By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panthers will attempt to take their first step back to War Memorial Stadium on Friday when they host Fort Smith Southside in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs.
The Panthers (10-0) earned a first-round bye, and will host the Rebels after they beat Catholic 38-35 last Friday in Fort Smith.
Southside (7-4) doesn’t have the stellar record that Cabot does, but has played a much tougher schedule. It’s a fact not lost on Panther coach Mike Malham.
“They’re not going to be in awe of us after the schedule they’ve played,” said Malham. “The four games they’ve lost have been to four of the best programs in the entire state.”
Southside, the four seed from the 7A-West, lost 38-31 in week two to Greenwood and opened conference play with back-to-back road losses at Bentonville and Fayetteville.
After beating Rogers and Rogers Heritage, the Rebels suffered their worst loss of the season, 38-0, at home to 7A-West champion Springdale Har-Ber. Since then, they have beaten Springdale 24-7, Fort Smith Northside 22-15 and last week’s playoff game against Catholic.
The Panthers ended the regular season with four starters sidelined with injuries. All of them, including three defensive starters, will be back in action this week.
Senior Lino Garcia and sophomore Dayonte Roberts return on the defensive line. Senior Luke Ferguson is back after missing three games on the offensive line. Junior linebacker Cody Nabors also returns after missing almost the entire season since suffering a broken collarbone in the first game of the season.
“We’re healthy,” Malham said. “I can’t think of anyone we don’t have back, so we have to get ready to play. They’ve played as good as there is in the state, so we’re going to have to play. It’s a tough second-round game.”
Southside has piled up the yardage in the last few games, mostly on the ground. The Rebels go mostly out of the spread, but have run a few power formations in recent games.
Quarterback Cooper Johnson has rushed for more than 200 yards per game the last two games. The Rebels had 520 total yards against Catholic, and 412 of that came on the ground.
“That quarterback is a good runner,” Malham said. “They’re big up front and they spread you out. They run most of the time, but those receivers are out there so you have to cover them. They’ve put up a lot of points in the last three games. It’s going to be a challenge.”
While some coaches don’t like a week off, Malham says the extra week to get rested and healthy is worth the risk of getting rusty.
“Does it help or hurt, we’ll find out Friday night,” Malham said. “I don’t think you can get that stale missing one week when you’ve been playing for 10. It gave us a chance to get rested up with some of these kids who’ve been banged up.”
The Panthers have piled up some big numbers this season as well. Four players have more than 500 yards rushing.
Junior quarterback Jarrod Barnes has carried 93 times for 1,010 yards.
Junior fullback Alex Roberts could break the 1,000-yard barrier this week, and almost certainly will if the Panthers again next week. He has 841 on the season.
Junior halfback Austin Morse has carried for 511 yards and sophomore halfback Adam Flores has rushed for 505 yards.
Senior Kolton Eads has carried for 401 yards despite also playing full time on defense.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
SPORTS STORY >> Jacksonville wins opener against WM
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville basketball team opened its season with a 67-61 win over West Memphis on Friday. The inexperienced Red Devils are still a work in progress, according to head coach Vic Joyner, but played as well as can be expected on Friday.
“A win is a win,” Joyner said. “It’s all on the job training right now. Everything right now is about getting ready for conference. Win, lose or draw, I don’t care. It’s all about conference. We aren’t ready to compete for a championship in this league right now, so we’re using this part of the season to try and get where we need to be to do that.”
The two teams stayed neck-and-neck through three quarters. The Red Devils led 31-30 at halftime, and the score was tied 43-43 at the end of the third period, but guard play made the difference in the fourth quarter.
Junior Tyree Appleby scored half of his team-high 20 points in the final frame, including hitting 4 of 4 free-throw attempts. Senior LaQuawn Smith scored nine of his 13 total points in the fourth quarter as well. Junior DeJuan Ridgeway also scored 13 points, including six in the third period when the Red Devils managed just 12 total.
“Guard play was stellar,” Joyner said. “We know we’re going to have to depend on the guards because we’re so small and inexperienced on the inside. The size is one thing, but we only have one player who really knows how to play the position. Big Mo (senior Maurice Lambert) played well. But we have people that just don’t know the position. We’re losing leverage, little things that it’s going to take a while before we can do it at game speed. If you wait for the post man to post up before you start playing post defense, you’re already halfway beat. We just have to learn those things and it’s going to take time.”
Lambert finished with eight points and Chris Williams contributed five to account for all but two of Jacksonville’s points in the paint. Antoine Davis and Harderrious Martin each hit a 3-pointer apiece to round out the Red Devils’ scoring.
West Memphis dropped to 0-2 after losing 56-46 last Tuesday at Little Rock Hall. The Blue Devils were led by guard Gary Ward’s game-high 21 points. Tevin Musley added 11 for West Memphis.
Jacksonville played at home against Hot Springs after Leader deadlines, and will play Forrest City at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Searcy Bank Classic at Searcy High School. The Jacksonville boys will play the tournament host at 4:30 Saturday.
The Lady Devils (2-3) lost on Friday. They play in the Bank Classic at 4:30 p.m. Thursday against Blytheville. They will play Batesville at 4:30 p.m. Friday and Searcy at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville basketball team opened its season with a 67-61 win over West Memphis on Friday. The inexperienced Red Devils are still a work in progress, according to head coach Vic Joyner, but played as well as can be expected on Friday.
“A win is a win,” Joyner said. “It’s all on the job training right now. Everything right now is about getting ready for conference. Win, lose or draw, I don’t care. It’s all about conference. We aren’t ready to compete for a championship in this league right now, so we’re using this part of the season to try and get where we need to be to do that.”
The two teams stayed neck-and-neck through three quarters. The Red Devils led 31-30 at halftime, and the score was tied 43-43 at the end of the third period, but guard play made the difference in the fourth quarter.
Junior Tyree Appleby scored half of his team-high 20 points in the final frame, including hitting 4 of 4 free-throw attempts. Senior LaQuawn Smith scored nine of his 13 total points in the fourth quarter as well. Junior DeJuan Ridgeway also scored 13 points, including six in the third period when the Red Devils managed just 12 total.
“Guard play was stellar,” Joyner said. “We know we’re going to have to depend on the guards because we’re so small and inexperienced on the inside. The size is one thing, but we only have one player who really knows how to play the position. Big Mo (senior Maurice Lambert) played well. But we have people that just don’t know the position. We’re losing leverage, little things that it’s going to take a while before we can do it at game speed. If you wait for the post man to post up before you start playing post defense, you’re already halfway beat. We just have to learn those things and it’s going to take time.”
Lambert finished with eight points and Chris Williams contributed five to account for all but two of Jacksonville’s points in the paint. Antoine Davis and Harderrious Martin each hit a 3-pointer apiece to round out the Red Devils’ scoring.
West Memphis dropped to 0-2 after losing 56-46 last Tuesday at Little Rock Hall. The Blue Devils were led by guard Gary Ward’s game-high 21 points. Tevin Musley added 11 for West Memphis.
Jacksonville played at home against Hot Springs after Leader deadlines, and will play Forrest City at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Searcy Bank Classic at Searcy High School. The Jacksonville boys will play the tournament host at 4:30 Saturday.
The Lady Devils (2-3) lost on Friday. They play in the Bank Classic at 4:30 p.m. Thursday against Blytheville. They will play Batesville at 4:30 p.m. Friday and Searcy at 6 p.m. Saturday.
EDITORIAL >> Arkansas says no to refugees
Gov. Hutchinson’s announcement Monday that Syrian refugees are not welcome here came as no surprise after Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris and the disclosure that at least one of the attackers sneaked in from Syria with a wave of refugees fleeing the Assad regime.
We have not welcomed refugees here since the Vietnamese boat people arrived here in the 1970s. Arkansans have been weary of refugees since the Cubans rioted at Fort Chafee in Fort Smith in 1980. They turned into law-abiding, hard-working citizens and were accepted partly out of guilt that we abandoned them to communists, who still rule Vietnam and Cuba.
Western Europe may not close its borders completely, but it will slow the movement of people, while several eastern European countries, just like Arkansas and more than 20 other states, are now keeping out all immigrants.
More than a million refugees have migrated to Europe this year alone, mostly from the Middle East. Terrorists who sneak into Europe represent less than one hundredth of a percent from among genuine refugees escaping Arab tyranny. That’s a tiny fraction, but enough to jeopardize the chances of millions of law-abiding Muslims from making it to freedom.
European governments are overwhelmed trying to keep up with terror cells inside their borders and in neighboring countries, whose porous borders make it easy for terrorists to move across continents.
Terrorists have been all over the map this year in France, starting in January with the Charlie Hebdo massacre when a dozen people were killed and an attack on the kosher supermarket, where four died.
Three U.S. servicemen were praised for their heroism when they jumped a knife-wielding maniac on a train in France in August, preventing a massacre. Other plots have been interrupted, but sadly not all.
Next year’s presidential race is shaping into a contest over who will be toughest on Arab extremists. So far, Donald Trump has been the loudest, and he’s been doing a victory lap ever since the weekend attacks in Paris, which French President Francoise Hollande said had been “planned in Syria, organized in Belgium, perpetrated on our soil with French complicity.”
In the U.S, the presidential candidates who oppose immigration now stand a better chance of winning, particularly Donald Trump, whose campaign has surged thanks to anti-immigrant sentiment.
Trump’s campaign took off months ago thanks to his anti-immigration rhetoric, and now about half of Republican voters say they prefer Trump over other GOP candidates. Unless next year’s primaries slow his march toward the Republican nomination, Trump could be the main beneficiary of Friday’s massacre unless the candidates now trailing him come up with realistic proposals on how to fight the war on terror. Few Republicans, and none of the Democratic candidates, want to send U.S. troops into Syria.
Our Arab allies are doing nothing as ISIS expands in Syria and Iraq. Right-wing politicians in Europe could win national elections, especially in France, where anti-Muslim sentiment is strongest. Politicians will wage war on the refugees and and promise to destroy the terrorists with Kalishnikov rifles and suicide belts who are indistinguishable from the mostly young refugees streaming into Europe.
Politicians are desperate to prevent the next wave of attacks. President Obama is getting his share of criticism for not hitting ISIS stronger. But until the Arab nations stand up to terror, international summits will not stop the barbarians. They will lose, but words alone will not defeat them.
We have not welcomed refugees here since the Vietnamese boat people arrived here in the 1970s. Arkansans have been weary of refugees since the Cubans rioted at Fort Chafee in Fort Smith in 1980. They turned into law-abiding, hard-working citizens and were accepted partly out of guilt that we abandoned them to communists, who still rule Vietnam and Cuba.
Western Europe may not close its borders completely, but it will slow the movement of people, while several eastern European countries, just like Arkansas and more than 20 other states, are now keeping out all immigrants.
More than a million refugees have migrated to Europe this year alone, mostly from the Middle East. Terrorists who sneak into Europe represent less than one hundredth of a percent from among genuine refugees escaping Arab tyranny. That’s a tiny fraction, but enough to jeopardize the chances of millions of law-abiding Muslims from making it to freedom.
European governments are overwhelmed trying to keep up with terror cells inside their borders and in neighboring countries, whose porous borders make it easy for terrorists to move across continents.
Terrorists have been all over the map this year in France, starting in January with the Charlie Hebdo massacre when a dozen people were killed and an attack on the kosher supermarket, where four died.
Three U.S. servicemen were praised for their heroism when they jumped a knife-wielding maniac on a train in France in August, preventing a massacre. Other plots have been interrupted, but sadly not all.
Next year’s presidential race is shaping into a contest over who will be toughest on Arab extremists. So far, Donald Trump has been the loudest, and he’s been doing a victory lap ever since the weekend attacks in Paris, which French President Francoise Hollande said had been “planned in Syria, organized in Belgium, perpetrated on our soil with French complicity.”
In the U.S, the presidential candidates who oppose immigration now stand a better chance of winning, particularly Donald Trump, whose campaign has surged thanks to anti-immigrant sentiment.
Trump’s campaign took off months ago thanks to his anti-immigration rhetoric, and now about half of Republican voters say they prefer Trump over other GOP candidates. Unless next year’s primaries slow his march toward the Republican nomination, Trump could be the main beneficiary of Friday’s massacre unless the candidates now trailing him come up with realistic proposals on how to fight the war on terror. Few Republicans, and none of the Democratic candidates, want to send U.S. troops into Syria.
Our Arab allies are doing nothing as ISIS expands in Syria and Iraq. Right-wing politicians in Europe could win national elections, especially in France, where anti-Muslim sentiment is strongest. Politicians will wage war on the refugees and and promise to destroy the terrorists with Kalishnikov rifles and suicide belts who are indistinguishable from the mostly young refugees streaming into Europe.
Politicians are desperate to prevent the next wave of attacks. President Obama is getting his share of criticism for not hitting ISIS stronger. But until the Arab nations stand up to terror, international summits will not stop the barbarians. They will lose, but words alone will not defeat them.
TOP STORY >> Tax would support bus service
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
Jacksonville and Sherwood residents could get their first taste of local bus service, as well as increased commuter express bus service to Little Rock in the morning and back at the end of the work day if Rock Region Metro gets the one-quarter percent sales tax increase it seeks.
That’s according Jarod Varner, executive director of the bus service, formerly known as Central Arkansas Transit Authority.
SUPER MAJORITY
It won’t be easy, however. First, a super majority of the Pulaski County Quorum Court—at least 10 justices—must approve an ordinance to put the increase on the March 1 primary election, then a majority of those voting need to pass the increase.
Nine quorum court members voted last week to put the issue to a vote Nov. 24, but some do not seem committed to voting to put the increase on the ballot.
Aaron Robinson, the Jacksonville area JP, voted against it.
The most recent countywide attempt to raise taxes—in this case to build new jail beds—failed substantially in 2007.
Jacksonville-area residents will vote on a millage increase at a special election in February and may not be in the mood to raise sales tax to bring bus service.
The study that led to the current plan and need for more revenue was kicked off in July 2014.
LOCAL SHUTTLE SERVICE
“Sherwood and Jacksonville will have their first ever local shuttle service, from point A to point B with the city, not just express service to and from Little Rock.
Both the buses and the routes will be smaller and more nimble,” Varner said.
“We’ll work with the cities to determine what the route would look like. It would run on a schedule, but be flexible, with the ability to stop at homes of those with disabilities.
Not only would it be easier for residents to get around Jacksonville and Sherwood, but the shuttles would also meet up with the express buses for transfers to or from Little Rock.
Right now, there are two morning bus trips from Little Rock to Jacksonville and Sherwood and back, and three at the end of the workday.
Varner said he’d like the express buses running until 8 or 9 p.m., because fewer people work an 8-5 shift.
UNACCEPTABLE SERVICE
“This is an unacceptable level of service,” Varner said.
Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher said he hadn’t been briefed on the proposed changes, but that Jacksonville would like to have more service.
“In McAlmont, we want to offer a flex zone,” Varner said, with even smaller vehicles to pick people up at homes and take them elsewhere in their neighborhood. It would also connect them with a mini-hub on McCain Boulevard, where riders could transfer to a bus into Little Rock.
If the increase passes, Rock Region Metro revenues will increase about $18.2 million a year. Currently it gets about $12.5 million a year from the county, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Maumelle, Sherwood and Jacksonville combined, plus about $5 million to $6 million a year from the federal government towards operations and capital improvements, including buying new buses.
KEEP RESIDENTS AT HOME
“Lack of transportation is the big reason people are moved out of their homes and into nursing homes,” he said. “We are working with AARP.
Referring the to state Highway Department’s controversial 30-Crossing plan to rebuild the I-30 bridge over the Arkansas River and expand it to 10 lanes, Varner said there’s little in the plan to accommodate mass transit, like buses or “bus light rail.”
He said it was possible for dedicated bus or HOV lanes on hardened shoulders to help mass transit.
Varner said Rock Region Metro currently operates about 60 buses on 26 fixed routes and would like to add about 5 routes—a couple of east-west routes in North Little Rock so people don’t have to come to the Little Rock Transit Center and then back to North Little Rock to move from one side of town to the other.
Another possibility would be an express route from West Little Rock to downtown Little Rock.
If they get the additional revenues, ridership is projected to increase 30 percent to 40 percent, with about 12 to 18 additional buses.
WI-FI ON BOARD
All buses now boast Wi-Fi and several newer buses run on compressed natural gas, a less expensive and more efficient fuel.
Varner said Rock Region Metro is also talking with Little Rock Air Force Base to determine how to better serve airmen.
“We are seeing major demographic changes,” and trying to respond to them, Varner said. “The baby boomers, as they age, it’s critical they have transportation when they have to give up the keys.
“They still need to get to the doctor’s office, the grocery store and pharmacy, to visit friends or get to the library or theater.”
Leader senior staff writer
Jacksonville and Sherwood residents could get their first taste of local bus service, as well as increased commuter express bus service to Little Rock in the morning and back at the end of the work day if Rock Region Metro gets the one-quarter percent sales tax increase it seeks.
That’s according Jarod Varner, executive director of the bus service, formerly known as Central Arkansas Transit Authority.
SUPER MAJORITY
It won’t be easy, however. First, a super majority of the Pulaski County Quorum Court—at least 10 justices—must approve an ordinance to put the increase on the March 1 primary election, then a majority of those voting need to pass the increase.
Nine quorum court members voted last week to put the issue to a vote Nov. 24, but some do not seem committed to voting to put the increase on the ballot.
Aaron Robinson, the Jacksonville area JP, voted against it.
The most recent countywide attempt to raise taxes—in this case to build new jail beds—failed substantially in 2007.
Jacksonville-area residents will vote on a millage increase at a special election in February and may not be in the mood to raise sales tax to bring bus service.
The study that led to the current plan and need for more revenue was kicked off in July 2014.
LOCAL SHUTTLE SERVICE
“Sherwood and Jacksonville will have their first ever local shuttle service, from point A to point B with the city, not just express service to and from Little Rock.
Both the buses and the routes will be smaller and more nimble,” Varner said.
“We’ll work with the cities to determine what the route would look like. It would run on a schedule, but be flexible, with the ability to stop at homes of those with disabilities.
Not only would it be easier for residents to get around Jacksonville and Sherwood, but the shuttles would also meet up with the express buses for transfers to or from Little Rock.
Right now, there are two morning bus trips from Little Rock to Jacksonville and Sherwood and back, and three at the end of the workday.
Varner said he’d like the express buses running until 8 or 9 p.m., because fewer people work an 8-5 shift.
UNACCEPTABLE SERVICE
“This is an unacceptable level of service,” Varner said.
Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher said he hadn’t been briefed on the proposed changes, but that Jacksonville would like to have more service.
“In McAlmont, we want to offer a flex zone,” Varner said, with even smaller vehicles to pick people up at homes and take them elsewhere in their neighborhood. It would also connect them with a mini-hub on McCain Boulevard, where riders could transfer to a bus into Little Rock.
If the increase passes, Rock Region Metro revenues will increase about $18.2 million a year. Currently it gets about $12.5 million a year from the county, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Maumelle, Sherwood and Jacksonville combined, plus about $5 million to $6 million a year from the federal government towards operations and capital improvements, including buying new buses.
KEEP RESIDENTS AT HOME
“Lack of transportation is the big reason people are moved out of their homes and into nursing homes,” he said. “We are working with AARP.
Referring the to state Highway Department’s controversial 30-Crossing plan to rebuild the I-30 bridge over the Arkansas River and expand it to 10 lanes, Varner said there’s little in the plan to accommodate mass transit, like buses or “bus light rail.”
He said it was possible for dedicated bus or HOV lanes on hardened shoulders to help mass transit.
