By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
The Regional Recycling and Waste Reduction District, in partnership with eSCO Processing and Recycling, launched an electronics pick-up service for non-residential customers in Pulaski County on April 1.
The budget for the program is $100,000 that mostly covers advertising and educational materials, according to Regional Recycling Deputy Director Carol Bevis.
The district bought a $30,000 truck with a $9,000 wrap for the new service, she added.
The contractor, eSCO, has been working with Regional Recycling for three years. It is based in Rogers and has a processing plant in Little Rock, Bevis continued.
Fred Wizer of eSCO said the contractor has hired a full-time driver and doubled its warehouse space from 25,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet for the service.
More staff will be added once business picks up more than it has already, he noted.
“So far, so good,” Wizer said of the pickups. “I expect it’s going to be enormous by the time it’s over with, once the information gets out to the general public. It will set a benchmark for not only central Arkansas but for the rest of the country.
“I expect it to be duplicated,” Wizer said.
Bevis explained that, although the service had been planned for a while, the district waited to make sure it would receive a $250,000 annual grant from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality — the same amount awarded for each of the last two years.
She said the district started the program because “we felt like businesses had the quality of materials, electronics that we could recycle better…We felt like we could get more businesses involved if we went and picked up for them.”
Bevis said there are many reasons companies, churches, schools, nonprofits and others should take advantage of the service.
“Unless they have a lot of televisions, it’s a free service,” she explained.
“It’s just economically the best thing to do. Environmentally, it’s the best thing to do. And, when you can do it for free, why not? It’s just good common sense.”
Bevis added, “You don’t have to do anything but dial the number. It clears out your space, and you’re doing the right thing.”
The contractor, eSCO, provides certifications to non-residential customers stating all hard drives have been destroyed. The electronics are then dismantled or refurbished.
Bevis also said electronics contain lead and mercury — hazardous waste that can seep out in landfills. One computer could have five to six pounds of lead in it, she noted.
Electronics also contain “a lot of good raw material” that doesn’t break down in landfills, Bevis said. Recycling them saves space in landfills that is needed for other things.
Call 844-223-3190 or fill out the online form at http://regionalrecycling.org/business/introducing-business-e-waste-pickup/ to schedule an appointment.
Computers, laptops, copiers, servers, fax machines, monitors, TVs, toasters, printers and more will be accepted, although a small disposal fee will be charged for cathode ray tube televisions.
A minimum of two pallets or $75 is required for pickup, a business may be asked to load into Gaylord boxes or palletize items, and a business may be asked to have employees available to help load.
The business must have all materials in one location on the date of pickup and on the ground floor of a high-rise building.
Materials must be convenient to an outside door, and a release of liability is required from the business prior to pickup.
All materials become the property of eSCO once loaded.
Bevis added that there are also residential e-waste drop-off sites in Jacksonville, Sherwood and Maumelle. And Verizon Arena’s VIP parking area is used in the spring and the fall as a special-collection site.
The next event at Verizon Arena is from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 12 through Wednesday, May 13.
Friday, April 10, 2015
TOP STORY >> Districts may see changes
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
State Education Commissioner Johnny Key acts as a one-man school board for three of the four school districts in Pulaski County, meaning it might never again be this “easy” to change the patchwork-quilt of school district boundaries.
That’s according to Board of Education member Jay Barth, the Hendrix College political science professor who suggested and chairs the committee studying possible boundary changes to county districts, consolidating them to one countywide or two — one north and one south of the river.
The Pulaski County Special School District was taken over by the state for reasons of fiscal distress in 2011. Its board was dissolved, the superintendent fired and unions decertified.
The breakaway Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District remains for another school year under the flag of PCSSD, and by default, Key is that district’s board as well.
This year, with six schools in academic distress, the state took over the Little Rock School District as well, dissolved its board but retained Superintendent Dexter Suggs.
Its de facto school board?
It’s Johnny Key.
Of the four districts in Pulaski County, only North Little Rock still has its own board.
The druthers and demands of those districts, plus distinct communities and cities are all over the place.
Having heard in March from superintendents for PCSSD, JNP, North Little Rock and Little Rock schools, this week Barth’s committee heard from spokesmen for an independent Sherwood district and a Maumelle district, as well as Scott and Shannon Hills.
When the committee met this week, it heard from Sherwood, Sylvan Hills, Maumelle and Scott representatives.
Alternatives suggested ranged from the status quo to one countywide district.
An option in between would divide the county into two districts, one north of the Arkansas River, one south.
At Suggs’ request, Metroplan GIS planner Jeff Runder prepared data and maps pertaining to race and the tax base for that two-district plan and brought them to this week’s meeting.
Barth said Friday that, at first impression, nothing seemed to disqualify the model.
Pulaski County Schools, particularly PCSSD and Jacksonville-North Pulaski, still have to meet racial balance requirements under the county’s desegregation plan. Federal District Judge D. Price Marshall must sign off on all significant changes.
Among concerns with the current boundaries, North Little Rock Superintendent Roger Kelly says he would like his district to contain all residents within city limits and so would the Little Rock District. Much of that land in question is currently in the PCSSD.
Shannon Hills is in Saline County, but some of its students are in PCSSD.
Scott Elementary is being closed by PCSSD, and residents there say a reasonable look at the map would send their kids to North Little Rock Schools.
PCSSD also includes a small portion of Lonoke County.
PCSSD Superintendent Jerry Guess said he hopes the district boundary study won’t hurt the proposed 5.6-mill increase (to 46.3 mills) on the ballot of a special May 12 election.
The district needs the money for a massive rebuilding program to satisfy the court on the issue of facilities.
Linda Remele, one of two former PCSSD administrators co-chairing the Sherwood Public Education Foundation Committee working toward detachment, said, “We’re not behind the scenes at all on (working to pass the increase). We’re out front.”
She said the millage increase is necessary to get PCSSD unitary — out of the desegregation case — which is a prerequisite to Sherwood or Maumelle being allowed to detach.
As for changing the boundaries, she said, that’s all conjecture right now.
Remele added, “Every-thing that happens with Jacksonville-North Pulaski and PCSSD, affects Sherwood because they’re going to pave the path. They will set a precedent.
“Whatever happens there, the same thing is probably going to happen with us. We want it to be done fairly.”
Barth said a public hearing on the matter would be held at 1 p.m. May 11 in the Arch Ford Education Building boardroom. The committee will also accept written comments.
He said he and the other committee members — board president Sam Ledbetter of Little Rock, Kim Davis of Fayetteville and Diane Zook from Melbourne — hadn’t discussed the matter yet, but one thing’s become apparent to him.
“If you start playing with one piece of the puzzle, there are consequences for the other parts,” he said. “I knew this was going to be complex, but I didn’t realize how complex.
“We will begin talking about what direction to take,” Barth said Friday. “What’s the best option for the future?”
Then they will determine a timeline and whether or not to draft a written report to the board or present an oral report.
Barth said, “We need to be getting our thoughts together in advance of the June 1 deadline.”
Leader senior staff writer
State Education Commissioner Johnny Key acts as a one-man school board for three of the four school districts in Pulaski County, meaning it might never again be this “easy” to change the patchwork-quilt of school district boundaries.
That’s according to Board of Education member Jay Barth, the Hendrix College political science professor who suggested and chairs the committee studying possible boundary changes to county districts, consolidating them to one countywide or two — one north and one south of the river.
The Pulaski County Special School District was taken over by the state for reasons of fiscal distress in 2011. Its board was dissolved, the superintendent fired and unions decertified.
The breakaway Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District remains for another school year under the flag of PCSSD, and by default, Key is that district’s board as well.
This year, with six schools in academic distress, the state took over the Little Rock School District as well, dissolved its board but retained Superintendent Dexter Suggs.
Its de facto school board?
It’s Johnny Key.
Of the four districts in Pulaski County, only North Little Rock still has its own board.
The druthers and demands of those districts, plus distinct communities and cities are all over the place.
Having heard in March from superintendents for PCSSD, JNP, North Little Rock and Little Rock schools, this week Barth’s committee heard from spokesmen for an independent Sherwood district and a Maumelle district, as well as Scott and Shannon Hills.
When the committee met this week, it heard from Sherwood, Sylvan Hills, Maumelle and Scott representatives.
Alternatives suggested ranged from the status quo to one countywide district.
An option in between would divide the county into two districts, one north of the Arkansas River, one south.
At Suggs’ request, Metroplan GIS planner Jeff Runder prepared data and maps pertaining to race and the tax base for that two-district plan and brought them to this week’s meeting.
Barth said Friday that, at first impression, nothing seemed to disqualify the model.
Pulaski County Schools, particularly PCSSD and Jacksonville-North Pulaski, still have to meet racial balance requirements under the county’s desegregation plan. Federal District Judge D. Price Marshall must sign off on all significant changes.
Among concerns with the current boundaries, North Little Rock Superintendent Roger Kelly says he would like his district to contain all residents within city limits and so would the Little Rock District. Much of that land in question is currently in the PCSSD.
Shannon Hills is in Saline County, but some of its students are in PCSSD.
Scott Elementary is being closed by PCSSD, and residents there say a reasonable look at the map would send their kids to North Little Rock Schools.
PCSSD also includes a small portion of Lonoke County.
PCSSD Superintendent Jerry Guess said he hopes the district boundary study won’t hurt the proposed 5.6-mill increase (to 46.3 mills) on the ballot of a special May 12 election.
The district needs the money for a massive rebuilding program to satisfy the court on the issue of facilities.
Linda Remele, one of two former PCSSD administrators co-chairing the Sherwood Public Education Foundation Committee working toward detachment, said, “We’re not behind the scenes at all on (working to pass the increase). We’re out front.”
She said the millage increase is necessary to get PCSSD unitary — out of the desegregation case — which is a prerequisite to Sherwood or Maumelle being allowed to detach.
As for changing the boundaries, she said, that’s all conjecture right now.
Remele added, “Every-thing that happens with Jacksonville-North Pulaski and PCSSD, affects Sherwood because they’re going to pave the path. They will set a precedent.
“Whatever happens there, the same thing is probably going to happen with us. We want it to be done fairly.”
Barth said a public hearing on the matter would be held at 1 p.m. May 11 in the Arch Ford Education Building boardroom. The committee will also accept written comments.
He said he and the other committee members — board president Sam Ledbetter of Little Rock, Kim Davis of Fayetteville and Diane Zook from Melbourne — hadn’t discussed the matter yet, but one thing’s become apparent to him.
“If you start playing with one piece of the puzzle, there are consequences for the other parts,” he said. “I knew this was going to be complex, but I didn’t realize how complex.
“We will begin talking about what direction to take,” Barth said Friday. “What’s the best option for the future?”
Then they will determine a timeline and whether or not to draft a written report to the board or present an oral report.
Barth said, “We need to be getting our thoughts together in advance of the June 1 deadline.”
Tuesday, April 07, 2015
SPORTS STORY >> Jackrabbits still perfect in blowout
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The Lonoke High School baseball team kept its perfect record intact Monday at Riverview, as the Jackrabbits dominated the 4A-2 Conference matchup en route to a convincing 14-3 win over the Raiders.
Lonoke (7-0, 3-0) scored six runs in the first inning and five in the second to take a commanding 11-1 lead, and Riverview (4-6, 1-1) was never able to recover. The strong start and high energy levelfrom the Jackrabbits was something Lonoke coach Darrick Lowery was pleased to see.
“We looked like we were ready to play today,” said Lowery. “We came out with a lot of energy, and you could tell just having that intensity early helped put a lot of pressure on them (Riverview) to make some plays, and we took advantage of their mistakes.
“We did a good job of being patient at the plate and taking walks, and taking advantage of any opportunity that we got.”
The Raiders committed seven errors total for the game, while Lonoke had just one. Also, Riverview struggled to find the strike zone, resulting in numerous walks and hit batters. Lonoke, though, like Lowery said, took advantage of those opportunities.
Casey Martin and Haven Hunter each walked to start the game, and Cody Martin singled the next at-bat to score Casey Martin and Hunter for a 2-0 Lonoke lead. Nick Graves singled the following at-bat, and Christian James followed with a single to center field, loading the bases.
Todd Pool was then hit by a pitch, which gave him an easy RBI as Cody Martin scored, and two batters later, Savonte Rountree was plunked, allowing Graves to score for a 4-0 Jackrabbit lead.
Elijah Seigrist was next up for Lonoke, and he reached on an error at third base. That allowed James to score, and two batters later with the top of the order back up, Casey Martin was hit by a pitch with the bases juiced, scoring Pool and giving Lonoke a 6-0 lead.
Riverview scored a run in the bottom part of the inning, and Lonoke picked up where it left off in the top of the second with its five runs scored, which pushed the Jackrabbits’ lead to 10 with the score 11-1.
The Raiders had their most productive inning in the third, scoring two runs, but Lonoke added a run in the fifth before scoring two more in the sixth, which set the final score.
At the start of the sixth inning, Seigrist advanced all the way to third base on an error in right field, and he scored the next at-bat on a single to left by Casey Martin.
Casey Martin advanced to third the next at-bat on another error in right field, this one off the bat of Hunter. Cody Martin then reached on an error at third base, allowing Casey Martin to score. That gave Lonoke its 14-3 lead.
Rountree earned the win on the hill. He threw the first five innings and gave up three hits, four walks and two earned runs, while recording three strikeouts.
Lonoke outhit Riverview 10-3, and four different Jackrabbits had multiple hits. Caleb Horton, James, Graves and Casey Martin each had two hits to lead Lonoke.
Leader sportswriter
The Lonoke High School baseball team kept its perfect record intact Monday at Riverview, as the Jackrabbits dominated the 4A-2 Conference matchup en route to a convincing 14-3 win over the Raiders.
Lonoke (7-0, 3-0) scored six runs in the first inning and five in the second to take a commanding 11-1 lead, and Riverview (4-6, 1-1) was never able to recover. The strong start and high energy levelfrom the Jackrabbits was something Lonoke coach Darrick Lowery was pleased to see.
“We looked like we were ready to play today,” said Lowery. “We came out with a lot of energy, and you could tell just having that intensity early helped put a lot of pressure on them (Riverview) to make some plays, and we took advantage of their mistakes.
“We did a good job of being patient at the plate and taking walks, and taking advantage of any opportunity that we got.”
The Raiders committed seven errors total for the game, while Lonoke had just one. Also, Riverview struggled to find the strike zone, resulting in numerous walks and hit batters. Lonoke, though, like Lowery said, took advantage of those opportunities.
Casey Martin and Haven Hunter each walked to start the game, and Cody Martin singled the next at-bat to score Casey Martin and Hunter for a 2-0 Lonoke lead. Nick Graves singled the following at-bat, and Christian James followed with a single to center field, loading the bases.
Todd Pool was then hit by a pitch, which gave him an easy RBI as Cody Martin scored, and two batters later, Savonte Rountree was plunked, allowing Graves to score for a 4-0 Jackrabbit lead.
Elijah Seigrist was next up for Lonoke, and he reached on an error at third base. That allowed James to score, and two batters later with the top of the order back up, Casey Martin was hit by a pitch with the bases juiced, scoring Pool and giving Lonoke a 6-0 lead.
Riverview scored a run in the bottom part of the inning, and Lonoke picked up where it left off in the top of the second with its five runs scored, which pushed the Jackrabbits’ lead to 10 with the score 11-1.
The Raiders had their most productive inning in the third, scoring two runs, but Lonoke added a run in the fifth before scoring two more in the sixth, which set the final score.
At the start of the sixth inning, Seigrist advanced all the way to third base on an error in right field, and he scored the next at-bat on a single to left by Casey Martin.
Casey Martin advanced to third the next at-bat on another error in right field, this one off the bat of Hunter. Cody Martin then reached on an error at third base, allowing Casey Martin to score. That gave Lonoke its 14-3 lead.
Rountree earned the win on the hill. He threw the first five innings and gave up three hits, four walks and two earned runs, while recording three strikeouts.
Lonoke outhit Riverview 10-3, and four different Jackrabbits had multiple hits. Caleb Horton, James, Graves and Casey Martin each had two hits to lead Lonoke.
SPORTS STORY >> Lady Rabs score five in seventh
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits scored the final six runs of the game to pick up a 10-4 4A-2 Conference win over Riverview on Monday in Searcy.
Both teams scored four runs in the third inning, but Lonoke pitcher Charley Jo Chesney shut the Lady Raiders down the rest of the way while the Jackrabbits scored a single run in the fourth and five more in the top of the seventh to set the final margin.
Despite scoring 10 runs, Lonoke left a lot of opportunities unrealized. The Lady Jackrabbits compiled 18 base hits while holding Riverview to just six.
After two scoreless innings, Lonoke took a 4-0 lead in the top of the third on a base hit by Jasalyn Truelove. Jarrelyn McCall and Amanda Sexton followed that with RBI doubles, and Maddie Pool homered to cap the rally.
Riverview got five of its six base hits in the home half of the third, including two doubles. Chesney also walked one batter and hit another to aid the Riverview rally, but it was the last of her troubles. She retired nine-straight batters from the fourth to the sixth innings, and two more in the bottom of the seventh before giving up a walk and a single with two outs.
Lonoke’s big seventh inning started with a single by Candice James, who was replaced on the base paths by courtesy runner Madison McFadden.
McFadden was thrown out at second on a fielder’s choice by Gracie Cole. Sidney Hallum was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Chesney struck out swinging for the second out, but Truelove singled to score Cole. McCall then singled to load the bases, and Sexton walked to drive in the second run of the inning, making it 7-4. Pool singled to score Truelove and Janae Miller hit a two-RBI double to set the final margin.
Lonoke’s fifth-inning go-ahead run came on three-straight base hits by Miller, James and Cole.
Pool went 4 for 5 with a home run. James, Miller and Truelove each got three base hits while McCall, Sexton and Cole got two each.
Chesney struck out nine and walked one in seven innings of work on the mound. The league win followed a 1-2 performance at the Lonoke Invitational tournament on Friday and Saturday. The Lady Jackrabbits (6-4, 2-1) beat Carlisle 19-0 Friday before falling 15-2 to DeWitt and 5-1 to Rose Bud on Saturday.
Leader sports editor
The Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits scored the final six runs of the game to pick up a 10-4 4A-2 Conference win over Riverview on Monday in Searcy.
Both teams scored four runs in the third inning, but Lonoke pitcher Charley Jo Chesney shut the Lady Raiders down the rest of the way while the Jackrabbits scored a single run in the fourth and five more in the top of the seventh to set the final margin.
Despite scoring 10 runs, Lonoke left a lot of opportunities unrealized. The Lady Jackrabbits compiled 18 base hits while holding Riverview to just six.
After two scoreless innings, Lonoke took a 4-0 lead in the top of the third on a base hit by Jasalyn Truelove. Jarrelyn McCall and Amanda Sexton followed that with RBI doubles, and Maddie Pool homered to cap the rally.
Riverview got five of its six base hits in the home half of the third, including two doubles. Chesney also walked one batter and hit another to aid the Riverview rally, but it was the last of her troubles. She retired nine-straight batters from the fourth to the sixth innings, and two more in the bottom of the seventh before giving up a walk and a single with two outs.
Lonoke’s big seventh inning started with a single by Candice James, who was replaced on the base paths by courtesy runner Madison McFadden.
