period.
• School bus hijacking: Bus driver Shelia Hart was honored for her calm demeanor and actions when her Pinewood Elementary school bus was hijacked in Jacksonville by 22-year old Nicholas J. Miller.
• Open congressional seat: Second District Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Little Rock) decided not to run for re-election after retired North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Henry Hays, a Democrat, decided to run for the seat. State Sen. Eddie Joe Williams (R-Cabot) expressed interest in running for the seat even though he lives in the First District. But he decided against it.
• Coat drive: Austin resident Tracy O’Brien organized Cabot’s fourth annual coat drive, collecting a variety of clothes for needy children in the area.
• Jacksonville vs. Cabot: The two cities feuded over planning control and Cabot’s intention to eventually annex the area near Hwy. 5 and Hwy. 89 just south of the Pulaski County line. Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher was disappointed with Cabot Mayor Bill Cypert’s plans to incorporate the area.
• Afghan pilots: Two Afghan pilots became their country’s first C-130 pilots after completing flight training at Little Rock Air Force Base as the Afghanistan air force prepared to receive two C-130s from the U.S.
• Banning another breed: Cabot sought to ban the Spanish Alano dogs, which are closely related to pit bulls, from homes inside city limits.
NOVEMBER
• District can survive: In a sparsely attended open forum, Pulaski County Special School District interim superintendent Jerry Guess said the district could survive after an annual $20 million in state desegregation money is stopped. The state said the cut is likely soon.
• Court in court: A case between the Lonoke Quorum Court and the city of Lonoke made its way to the state Supreme Court. At issue was how much money the county must give the city to fund the district court. The high court ruled in the city’s favor. The county, hoping to get a different ruling, may resubmit the case to the court.
• Library sculpture: Plans were unveiled for an $80,000 sculpture display, created by a Monticello artist, to be placed near the entrance to the Jacksonville library. The Central Arkansas Library System said it will pay $32,000 of the cost if the city can raise $48,000.
• Fixing feral cats: Cabot’s Animal Control Director Mike Wheeler asked for a change in the city law to allow his department to capture thousands of feral cats, sterilize, vaccinate them and return them back to neighborhoods instead of killing them.
• Jacksonville spurned: The PCSSD presented a $220 million renovation and building plan to the state that did not include any of the $80 to $90 million in projects that are needed to repair Jacksonville schools.
• Budget cuts: A decline in tax collections and population forced Jacksonville to trim its planned 2014 budget so that expenses matched revenue. The city made the cuts without cutting any services by slashing many benefits available to city workers.
• Chicken country: Lonokians for Backyard Chickens urged the Lonoke City Council to overturn its 2003 ban against chickens and other poultry. The group wants to promote self-sufficiency and small-scale farming, but the council took no action.
• Desegregation deal stalls: A state plan to end $70 million in desegregation funding for three central Arkansas school districts, including PCSSD, hit a roadblock as civil rights attorney John Walker and the Joshua Intervenors, on the behalf of black students and their families, refused to sign off on the plan.
• Another term: Cabot Mayor Bill Cypert, finishing up his first term, announced that he would run for another four-year stint as the city’s leader.
• Paying for signatures: The Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce decided to pay canvassers $2 per signature on the petition to expand liquor sales in the city, and Sherwood increased its door-to-door efforts to get its wet signatures.
• Dogs to die: Beebe tightened its ordinance against pit bulls and other vicious breeds by not allowing them to be adopted or taken by other rescue groups. The city said it would humanely euthanize them instead.
Sherwood spurned: A sentence in the state’s deal to end desegregation funding to PCSSD and two other school districts would prevent Sherwood from breaking away until PCSSD reaches unitary status and is no longer under federal monitoring.
• Economic director: After a six-month vacancy, the Sherwood chamber hires Barry Sellers, a Florida resident, to be the new economic development director.
• Good news for Jack-sonville: A federal judge ruled that Jacksonville could form an independent school district and for the city to proceed with its efforts. The judge also ruled in favor of a state funded plan to end the 31-year-old central Arkansas desegregation lawsuit.
• Lonoke County budget: The county quorum court passed a $6.7 million budget for 2014, about the same as the previous year.
• Settlement deadline set: U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. set Dec. 23 as the deadline for people to comment or object to the state’s desegregation settlement that he approved a week earlier.
DECEMBER
• State plays Scrooge: A state law forced Cabot firefighters to move their annual boot drive from the streets to area parking lots, resulting in a 25 percent drop in donations. Firefighters use the funds to buy Christmas toys and food for area children.