Varner said Rock Region Metro currently operates about 60 buses on 26 fixed routes and would like to add about 5 routes—a couple of east-west routes in North Little Rock so people don’t have to come to the Little Rock Transit Center and then back to North Little Rock to move from one side of town to the other.
Another possibility would be an express route from West Little Rock to downtown Little Rock.
If they get the additional revenues, ridership is projected to increase 30 percent to 40 percent, with about 12 to 18 additional buses.
WI-FI ON BOARD
All buses now boast Wi-Fi and several newer buses run on compressed natural gas, a less expensive and more efficient fuel.
Varner said Rock Region Metro is also talking with Little Rock Air Force Base to determine how to better serve airmen.
“We are seeing major demographic changes,” and trying to respond to them, Varner said. “The baby boomers, as they age, it’s critical they have transportation when they have to give up the keys.
“They still need to get to the doctor’s office, the grocery store and pharmacy, to visit friends or get to the library or theater.”
TOP STORY >> Director agrees to repay $21,000
By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
Beebe Parks and Recreation Director Lynn Hatcher agreed in a special city council meeting Monday to return the overpayment of a $21,000 vehicle reimbursement at $500 a month until it is repaid in full. The payment of $1,000 a month instead of $500 for the past 42 months was due to a clerical error, the council was told.
“I have a proposal to the council for a repayment for those funds — not that I am guilty of anything, but it is the right thing to do,” Hatcher said.
The proposal of repayment was a week after the overpayment was noticed and discussed during a 2016 budget meeting. The council voted unanimously Nov. 9 to fire Hatcher, but Mayor Mike Robertson vetoed that decision the following day.
On Monday, the council made a motion to accept Hatcher’s proposal and unanimously voted for it. The $500 will come out of Hatcher’s monthly paycheck.
The city will purchase a 2016 Dodge crew cab pickup for $24,473 for the Beebe Parks Department. Hatcher will use his truck without a vehicle reimbursement until the new parks’ truck arrives. Every month that he drives his vehicle will be a repayment to the city in lieu for $500 for up to three months. When the truck arrives, the money will be deducted from his check.
On Tuesday, Alderman David Pruitt told The Leader, “I am thankful that Lynn Hatcher is returning the money back to the citizens of Beebe.”
Alderman Linda Anthony thanked Hatcher for offering his proposal.
Alderman Matthew Duggar said, “(Hatcher) in doing this, shows everyone at this table how much you love this city. It takes a lot of guts to sit here and do this. Thank you and we’re glad we can continue to work with you.”
City Clerk/Treasurer Carol Westergren said, “I truly believe it was a data entry error. We had a new system. I am sorry the mistake happened. I am sorry it was not caught earlier. As we mature in our roles, we learn what folks need to do to deal with the budget.
“This year we came up with a spreadsheet and thought it would be easier for you all to understand how people were making what they were making so it would be easier to explain to employees that along with their salary that they were getting these benefits, which is part of their package,” she said.
“That is how this was discovered. I truly wished this had not happened. I truly wished we did this spreadsheet three years ago. We are only human. We handle a lot of things in our office. I am truly sorry. Mistakes happen,” Westergren said.
Mayor Robertson chastised The Leader in a prepared speech for its coverage of the parks director story.
Anthony also criticized this reporter for his reporting.
She claimed people were spreading lies. Anthony said she works in Little Rock and Alderman Pruitt brought shame to Beebe with his accusations. Anthony called Pruitt a coward and said his motives were politically motivated for his re-election in 2016.
Anthony said that on Tuesday before last Hatcher did offer to repay the money, saying, “‘I’d rather keep my job, if I had to pay the money back.’ Was I the only one that heard that?” Anthony asked.
Several aldermen said they heard Hatcher’s remark, but at that time no council member made a motion for him to repay the money.
Robertson said there had been questions about how Hatcher was handling gate and concession money.
Westergren said when Hatcher was hired, the city put new procedures in place because of a problems under a previous parks director. Two people would audit the gate and concession money and take it to the bank.
She said she hired two employees before Hatcher was hired. Hatcher retained them. The two employees from 2012-14 signed off on every audit sheet and one of them took the money to the bank. It was then dropped off in a lock box.
Westergren’s department head, and both of the two employees, had that key.
Hatcher did not have those keys. She said either she or one of her staff members picked up the money bag in the morning.
“In my opinion, there is no way Lynn could have stolen from the gate, the concession or the pool,” Westergren said.
Leader staff writer
Beebe Parks and Recreation Director Lynn Hatcher agreed in a special city council meeting Monday to return the overpayment of a $21,000 vehicle reimbursement at $500 a month until it is repaid in full. The payment of $1,000 a month instead of $500 for the past 42 months was due to a clerical error, the council was told.
“I have a proposal to the council for a repayment for those funds — not that I am guilty of anything, but it is the right thing to do,” Hatcher said.
The proposal of repayment was a week after the overpayment was noticed and discussed during a 2016 budget meeting. The council voted unanimously Nov. 9 to fire Hatcher, but Mayor Mike Robertson vetoed that decision the following day.
On Monday, the council made a motion to accept Hatcher’s proposal and unanimously voted for it. The $500 will come out of Hatcher’s monthly paycheck.
The city will purchase a 2016 Dodge crew cab pickup for $24,473 for the Beebe Parks Department. Hatcher will use his truck without a vehicle reimbursement until the new parks’ truck arrives. Every month that he drives his vehicle will be a repayment to the city in lieu for $500 for up to three months. When the truck arrives, the money will be deducted from his check.
On Tuesday, Alderman David Pruitt told The Leader, “I am thankful that Lynn Hatcher is returning the money back to the citizens of Beebe.”
Alderman Linda Anthony thanked Hatcher for offering his proposal.
Alderman Matthew Duggar said, “(Hatcher) in doing this, shows everyone at this table how much you love this city. It takes a lot of guts to sit here and do this. Thank you and we’re glad we can continue to work with you.”
City Clerk/Treasurer Carol Westergren said, “I truly believe it was a data entry error. We had a new system. I am sorry the mistake happened. I am sorry it was not caught earlier. As we mature in our roles, we learn what folks need to do to deal with the budget.
“This year we came up with a spreadsheet and thought it would be easier for you all to understand how people were making what they were making so it would be easier to explain to employees that along with their salary that they were getting these benefits, which is part of their package,” she said.
“That is how this was discovered. I truly wished this had not happened. I truly wished we did this spreadsheet three years ago. We are only human. We handle a lot of things in our office. I am truly sorry. Mistakes happen,” Westergren said.
Mayor Robertson chastised The Leader in a prepared speech for its coverage of the parks director story.
Anthony also criticized this reporter for his reporting.
She claimed people were spreading lies. Anthony said she works in Little Rock and Alderman Pruitt brought shame to Beebe with his accusations. Anthony called Pruitt a coward and said his motives were politically motivated for his re-election in 2016.
Anthony said that on Tuesday before last Hatcher did offer to repay the money, saying, “‘I’d rather keep my job, if I had to pay the money back.’ Was I the only one that heard that?” Anthony asked.
Several aldermen said they heard Hatcher’s remark, but at that time no council member made a motion for him to repay the money.
Robertson said there had been questions about how Hatcher was handling gate and concession money.
Westergren said when Hatcher was hired, the city put new procedures in place because of a problems under a previous parks director. Two people would audit the gate and concession money and take it to the bank.
She said she hired two employees before Hatcher was hired. Hatcher retained them. The two employees from 2012-14 signed off on every audit sheet and one of them took the money to the bank. It was then dropped off in a lock box.
Westergren’s department head, and both of the two employees, had that key.
Hatcher did not have those keys. She said either she or one of her staff members picked up the money bag in the morning.
“In my opinion, there is no way Lynn could have stolen from the gate, the concession or the pool,” Westergren said.
TOP STORY >> Victim’s DNA is detected in Lewis’ vehicle
By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
Even as realtor Beverly Carter’s loved ones listened to secretly recorded interviews between police and her alleged killer during a seven-hour hearing held Monday to determine what can be used at trial, more evidence surfaced.
Chief deputy prosecutor John Johnson told Circuit Judge Herb Wright that the state Crime Lab had called earlier in the day to say hair found in the trunk of Arron Lewis’ car was a match for the 49-year-old realtor, who was abducted last year.
Carter’s body was found Sept. 27, 2014, in a shallow grave near Hwy. 5 in north Pulaski County on the property of a concrete company where Lewis had been previously employed.
The wife and mother had been reported missing a few days earlier, when she didn’t return from showing a house in Scott. Her vehicle and purse, locked inside it, were found at the scene.
The judge, after hearing about the hair, said prosecutors should check to see that there are no other pending tests related to the case. He gave both sides a week to submit a 15-page brief covering all the issues, and said he would rule on them next month.
Wright will be deciding whether a jury will hear from Lewis’ estranged wife at his trial, listen to the recordings played at the hearing and see items collected from his car and their home in Gravel Ridge.
His wife, Crystal Hope Lowery, pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for 30 years behind bars for Carter’s kidnapping and first-degree murder. She has filed for a divorce from her co-defendant.
Defense attorneys are arguing that Lewis can invoke marital privilege to keep Lowery from testifying against their client.
The items seized with search warrants they claim were too broad based on what was known at the time they were executed include Carter’s phone — found inside the house at 165 Randall Drive — green duct tape, a disposable camera, a baseball bat and jewelry.
The defense had motioned for suppression of evidence from a laptop and thumb drive, but prosecutors told the judge they didn’t plan to use either.
A parade of investigators took the stand Monday to answer questions related to claims that some tapes are inadmissible because Lewis didn’t waive his rights and asked for, but was not provided with, an attorney during the interrogation.
The investigators also spoke of how the Gravel Ridge home was placed under surveillance when texts and calls to the victim, according to her phone records, were traced to Lowery’s account with a cell phone application that allows people to call or text others using a number other than their own.
Lewis was followed from the home because he and the car he was driving matched neighbors’ descriptions of a man and vehicle seen at the house in Scott.
He crashed into a ditch — Lewis says in the tapes that this was when his plans were foiled — and left the hospital before being arrested, according to officers’ testimony. The cell phone used to contact Carter was found on Lewis and seized by an investigator.
The recordings were made without Lewis’ knowledge because, according to law enforcement, he said he would speak to them without a lawyer only if he weren’t taped.
Those in the courtroom for the hearing also heard Lewis telling officers he would confess to Carter’s kidnapping if the case went to a federal court, instead of a state court.
The accused told an investigator at one point, “I know I’m (expletive) right now but I’m going to get (same expletive) the way I want to get (same expletive).”
On the tapes, he asks an FBI agent what he could have done that would be a federal offense.
The accused also says in the recordings that he’s going away for a long time and had “struggled for chances” as a seven-time felon.
Lewis can be heard telling an investigator that his wife didn’t know the type of person he was and that he doesn’t have a “spectrum of what I will or won’t do.”
The accused wondered aloud, in the recordings, whether he has a conscience.
Lewis could be heard saying over and over that time was running out for the victim, at one point stating, “keep killing time; you’re killing her.”
He also insisted that he committed the crime for money, intending to hold Carter for ransom. But the accused added that he would get something out of the kidnapping that “went bad” — “a hot second of fame” and a media “extravaganza.”
Also, during the interviews, he played for deputies a recording of the victim meant for her husband. She says, “Carl, it’s Beverly. I just want to let you know I’m OK. I haven’t been hurt. Just do what he says, and please don’t call the police. If you call the police, it could be bad. Just want you to know that I love you very much.”
Lewis testified at the end of the hearing that sheriff’s deputies beat him up in the bathroom after escorting him there during the interrogation. It was after that he led them to two locations. Carter was not found at either place.
Defense attorneys interrupted the testimony several times with objections, asking that the scope of questions be limited.
But the judge said that was his call and urged the prosecutor to continue, but to do so quickly.
Later on, he told defense attorneys, “At this point, we’re dealing more with whether or not your client’s testimony is credible at all, and that’s a determination I’ve got to make, too, and I’m making that based on his responses...”
The judge also shot down another objection after their client was asked whether he used a screwdriver to threaten individuals pursuing him just before his arrest.
Lewis said he didn’t pull a screwdriver on anyone, and replied “yes, sir” when asked if he jumped out of a second-story window during the police chase.
The defendant said he did so “because (an officer) was on the second floor and he said, ‘come here’ and I said ‘no’ and I jumped.”
Lewis had said previously he didn’t remember the route police drove after he was taken into custody because he was in shock from being arrested.
The prosecutor wanted to know why the defendant was in shock, since he knew police were looking for him. Lewis then denied that he was running from officers.
He was finally asked whether the sheriff’s department advised him of his rights, and the defendant responded, “At what point? I’m not going to give an open-ended answer.”
The judge chastised Lewis for being evasive.
Wright warned, “Your attorneys want you to stop as soon as possible” and instructed the defendant to answer each question and wait for the next one.
Lewis said in response to another question that the FBI agent advised him of his rights while sheriff’s deputies were present. He testified that, at some point but not initially, he told the agent he had asked for an attorney.
Law enforcement officials testified that Lewis was read his rights and didn’t ask for an attorney, saying only that he wouldn’t talk without one unless he were not recorded.
They said he refused to sign a statement acknowledging his rights but did so verbally, although it wasn’t taped because — at first — they were in a room with a video monitor that didn’t have the ability to record.
Also, the judge was told early in the hearing that prosecutors planned to present Lewis’ criminal background of scamming people and thievery, to establish money as his motive for Carter’s kidnapping and murder.
Leader staff writer
Even as realtor Beverly Carter’s loved ones listened to secretly recorded interviews between police and her alleged killer during a seven-hour hearing held Monday to determine what can be used at trial, more evidence surfaced.
Chief deputy prosecutor John Johnson told Circuit Judge Herb Wright that the state Crime Lab had called earlier in the day to say hair found in the trunk of Arron Lewis’ car was a match for the 49-year-old realtor, who was abducted last year.
Carter’s body was found Sept. 27, 2014, in a shallow grave near Hwy. 5 in north Pulaski County on the property of a concrete company where Lewis had been previously employed.
The wife and mother had been reported missing a few days earlier, when she didn’t return from showing a house in Scott. Her vehicle and purse, locked inside it, were found at the scene.
The judge, after hearing about the hair, said prosecutors should check to see that there are no other pending tests related to the case. He gave both sides a week to submit a 15-page brief covering all the issues, and said he would rule on them next month.
Wright will be deciding whether a jury will hear from Lewis’ estranged wife at his trial, listen to the recordings played at the hearing and see items collected from his car and their home in Gravel Ridge.
His wife, Crystal Hope Lowery, pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for 30 years behind bars for Carter’s kidnapping and first-degree murder. She has filed for a divorce from her co-defendant.
Defense attorneys are arguing that Lewis can invoke marital privilege to keep Lowery from testifying against their client.
The items seized with search warrants they claim were too broad based on what was known at the time they were executed include Carter’s phone — found inside the house at 165 Randall Drive — green duct tape, a disposable camera, a baseball bat and jewelry.
The defense had motioned for suppression of evidence from a laptop and thumb drive, but prosecutors told the judge they didn’t plan to use either.
A parade of investigators took the stand Monday to answer questions related to claims that some tapes are inadmissible because Lewis didn’t waive his rights and asked for, but was not provided with, an attorney during the interrogation.
The investigators also spoke of how the Gravel Ridge home was placed under surveillance when texts and calls to the victim, according to her phone records, were traced to Lowery’s account with a cell phone application that allows people to call or text others using a number other than their own.
Lewis was followed from the home because he and the car he was driving matched neighbors’ descriptions of a man and vehicle seen at the house in Scott.
He crashed into a ditch — Lewis says in the tapes that this was when his plans were foiled — and left the hospital before being arrested, according to officers’ testimony. The cell phone used to contact Carter was found on Lewis and seized by an investigator.
The recordings were made without Lewis’ knowledge because, according to law enforcement, he said he would speak to them without a lawyer only if he weren’t taped.
Those in the courtroom for the hearing also heard Lewis telling officers he would confess to Carter’s kidnapping if the case went to a federal court, instead of a state court.
The accused told an investigator at one point, “I know I’m (expletive) right now but I’m going to get (same expletive) the way I want to get (same expletive).”
On the tapes, he asks an FBI agent what he could have done that would be a federal offense.
The accused also says in the recordings that he’s going away for a long time and had “struggled for chances” as a seven-time felon.
Lewis can be heard telling an investigator that his wife didn’t know the type of person he was and that he doesn’t have a “spectrum of what I will or won’t do.”
The accused wondered aloud, in the recordings, whether he has a conscience.
Lewis could be heard saying over and over that time was running out for the victim, at one point stating, “keep killing time; you’re killing her.”
He also insisted that he committed the crime for money, intending to hold Carter for ransom. But the accused added that he would get something out of the kidnapping that “went bad” — “a hot second of fame” and a media “extravaganza.”
Also, during the interviews, he played for deputies a recording of the victim meant for her husband. She says, “Carl, it’s Beverly. I just want to let you know I’m OK. I haven’t been hurt. Just do what he says, and please don’t call the police. If you call the police, it could be bad. Just want you to know that I love you very much.”
Lewis testified at the end of the hearing that sheriff’s deputies beat him up in the bathroom after escorting him there during the interrogation. It was after that he led them to two locations. Carter was not found at either place.
Defense attorneys interrupted the testimony several times with objections, asking that the scope of questions be limited.
But the judge said that was his call and urged the prosecutor to continue, but to do so quickly.
Later on, he told defense attorneys, “At this point, we’re dealing more with whether or not your client’s testimony is credible at all, and that’s a determination I’ve got to make, too, and I’m making that based on his responses...”
The judge also shot down another objection after their client was asked whether he used a screwdriver to threaten individuals pursuing him just before his arrest.
Lewis said he didn’t pull a screwdriver on anyone, and replied “yes, sir” when asked if he jumped out of a second-story window during the police chase.
The defendant said he did so “because (an officer) was on the second floor and he said, ‘come here’ and I said ‘no’ and I jumped.”
Lewis had said previously he didn’t remember the route police drove after he was taken into custody because he was in shock from being arrested.
The prosecutor wanted to know why the defendant was in shock, since he knew police were looking for him. Lewis then denied that he was running from officers.
He was finally asked whether the sheriff’s department advised him of his rights, and the defendant responded, “At what point? I’m not going to give an open-ended answer.”
The judge chastised Lewis for being evasive.
Wright warned, “Your attorneys want you to stop as soon as possible” and instructed the defendant to answer each question and wait for the next one.
Lewis said in response to another question that the FBI agent advised him of his rights while sheriff’s deputies were present. He testified that, at some point but not initially, he told the agent he had asked for an attorney.
Law enforcement officials testified that Lewis was read his rights and didn’t ask for an attorney, saying only that he wouldn’t talk without one unless he were not recorded.
They said he refused to sign a statement acknowledging his rights but did so verbally, although it wasn’t taped because — at first — they were in a room with a video monitor that didn’t have the ability to record.
Also, the judge was told early in the hearing that prosecutors planned to present Lewis’ criminal background of scamming people and thievery, to establish money as his motive for Carter’s kidnapping and murder.
Saturday, November 14, 2015
SPORTS STORY >> LRCA buries Bears early in first round
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
Sylvan Hills fell into a 21-0 hole at top-seeded Little Rock Christian Academy in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs Friday, and the Bears could never recover, as the Warriors rolled to a 42-15 win.
Both teams’ offenses went three and out to start the game, but the Warriors (11-0) found the end zone on four of their next five possessions to take a sizable lead. Sylvan Hills (6-4) found the end zone for the first time with just over a minute left until halftime, but trailed 28-6 at halftime.
The first score of the game came on a 17-yard touchdown pass from LRCA quarterback Kyron Sanders to tight end Isaiah Harper with 6:28 to go in the opening quarter. The PAT made it 7-0 Warriors.