McFadden was thrown out at second on a fielder’s choice by Gracie Cole. Sidney Hallum was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Chesney struck out swinging for the second out, but Truelove singled to score Cole. McCall then singled to load the bases, and Sexton walked to drive in the second run of the inning, making it 7-4. Pool singled to score Truelove and Janae Miller hit a two-RBI double to set the final margin.
Lonoke’s fifth-inning go-ahead run came on three-straight base hits by Miller, James and Cole.
Pool went 4 for 5 with a home run. James, Miller and Truelove each got three base hits while McCall, Sexton and Cole got two each.
Chesney struck out nine and walked one in seven innings of work on the mound. The league win followed a 1-2 performance at the Lonoke Invitational tournament on Friday and Saturday. The Lady Jackrabbits (6-4, 2-1) beat Carlisle 19-0 Friday before falling 15-2 to DeWitt and 5-1 to Rose Bud on Saturday.
SPORTS STORY >> Panthers take two wins over Patriots
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The Cabot High School baseball team improved its conference record to 4-0 with an easy doubleheader sweep of Marion on Friday at Brian Wade Conrade Memorial Field in Cabot.
The Panthers (6-4, 4-0) beat the Patriots 15-0 in four innings in game one, and in game two, Cabot shut out Marion (4-7, 0-4) again, this time in five innings, winning by the final score of 13-0.
Cabot wasted little time putting runs on the board in game one. The Panthers scored 10 of their 15 runs in the first inning to take complete control of the game.
“We jumped on them early,” said Cabot coach Ronnie Goodwin. “We took advantage of a couple of their miscues, but we played really well in that first inning, too. It wasn’t just their miscues. We did some things execution-wise that were pretty nice, and it just kind of started to snowball.
“We put together some quality at-bats after an error here or there, and it just kind of snowballed on them. They had a little bit to do with it, but we had a lot to do with it. So I want to give our guys credit for that.”
Cabot scored its final five runs of the game in the second inning, and starting pitcher Gavin Tillery kept Marion’s bats at bay for the remainder of the mercy rule-shortened game. Tillery gave up just one hit in the four innings played – finishing the complete game with three strikeouts and no walks allowed.
The Panthers racked up eight hits in that game, with Dylan Bowers and Landon James leading the way with multiple hits.
Cabot didn’t jump out to as big of a lead in game two, but piled on the runs as the game progressed en route to its second shutout win of the evening. The Panthers, playing as the visiting team in game two, scored their first run in the top of the first inning.
Bowers walked to lead off the game. He stole second and third base before scoring on a sacrifice fly to right field by catcher Denver Mullins. The Panthers scored again in the second inning.
With two outs, Jonathan Latture singled to center field, and Evan Hooper and Bowers walked the next two at-bats. With the bases loaded, Mullins walked, which allowed Latture to score and give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
Cabot scored four runs in the third inning. James walked to lead off that inning, and teammate Logan Kirkendoll walked two batters later. The next at-bat, second baseman Blake McCutchen drew a walk to load the bases, and all three runners scored the following at-bat.
Latture hit a fly ball to right field that was dropped, and consecutive throwing errors on the same play allowed James, Kirkendoll and McCutchen to score, making it 5-0 Panthers.
Latture was later thrown out on a 5-2 fielder’s choice at home, which was off the bat of Hooper. Hooper scored the final run of that inning on a two-out single up the middle by Mullins.
Cabot followed that four-run third inning with five runs scored in the fourth. James started the inning with an infield single to shortstop, and he went to second base on the same play thanks to the Marion shortstop’s errant throw to first base.
Eric Larsen walked the next at-bat, and Kirkendoll reached on a fielder’s choice at second base the following at-bat. McCutchen was next up for Cabot, and he drove in James with a stand-up double to right-center field that would’ve been a triple had Kirkendoll not held up at third base.
McCutchen took a hard turn at second, not expecting Kirkendoll to stop at third, and McCutchen got caught in a rundown between second and third base as a result. Marion, though, made an errant throw into right field during the rundown, which allowed Kirkendoll and McCutchen to score, putting Cabot up 9-0.
Hooper drove in Cabot’s 10th run of game two with a single to the left-field gap, scoring Jake Slunder, who walked the previous at-bat and stole second base with Hooper at the plate. Bowers later scored the final run of the inning on a passed ball at the plate – giving the Panthers an 11-0 cushion.
The final score was set in the top of the fifth. Larsen walked to start the inning, and Easton Seidl drove in Larsen’s courtesy runner, Mike Havard, with a triple that dropped at the wall in left field.
Seidl’s near home run gave Cabot a 12-0 lead, and Seidl scored the final run of the game shortly after on a passed ball at the plate.
Cabot’s Chase Kyzer earned the win on the mound in game two. He threw all five innings, giving up just one hit, no walks, and he struck out two Patriots batters.
Cabot drew 13 walks in game two, and added seven base hits. Mullins, James, McCutchen, Latture, Hooper, Seidl and Slunder each had one hit for the Panthers.
The Panthers’ next game will be another 7A/6A-East doubleheader Friday at home against Mountain Home. The first game of that twin bill is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.
Leader sportswriter
The Cabot High School baseball team improved its conference record to 4-0 with an easy doubleheader sweep of Marion on Friday at Brian Wade Conrade Memorial Field in Cabot.
The Panthers (6-4, 4-0) beat the Patriots 15-0 in four innings in game one, and in game two, Cabot shut out Marion (4-7, 0-4) again, this time in five innings, winning by the final score of 13-0.
Cabot wasted little time putting runs on the board in game one. The Panthers scored 10 of their 15 runs in the first inning to take complete control of the game.
“We jumped on them early,” said Cabot coach Ronnie Goodwin. “We took advantage of a couple of their miscues, but we played really well in that first inning, too. It wasn’t just their miscues. We did some things execution-wise that were pretty nice, and it just kind of started to snowball.
“We put together some quality at-bats after an error here or there, and it just kind of snowballed on them. They had a little bit to do with it, but we had a lot to do with it. So I want to give our guys credit for that.”
Cabot scored its final five runs of the game in the second inning, and starting pitcher Gavin Tillery kept Marion’s bats at bay for the remainder of the mercy rule-shortened game. Tillery gave up just one hit in the four innings played – finishing the complete game with three strikeouts and no walks allowed.
The Panthers racked up eight hits in that game, with Dylan Bowers and Landon James leading the way with multiple hits.
Cabot didn’t jump out to as big of a lead in game two, but piled on the runs as the game progressed en route to its second shutout win of the evening. The Panthers, playing as the visiting team in game two, scored their first run in the top of the first inning.
Bowers walked to lead off the game. He stole second and third base before scoring on a sacrifice fly to right field by catcher Denver Mullins. The Panthers scored again in the second inning.
With two outs, Jonathan Latture singled to center field, and Evan Hooper and Bowers walked the next two at-bats. With the bases loaded, Mullins walked, which allowed Latture to score and give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
Cabot scored four runs in the third inning. James walked to lead off that inning, and teammate Logan Kirkendoll walked two batters later. The next at-bat, second baseman Blake McCutchen drew a walk to load the bases, and all three runners scored the following at-bat.
Latture hit a fly ball to right field that was dropped, and consecutive throwing errors on the same play allowed James, Kirkendoll and McCutchen to score, making it 5-0 Panthers.
Latture was later thrown out on a 5-2 fielder’s choice at home, which was off the bat of Hooper. Hooper scored the final run of that inning on a two-out single up the middle by Mullins.
Cabot followed that four-run third inning with five runs scored in the fourth. James started the inning with an infield single to shortstop, and he went to second base on the same play thanks to the Marion shortstop’s errant throw to first base.
Eric Larsen walked the next at-bat, and Kirkendoll reached on a fielder’s choice at second base the following at-bat. McCutchen was next up for Cabot, and he drove in James with a stand-up double to right-center field that would’ve been a triple had Kirkendoll not held up at third base.
McCutchen took a hard turn at second, not expecting Kirkendoll to stop at third, and McCutchen got caught in a rundown between second and third base as a result. Marion, though, made an errant throw into right field during the rundown, which allowed Kirkendoll and McCutchen to score, putting Cabot up 9-0.
Hooper drove in Cabot’s 10th run of game two with a single to the left-field gap, scoring Jake Slunder, who walked the previous at-bat and stole second base with Hooper at the plate. Bowers later scored the final run of the inning on a passed ball at the plate – giving the Panthers an 11-0 cushion.
The final score was set in the top of the fifth. Larsen walked to start the inning, and Easton Seidl drove in Larsen’s courtesy runner, Mike Havard, with a triple that dropped at the wall in left field.
Seidl’s near home run gave Cabot a 12-0 lead, and Seidl scored the final run of the game shortly after on a passed ball at the plate.
Cabot’s Chase Kyzer earned the win on the mound in game two. He threw all five innings, giving up just one hit, no walks, and he struck out two Patriots batters.
Cabot drew 13 walks in game two, and added seven base hits. Mullins, James, McCutchen, Latture, Hooper, Seidl and Slunder each had one hit for the Panthers.
The Panthers’ next game will be another 7A/6A-East doubleheader Friday at home against Mountain Home. The first game of that twin bill is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.
SPORTS STORY >> Cabot girls just shy of first
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Lady Panther track team followed its win last Tuesday as hosts of the Walmart Invitational with a narrow second-place finish to Fayetteville on Thursday at the Army National Guard Cyclone Relays in Russellville.
The Fayetteville girls won the 18-team meet with 98.5 points. Cabot was right on the Lady Bulldogs’ heels with 97 points, despite only taking part of the team to the meet.
“Well they moved this one up a day because they were afraid of getting rained out,” said Cabot coach Leon White. “We just had our meet Tuesday and with this one moving to Thursday, we just decided to take a skeleton crew. We brought most of our top girls so we were still able to do pretty well.”
Cabot’s 4x100 and 4x400 relay team picked up its second record-setting performance of the week. Danielle McWilliams, Tori Weeks, Alyssa Hamilton and Lexi Weeks ran a 49.80 to beat the school record time of 50.03 it set just two days earlier. Conway finished second, also with a very fast time of 50.57.
That same four, in a different order of Hamilton, McWilliams, Tori Weeks and Lexi Weeks, ran a 4:04.84 in the 4x400 to beat second-place Har-Ber High by nearly six seconds.
The Weeks twins improved their pole vaults from Tuesday, finishing tied for first place by clearing 13-feet, 8-inches. The national record of 14-3 ¼ still eluded the elite jumpers who have already signed with the Razorbacks’ elite college program.
Lexi Weeks also won the 400-meter race with a time of 57.61, nearly three seconds better than Haley Hood of Bryant and 1.22 seconds faster than her winning time on Tuesday. Tori Weeks won the 300-meter hurdles by almost four seconds over Rachel Ray of Alma with a time of 44.82, which was also faster than her 45.68 on Tuesday.
The twins also finished one and two in the long jump, with Lexi’s 17-9 3/4 beating Tori’s 17-9 1/2 by 1/4 of an inch. Lauren Holmes of Fayetteville was third at 17-3.
Tori Weeks was also right on the cusp of a win in the triple jump. Her jump of 36-9 was a mere inch behind Holmes’ 36-10, and a full 11 inches further than her third-place jump on Tuesdsay.
Samantha Nickell picked up six points for the Lady Panthers in the 3,200-meter race. She also anchored Cabot’s fifth-place 4x800 relay finish that also included Brayden Giesler, Madison Barnhill and Hamilton.
Caytee Wright also turned in a fifth-place finish in the high jump, clearing 4-10.
The most notable absence for Cabot was distance runner Micah Huckabee, who recently was offered a scholarship by and verbally committed to the University of Arkansas.
The Sylvan Hills Lady Bears also competed, and though they only tallied 9.5 points and finished 15 among predominantly 6A and 7A competition, a pair of freshmen introduced themselves with strong showings in the sprints. Brielle Hayes placed sixth in the 100-meter dash, while Chanel Miller finished eighth for one point in the 200m. But it wasn’t just sprints that Sylvan Hills excelled in. The Lady Bear 4x800 relay team finished fourth. It included sophomore Dallyn Stubbs, senior Justis Jakes, freshman Erykah Sanders and sophomore Chloe George.
The Lady Bears’ final point came via an eighth-place finish in the triple jump by Makayla Smith, who leaped 32-2 1/4.
The Cabot boys’ team turned in a respectable seventh-place finish in the 21-team boys’ competition. The Panthers finished with 31 points while the Sylvan Hills boys scored 14 points to place 14th.
Brandon Jones finished second in the discus throw with a fling of 141-1, not far behind Fayetteville’s Blake Young’s winning throw of 142.6.
Sylvan Hills’ senior sprinter Keyundra Hardimon took fifth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.35 while Cabot sophomore Britton Alley was seventh at 11.45. Fort Smith Northside’s Keondre Thomas set the meet standard at 11.07 seconds.
Cabot senior Brayden Mercantel took sixth in the mile with a time of 4:44.83, about 16 seconds behind Conway junior Toler Freyaldenhoven’s winning time of 4:28.05.
Sylvan Hills sophomore Anthony Duncan took fifth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.36.
Panther sophomore Braxton Burton and junior Rocky Burke finished third and fourth in the pole vault, jumping 12-6 and 12-0 respectively.
Sophomore Howard Jacob added three points to Cabot’s total with a sixth-place, 20-5 1/2 long jump. Cabot’s 4x100 relay team took sixth while the 4x400 team finished eighth. The 4x100 team included Austin Morse, Connor Daigle, Alley and Burke. The 4x400 team included Howard, Mercantel, Burke and Brandon Whitley.
Leader sports editor
The Lady Panther track team followed its win last Tuesday as hosts of the Walmart Invitational with a narrow second-place finish to Fayetteville on Thursday at the Army National Guard Cyclone Relays in Russellville.
The Fayetteville girls won the 18-team meet with 98.5 points. Cabot was right on the Lady Bulldogs’ heels with 97 points, despite only taking part of the team to the meet.
“Well they moved this one up a day because they were afraid of getting rained out,” said Cabot coach Leon White. “We just had our meet Tuesday and with this one moving to Thursday, we just decided to take a skeleton crew. We brought most of our top girls so we were still able to do pretty well.”
Cabot’s 4x100 and 4x400 relay team picked up its second record-setting performance of the week. Danielle McWilliams, Tori Weeks, Alyssa Hamilton and Lexi Weeks ran a 49.80 to beat the school record time of 50.03 it set just two days earlier. Conway finished second, also with a very fast time of 50.57.
That same four, in a different order of Hamilton, McWilliams, Tori Weeks and Lexi Weeks, ran a 4:04.84 in the 4x400 to beat second-place Har-Ber High by nearly six seconds.
The Weeks twins improved their pole vaults from Tuesday, finishing tied for first place by clearing 13-feet, 8-inches. The national record of 14-3 ¼ still eluded the elite jumpers who have already signed with the Razorbacks’ elite college program.
Lexi Weeks also won the 400-meter race with a time of 57.61, nearly three seconds better than Haley Hood of Bryant and 1.22 seconds faster than her winning time on Tuesday. Tori Weeks won the 300-meter hurdles by almost four seconds over Rachel Ray of Alma with a time of 44.82, which was also faster than her 45.68 on Tuesday.
The twins also finished one and two in the long jump, with Lexi’s 17-9 3/4 beating Tori’s 17-9 1/2 by 1/4 of an inch. Lauren Holmes of Fayetteville was third at 17-3.
Tori Weeks was also right on the cusp of a win in the triple jump. Her jump of 36-9 was a mere inch behind Holmes’ 36-10, and a full 11 inches further than her third-place jump on Tuesdsay.
Samantha Nickell picked up six points for the Lady Panthers in the 3,200-meter race. She also anchored Cabot’s fifth-place 4x800 relay finish that also included Brayden Giesler, Madison Barnhill and Hamilton.
Caytee Wright also turned in a fifth-place finish in the high jump, clearing 4-10.
The most notable absence for Cabot was distance runner Micah Huckabee, who recently was offered a scholarship by and verbally committed to the University of Arkansas.
The Sylvan Hills Lady Bears also competed, and though they only tallied 9.5 points and finished 15 among predominantly 6A and 7A competition, a pair of freshmen introduced themselves with strong showings in the sprints. Brielle Hayes placed sixth in the 100-meter dash, while Chanel Miller finished eighth for one point in the 200m. But it wasn’t just sprints that Sylvan Hills excelled in. The Lady Bear 4x800 relay team finished fourth. It included sophomore Dallyn Stubbs, senior Justis Jakes, freshman Erykah Sanders and sophomore Chloe George.
The Lady Bears’ final point came via an eighth-place finish in the triple jump by Makayla Smith, who leaped 32-2 1/4.
The Cabot boys’ team turned in a respectable seventh-place finish in the 21-team boys’ competition. The Panthers finished with 31 points while the Sylvan Hills boys scored 14 points to place 14th.
Brandon Jones finished second in the discus throw with a fling of 141-1, not far behind Fayetteville’s Blake Young’s winning throw of 142.6.
Sylvan Hills’ senior sprinter Keyundra Hardimon took fifth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.35 while Cabot sophomore Britton Alley was seventh at 11.45. Fort Smith Northside’s Keondre Thomas set the meet standard at 11.07 seconds.
Cabot senior Brayden Mercantel took sixth in the mile with a time of 4:44.83, about 16 seconds behind Conway junior Toler Freyaldenhoven’s winning time of 4:28.05.
Sylvan Hills sophomore Anthony Duncan took fifth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.36.
Panther sophomore Braxton Burton and junior Rocky Burke finished third and fourth in the pole vault, jumping 12-6 and 12-0 respectively.
Sophomore Howard Jacob added three points to Cabot’s total with a sixth-place, 20-5 1/2 long jump. Cabot’s 4x100 relay team took sixth while the 4x400 team finished eighth. The 4x100 team included Austin Morse, Connor Daigle, Alley and Burke. The 4x400 team included Howard, Mercantel, Burke and Brandon Whitley.
SPORTS STORY >> CHS girls get split at home
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The Cabot High School softball team split its 7A/6A-East Conference doubleheader with Marion on Friday at the CHS softball field. In game one of the twin bill, the Lady Panthers lost 2-1, but the hosts rebounded in the nightcap with an 11-3 win over the Lady Patriots.
The loss in game one was the first conference loss of the season for the Lady Panthers, which Cabot coach Chris Cope wasn’t pleased with.
“We came out flat, didn’t want to play and Marion took advantage of it,” said Cope. “We didn’t hit the ball – then made two errors that were very costly to us.”
Each team scored a run in the first inning of game one, but neither team scored again until the top of the sixth, when Marion set the final score.
Lady Patriot clean-up hitter Micah Tolleson hit a one-out single to start the sixth-inning rally, and Hope Phipps followed with a single of her own. Two batters later, Regan Johnston walked to load the bases.
Cabot’s most costly miscue came during the next at-bat. With two outs and the bases juiced, Tolleson scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball at home plate, which eventually set the final score.
The Lady Panthers had a runner on first base with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Marion’s winning pitcher, Mabry Watson, struck out Cabot’s final batter to end the game in the Lady Pats’ favor.
Displeased with his team’s showing in game one, Cope made several lineup adjustments for the second game, and the Lady Panthers responded.
Cabot, who played as the visiting team in game two of the doubleheader, scored four runs in the first inning to lead 4-0, and even though the Lady Panthers gave up three runs in the second, they, too, scored three runs in that inning to lead 7-3 after two.