• Sherwood heroes honored: Two Sherwood construction workers, Ben Hughes and Chris Smith, were honored for helping firefighters save a woman’s life during an apartment fire.
• Pearl Harbor remembered: James Atkinson, 87, of Jacksonville recalled the Dec. 7, 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was 16 and living with his family just east of Pearl Harbor when the surprise attack occurred.
• Weather scuttles parades: Cold, wet, icy wintry weather postponed area Christmas parades and other Christmas events the first weekend in December, but most were reset for later in the month.
• Hot taco idea: Todd Mills, 41, who recently died of a brain tumor, was remembered as the inspiration for Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Taco that have earned the fast-food chain more than $1 billion in sales. Frito Lay had previously turned down the blockbuster idea.
• Storm closes schools: The same weather that canceled parades also closed schools in the area for up to two days. And, although there wasn’t much snow, there was enough ice to make travel unsafe.
• Holiday cheer boxes: The Cabot Christmas Alliance gathered enough food to prepare 1,000 boxes to help needy families in the area have food for the holidays.
• Ward passes budgets: The city of Ward passed a $1.39 million general fund budget for 2014 and a $2.7 million budget for water and sewer, both up slightly from the previous year.
• Modernization plan stays: A new $1 trillion plan to modernize C-130s survived federal budget cuts. It was seen as a boost for Little Rock Air Force Base.
• Beebe pay raises: The Beebe City Council approved a $4.6 million budget for 2014 that included a 3 percent raise for city workers.
• Sherwood budget up: Sherwood’s council approved a $20.4 million general budget for 2014, up about $500,000 from the previous year.
• Opposition to deseg deal: Sherwood filed an objection to the state’s plan to end the school desegregation case because the plan blocks Sherwood efforts to develop its own school district.
• Fatal ATM shooting: Jerome Kelley, 19, allegedly shot and killed Marcus Israel, 23, after Israel made a $20 withdrawal from a Jacksonville ATM. Kelley confessed to the shooting and two other robberies with a gun.
Dastardly deeds, deserving deeds and district decisions delivered us into December. Among the dastardly was a saboteur who cut and damaged area electrical lines and grids. Among the deserving were numerous groups helping the less fortunate. And Jacksonville got the decision it wanted to form a new school district while Sherwood did not.
OCTOBER
• Playing our song: Jacksonville residents formed an all-volunteer community orchestra with Christina Null, a lifelong Jacksonville resident, as its conductor.
• Community servant dies: Donald Hughes, a retired Air Force veteran and Sherwood’s 2012 Man of the Year, died at the age of 80.
• Sequestration hits base: About 355 Little Rock Air Force Base civilian employees were furloughed as sequestration tightened its grip on military expenditures. The government found enough money to end furloughs about two weeks later.
• Hiring vets: Former presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clark, Medal of Honor winner Sgt. Dakota Meyer joined others at a town-hall meeting in Jacksonville pushing the need to hire veterans.
• More electrical hijinks: Attacks continued on the power grid between Cabot, Furlough and Keo, putting 10,000 Cabot residents in the dark for a few hours. The FBI raised its reward for information leading to an arrest from $20,000 to $25,000.
• Commission chair out: A week after a tumultuous Cabot Planning Commission meeting where he and audience members traded insults, chairman Ron Craig resigned.
• Strange bedfellows: Area liquor store owners and a confederation of about a dozen churches joined forces to battle efforts to expand alcohol sales in Jacksonville and parts of Sherwood, claiming crime will increase and saying there are better ways to attract businesses and jobs to the city.
• Veteran goes to Washington: Virgle Cook of Lonoke County was one of several veterans flown to Washington to visit the World War II memorial. He was prepared to storm the barricades in front of it because of the federal government shutdown, but the barricade was moved three days before his arrival.
• Hallmark festival: Cabot celebrated its recovery from the devastating 1978 tornado with its 35th CabotFest that featured crafts, food vendors, bands, dancers, entertainment and more.
• Grid saboteur caught: Jason Woodring, a pool maintenance man from Jacksonville, was arrested and charged in four attacks on area power lines that occurred over a six-week period.
• School bus hijacking: Bus driver Shelia Hart was honored for her calm demeanor and actions when her Pinewood Elementary school bus was hijacked in Jacksonville by 22-year old Nicholas J. Miller.
• Open congressional seat: Second District Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Little Rock) decided not to run for re-election after retired North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Henry Hays, a Democrat, decided to run for the seat. State Sen. Eddie Joe Williams (R-Cabot) expressed interest in running for the seat even though he lives in the First District. But he decided against it.