The Bears went three and out on their next possession, and the Warriors scored on the next play, which was an 82-yard run by tailback Damarea Crockett. The extra point made it 14-0.
Little Rock Christian, the No. 1 West seed, found the end zone again after an 11-play drive. That score was another Sanders to Harper connection – this one from 15 yards out, and the PAT made it 21-0.
The Bears were able to get something going offensively on the ensuing drive. Sylvan Hills, the No. 4 Central seed, put together a 12-play drive and converted two fourth downs. The second of those fourth-down conversions was a 23-yard touchdown run by Ty Compton on fourth and 2 with 1:14 left until halftime.
Compton’s touchdown made it 21-6, and the Bears’ defense put LRCA in a fourth-and-5 situation at midfield on the next drive. With under a minute remaining, LRCA went for it, and took the momentum into halftime as that play resulted in a 50-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to big-play receiver Joe Hampton.
The PAT gave the hosts a 28-6 lead with 33 seconds left until halftime, and that was the score at the break. Sylvan Hills’ offense again went three and out to start the second half, and LRCA answered with a 5-play drive that was capped with a Sanders to Crockett touchdown on a screen pass that went 40 yards.
The extra point gave the Warriors a 35-6 cushion, and they scored again with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter to invoke the sportsmanship rule. That score came on an 8-yard run by Crockett. It capped a 4-play drive, and the extra point put LRCA on top 42-6.
Sylvan Hills’ defense scored the next points on a safety. Before that, the Bears turned it over on downs at the LRCA 1-yard line. On the next play, Warrior running back MJ Loggins ran for 2 yards on a sweep play, but a holding penalty in the end zone resulted in the safety and gave Sylvan Hills two points and the ball.
Little Rock Christian kicked a short kick on the following kickoff. Deon Youngblood took the kick from the Bears’ 45 to the LRCA 40, and on the next play, quarterback Jordan Washington connected with Brandon Bracely on a go route in the middle of the field for the 40-yard score with 4:05 to play.
Tito Mandoza’s extra point was good, which set the final score.
Little Rock Christian finished the game with 420 yards of offense – 298 of which came in the first half. The Bears were held to 145 yards of offense in the first half, but finished the game with 326 yards.
Sanders finished the night 16-25 passing for 257 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Washington was 8-19 passing for 131 yards, one touchdown and two picks.
Washington led the Bears’ rushing attack with 18 carries for 69 yards, and Bracely added 15 carries for 56 yards. LRCA’s Crockett led all rushers with 10 carries for 108 yards and two scores. Crockett also had four catches for 59 yards and one score.
Hampton led the Warriors’ receivers with five catches for 108 yards and one score. Bracely led the Bears with four receptions for 81 yards and one touchdown.
Leader sportswriter
Sylvan Hills fell into a 21-0 hole at top-seeded Little Rock Christian Academy in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs Friday, and the Bears could never recover, as the Warriors rolled to a 42-15 win.
Both teams’ offenses went three and out to start the game, but the Warriors (11-0) found the end zone on four of their next five possessions to take a sizable lead. Sylvan Hills (6-4) found the end zone for the first time with just over a minute left until halftime, but trailed 28-6 at halftime.
The first score of the game came on a 17-yard touchdown pass from LRCA quarterback Kyron Sanders to tight end Isaiah Harper with 6:28 to go in the opening quarter. The PAT made it 7-0 Warriors.
The Bears went three and out on their next possession, and the Warriors scored on the next play, which was an 82-yard run by tailback Damarea Crockett. The extra point made it 14-0.
Little Rock Christian, the No. 1 West seed, found the end zone again after an 11-play drive. That score was another Sanders to Harper connection – this one from 15 yards out, and the PAT made it 21-0.
The Bears were able to get something going offensively on the ensuing drive. Sylvan Hills, the No. 4 Central seed, put together a 12-play drive and converted two fourth downs. The second of those fourth-down conversions was a 23-yard touchdown run by Ty Compton on fourth and 2 with 1:14 left until halftime.
Compton’s touchdown made it 21-6, and the Bears’ defense put LRCA in a fourth-and-5 situation at midfield on the next drive. With under a minute remaining, LRCA went for it, and took the momentum into halftime as that play resulted in a 50-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to big-play receiver Joe Hampton.
The PAT gave the hosts a 28-6 lead with 33 seconds left until halftime, and that was the score at the break. Sylvan Hills’ offense again went three and out to start the second half, and LRCA answered with a 5-play drive that was capped with a Sanders to Crockett touchdown on a screen pass that went 40 yards.
The extra point gave the Warriors a 35-6 cushion, and they scored again with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter to invoke the sportsmanship rule. That score came on an 8-yard run by Crockett. It capped a 4-play drive, and the extra point put LRCA on top 42-6.
Sylvan Hills’ defense scored the next points on a safety. Before that, the Bears turned it over on downs at the LRCA 1-yard line. On the next play, Warrior running back MJ Loggins ran for 2 yards on a sweep play, but a holding penalty in the end zone resulted in the safety and gave Sylvan Hills two points and the ball.
Little Rock Christian kicked a short kick on the following kickoff. Deon Youngblood took the kick from the Bears’ 45 to the LRCA 40, and on the next play, quarterback Jordan Washington connected with Brandon Bracely on a go route in the middle of the field for the 40-yard score with 4:05 to play.
Tito Mandoza’s extra point was good, which set the final score.
Little Rock Christian finished the game with 420 yards of offense – 298 of which came in the first half. The Bears were held to 145 yards of offense in the first half, but finished the game with 326 yards.
Sanders finished the night 16-25 passing for 257 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Washington was 8-19 passing for 131 yards, one touchdown and two picks.
Washington led the Bears’ rushing attack with 18 carries for 69 yards, and Bracely added 15 carries for 56 yards. LRCA’s Crockett led all rushers with 10 carries for 108 yards and two scores. Crockett also had four catches for 59 yards and one score.
Hampton led the Warriors’ receivers with five catches for 108 yards and one score. Bracely led the Bears with four receptions for 81 yards and one touchdown.
SPORTS STORY >> Beebe hurler becomes a Hog
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
Beebe High School ace pitcher Angus Denton made his college choice official Friday at BHS when the senior right hander signed his National Letter of Intent to play baseball next year at the University of Arkansas.
Friday’s signing was a dream come true for Denton, who finished his junior season with a 6-2 record, a 0.41 ERA and he struck out 96 of the 199 batters he faced last spring.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” said Denton. “It’s always been a dream to be a Razorback, and for it to actually happen, it’s a dream come true. It’s something that makes me really happy and I feel really blessed. I’m really excited for it to happen.”
Denton first received the offer from Arkansas at the beginning of last season, and it was his unique delivery and effectiveness that the school was intrigued by.
The Badger ace, who was All-State as a junior, elaborated on what the Razorbacks and head coach Dave Van Horn liked about his style and efficiency, and how the Hogs plan to use him in the early portion of his collegiate career.
“I’m a drop-down pitcher,” Denton said. “I throw a good submarine and I get a lot of sink on my ball. So, I’m more of a guy that will come out of the bullpen – get ground balls, get a lot of outs for them. They said I’d be really active freshman year coming out of the bullpen.”
Beebe coach Mark Crafton will certainly miss seeing Denton, a 4.0 student, in a Badger uniform after this year, but he’s excited to see his ace right hander’s dream come true and he’s just as proud of his work ethic off the field as he is with what he’s done on the diamond.
“It’s a big occasion,” said Crafton, “not only for our school, but for our program. It’s a testament to the work ethic that Angus has put in. He’s really tried to better himself as an individual on the field, and I can’t say enough about his work ethic in the classroom.
“He’s carried a 4.0 since his freshman year. He’s kept his nose to the grind in his academics and it’s paid off on the playing field as well. He’s a well-rounded young man.”
Denton still has a season left as a Badger, though, and has set some personal goals for himself, but has even bigger goals he’d like to achieve with the team.
“I want to go undefeated on the mound,” Denton said. “For us as a team, I would really like to win conference, and the ultimate goal is to go to Baum and win state.”
Leader sportswriter
Beebe High School ace pitcher Angus Denton made his college choice official Friday at BHS when the senior right hander signed his National Letter of Intent to play baseball next year at the University of Arkansas.
Friday’s signing was a dream come true for Denton, who finished his junior season with a 6-2 record, a 0.41 ERA and he struck out 96 of the 199 batters he faced last spring.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” said Denton. “It’s always been a dream to be a Razorback, and for it to actually happen, it’s a dream come true. It’s something that makes me really happy and I feel really blessed. I’m really excited for it to happen.”
Denton first received the offer from Arkansas at the beginning of last season, and it was his unique delivery and effectiveness that the school was intrigued by.
The Badger ace, who was All-State as a junior, elaborated on what the Razorbacks and head coach Dave Van Horn liked about his style and efficiency, and how the Hogs plan to use him in the early portion of his collegiate career.
“I’m a drop-down pitcher,” Denton said. “I throw a good submarine and I get a lot of sink on my ball. So, I’m more of a guy that will come out of the bullpen – get ground balls, get a lot of outs for them. They said I’d be really active freshman year coming out of the bullpen.”
Beebe coach Mark Crafton will certainly miss seeing Denton, a 4.0 student, in a Badger uniform after this year, but he’s excited to see his ace right hander’s dream come true and he’s just as proud of his work ethic off the field as he is with what he’s done on the diamond.
“It’s a big occasion,” said Crafton, “not only for our school, but for our program. It’s a testament to the work ethic that Angus has put in. He’s really tried to better himself as an individual on the field, and I can’t say enough about his work ethic in the classroom.
“He’s carried a 4.0 since his freshman year. He’s kept his nose to the grind in his academics and it’s paid off on the playing field as well. He’s a well-rounded young man.”
Denton still has a season left as a Badger, though, and has set some personal goals for himself, but has even bigger goals he’d like to achieve with the team.
“I want to go undefeated on the mound,” Denton said. “For us as a team, I would really like to win conference, and the ultimate goal is to go to Baum and win state.”
SPORTS STORY >> JHS girls win first two, fall to Lady Wolves
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Lady Red Devils complete a furious first week of play today at the Mid-South Classic at Pine Bluff High School. It will be the fifth game this week and sixth in the last eight days, counting the J.A. Fair jamboree last Saturday.
The Jacksonville ladies officially started the season with a 49-41 win over Pine Bluff Dollarway in the first round of the tournament on Monday. Back home on Tuesday, the Lady Devils beat Mount St. Mary 49-44. On Thursday in the semifinals at PBHS, Jacksonville lost for the first time this season 53-37 to Lake Hamilton. On Friday, West Memphis came into central Arkansas and beat the Lady Devils (2-2). Today, they will play Pine Bluff High at 11:30 a.m. in the third-place game of the Mid-South Classic.
Despite scoring the same point total in the first two games, first-year Jacksonville coach Crystal Scott felt her team played much better offensively against MSM.
Junior Alexis James and senior Desiree Williams led JHS in scoring on Monday with 10 points each. Against MSM, Williams again led the way with 14 while James added nine.
Scott was not very pleased with her team’s performance on Thursday, but she was pleased with how her team responded to a huge second-half deficit.
After jumping out to a 7-4 lead with 3:30 left in the first quarter, the Lady Devils suffered a long scoring drought. Lake Hamilton led 10-7 at the end of the quarter. Jacksonville managed three free throws and continued to play good defense, but didn’t make another shot from the floor until James hit a 3-pointer with 1:06 remaining in the half.
The third quarter was even worse. Jacksonville went into halftime trailing 24-13, and was on the brink of being mercy ruled by late in the third quarter.
Lake Hamilton led 44-16 with 29 seconds left in the third quarter, and had two possessions to make it a 30-point advantage. But Jacksonville’s Tatiana Lacy blocked a shot and Williams got a steal. Just before the buzzer, Peyton Matheny hit a 3-pointer for Jacksonville to make it 44-19 going into the fourth quarter.
Lake Hamilton never pulled its starters, and the Lady Wolves’ coach admonished his team for not finishing off the Lady Devils. But Matheny’s shot was just the beginning of Jacksonville’s resurgence.
Lacy, who missed almost all of the first three quarters with foul trouble, played the entire fourth quarter with four fouls, but didn’t play timid. Williams got hot from outside and Lake Hamilton was awful from the foul line. Jacksonville pulled to within 46-33 with four minutes remaining, but couldn’t capitalize on two chances to get closer.
Lake Hamilton’s Anna Ledbetter missed a pair of free throws and Lacy got the rebound, but the JHS center rifled a pass much too hard for the nearby James to handle. The ball went out of bounds and back to the Lady Wolves. Jacksonville got another when LHHS missed a 3-pointer, but no one blocked out the shooter, who followed her shot and hit an easy layup for a 48-33 lead with three minutes remaining.
“Our inability, or our reluctance, to run a half-court offense is what killed us tonight,” said Scott. “We want to make one pass and drive or throw something up. We’re not going to beat good teams doing that. The good thing about it is, it’s very early, and we didn’t quit. Keep giving me effort and we’ll keep getting better.”
Jacksonville dominated on the boards, outrebounding Lake Hamilton 41-17, but field-goal percentage was so poor, the extra shots didn’t help. Jacksonville made a respectable 6 of 19 3-point attempts, but was a dismal 5 of 39 (13 percent) from 2-point range. JHS made 9 of 18 free throws.
Lake Hamilton was 18 of 35 from two-point range, 4 of 11 from three and just 8 of 23 from the free-throw line.
Williams led Jacksonville again with 15 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter. Lacy added eight points and nine rebounds despite limited playing time.
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Lady Red Devils complete a furious first week of play today at the Mid-South Classic at Pine Bluff High School. It will be the fifth game this week and sixth in the last eight days, counting the J.A. Fair jamboree last Saturday.
The Jacksonville ladies officially started the season with a 49-41 win over Pine Bluff Dollarway in the first round of the tournament on Monday. Back home on Tuesday, the Lady Devils beat Mount St. Mary 49-44. On Thursday in the semifinals at PBHS, Jacksonville lost for the first time this season 53-37 to Lake Hamilton. On Friday, West Memphis came into central Arkansas and beat the Lady Devils (2-2). Today, they will play Pine Bluff High at 11:30 a.m. in the third-place game of the Mid-South Classic.
Despite scoring the same point total in the first two games, first-year Jacksonville coach Crystal Scott felt her team played much better offensively against MSM.
Junior Alexis James and senior Desiree Williams led JHS in scoring on Monday with 10 points each. Against MSM, Williams again led the way with 14 while James added nine.
Scott was not very pleased with her team’s performance on Thursday, but she was pleased with how her team responded to a huge second-half deficit.
After jumping out to a 7-4 lead with 3:30 left in the first quarter, the Lady Devils suffered a long scoring drought. Lake Hamilton led 10-7 at the end of the quarter. Jacksonville managed three free throws and continued to play good defense, but didn’t make another shot from the floor until James hit a 3-pointer with 1:06 remaining in the half.
The third quarter was even worse. Jacksonville went into halftime trailing 24-13, and was on the brink of being mercy ruled by late in the third quarter.
Lake Hamilton led 44-16 with 29 seconds left in the third quarter, and had two possessions to make it a 30-point advantage. But Jacksonville’s Tatiana Lacy blocked a shot and Williams got a steal. Just before the buzzer, Peyton Matheny hit a 3-pointer for Jacksonville to make it 44-19 going into the fourth quarter.
Lake Hamilton never pulled its starters, and the Lady Wolves’ coach admonished his team for not finishing off the Lady Devils. But Matheny’s shot was just the beginning of Jacksonville’s resurgence.
Lacy, who missed almost all of the first three quarters with foul trouble, played the entire fourth quarter with four fouls, but didn’t play timid. Williams got hot from outside and Lake Hamilton was awful from the foul line. Jacksonville pulled to within 46-33 with four minutes remaining, but couldn’t capitalize on two chances to get closer.
Lake Hamilton’s Anna Ledbetter missed a pair of free throws and Lacy got the rebound, but the JHS center rifled a pass much too hard for the nearby James to handle. The ball went out of bounds and back to the Lady Wolves. Jacksonville got another when LHHS missed a 3-pointer, but no one blocked out the shooter, who followed her shot and hit an easy layup for a 48-33 lead with three minutes remaining.
“Our inability, or our reluctance, to run a half-court offense is what killed us tonight,” said Scott. “We want to make one pass and drive or throw something up. We’re not going to beat good teams doing that. The good thing about it is, it’s very early, and we didn’t quit. Keep giving me effort and we’ll keep getting better.”
Jacksonville dominated on the boards, outrebounding Lake Hamilton 41-17, but field-goal percentage was so poor, the extra shots didn’t help. Jacksonville made a respectable 6 of 19 3-point attempts, but was a dismal 5 of 39 (13 percent) from 2-point range. JHS made 9 of 18 free throws.
Lake Hamilton was 18 of 35 from two-point range, 4 of 11 from three and just 8 of 23 from the free-throw line.
Williams led Jacksonville again with 15 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter. Lacy added eight points and nine rebounds despite limited playing time.
SPORTS STORY >> Badgers ousted by Greenbrier
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
GREENBRIER – Beebe played decent defense most of the game, but fourth down was a killer for the Badgers. The Greenbrier Panthers scored three touchdowns of at least 21 yards on fourth down en route to a 35-21 victory over Beebe in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs Friday.
Fumbles, passing game mishaps and penalties helped end the Badgers’ season as well. Beebe fumbled four times, lost two of them and threw one interception. The Badgers also had two certain touchdown completions fail to materialize. In the first quarter, every Panther bit on the run and left Reece Anders running all alone down the field, but quarterback Bo Smith’s pass fell 5 yards short of the target.
Later in the fourth quarter with Beebe trailing 35-21, the same play worked just as well again. This time Smith’s pass was right on target, but flew right through Anders’ hands.
The first touchdown of the game came on fourth and 11 from the Beebe 26-yard line after Beebe’s first failed pass attempt. Greenbrier quarterback Harold Ross scrambled away from pressure and found receiver Carter Burcham open in the front corner of the end zone with 5:27 left in the first quarter.
Beebe (5-5) didn’t take long to answer. Fullback Trip Smith ran up the middle 65 yards on the first play of the Badgers’ next drive to tie the game with 5:09 on the clock.
Greenbrier (7-4) converted a fourth and 5, a third and 6 and a third 9 on its next drive. The Panthers finally scored on the first play of the second quarter on another Ross to Burcham pass, this time from 8 yards out on second and goal. The extra point made it 14-7 with 11:53 left in the first half.
Trip Smith fumbled it away on the third play of the ensuing possession, but Beebe’s defense came up with a stop. Cornerback Connor Patrom intercepted a third and 12 pass and returned it 62 yards to the Greenbrier 8-yard line, but most of the return was called back for an illegal block.
The Badgers started at their own 43, and needed just seven plays to tie the game. Bo Smith got 26 of it on two carries. His first carry of the game went 11 yards on third and 1 to the Greenbrier 23. Three plays later, facing fourth and 2, Bo Smith kept up the middle, broke two tackles and dragged a defender the last 4 yards into the end zone with 5:52 left in the half.
This time it was the Panthers’ turn to strike fast. Ross threw a quick swing pass to wideout Carter Coats near the Beebe sideline. Tailback Shawn Howard flew in front of Coats and cleared out two would-be tacklers, and Coats did the rest, going 56 yards down the sideline for the score with 5:33 left in the first half.
Beebe had another nice drive going and was about to score to end the half when Bo Smith fumbled a handoff exchange in the red zone.
Greenbrier got the ball at its own 44 to start the second half and got two first downs in four plays to the Beebe 29. The Badger defense forced a fourth and 2, and that’s when Ross hit Brandon Thomas for a 21-yard touchdown with 8:47 left in the third quarter. The extra point was no good, leaving the score 27-14.