Cabot’s Kaitlyn Felder increased the hosts’ lead to 8-3 in the top of the fifth with a two-out, solo home run to straightaway center field, and the Lady Panthers added two more runs to their side of the board in the top of the sixth.
Lauren McCluskey led off the sixth inning with a stand-up double to deep left center, and senior Megan Goodnight hit a stand-up double the next at-bat. Two batters later, fellow senior Erin Eckert hit a one-out, stand-up double to right-center field, scoring both McCluskey and Goodnight for a 10-3 Cabot lead.
The Lady Panthers set the final score in the top of the seventh with one more insurance run. That run was driven in on a two-out, RBI single to left field by Goodnight.
Felder, Cabot’s junior catcher, took over pitching duties for Goodnight in the middle of the second inning. She pitched the rest of the game, and was stellar throughout her time in the circle.
She didn’t give up a single hit against Marion (7-3-1, 3-1), finishing the game with five strikeouts to just two walks. She retired the side in the bottom of the seventh to put the exclamation point on Cabot’s game-two win.
“She pitched her freshman year for us, and we needed a catcher last year,” Cope said of Felder. “She was the only one we had, but we got some options now. She looked really good. I was very proud of her. She came in and shut them down and did well.”
Goodnight led Cabot at the plate in game two. She went 5 for 5 with four singles and a double. McCluskey also had a good game at the plate in game two, going 3 for 3 with two doubles and three runs scored.
In game one, Cabot totaled just four hits. Goodnight led the Lady Panthers in that game as well, going 2 for 3 and driving in Cabot’s only run of the game. Felder and Macee Abbott combined for Cabot’s other two hits in game one.
The Lady Panthers (12-3, 3-1) play a nonconference game against Class 5A Sylvan Hills today at home. That game will start at 5 p.m., and on Friday, Cabot will resume its 7A/6A-East schedule with a home doubleheader against Mountain Home. The first game of that twin bill will also start at 5 p.m.
Leader sportswriter
The Cabot High School softball team split its 7A/6A-East Conference doubleheader with Marion on Friday at the CHS softball field. In game one of the twin bill, the Lady Panthers lost 2-1, but the hosts rebounded in the nightcap with an 11-3 win over the Lady Patriots.
The loss in game one was the first conference loss of the season for the Lady Panthers, which Cabot coach Chris Cope wasn’t pleased with.
“We came out flat, didn’t want to play and Marion took advantage of it,” said Cope. “We didn’t hit the ball – then made two errors that were very costly to us.”
Each team scored a run in the first inning of game one, but neither team scored again until the top of the sixth, when Marion set the final score.
Lady Patriot clean-up hitter Micah Tolleson hit a one-out single to start the sixth-inning rally, and Hope Phipps followed with a single of her own. Two batters later, Regan Johnston walked to load the bases.
Cabot’s most costly miscue came during the next at-bat. With two outs and the bases juiced, Tolleson scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball at home plate, which eventually set the final score.
The Lady Panthers had a runner on first base with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Marion’s winning pitcher, Mabry Watson, struck out Cabot’s final batter to end the game in the Lady Pats’ favor.
Displeased with his team’s showing in game one, Cope made several lineup adjustments for the second game, and the Lady Panthers responded.
Cabot, who played as the visiting team in game two of the doubleheader, scored four runs in the first inning to lead 4-0, and even though the Lady Panthers gave up three runs in the second, they, too, scored three runs in that inning to lead 7-3 after two.
Cabot’s Kaitlyn Felder increased the hosts’ lead to 8-3 in the top of the fifth with a two-out, solo home run to straightaway center field, and the Lady Panthers added two more runs to their side of the board in the top of the sixth.
Lauren McCluskey led off the sixth inning with a stand-up double to deep left center, and senior Megan Goodnight hit a stand-up double the next at-bat. Two batters later, fellow senior Erin Eckert hit a one-out, stand-up double to right-center field, scoring both McCluskey and Goodnight for a 10-3 Cabot lead.
The Lady Panthers set the final score in the top of the seventh with one more insurance run. That run was driven in on a two-out, RBI single to left field by Goodnight.
Felder, Cabot’s junior catcher, took over pitching duties for Goodnight in the middle of the second inning. She pitched the rest of the game, and was stellar throughout her time in the circle.
She didn’t give up a single hit against Marion (7-3-1, 3-1), finishing the game with five strikeouts to just two walks. She retired the side in the bottom of the seventh to put the exclamation point on Cabot’s game-two win.
“She pitched her freshman year for us, and we needed a catcher last year,” Cope said of Felder. “She was the only one we had, but we got some options now. She looked really good. I was very proud of her. She came in and shut them down and did well.”
Goodnight led Cabot at the plate in game two. She went 5 for 5 with four singles and a double. McCluskey also had a good game at the plate in game two, going 3 for 3 with two doubles and three runs scored.
In game one, Cabot totaled just four hits. Goodnight led the Lady Panthers in that game as well, going 2 for 3 and driving in Cabot’s only run of the game. Felder and Macee Abbott combined for Cabot’s other two hits in game one.
The Lady Panthers (12-3, 3-1) play a nonconference game against Class 5A Sylvan Hills today at home. That game will start at 5 p.m., and on Friday, Cabot will resume its 7A/6A-East schedule with a home doubleheader against Mountain Home. The first game of that twin bill will also start at 5 p.m.
EDITORIAL >> Base opens new center
Little Rock Air Force Base last week celebrated the grand opening of the Walters Community Support Center, a multi-purpose building that will serve the needs airmen and their families for generations.
The new facility, which includes a community activities center, a library and more, is the latest improvement project that recognizes the importance of providing the best educational and recreational facilities to our airmen.
The Walters Center, inside the old Base Exchange, was remodeled at a cost of $3.7 million and includes the Airman and Family Readiness Center, the Base Library and Community Activities Center under one roof. They were spread out across the base in 1950s-era buildings. The new facility is more convenient and saves the base with operating and maintenance costs.
The facility is named in honor of Col. Kenneth A. Walters, former 19th Mission Support Group deputy commander, who passed away in 2012 after a six-year battle with cancer. Walters served 22 years in the Air Force.
As our Jeffrey Smith reported in The Leader on Saturday, the library has doubled in size. It has computer labs, an enclosed children’s section and a room for teenagers to have a better study environment.
The Family Readiness Center has more privacy for counseling sessions and new classrooms with updated equipment.
Many social events will be held at the Walter’s Center ballroom. It has music rooms for instructional classes, game rooms, play-group rooms, a meeting room for official functions and a kitchen.
Like the nearby health and wellness center, which was built several years ago thanks to the efforts of our congressional delegation, the Walters Community Center is a reflection of our community’s strong ties to the air base. There’s not another base in the country that enjoys as much local support as LRAFB, which translates into hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from infrastructure to modern cargo airplanes. The fleet of new C-130Js are worth more than $1 billion.
Three other major projects worth $133.6 million are underway at Little Rock Air Force Base and due for completion by 2017.
Those include rebuilding a 50-year-old runway and adjacent landing strip at a cost of $120 million. Sundt Construction of Tempe, Ariz., is the contractor for the new 12,000-foot runway and landing strip. In addition, the construction of a fifth C-130J simulator is underway as the 19th Airlift Wing transitions to an all C-130J combat unit.
Currently, the base has four C-130J simulators, and an annex to house the fifth is due for completion by November. Alessi-Keyes Construction of Maumelle is the contractor and the cost of the project is $4,218,503.
To keep the planes flying, the air base needs fuel to stay in the air. The new C-130 fuel-cell building project is 74 percent completed. The two-bay fuel-systems maintenance building will service, maintain, repair and, when needed, replace the plastic wing bladders that actually hold the fuel. The new facility replaces Hangar 222, a 1950s-era building that was not designed for the C-130.
That new building is being constructed on a design-build contract by Ross Construction Corp. of Tulsa for $21,464,972.
These improvement projects will make Little Rock Air Force Base a better home for our airmen. But there’s no telling if we’ll see more such projects in the near future. They are being completed just as Congress is considering another round of sequestration cuts that would trim $10 billion from the Air Force budget next fiscal year. A freeze on new construction and a round of more layoffs and furloughs are possible at our air base and elsewhere.
These are today’s political realities. As we celebrate $137.3 million in construction projects here, let us be thankful for what we have but remember that lean times are ahead.
The new facility, which includes a community activities center, a library and more, is the latest improvement project that recognizes the importance of providing the best educational and recreational facilities to our airmen.
The Walters Center, inside the old Base Exchange, was remodeled at a cost of $3.7 million and includes the Airman and Family Readiness Center, the Base Library and Community Activities Center under one roof. They were spread out across the base in 1950s-era buildings. The new facility is more convenient and saves the base with operating and maintenance costs.
The facility is named in honor of Col. Kenneth A. Walters, former 19th Mission Support Group deputy commander, who passed away in 2012 after a six-year battle with cancer. Walters served 22 years in the Air Force.
As our Jeffrey Smith reported in The Leader on Saturday, the library has doubled in size. It has computer labs, an enclosed children’s section and a room for teenagers to have a better study environment.
The Family Readiness Center has more privacy for counseling sessions and new classrooms with updated equipment.
Many social events will be held at the Walter’s Center ballroom. It has music rooms for instructional classes, game rooms, play-group rooms, a meeting room for official functions and a kitchen.
Like the nearby health and wellness center, which was built several years ago thanks to the efforts of our congressional delegation, the Walters Community Center is a reflection of our community’s strong ties to the air base. There’s not another base in the country that enjoys as much local support as LRAFB, which translates into hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from infrastructure to modern cargo airplanes. The fleet of new C-130Js are worth more than $1 billion.
Three other major projects worth $133.6 million are underway at Little Rock Air Force Base and due for completion by 2017.
Those include rebuilding a 50-year-old runway and adjacent landing strip at a cost of $120 million. Sundt Construction of Tempe, Ariz., is the contractor for the new 12,000-foot runway and landing strip. In addition, the construction of a fifth C-130J simulator is underway as the 19th Airlift Wing transitions to an all C-130J combat unit.
Currently, the base has four C-130J simulators, and an annex to house the fifth is due for completion by November. Alessi-Keyes Construction of Maumelle is the contractor and the cost of the project is $4,218,503.
To keep the planes flying, the air base needs fuel to stay in the air. The new C-130 fuel-cell building project is 74 percent completed. The two-bay fuel-systems maintenance building will service, maintain, repair and, when needed, replace the plastic wing bladders that actually hold the fuel. The new facility replaces Hangar 222, a 1950s-era building that was not designed for the C-130.
That new building is being constructed on a design-build contract by Ross Construction Corp. of Tulsa for $21,464,972.
These improvement projects will make Little Rock Air Force Base a better home for our airmen. But there’s no telling if we’ll see more such projects in the near future. They are being completed just as Congress is considering another round of sequestration cuts that would trim $10 billion from the Air Force budget next fiscal year. A freeze on new construction and a round of more layoffs and furloughs are possible at our air base and elsewhere.
These are today’s political realities. As we celebrate $137.3 million in construction projects here, let us be thankful for what we have but remember that lean times are ahead.
TOP STORY >> 150 years after, remembering Gen. Lee’s surrender to Grant
By SHIRLEY TOMLINSON
Lonoke County Museum
On April 9, 1865, 150 years ago this month, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his army of Northern Virginia to the Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Va., signaling the beginning of the end of the Civil War.
In 2007, the Arkansas General Assembly created the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, a program of the Arkansas Preservation Program, which is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage. The Sesquicentennial Commission developed an annual theme for each of the five years of the observance.
Mark Christ of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program helped develop the themes that covered the major issues the state faced during those years a century and a half ago.
Christ will speak at the Grand Prairie Civil War Roundtable’s meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Lonoke County Museum.
A book will be raffled. For additional information, call 501-676-6750. Membership dues are $20.
The historic preservation program’s theme in 2011 was “Why Commemorate the Civil War?” The goal was to encourage Arkansans and visitors to reflect on the reasons for war and the impacts of war on a nation.
In 2012, the theme was “A Divided Arkansas,” which examined the invasion of the state by Union forces and the Confederate government’s authorized formations of guerilla fighters across the state to oppose them.
The 2013 theme was “Big War, Little War” and focused on the anguish of the thousands of Arkansas soldiers sent to fight far from home east of the Mississippi River and the hardships faced by those who stayed back in Arkansas.
In addition, in 1863, there were many choices and issues faced by the state’s African American slaves, who had to decide whether to stay with their owners or escape to the Union forces occupying the state.
In 2014, the theme was “Under Two Governments” and explored how the Union and Confederate governments in the state tried to deal with the rapid depletion of food and other supplies and the lawlessness of the state wracked by guerrilla warfare.
Bands of armed men roamed the state killing and stealing what they wanted and neither government could control them.
This year’s theme is “Emancipation and Reconstruction.” The Civil War veterans, often wounded or otherwise suffering from the trauma of war, were forced to live with the devastated environment that was so different socially and economically than what they had left four years before.
The Lonoke County Museum and Genealogy Research Center is at 215 SE Front St. in Lonoke. It is open Monday through Friday.
Its staff regularly writes articles about local Civil War history for The Leader.
Lonoke County Museum
On April 9, 1865, 150 years ago this month, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his army of Northern Virginia to the Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Va., signaling the beginning of the end of the Civil War.
In 2007, the Arkansas General Assembly created the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, a program of the Arkansas Preservation Program, which is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage. The Sesquicentennial Commission developed an annual theme for each of the five years of the observance.
Mark Christ of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program helped develop the themes that covered the major issues the state faced during those years a century and a half ago.
Christ will speak at the Grand Prairie Civil War Roundtable’s meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Lonoke County Museum.
A book will be raffled. For additional information, call 501-676-6750. Membership dues are $20.
The historic preservation program’s theme in 2011 was “Why Commemorate the Civil War?” The goal was to encourage Arkansans and visitors to reflect on the reasons for war and the impacts of war on a nation.
In 2012, the theme was “A Divided Arkansas,” which examined the invasion of the state by Union forces and the Confederate government’s authorized formations of guerilla fighters across the state to oppose them.
The 2013 theme was “Big War, Little War” and focused on the anguish of the thousands of Arkansas soldiers sent to fight far from home east of the Mississippi River and the hardships faced by those who stayed back in Arkansas.
In addition, in 1863, there were many choices and issues faced by the state’s African American slaves, who had to decide whether to stay with their owners or escape to the Union forces occupying the state.
In 2014, the theme was “Under Two Governments” and explored how the Union and Confederate governments in the state tried to deal with the rapid depletion of food and other supplies and the lawlessness of the state wracked by guerrilla warfare.
Bands of armed men roamed the state killing and stealing what they wanted and neither government could control them.
This year’s theme is “Emancipation and Reconstruction.” The Civil War veterans, often wounded or otherwise suffering from the trauma of war, were forced to live with the devastated environment that was so different socially and economically than what they had left four years before.
The Lonoke County Museum and Genealogy Research Center is at 215 SE Front St. in Lonoke. It is open Monday through Friday.
Its staff regularly writes articles about local Civil War history for The Leader.
TOP STORY >> Mayor glad lawmakers home
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
“Nobody is more happy to see the state legislators go home than I am,” Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher quipped. “It has been a stressful few months.”
The mayor spent a lot of time at the state Capitol supporting bills that would help cities and fighting against those that would hurt them. In the end, he had mixed feelings.
“It is hard to run a city with all the rules and regulations that we already have placed on us and then the legislation wants to go and change things.”
He said a number of times the issue was more of a court problem, but it ended up in the legislature with a bill affecting the whole state when it didn’t have to.
“We need a mechanism for a third-party arbitrator to settle some of these county- versus-city issues that don’t need a statewide law to fix (them),” the mayor explained.
To help keep the city issues in the minds of the legislators, the mayor said Pulaski County officials, city officials, educators and others met with local representatives every Monday morning. “We had an hour or so to discuss bills coming up and let the legislature know how it would affect us. I think that communication helped quite a bit.
“One thing that really disappointed me, however, was that I saw more of the Washington- style politics this session then I did the last one,” he said.
On the upside, the mayor was happy with the law that changed the percentage of signatures needed to be collected on the wet-dry issue. “It went from that ridiculous 38 percent to a more reasonable 15 percent. That’s a difference from 5,000 signatures to about 1,900. Now it’s very doable,” the mayor noted.
He added that the bill also tightens what kind of alcohol sales would be allowed. The mayor said the new law only allows for on-premise sales, like at restaurants.
No new retail sales outlets can open up under the new bill, according to Fletcher.
He said the chamber has to start from scratch collecting signatures for the alcohol vote.
“I think they will gear up this summer for a big petition push,” the mayor said.
Fletcher said there were also some bills approved in the legislature dealing with the new school district.
“Nothing major. Since this is the first district separation of its kind, things come up and the legislature dealt with them with no problem,” he said, adding that for specifics one could talk to interim Jacksonville Superintendent Bobby Lester.
Fletcher was also pleased that a retiree benefit bill for veterans passed.
But he’s not happy about a water bill that forces cities to sell water to outside customers without those customers becoming part of the city.
“That was one of the benefits we were able to offer when annexing. If cities can’t grow, they die. The city has invested all that money in lines, facilities and infrastructure and then not to be able to ask for something in return,” he said.
The mayor believes it will cause some problems in the future.
“Sometimes I think the legislature creates a problem trying to solve one and that’s not good for anyone,” Fletcher said. “I didn’t see a lot of lawmakers looking to see what the ‘ripple effect’ would be of some of the bills.”
He was happy though that the governor was working on trying to ease the burden of the county jail off cities.
“Anything helps, but the longtime solution is not more prisons but to get to the root of the problem, the dysfunctional families,” Fletcher insisted.
The mayor said he just felt an overall attitude at this session that painted the cities as the bad guys.
“Part of the problem is that the Democrats ran the state so long one way and now the Republicans have taken it to the other side. I’m a conservative, but I think there needs to be more of a middle. The state needs to see the value of cities,” Fletcher said.
Leader staff writer
“Nobody is more happy to see the state legislators go home than I am,” Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher quipped. “It has been a stressful few months.”
The mayor spent a lot of time at the state Capitol supporting bills that would help cities and fighting against those that would hurt them. In the end, he had mixed feelings.
“It is hard to run a city with all the rules and regulations that we already have placed on us and then the legislation wants to go and change things.”
He said a number of times the issue was more of a court problem, but it ended up in the legislature with a bill affecting the whole state when it didn’t have to.
“We need a mechanism for a third-party arbitrator to settle some of these county- versus-city issues that don’t need a statewide law to fix (them),” the mayor explained.
To help keep the city issues in the minds of the legislators, the mayor said Pulaski County officials, city officials, educators and others met with local representatives every Monday morning. “We had an hour or so to discuss bills coming up and let the legislature know how it would affect us. I think that communication helped quite a bit.
“One thing that really disappointed me, however, was that I saw more of the Washington- style politics this session then I did the last one,” he said.
On the upside, the mayor was happy with the law that changed the percentage of signatures needed to be collected on the wet-dry issue. “It went from that ridiculous 38 percent to a more reasonable 15 percent. That’s a difference from 5,000 signatures to about 1,900. Now it’s very doable,” the mayor noted.
He added that the bill also tightens what kind of alcohol sales would be allowed. The mayor said the new law only allows for on-premise sales, like at restaurants.
No new retail sales outlets can open up under the new bill, according to Fletcher.
He said the chamber has to start from scratch collecting signatures for the alcohol vote.