• Coat drive: Austin resident Tracy O’Brien organized Cabot’s fourth annual coat drive, collecting a variety of clothes for needy children in the area.
• Jacksonville vs. Cabot: The two cities feuded over planning control and Cabot’s intention to eventually annex the area near Hwy. 5 and Hwy. 89 just south of the Pulaski County line. Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher was disappointed with Cabot Mayor Bill Cypert’s plans to incorporate the area.
• Afghan pilots: Two Afghan pilots became their country’s first C-130 pilots after completing flight training at Little Rock Air Force Base as the Afghanistan air force prepared to receive two C-130s from the U.S.
• Banning another breed: Cabot sought to ban the Spanish Alano dogs, which are closely related to pit bulls, from homes inside city limits.
NOVEMBER
• District can survive: In a sparsely attended open forum, Pulaski County Special School District interim superintendent Jerry Guess said the district could survive after an annual $20 million in state desegregation money is stopped. The state said the cut is likely soon.
• Court in court: A case between the Lonoke Quorum Court and the city of Lonoke made its way to the state Supreme Court. At issue was how much money the county must give the city to fund the district court. The high court ruled in the city’s favor. The county, hoping to get a different ruling, may resubmit the case to the court.
• Library sculpture: Plans were unveiled for an $80,000 sculpture display, created by a Monticello artist, to be placed near the entrance to the Jacksonville library. The Central Arkansas Library System said it will pay $32,000 of the cost if the city can raise $48,000.
• Fixing feral cats: Cabot’s Animal Control Director Mike Wheeler asked for a change in the city law to allow his department to capture thousands of feral cats, sterilize, vaccinate them and return them back to neighborhoods instead of killing them.
• Jacksonville spurned: The PCSSD presented a $220 million renovation and building plan to the state that did not include any of the $80 to $90 million in projects that are needed to repair Jacksonville schools.
• Budget cuts: A decline in tax collections and population forced Jacksonville to trim its planned 2014 budget so that expenses matched revenue. The city made the cuts without cutting any services by slashing many benefits available to city workers.
• Chicken country: Lonokians for Backyard Chickens urged the Lonoke City Council to overturn its 2003 ban against chickens and other poultry. The group wants to promote self-sufficiency and small-scale farming, but the council took no action.
• Desegregation deal stalls: A state plan to end $70 million in desegregation funding for three central Arkansas school districts, including PCSSD, hit a roadblock as civil rights attorney John Walker and the Joshua Intervenors, on the behalf of black students and their families, refused to sign off on the plan.
• Another term: Cabot Mayor Bill Cypert, finishing up his first term, announced that he would run for another four-year stint as the city’s leader.
• Paying for signatures: The Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce decided to pay canvassers $2 per signature on the petition to expand liquor sales in the city, and Sherwood increased its door-to-door efforts to get its wet signatures.
• Dogs to die: Beebe tightened its ordinance against pit bulls and other vicious breeds by not allowing them to be adopted or taken by other rescue groups. The city said it would humanely euthanize them instead.
Sherwood spurned: A sentence in the state’s deal to end desegregation funding to PCSSD and two other school districts would prevent Sherwood from breaking away until PCSSD reaches unitary status and is no longer under federal monitoring.
• Economic director: After a six-month vacancy, the Sherwood chamber hires Barry Sellers, a Florida resident, to be the new economic development director.
• Good news for Jack-sonville: A federal judge ruled that Jacksonville could form an independent school district and for the city to proceed with its efforts. The judge also ruled in favor of a state funded plan to end the 31-year-old central Arkansas desegregation lawsuit.
• Lonoke County budget: The county quorum court passed a $6.7 million budget for 2014, about the same as the previous year.
• Settlement deadline set: U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. set Dec. 23 as the deadline for people to comment or object to the state’s desegregation settlement that he approved a week earlier.
DECEMBER
• State plays Scrooge: A state law forced Cabot firefighters to move their annual boot drive from the streets to area parking lots, resulting in a 25 percent drop in donations. Firefighters use the funds to buy Christmas toys and food for area children.
• Sherwood heroes honored: Two Sherwood construction workers, Ben Hughes and Chris Smith, were honored for helping firefighters save a woman’s life during an apartment fire.
• Pearl Harbor remembered: James Atkinson, 87, of Jacksonville recalled the Dec. 7, 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was 16 and living with his family just east of Pearl Harbor when the surprise attack occurred.
• Weather scuttles parades: Cold, wet, icy wintry weather postponed area Christmas parades and other Christmas events the first weekend in December, but most were reset for later in the month.