Beebe used up almost six minutes of clock on a 12-play scoring drive that started on the Badger 32-yard line. Trip Smith got nine of those carries, including the last one for 1 yard and the score.
Beebe tried an onside kick and Greenbrier started on its own 48. After one first down, Beebe forced fourth and 8, and again Ross scrambled and found Thomas for a 36-yard scoring strike with 1:50 left in the third quarter. The Beebe sideline got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as the Panthers set up for the extra point. That moved the ball to the 1-yard line, and prompted Greenbrier to go for two, which it converted to set the final margin.
Anders’ dropped pass came on the ensuing possession, but the Beebe defense forced a punt that rolled to a stop less than a foot from the goal line. Beebe drove out to its own 46, but a loss of 5 yards on third and 1 resulted in fourth and 5 from the 40. Bo Smith kept on the option on fourth down and picked up 25 yards, but it was called back for an illegal shift. The Badgers tried to throw down field on fourth and 11 but the pass was batted away by Trystan Spencer, who also covered both of Beebe’s lost fumbles.
The Beebe defense held again and the Badgers got one more possession, starting on their own 26 with 1:37 remaining. But it started with an illegal procedure penalty. Patrom picked up 17 yards on a reverse on first and 15, and a late hit added 15 more yards to the end of the run. With time running down, Beebe needed to score quickly, and tried a throwback pass that was picked off by Howard.
Beebe was out of timeouts and Greenbrier lined up in victory formation for the final three snaps.
Beebe piled up 320 yards of offense, all on the ground. Greenbrier had 375 with 309 of it coming through the air. Ross completed 23 of 35 pass attempts for 309 yards with five touchdowns and one interception.
Trip Smith became the first Badger ever to rush for 5,000 yards in a career. He needed 84 yards to reach that milestone, and carried 32 times for 192 yards, giving him a school record 5,108 career rushing yards.
Greenbrier moves on to face Batesville in the second round of the playoffs.
Leader sports editor
GREENBRIER – Beebe played decent defense most of the game, but fourth down was a killer for the Badgers. The Greenbrier Panthers scored three touchdowns of at least 21 yards on fourth down en route to a 35-21 victory over Beebe in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs Friday.
Fumbles, passing game mishaps and penalties helped end the Badgers’ season as well. Beebe fumbled four times, lost two of them and threw one interception. The Badgers also had two certain touchdown completions fail to materialize. In the first quarter, every Panther bit on the run and left Reece Anders running all alone down the field, but quarterback Bo Smith’s pass fell 5 yards short of the target.
Later in the fourth quarter with Beebe trailing 35-21, the same play worked just as well again. This time Smith’s pass was right on target, but flew right through Anders’ hands.
The first touchdown of the game came on fourth and 11 from the Beebe 26-yard line after Beebe’s first failed pass attempt. Greenbrier quarterback Harold Ross scrambled away from pressure and found receiver Carter Burcham open in the front corner of the end zone with 5:27 left in the first quarter.
Beebe (5-5) didn’t take long to answer. Fullback Trip Smith ran up the middle 65 yards on the first play of the Badgers’ next drive to tie the game with 5:09 on the clock.
Greenbrier (7-4) converted a fourth and 5, a third and 6 and a third 9 on its next drive. The Panthers finally scored on the first play of the second quarter on another Ross to Burcham pass, this time from 8 yards out on second and goal. The extra point made it 14-7 with 11:53 left in the first half.
Trip Smith fumbled it away on the third play of the ensuing possession, but Beebe’s defense came up with a stop. Cornerback Connor Patrom intercepted a third and 12 pass and returned it 62 yards to the Greenbrier 8-yard line, but most of the return was called back for an illegal block.
The Badgers started at their own 43, and needed just seven plays to tie the game. Bo Smith got 26 of it on two carries. His first carry of the game went 11 yards on third and 1 to the Greenbrier 23. Three plays later, facing fourth and 2, Bo Smith kept up the middle, broke two tackles and dragged a defender the last 4 yards into the end zone with 5:52 left in the half.
This time it was the Panthers’ turn to strike fast. Ross threw a quick swing pass to wideout Carter Coats near the Beebe sideline. Tailback Shawn Howard flew in front of Coats and cleared out two would-be tacklers, and Coats did the rest, going 56 yards down the sideline for the score with 5:33 left in the first half.
Beebe had another nice drive going and was about to score to end the half when Bo Smith fumbled a handoff exchange in the red zone.
Greenbrier got the ball at its own 44 to start the second half and got two first downs in four plays to the Beebe 29. The Badger defense forced a fourth and 2, and that’s when Ross hit Brandon Thomas for a 21-yard touchdown with 8:47 left in the third quarter. The extra point was no good, leaving the score 27-14.
Beebe used up almost six minutes of clock on a 12-play scoring drive that started on the Badger 32-yard line. Trip Smith got nine of those carries, including the last one for 1 yard and the score.
Beebe tried an onside kick and Greenbrier started on its own 48. After one first down, Beebe forced fourth and 8, and again Ross scrambled and found Thomas for a 36-yard scoring strike with 1:50 left in the third quarter. The Beebe sideline got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as the Panthers set up for the extra point. That moved the ball to the 1-yard line, and prompted Greenbrier to go for two, which it converted to set the final margin.
Anders’ dropped pass came on the ensuing possession, but the Beebe defense forced a punt that rolled to a stop less than a foot from the goal line. Beebe drove out to its own 46, but a loss of 5 yards on third and 1 resulted in fourth and 5 from the 40. Bo Smith kept on the option on fourth down and picked up 25 yards, but it was called back for an illegal shift. The Badgers tried to throw down field on fourth and 11 but the pass was batted away by Trystan Spencer, who also covered both of Beebe’s lost fumbles.
The Beebe defense held again and the Badgers got one more possession, starting on their own 26 with 1:37 remaining. But it started with an illegal procedure penalty. Patrom picked up 17 yards on a reverse on first and 15, and a late hit added 15 more yards to the end of the run. With time running down, Beebe needed to score quickly, and tried a throwback pass that was picked off by Howard.
Beebe was out of timeouts and Greenbrier lined up in victory formation for the final three snaps.
Beebe piled up 320 yards of offense, all on the ground. Greenbrier had 375 with 309 of it coming through the air. Ross completed 23 of 35 pass attempts for 309 yards with five touchdowns and one interception.
Trip Smith became the first Badger ever to rush for 5,000 yards in a career. He needed 84 yards to reach that milestone, and carried 32 times for 192 yards, giving him a school record 5,108 career rushing yards.
Greenbrier moves on to face Batesville in the second round of the playoffs.
Friday, November 13, 2015
EDITORIAL >> Candidates get company
Don’t call Arkansas a one-party state. There will be several primary contests March 1 between establishment Republicans and Tea Party candidates, as well as Democrats who will then face off with Republicans in November.
Runoffs will be held March 22. Voter registration deadline is Feb. 22.
The general election and nonpartisan runoffs, if needed, will be Nov. 8, 2016. The voter registration deadline for that election is Oct. 10, 2016.
If a runoff is needed after the general election, it will be held Nov. 29, 2016. The voter registration deadline would be Oct. 31, 2016.
Voters must apply to register to vote one day before the actual deadline, according to the secretary of state’s website. It also states that any deadline falling on a weekend or holiday will be extended to the next business day.
According to a comprehensive roundup by our reporter Sarah Campbell, one highlight of the filings is that Dist. 42 Rep. Bob Johnson (D-Jacksonville) has a Republican opponent, Jacksonville businessman Patrick Thomas.
Another is Lonoke County Judge Doug Erwin, a Republican, who is facing off against two Republicans, Richard Kyzer and Fred D. (Skipper) Clement Jr.
State Sen. David Johnson (D-Little Rock), who filed last week, is now opposed by Wrightsville and Cammack Village District Court Judge Rita Bailey in the race to preside over both the Jacksonville and Maumelle district courts.
The two courts will soon share a judge and have countywide jurisdiction because of a 2011 law aimed at lightening the caseload of circuit courts across the state. All of Pulaski County will vote on the new judge.
The following people are campaigning for seats that represent The Leader’s coverage area:
Dist. 34 Sen. Jan English (R-North Little Rock) faces two challengers, a Republican and a Democrat. They are Rep. Donnie Copeland (R-North Little Rock) and Joe Woodson, who is running as a Democrat.
Dist. 29 Sen. Eddie Joe Williams (R-Cabot) and Lonoke County Justice of the Peace R.D. Hopper, also a Republican, have filed for Williams’ seat.
Three have filed for Copeland’s Dist. 38 seat. Dist. 38 includes much of Sherwood.
The candidates are Kent Walker, Victoria Leigh — both Democrats — and Carlton Wing, a Republican.
Dist. 14 Rep. Camille Bennett (D-Lonoke) and Roger D. Lynch, a Republican, have filed for her seat.
Dist. 44 Rep. Joe Farrer (R-Austin) also has an opponent, Garry Baker, a Libertarian.
Joseph (Joe) O’Bryan is running for re-election in the Lonoke County District Judge-Northern Division race, after being arrested in August for third-degree domestic battery.
Faulkner County District Court Judge David, who was appointed to hear the case, dismissed all charges Nov. 5 after O’Bryan’s girlfriend dropped assault charges against him. Cabot attorney John Flynn and Ward City Attorney Clint McGue are opposing O’Bryan for the Cabot court position.
In Pulaski County, Sheriff Doc Holladay, a Democrat, has a Libertarian opponent, Patrick Mulligan.
Lonoke County Clerk Dawn Porterfield, a Republican, has a Republican opponent, Courtney Ruble.
Three Republicans have filed for Lonoke County coroner. They are Carla Horton, Kenny Fraley and Karl E. (Eddie) Pennington.
There are also three Republicans seeking J.D. Hopper’s Justice of the Peace Dist. 1 seat. They are Brent Canon, Jesse Bear and Kevin Livengood.
Three Republicans, John D. Howard, Claud E. Irvin and Gregory Gibson, have filed for the Dist. 4 JP seat.
Dist. 5 JP Adam Justice, a Republican, has a Republican opponent, Robert (Bobby) Gilliam.
Dist. 7 JP Ralph Brown, a Republican, is being challenged in his re-election bid by Democrat Dan F. Stowers.
For Dist. 9, Republicans Linda Waddell and Les Carpenter have filed.
Republicans Daniel Hayes, Kenny Ridgeway and Bob Morris are seeking the Dist. 13 JP seat.
Cabot has one city council race because Alderman Dallan Buchanan resigned Oct. 1 from representing Ward 2 in Position 1 to pursue a job in another city. Damon Bivins and Douglas E. Warner — both independents — have filed for that seat.
Democrat Conner Eldridge of Lonoke, a former U.S. attorney; Republican Curtis Coleman, Libertarian Frank Gilbert and Jason Tate, a write-in candidate, have filed for Sen. John Boozman’s seat.
Rep. Rick Crawford has filed for re-election to continue representing the First District. He has one opponent, Libertarian Mark West.
In the Second District, Rep. French Hill (R-Little Rock) is seeking re-election. He has five opponents. They are Democrat Dianne Curry, Republican Brock Olree, Libertarian Chris Hayes and two write-in candidates, Mathew Wescott and Charles Neely.
It’s shaping up to be a busy election year. Be sure to register and vote.
Runoffs will be held March 22. Voter registration deadline is Feb. 22.
The general election and nonpartisan runoffs, if needed, will be Nov. 8, 2016. The voter registration deadline for that election is Oct. 10, 2016.
If a runoff is needed after the general election, it will be held Nov. 29, 2016. The voter registration deadline would be Oct. 31, 2016.
Voters must apply to register to vote one day before the actual deadline, according to the secretary of state’s website. It also states that any deadline falling on a weekend or holiday will be extended to the next business day.
According to a comprehensive roundup by our reporter Sarah Campbell, one highlight of the filings is that Dist. 42 Rep. Bob Johnson (D-Jacksonville) has a Republican opponent, Jacksonville businessman Patrick Thomas.
Another is Lonoke County Judge Doug Erwin, a Republican, who is facing off against two Republicans, Richard Kyzer and Fred D. (Skipper) Clement Jr.
State Sen. David Johnson (D-Little Rock), who filed last week, is now opposed by Wrightsville and Cammack Village District Court Judge Rita Bailey in the race to preside over both the Jacksonville and Maumelle district courts.
The two courts will soon share a judge and have countywide jurisdiction because of a 2011 law aimed at lightening the caseload of circuit courts across the state. All of Pulaski County will vote on the new judge.
The following people are campaigning for seats that represent The Leader’s coverage area:
Dist. 34 Sen. Jan English (R-North Little Rock) faces two challengers, a Republican and a Democrat. They are Rep. Donnie Copeland (R-North Little Rock) and Joe Woodson, who is running as a Democrat.
Dist. 29 Sen. Eddie Joe Williams (R-Cabot) and Lonoke County Justice of the Peace R.D. Hopper, also a Republican, have filed for Williams’ seat.
Three have filed for Copeland’s Dist. 38 seat. Dist. 38 includes much of Sherwood.
The candidates are Kent Walker, Victoria Leigh — both Democrats — and Carlton Wing, a Republican.
Dist. 14 Rep. Camille Bennett (D-Lonoke) and Roger D. Lynch, a Republican, have filed for her seat.
Dist. 44 Rep. Joe Farrer (R-Austin) also has an opponent, Garry Baker, a Libertarian.
Joseph (Joe) O’Bryan is running for re-election in the Lonoke County District Judge-Northern Division race, after being arrested in August for third-degree domestic battery.
Faulkner County District Court Judge David, who was appointed to hear the case, dismissed all charges Nov. 5 after O’Bryan’s girlfriend dropped assault charges against him. Cabot attorney John Flynn and Ward City Attorney Clint McGue are opposing O’Bryan for the Cabot court position.
In Pulaski County, Sheriff Doc Holladay, a Democrat, has a Libertarian opponent, Patrick Mulligan.
Lonoke County Clerk Dawn Porterfield, a Republican, has a Republican opponent, Courtney Ruble.
Three Republicans have filed for Lonoke County coroner. They are Carla Horton, Kenny Fraley and Karl E. (Eddie) Pennington.
There are also three Republicans seeking J.D. Hopper’s Justice of the Peace Dist. 1 seat. They are Brent Canon, Jesse Bear and Kevin Livengood.
Three Republicans, John D. Howard, Claud E. Irvin and Gregory Gibson, have filed for the Dist. 4 JP seat.
Dist. 5 JP Adam Justice, a Republican, has a Republican opponent, Robert (Bobby) Gilliam.
Dist. 7 JP Ralph Brown, a Republican, is being challenged in his re-election bid by Democrat Dan F. Stowers.
For Dist. 9, Republicans Linda Waddell and Les Carpenter have filed.
Republicans Daniel Hayes, Kenny Ridgeway and Bob Morris are seeking the Dist. 13 JP seat.
Cabot has one city council race because Alderman Dallan Buchanan resigned Oct. 1 from representing Ward 2 in Position 1 to pursue a job in another city. Damon Bivins and Douglas E. Warner — both independents — have filed for that seat.
Democrat Conner Eldridge of Lonoke, a former U.S. attorney; Republican Curtis Coleman, Libertarian Frank Gilbert and Jason Tate, a write-in candidate, have filed for Sen. John Boozman’s seat.
Rep. Rick Crawford has filed for re-election to continue representing the First District. He has one opponent, Libertarian Mark West.
In the Second District, Rep. French Hill (R-Little Rock) is seeking re-election. He has five opponents. They are Democrat Dianne Curry, Republican Brock Olree, Libertarian Chris Hayes and two write-in candidates, Mathew Wescott and Charles Neely.
It’s shaping up to be a busy election year. Be sure to register and vote.
TOP STORY >> AARP portrait honors caretaker
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| Shelly Moran of Cabot, right, was given this "Portrait of Care" from AARP to recognize her dedication and sacrifice in caring for her late mother, Betty Magee. November is National Family Caregivers Month. |
AARP Arkansas recently presented a “Portrait of Care” to Shelly Moran, 69, of Cabot. “The Portrait of Care” is an artist’s painting of her and her late mother.
The organization recognized individuals across the country this month because November is National Family Caregivers Month.
According to a news release, Moran left her job as marketing director for a local hospital and moved 220 miles to live with and care for her mother, Betty Magee, who had broken her hip. Her mother has since passed away.
“Making the decision to care for mother meant leaving my own home, job, church and friends to devote my life to her and get her back on her feet,” said Moran, who had previously run several newspapers in northwest Arkansas. “It was a quick decision, but a hardship financially.”
The release states that she is one of 40 million unsung American heroes. Arkansas touts 452,000 of those caregivers.
The unpaid care they provide — managing medications, cooking meals, driving to appointments, performing complex medical tasks and more — is valued at $4.7 billion in this state, the release continues.
Moran was randomly selected through AARP’s storytelling initiative, I Heart Caregivers. She is one of 53 family caregivers from every state, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to receive a hand-painted portrait.
For more stories like Moran’s that thousands have shared, or to share a caregiver’s story, visit https://act.aarp.org/iheartcaregivers.
The release also notes that AARP this year worked to pass Act 1013, the Arkansas Lay Caregiver Act.
It allows patients to designate a family caregiver and provides training on medical tasks caregivers will need to perform once their loved one returns home from a hospital stay.
The organization is also urging state legislators to prioritize funding for home- and community-based care, the release reads.
TOP STORY >> Constituents’ views sought
By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
Arkansas legislators told a group of Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce members Thursday that they wanted to hear from constituents and hear from them early.
State Rep. Bob Johnson (D- Jacksonville) also introduced Tabitha Jackson at the Lunch and Learn event at the Esther Dewitt Nixon Library. She does constituent services for the House of Representatives.
Johnson, who is running for re-election against Republican opponent Patrick Thomas, was joined by state Sen. David Johnson (D-Little Rock).
David Johnson is seeking to be judge over the Jacksonville and Maumelle district courts. His opponent, Cammack Village-Wrightsville District Court Judge Rita Bailey, also came to the lunch.
The two courts will soon share a judge and have countywide jurisdiction because of a 2011 law aimed at lightening the caseload of circuit courts across Arkansas. All of Pulaski County will vote on the judge in spring 2016.
State Rep. Douglas House (R-North Little Rock), who is unopposed for re-election, also spoke at the get-together.
Former state Rep. Mark Perry, Jacksonville-North Pulaski School Superintendent Tony Wood and chamber board president Roger Sundermeier were there, too.
Bob Johnson kicked things off. “I talked to the chamber not long after our session started, and I said, ‘You know, I would like to talk to the businesses (about) how do you get to us during the session or out of session, with your concerns, that gets our attention,’” he said.
Bob Johnson explained how legislators receive between 200 and 400 emails every day when they’re in session, and many are duplicates.
“What I want to know, that I want to hear from my constituents, is what bothers them, what they need, what they see. I want to understand why they’re for or against something,” the representative continued.
He said one way to reach him is through constituent services, which is “not politics at all.”
David Johnson agreed, adding that legislators are part-time employees and need help from that full-time staff. He noted that the filing deadline — the first Monday in March — is when hundreds of bills are submitted and things get hectic at the Capitol.
Bob Johnson said Jackson and her co-workers write letters, call people and more. If constituents call them, that staff will put them through to his cell phone, he explained.
Jackson said they all have a different job description when the legislature is having a session. As a general clerk, she said she documents the official record, votes, amendments, etc.
Bob Johnson also emphasized that those concerned about a bill should contact him while it’s in committee because that is where changes are made. Those are open meetings too, he noted.