“I think they will gear up this summer for a big petition push,” the mayor said.
Fletcher said there were also some bills approved in the legislature dealing with the new school district.
“Nothing major. Since this is the first district separation of its kind, things come up and the legislature dealt with them with no problem,” he said, adding that for specifics one could talk to interim Jacksonville Superintendent Bobby Lester.
Fletcher was also pleased that a retiree benefit bill for veterans passed.
But he’s not happy about a water bill that forces cities to sell water to outside customers without those customers becoming part of the city.
“That was one of the benefits we were able to offer when annexing. If cities can’t grow, they die. The city has invested all that money in lines, facilities and infrastructure and then not to be able to ask for something in return,” he said.
The mayor believes it will cause some problems in the future.
“Sometimes I think the legislature creates a problem trying to solve one and that’s not good for anyone,” Fletcher said. “I didn’t see a lot of lawmakers looking to see what the ‘ripple effect’ would be of some of the bills.”
He was happy though that the governor was working on trying to ease the burden of the county jail off cities.
“Anything helps, but the longtime solution is not more prisons but to get to the root of the problem, the dysfunctional families,” Fletcher insisted.
The mayor said he just felt an overall attitude at this session that painted the cities as the bad guys.
“Part of the problem is that the Democrats ran the state so long one way and now the Republicans have taken it to the other side. I’m a conservative, but I think there needs to be more of a middle. The state needs to see the value of cities,” Fletcher said.
TOP STORY >> Insider tops school chief search
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
The first superintendent of the Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District is likely to be either former state Education Commissioner James Tony Wood or Little Rock School Deputy Superintendent Marvin Burton, although a search firm says Wood is the most qualified.
At Monday night’s interim JNP School Board meeting, board members selected the two from a list of a dozen applicants compiled by the McPherson and Jacob search firm.
Wood, 64, will interview with the board Monday, and Burton, 50, next Wednesday, and the new superintendent could be chosen at a special school board meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16 at Jacksonville City Hall, according to JNP chief of staff Phyllis Stewart.
The interviews are not open to the public.
McPherson’s superintendent search leader, former Beebe Superintendent Kieth Williams, told the board, there’s James Tony Wood and then there’s everyone else.
He said the board had given him the most demanding set of search criteria he had seen, and “the only one who meets your criteria is James Tony Wood.”
Interim Superintendent Bobby Lester, who has worked as a consultant for McPherson, said he was not disappointed, but surprised by the dearth of qualified applicants.
He said many were discouraged by the criteria, which included experience with bond issues, construction, division of assets — and “the biggest issue was the uncertainty on whether we can exist.”
Timing this time around is everything.
The two superintendent candidates both became available days ago — Wood when he was replaced by Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s nominee Johnny Key as state education commissioner, Burton when he was let go last week, part of the Little Rock District’s reduction in force. Wood is currently deputy education commissioner. Serendipity didn’t end here, however.
DESEG LAWYER
The board was able to hire Scott Richardson to deal with the federal desegregation case still before District Judge Price Marshall.
Richardson, chief deputy for then-Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, represented the state for several years in the sprawling desegregation case.
Patrick Wilson remains JNP council for other matters.
Richardson is available because McDaniel didn’t run for re-election and Republican Leslie Rutledge was elected attorney general.
He has already started representing the new district, and bills $250 an hour, Stewart said.
He is a partner in the new firm of McDaniel, Richardson and Calhoun, which includes the former attorney general.
FACILITIES DIRECTOR
In another case of good timing, the board was able to hire Charles Stein, who will begin after his retirement this summer from his job as director of the state Education Department’s Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation Division, Stewart said.
For about five years, he’s been the head of the state’s masters facility-planning program.
For overseeing the district’s master facility-plan application, Stein will be paid probably between $20,000 and $22,500, depending on the number of students in the district.
“He’ll complete and submit all academic partnership facilities plan applications,” Stewart said.
BUILDING OVERSIGHT
And when the district is ready to start building, he’ll provide program and project management and oversight of district projects, she said.
Like Richardson, Stein will be a contractor, not an employee, so the district won’t be responsible for fringe benefits.
He worked 34 years for the Little Rock Army Corps of Engineers. He’s a registered professional engineer and a certified education facilities planner.
The timing on the availability of Richardson, Stein, Wood and Burton was perfect. To the suggestion that the stars had aligned perfectly, JNP Board president Daniel Gray responded, “Yes. We just had to wait 30 years for the stars to line up. We’ve got to be diligent. There’s a lot of work to be done.”
BEST BRAINS
“We’re in a situation where we have to have the best brains in the world to pull this off,” Lester said. “Expertise and hard work.”
The board has set a salary range of $145,000 to $160,000 for the superintendent, depending on the range of experience and qualification.
As state Education Commissioner, Wood has acted as a one-man school board for the Pulaski County Special School District and, under its wing, the fledgling JNP School District. That’s because the state took over PCSSD in 2011, dissolving the school board and replacing it with the education commissioner. He is thus well versed with specific difficulties and demands of standing up the new district.
Jacksonville is slated to have its own district starting with the 2016-17 school year.
While PCSSD and JNP are still joined at the hip, PCSSD is a party to the desegregation agreement, Plan 2000.
JNP is not currently a party, but when PCSSD Superintendent Jerry Guess filed a status report to Marshall last week, JNP felt suddenly exposed, according to Gray. Guess figured the entire $20.8 million final state desegregation payment toward PCSSD’s facilities program.
$5 MILLION SHARE
Gray and other Jacksonville-North Pulaski stakeholders think the new district should get a proportionate share of that payment, roughly $5 million.
That’s why they decided they needed to get their own attorney in the mix and hired Richardson, who participated in crafting that financial settlement to get the state out of desegregation payments.
“His experience with the case in the attorney general’s office — he knows the intricate details,” Gray said.
In other business, Robin Wakefield of the Jacksonville NAACP spoke to express support for the district, but worried that there might have been some concern over her remarks at an earlier meeting.
“We’re here to help any way we can,” she said.
COUNSELORS
Mike Kish, a PCSSD substitute teacher, spoke to encourage the board to hire and assign a teacher to testing duties and free up counselors to counsel.
Lester announced the Superintendent’s Advisory Board he had appointed.
Members are: Board Zone 1 — David Ramos; Zone 2 — Merlene McGhee; Zone 3 — Latasha Gregory; Zone 4 — Ivory Tillman; Zone 5 — Miranda Nicholson, and at large members are Mayor Gary Fletcher, Holly Roderick, Pat Griggs, Roger Sundermeier, president of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, and Col. Stephen Weaver of Little Rock Air Force Base.
Leader senior staff writer
The first superintendent of the Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District is likely to be either former state Education Commissioner James Tony Wood or Little Rock School Deputy Superintendent Marvin Burton, although a search firm says Wood is the most qualified.
At Monday night’s interim JNP School Board meeting, board members selected the two from a list of a dozen applicants compiled by the McPherson and Jacob search firm.
Wood, 64, will interview with the board Monday, and Burton, 50, next Wednesday, and the new superintendent could be chosen at a special school board meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16 at Jacksonville City Hall, according to JNP chief of staff Phyllis Stewart.
The interviews are not open to the public.
McPherson’s superintendent search leader, former Beebe Superintendent Kieth Williams, told the board, there’s James Tony Wood and then there’s everyone else.
He said the board had given him the most demanding set of search criteria he had seen, and “the only one who meets your criteria is James Tony Wood.”
Interim Superintendent Bobby Lester, who has worked as a consultant for McPherson, said he was not disappointed, but surprised by the dearth of qualified applicants.
He said many were discouraged by the criteria, which included experience with bond issues, construction, division of assets — and “the biggest issue was the uncertainty on whether we can exist.”
Timing this time around is everything.
The two superintendent candidates both became available days ago — Wood when he was replaced by Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s nominee Johnny Key as state education commissioner, Burton when he was let go last week, part of the Little Rock District’s reduction in force. Wood is currently deputy education commissioner. Serendipity didn’t end here, however.
DESEG LAWYER
The board was able to hire Scott Richardson to deal with the federal desegregation case still before District Judge Price Marshall.
Richardson, chief deputy for then-Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, represented the state for several years in the sprawling desegregation case.
Patrick Wilson remains JNP council for other matters.
Richardson is available because McDaniel didn’t run for re-election and Republican Leslie Rutledge was elected attorney general.
He has already started representing the new district, and bills $250 an hour, Stewart said.
He is a partner in the new firm of McDaniel, Richardson and Calhoun, which includes the former attorney general.
FACILITIES DIRECTOR
In another case of good timing, the board was able to hire Charles Stein, who will begin after his retirement this summer from his job as director of the state Education Department’s Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation Division, Stewart said.
For about five years, he’s been the head of the state’s masters facility-planning program.
For overseeing the district’s master facility-plan application, Stein will be paid probably between $20,000 and $22,500, depending on the number of students in the district.
“He’ll complete and submit all academic partnership facilities plan applications,” Stewart said.
BUILDING OVERSIGHT
And when the district is ready to start building, he’ll provide program and project management and oversight of district projects, she said.
Like Richardson, Stein will be a contractor, not an employee, so the district won’t be responsible for fringe benefits.
He worked 34 years for the Little Rock Army Corps of Engineers. He’s a registered professional engineer and a certified education facilities planner.
The timing on the availability of Richardson, Stein, Wood and Burton was perfect. To the suggestion that the stars had aligned perfectly, JNP Board president Daniel Gray responded, “Yes. We just had to wait 30 years for the stars to line up. We’ve got to be diligent. There’s a lot of work to be done.”
BEST BRAINS
“We’re in a situation where we have to have the best brains in the world to pull this off,” Lester said. “Expertise and hard work.”
The board has set a salary range of $145,000 to $160,000 for the superintendent, depending on the range of experience and qualification.
As state Education Commissioner, Wood has acted as a one-man school board for the Pulaski County Special School District and, under its wing, the fledgling JNP School District. That’s because the state took over PCSSD in 2011, dissolving the school board and replacing it with the education commissioner. He is thus well versed with specific difficulties and demands of standing up the new district.
Jacksonville is slated to have its own district starting with the 2016-17 school year.
While PCSSD and JNP are still joined at the hip, PCSSD is a party to the desegregation agreement, Plan 2000.
JNP is not currently a party, but when PCSSD Superintendent Jerry Guess filed a status report to Marshall last week, JNP felt suddenly exposed, according to Gray. Guess figured the entire $20.8 million final state desegregation payment toward PCSSD’s facilities program.
$5 MILLION SHARE
Gray and other Jacksonville-North Pulaski stakeholders think the new district should get a proportionate share of that payment, roughly $5 million.
That’s why they decided they needed to get their own attorney in the mix and hired Richardson, who participated in crafting that financial settlement to get the state out of desegregation payments.
“His experience with the case in the attorney general’s office — he knows the intricate details,” Gray said.
In other business, Robin Wakefield of the Jacksonville NAACP spoke to express support for the district, but worried that there might have been some concern over her remarks at an earlier meeting.
“We’re here to help any way we can,” she said.
COUNSELORS
Mike Kish, a PCSSD substitute teacher, spoke to encourage the board to hire and assign a teacher to testing duties and free up counselors to counsel.
Lester announced the Superintendent’s Advisory Board he had appointed.
Members are: Board Zone 1 — David Ramos; Zone 2 — Merlene McGhee; Zone 3 — Latasha Gregory; Zone 4 — Ivory Tillman; Zone 5 — Miranda Nicholson, and at large members are Mayor Gary Fletcher, Holly Roderick, Pat Griggs, Roger Sundermeier, president of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, and Col. Stephen Weaver of Little Rock Air Force Base.
Friday, April 03, 2015
SPORTS STORY >> Lady Panthers set records in victory
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Lady Panthers took first place as host of the Walmart Invitational track meet Tuesday at Panther Stadium, and broke a few more school records in the process. The Cabot ladies scored 123.5 points to beat Bryant by 34.5 points in earning the victory. Parkview High was third with 67, Conway took fourth with 59.5 and Jonesboro rounded out to the top-5 with 42 points. Bryant won the boys’ competition with 126 points, outdistancing second-place Conway by 46. Jonesboro scored 65, Parkview 52 and Marion 46 in the 14-school competition. The Cabot boys finished 11th with 27 points.
Three Lady Panthers combined to win eight of the 15 events in the competition. Lexi Weeks won the pole vault, 100-meter hurdles, 400-meter dash, long jump and was part of the Lady Panthers’ winning 4x100-meter relay team. Micah Huckabee won the 800- and 1,600-meter races while Tori Weeks won the 300-meter hurdles and also ran on the winning relay, along with Danielle McWilliams and Alyssa Hamilton.
That relay team set one of the new school records, almost breaking the 50-second mark and finishing in 50.03. Conway was second and also very fast, finishing in 50.77.
Lexi Weeks fell short of the national record in the pole vault, clearing 13-feet, 7-inches to win by six inches over Tori Weeks, but her height was a new meet record. She has a personal outdoor best of 14-0, a mere 2 3/4 inches short of the national record.
Sheridan junior Sarah Michael and Conway’s Jadah Meyer tied for third with jumps of 11-feet.
Lexi Weeks’ also broke the school record by 1 1/2 inches in winning the long jump. Her 18-4 ½, barely beat Searcy’s Arabriaun Mack’s 18-3. Tori Weeks was third and not far off the school mark with a jump of 18-feet.
In the 100-meter hurdles, Lexi Weeksbeat 100-meter dash winner Jada Baylark of Parkview by .08 seconds with a time of 15.15. She won the 400-meter dash by almost five full seconds, finishing in 58.83 ahead of Da’Juana Mixon of North Little Rock.
Huckabee was able to step off the gas and still win the mile easily. She was heavily favored to win the 3,200 as well, but lightning ended the meet with two events to go, including the 4x400 relay.
Huckabee won the 800-meters by more than eight seconds over Alex Ritchey of Mount St. Mary with a time of 2:22.01. She also won the 1,600 with a 5:33.76, despite that mark being more than 33 seconds slower than her personal best set last week at the Texas Relays in Austin.
“I wanted her to run an easy mile and then go real hard at the school record in the 800,” said Cabot coach Leon White. “I told her to run the first lap of the mile just fast enough to win it, and then hit the 800 hard. She wasn’t quite able to do it, but she came really close.”
Tori Weeks holds the school record in the 800 with a time of 2:21.55, but no longer runs the event in favor of the 300-meter hurdles. Her win Tuesday in the 300 hurdles wasn’t a close race either as she set a new record in that event. She beat Haley Hood of Bryant by two seconds with a time of 45.68.
She also holds the school record in the triple jump, but wasn’t able to get that win on Tuesday, settling for third in the triple jump with a leap of 35-10. Baylark won that event as well bounding 37-1. Allison Weatherly of Conway was second at 36-3.
Cabot’s team of Samantha Nickell, Brayden Giesler, Vanessa Wielding and Haley Gorecke took third in the 4x800 relay.
Caytee Wright took fifth for the Lady Panthers in the discus, sixth in the shot put and seventh in the high jump. McWilliams finished eighth for one point in the 100-meter dash.
In the boys’ events, Braxton Burton and Rocky Burke finished third and fourth in the pole vault with jumps of 12-feet and 11-6 respectively. Junior Brandon Jones took third in the discus with a toss of 137-4.
Sophomore Britton Alley took fifth in the 200-meter dash. Connor Daigle was sixth in the 300-meter hurdles and sophomore Howard Jacob took eighth in the 400.
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Lady Panthers took first place as host of the Walmart Invitational track meet Tuesday at Panther Stadium, and broke a few more school records in the process. The Cabot ladies scored 123.5 points to beat Bryant by 34.5 points in earning the victory. Parkview High was third with 67, Conway took fourth with 59.5 and Jonesboro rounded out to the top-5 with 42 points. Bryant won the boys’ competition with 126 points, outdistancing second-place Conway by 46. Jonesboro scored 65, Parkview 52 and Marion 46 in the 14-school competition. The Cabot boys finished 11th with 27 points.
Three Lady Panthers combined to win eight of the 15 events in the competition. Lexi Weeks won the pole vault, 100-meter hurdles, 400-meter dash, long jump and was part of the Lady Panthers’ winning 4x100-meter relay team. Micah Huckabee won the 800- and 1,600-meter races while Tori Weeks won the 300-meter hurdles and also ran on the winning relay, along with Danielle McWilliams and Alyssa Hamilton.
That relay team set one of the new school records, almost breaking the 50-second mark and finishing in 50.03. Conway was second and also very fast, finishing in 50.77.
Lexi Weeks fell short of the national record in the pole vault, clearing 13-feet, 7-inches to win by six inches over Tori Weeks, but her height was a new meet record. She has a personal outdoor best of 14-0, a mere 2 3/4 inches short of the national record.
Sheridan junior Sarah Michael and Conway’s Jadah Meyer tied for third with jumps of 11-feet.
Lexi Weeks’ also broke the school record by 1 1/2 inches in winning the long jump. Her 18-4 ½, barely beat Searcy’s Arabriaun Mack’s 18-3. Tori Weeks was third and not far off the school mark with a jump of 18-feet.
In the 100-meter hurdles, Lexi Weeksbeat 100-meter dash winner Jada Baylark of Parkview by .08 seconds with a time of 15.15. She won the 400-meter dash by almost five full seconds, finishing in 58.83 ahead of Da’Juana Mixon of North Little Rock.
Huckabee was able to step off the gas and still win the mile easily. She was heavily favored to win the 3,200 as well, but lightning ended the meet with two events to go, including the 4x400 relay.
Huckabee won the 800-meters by more than eight seconds over Alex Ritchey of Mount St. Mary with a time of 2:22.01. She also won the 1,600 with a 5:33.76, despite that mark being more than 33 seconds slower than her personal best set last week at the Texas Relays in Austin.
“I wanted her to run an easy mile and then go real hard at the school record in the 800,” said Cabot coach Leon White. “I told her to run the first lap of the mile just fast enough to win it, and then hit the 800 hard. She wasn’t quite able to do it, but she came really close.”
Tori Weeks holds the school record in the 800 with a time of 2:21.55, but no longer runs the event in favor of the 300-meter hurdles. Her win Tuesday in the 300 hurdles wasn’t a close race either as she set a new record in that event. She beat Haley Hood of Bryant by two seconds with a time of 45.68.
She also holds the school record in the triple jump, but wasn’t able to get that win on Tuesday, settling for third in the triple jump with a leap of 35-10. Baylark won that event as well bounding 37-1. Allison Weatherly of Conway was second at 36-3.
Cabot’s team of Samantha Nickell, Brayden Giesler, Vanessa Wielding and Haley Gorecke took third in the 4x800 relay.
Caytee Wright took fifth for the Lady Panthers in the discus, sixth in the shot put and seventh in the high jump. McWilliams finished eighth for one point in the 100-meter dash.
In the boys’ events, Braxton Burton and Rocky Burke finished third and fourth in the pole vault with jumps of 12-feet and 11-6 respectively. Junior Brandon Jones took third in the discus with a toss of 137-4.
Sophomore Britton Alley took fifth in the 200-meter dash. Connor Daigle was sixth in the 300-meter hurdles and sophomore Howard Jacob took eighth in the 400.
SPORTS STORY >> Sylvan Hills earns sweep against Devils
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The Sylvan Hills boys’ and girls’ soccer teams each won their 5A-Central Conference games against Jacksonville on Tuesday at Bill Blackwood Field in Sherwood.