• Hot taco idea: Todd Mills, 41, who recently died of a brain tumor, was remembered as the inspiration for Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Taco that have earned the fast-food chain more than $1 billion in sales. Frito Lay had previously turned down the blockbuster idea.
• Storm closes schools: The same weather that canceled parades also closed schools in the area for up to two days. And, although there wasn’t much snow, there was enough ice to make travel unsafe.
• Holiday cheer boxes: The Cabot Christmas Alliance gathered enough food to prepare 1,000 boxes to help needy families in the area have food for the holidays.
• Ward passes budgets: The city of Ward passed a $1.39 million general fund budget for 2014 and a $2.7 million budget for water and sewer, both up slightly from the previous year.
• Modernization plan stays: A new $1 trillion plan to modernize C-130s survived federal budget cuts. It was seen as a boost for Little Rock Air Force Base.
• Beebe pay raises: The Beebe City Council approved a $4.6 million budget for 2014 that included a 3 percent raise for city workers.
• Sherwood budget up: Sherwood’s council approved a $20.4 million general budget for 2014, up about $500,000 from the previous year.
• Opposition to deseg deal: Sherwood filed an objection to the state’s plan to end the school desegregation case because the plan blocks Sherwood efforts to develop its own school district.
• Fatal ATM shooting: Jerome Kelley, 19, allegedly shot and killed Marcus Israel, 23, after Israel made a $20 withdrawal from a Jacksonville ATM. Kelley confessed to the shooting and two other robberies with a gun.
SPORTS STORY >> North Pulaski loses first place to Cards
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The North Pulaski Falcons did well to get to the championship game of the Camden-Fairview Invitational, but couldn’t overcome a poor-shooting performance against the host team on Monday. The Falcons lost 61-55 to the Cardinals, but coach Roy Jackson’s team heads into conference play with confidence high.
Both teams were playing their third game in four days, but North Pulaski stayed in a hotel on Friday night after beating Magnolia. They came home after playing El Dorado late Saturday, then left out for Camden again on Monday afternoon.
“The kids played hard and I was proud of them,” said Jackson. “If I had to do it over again, I probably would’ve left a little earlier to get down there. We would’ve stopped at Fordyce and stretched our legs or something. We were just a little flat and we couldn’t throw it in the ocean. We just couldn’t put the ball in the hole.”
Both teams started flat, but North Pulaski did enough to take a 14-7 lead into the second quarter. They still led 22-20 at halftime despite only managing eight points, but the third quarter marked the turnaround.
Three Falcon starters picked up their third foul early in the period, and Camden Fairview outscored North Pulaski 20-9 to take a 40-31 lead into the final frame.
“I got one of my scorers and two of my best defensive players on the bench most of the second half, and that hurt us too,” Jackson said. “And it wasn’t the officiating. The officiating was excellent. We were just fouling. We weren’t moving our feet on defense and reaching too much.”
North Pulaski, 7-4, tried to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter and got the margin down to as little as four, but when it had to foul to lengthen the game, the Cardinals made their free throws to seal the win.
Rebounding was also a factor, as the longer Cardinals, 9-3, dominated the boards and got several points off second-chance baskets.
“I think all that goes back to being a little bit tired,” Jackson said. “Not moving our feet, not boxing out like we should have. When you’re not very big, you have to be more disciplined than we were about getting in position and boxing out. But when you’re tired, it’s harder to be as focused.”
Sophomore RaShawn Langston led all scorers with 27 points while a pair of Division I football prospects led the Cardinals.
Camden-Fairview’s 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive end prospect Justin McCoy led the Cardinals with 24 points. Jonathan Walker, a 6-4 junior wide receiver prospect who recently visited the University of Arkansas, scored 14 while Chave Zachary added 13 for the Cardinals.
North Pulaski jumps into league play in the 5A Central on Tuesday when they host Helena-West Helena Central.
Leader sports editor
The North Pulaski Falcons did well to get to the championship game of the Camden-Fairview Invitational, but couldn’t overcome a poor-shooting performance against the host team on Monday. The Falcons lost 61-55 to the Cardinals, but coach Roy Jackson’s team heads into conference play with confidence high.
Both teams were playing their third game in four days, but North Pulaski stayed in a hotel on Friday night after beating Magnolia. They came home after playing El Dorado late Saturday, then left out for Camden again on Monday afternoon.
“The kids played hard and I was proud of them,” said Jackson. “If I had to do it over again, I probably would’ve left a little earlier to get down there. We would’ve stopped at Fordyce and stretched our legs or something. We were just a little flat and we couldn’t throw it in the ocean. We just couldn’t put the ball in the hole.”