David Johnson added that, often, committee chairs will ask for input from those who are there and aren’t lawmakers.
Once bills are on the House floor, Bob Johnson said, “They’ve already been kind of vetted, and everybody’s kind of on board with them, and most of them pass when they come out of committee.”
He also encouraged the audience to speak with both their senator and representative before a bill comes to any floor, adding that he really wants to hear from small businesses that are the “backbone” of the state and country.
House agreed that “if you’ve got something that’s really important, yeah, we need to know about it well in advance so we can go ahead and massage it.”
He explained how, for the bill he ushered through last session, he spoke to nearly every House member and three-fourths of the Senate about it — a process that takes time.
Bob Johnson gave one example of hearing from a constituent. He said he’d been asked to look at how Arkansas is the only state around taxing sales of bulk gold. An interim study is now being done to see how much revenue is generated from taxes on bulk gold sales.
The representative noted, too, that every bill has unintended consequences, and it takes time to find those out. The Bureau of Legislative Research helps with that, he said.
He and House also brought up that a bill to stop taxing military retiree benefits died in committee but would come back next session.
Amy Mattison with the chamber said she testified on that topic because she’s married to a 40-something-year-old who has retired from service to his country.
She noted that many lawmakers incorrectly assume retirees are in their 60s and late 50s. Mattison added that Iowa has launched a huge campaign to attract military retirees based on them not taxing benefits and losing military retirees can also mean losing the skill sets of their spouses.
House said, though he supported not taxing military retiree benefits, the argument against it was that other retirees — first responders, teachers, civil service people and more —would want the same treatment. He confirmed that the cost of not taxing military retiree benefits would have been $14 million.
House argued that the difference is many retiring from the military still have skill sets to bring to the workforce when the others don’t.
Another suggestion Bob Johnson had was to make clear when you live in the district of the legislator you are trying to contact.
But David Johnson disagreed with that making a difference, saying he is an officer of the whole state as well. But the senator admitted that late in the session he begins to prioritize those who live in the district he represents.
House said he would take the time necessary to explain to a constituent why he voted a certain way, but would not necessarily do the same for someone outside the area he represents.
Mattison asked when the Senate would catch up with the House in live streaming meetings.
David Johnson said an argument against is that live streaming would prompt grandstanding.
Bob Johnson added that the House has many more rules than the Senate because it is a larger body. Representatives can’t grandstand, he noted.
Bob Johnson also touted at the lunch a new caucus addressing issues for north-of-the-river communities and that Mattison had helped form a Central Arkansas Alliance for chambers of commerce.
House also mentioned briefly at the end, in response to a question about how legislators find out what the unintended consequences of a new bill are, that he caused confusion over open-carry gun laws in Arkansas by adding the word “unlawfully” into a bill.
He said, although the intention was not to allow open carry, it has been interpreted that way, and there had been no move to change the law.
Bob Johnson said, most of the time, lawmakers learn of unintended consequences from the groups affected.
Leader staff writer
Arkansas legislators told a group of Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce members Thursday that they wanted to hear from constituents and hear from them early.
State Rep. Bob Johnson (D- Jacksonville) also introduced Tabitha Jackson at the Lunch and Learn event at the Esther Dewitt Nixon Library. She does constituent services for the House of Representatives.
Johnson, who is running for re-election against Republican opponent Patrick Thomas, was joined by state Sen. David Johnson (D-Little Rock).
David Johnson is seeking to be judge over the Jacksonville and Maumelle district courts. His opponent, Cammack Village-Wrightsville District Court Judge Rita Bailey, also came to the lunch.
The two courts will soon share a judge and have countywide jurisdiction because of a 2011 law aimed at lightening the caseload of circuit courts across Arkansas. All of Pulaski County will vote on the judge in spring 2016.
State Rep. Douglas House (R-North Little Rock), who is unopposed for re-election, also spoke at the get-together.
Former state Rep. Mark Perry, Jacksonville-North Pulaski School Superintendent Tony Wood and chamber board president Roger Sundermeier were there, too.
Bob Johnson kicked things off. “I talked to the chamber not long after our session started, and I said, ‘You know, I would like to talk to the businesses (about) how do you get to us during the session or out of session, with your concerns, that gets our attention,’” he said.
Bob Johnson explained how legislators receive between 200 and 400 emails every day when they’re in session, and many are duplicates.
“What I want to know, that I want to hear from my constituents, is what bothers them, what they need, what they see. I want to understand why they’re for or against something,” the representative continued.
He said one way to reach him is through constituent services, which is “not politics at all.”
David Johnson agreed, adding that legislators are part-time employees and need help from that full-time staff. He noted that the filing deadline — the first Monday in March — is when hundreds of bills are submitted and things get hectic at the Capitol.
Bob Johnson said Jackson and her co-workers write letters, call people and more. If constituents call them, that staff will put them through to his cell phone, he explained.
Jackson said they all have a different job description when the legislature is having a session. As a general clerk, she said she documents the official record, votes, amendments, etc.
Bob Johnson also emphasized that those concerned about a bill should contact him while it’s in committee because that is where changes are made. Those are open meetings too, he noted.
David Johnson added that, often, committee chairs will ask for input from those who are there and aren’t lawmakers.
Once bills are on the House floor, Bob Johnson said, “They’ve already been kind of vetted, and everybody’s kind of on board with them, and most of them pass when they come out of committee.”
He also encouraged the audience to speak with both their senator and representative before a bill comes to any floor, adding that he really wants to hear from small businesses that are the “backbone” of the state and country.
House agreed that “if you’ve got something that’s really important, yeah, we need to know about it well in advance so we can go ahead and massage it.”
He explained how, for the bill he ushered through last session, he spoke to nearly every House member and three-fourths of the Senate about it — a process that takes time.
Bob Johnson gave one example of hearing from a constituent. He said he’d been asked to look at how Arkansas is the only state around taxing sales of bulk gold. An interim study is now being done to see how much revenue is generated from taxes on bulk gold sales.
The representative noted, too, that every bill has unintended consequences, and it takes time to find those out. The Bureau of Legislative Research helps with that, he said.
He and House also brought up that a bill to stop taxing military retiree benefits died in committee but would come back next session.
Amy Mattison with the chamber said she testified on that topic because she’s married to a 40-something-year-old who has retired from service to his country.
She noted that many lawmakers incorrectly assume retirees are in their 60s and late 50s. Mattison added that Iowa has launched a huge campaign to attract military retirees based on them not taxing benefits and losing military retirees can also mean losing the skill sets of their spouses.
House said, though he supported not taxing military retiree benefits, the argument against it was that other retirees — first responders, teachers, civil service people and more —would want the same treatment. He confirmed that the cost of not taxing military retiree benefits would have been $14 million.
House argued that the difference is many retiring from the military still have skill sets to bring to the workforce when the others don’t.
Another suggestion Bob Johnson had was to make clear when you live in the district of the legislator you are trying to contact.
But David Johnson disagreed with that making a difference, saying he is an officer of the whole state as well. But the senator admitted that late in the session he begins to prioritize those who live in the district he represents.
House said he would take the time necessary to explain to a constituent why he voted a certain way, but would not necessarily do the same for someone outside the area he represents.
Mattison asked when the Senate would catch up with the House in live streaming meetings.
David Johnson said an argument against is that live streaming would prompt grandstanding.
Bob Johnson added that the House has many more rules than the Senate because it is a larger body. Representatives can’t grandstand, he noted.
Bob Johnson also touted at the lunch a new caucus addressing issues for north-of-the-river communities and that Mattison had helped form a Central Arkansas Alliance for chambers of commerce.
House also mentioned briefly at the end, in response to a question about how legislators find out what the unintended consequences of a new bill are, that he caused confusion over open-carry gun laws in Arkansas by adding the word “unlawfully” into a bill.
He said, although the intention was not to allow open carry, it has been interpreted that way, and there had been no move to change the law.
Bob Johnson said, most of the time, lawmakers learn of unintended consequences from the groups affected.
TOP STORY >> Director can keep $21,000
By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
The overpayment of $21,000 to Beebe Parks and Recreation director Lynn Hatcher for vehicle reimbursements was due to miscommunication and will not have to be repaid, according to Mayor Mike Robertson.
On Tuesday morning, he vetoed the city council’s Monday decision to fire Hatcher — made after an alderman discovered the parks director had received a monthly car allowance of $1,000 instead of the $500 he was supposed to get for using his own personal truck over the past 42 months.
A special council meeting was held Tuesday night. The mayor’s veto allowed Hatcher to represent himself at the disciplinary hearing.
The meeting went into a closed-door executive session to discuss the personnel matter, which did not happen on Monday. Hatcher was not present at that first meeting. The mayor said Hatcher was having heart surgery, but Robertson did not know it had been rescheduled to Thursday.
On Tuesday, before the second meeting, the mayor and city clerk/treasurer Carol Westergren looked at the May 2012 council meeting minutes from when Hatcher was hired. The mayor said there was nothing in the minutes about the salary or the vehicle allowance. Hatcher’s salary is $40,019 a year.
Robertson said he had a typed letter he had written, but Westergren was not sure she received it. The mayor explained, “I can’t swear one way or the other,” as Westergren added, “I had nothing in my office on this matter.”
Robertson continued, “Whatever was communicated back in 2012, there is no way for (Westergren) to remember, or I to remember, if it got communicated in a letter or in verbal form, or how it was communicated.
“I don’t think what happened was a deliberate action on anybody’s part. It is a terrible thing that happened. It is apparent there are multiple interpretations of things that transpired,” he noted.
The council voted for Hatcher to stop receiving a vehicle allowance starting with the next pay period. The city will instead purchase a newFord truck for the parks department under state bid immediately for $22,146.
“I know we acted hastily with the decision and that didn’t afford (Hatcher) the right to a hearing or due process. The line of questioning (Monday) night was directed at me, and I answered them honestly. But answering the questions did not shed a good light on the city at the time,” Robertson said.
“Mr. Hatcher I apologize for any misinterpretation that I had,” Robertson said.
“Thank you for hearing me out…To get the news like I did, emotions and thoughts run wild with something like this,” Hatcher said.
Alderman David Pruitt told The Leader on Thursday, “I believe in my heart that we made the right decision Monday night to fire Lynn Hatcher. I don’t understand how five of the other council members could allow Hatcher to keep his job,” Pruitt said.
Pruitt said on Tuesday the mayor sent council members an email notifying that he vetoed their action.
“I thought the mayor felt the same way,” Pruitt said.
Pruitt said on Tuesday’s meeting the council made no motion to override the mayor’s veto. State law requires the council needs two-third majority to override a mayoral veto. Pruitt said he believed no one else was going to make a motion, and if he did, it would not get support, so he declined.
Pruitt said nobody questioned if Hatcher should pay the money back.
Pruitt said he would have made a motion requiring Hatcher to do so, if Pruitt knew he needed to do so.
Pruitt said he is still new to the council and still learning since coming on in January. Pruitt said he noticed Hatcher’s vehicle reimbursements when it was itemized for the 2016 parks budget.
According to Pruitt, Hatcher said in Tuesday’s meeting that the money was an entitlement for what he’s done for the city.
Leader staff writer
The overpayment of $21,000 to Beebe Parks and Recreation director Lynn Hatcher for vehicle reimbursements was due to miscommunication and will not have to be repaid, according to Mayor Mike Robertson.
On Tuesday morning, he vetoed the city council’s Monday decision to fire Hatcher — made after an alderman discovered the parks director had received a monthly car allowance of $1,000 instead of the $500 he was supposed to get for using his own personal truck over the past 42 months.
A special council meeting was held Tuesday night. The mayor’s veto allowed Hatcher to represent himself at the disciplinary hearing.
The meeting went into a closed-door executive session to discuss the personnel matter, which did not happen on Monday. Hatcher was not present at that first meeting. The mayor said Hatcher was having heart surgery, but Robertson did not know it had been rescheduled to Thursday.
On Tuesday, before the second meeting, the mayor and city clerk/treasurer Carol Westergren looked at the May 2012 council meeting minutes from when Hatcher was hired. The mayor said there was nothing in the minutes about the salary or the vehicle allowance. Hatcher’s salary is $40,019 a year.
Robertson said he had a typed letter he had written, but Westergren was not sure she received it. The mayor explained, “I can’t swear one way or the other,” as Westergren added, “I had nothing in my office on this matter.”
Robertson continued, “Whatever was communicated back in 2012, there is no way for (Westergren) to remember, or I to remember, if it got communicated in a letter or in verbal form, or how it was communicated.
“I don’t think what happened was a deliberate action on anybody’s part. It is a terrible thing that happened. It is apparent there are multiple interpretations of things that transpired,” he noted.
The council voted for Hatcher to stop receiving a vehicle allowance starting with the next pay period. The city will instead purchase a newFord truck for the parks department under state bid immediately for $22,146.
“I know we acted hastily with the decision and that didn’t afford (Hatcher) the right to a hearing or due process. The line of questioning (Monday) night was directed at me, and I answered them honestly. But answering the questions did not shed a good light on the city at the time,” Robertson said.
“Mr. Hatcher I apologize for any misinterpretation that I had,” Robertson said.
“Thank you for hearing me out…To get the news like I did, emotions and thoughts run wild with something like this,” Hatcher said.
Alderman David Pruitt told The Leader on Thursday, “I believe in my heart that we made the right decision Monday night to fire Lynn Hatcher. I don’t understand how five of the other council members could allow Hatcher to keep his job,” Pruitt said.
Pruitt said on Tuesday the mayor sent council members an email notifying that he vetoed their action.
“I thought the mayor felt the same way,” Pruitt said.
Pruitt said on Tuesday’s meeting the council made no motion to override the mayor’s veto. State law requires the council needs two-third majority to override a mayoral veto. Pruitt said he believed no one else was going to make a motion, and if he did, it would not get support, so he declined.
Pruitt said nobody questioned if Hatcher should pay the money back.
Pruitt said he would have made a motion requiring Hatcher to do so, if Pruitt knew he needed to do so.
Pruitt said he is still new to the council and still learning since coming on in January. Pruitt said he noticed Hatcher’s vehicle reimbursements when it was itemized for the 2016 parks budget.
According to Pruitt, Hatcher said in Tuesday’s meeting that the money was an entitlement for what he’s done for the city.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
SPORTS STORY >> Razorback fans still relishing memorable overtime in Oxford
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Saturday’s SEC West showdown in Oxford, Miss., will go down as one of the wildest and most exciting in Arkansas football history.
School records were broken, conference milestones were matched and one of the most memorable endings in college football history took place as Arkansas beat Ole Miss 53-52 in overtime.
It’s the second instant all-time classic the two teams have played in Oxford this century. On Nov. 3, 2001, Arkansas beat Ole Miss 58-56 in seven overtimes.
Ole Miss fans still call that game, “The Longest Day.”
In this year’s game, Arkansas tight end Hunter Henry’s backwards heave on fourth down and 25 in overtime has spawned a series of nicknames as well. Some were the Henry Heave, the backwards Hail Mary and the Hog and Lateral. The best one, though, is the Hotty Totty Toss A Mighty, taken from the famous Hotty Totty Ole Miss cheer.
A debate about the legality of the play raged until as recently as yesterday. The debate started on Saturday night as people cited the rule that a fumble could not be advanced on fourth down by anyone except the person who fumbled.
What that interpretation got wrong was that another rule defines a fumble as a loss of possession by any means other than passing, kicking or successfully handing. Hunter Henry intentionally passed the ball backwards. That is clear from the video. He was 15 yards down field. The ball sailed 30 feet into the air and came down behind the original line of scrimmage. No fumble in the history of football has ever flown that far.
But on Monday, a website called footballscoop.com began challenging the ruling again on Twitter, saying it wasn’t a backward pass because it was not aimed at a specific player.
This interpretation depends on two assumptions that are not in the rule book.
Footballscoop.com tweeted, “once it hits the ground, that’s an intentional fumble on fourth down. Once touched by someone else, ball is dead.”
The mistake footballscoop makes is that there is no rule that says a pass has to be aimed at a specific target, and there’s no rule that says a backwards pass, even an indiscriminate one, becomes a fumble if it hits the ground.
There is one ironic twist to all this that works in Arkansas’ favor, and that is that the fourth-down fumble rule was added to keep teams from doing just what Henry did. But the Hogs’ win is still legal because of the simple technicality that only fumbles are referred to in the fourth down rule. And the words “fumble” and “backwards pass” are clearly defined as two different things elsewhere in the rule book.
One thing not in dispute is that Saturday’s performance by Razorback senior Brandon Allen is one of the best games by a quarterback in Arkansas football history. Allen completed 33 of 45 pass attempts for 442 yards and six touchdowns. The yardage is the second-most in school history, and the six touchdown passes breaks the old record of five set by Tyler Wilson a few years ago.
It’s a bit of solace to Allen, who has spent most of his career as one of the most maligned quarterbacks in Arkansas history. Some of the criticism he has received since being named the starter his sophomore year is deserved, but most of it has been over the top.
Saturday’s game was frustrating to watch for a defensive enthusiast’s, but the offensive onslaught made for an entertaining shootout and quarterback duel between, at least statistically, the top two quarterbacks in the SEC.
Ole Miss’ Chad Kelly leads the league in passing yards (3,224) and touchdowns (23), and has completed 65.7 percent of his passes this season. Allen is second in the SEC in passing yards (2,476) and touchdowns (21), and has completed 64.9 percent of his passes.
Allen also boasts the league’s highest quarterback rating at 164.7, with Kelly having the second-highest rating at 155.0. Allen does a better job of taking care of the football, with only five interceptions this year and just 10 over the last two seasons. Kelly has thrown 12 picks this season alone.
Neither team had a turnover Saturday. Kelly became only the second player in school history with 300-plus yards passing and 100-plus yards rushing in a game. The other guy to do that is Archie Manning.
Even with Kelly’s remarkable performance, Allen was the one who earned the College Football Performance Awards group’s National Player of the Week honor.
It looks as though Arkansas has found its groove offensively. After starting the year a disappointing 1-3, the Razorbacks have won four of their last five games, with their only loss coming to white-hot Alabama, who has the best front seven in college football.
That front seven dominated No. 2 LSU on Saturday, as the Crimson Tide rolled to a 30-16 win over the Tigers.
The Razorbacks’ win Saturday knocked the Rebels off their path toward what could’ve been their first SEC West title, and for the third-consecutive game, the Razorbacks have scored at least 50 points, which is the first time that’s happened in 99 years.
Arkansas is now one win away from bowl eligibility for the second year in a row. With three games remaining and Missouri (4-5, 1-5) left to play in the regular-season finale, the possibility of playing in the postseason is now likely.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Arkansas could win the rest of its regular-season games.
The biggest challenge of the three remaining opponents is next week at LSU (7-1, 4-1). The Tigers were the No. 2-ranked team in the country entering Saturday’s showdown at Alabama.
The Tigers have the best player in the country in Leonard Fournette, who entered Saturday’s game leading the nation in rushing, but was held to 31 yards on 19 carries by the Crimson Tide.
Recent history has shown that despite what the two teams are ranked or where the game is played, the Arkansas-LUS game is unpredictable.
If Arkansas’ offense can play close to the level it did against Ole Miss, it will compete with LSU. The schedule change that moved Arkansas’ annual Friday-after-Thanksgiving game with LSU to this week also helps Arkansas, because the Hogs catch the Tigers the week after Alabama.
SEC teams that play another SEC team the week after playing Alabama have a horrendous winning percentage, somewhere around 10 percent.
Mississippi State (7-3, 3-2) is another game that Arkansas probably won’t be favored in, but it’s another game that should be competitive in Fayetteville. That leaves Missouri at home on Nov. 27, a game Arkansas should win.