The Lady Bears scored all of their goals in the first half of their game en route to a dominant 7-0 victory, and in the nightcap, the Bears scored three goals in each half to win by the convincing final score of 6-1.
Sylvan Hills’ girls (5-1, 3-0) scored three quick goals to start their game against the Lady Red Devils (0-3, 0-2). Georgia Mara, a junior, scored two of those goals and had the assist on the other scored by sophomore teammate Nakiya Smith.
“We started out the game with a bang, which is what you want to do,” said Lady Bears coach Nate Persson. “You want to jump on them early and you can always change things.
“One of our captains, Georgia, she went wild in the first four minutes – two goals and an assist. That’s pretty amazing.”
Junior forward Kristi Henderson added the next goal for the Lady Bears, putting them up 4-0, and with 15:43 left in the opening half, Sylvan Hills took a 5-0 lead on a Madee Sheridan penalty kick from 12 yards out.
The Lady Bears’ next goal came shortly after. With 14:35 left in the half, Cloe Wood scored from about 15 yards out to give the hosts a 6-0 lead. With 5:35 left in the half, Sylvan Hills set the final score on a goal by Emily Conrad from about 7 yards away.
At the start of the second half, the clock was cut from 40 minutes to 20 because of the mercy rule, which cuts the clock time in half when one team’s lead reaches at least six goals in the second half.
In the boys’ game, Jacksonville played without two starters who were red-carded in the Red Devils’ last outing, a 2-0 win at Beebe. The Bears scored the first three goals, and like the Lady Bears, the SH boys jumped out to an early lead to start the game. Sylvan Hills led 3-0 less than 12 minutes into the game.
The Bears scored first on a goal by Gabriel Persson from about 20 yards out. That goal came with 38:14 left in the first half, which was less than two minutes into the game.
At the 31:21 mark, Sylvan Hills (4-2, 3-0) scored again on a short goal by James Waller, which made the score 2-0 Bears. Waller added the Bears’ third goal of the game from about 20 yards out with 28:23 left in the half.
Jacksonville (3-1, 2-1) got its only goal of the night with 22:06 left in the half. From 10 yards away, Gerald Walton scored one in the lower left corner of the net, making it a 3-1 game. That was the score at halftime.
A minute and 29 seconds into the second half, Sylvan Hills took a 4-1 lead on a goal by Justin Espejo, and at the 36:42 mark of the second half, Gabriel Persson added his second goal of the game on a kick from 28 yards out in the middle of the field. That put the Bears up 5-1.
The highlight of the game is also what set the final score. Near the 28-minute mark of the second half, Gabriel Persson kicked a free kick from 44 yards out, near the visitors’ sideline, and as the kick sailed high near the front of the goal, Bears’ teammate Christian Balchen headed it into the net from 5 yards out, making it a 6-1 game.
Although happy with the lead, Bears coach Sam Persson wasn’t entirely pleased with the fast-paced, up-and-down style his team was playing in the first half, but he thought his team did a better job of settling down and playing more to its strengths in the second half.
“I think a lot of what settled them down is we got that early goal,” said Sam Persson, “and there was no pressure anymore. It kind of stopped the Jacksonville pressure on the ball. They started sinking back a little bit more. We had more time and it just got easier.
“That really changes the complexion of the game. It’s a whole lot easier to sit back and see the game rather than (play like) I got to score.”
Leader sportswriter
The Sylvan Hills boys’ and girls’ soccer teams each won their 5A-Central Conference games against Jacksonville on Tuesday at Bill Blackwood Field in Sherwood.
The Lady Bears scored all of their goals in the first half of their game en route to a dominant 7-0 victory, and in the nightcap, the Bears scored three goals in each half to win by the convincing final score of 6-1.
Sylvan Hills’ girls (5-1, 3-0) scored three quick goals to start their game against the Lady Red Devils (0-3, 0-2). Georgia Mara, a junior, scored two of those goals and had the assist on the other scored by sophomore teammate Nakiya Smith.
“We started out the game with a bang, which is what you want to do,” said Lady Bears coach Nate Persson. “You want to jump on them early and you can always change things.
“One of our captains, Georgia, she went wild in the first four minutes – two goals and an assist. That’s pretty amazing.”
Junior forward Kristi Henderson added the next goal for the Lady Bears, putting them up 4-0, and with 15:43 left in the opening half, Sylvan Hills took a 5-0 lead on a Madee Sheridan penalty kick from 12 yards out.
The Lady Bears’ next goal came shortly after. With 14:35 left in the half, Cloe Wood scored from about 15 yards out to give the hosts a 6-0 lead. With 5:35 left in the half, Sylvan Hills set the final score on a goal by Emily Conrad from about 7 yards away.
At the start of the second half, the clock was cut from 40 minutes to 20 because of the mercy rule, which cuts the clock time in half when one team’s lead reaches at least six goals in the second half.
In the boys’ game, Jacksonville played without two starters who were red-carded in the Red Devils’ last outing, a 2-0 win at Beebe. The Bears scored the first three goals, and like the Lady Bears, the SH boys jumped out to an early lead to start the game. Sylvan Hills led 3-0 less than 12 minutes into the game.
The Bears scored first on a goal by Gabriel Persson from about 20 yards out. That goal came with 38:14 left in the first half, which was less than two minutes into the game.
At the 31:21 mark, Sylvan Hills (4-2, 3-0) scored again on a short goal by James Waller, which made the score 2-0 Bears. Waller added the Bears’ third goal of the game from about 20 yards out with 28:23 left in the half.
Jacksonville (3-1, 2-1) got its only goal of the night with 22:06 left in the half. From 10 yards away, Gerald Walton scored one in the lower left corner of the net, making it a 3-1 game. That was the score at halftime.
A minute and 29 seconds into the second half, Sylvan Hills took a 4-1 lead on a goal by Justin Espejo, and at the 36:42 mark of the second half, Gabriel Persson added his second goal of the game on a kick from 28 yards out in the middle of the field. That put the Bears up 5-1.
The highlight of the game is also what set the final score. Near the 28-minute mark of the second half, Gabriel Persson kicked a free kick from 44 yards out, near the visitors’ sideline, and as the kick sailed high near the front of the goal, Bears’ teammate Christian Balchen headed it into the net from 5 yards out, making it a 6-1 game.
Although happy with the lead, Bears coach Sam Persson wasn’t entirely pleased with the fast-paced, up-and-down style his team was playing in the first half, but he thought his team did a better job of settling down and playing more to its strengths in the second half.
“I think a lot of what settled them down is we got that early goal,” said Sam Persson, “and there was no pressure anymore. It kind of stopped the Jacksonville pressure on the ball. They started sinking back a little bit more. We had more time and it just got easier.
“That really changes the complexion of the game. It’s a whole lot easier to sit back and see the game rather than (play like) I got to score.”
SPORTS STORY >> Jacksonville defeats NLR
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Red Devils got their second win in less than a week against North Little Rock on Wednesday, but win number two was significantly more difficult. After beating the Charging Wildcats 14-2 in the Central Arkansas Invitational last Friday at Lamar Porter Field, Jacksonville had to come from behind at home for an 8-5 victory.
North Little Rock jumped on Jacksonville pitcher Brandon Hawkins in the first inning, picking up four base hits and taking a 2-0 lead, but the Red Devils scored three in the bottom half.
Ryan Mallison started the rally with a one-out single, followed by another single by Caleb McMunn. With two outs, James Tucker singled to score Mallison. Derek St. Clair walked and Brandon Hickingbotham singled to drive in McMunn.
Jacksonville added another run in the bottom of the second after Hawkins sat the Wildcats down in order. D.J. Scott drew a leadoff walk and Laderrious Perry singled to put runners on first and third. Courtland McDonald sacrificed Scott home to give the Red Devils and a 4-2 lead.
Hawkins began to struggle to throw strikes in the top of the fourth, and some timely base hits and one Jacksonville error aided a four-run third inning for North Little Rock. Hickingbotham took the mound in relief and shut down the Wildcats the rest of the way.
“Hickingbotham threw really good,” said Jacksonville coach Larry Burrows. “It was probably his best outing of the year on the mound. He’s hitting the ball, too. So we’re pretty happy with Hick right now.”
Jacksonville got very little going offensively in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but four runs in the sixth set the final margin and gave Jacksonville the win.
Hickingbotham hit a one-out single to start the game-winning rally. Scott followed with a single and Perry took a pitch off the arm to load the bases. McDonald then doubled to the wall in center field to score Scott and courtesy runner Wesley Williams. Mallison followed that with another double, this one to left field, that scored Perry and McDonald.
McDonald went 2 for 3 with a double and three RBIs while Mallison went 2 for 3 with a double and two runs batted in. Jacksonville (8-5, 4-0) gets back to conference play with a crucial doubleheader with Sylvan Hills at the Sherwood Sports Complex on Tuesday.
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Red Devils got their second win in less than a week against North Little Rock on Wednesday, but win number two was significantly more difficult. After beating the Charging Wildcats 14-2 in the Central Arkansas Invitational last Friday at Lamar Porter Field, Jacksonville had to come from behind at home for an 8-5 victory.
North Little Rock jumped on Jacksonville pitcher Brandon Hawkins in the first inning, picking up four base hits and taking a 2-0 lead, but the Red Devils scored three in the bottom half.
Ryan Mallison started the rally with a one-out single, followed by another single by Caleb McMunn. With two outs, James Tucker singled to score Mallison. Derek St. Clair walked and Brandon Hickingbotham singled to drive in McMunn.
Jacksonville added another run in the bottom of the second after Hawkins sat the Wildcats down in order. D.J. Scott drew a leadoff walk and Laderrious Perry singled to put runners on first and third. Courtland McDonald sacrificed Scott home to give the Red Devils and a 4-2 lead.
Hawkins began to struggle to throw strikes in the top of the fourth, and some timely base hits and one Jacksonville error aided a four-run third inning for North Little Rock. Hickingbotham took the mound in relief and shut down the Wildcats the rest of the way.
“Hickingbotham threw really good,” said Jacksonville coach Larry Burrows. “It was probably his best outing of the year on the mound. He’s hitting the ball, too. So we’re pretty happy with Hick right now.”
Jacksonville got very little going offensively in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but four runs in the sixth set the final margin and gave Jacksonville the win.
Hickingbotham hit a one-out single to start the game-winning rally. Scott followed with a single and Perry took a pitch off the arm to load the bases. McDonald then doubled to the wall in center field to score Scott and courtesy runner Wesley Williams. Mallison followed that with another double, this one to left field, that scored Perry and McDonald.
McDonald went 2 for 3 with a double and three RBIs while Mallison went 2 for 3 with a double and two runs batted in. Jacksonville (8-5, 4-0) gets back to conference play with a crucial doubleheader with Sylvan Hills at the Sherwood Sports Complex on Tuesday.
SPORTS STORY >> Red Devils’ kicking Cadet
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
Jacksonville High School senior John Herrmann has been an example in the classroom and on the playing field throughout his time at JHS, and after he graduates in May, he’ll continue his journey to success at the United States Military Academy at West Point this summer.
Herrmann, a dual-sport athlete lettering in both football and soccer, has been brought up in a military family. His father was in the Air Force, and his brother, Ryan, is a 2013 West Point graduate.
The process of getting admitted into West Point, which is located in upstate New York, is full of various challenges. Having high grades and tests scores, and passing a plethora of fitness tests is a must, but Herrmann has done all of those things.
He’s currently ranked second in his class at JHS with a current grade point average of around 4.67, and his cumulative GPA is around 4.23. On his ACT test, Herrmann has scored a 26, and his superscore, which takes the highest subscores from various test dates, is a 27.
Those scores along with Herrmann’s high fitness tests scores have earned him a full-paid academic scholarship at West Point, and the chance to follow in his brother’s footsteps at the prestigious military academy. It’s been a goal of his to attend West Point ever since seventh grade, when he first visited the school.
“It’s been a goal probably since my brother entered,” said Herrmann. “When I went up there to see him, it just really spoke to me – the campus. From then, that’s what I wanted to do, and I stuck to my grades and just kept going for it.”
Having a brother that’s been to and graduated from the prestigious school is something that Herrmann said helped him through the process of applying and, eventually, being granted his scholarship worth roughly $500,000 in tuition and room and board.
“It helped a lot,” Herrmann said. “He told me how to start it, and what I needed to put in. With him graduating, it actually helps me because it shows that if one kid already did it, another could possibly do it.”
Herrmann said he plans to major in civil engineering at West Point – something he’s passionate about – and he added that he may do jump school as well, which is paratrooper training.
“I want to major in civil engineering, which is my passion,” Herrmann said. “I love to see bridges built and any infrastructure built. Also, I want to maybe do jump school. During summers you have to go and do training, and one of them is jump school.
“I’ve always wanted to jump out of planes. Plus, the job I want to do, which is combat engineering, there might be chances I have to jump out of an airplane to go into a combat zone and then build a bridge or whatever they tell us to build. So maybe that’ll carry over into my future job that I’m hoping to get.”
Herrmann’s future appears bright, no doubt. But for now, he’s enjoying his time as a senior at JHS, including the athletic side of it. Herrmann was the kicker on the Red Devils’ football team for the past three years, and has been a captain on the soccer team for the last two.
At the end of the football season, Herrmann was named first team All-Conference for his stellar kicking efforts. He made 27 of 30 extra point attempts this past season, and 4 of 5 field goals with a long of 47 yards.
In soccer last season, he was selected to both the All-State and All-Conference teams, leading the team with five goals scored in 2014, including four assists. Herrmann says he prefers soccer of the two sports, but said he doesn’t think he’ll attempt to play soccer at the next level.
Instead, Herrmann will try to walk-on to the Army football team as a kicker for the Black Knights. But even if he doesn’t make the team, he’ll get the opportunity to take part in competitive club sports that’ll be a requirement for team exercise building.
“Either way, you still get your sports incorporated,” Herrmann said.
Although he’s finished with his football career at JHS, Herrmann still has a soccer season to finish. He remains a top contributor on the Red Devils’ soccer team – a team that won its first three games of the 2015 season.
Even though he mostly plays as a defensive wing, Herrmann is one of the more versatile players on the team, having played just about every position on the field at one point or another for second-year head coach Adam Thrash, who had plenty of positive things to say about his senior captain.
“He’s just one of those kids that when you need something done, he gets it done,” said Thrash. “There’s no ‘I can’t do it.’ He’s one of those that if I have a son, I hope he can live up to what John Herrmann has shown and done in his life.
“He wants to lead and do it the right way. Sixteen and 17 year olds, they don’t always want to do it the right way. But he’s always done it the right way. He works hard at everything he does.
“He’s just a natural leader and he’s the heart and soul of our team. He really is.”
Balancing school and extracurricular activities can be tough at times, Herrmann admits, and he said time management and a strict routine are the keys to doing both to the best of his abilities.
When he does have free time, Herrmann says he spends most of it working on his art projects, which is also school-related. At last year’s state art competition, Herrmann placed first overall in three different categories.
There’s no doubt that plenty of challenges will await Herrmann when he arrives at West Point later this summer, but he says he looks forward to those challenges.
“I love challenges,” Herrmann said. “If it’s a challenge, I’m just going to hit it hard and go for it.”
As far as his thoughts on his time at JHS, though it’s not over yet, it’s a time that Herrmann will cherish – a time he describes as a fun one with many learning opportunities.
“It’s been fun,” Herrmann said. “I’ve built a lot of relationships with teachers and friends – a lot of learning opportunities, definitely. It’s been fun.”
Leader sportswriter
Jacksonville High School senior John Herrmann has been an example in the classroom and on the playing field throughout his time at JHS, and after he graduates in May, he’ll continue his journey to success at the United States Military Academy at West Point this summer.
Herrmann, a dual-sport athlete lettering in both football and soccer, has been brought up in a military family. His father was in the Air Force, and his brother, Ryan, is a 2013 West Point graduate.
The process of getting admitted into West Point, which is located in upstate New York, is full of various challenges. Having high grades and tests scores, and passing a plethora of fitness tests is a must, but Herrmann has done all of those things.
He’s currently ranked second in his class at JHS with a current grade point average of around 4.67, and his cumulative GPA is around 4.23. On his ACT test, Herrmann has scored a 26, and his superscore, which takes the highest subscores from various test dates, is a 27.
Those scores along with Herrmann’s high fitness tests scores have earned him a full-paid academic scholarship at West Point, and the chance to follow in his brother’s footsteps at the prestigious military academy. It’s been a goal of his to attend West Point ever since seventh grade, when he first visited the school.
“It’s been a goal probably since my brother entered,” said Herrmann. “When I went up there to see him, it just really spoke to me – the campus. From then, that’s what I wanted to do, and I stuck to my grades and just kept going for it.”
Having a brother that’s been to and graduated from the prestigious school is something that Herrmann said helped him through the process of applying and, eventually, being granted his scholarship worth roughly $500,000 in tuition and room and board.
“It helped a lot,” Herrmann said. “He told me how to start it, and what I needed to put in. With him graduating, it actually helps me because it shows that if one kid already did it, another could possibly do it.”
Herrmann said he plans to major in civil engineering at West Point – something he’s passionate about – and he added that he may do jump school as well, which is paratrooper training.
“I want to major in civil engineering, which is my passion,” Herrmann said. “I love to see bridges built and any infrastructure built. Also, I want to maybe do jump school. During summers you have to go and do training, and one of them is jump school.
“I’ve always wanted to jump out of planes. Plus, the job I want to do, which is combat engineering, there might be chances I have to jump out of an airplane to go into a combat zone and then build a bridge or whatever they tell us to build. So maybe that’ll carry over into my future job that I’m hoping to get.”
Herrmann’s future appears bright, no doubt. But for now, he’s enjoying his time as a senior at JHS, including the athletic side of it. Herrmann was the kicker on the Red Devils’ football team for the past three years, and has been a captain on the soccer team for the last two.
At the end of the football season, Herrmann was named first team All-Conference for his stellar kicking efforts. He made 27 of 30 extra point attempts this past season, and 4 of 5 field goals with a long of 47 yards.
In soccer last season, he was selected to both the All-State and All-Conference teams, leading the team with five goals scored in 2014, including four assists. Herrmann says he prefers soccer of the two sports, but said he doesn’t think he’ll attempt to play soccer at the next level.
Instead, Herrmann will try to walk-on to the Army football team as a kicker for the Black Knights. But even if he doesn’t make the team, he’ll get the opportunity to take part in competitive club sports that’ll be a requirement for team exercise building.
“Either way, you still get your sports incorporated,” Herrmann said.
Although he’s finished with his football career at JHS, Herrmann still has a soccer season to finish. He remains a top contributor on the Red Devils’ soccer team – a team that won its first three games of the 2015 season.
Even though he mostly plays as a defensive wing, Herrmann is one of the more versatile players on the team, having played just about every position on the field at one point or another for second-year head coach Adam Thrash, who had plenty of positive things to say about his senior captain.
“He’s just one of those kids that when you need something done, he gets it done,” said Thrash. “There’s no ‘I can’t do it.’ He’s one of those that if I have a son, I hope he can live up to what John Herrmann has shown and done in his life.
“He wants to lead and do it the right way. Sixteen and 17 year olds, they don’t always want to do it the right way. But he’s always done it the right way. He works hard at everything he does.
“He’s just a natural leader and he’s the heart and soul of our team. He really is.”
Balancing school and extracurricular activities can be tough at times, Herrmann admits, and he said time management and a strict routine are the keys to doing both to the best of his abilities.