Both teams started flat, but North Pulaski did enough to take a 14-7 lead into the second quarter. They still led 22-20 at halftime despite only managing eight points, but the third quarter marked the turnaround.
Three Falcon starters picked up their third foul early in the period, and Camden Fairview outscored North Pulaski 20-9 to take a 40-31 lead into the final frame.
“I got one of my scorers and two of my best defensive players on the bench most of the second half, and that hurt us too,” Jackson said. “And it wasn’t the officiating. The officiating was excellent. We were just fouling. We weren’t moving our feet on defense and reaching too much.”
North Pulaski, 7-4, tried to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter and got the margin down to as little as four, but when it had to foul to lengthen the game, the Cardinals made their free throws to seal the win.
Rebounding was also a factor, as the longer Cardinals, 9-3, dominated the boards and got several points off second-chance baskets.
“I think all that goes back to being a little bit tired,” Jackson said. “Not moving our feet, not boxing out like we should have. When you’re not very big, you have to be more disciplined than we were about getting in position and boxing out. But when you’re tired, it’s harder to be as focused.”
Sophomore RaShawn Langston led all scorers with 27 points while a pair of Division I football prospects led the Cardinals.
Camden-Fairview’s 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive end prospect Justin McCoy led the Cardinals with 24 points. Jonathan Walker, a 6-4 junior wide receiver prospect who recently visited the University of Arkansas, scored 14 while Chave Zachary added 13 for the Cardinals.
North Pulaski jumps into league play in the 5A Central on Tuesday when they host Helena-West Helena Central.
SPORTS STORY >> Lady Bison take third in tournament
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The Carlisle girls finished 2013 by going 2-1 in their own Bison Holiday Hoops Tournament, and capped tournament play with a 55-41 win over Bradford in the third-place game Monday at Bison Arena.
Carlisle (5-5) opened the tournament with an impressive 56-24 win over class 3A Barton, but narrowly lost the semifinal round 40-39 to DeWitt. Monday’s matchup with Bradford was dominated by two Lady Bison seniors.
Post player Faith Walker and guard/forward Presley Carter combined to score 49 of the team’s 55 points Monday to help the Lady Bison lock up third place in the tournament. Walker was the leading scorer with 31 points. Carter scored 18. Walker scored a career-high 32 points in the tournament opener against Barton.
“Our effort was good,” said Lady Bison coach Jonathan Buffalo. “That was the best we’ve handled pressure probably the whole season. We got good contributions out of all seven players who played in the game. Overall it was just a good team effort and I’m pleased with the results.”
Carlisle led 14-12 at the end of the first quarter Monday, and the score remained close till the end of the half. At that point the Lady Bison rallied to take a 29-19 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, the Lady Eagles did everything they could to shoot their way back into the game, but it was to no avail, as the host team kept its 10-point lead heading into the final eight minutes, leading 38-28.
Bradford leading scorer Karlie Senko drained one of her five three-pointers with 7:23 to play in the fourth quarter to cut the Lady Eagles’ deficit to single digits with the score 38-31, but that was as close as the visiting team would get to catching the Lady Bison down the stretch.
With 5:36 to play, Carter got her own putback that resulted in an and-one, which put Carlisle back up by double digits, leading 43-31. Another and-one, this one by Walker, at the 4:29 mark of the fourth quarter put the Lady Bison up 13, leading 46-33.
Bradford trimmed Carlisle’s lead to 10 with 3:19 remaining on another three-pointer by Senko, who finished with a team-high 15 points on five threes, but the Lady Bison responded with a 7-3 run to close the game and set the final score.
“We played well the first night against Barton,” Buffalo said. “We shot the ball well and were able to do some things we wanted to do. (Against DeWitt) we got frustrated a little bit, but if we would’ve played that game like we did tonight (against Bradford) we’d be playing (in the tournament championship game).
“But it is what it is. We’ll take some positives from it. It’s good to get to play games instead of going two weeks without playing.”
In addition to Walker’s and Carter’s scoring efforts Monday, fellow senior Morgan Walter scored five points for Carlisle, and freshman Kayla Golleher added a free throw to round out the Lady Bison’s scoring totals.
The Carlisle boys only played two games in the tournament and lost both. The Bison lost to Jacksonville Lighthouse Charter 81-61 in the first round of the tournament on Dec. 27, and lost 56-30 to Perryville in the consolation game the next day.