If the Razorbacks lose the next two games, the win they should get over Missouri will still put the Hogs in the postseason. Considering how the team started this season, Many Razorback fans will be excited about a bowl game.
Graham Powell contributed information for this column.
Leader sports editor
Saturday’s SEC West showdown in Oxford, Miss., will go down as one of the wildest and most exciting in Arkansas football history.
School records were broken, conference milestones were matched and one of the most memorable endings in college football history took place as Arkansas beat Ole Miss 53-52 in overtime.
It’s the second instant all-time classic the two teams have played in Oxford this century. On Nov. 3, 2001, Arkansas beat Ole Miss 58-56 in seven overtimes.
Ole Miss fans still call that game, “The Longest Day.”
In this year’s game, Arkansas tight end Hunter Henry’s backwards heave on fourth down and 25 in overtime has spawned a series of nicknames as well. Some were the Henry Heave, the backwards Hail Mary and the Hog and Lateral. The best one, though, is the Hotty Totty Toss A Mighty, taken from the famous Hotty Totty Ole Miss cheer.
A debate about the legality of the play raged until as recently as yesterday. The debate started on Saturday night as people cited the rule that a fumble could not be advanced on fourth down by anyone except the person who fumbled.
What that interpretation got wrong was that another rule defines a fumble as a loss of possession by any means other than passing, kicking or successfully handing. Hunter Henry intentionally passed the ball backwards. That is clear from the video. He was 15 yards down field. The ball sailed 30 feet into the air and came down behind the original line of scrimmage. No fumble in the history of football has ever flown that far.
But on Monday, a website called footballscoop.com began challenging the ruling again on Twitter, saying it wasn’t a backward pass because it was not aimed at a specific player.
This interpretation depends on two assumptions that are not in the rule book.
Footballscoop.com tweeted, “once it hits the ground, that’s an intentional fumble on fourth down. Once touched by someone else, ball is dead.”
The mistake footballscoop makes is that there is no rule that says a pass has to be aimed at a specific target, and there’s no rule that says a backwards pass, even an indiscriminate one, becomes a fumble if it hits the ground.
There is one ironic twist to all this that works in Arkansas’ favor, and that is that the fourth-down fumble rule was added to keep teams from doing just what Henry did. But the Hogs’ win is still legal because of the simple technicality that only fumbles are referred to in the fourth down rule. And the words “fumble” and “backwards pass” are clearly defined as two different things elsewhere in the rule book.
One thing not in dispute is that Saturday’s performance by Razorback senior Brandon Allen is one of the best games by a quarterback in Arkansas football history. Allen completed 33 of 45 pass attempts for 442 yards and six touchdowns. The yardage is the second-most in school history, and the six touchdown passes breaks the old record of five set by Tyler Wilson a few years ago.
It’s a bit of solace to Allen, who has spent most of his career as one of the most maligned quarterbacks in Arkansas history. Some of the criticism he has received since being named the starter his sophomore year is deserved, but most of it has been over the top.
Saturday’s game was frustrating to watch for a defensive enthusiast’s, but the offensive onslaught made for an entertaining shootout and quarterback duel between, at least statistically, the top two quarterbacks in the SEC.
Ole Miss’ Chad Kelly leads the league in passing yards (3,224) and touchdowns (23), and has completed 65.7 percent of his passes this season. Allen is second in the SEC in passing yards (2,476) and touchdowns (21), and has completed 64.9 percent of his passes.
Allen also boasts the league’s highest quarterback rating at 164.7, with Kelly having the second-highest rating at 155.0. Allen does a better job of taking care of the football, with only five interceptions this year and just 10 over the last two seasons. Kelly has thrown 12 picks this season alone.
Neither team had a turnover Saturday. Kelly became only the second player in school history with 300-plus yards passing and 100-plus yards rushing in a game. The other guy to do that is Archie Manning.
Even with Kelly’s remarkable performance, Allen was the one who earned the College Football Performance Awards group’s National Player of the Week honor.
It looks as though Arkansas has found its groove offensively. After starting the year a disappointing 1-3, the Razorbacks have won four of their last five games, with their only loss coming to white-hot Alabama, who has the best front seven in college football.
That front seven dominated No. 2 LSU on Saturday, as the Crimson Tide rolled to a 30-16 win over the Tigers.
The Razorbacks’ win Saturday knocked the Rebels off their path toward what could’ve been their first SEC West title, and for the third-consecutive game, the Razorbacks have scored at least 50 points, which is the first time that’s happened in 99 years.
Arkansas is now one win away from bowl eligibility for the second year in a row. With three games remaining and Missouri (4-5, 1-5) left to play in the regular-season finale, the possibility of playing in the postseason is now likely.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Arkansas could win the rest of its regular-season games.
The biggest challenge of the three remaining opponents is next week at LSU (7-1, 4-1). The Tigers were the No. 2-ranked team in the country entering Saturday’s showdown at Alabama.
The Tigers have the best player in the country in Leonard Fournette, who entered Saturday’s game leading the nation in rushing, but was held to 31 yards on 19 carries by the Crimson Tide.
Recent history has shown that despite what the two teams are ranked or where the game is played, the Arkansas-LUS game is unpredictable.
If Arkansas’ offense can play close to the level it did against Ole Miss, it will compete with LSU. The schedule change that moved Arkansas’ annual Friday-after-Thanksgiving game with LSU to this week also helps Arkansas, because the Hogs catch the Tigers the week after Alabama.
SEC teams that play another SEC team the week after playing Alabama have a horrendous winning percentage, somewhere around 10 percent.
Mississippi State (7-3, 3-2) is another game that Arkansas probably won’t be favored in, but it’s another game that should be competitive in Fayetteville. That leaves Missouri at home on Nov. 27, a game Arkansas should win.
If the Razorbacks lose the next two games, the win they should get over Missouri will still put the Hogs in the postseason. Considering how the team started this season, Many Razorback fans will be excited about a bowl game.
Graham Powell contributed information for this column.
SPORTS STORY >> Playoffs begin as locals all hit road
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Five local teams qualified for their respective football playoffs, and four hit the road this week for first-round games as lower-seeded visitors. The Cabot Panthers finished 10-0 and earned a first-round bye in the Class 7A playoffs.
Beebe is the highest seed of all the local teams playing this week. The Badgers take a three seed from the 5A-Central into Greenbrier, where it will play a rematch of its week-one victory over the 5A-West second-seeded Panthers.
The Badgers beat Greenbrier 41-27 in a Kickoff Classic game at War Memorial Stadium, but many people now believe the Panthers will be the one to advance to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.
The Badgers (5-4) are a different team than the third-ranked squad that handled Greenbrier with relative ease in early September. The very next week, starting halfback and safety Jo’Vaughn Wyrick suffered a season-ending broken leg against Lonoke. Wyrick rushed for 213 yards in the win over Greenbrier. Since then, Beebe has lost four other players for the season, including three other starters.
After losing Wyrick, the Badgers lost starting quarterback Justin Burlison for the Vilonia game, and lost that game 28-18. In the conference opener, the second- and third- string quarterbacks were injured, one for the season, in a 14-13 loss to McClellan. Burlison returned for the Jacksonville game in week five, but suffered a season-ending head injuryin the second quarter of that game. Beebe still pulled out a 13-12 win, but then lost 49-13 to Pulaski Academy, and was sitting at 2-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play after six games.
Shannon says the biggest key to the team’s turnaround has been leadership, particularly from the senior class.
“These guys just keep coming to work every day. When an underclassman messes something up, it’s been correction and encouragement instead of finger pointing and saying, you know, ‘it’s my senior year and you’re messing it up.’ I couldn’t be more proud of my seniors than I already am.”
SCORING PROWESS
Sylvan Hills has a big test as it takes on the No. 2 ranked Warriors and their All-State Camden-Fairview transfer Damarea Crockett.
Sylvan Hills once held the state’s high scoring average, but that now belongs to LRCA. The 10-0 Warriors average 50.3 points per game and have not been held below 40 points all season. They’ve given up at least three touchdowns in six of their 10 games. Sylvan Hills averaged 57 points per game through five games, but have averaged 25.8 since then.
UNFAMILIAR FOE
Lonoke (5-5) looks like an underdog when comparing its record to the 8-1 Pirates, but this could be a close game. The 4A-3 is not a powerhouse conference, and Gosnell’s loss to league champ Pocahontas was a 40-0 blowout.
Pocahontas opened the season with a 64-39 win over Riverview, who Lonoke beat 38-21 in last week’s regular-season finale.
HORNETS HOT
Carlisle’s opponent enters the playoffs on an eight-game winning streak. The Hackett Hornets have not lost since a 22-16 defeat to 2A-4 champion Hector in week two.
Hackett has played Carlisle’s conference mate Palestine-Wheatley.
The week after Carlisle went to PWHS and won 27-26, The Patriots traveled to Hackett and lost 46-26.
Leader sports editor
Five local teams qualified for their respective football playoffs, and four hit the road this week for first-round games as lower-seeded visitors. The Cabot Panthers finished 10-0 and earned a first-round bye in the Class 7A playoffs.
Beebe is the highest seed of all the local teams playing this week. The Badgers take a three seed from the 5A-Central into Greenbrier, where it will play a rematch of its week-one victory over the 5A-West second-seeded Panthers.
The Badgers beat Greenbrier 41-27 in a Kickoff Classic game at War Memorial Stadium, but many people now believe the Panthers will be the one to advance to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.
The Badgers (5-4) are a different team than the third-ranked squad that handled Greenbrier with relative ease in early September. The very next week, starting halfback and safety Jo’Vaughn Wyrick suffered a season-ending broken leg against Lonoke. Wyrick rushed for 213 yards in the win over Greenbrier. Since then, Beebe has lost four other players for the season, including three other starters.
After losing Wyrick, the Badgers lost starting quarterback Justin Burlison for the Vilonia game, and lost that game 28-18. In the conference opener, the second- and third- string quarterbacks were injured, one for the season, in a 14-13 loss to McClellan. Burlison returned for the Jacksonville game in week five, but suffered a season-ending head injuryin the second quarter of that game. Beebe still pulled out a 13-12 win, but then lost 49-13 to Pulaski Academy, and was sitting at 2-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play after six games.
Shannon says the biggest key to the team’s turnaround has been leadership, particularly from the senior class.
“These guys just keep coming to work every day. When an underclassman messes something up, it’s been correction and encouragement instead of finger pointing and saying, you know, ‘it’s my senior year and you’re messing it up.’ I couldn’t be more proud of my seniors than I already am.”
SCORING PROWESS
Sylvan Hills has a big test as it takes on the No. 2 ranked Warriors and their All-State Camden-Fairview transfer Damarea Crockett.
Sylvan Hills once held the state’s high scoring average, but that now belongs to LRCA. The 10-0 Warriors average 50.3 points per game and have not been held below 40 points all season. They’ve given up at least three touchdowns in six of their 10 games. Sylvan Hills averaged 57 points per game through five games, but have averaged 25.8 since then.
UNFAMILIAR FOE
Lonoke (5-5) looks like an underdog when comparing its record to the 8-1 Pirates, but this could be a close game. The 4A-3 is not a powerhouse conference, and Gosnell’s loss to league champ Pocahontas was a 40-0 blowout.
Pocahontas opened the season with a 64-39 win over Riverview, who Lonoke beat 38-21 in last week’s regular-season finale.
HORNETS HOT
Carlisle’s opponent enters the playoffs on an eight-game winning streak. The Hackett Hornets have not lost since a 22-16 defeat to 2A-4 champion Hector in week two.
Hackett has played Carlisle’s conference mate Palestine-Wheatley.
The week after Carlisle went to PWHS and won 27-26, The Patriots traveled to Hackett and lost 46-26.
SPORTS STORY >> Badger rumbling towards 5,000
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
Beebe senior fullback Trip Smith recently broke the school’s career rushing record, but that feat has yet to sink in with Smith, whose focus is solely on helping his team win Friday’s first-round playoff game at Greenbrier.
Smith broke the school rushing record in the team’s week-eight win at J.A. Fair on Oct. 23. Going into that game, Smith needed only 69 yards to surpass previous record-holder Nic Bradley’s career mark of 4,640 rushing yards set in 1995. Smith got 104 yards in that game to help the Badgers to a dominant 42-6 win over the War Eagles.
The next week, which was the Badgers’ regular-season finale, Smith ran for more than 240 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s 35-28 win over Sylvan Hills. Smith now has a career total of 4,916 yards rushing. He’s done it on 828 carries, giving him a career average of 5.9 yards per carry.
“He’s been pretty special for us,” said Beebe coach John Shannon of his senior fullback. “He’s 84 yards away from 5,000 on his career. You know, you hear about kids rushing for 5,000 yards. Well, most of the time they’re playing as freshmen, and he’s done it in 30 games.
“It’ll be 31 high school games this Friday night. That’s a pretty special kid.”
Smith said it’s great to be the school’s all-time leading rusher, but added that his main focus is on winning this week’s playoff game against Greenbrier – the same Greenbrier team Beebe beat, 41-27, in the regular-season opener at War Memorial Stadium on Sept. 1.
“It’s all cool,” said Smith. “I feel great about it, but right now we’re focused on winning games. After the season ends, I’ll probably be more focused on that. But right now, I’m just focused on getting ready for Greenbrier.”
Smith has led the Badger backfield since he was a sophomore. That year, he had his best statistical season as a Badger, carrying the ball 312 times for 1,928 yards and 23 touchdowns.
It was a breakout season for the up-and-coming Smith, but he wasn’t expected to be relied on that heavily going into that 2013 season. In fact, originally, he wasn’t even expected to be a fullback, which is the feature running back position in Shannon’s Dead-T offense.
“He wasn’t even technically a fullback,” Shannon said. “A kid had quit and we were in search of a fullback. During spring ball, we kept looking at him, and the more we looked at him the more we liked him. So he kind of won the job in spring ball.
“Come his sophomore year, we weren’t planning on giving him that many touches. But that first game he ran for over 280-something yards in his first high school football game. From that point on, we knew we needed to get him the ball quite a bit.”
“I started playing in seventh grade,” Smith said, “but up until 10th grade I was a halfback and rotated in at the right side of the fullback, and I played safety. I started at safety.
“Coach Shannon said the (fullback) job was open, and I went in and won the competition I guess.”
Smith gave the bulk of the credit to his offensive linemen for the success he had as a 10th grader.
“I felt my sophomore year was mainly because of my offensive linemen,” Smith said. “I didn’t have much experience. I was just kind of letting them do all the work and I was just going through the hole. It was kind of a learning experience for me.”
After a phenomenal sophomore campaign, big things were expected from Smith going into his junior year, but just before the season started, he suffered a gruesome weightlifting injury to the upper end of his finger.
“It took a chunk of it,” Smith said of the injury. “Some of the bone was taken off, too. There was a piece (of flesh) just sitting on the dumbbell, they told me. When I sat it (the dumbbell) down, I knew I smashed it. I was feeling pain, but I didn’t think it was like a huge deal.
“Then I saw people running when they saw it, and I looked down and I was like, wow.”
Even though he came close to losing that part of his finger, Smith had it reattached and was back on the field for the team’s first conference game in week four – meaning he only missed the first three games of last season.
The injured finger was nowhere near 100 percent when he started playing again, but a cast he wore around it helped protect it and allowed him to get back onto the field and start carrying the ball again.
“They gave me a big ole cast to put on my finger,” Smith said. “We had to work with it for a while to make sure I could secure the ball and not fumble. There were a few times in the first couple of games where it got hit, and the initial pain, it felt like I had reinjured it.”
Smith said he’s always nervous before games, but he said even more so that first game back against McClellan. His first carry in that game, though, went for 30 yards, and he said that was a big help in easing his anxiety the rest of the way.
“I’m usually nervous before games, but I was especially nervous for that one,” Smith said. “My first carry was a trap right up the middle, and it went for 30 yards and it just loosened me up a little for the rest of the game.”
Smith said his finger fully healed toward the end of the regular season, which helped him contribute even more to the team’s magical run to the Class 5A state semifinals. Despite missing the first three games of last season, he finished 2014 with 262 carries for 1,643 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Those numbers once again led the Beebe backfield, but the Badgers had another 1,000-yard rusher in 2014 in halfback Jo’Vaughn Wyrick. Wyrick averaged a whopping 14.3 yards per carry last season, and he and Smith had become the thunder and lightning duo of Beebe’s backfield.
Unfortunately for Beebe, Wyrick suffered a season-ending leg injury toward the end of the first half in the team’s week-two game at Lonoke. Smith and Wyrick are teammates, but also close friends off the field. Smith described what it was like to see his teammate and friend being carted off the field that Friday night.
“When he first went down, I was kind of optimistic that it was just a stinger and that maybe he’d get back up in a little bit,” Smith said. “Even when he went to the hospital, I was trying to stay positive. When I heard that it was broken, I was kind of heartbroken, especially for him.
“He worked so hard to get where he was, and to just get it taken away like that, it hurt.”
Others have stepped in to try and fill the void that Wyrick left, but it’s once again been Smith that’s carried the bulk of the load on offense this season. For the third-consecutive year, Smith is the team’s leading rusher, and he enters Friday’s first-round playoff game at Greenbrier with 254 carries for 1,345 yards and 13 touchdowns this season.
Smith is a proven standout on the gridiron, but he also stands out in the classroom. Smith ranks in the top five percent of his class with a 4.1 cumulative grade point average, and he scored a 30 on his ACT.
“He’s a straight-A student,” Shannon said. “He’s a yes sir, no sir type of kid – just a hard worker. It’s a blessing to have a kid that does well in the classroom and on the football field, and he’s just a good kid.
“You don’t have to worry about him getting in trouble in classes. You don’t have to worry about him getting in trouble out on the streets. He’s just an incredible kid. He’s going to work hard every day and do everything you ask him to do, and like I said, he’s a special athlete, too.”
“There are some days that are easier than others,” Smith said of balancing school work and football, “but most of the time I can get through it.”
With a 4.1 GPA and score of 30 on the ACT, Smith can get a full-paid academic scholarship to nearly any school of his choosing, at least in state. He said he doesn’t yet know where he’ll attend college, or if he’ll even choose to play football at the next level.
As of now, his focus is on the present and doing his best in the classroom and on the football field, where the Badgers have won four of their last five games. As far as doing his best on the football field, though, the two-time All-State fullback doesn’t do it for personal records or accolades. He does it for his team, which he says is like family.
“It feels like a family,” Smith said. “We’re like a brotherhood here. It feels like you go in every day, working hard to please your family, and make sure that you’re not letting them down.”
Leader sportswriter
Beebe senior fullback Trip Smith recently broke the school’s career rushing record, but that feat has yet to sink in with Smith, whose focus is solely on helping his team win Friday’s first-round playoff game at Greenbrier.
Smith broke the school rushing record in the team’s week-eight win at J.A. Fair on Oct. 23. Going into that game, Smith needed only 69 yards to surpass previous record-holder Nic Bradley’s career mark of 4,640 rushing yards set in 1995. Smith got 104 yards in that game to help the Badgers to a dominant 42-6 win over the War Eagles.
The next week, which was the Badgers’ regular-season finale, Smith ran for more than 240 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s 35-28 win over Sylvan Hills. Smith now has a career total of 4,916 yards rushing. He’s done it on 828 carries, giving him a career average of 5.9 yards per carry.
“He’s been pretty special for us,” said Beebe coach John Shannon of his senior fullback. “He’s 84 yards away from 5,000 on his career. You know, you hear about kids rushing for 5,000 yards. Well, most of the time they’re playing as freshmen, and he’s done it in 30 games.
“It’ll be 31 high school games this Friday night. That’s a pretty special kid.”