When he does have free time, Herrmann says he spends most of it working on his art projects, which is also school-related. At last year’s state art competition, Herrmann placed first overall in three different categories.
There’s no doubt that plenty of challenges will await Herrmann when he arrives at West Point later this summer, but he says he looks forward to those challenges.
“I love challenges,” Herrmann said. “If it’s a challenge, I’m just going to hit it hard and go for it.”
As far as his thoughts on his time at JHS, though it’s not over yet, it’s a time that Herrmann will cherish – a time he describes as a fun one with many learning opportunities.
“It’s been fun,” Herrmann said. “I’ve built a lot of relationships with teachers and friends – a lot of learning opportunities, definitely. It’s been fun.”
EDITORIAL >> Asa saves us from disaster
Gov. Hutchinson’s learning curve in his first 80 days has been both steep and gradual, but either way he has demonstrated a remarkable ability to finesse his way out of a mess, even one of his own creation. On the last day of the legislative session he executed a complete about-face and killed a bill permitting businesses to discriminate against sexual minorities that only four days earlier he had earnestly sought. Everyone seemed to cheer.
Both sides in the culture war may have cause to question his moral leadership on the nationally famous HB 1288, the “religion protection” act, and the rushed-up bill that scuttled it, but who cannot admire his skill in making surrender appear to be a triumph? It is the mark of a real politician.
The first evidence of the governor’s skill was his first act as governor back in January when he thwarted his party’s biggest initiative, which was to kill Arkansas’ participation in the biggest section of Obamacare, the expansion of Medicaid to poor adults. Republican lawmakers whooped through the governor’s plan to continue “private option” medical coverage for nearly 225,000 Arkansans, although many of the legislators had run on a pledge to kill it. Hutchinson’s plan was to allow the legislators to claim they were killing poor people’s insurance when actually they were continuing it.
Let us stipulate that the great battle over protecting people’s religious right to discriminate against gay, lesbian and transgender people, which generated so much terrible publicity for Arkansas, was much ado about very little, but symbolic wars are often the most passionate. After the U.S. Supreme Court signaled the end of state bans on same-sex unions in United States v. Windsor in 2013, federal and state courts across the country, including those in Arkansas, declared the bans unconstitutional. The Supreme Court is expected to officially consummate marriage equality across the land this summer. The religious-liberty legislation in Southern and Midwestern states is a symbolic last stand against what nearly everyone views as the inevitable.
Although the percentages have been shrinking, most people in these states believe sexual proclivities are a choice that people make, so homosexuality and same-sex unions are unnatural and wrong, even if they are constitutionally allowable under the equal-protection, due-process and full-faith-and-credit clauses. But if they can be treated as religious beliefs, then denying services, jobs or whatever to same-sex couples might be permissible under the First Amendment’s religious-liberty clause. So legislatures took up bills stating the claim of religious liberty in defense of a business’ refusal to do business with a gay couple or individual.
Same-sex marriage makes poor religious doctrine. The Bible doesn’t mention it. But the Bible became the South’s defense of slavery in the 19th Century, because it favorably mentions slavery and instructs slaves to obey and honor their owners. The same biblical instructions were our defense of segregation in the not-so-distant past, although everyone—well, nearly everyone—now recognizes the phoniness of the religious defense. The basis of the religious defense for discriminating against gays and lesbians is Leviticus 20:13, which says God wanted homosexuals to be murdered. But if that is a core of one’s religious beliefs, should you not also believe in killing disobedient children and the carnal sins of wearing clothing made of more than one fabric and eating shellfish or pork, which are God’s injunctions in the same book?
Rep. Bob Ballinger (R-Hindsville), like Republican counterparts in a number of states, introduced a bill, HB 1288, that offered businesses and officials a defense for refusing to serve gays and lesbians—it would violate a sacred foundation of their religious convictions. Another version of it, which prohibited local governments from passing laws protecting gays and lesbians against discrimination, had become law early in the session. Hutchinson let it become law without his signature.
The bills are a diluted version of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton in 1993 after two members of a native American tribe were punished for smoking psychedelic peyote, which is a part of the religious ritual of the Native American Church.
A bill almost like Ballinger’s caused consternation nationally when the Indiana legislature passed it and Gov. Mike Pence signed it into law. Business leaders in Indiana and nationally pleaded with the governor not to sign it because it sent the signal that Indiana businesses would discriminate against gays and lesbians and perhaps other minorities. Pence eventually backtracked and the legislature rushed through another act that repealed it, hewed closer to the language of the federal law and offered the promise that discrimination of that sort would not be permitted in Indiana.
In spite of Indiana’s and Pence’s torturous examples, Arkansas promptly repeated them. While liberal groups protested HB 1288 and urged Gov. Hutchinson to veto it, he worked to dislodge it from a committee where it had died. He summoned a Democratic legislator from Mississippi County and asked him to vote for the bill to get it out of the committee onto the Senate floor, where a majority was committed to vote for it. The governor’s nephew, although he personally opposed the bill, also voted it out of the committee as a favor to his uncle. Hutchinson said he would sign the bill if it was sent to him in that form. He opposed diluting it to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination.
But by the time it reached his desk, major Arkansas industries—notably Walmart and the tech giant Acxiom—had publicly denounced the bill as sending a message to the country that discrimination was encouraged in Arkansas. It would badly set back the state’s economic goals. Chambers of commerce weighed in against it.
Hutchinson quickly capitulated. He called a press conference, asked the legislature to recall the bill and send him one without the discriminatory language, something close to that of the federal act. He revealed that his own leftist son, a Texas union organizer, had signed a petition urging him to veto HB 1288. It was an adorable moment, a father yielding to the importuning of his prodigal son. Who could not love him after that?
Legal experts could see that if a businessman wanted to refuse service to a gay couple or a county clerk wanted to deny a marriage license to a couple, they might still make a case that they were good religious grounds for doing it under the new Religious Freedom Restoration Act. But it is not as transparently invidious as HB 1288, so everyone cheered the governor’s masterful handling of the problem.
Both sides in the culture war may have cause to question his moral leadership on the nationally famous HB 1288, the “religion protection” act, and the rushed-up bill that scuttled it, but who cannot admire his skill in making surrender appear to be a triumph? It is the mark of a real politician.
The first evidence of the governor’s skill was his first act as governor back in January when he thwarted his party’s biggest initiative, which was to kill Arkansas’ participation in the biggest section of Obamacare, the expansion of Medicaid to poor adults. Republican lawmakers whooped through the governor’s plan to continue “private option” medical coverage for nearly 225,000 Arkansans, although many of the legislators had run on a pledge to kill it. Hutchinson’s plan was to allow the legislators to claim they were killing poor people’s insurance when actually they were continuing it.
Let us stipulate that the great battle over protecting people’s religious right to discriminate against gay, lesbian and transgender people, which generated so much terrible publicity for Arkansas, was much ado about very little, but symbolic wars are often the most passionate. After the U.S. Supreme Court signaled the end of state bans on same-sex unions in United States v. Windsor in 2013, federal and state courts across the country, including those in Arkansas, declared the bans unconstitutional. The Supreme Court is expected to officially consummate marriage equality across the land this summer. The religious-liberty legislation in Southern and Midwestern states is a symbolic last stand against what nearly everyone views as the inevitable.
Although the percentages have been shrinking, most people in these states believe sexual proclivities are a choice that people make, so homosexuality and same-sex unions are unnatural and wrong, even if they are constitutionally allowable under the equal-protection, due-process and full-faith-and-credit clauses. But if they can be treated as religious beliefs, then denying services, jobs or whatever to same-sex couples might be permissible under the First Amendment’s religious-liberty clause. So legislatures took up bills stating the claim of religious liberty in defense of a business’ refusal to do business with a gay couple or individual.
Same-sex marriage makes poor religious doctrine. The Bible doesn’t mention it. But the Bible became the South’s defense of slavery in the 19th Century, because it favorably mentions slavery and instructs slaves to obey and honor their owners. The same biblical instructions were our defense of segregation in the not-so-distant past, although everyone—well, nearly everyone—now recognizes the phoniness of the religious defense. The basis of the religious defense for discriminating against gays and lesbians is Leviticus 20:13, which says God wanted homosexuals to be murdered. But if that is a core of one’s religious beliefs, should you not also believe in killing disobedient children and the carnal sins of wearing clothing made of more than one fabric and eating shellfish or pork, which are God’s injunctions in the same book?
Rep. Bob Ballinger (R-Hindsville), like Republican counterparts in a number of states, introduced a bill, HB 1288, that offered businesses and officials a defense for refusing to serve gays and lesbians—it would violate a sacred foundation of their religious convictions. Another version of it, which prohibited local governments from passing laws protecting gays and lesbians against discrimination, had become law early in the session. Hutchinson let it become law without his signature.
The bills are a diluted version of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton in 1993 after two members of a native American tribe were punished for smoking psychedelic peyote, which is a part of the religious ritual of the Native American Church.
A bill almost like Ballinger’s caused consternation nationally when the Indiana legislature passed it and Gov. Mike Pence signed it into law. Business leaders in Indiana and nationally pleaded with the governor not to sign it because it sent the signal that Indiana businesses would discriminate against gays and lesbians and perhaps other minorities. Pence eventually backtracked and the legislature rushed through another act that repealed it, hewed closer to the language of the federal law and offered the promise that discrimination of that sort would not be permitted in Indiana.
In spite of Indiana’s and Pence’s torturous examples, Arkansas promptly repeated them. While liberal groups protested HB 1288 and urged Gov. Hutchinson to veto it, he worked to dislodge it from a committee where it had died. He summoned a Democratic legislator from Mississippi County and asked him to vote for the bill to get it out of the committee onto the Senate floor, where a majority was committed to vote for it. The governor’s nephew, although he personally opposed the bill, also voted it out of the committee as a favor to his uncle. Hutchinson said he would sign the bill if it was sent to him in that form. He opposed diluting it to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination.
But by the time it reached his desk, major Arkansas industries—notably Walmart and the tech giant Acxiom—had publicly denounced the bill as sending a message to the country that discrimination was encouraged in Arkansas. It would badly set back the state’s economic goals. Chambers of commerce weighed in against it.
Hutchinson quickly capitulated. He called a press conference, asked the legislature to recall the bill and send him one without the discriminatory language, something close to that of the federal act. He revealed that his own leftist son, a Texas union organizer, had signed a petition urging him to veto HB 1288. It was an adorable moment, a father yielding to the importuning of his prodigal son. Who could not love him after that?
Legal experts could see that if a businessman wanted to refuse service to a gay couple or a county clerk wanted to deny a marriage license to a couple, they might still make a case that they were good religious grounds for doing it under the new Religious Freedom Restoration Act. But it is not as transparently invidious as HB 1288, so everyone cheered the governor’s masterful handling of the problem.
TOP STORY >> Mrs. Hutchinson hails Open Arms
By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
“A person’s a person, no matter how small,” a teary-eyed First Lady Susan Hutchinson told the crowd of about 400 at the Open Arms Shelter’s third annual Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Banquet at Cabot Freshman Academy on Thursday.
The quote is from Dr. Seuss’ “Horton Hears a Who!” — a story she believes teaches the lesson that every voice, including that of the smallest child, must be heard.
Before the keynote address, Open Arms Shelter Director Nancy Hamlin thanked those at the fundraiser who helped the facility build an outside pavilion and bike track the kids who stay there use to play outside when the weather is nice.
Hutchinson told banquet guests, including several local and state elected officials, that intervenors — the Open Arms Shelter in Lonoke, other similar centers, foster homes, Department of Human Services agents, police, prosecutors and counselors — are needed.
She said, “Time does not heal all wounds. It simply does not. Time can make you bitter. Time can make you sour. Time can make you mean. Time can make you distrustful. Time can make you the enemy. Time can disrupt your life forever.”
She would know, too. The former teacher has spent the past several years on the board of the Children’s Advocacy Center in Benton County.
The first lady continued, “I need you to help because these people, these little ones, they do go on. I don’t want to see them in prison. I don’t want to see them dysfunctional. I don’t want to see them carrying out the crimes done against them to others. Sometimes, they don’t wait to grow up to start hurting others.
“So it’s really, really important to intervene as soon as we know, as soon as we hear that silent cry, that smallest voice, so that we can help them become the people that God intended them to be so that they can thrive, not just survive.”
With intervention, abused and neglected children can learn what “true love” and appropriate relationships are like, she said.
Hutchinson added, “We’d like to think that the only time a child would need those people (intervenors) helping them is because some crazy stranger picked them up off the road and hurt them and dropped them off.
“That’s hardly ever the case. It’s almost always someone that little one was supposed to be able to trust.”
As for her Dr. Seuss anecdote, the first lady explained that the story was on her mind because she recently read one of his books to kids in honor of what would have been the author’s 111th birthday.
Hutchinson said the tale is about an elephant named Horton hearing a voice from a speck of dust that ends up belonging to the mayor of a microscopic community, Who-ville.
Horton promises to protect the town, but the other animals can’t hear any voice and get upset with him.
They steal the speck from Horton and later tie him up, threatening to destroy the speck and hurt the elephant they believe went “mad.”
Horton calls out to the mayor for help. The mayor gets everyone to make as much noise as they can so that the other animals can hear them.
But they aren’t loud enough to stop them from hurting Horton until the mayor finds the smallest Who in Whoville and brings him to yell at the top of the tiny town’s tallest mountain.
Then the other animals hear the microscopic people and apologize to Horton, who responds, “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”
Hutchinson told the guests, “You have heard the voice of the smallest among us. Not everybody has heard the voice of the smallest among us.”
The first lady said those who attended the fundraiser, by being there and by donating or supporting programs in different ways, are shouting out and letting others know about the “little voices, the voices we don’t hear, the silent voices that we don’t hear, crying and muffled in their bedrooms, hiding away and wondering ‘What is going on? I thought I was a good little girl. I thought they loved me. Why is daddy doing this? Why is mom doing that?’
Hutchinson, imitating an abused or neglected child, shared all the lies children are told by those who harm them. Hutchinson said adults tell abused and neglected kids that no one will believe them, police will lock them up, they’ll never see their siblings again or other bad things will happen if they speak up about what is happening.
When life gets tough, “the children, the least among us, seem to be the ones that carry the brunt. And they’re easy targets. Who listens to a child? Some people have been listening,” she pointed out.
Hutchinson brought up that a new law levies an additional $25 fine for those who commit crimes in front of or to children and that the state has a human trafficking task force.
The first lady also described the community-based Open Arms Shelter during her 22-minute address.
Hutchinson said, “It’s people. It’s people who love and who care about the community and trying to make it better by helping the children; and I so appreciate that because that’s where it counts the most.”
Hutchinson noted that the organization is lucky to have support that other groups across the state are lacking.
But, the first lady continued, “I wish that everybody treated everybody the way that they should” and an awareness month or day and centers like Open Arms weren’t needed.
She said she wished everyone loved each other, could cope with the stresses of life without taking it out on someone else and that all understood proper boundaries in relationships.
Hutchinson also read a proclamation on behalf of her husband, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, recognizing that April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Also at the banquet, the shelter’s director recognized 20-year employee Matty Cooksey and Department of Human Services partner of the year Dorothy Jackson.
Leader staff writer
“A person’s a person, no matter how small,” a teary-eyed First Lady Susan Hutchinson told the crowd of about 400 at the Open Arms Shelter’s third annual Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Banquet at Cabot Freshman Academy on Thursday.
The quote is from Dr. Seuss’ “Horton Hears a Who!” — a story she believes teaches the lesson that every voice, including that of the smallest child, must be heard.
Before the keynote address, Open Arms Shelter Director Nancy Hamlin thanked those at the fundraiser who helped the facility build an outside pavilion and bike track the kids who stay there use to play outside when the weather is nice.
Hutchinson told banquet guests, including several local and state elected officials, that intervenors — the Open Arms Shelter in Lonoke, other similar centers, foster homes, Department of Human Services agents, police, prosecutors and counselors — are needed.
She said, “Time does not heal all wounds. It simply does not. Time can make you bitter. Time can make you sour. Time can make you mean. Time can make you distrustful. Time can make you the enemy. Time can disrupt your life forever.”
She would know, too. The former teacher has spent the past several years on the board of the Children’s Advocacy Center in Benton County.
The first lady continued, “I need you to help because these people, these little ones, they do go on. I don’t want to see them in prison. I don’t want to see them dysfunctional. I don’t want to see them carrying out the crimes done against them to others. Sometimes, they don’t wait to grow up to start hurting others.
“So it’s really, really important to intervene as soon as we know, as soon as we hear that silent cry, that smallest voice, so that we can help them become the people that God intended them to be so that they can thrive, not just survive.”
With intervention, abused and neglected children can learn what “true love” and appropriate relationships are like, she said.
Hutchinson added, “We’d like to think that the only time a child would need those people (intervenors) helping them is because some crazy stranger picked them up off the road and hurt them and dropped them off.
“That’s hardly ever the case. It’s almost always someone that little one was supposed to be able to trust.”
As for her Dr. Seuss anecdote, the first lady explained that the story was on her mind because she recently read one of his books to kids in honor of what would have been the author’s 111th birthday.
Hutchinson said the tale is about an elephant named Horton hearing a voice from a speck of dust that ends up belonging to the mayor of a microscopic community, Who-ville.
Horton promises to protect the town, but the other animals can’t hear any voice and get upset with him.
They steal the speck from Horton and later tie him up, threatening to destroy the speck and hurt the elephant they believe went “mad.”
Horton calls out to the mayor for help. The mayor gets everyone to make as much noise as they can so that the other animals can hear them.
But they aren’t loud enough to stop them from hurting Horton until the mayor finds the smallest Who in Whoville and brings him to yell at the top of the tiny town’s tallest mountain.
Then the other animals hear the microscopic people and apologize to Horton, who responds, “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”
Hutchinson told the guests, “You have heard the voice of the smallest among us. Not everybody has heard the voice of the smallest among us.”
The first lady said those who attended the fundraiser, by being there and by donating or supporting programs in different ways, are shouting out and letting others know about the “little voices, the voices we don’t hear, the silent voices that we don’t hear, crying and muffled in their bedrooms, hiding away and wondering ‘What is going on? I thought I was a good little girl. I thought they loved me. Why is daddy doing this? Why is mom doing that?’
Hutchinson, imitating an abused or neglected child, shared all the lies children are told by those who harm them. Hutchinson said adults tell abused and neglected kids that no one will believe them, police will lock them up, they’ll never see their siblings again or other bad things will happen if they speak up about what is happening.
When life gets tough, “the children, the least among us, seem to be the ones that carry the brunt. And they’re easy targets. Who listens to a child? Some people have been listening,” she pointed out.
Hutchinson brought up that a new law levies an additional $25 fine for those who commit crimes in front of or to children and that the state has a human trafficking task force.
The first lady also described the community-based Open Arms Shelter during her 22-minute address.
Hutchinson said, “It’s people. It’s people who love and who care about the community and trying to make it better by helping the children; and I so appreciate that because that’s where it counts the most.”
Hutchinson noted that the organization is lucky to have support that other groups across the state are lacking.
But, the first lady continued, “I wish that everybody treated everybody the way that they should” and an awareness month or day and centers like Open Arms weren’t needed.
She said she wished everyone loved each other, could cope with the stresses of life without taking it out on someone else and that all understood proper boundaries in relationships.