Both the Bison and Lady Bison hosted Lonoke last night after deadlines. Look for details of those nonconference games in Wednesday’s edition of The Leader.
Leader sportswriter
The Carlisle girls finished 2013 by going 2-1 in their own Bison Holiday Hoops Tournament, and capped tournament play with a 55-41 win over Bradford in the third-place game Monday at Bison Arena.
Carlisle (5-5) opened the tournament with an impressive 56-24 win over class 3A Barton, but narrowly lost the semifinal round 40-39 to DeWitt. Monday’s matchup with Bradford was dominated by two Lady Bison seniors.
Post player Faith Walker and guard/forward Presley Carter combined to score 49 of the team’s 55 points Monday to help the Lady Bison lock up third place in the tournament. Walker was the leading scorer with 31 points. Carter scored 18. Walker scored a career-high 32 points in the tournament opener against Barton.
“Our effort was good,” said Lady Bison coach Jonathan Buffalo. “That was the best we’ve handled pressure probably the whole season. We got good contributions out of all seven players who played in the game. Overall it was just a good team effort and I’m pleased with the results.”
Carlisle led 14-12 at the end of the first quarter Monday, and the score remained close till the end of the half. At that point the Lady Bison rallied to take a 29-19 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, the Lady Eagles did everything they could to shoot their way back into the game, but it was to no avail, as the host team kept its 10-point lead heading into the final eight minutes, leading 38-28.
Bradford leading scorer Karlie Senko drained one of her five three-pointers with 7:23 to play in the fourth quarter to cut the Lady Eagles’ deficit to single digits with the score 38-31, but that was as close as the visiting team would get to catching the Lady Bison down the stretch.
With 5:36 to play, Carter got her own putback that resulted in an and-one, which put Carlisle back up by double digits, leading 43-31. Another and-one, this one by Walker, at the 4:29 mark of the fourth quarter put the Lady Bison up 13, leading 46-33.
Bradford trimmed Carlisle’s lead to 10 with 3:19 remaining on another three-pointer by Senko, who finished with a team-high 15 points on five threes, but the Lady Bison responded with a 7-3 run to close the game and set the final score.
“We played well the first night against Barton,” Buffalo said. “We shot the ball well and were able to do some things we wanted to do. (Against DeWitt) we got frustrated a little bit, but if we would’ve played that game like we did tonight (against Bradford) we’d be playing (in the tournament championship game).
“But it is what it is. We’ll take some positives from it. It’s good to get to play games instead of going two weeks without playing.”
In addition to Walker’s and Carter’s scoring efforts Monday, fellow senior Morgan Walter scored five points for Carlisle, and freshman Kayla Golleher added a free throw to round out the Lady Bison’s scoring totals.
The Carlisle boys only played two games in the tournament and lost both. The Bison lost to Jacksonville Lighthouse Charter 81-61 in the first round of the tournament on Dec. 27, and lost 56-30 to Perryville in the consolation game the next day.
Both the Bison and Lady Bison hosted Lonoke last night after deadlines. Look for details of those nonconference games in Wednesday’s edition of The Leader.
SPORTS STORY >> Technical fouls spell doom for Beebe girls
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The girls’ championship game of the Badger Holiday Classic was mired throughout with foul calls that stopped the action. A seemingly constant whistle led to brief loss of composure by the host team, and that led to a loss as the Brookland Lady Bearcats beat the Beebe Lady Badgers 61-57 to win the tournament.
With 2:42 left in the game and the score tied at 53, Beebe’s Kalela Miller was called for her fourth foul as she went for a steal near midcourt. Miller reacted by spinning around and punching at the floor and drew a technical foul, which also counted as her fifth personal foul and disqualified her from the remainder of the game.
The first foul on the play resulted in a one-and-one trip to the free-throw line. Brookland’s Rachel Gramling missed the front end of that trip, but made both technical free throws. Jordan Maynard then hit a layup to give the Lady Bearcats, 9-2, a four-point lead with 2:20 left in the game.
Beebe coach Greg Richey felt his player drew a lot of contact on its next possession that wasn’t called. Then when Beebe was called for another hand check, he drew a technical foul with 1:48 left in the game.
Alexa Thompson hit both free throws to cap a 12-0 run that brought Brookland out of a 53-47 deficit and into a 59-53 lead.
Beebe’s Mackenzie Bingham finally ended the run with a putback of a Madison Richey miss with 1:19 remaining. She had a chance to make it a three-point play but missed the free throw.