Smith said it’s great to be the school’s all-time leading rusher, but added that his main focus is on winning this week’s playoff game against Greenbrier – the same Greenbrier team Beebe beat, 41-27, in the regular-season opener at War Memorial Stadium on Sept. 1.
“It’s all cool,” said Smith. “I feel great about it, but right now we’re focused on winning games. After the season ends, I’ll probably be more focused on that. But right now, I’m just focused on getting ready for Greenbrier.”
Smith has led the Badger backfield since he was a sophomore. That year, he had his best statistical season as a Badger, carrying the ball 312 times for 1,928 yards and 23 touchdowns.
It was a breakout season for the up-and-coming Smith, but he wasn’t expected to be relied on that heavily going into that 2013 season. In fact, originally, he wasn’t even expected to be a fullback, which is the feature running back position in Shannon’s Dead-T offense.
“He wasn’t even technically a fullback,” Shannon said. “A kid had quit and we were in search of a fullback. During spring ball, we kept looking at him, and the more we looked at him the more we liked him. So he kind of won the job in spring ball.
“Come his sophomore year, we weren’t planning on giving him that many touches. But that first game he ran for over 280-something yards in his first high school football game. From that point on, we knew we needed to get him the ball quite a bit.”
“I started playing in seventh grade,” Smith said, “but up until 10th grade I was a halfback and rotated in at the right side of the fullback, and I played safety. I started at safety.
“Coach Shannon said the (fullback) job was open, and I went in and won the competition I guess.”
Smith gave the bulk of the credit to his offensive linemen for the success he had as a 10th grader.
“I felt my sophomore year was mainly because of my offensive linemen,” Smith said. “I didn’t have much experience. I was just kind of letting them do all the work and I was just going through the hole. It was kind of a learning experience for me.”
After a phenomenal sophomore campaign, big things were expected from Smith going into his junior year, but just before the season started, he suffered a gruesome weightlifting injury to the upper end of his finger.
“It took a chunk of it,” Smith said of the injury. “Some of the bone was taken off, too. There was a piece (of flesh) just sitting on the dumbbell, they told me. When I sat it (the dumbbell) down, I knew I smashed it. I was feeling pain, but I didn’t think it was like a huge deal.
“Then I saw people running when they saw it, and I looked down and I was like, wow.”
Even though he came close to losing that part of his finger, Smith had it reattached and was back on the field for the team’s first conference game in week four – meaning he only missed the first three games of last season.
The injured finger was nowhere near 100 percent when he started playing again, but a cast he wore around it helped protect it and allowed him to get back onto the field and start carrying the ball again.
“They gave me a big ole cast to put on my finger,” Smith said. “We had to work with it for a while to make sure I could secure the ball and not fumble. There were a few times in the first couple of games where it got hit, and the initial pain, it felt like I had reinjured it.”
Smith said he’s always nervous before games, but he said even more so that first game back against McClellan. His first carry in that game, though, went for 30 yards, and he said that was a big help in easing his anxiety the rest of the way.
“I’m usually nervous before games, but I was especially nervous for that one,” Smith said. “My first carry was a trap right up the middle, and it went for 30 yards and it just loosened me up a little for the rest of the game.”
Smith said his finger fully healed toward the end of the regular season, which helped him contribute even more to the team’s magical run to the Class 5A state semifinals. Despite missing the first three games of last season, he finished 2014 with 262 carries for 1,643 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Those numbers once again led the Beebe backfield, but the Badgers had another 1,000-yard rusher in 2014 in halfback Jo’Vaughn Wyrick. Wyrick averaged a whopping 14.3 yards per carry last season, and he and Smith had become the thunder and lightning duo of Beebe’s backfield.
Unfortunately for Beebe, Wyrick suffered a season-ending leg injury toward the end of the first half in the team’s week-two game at Lonoke. Smith and Wyrick are teammates, but also close friends off the field. Smith described what it was like to see his teammate and friend being carted off the field that Friday night.
“When he first went down, I was kind of optimistic that it was just a stinger and that maybe he’d get back up in a little bit,” Smith said. “Even when he went to the hospital, I was trying to stay positive. When I heard that it was broken, I was kind of heartbroken, especially for him.
“He worked so hard to get where he was, and to just get it taken away like that, it hurt.”
Others have stepped in to try and fill the void that Wyrick left, but it’s once again been Smith that’s carried the bulk of the load on offense this season. For the third-consecutive year, Smith is the team’s leading rusher, and he enters Friday’s first-round playoff game at Greenbrier with 254 carries for 1,345 yards and 13 touchdowns this season.
Smith is a proven standout on the gridiron, but he also stands out in the classroom. Smith ranks in the top five percent of his class with a 4.1 cumulative grade point average, and he scored a 30 on his ACT.
“He’s a straight-A student,” Shannon said. “He’s a yes sir, no sir type of kid – just a hard worker. It’s a blessing to have a kid that does well in the classroom and on the football field, and he’s just a good kid.
“You don’t have to worry about him getting in trouble in classes. You don’t have to worry about him getting in trouble out on the streets. He’s just an incredible kid. He’s going to work hard every day and do everything you ask him to do, and like I said, he’s a special athlete, too.”
“There are some days that are easier than others,” Smith said of balancing school work and football, “but most of the time I can get through it.”
With a 4.1 GPA and score of 30 on the ACT, Smith can get a full-paid academic scholarship to nearly any school of his choosing, at least in state. He said he doesn’t yet know where he’ll attend college, or if he’ll even choose to play football at the next level.
As of now, his focus is on the present and doing his best in the classroom and on the football field, where the Badgers have won four of their last five games. As far as doing his best on the football field, though, the two-time All-State fullback doesn’t do it for personal records or accolades. He does it for his team, which he says is like family.
“It feels like a family,” Smith said. “We’re like a brotherhood here. It feels like you go in every day, working hard to please your family, and make sure that you’re not letting them down.”
EDITORIAL >> Can’t stand heat, blame the media
I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell.”
— Harry S. Truman
Mike Huckabee and Gov. Chris Christie found themselves relegated to the undercard at last night’s Republican debate on Fox Business News, dealing a blow to their campaigns. Don’t be surprised if both candidates drop out before the end of the month.
Republicans who thought last month’s CNBC debate was biased shouldn’t have expected an easy pass in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. Fox journalists may wear kid gloves when they interview Republican hopefuls, but the panel chosen for the debates even on Fox have shown an admirable toughness toward the candidates.
The questions were no worse than what were lobbed at them on Fox News. The candidates have now taken control of the debates from the Republican National Committee, which negotiated the terms with broadcasters, who have lobbed tough questions that have often exposed the candidates’ weaknesses.
Several candidates have submitted their demands to the networks for less confrontational debates, but even Fox couldn’t agree to them. If the candidates expected less hostile questions from Fox Business anchors Maria Bartiromo and Neil Cavuto at Tuesday’s debate, Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Gerard Baker, a seasoned journalist with a solid reputation, showed them he’s nobody’s fool. Both Fox and the Wall Street Journal are owned by News Corp.
To be sure, Bartiromo has participated in Clinton Foundation events, but so has the Murdoch family, who controls Fox. If the Republican candidates think that shows a left-wing bias, they should organize their own debates funded by the Koch brothers.
The CNBC moderators were perhaps less prepared, but they asked some pretty good questions, except for the softball opener about the candidates’ weaknesses (which none of them answered). Compare that to what CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Hillary Clinton at the start of the first Democratic debate: “Will you say anything to get elected?”
If Huckabee thought the questions were often snarky, let’s hope he gets more of them should he stay in the race.
The candidates should stop complaining and take questions even from the most hostile interviewers. Invite Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-il. Let’s see how the candidates handle those two villains. We should find out who is best prepared for the toughest job in the world.
If you want to be the heavyweight champion of the world, it’s not enough to get in the ring with Muhammad Ali and then duck. Come out swinging, or don’t bother asking the American people to elect you.
“I’m happy to take questions from a Democrat, a Republican, an independent,” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said. “I’m even happy to take questions from a socialist.” Good for him. The presidency is not for wimps.
“If you can’t handle that stage, you’ve got no chance of handling Hillary Clinton,” said Gov. Chris Christie. “I’m not one of these whiners and complainers. Any debate they put on, I’ll show up cause I’ll do just fine.”
But, as their poll numbers sank, Huckabee and Christie realized weeks ago they wouldn’t qualify for the main debate on Fox Business Network.
“I have enough humility to know I gotta get better,” said Bush after his poor performance.He has a lot to be humble about, but at least he didn’t blame his shortcomings on the moderators.
Sen. Ted Cruz, who complained the loudest about the slanted questions in the earlier debates, accuses the Democratic candidates of sounding like the Bolsheviks (Soviet communists) and the Mensheviks (Russian social democrats).
Sometimes it’s hard to tell which faction he belongs to: “The truth of the matter is, big government benefits the wealthy, it benefits the lobbyists, it benefits the giant corporations,” Cruz said during the CNBC debate. “And the people who are getting hammered are small businesses; it’s single moms; it’s Hispanics.”
This from a politician who is married to a regional manager of Goldman Sachs, which shares some of the blame for rising inequality in our country.
The debates could break up as the candidates fight among themselves and with the Republican National Committee over the rules. Donald Trump, who flopped on “Saturday Night Live,” still wants to boycott Telemundo, the Spanish-language channel the Republican National Committee is punishing for the CNBC debacle. They’re both owned by NBC-Universal. Most of the other candidates think dumping Telemundo will only further alienate Hispanic voters.
Is it too late to get Mitt Romney in the race?
— Harry S. Truman
Mike Huckabee and Gov. Chris Christie found themselves relegated to the undercard at last night’s Republican debate on Fox Business News, dealing a blow to their campaigns. Don’t be surprised if both candidates drop out before the end of the month.
Republicans who thought last month’s CNBC debate was biased shouldn’t have expected an easy pass in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. Fox journalists may wear kid gloves when they interview Republican hopefuls, but the panel chosen for the debates even on Fox have shown an admirable toughness toward the candidates.
The questions were no worse than what were lobbed at them on Fox News. The candidates have now taken control of the debates from the Republican National Committee, which negotiated the terms with broadcasters, who have lobbed tough questions that have often exposed the candidates’ weaknesses.
Several candidates have submitted their demands to the networks for less confrontational debates, but even Fox couldn’t agree to them. If the candidates expected less hostile questions from Fox Business anchors Maria Bartiromo and Neil Cavuto at Tuesday’s debate, Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Gerard Baker, a seasoned journalist with a solid reputation, showed them he’s nobody’s fool. Both Fox and the Wall Street Journal are owned by News Corp.
To be sure, Bartiromo has participated in Clinton Foundation events, but so has the Murdoch family, who controls Fox. If the Republican candidates think that shows a left-wing bias, they should organize their own debates funded by the Koch brothers.
The CNBC moderators were perhaps less prepared, but they asked some pretty good questions, except for the softball opener about the candidates’ weaknesses (which none of them answered). Compare that to what CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Hillary Clinton at the start of the first Democratic debate: “Will you say anything to get elected?”
If Huckabee thought the questions were often snarky, let’s hope he gets more of them should he stay in the race.
The candidates should stop complaining and take questions even from the most hostile interviewers. Invite Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-il. Let’s see how the candidates handle those two villains. We should find out who is best prepared for the toughest job in the world.
If you want to be the heavyweight champion of the world, it’s not enough to get in the ring with Muhammad Ali and then duck. Come out swinging, or don’t bother asking the American people to elect you.
“I’m happy to take questions from a Democrat, a Republican, an independent,” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said. “I’m even happy to take questions from a socialist.” Good for him. The presidency is not for wimps.
“If you can’t handle that stage, you’ve got no chance of handling Hillary Clinton,” said Gov. Chris Christie. “I’m not one of these whiners and complainers. Any debate they put on, I’ll show up cause I’ll do just fine.”
But, as their poll numbers sank, Huckabee and Christie realized weeks ago they wouldn’t qualify for the main debate on Fox Business Network.
“I have enough humility to know I gotta get better,” said Bush after his poor performance.He has a lot to be humble about, but at least he didn’t blame his shortcomings on the moderators.
Sen. Ted Cruz, who complained the loudest about the slanted questions in the earlier debates, accuses the Democratic candidates of sounding like the Bolsheviks (Soviet communists) and the Mensheviks (Russian social democrats).
Sometimes it’s hard to tell which faction he belongs to: “The truth of the matter is, big government benefits the wealthy, it benefits the lobbyists, it benefits the giant corporations,” Cruz said during the CNBC debate. “And the people who are getting hammered are small businesses; it’s single moms; it’s Hispanics.”
This from a politician who is married to a regional manager of Goldman Sachs, which shares some of the blame for rising inequality in our country.
The debates could break up as the candidates fight among themselves and with the Republican National Committee over the rules. Donald Trump, who flopped on “Saturday Night Live,” still wants to boycott Telemundo, the Spanish-language channel the Republican National Committee is punishing for the CNBC debacle. They’re both owned by NBC-Universal. Most of the other candidates think dumping Telemundo will only further alienate Hispanic voters.
Is it too late to get Mitt Romney in the race?
TOP STORY >> Five cities plan their Christmas parades
Area cities have set dates for their annual Christmas parades. The following is a schedule and registration information:
The Jacksonville Boys and Girls Club is seeking entries for its 58th annual Christmas parade, which is set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1. The fee is $25, and the event is a fundraiser for the club. Nov. 20 is the deadline to register.
This year’s theme is “Jacksonville’s Night of Twinkling Lights.”
Call the club at 501-982-4316, drop by its location off Graham Road or visit the Jacksonville Parks and Recreation website for more information.
The parade’s West Main Street route begins at Popeye’s and ends at First United Methodist Church.
Following the parade, the chamber of commerce is hosting a Flix on the Bricks screening of “It’s a Wonderful Life” at the Esther D. Nixon Library pavilion, 703 W. Main St.
The Beebe Christmas Parade will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. This year’s theme is “Winter Wonderland”.
The parade route starts on Badger Drive, turns left on West Center Street left on North Main Street, left on College Street and left on Lemon Street, before heading back to the Beebe High School.
Sherwood’s annual Christmas parade will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5.
The theme will be “An American Christmas.” Don Hindman, director of the Jack Evans Senior Center, will be the grand marshal.
It will start at Kiehl Avenue and Lantrip Road and will continue west down Kiehl and end at Oakbrooke Drive.
To request an entry form, call Sherwood Chamber of Commerce director Marcia Cook at 501-835-7600 or email shwdchamber@att.net.
The Ward Christmas Parade will be held at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12. The entry fee is $5. Applications must be turned in by 4:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11 at the Ward Municipal Complex receptionist office.
The parade will line up along Front Street and travel up Markham Street from Front Street to Hwy. 367, then turn left past the Dollar General store and up to Hickory Street, ending in front of City Hall along Fourth Street.
The grand marshal will be state Rep. Joe Farrer (R-Austin).
For more information, call the Ward reception office at 501-843-7686 or Jamee Moore at 501-743-2710.
Cabot’s annual Christmas parade will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13.
This year’s theme is “Christmas Around The World.” Participants are asked to select an idea or image that represents their favorite memory or interpretation of the theme and use it to design their float.
There will be several marching bands, clowns, veterans groups and Santa Claus.
Organizers encourage businesses and civic and church groups to participate by placing some type of entry in the parade. Trophies will be awarded in the five categories: best school or civic group, best church float, business and one for best animal/equestrian or general/personal entry.
Entry forms, parade rules and route maps will soon be available at the Veterans Park Community Center, the Cabot Chamber of Commerce office and online at www.cabotparks.com.
The deadline to enter is Monday, Dec. 7. Completed forms, along with the $10 entry fee, should be sent to: Cabot Christmas Parade, P.O. Box 1101, Cabot, Ark. 72023.
The parade will travel South Pine Street/Hwy. 89, beginning at Panther Trail, and, continuing north past the Knights Shopping Center, make a left turn onto Pond Street and end at Central Elementary School.
It is the same route of the Cabot Homecoming Parade.
For more information, call 501-920-2122 or email cabotbeautiful@yahoo.com.
The Jacksonville Boys and Girls Club is seeking entries for its 58th annual Christmas parade, which is set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1. The fee is $25, and the event is a fundraiser for the club. Nov. 20 is the deadline to register.
This year’s theme is “Jacksonville’s Night of Twinkling Lights.”
Call the club at 501-982-4316, drop by its location off Graham Road or visit the Jacksonville Parks and Recreation website for more information.
The parade’s West Main Street route begins at Popeye’s and ends at First United Methodist Church.
Following the parade, the chamber of commerce is hosting a Flix on the Bricks screening of “It’s a Wonderful Life” at the Esther D. Nixon Library pavilion, 703 W. Main St.
The Beebe Christmas Parade will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. This year’s theme is “Winter Wonderland”.
The parade route starts on Badger Drive, turns left on West Center Street left on North Main Street, left on College Street and left on Lemon Street, before heading back to the Beebe High School.
Sherwood’s annual Christmas parade will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5.
The theme will be “An American Christmas.” Don Hindman, director of the Jack Evans Senior Center, will be the grand marshal.
It will start at Kiehl Avenue and Lantrip Road and will continue west down Kiehl and end at Oakbrooke Drive.
To request an entry form, call Sherwood Chamber of Commerce director Marcia Cook at 501-835-7600 or email shwdchamber@att.net.
The Ward Christmas Parade will be held at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12. The entry fee is $5. Applications must be turned in by 4:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11 at the Ward Municipal Complex receptionist office.
The parade will line up along Front Street and travel up Markham Street from Front Street to Hwy. 367, then turn left past the Dollar General store and up to Hickory Street, ending in front of City Hall along Fourth Street.
The grand marshal will be state Rep. Joe Farrer (R-Austin).
For more information, call the Ward reception office at 501-843-7686 or Jamee Moore at 501-743-2710.
Cabot’s annual Christmas parade will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13.
This year’s theme is “Christmas Around The World.” Participants are asked to select an idea or image that represents their favorite memory or interpretation of the theme and use it to design their float.
There will be several marching bands, clowns, veterans groups and Santa Claus.
Organizers encourage businesses and civic and church groups to participate by placing some type of entry in the parade. Trophies will be awarded in the five categories: best school or civic group, best church float, business and one for best animal/equestrian or general/personal entry.
Entry forms, parade rules and route maps will soon be available at the Veterans Park Community Center, the Cabot Chamber of Commerce office and online at www.cabotparks.com.
The deadline to enter is Monday, Dec. 7. Completed forms, along with the $10 entry fee, should be sent to: Cabot Christmas Parade, P.O. Box 1101, Cabot, Ark. 72023.
The parade will travel South Pine Street/Hwy. 89, beginning at Panther Trail, and, continuing north past the Knights Shopping Center, make a left turn onto Pond Street and end at Central Elementary School.
It is the same route of the Cabot Homecoming Parade.
For more information, call 501-920-2122 or email cabotbeautiful@yahoo.com.
TOP STORY >> Vietnam War helicopter restored
By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
An Army helicopter used during the Vietnam War is back on display at the Jacksonville Museum of Military History. On Saturday, Sam Grimes, the crew chief of that Bell UH-1C “Huey” helicopter, was there for its rededication.
The helicopter was restored by volunteers from the 913th Air Reserve Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base.
“At least she’s not in the scrap pile like so many end up. It is close to when I had it, a lot cleaner,” Grimes said.
Grimes, 70, of Snowflake, Ariz., served in the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1968. He was stationed at Pleiku. Grimes started out in maintenance for five months and then transferred to the flight platoon in April 1967.
“We resupplied food, weapons and transported troops. We were then known as the Courtesy Cab. If you needed to go someplace, we’d come get you,” Grimes said.
He was a helicopter crew chief for nine months, until he left the military in January 1968. “I turned the ship over to a friend, and that was the last I saw her until 2013,” he recalled.