Hutchinson also read a proclamation on behalf of her husband, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, recognizing that April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Also at the banquet, the shelter’s director recognized 20-year employee Matty Cooksey and Department of Human Services partner of the year Dorothy Jackson.
TOP STORY >> New community center on base
By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
Little Rock Air Force Base marked the grand opening of the Walters Community Support Center on Friday for education, development and care for airmen and their families to meet and learn.
The Walters Center in the old Base Exchange. The building was saved from bulldozers and with $3.7 million in renovations, it puts the Airman and Family Readiness Center, the Base Library and Community Activities Center under one roof. They were scattered across the base in 1950s era buildings. The new facility is more convenient and saves the base operating and maintenance costs.
The multi-purpose facility is named in honor of Col. Kenneth A. Walters, former 19th Mission Support Group deputy commander, who passed away in 2012 after a six-year battle with cancer. Walters had 22 years of service.
Col. Patrick Rhatigan, commander of the 19th Airlift Wing, said the one pursuit of Walters was taking care of airmen.
“He poured his efforts into supporting our airmen and the families by improving their education opportunities,” Rhatigan said.
Walters wrote in a research paper on improving education at LRAFB that his goal was, “to make Jacksonville, Arkansas, the Educational Center of Excellence.”
Three projects grew from Walters’ idea.
Rhatigan said one was the Lighthouse Charter School that was paid for with local donations of $1.4 million. The school ranks in the top 11 percent of middle schools in the state.
The second project was the Jacksonville-LRAFB University Center, just outside the main gate. The University Center is a $15 million facility funded by Jacksonville taxpayers and the Air Force. It provides classrooms for six different universities.
“It is the first of its kind in the Department of Defense,” Rhatigan said.
The third project is the proposed joint-education campus, which will provide the Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District with a low-cost option to a state-of-the-art education center. The project has grown to 300 acres and can provide a new elementary and high school for the children of LRAFB and Jacksonville.
The themes of the Walters Support Community Center are versatility, education and care of the foundation, Rhatigan said.
“Many of the airmen are here for training or right out of school and don’t have a vehicle to get them off base. The Walters Community Support Center will now provide them with a gathering place right here in the heart of the installation. They can meet their friends for a cup of coffee, study and check out movies, books and music. They can use Wi-Fi and learn about all the support programs that we have dedicated to helping them,” Rhatigan said.
The library has doubled in size. It has computer labs, an enclosed children’s section and a teen room for a better study environment.
The Family Readiness Center has greater privacy for counseling sessions and new classrooms with updated equipment.
Many social events can be held at the Walter’s Center ballroom. It has music rooms for instructional classes, game rooms, play group rooms, a meeting room for official functions and a kitchen.
Randy Walters, Kenneth’s brother, said the recognition is fitting for someone who valued community and bringing people together. Kenneth’s family spent six years with the LRAFB community.
“After touring this facility and being part of this ceremony, I know my brother would be most grateful for this honor,” Randy Walters said.
Leader staff writer
Little Rock Air Force Base marked the grand opening of the Walters Community Support Center on Friday for education, development and care for airmen and their families to meet and learn.
The Walters Center in the old Base Exchange. The building was saved from bulldozers and with $3.7 million in renovations, it puts the Airman and Family Readiness Center, the Base Library and Community Activities Center under one roof. They were scattered across the base in 1950s era buildings. The new facility is more convenient and saves the base operating and maintenance costs.
The multi-purpose facility is named in honor of Col. Kenneth A. Walters, former 19th Mission Support Group deputy commander, who passed away in 2012 after a six-year battle with cancer. Walters had 22 years of service.
Col. Patrick Rhatigan, commander of the 19th Airlift Wing, said the one pursuit of Walters was taking care of airmen.
“He poured his efforts into supporting our airmen and the families by improving their education opportunities,” Rhatigan said.
Walters wrote in a research paper on improving education at LRAFB that his goal was, “to make Jacksonville, Arkansas, the Educational Center of Excellence.”
Three projects grew from Walters’ idea.
Rhatigan said one was the Lighthouse Charter School that was paid for with local donations of $1.4 million. The school ranks in the top 11 percent of middle schools in the state.
The second project was the Jacksonville-LRAFB University Center, just outside the main gate. The University Center is a $15 million facility funded by Jacksonville taxpayers and the Air Force. It provides classrooms for six different universities.
“It is the first of its kind in the Department of Defense,” Rhatigan said.
The third project is the proposed joint-education campus, which will provide the Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District with a low-cost option to a state-of-the-art education center. The project has grown to 300 acres and can provide a new elementary and high school for the children of LRAFB and Jacksonville.
The themes of the Walters Support Community Center are versatility, education and care of the foundation, Rhatigan said.
“Many of the airmen are here for training or right out of school and don’t have a vehicle to get them off base. The Walters Community Support Center will now provide them with a gathering place right here in the heart of the installation. They can meet their friends for a cup of coffee, study and check out movies, books and music. They can use Wi-Fi and learn about all the support programs that we have dedicated to helping them,” Rhatigan said.
The library has doubled in size. It has computer labs, an enclosed children’s section and a teen room for a better study environment.
The Family Readiness Center has greater privacy for counseling sessions and new classrooms with updated equipment.
Many social events can be held at the Walter’s Center ballroom. It has music rooms for instructional classes, game rooms, play group rooms, a meeting room for official functions and a kitchen.
Randy Walters, Kenneth’s brother, said the recognition is fitting for someone who valued community and bringing people together. Kenneth’s family spent six years with the LRAFB community.
“After touring this facility and being part of this ceremony, I know my brother would be most grateful for this honor,” Randy Walters said.
TOP STORY >> Lawmakers here in key roles on bill
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
Several local lawmakers were in the thick of the fray Wednesday and Thursday as the 90th General Assembly scrambled before adjourning to pass the “cleaner” Religious Freedom Restoration Act that Gov. Asa Hutchinson requested.
Hutchinson had said earlier in the week that he would sign House Bill 1228 as soon as he got it. But Arkansas got swept up along with Indiana’s legislature and governor in a whirlwind of bad press. Major corporations and even other states threatened to withhold business, travel and commerce over the bill, which purportedly would enable discrimination based on sexual orientation.
That’s when the governor pulled the plug on the first bill and asked for another one that reflected the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
His son, Seth, a Texas labor organizer, urged his father to veto the original bill and his nephew, state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, voted against it, but was lead sponsor for its replacement, SB975.
The bill was interpreted by many as allowing discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people under the flag of religious freedom.
Protests were held for several days at the state Capitol and a rabbi and several ministers held a prayer at the governor’s mansion.
While all the demonstrations and counter demonstraions made LGBT rights versus religious rights the focus, Rep. Camille Bennett (D-Lonoke) said there were other sinister dangers hidden in plain sight in first bill.
She was a co-sponsor of SB975.
“The primary force behind that bill was to extend religious freedom to political action committees, lobbyists and others who want to control our corporations and our governments,” Bennett said Friday.
She said that any limited-liability corporation, church, group or political action committee could claim a religious belief, and then protect any behavior as a religious freedom. She said that could even include Satanists.
“That’s what was behind the bill the whole time,” she said. “It became clear that biggest push was to extend this to private parties.”
Bennett suggested other areas of concern in HB1228.
“Once I’ve thrown my religion up, the state couldn’t stop me,” she said. “And if I sued Walmart for selling birth control, the state might have to pay attorney fees, court costs and damages for an action by Walmart.
“It could be a religion of one—one with marijuana as a sacrament, or a church of Satan or the Church of Camille,” Bennett said.
Before the House over-whelmingly passed HB1228—the version the governor rejected—Bennett, a lawyer, took to the well to speak out against the bill, saying it overreached and went well beyond the federal RFRA.
To deaf ears she suggested replacing it.
When Hutchinson sent it back in favor of a bill closely approximating that federal bill, there was a great outcry from legislators who believed the governor had promised to sign it.
“That’s when everybody started realizing it wasn’t the federal RFRA,” she said. “My impression is that the majority always thought it was the federal RFRA,” said Bennett, who tried to tell them earlier.
There was anger from some who felt that if Hutchinson wasn’t going to sign it, he should veto it, Bennett said. “That’s where the rub came.”
Walmart, based in Arkansas, spoke out against that bill, as did the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola and others said the bill would discourage people and commerce from locating to Arkansas.
Hutchinson asked the General Assembly to recall House Bill 1228 and send him a bill that approximated the 1993 federal RFRA passed while Bill Clinton was in office.
Upon signing SB975 Thurs-day, Hutchinson said, “What the new law does is protect religious freedom, establish a framework for the courts and recognize the diversity of our culture and workforce.”
State Rep. Josh Miller (R-Heber Springs), speaking against SB975, which passed and was signed into law Thursday afternoon, accused Hutchinson of “hiding behind the legislature.”
Senate President Pro Tempe Jonathan Dismang (R-Searcy) says he’s not sure he agrees with Bennett that the first bill would have extended religious protections to corporations, PACS or groups wanting to shield certain behaviors under the flag of religious freedom.
Dismang said that when HB1228 came up in the Senate, he was busy working on the budget and accepted the representation that it mirrored the federal RFRA.
“The governor had asked the House to consider some amendments prior the uproar,” he said. That bill “opened up a whole new realm of possibilities and no one knew the outcome.”
“I’m comfortable with SB975,” he said. “The process was ugly, the outcome good.”
Both the bill Hutchinson rejected and the one he signed were passed by similar—and significant—margins, with SB975 passing the Senate 26-0 and the House 76-17.
In the House, Bennett, Rep. Karilyn Brown (R-Sher-wood), Rep. Bob Johnson (D- Jacksonville), Rep. Doug House (R-North Little Rock) and Rep. David Hillman (D-Almyra) voted in support of the bill.
Brown and Hillman were cosponsors.
Johnson didn’t vote for HB1228. “I felt like it opened the door for discrimination.”
He did vote for SB975, which mirrors the federal law.
Johnson said he would have preferred a bill like the one Indiana ended up with, which included a prohibition against discrimination, but that he can live the SB975.
“HB 1228 would have set us back 30 years,” Johnson said.
He said he was encouraged by the way both parties and both chambers and the governor worked together to get the new bill passed.
“I voted yes on HB1228, but no on SB975,” said Rep. Joe Farrer (R-Austin). He said both were good bills, with HB1228 a little stricter. He said he was prepared to vote for SB975 until state Rep. John Walker (D-Little Rock) rose on the House floor to say, “We have to thank the good people in the hallway.”
“That changed my mind,” Farrer said. “A lot of protesters called us names and spit on us,” he said.
“I might have taken it a little more personal than I should have.”
“I’m satisfied, I think we’re OK,” said Sen. Jane English (R-North Little Rock). English, a cosponsor of SB975, said there were some things in the original bill that the business community could have amended.
“I’m ecstatic,” said Sen. Eddie Joe Williams (R-Cabot). “It’s solid legislation for religious freedom for Arkansas. The first bill that went to the governor was a Rolls Royce. We ended up with a Cadillac.”
He said religious rights and the rights of LGBTs had to be balanced.
“Neither bill was a license to discriminate,” according to Brown. “When I was growing up I never dreamed a person’s religion could come under so much attack. I wouldn’t have thought to ask someone to do something that would bother his or her conscience.”
“The nice people in Indiana are just being abused,” Brown said. “My heart goes out to people that have religious convictions and then get sued. The bill doesn’t address specifically.”
Leader senior staff writer
Several local lawmakers were in the thick of the fray Wednesday and Thursday as the 90th General Assembly scrambled before adjourning to pass the “cleaner” Religious Freedom Restoration Act that Gov. Asa Hutchinson requested.
Hutchinson had said earlier in the week that he would sign House Bill 1228 as soon as he got it. But Arkansas got swept up along with Indiana’s legislature and governor in a whirlwind of bad press. Major corporations and even other states threatened to withhold business, travel and commerce over the bill, which purportedly would enable discrimination based on sexual orientation.
That’s when the governor pulled the plug on the first bill and asked for another one that reflected the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
His son, Seth, a Texas labor organizer, urged his father to veto the original bill and his nephew, state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, voted against it, but was lead sponsor for its replacement, SB975.
The bill was interpreted by many as allowing discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people under the flag of religious freedom.
Protests were held for several days at the state Capitol and a rabbi and several ministers held a prayer at the governor’s mansion.
While all the demonstrations and counter demonstraions made LGBT rights versus religious rights the focus, Rep. Camille Bennett (D-Lonoke) said there were other sinister dangers hidden in plain sight in first bill.
She was a co-sponsor of SB975.
“The primary force behind that bill was to extend religious freedom to political action committees, lobbyists and others who want to control our corporations and our governments,” Bennett said Friday.
She said that any limited-liability corporation, church, group or political action committee could claim a religious belief, and then protect any behavior as a religious freedom. She said that could even include Satanists.
“That’s what was behind the bill the whole time,” she said. “It became clear that biggest push was to extend this to private parties.”
Bennett suggested other areas of concern in HB1228.
“Once I’ve thrown my religion up, the state couldn’t stop me,” she said. “And if I sued Walmart for selling birth control, the state might have to pay attorney fees, court costs and damages for an action by Walmart.
“It could be a religion of one—one with marijuana as a sacrament, or a church of Satan or the Church of Camille,” Bennett said.
Before the House over-whelmingly passed HB1228—the version the governor rejected—Bennett, a lawyer, took to the well to speak out against the bill, saying it overreached and went well beyond the federal RFRA.
To deaf ears she suggested replacing it.
When Hutchinson sent it back in favor of a bill closely approximating that federal bill, there was a great outcry from legislators who believed the governor had promised to sign it.
“That’s when everybody started realizing it wasn’t the federal RFRA,” she said. “My impression is that the majority always thought it was the federal RFRA,” said Bennett, who tried to tell them earlier.
There was anger from some who felt that if Hutchinson wasn’t going to sign it, he should veto it, Bennett said. “That’s where the rub came.”
Walmart, based in Arkansas, spoke out against that bill, as did the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola and others said the bill would discourage people and commerce from locating to Arkansas.
Hutchinson asked the General Assembly to recall House Bill 1228 and send him a bill that approximated the 1993 federal RFRA passed while Bill Clinton was in office.
Upon signing SB975 Thurs-day, Hutchinson said, “What the new law does is protect religious freedom, establish a framework for the courts and recognize the diversity of our culture and workforce.”
State Rep. Josh Miller (R-Heber Springs), speaking against SB975, which passed and was signed into law Thursday afternoon, accused Hutchinson of “hiding behind the legislature.”
Senate President Pro Tempe Jonathan Dismang (R-Searcy) says he’s not sure he agrees with Bennett that the first bill would have extended religious protections to corporations, PACS or groups wanting to shield certain behaviors under the flag of religious freedom.
Dismang said that when HB1228 came up in the Senate, he was busy working on the budget and accepted the representation that it mirrored the federal RFRA.
“The governor had asked the House to consider some amendments prior the uproar,” he said. That bill “opened up a whole new realm of possibilities and no one knew the outcome.”
“I’m comfortable with SB975,” he said. “The process was ugly, the outcome good.”
Both the bill Hutchinson rejected and the one he signed were passed by similar—and significant—margins, with SB975 passing the Senate 26-0 and the House 76-17.
In the House, Bennett, Rep. Karilyn Brown (R-Sher-wood), Rep. Bob Johnson (D- Jacksonville), Rep. Doug House (R-North Little Rock) and Rep. David Hillman (D-Almyra) voted in support of the bill.
Brown and Hillman were cosponsors.
Johnson didn’t vote for HB1228. “I felt like it opened the door for discrimination.”
He did vote for SB975, which mirrors the federal law.
Johnson said he would have preferred a bill like the one Indiana ended up with, which included a prohibition against discrimination, but that he can live the SB975.
“HB 1228 would have set us back 30 years,” Johnson said.
He said he was encouraged by the way both parties and both chambers and the governor worked together to get the new bill passed.
“I voted yes on HB1228, but no on SB975,” said Rep. Joe Farrer (R-Austin). He said both were good bills, with HB1228 a little stricter. He said he was prepared to vote for SB975 until state Rep. John Walker (D-Little Rock) rose on the House floor to say, “We have to thank the good people in the hallway.”
“That changed my mind,” Farrer said. “A lot of protesters called us names and spit on us,” he said.
“I might have taken it a little more personal than I should have.”
“I’m satisfied, I think we’re OK,” said Sen. Jane English (R-North Little Rock). English, a cosponsor of SB975, said there were some things in the original bill that the business community could have amended.
“I’m ecstatic,” said Sen. Eddie Joe Williams (R-Cabot). “It’s solid legislation for religious freedom for Arkansas. The first bill that went to the governor was a Rolls Royce. We ended up with a Cadillac.”
He said religious rights and the rights of LGBTs had to be balanced.
“Neither bill was a license to discriminate,” according to Brown. “When I was growing up I never dreamed a person’s religion could come under so much attack. I wouldn’t have thought to ask someone to do something that would bother his or her conscience.”
“The nice people in Indiana are just being abused,” Brown said. “My heart goes out to people that have religious convictions and then get sued. The bill doesn’t address specifically.”
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
SPORTS STORY >> Youthful Panthers showing progress
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot baseball team went 1-2 in the final two days of the Central Arkansas Invitational tournament, losing 2-1 in extra innings to tournament host and champion Little Rock Catholic Friday morning, beating Alma 8-0 with a no-hitter from Chase Kyzer on Friday afternoon and falling 6-5 to Benton on Saturday, despite out-hitting the powerful fellow Panthers.
“I think we’re starting to play better baseball and making some good progress,” said Cabot coach Ronnie Goodwin. “Gavin Tillery has had two really good outings his last two games. Chase Kyzer is pitching really well. Gavin has 17 strikeouts in his last 15 innings. Kyzer I think has double-digit strikeouts in his last two starts. We’ve lost four ball games and three of them have been by one run. We’ve just been one or two plays in each of those games from winning them.”
Lanky left-hander Gavin Tillery retired the first 12 Rockets in order before a pair of singles and a sacrifice grounder by Catholic tied the game in the fifth inning.
Cabot took the lead in the top of the fifth on a one-out double by Evan Hooper and an RBI single by Tristan Bulice.
Tillery pitched all the way through the eighth inning before yielding to Eric Larsen in the bottom of the ninth. He gave up two singles to start the inning then walked the bases loaded with one out. Chris Musteen then hit a sacrifice grounder to shortstop to end the game.
Tillery gave up six hits and one earned run, striking out seven and walking one in eight full innings on the mound.
Catholic’s Evan Hiatt and Austin Chumley combined to give up seven hits to the Panthers; Denver Mullins and Easton Seidl picking up two hits apiece for Cabot.
On Friday evening, Kyzer averaged just 13 pitches per inning, struck out six and walked zero in five innings. The Panthers got two runs in the first and six more in the third, forcing an early stoppage to the game in the middle of the fifth.
Seven different Panthers got one base hit in the win over the Airedales. Jonathan Latture doubled in the sixth inning and Mullins got a triple for Cabot’s only extra base hits.
On Saturday, Cabot lost for the second time to the Benton Panthers, but competed much better than in the earlier 10-0 loss at Cabot.
The Cabot Panthers out-hit Benton 11-8 on Saturday, and took a quick 2-0 lead on a two-run home run by Bulice in the top of the first inning.
But Benton jumped on Hooper in the bottom of the same frame, getting three base hits and drawing three walks off the sophomore to jump ahead 4-2.