Brookland’s Bailea Lovrien hit two free throws with 50 seconds remaining to end the Lady Bearcats’ scoring, but Beebe struggled on offense with its leading scorer on the bench.
“I told Kalela that she and I both have to keep our composure better than that,” said Richey. “Losing her at that point and not having her down the stretch really hurt us.”
Brookland’s Thompson also hurt Beebe. She had just four points at halftime, but finished with a team-high 23 and was perfect in the second half. She made 6 of 6 shots from the floor, including three from the three-point line, and was 4 of 4 from the foul line.
“That’s what makes them such a dangerous and good team,” said Richey whose brother Jared Richey coaches Brookland. “Any one of those five starters could be the one to score 20 on a given night. So you can’t focus on shutting down one or two players.”
Brookland shot almost twice as many free throws as Beebe, but was very good from the line until late in the fourth quarter, when it made seven of the last eight attempts. The Lady Bearcats made 19 of 35 free-throw attempts for the game, while Beebe hit 13 of 18 after missing three of its first four.
Lovrien added 14 points and Maynard 12 for Brookland. Miller led all players with 28 points and added six rebounds. Freshman post player Gracie Anders came one blocked shot short of a triple double. She finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and nine blocks. Beebe was just 2 of 15 from the three-point line and committed 17 turnovers.
The Lady Badgers, 6-3, host Benton on Tuesday, and begin conference play when they host Blytheville on Friday.
Leader sports editor
The girls’ championship game of the Badger Holiday Classic was mired throughout with foul calls that stopped the action. A seemingly constant whistle led to brief loss of composure by the host team, and that led to a loss as the Brookland Lady Bearcats beat the Beebe Lady Badgers 61-57 to win the tournament.
With 2:42 left in the game and the score tied at 53, Beebe’s Kalela Miller was called for her fourth foul as she went for a steal near midcourt. Miller reacted by spinning around and punching at the floor and drew a technical foul, which also counted as her fifth personal foul and disqualified her from the remainder of the game.
The first foul on the play resulted in a one-and-one trip to the free-throw line. Brookland’s Rachel Gramling missed the front end of that trip, but made both technical free throws. Jordan Maynard then hit a layup to give the Lady Bearcats, 9-2, a four-point lead with 2:20 left in the game.
Beebe coach Greg Richey felt his player drew a lot of contact on its next possession that wasn’t called. Then when Beebe was called for another hand check, he drew a technical foul with 1:48 left in the game.
Alexa Thompson hit both free throws to cap a 12-0 run that brought Brookland out of a 53-47 deficit and into a 59-53 lead.
Beebe’s Mackenzie Bingham finally ended the run with a putback of a Madison Richey miss with 1:19 remaining. She had a chance to make it a three-point play but missed the free throw.
Brookland’s Bailea Lovrien hit two free throws with 50 seconds remaining to end the Lady Bearcats’ scoring, but Beebe struggled on offense with its leading scorer on the bench.
“I told Kalela that she and I both have to keep our composure better than that,” said Richey. “Losing her at that point and not having her down the stretch really hurt us.”
Brookland’s Thompson also hurt Beebe. She had just four points at halftime, but finished with a team-high 23 and was perfect in the second half. She made 6 of 6 shots from the floor, including three from the three-point line, and was 4 of 4 from the foul line.
“That’s what makes them such a dangerous and good team,” said Richey whose brother Jared Richey coaches Brookland. “Any one of those five starters could be the one to score 20 on a given night. So you can’t focus on shutting down one or two players.”
Brookland shot almost twice as many free throws as Beebe, but was very good from the line until late in the fourth quarter, when it made seven of the last eight attempts. The Lady Bearcats made 19 of 35 free-throw attempts for the game, while Beebe hit 13 of 18 after missing three of its first four.
Lovrien added 14 points and Maynard 12 for Brookland. Miller led all players with 28 points and added six rebounds. Freshman post player Gracie Anders came one blocked shot short of a triple double. She finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and nine blocks. Beebe was just 2 of 15 from the three-point line and committed 17 turnovers.
The Lady Badgers, 6-3, host Benton on Tuesday, and begin conference play when they host Blytheville on Friday.
SPORTS STORY >> Cabot drops Beebe final
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panthers went on a 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter and take a one-point lead, but everything went Pulaski Academy’s way after that as the Bruins went on to a 60-52 victory in the championship game of the Badger Holiday Classic in Beebe on Monday.
Neither team led by more than four points in the first three quarters, but PA answered Cabot’s 5-0 run with an 11-0 run of its own that gave the Bruins a 55-45 lead with 4:45 left in the game.