Grimes was doing research, trying to find his helicopter. He discovered it was at Central Flying Service in Little Rock. Grimes and his wife, Trudy, went to Little Rock in 2013 to find the helicopter and visit the School for the Deaf, where his father went to school.
“As soon as I saw it, I knew,” Grimes said.
“Originally, she had rocket pods on the side and a 40 mm gun turret on the front of the nose. The door gunner and I shot a 160 machine gun off the door. It had 14 rockets, 500 rounds of 40 mm shells and 2,000 rounds of M16 ammo for each of us,” Grimes said.
He also said his helicopter was always the lead ship. They flew low, level with the tree tops. Sister ships would take hits from the enemy because the enemy fighters on the ground would see his helicopter first and would start spraying shots toward the other helicopters.
“I never took a round. When I went on leave, that is when it got hit,” Grimes said.
He added that, for a small-town museum, the Jacksonville Museum of Military History is one of the best.
“She is preserved for future generations for those who want to know about the Vietnam War as it is compared to now,” Grimes said.
The helicopter is permanently on loan from Dick Holbert,
who owns Central Flying Service in Little Rock.
The helicopter was to be displayed at the Arkansas Aerospace Education Center in
Little Rock, across the street from Central Flying Service, but that center closed.
One of the Jacksonville museum’s volunteers is a friend of Holbert
and convinced him to send the helicopter to Jacksonville.
The helicopter arrived at the Jacksonville museum in 2012. It was pulled on a trailer in the second annual Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans parade before being restored this year.
Museum board chairman Joan Zumwalt said at the dedication, “Today represents what can be achieved when determined civilians, cooperative city officials and employees and generous members of the military can do when they band together to achieve a goal.”
Leader staff writer
An Army helicopter used during the Vietnam War is back on display at the Jacksonville Museum of Military History. On Saturday, Sam Grimes, the crew chief of that Bell UH-1C “Huey” helicopter, was there for its rededication.
The helicopter was restored by volunteers from the 913th Air Reserve Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base.
“At least she’s not in the scrap pile like so many end up. It is close to when I had it, a lot cleaner,” Grimes said.
Grimes, 70, of Snowflake, Ariz., served in the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1968. He was stationed at Pleiku. Grimes started out in maintenance for five months and then transferred to the flight platoon in April 1967.
“We resupplied food, weapons and transported troops. We were then known as the Courtesy Cab. If you needed to go someplace, we’d come get you,” Grimes said.
He was a helicopter crew chief for nine months, until he left the military in January 1968. “I turned the ship over to a friend, and that was the last I saw her until 2013,” he recalled.
Grimes was doing research, trying to find his helicopter. He discovered it was at Central Flying Service in Little Rock. Grimes and his wife, Trudy, went to Little Rock in 2013 to find the helicopter and visit the School for the Deaf, where his father went to school.
“As soon as I saw it, I knew,” Grimes said.
“Originally, she had rocket pods on the side and a 40 mm gun turret on the front of the nose. The door gunner and I shot a 160 machine gun off the door. It had 14 rockets, 500 rounds of 40 mm shells and 2,000 rounds of M16 ammo for each of us,” Grimes said.
He also said his helicopter was always the lead ship. They flew low, level with the tree tops. Sister ships would take hits from the enemy because the enemy fighters on the ground would see his helicopter first and would start spraying shots toward the other helicopters.
“I never took a round. When I went on leave, that is when it got hit,” Grimes said.
He added that, for a small-town museum, the Jacksonville Museum of Military History is one of the best.
“She is preserved for future generations for those who want to know about the Vietnam War as it is compared to now,” Grimes said.
The helicopter is permanently on loan from Dick Holbert,
who owns Central Flying Service in Little Rock.
The helicopter was to be displayed at the Arkansas Aerospace Education Center in
Little Rock, across the street from Central Flying Service, but that center closed.
One of the Jacksonville museum’s volunteers is a friend of Holbert
and convinced him to send the helicopter to Jacksonville.
The helicopter arrived at the Jacksonville museum in 2012. It was pulled on a trailer in the second annual Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans parade before being restored this year.
Museum board chairman Joan Zumwalt said at the dedication, “Today represents what can be achieved when determined civilians, cooperative city officials and employees and generous members of the military can do when they band together to achieve a goal.”
TOP STORY >> Competitive races in ’16 after filings
By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
The deadline to file for office has now passed.
The primary and nonpartisan general election is March 1. Early voting starts Feb. 15, and the voter registration deadline is Feb. 1.
One highlight of the filings is that Dist. 42 Rep. Bob Johnson (D-Jacksonville) has a Republican opponent, Jacksonville businessman Patrick Thomas.
Lonoke County Judge Doug Erwin, a Republican, is facing off against two Republicans, Richard Kyzer and Fred D. (Skipper) Clement Jr.
State Sen. David Johnson (D-Little Rock), who filed last week, is now opposed by Cammack Village-Wrightsville District Court Judge Rita Bailey in the race to preside over both the Jacksonville and Maumelle district courts. She filed for the office on Monday.
The two courts will soon share a judge and have countywide jurisdiction because of a 2011 law aimed at lightening the caseload of circuit courts across the state. All of Pulaski County will vote on the new judge.
Other important dates to know include that, if a runoff is required after the primary election, it will be held March 22. The voter registration deadline for that is Feb. 22.
The general election, and nonpartisan runoffs if they are needed, will be Nov. 8, 2016. The voter registration deadline for that election is Oct. 10, 2016.
If a runoff is needed after the general election, it will be held Nov. 29, 2016. The voter registration deadline would be Oct. 31, 2016.
Voters must apply to register to vote one day before the actual deadline, according to the secretary of state’s website. It also states that any deadline falling on a weekend or holiday will be extended to the next business day.
The following people are campaigning for seats that represent The Leader’s coverage area:
STATE SENATE
Dist. 34 Sen. Jan English (R-North Little Rock) faces two challengers, a Republican and a Democrat. They are Rep. Donnie Copeland (R-Little Rock) and Joe Woodson.
Dist. 29 Sen. Eddie Joe Williams (R-Cabot) and Lonoke County Justice of the Peace R.D. Hopper, also a Republican, have filed for Williams’ seat.
Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Beebe) is unopposed.
STATE HOUSE
Three have filed for Copeland’s Dist. 38 seat. Dist. 38 includes much of Sherwood.
The candidates are Kent Walker, Victoria Leigh — both Democrats — and Carlton Wing, a Republican.
Dist. 14 Rep. Camille Bennett (D-Lonoke) and Roger D. Lynch, a Republican, have filed for her seat.
Dist. 44 Rep. Joe Farrer (R-Austin) also has an opponent, Garry Baker, a Libertarian.
Dist. 40 Rep. Douglas House (R-North Little Rock), Dist. 41 Rep. Karilyn Brown (R-Sherwood), Dist. 43 Rep. Tim Lemons (R-Cabot) and Dist. 45 Rep. Jeremy Gillam (R-Judsonia) are unopposed.
Dist. 13 Rep. David Hillman (D-Almyra) is also unopposed. Dist. 13 includes parts of Lonoke and White counties.
JUDICIAL RACES
Joseph (Joe) O’Bryan is running for re-election in the Lonoke County District Judge-Northern Division race, after being arrested in August for third-degree domestic battery.
His case was dismissed last week, when special, appointed Faulkner County District Court Judge David Reynolds signed an order Thursday, according to a Lonoke District Court clerk.
Cabot attorney John Flynn, Ward City Attorney Clint McGue and Judge Teresa Hallum Smith are opposing O’Bryan for the Cabot court position.
Judge Milas “Butch” Hale III is unopposed in his re-election bid as judge over the Sherwood district court.
PULASKI COUNTY
Many candidates are unopposed.
Sheriff Doc Holladay, a Democrat, has a Libertarian opponent, Patrick Mulligan.
Dist. 3 Justice of the Peace Kathy S. Lewison, a Democrat, has an opponent, Republican Lynn Jacuzzi.
Democrats Jason Christopher Smedley and Lillie McMullen have filed for the Dist. 5 JP seat.
Democrat Teresa Coney and Republican Andrew Norwood have filed for the Dist. 7 JP seat.
Judge Barry Hyde, a Democrat, is unopposed and seeking re-election, as is Democrat Larry Crane for circuit/county clerk.
Democrats Janet Troutman Ward and Debra Buckner are doing the same for assessor and treasurer, respectively.
For the quorum court, the following have filed: JP Doug Reed (Republican, Dist. 1), JP Tyler Denton (Democrat, Dist. 2), JP Julie Blackwood (Democrat, Dist. 4), JP Donna Massey (Democrat, Dist. 6), JP Curtis Keith (Democrat, Dist. 8) and JP Judy Green (Democrat, Dist. 9).
Also, JP R. Green (Demo-crat, Dist. 10), JP Aaron Robinson (Republican, Dist. 11), JP Luke McCoy (Republican, Dist. 12), JP Phil Stowers (Republican, Dist. 13), JP Paul Elliott (Republican, Dist. 14) and Staci Medlock (Democrat, Dist. 15) are unopposed.
LONOKE COUNTY
County Clerk Dawn Porterfield, a Republican, has a Republican opponent, Courtney Ruble.
Circuit Clerk Deborah Oglesby is unopposed, as is Treasurer Patti Weathers and Assessor Jerrel Maxwell.
Republican Sheriff John Staley is facing off against Steve Finch, also a Republican.
Therese L. O’Donnell is unopposed for the collector position.
Three Republicans have filed for coroner. They are Carla Horton, Kenny Fraley and Karl E. (Eddie) Pennington.
There are also three Republicans seeking J.D. Hopper’s Justice of the Peace Dist. 1 seat. He’s running for Eddie Joe Williams’ state Senate seat. The Dist. 1 JP candidates are Brent Canon, Jesse Bear and Kevin Livengood.
Three Republicans, John D. Howard, Claud E. Irvin and Gregory Gibson, have filed for the Dist. 4 JP seat.
Dist. 5 JP Adam Justice, a Republican, has a Republican opponent, Robert (Bobby) Gilliam.
Dist. 7 JP Ralph Brown, a Republican, is being challenged in his re-election bid by Democrat Dan F. Stowers.
For Dist. 9, Republicans Linda Waddell and Les Carpenter have filed.
Republicans Daniel Hayes, Kenny Ridgeway and Bob Morris are seeking the Dist. 13 JP seat.
But JPs Barry (B.J) Weathers (Dist. 2), Henry Lang (Dist. 3), Jerry E. Cole (Dist. 6), Tate House (Dist. 8), Bill Ryker (Dist. 10) and Mike Dolan (Dist. 11) are unopposed. All are Republicans, with the exception of Dolan and Ryker. They are Democrats. Republican Patty Knox is also unopposed for Dist. 12, but isn’t a current JP.
CITY RACES
Cabot has one city council race because Alderman Dallan Buchanan resigned Oct. 1 from representing Ward 2 in Position 1 to pursue a job in another city. Damon Bivins and Douglas E. Warner — both Independents — have filed for that seat.
All of the Lonoke City Council races are unopposed. The aldermen seeking re-election are Jane Derning (Dist. 1), Woody Evans (Dist. 2), Pat Howell (Dist. 3), Wendell Walker (Dist. 4), Efrem Z. Jones (Dist. 5) and Raymond Hatton (Dist. 6). All are Democrats, with the exception of Evans, who is Republican.
U.S. SENATE
Democrat Conner Eldridge of Lonoke, a former U.S. attorney; Republican Curtis Coleman, Libertarian Frank Gilbert and Jason Tate, a write-in candidate, have filed for Sen. John Boozman’s seat.
Boozman (R-Ark.) is seeking re-election. He filed for the office on Monday.
CONGRESS
Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Jonesboro) has filed for re-election to continue representing District 2. He has one opponent, Libertarian Mark West.
In District 2, Rep. French Hill (R-Little Rock) is seeking re-election. He has five opponents. They are Democrat Dianne Curry, Republican Brock Olree, Libertarian Chris Hayes and two write-in candidates, Mathew Wescott and Charles Neely.
Leader staff writer
The deadline to file for office has now passed.
The primary and nonpartisan general election is March 1. Early voting starts Feb. 15, and the voter registration deadline is Feb. 1.
One highlight of the filings is that Dist. 42 Rep. Bob Johnson (D-Jacksonville) has a Republican opponent, Jacksonville businessman Patrick Thomas.
Lonoke County Judge Doug Erwin, a Republican, is facing off against two Republicans, Richard Kyzer and Fred D. (Skipper) Clement Jr.
State Sen. David Johnson (D-Little Rock), who filed last week, is now opposed by Cammack Village-Wrightsville District Court Judge Rita Bailey in the race to preside over both the Jacksonville and Maumelle district courts. She filed for the office on Monday.
The two courts will soon share a judge and have countywide jurisdiction because of a 2011 law aimed at lightening the caseload of circuit courts across the state. All of Pulaski County will vote on the new judge.
Other important dates to know include that, if a runoff is required after the primary election, it will be held March 22. The voter registration deadline for that is Feb. 22.
The general election, and nonpartisan runoffs if they are needed, will be Nov. 8, 2016. The voter registration deadline for that election is Oct. 10, 2016.
If a runoff is needed after the general election, it will be held Nov. 29, 2016. The voter registration deadline would be Oct. 31, 2016.
Voters must apply to register to vote one day before the actual deadline, according to the secretary of state’s website. It also states that any deadline falling on a weekend or holiday will be extended to the next business day.
The following people are campaigning for seats that represent The Leader’s coverage area:
STATE SENATE
Dist. 34 Sen. Jan English (R-North Little Rock) faces two challengers, a Republican and a Democrat. They are Rep. Donnie Copeland (R-Little Rock) and Joe Woodson.
Dist. 29 Sen. Eddie Joe Williams (R-Cabot) and Lonoke County Justice of the Peace R.D. Hopper, also a Republican, have filed for Williams’ seat.
Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Beebe) is unopposed.
STATE HOUSE
Three have filed for Copeland’s Dist. 38 seat. Dist. 38 includes much of Sherwood.
The candidates are Kent Walker, Victoria Leigh — both Democrats — and Carlton Wing, a Republican.
Dist. 14 Rep. Camille Bennett (D-Lonoke) and Roger D. Lynch, a Republican, have filed for her seat.
Dist. 44 Rep. Joe Farrer (R-Austin) also has an opponent, Garry Baker, a Libertarian.
Dist. 40 Rep. Douglas House (R-North Little Rock), Dist. 41 Rep. Karilyn Brown (R-Sherwood), Dist. 43 Rep. Tim Lemons (R-Cabot) and Dist. 45 Rep. Jeremy Gillam (R-Judsonia) are unopposed.
Dist. 13 Rep. David Hillman (D-Almyra) is also unopposed. Dist. 13 includes parts of Lonoke and White counties.
JUDICIAL RACES
Joseph (Joe) O’Bryan is running for re-election in the Lonoke County District Judge-Northern Division race, after being arrested in August for third-degree domestic battery.
His case was dismissed last week, when special, appointed Faulkner County District Court Judge David Reynolds signed an order Thursday, according to a Lonoke District Court clerk.
Cabot attorney John Flynn, Ward City Attorney Clint McGue and Judge Teresa Hallum Smith are opposing O’Bryan for the Cabot court position.
Judge Milas “Butch” Hale III is unopposed in his re-election bid as judge over the Sherwood district court.
PULASKI COUNTY
Many candidates are unopposed.
Sheriff Doc Holladay, a Democrat, has a Libertarian opponent, Patrick Mulligan.
Dist. 3 Justice of the Peace Kathy S. Lewison, a Democrat, has an opponent, Republican Lynn Jacuzzi.
Democrats Jason Christopher Smedley and Lillie McMullen have filed for the Dist. 5 JP seat.
Democrat Teresa Coney and Republican Andrew Norwood have filed for the Dist. 7 JP seat.
Judge Barry Hyde, a Democrat, is unopposed and seeking re-election, as is Democrat Larry Crane for circuit/county clerk.
Democrats Janet Troutman Ward and Debra Buckner are doing the same for assessor and treasurer, respectively.
For the quorum court, the following have filed: JP Doug Reed (Republican, Dist. 1), JP Tyler Denton (Democrat, Dist. 2), JP Julie Blackwood (Democrat, Dist. 4), JP Donna Massey (Democrat, Dist. 6), JP Curtis Keith (Democrat, Dist. 8) and JP Judy Green (Democrat, Dist. 9).
Also, JP R. Green (Demo-crat, Dist. 10), JP Aaron Robinson (Republican, Dist. 11), JP Luke McCoy (Republican, Dist. 12), JP Phil Stowers (Republican, Dist. 13), JP Paul Elliott (Republican, Dist. 14) and Staci Medlock (Democrat, Dist. 15) are unopposed.
LONOKE COUNTY
County Clerk Dawn Porterfield, a Republican, has a Republican opponent, Courtney Ruble.
Circuit Clerk Deborah Oglesby is unopposed, as is Treasurer Patti Weathers and Assessor Jerrel Maxwell.
Republican Sheriff John Staley is facing off against Steve Finch, also a Republican.
Therese L. O’Donnell is unopposed for the collector position.
Three Republicans have filed for coroner. They are Carla Horton, Kenny Fraley and Karl E. (Eddie) Pennington.
There are also three Republicans seeking J.D. Hopper’s Justice of the Peace Dist. 1 seat. He’s running for Eddie Joe Williams’ state Senate seat. The Dist. 1 JP candidates are Brent Canon, Jesse Bear and Kevin Livengood.
Three Republicans, John D. Howard, Claud E. Irvin and Gregory Gibson, have filed for the Dist. 4 JP seat.
Dist. 5 JP Adam Justice, a Republican, has a Republican opponent, Robert (Bobby) Gilliam.
Dist. 7 JP Ralph Brown, a Republican, is being challenged in his re-election bid by Democrat Dan F. Stowers.
For Dist. 9, Republicans Linda Waddell and Les Carpenter have filed.
Republicans Daniel Hayes, Kenny Ridgeway and Bob Morris are seeking the Dist. 13 JP seat.
But JPs Barry (B.J) Weathers (Dist. 2), Henry Lang (Dist. 3), Jerry E. Cole (Dist. 6), Tate House (Dist. 8), Bill Ryker (Dist. 10) and Mike Dolan (Dist. 11) are unopposed. All are Republicans, with the exception of Dolan and Ryker. They are Democrats. Republican Patty Knox is also unopposed for Dist. 12, but isn’t a current JP.
CITY RACES
Cabot has one city council race because Alderman Dallan Buchanan resigned Oct. 1 from representing Ward 2 in Position 1 to pursue a job in another city. Damon Bivins and Douglas E. Warner — both Independents — have filed for that seat.
All of the Lonoke City Council races are unopposed. The aldermen seeking re-election are Jane Derning (Dist. 1), Woody Evans (Dist. 2), Pat Howell (Dist. 3), Wendell Walker (Dist. 4), Efrem Z. Jones (Dist. 5) and Raymond Hatton (Dist. 6). All are Democrats, with the exception of Evans, who is Republican.
U.S. SENATE
Democrat Conner Eldridge of Lonoke, a former U.S. attorney; Republican Curtis Coleman, Libertarian Frank Gilbert and Jason Tate, a write-in candidate, have filed for Sen. John Boozman’s seat.
Boozman (R-Ark.) is seeking re-election. He filed for the office on Monday.
CONGRESS
Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Jonesboro) has filed for re-election to continue representing District 2. He has one opponent, Libertarian Mark West.
In District 2, Rep. French Hill (R-Little Rock) is seeking re-election. He has five opponents. They are Democrat Dianne Curry, Republican Brock Olree, Libertarian Chris Hayes and two write-in candidates, Mathew Wescott and Charles Neely.
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