The score remained that way until Hooper doubled to center field and Larsen singled to drive him home in the top of the third, but again Benton answered in the bottom half.
Hooper walked Colby Johnson to start the inning, and then gave up a one-out single to Jack Jumper that made it 5-3 Benton.
Latture replaced Hooper on the mound in the fourth inning, and Benton added to its lead thanks to a single, a double and a Cabot error.
Cabot pulled to within one with two runs in the top of the fifth. Hooper hit a leadoff single then scored on a one-out base hit by Mullins. Brandon Jarnigan replaced Mullins on the base paths and scored on Benton’s second error of the inning to set the final margin.
Cabot threatened in the seventh with back-to-back one-out singles by Logan Kirkendoll and Blake McCutchen, but Kirkendoll was caught on the base paths and Latture struck out to end the game.
“We played much better than the first time we played Benton,” Goodwin said. “In fact, I think we played a pretty good game. We had some situations where we had opportunities to score, and just hit line drives right at people.
“We had runners moving on one of them and it turned into a double play, but that’s just baseball. You can’t ask for much more from your guys than to hit line drives. It just didn’t work out for us,” Goodwin said.
Cabot (4-4, 2-0) is off until Friday when it hosts Marion in another 7A/6A-East doubleheader.
Leader sports editor
The Cabot baseball team went 1-2 in the final two days of the Central Arkansas Invitational tournament, losing 2-1 in extra innings to tournament host and champion Little Rock Catholic Friday morning, beating Alma 8-0 with a no-hitter from Chase Kyzer on Friday afternoon and falling 6-5 to Benton on Saturday, despite out-hitting the powerful fellow Panthers.
“I think we’re starting to play better baseball and making some good progress,” said Cabot coach Ronnie Goodwin. “Gavin Tillery has had two really good outings his last two games. Chase Kyzer is pitching really well. Gavin has 17 strikeouts in his last 15 innings. Kyzer I think has double-digit strikeouts in his last two starts. We’ve lost four ball games and three of them have been by one run. We’ve just been one or two plays in each of those games from winning them.”
Lanky left-hander Gavin Tillery retired the first 12 Rockets in order before a pair of singles and a sacrifice grounder by Catholic tied the game in the fifth inning.
Cabot took the lead in the top of the fifth on a one-out double by Evan Hooper and an RBI single by Tristan Bulice.
Tillery pitched all the way through the eighth inning before yielding to Eric Larsen in the bottom of the ninth. He gave up two singles to start the inning then walked the bases loaded with one out. Chris Musteen then hit a sacrifice grounder to shortstop to end the game.
Tillery gave up six hits and one earned run, striking out seven and walking one in eight full innings on the mound.
Catholic’s Evan Hiatt and Austin Chumley combined to give up seven hits to the Panthers; Denver Mullins and Easton Seidl picking up two hits apiece for Cabot.
On Friday evening, Kyzer averaged just 13 pitches per inning, struck out six and walked zero in five innings. The Panthers got two runs in the first and six more in the third, forcing an early stoppage to the game in the middle of the fifth.
Seven different Panthers got one base hit in the win over the Airedales. Jonathan Latture doubled in the sixth inning and Mullins got a triple for Cabot’s only extra base hits.
On Saturday, Cabot lost for the second time to the Benton Panthers, but competed much better than in the earlier 10-0 loss at Cabot.
The Cabot Panthers out-hit Benton 11-8 on Saturday, and took a quick 2-0 lead on a two-run home run by Bulice in the top of the first inning.
But Benton jumped on Hooper in the bottom of the same frame, getting three base hits and drawing three walks off the sophomore to jump ahead 4-2.
The score remained that way until Hooper doubled to center field and Larsen singled to drive him home in the top of the third, but again Benton answered in the bottom half.
Hooper walked Colby Johnson to start the inning, and then gave up a one-out single to Jack Jumper that made it 5-3 Benton.
Latture replaced Hooper on the mound in the fourth inning, and Benton added to its lead thanks to a single, a double and a Cabot error.
Cabot pulled to within one with two runs in the top of the fifth. Hooper hit a leadoff single then scored on a one-out base hit by Mullins. Brandon Jarnigan replaced Mullins on the base paths and scored on Benton’s second error of the inning to set the final margin.
Cabot threatened in the seventh with back-to-back one-out singles by Logan Kirkendoll and Blake McCutchen, but Kirkendoll was caught on the base paths and Latture struck out to end the game.
“We played much better than the first time we played Benton,” Goodwin said. “In fact, I think we played a pretty good game. We had some situations where we had opportunities to score, and just hit line drives right at people.
“We had runners moving on one of them and it turned into a double play, but that’s just baseball. You can’t ask for much more from your guys than to hit line drives. It just didn’t work out for us,” Goodwin said.
Cabot (4-4, 2-0) is off until Friday when it hosts Marion in another 7A/6A-East doubleheader.
SPORTS STORY >> Beebe goes 2-1 in home games
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The Beebe Lady Badger softball team was unable to repeat as champions of the Beebe/Cabot Highway 67 Softball Tournament on Saturday at BHS, but did finish 2-1 in the tournament, with its only loss coming to eventual tournament champion, Benton.
Beebe (7-2) cruised to an easy 10-2 win over Manila in the first round of the tournament, but had a much tougher game in the second round. The Lady Badgers went to extra innings in their second-round game against Atkins.
The score was tied at 2-2 when the game went to extra innings, because the one hour, 20-minute time limit had expired. Beebe, though, put the game away in the seventh inning by scoring seven unanswered runs to beat Atkins, 9-2.
That put the Lady Badgers in the semifinals against Benton (9-1), where the Lady Panthers put an end to Beebe’s reign as the tournament champions, winning that game by the final score of 5-2.
It wasn’t the way the Lady Badgers and head coach Eric Chambers wanted to finish the tournament, but Chambers was pleased overall with the way his team played Saturday.
“We would’ve liked to have won the whole thing, but we got more quality games today than we’ve had all year,” said Chambers. “We played three good teams and I was pretty pleased with our effort. We hit the ball quite a bit today.
“We had some people out of place and out of position due to some kids not here today. So we weren’t playing in the same places we normally play. That being said, we had a chance to beat Benton there. We just had one bad inning. So, overall, it was a good effort.”
Beebe was missing a few players Saturday because of spring break trips. Against Benton, Beebe fell into a 3-0 hole in the first inning, but made it a one-run game with two runs scored in the top of the third.
The Lady Badgers got their first three batters on base to load them up at the start of the inning, but Benton’s Kylea Brimhall, a freshman, took to the circle in relief of Grace Bryant and struck out the first two Beebe batters she faced.
Ellie Reaves then came to the plate and delivered a two-out single up the middle, driving in teammates Calah Hill and Courtney Shepard, which cut Benton’s lead to 3-2.
Benton, though, got out of the inning the next at-bat with a routine pop-up, and added two more runs in the bottom part of the inning to set the final score. Beebe failed to score again its next at-bat in the top of the fourth, which ended the game because the time limit expired.
Brimhall got the win in the circle. She gave up two hits and recorded three strikeouts, and no earned runs because the two Beebe scored were charged to Bryant.
Benton narrowly outhit Beebe, 6-5. Six different Lady Panthers had hits Saturday, while Shepard and Baylee Halford led the Lady Badgers with two hits apiece.
Against Manila, Beebe racked up its 10 runs with one in the first inning, six in the third and three in the fourth. Halford led Beebe at the plate in that game as well, recording three hits – all singles.
Hill, Aleighu Porterfield and Megan Davlin also had multiple hits that game – recording two each. Reaves earned the win in the circle. She gave up only three hits, and recorded 10 strikeouts and no walks.
Against Atkins, Beebe overcame a 2-0 deficit by scoring two runs in the third inning, eventually sending the game to extra innings – where the Lady Badgers blew the game away with their seven runs scored in the seventh.
Six different Lady Badgers had multiple hits that game. Hill, Shepard, Porterfield, Reaves, Sydney Smith and Brittany Dalrymple each had two hits in that game.
Reaves once again earned the win in the circle. She gave up three hits, two walks and recorded 13 strikeouts.
The Lady Badgers played at Jacksonville in a 5A-Central Conference doubleheader last night after deadlines, and they’ll play again tomorrow at home in a nonconference game against Class 4A Brookland. Tomorrow’s game is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.
Leader sportswriter
The Beebe Lady Badger softball team was unable to repeat as champions of the Beebe/Cabot Highway 67 Softball Tournament on Saturday at BHS, but did finish 2-1 in the tournament, with its only loss coming to eventual tournament champion, Benton.
Beebe (7-2) cruised to an easy 10-2 win over Manila in the first round of the tournament, but had a much tougher game in the second round. The Lady Badgers went to extra innings in their second-round game against Atkins.
The score was tied at 2-2 when the game went to extra innings, because the one hour, 20-minute time limit had expired. Beebe, though, put the game away in the seventh inning by scoring seven unanswered runs to beat Atkins, 9-2.
That put the Lady Badgers in the semifinals against Benton (9-1), where the Lady Panthers put an end to Beebe’s reign as the tournament champions, winning that game by the final score of 5-2.
It wasn’t the way the Lady Badgers and head coach Eric Chambers wanted to finish the tournament, but Chambers was pleased overall with the way his team played Saturday.
“We would’ve liked to have won the whole thing, but we got more quality games today than we’ve had all year,” said Chambers. “We played three good teams and I was pretty pleased with our effort. We hit the ball quite a bit today.
“We had some people out of place and out of position due to some kids not here today. So we weren’t playing in the same places we normally play. That being said, we had a chance to beat Benton there. We just had one bad inning. So, overall, it was a good effort.”
Beebe was missing a few players Saturday because of spring break trips. Against Benton, Beebe fell into a 3-0 hole in the first inning, but made it a one-run game with two runs scored in the top of the third.
The Lady Badgers got their first three batters on base to load them up at the start of the inning, but Benton’s Kylea Brimhall, a freshman, took to the circle in relief of Grace Bryant and struck out the first two Beebe batters she faced.
Ellie Reaves then came to the plate and delivered a two-out single up the middle, driving in teammates Calah Hill and Courtney Shepard, which cut Benton’s lead to 3-2.
Benton, though, got out of the inning the next at-bat with a routine pop-up, and added two more runs in the bottom part of the inning to set the final score. Beebe failed to score again its next at-bat in the top of the fourth, which ended the game because the time limit expired.
Brimhall got the win in the circle. She gave up two hits and recorded three strikeouts, and no earned runs because the two Beebe scored were charged to Bryant.
Benton narrowly outhit Beebe, 6-5. Six different Lady Panthers had hits Saturday, while Shepard and Baylee Halford led the Lady Badgers with two hits apiece.
Against Manila, Beebe racked up its 10 runs with one in the first inning, six in the third and three in the fourth. Halford led Beebe at the plate in that game as well, recording three hits – all singles.
Hill, Aleighu Porterfield and Megan Davlin also had multiple hits that game – recording two each. Reaves earned the win in the circle. She gave up only three hits, and recorded 10 strikeouts and no walks.
Against Atkins, Beebe overcame a 2-0 deficit by scoring two runs in the third inning, eventually sending the game to extra innings – where the Lady Badgers blew the game away with their seven runs scored in the seventh.
Six different Lady Badgers had multiple hits that game. Hill, Shepard, Porterfield, Reaves, Sydney Smith and Brittany Dalrymple each had two hits in that game.
Reaves once again earned the win in the circle. She gave up three hits, two walks and recorded 13 strikeouts.
The Lady Badgers played at Jacksonville in a 5A-Central Conference doubleheader last night after deadlines, and they’ll play again tomorrow at home in a nonconference game against Class 4A Brookland. Tomorrow’s game is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.
SPORTS STORY >> Red Devil pitching shuts out Badgers
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Red Devils followed a 2-2 performance at the Central Arkansas Invitational over the weekend with a 5A-Central doubleheader sweep of Beebe on Monday. The Red Devils’ pitching has been on a tear since dropping a 12-9 decision to CAI host and champion Catholic High, giving up one base hit in three games. Caleb McMunn no-hit Conway in the third-place game at the CAI but still took a 3-0 loss.
On Monday, Derek St. Clair threw a one-hitter in a 2-0 victory at home against Beebe, and James Tucker threw a six-inning no-hitter against the Badgers in a 12-0 win.
In game one on Monday, Jacksonville got just enough off Beebe ace Angus Denton to pick up the victory. The first run came in the first inning. Ryan Mallison reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a base hit by Greg Jones.
Jacksonville got at least one hit in every inning but the sixth, including two in the fourth, but couldn’t capitalize again until the fifth, when three-straight one-out singles loaded the bases for Jones, who bunted to squeeze in the game’s final run.
Beebe’s John Finley doubled to left field in the fourth inning for the Badgers’ only hit. St. Clair struck out 12, walked three and hit one batter in seven innings of work.
Denton gave up seven hits while striking out five and walking none.
In game two, Beebe pitcher Eric Brown gave up a leadoff triple to Courtland McDonald to start the game. He scored on the next at-bat when Mallison grounded out to second base, but Brown gave up just two more hits over the next three innings before giving up two runs in the fourth.
Tucker hit a leadoff double and advanced to third on a base hit by St. Clair. After St. Clair stole second, Brandon Hickingbotham got a two-RBI base hit to make it 3-0.
The Red Devils tacked on five more runs to blow the game open in the fifth, and did it on just one base hit. Mallison hit a one-out double to straightaway center field to start the rally. McMunn then reached on a fielder’s choice at third that failed to get Mallison, leaving runners safe on the corners. Greg Jones walked to load the bases and Tucker walked to drive in a run. St. Clair then hit a ball to left field that was mishandled, clearing the bases and leaving St. Clair safe at third.
Jacksonville ended the game early in the sixth inning when Beebe pitching fell apart and couldn’t find the strike zone. Jacksonville scored four more runs on one base hit, four walks and two hit batters.
Tucker’s no-hitter came with eight strikeouts and one walk, which came with two outs in the final inning, spoiling a perfect game.
Despite the 12 runs in game two on Monday, Jacksonville’s hitting hasn’t been as good as coach Larry Burrows would like to see.
“I thought we swung fairly well against Denton,” Burrows said. “They’re capable of beating anybody with him on the mound. The other games I haven’t liked. I don’t think we’ve hit like we’re capable. I think the Conway game was partly just a matter of seven games in about eight days. But he doesn’t even pitch for them. They threw their third baseman at us and we didn’t hit at all.”
Jacksonville (5-5, 2-0) hit the ball hard and often in its first three games of the CAI, beating Alma 14-2, North Little Rock 14-2 and losing 12-9 to Catholic after jumping out to a 7-0 lead.
Laderrious Perry hit two home runs against Catholic – one to the power alley in left-center field and another to straightaway center.
Jacksonville got 15 base hits in the win over North Little Rock, including five doubles. Mallison went 3 for 4 with a double and five RBIs. Hickingbotham went 3 for 3 while D.J. Scott, Perry and McDonald all got multiple base hits.
In the third-place game, McMunn did his best Nuke Laloosh impression in pitching the no-hitter. He struck out eight Wampus Cats, but also walked six and threw numerous wild pitches. Conway’s first two runs came in the second inning when McMunn struck out the side. He also walked two, threw two wild pitches and Jacksonville committed a fielding error that allowed two runners to score.
The final run came after a walk and two wild pitches left a runner at third. A sacrifice grounder scored the run to set the final margin.
Beebe hosts Little Rock Christian Academy in a nonconference game at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Jacksonville plays North Little Rock again at 5 p.m. today at Dupree Park.
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Red Devils followed a 2-2 performance at the Central Arkansas Invitational over the weekend with a 5A-Central doubleheader sweep of Beebe on Monday. The Red Devils’ pitching has been on a tear since dropping a 12-9 decision to CAI host and champion Catholic High, giving up one base hit in three games. Caleb McMunn no-hit Conway in the third-place game at the CAI but still took a 3-0 loss.
On Monday, Derek St. Clair threw a one-hitter in a 2-0 victory at home against Beebe, and James Tucker threw a six-inning no-hitter against the Badgers in a 12-0 win.
In game one on Monday, Jacksonville got just enough off Beebe ace Angus Denton to pick up the victory. The first run came in the first inning. Ryan Mallison reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a base hit by Greg Jones.
Jacksonville got at least one hit in every inning but the sixth, including two in the fourth, but couldn’t capitalize again until the fifth, when three-straight one-out singles loaded the bases for Jones, who bunted to squeeze in the game’s final run.
Beebe’s John Finley doubled to left field in the fourth inning for the Badgers’ only hit. St. Clair struck out 12, walked three and hit one batter in seven innings of work.
Denton gave up seven hits while striking out five and walking none.
In game two, Beebe pitcher Eric Brown gave up a leadoff triple to Courtland McDonald to start the game. He scored on the next at-bat when Mallison grounded out to second base, but Brown gave up just two more hits over the next three innings before giving up two runs in the fourth.
Tucker hit a leadoff double and advanced to third on a base hit by St. Clair. After St. Clair stole second, Brandon Hickingbotham got a two-RBI base hit to make it 3-0.
The Red Devils tacked on five more runs to blow the game open in the fifth, and did it on just one base hit. Mallison hit a one-out double to straightaway center field to start the rally. McMunn then reached on a fielder’s choice at third that failed to get Mallison, leaving runners safe on the corners. Greg Jones walked to load the bases and Tucker walked to drive in a run. St. Clair then hit a ball to left field that was mishandled, clearing the bases and leaving St. Clair safe at third.
Jacksonville ended the game early in the sixth inning when Beebe pitching fell apart and couldn’t find the strike zone. Jacksonville scored four more runs on one base hit, four walks and two hit batters.
Tucker’s no-hitter came with eight strikeouts and one walk, which came with two outs in the final inning, spoiling a perfect game.
Despite the 12 runs in game two on Monday, Jacksonville’s hitting hasn’t been as good as coach Larry Burrows would like to see.
“I thought we swung fairly well against Denton,” Burrows said. “They’re capable of beating anybody with him on the mound. The other games I haven’t liked. I don’t think we’ve hit like we’re capable. I think the Conway game was partly just a matter of seven games in about eight days. But he doesn’t even pitch for them. They threw their third baseman at us and we didn’t hit at all.”
Jacksonville (5-5, 2-0) hit the ball hard and often in its first three games of the CAI, beating Alma 14-2, North Little Rock 14-2 and losing 12-9 to Catholic after jumping out to a 7-0 lead.
Laderrious Perry hit two home runs against Catholic – one to the power alley in left-center field and another to straightaway center.
Jacksonville got 15 base hits in the win over North Little Rock, including five doubles. Mallison went 3 for 4 with a double and five RBIs. Hickingbotham went 3 for 3 while D.J. Scott, Perry and McDonald all got multiple base hits.
In the third-place game, McMunn did his best Nuke Laloosh impression in pitching the no-hitter. He struck out eight Wampus Cats, but also walked six and threw numerous wild pitches. Conway’s first two runs came in the second inning when McMunn struck out the side. He also walked two, threw two wild pitches and Jacksonville committed a fielding error that allowed two runners to score.
The final run came after a walk and two wild pitches left a runner at third. A sacrifice grounder scored the run to set the final margin.
Beebe hosts Little Rock Christian Academy in a nonconference game at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Jacksonville plays North Little Rock again at 5 p.m. today at Dupree Park.
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