The Bruins, 8-2, led 44-40 at the end of three. Cabot’s Hunter York hit his third-consecutive three pointer with 7:12 on the clock. After a defensive stop, senior Michael Smith and sophomore Garrett Rowe played give-and-go for an open layup and a 45-44 Cabot lead.
Bruin sophomore Lawson Korita then sank a three pointer to quickly give his team the lead. Cabot then missed, and PA point guard Marcus Wallace got the rebound and went the length of the court for a layup and a 49-45 lead.
York then missed from three-point range for the first time in the second half, and the long rebound went out of bounds. Wallace was fouled on the ensuing possession and sank both free throws. Cabot’s Jake Ferguson missed a three pointer on the next possession. Post player Adolfo Iglesias was there for the offensive rebound and had an open look, but lost the ball on the way up. Korita then sank another three pointer for a54-45 Pulaski Academy lead with 4:45 left in the game.
Ferguson got an offensive rebound on the next possession, but he also missed a point-blank layup. Wallace got that rebound and was fouled. He made one of two to cap the Bruin run with 4:28 on the clock.
York finally broke Cabot’s drought with a three pointer, and Korita walked to give the Panthers possession and plenty of time still on the clock. But Ferguson missed another three and PA got the rebound. Wallace was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one trip to the line, and Iglesias scored with a strong move at the other end.
That made it 55-50 with 3:10 remaining and Cabot called timeout. But the Panther offense could get nothing going the rest of the way.
Wallace penetrated for a 12-foot jumper with 2:40 remaining to make it 57-50. York was then called for an offensive foul, his fifth. That made the foul margin 10-3 in the second half with 2:02 remaining. Wallace hit both foul shots for a nine-point Bruin lead. The Bruins only scored one point the rest of the way, but Cabot couldn’t buy a basket.
The Panthers managed just two free throws by Rowe the rest of the way, and were 2 of 13 from the floor in the last six minutes of the game.
The Panthers travel to Bryant on Monday for their final nonconference game. They will begin play in the 7A/6A East when they travel to 7A’s top-ranked North Little Rock on Friday.
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panthers went on a 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter and take a one-point lead, but everything went Pulaski Academy’s way after that as the Bruins went on to a 60-52 victory in the championship game of the Badger Holiday Classic in Beebe on Monday.
Neither team led by more than four points in the first three quarters, but PA answered Cabot’s 5-0 run with an 11-0 run of its own that gave the Bruins a 55-45 lead with 4:45 left in the game.
The Bruins, 8-2, led 44-40 at the end of three. Cabot’s Hunter York hit his third-consecutive three pointer with 7:12 on the clock. After a defensive stop, senior Michael Smith and sophomore Garrett Rowe played give-and-go for an open layup and a 45-44 Cabot lead.
Bruin sophomore Lawson Korita then sank a three pointer to quickly give his team the lead. Cabot then missed, and PA point guard Marcus Wallace got the rebound and went the length of the court for a layup and a 49-45 lead.
York then missed from three-point range for the first time in the second half, and the long rebound went out of bounds. Wallace was fouled on the ensuing possession and sank both free throws. Cabot’s Jake Ferguson missed a three pointer on the next possession. Post player Adolfo Iglesias was there for the offensive rebound and had an open look, but lost the ball on the way up. Korita then sank another three pointer for a54-45 Pulaski Academy lead with 4:45 left in the game.
Ferguson got an offensive rebound on the next possession, but he also missed a point-blank layup. Wallace got that rebound and was fouled. He made one of two to cap the Bruin run with 4:28 on the clock.
York finally broke Cabot’s drought with a three pointer, and Korita walked to give the Panthers possession and plenty of time still on the clock. But Ferguson missed another three and PA got the rebound. Wallace was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one trip to the line, and Iglesias scored with a strong move at the other end.
That made it 55-50 with 3:10 remaining and Cabot called timeout. But the Panther offense could get nothing going the rest of the way.
Wallace penetrated for a 12-foot jumper with 2:40 remaining to make it 57-50. York was then called for an offensive foul, his fifth. That made the foul margin 10-3 in the second half with 2:02 remaining. Wallace hit both foul shots for a nine-point Bruin lead. The Bruins only scored one point the rest of the way, but Cabot couldn’t buy a basket.
The Panthers managed just two free throws by Rowe the rest of the way, and were 2 of 13 from the floor in the last six minutes of the game.
The Panthers travel to Bryant on Monday for their final nonconference game. They will begin play in the 7A/6A East when they travel to 7A’s top-ranked North Little Rock on Friday.
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