On rare but sublime occasions we can count it a blessing when a major pronouncement by the government encounters universal disbelief. Such is the case with President Bush’s fiscal 2007 budget blueprint, which arrived Monday in Congress to a resounding razz. Wall Street and conservative Republicans alike called the budget fiction and declared it dead on arrival.
That has to be good news for Arkansas, which would export billions of federal dollars to the eastern and western seaboards and the southwest over the next decade if Congress were to embrace the president’s priorities.
Arkansas gets a smaller per-capita share of military and homeland security procurement dollars than almost every state but a higher quotient of federal outlays for healthcare, education, agriculture, veterans and environmental protection. Bush would dramatically increase the first and slash the others on the way to running up the largest deficits in history over the next 10 years.
Mr. Bush has sizable majorities in Congress but they are not large enough to accomplish that feat. Republican congressmen — well, senators anyway — have hearts, too. How many will vote to eliminate the $255 death benefit of pensioners, in an election year? The president is determined to get rid of that sop to widows this year.
Last year, he tried to slash the survivor benefits for families of workers who die before retirement by nearly 10 percent to offset his tax cuts to millionaires. Even Republican lawmakers would not go along, and they won’t on this either.
We doubt they will go along either with hefty cuts that the president proposed in subsidies to Arkansas farmers, environmental cleanup and protection, Medicare and Medicaid, vocational education, low-income housing for the elderly, heating assistance for the poor or with the higher co-payments and fees that he would charge non-combat disabled veterans for medical care.
Those cuts are a small part of Bush’s $2.77 trillion budget for fiscal 2007, but they seem especially cruel when their purpose is to soften, if ever so slightly, the effect of the president’s truly big initiatives: to make permanent the gigantic cuts in taxes on wealthy investors and corporations that he and the Congress enacted in 2001-2004 and to vastly increase outlays for munitions and hardware and homeland security procurement, the largest bonanza for the defense industry in a quarter-century.
The president’s budget document trumpets that the domestic spending cuts would shave $65 billion off the deficits the next five years. The deficits are an embarrassment to the president’s party, which likes to be known as the party of fiscal responsibility. It controlled all three branches of government in the five years when government turned from big budget surpluses to mammoth deficits. You may recall that when President Bush took office in 2001 the Congressional Budget Office forecast surpluses totaling more than $5.6 trillion between 2002 and 2011. Now the budget office is forecasting deficits totaling $2.2 trillion between Oct. 1 and 2011.
Mr. Bush’s case for the specific program cuts and increases would have been better if his fiscal blueprint had not startled everyone by its fantasies.
He said his budget would bring the federal budget under control again by the end of the decade, two years after he leaves office.
The assumptions underlying that bit of fiscal legerdemain are that (1) the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will end, completely, next year and not a dime would be spent after that, (2) the alternative minimum tax, once intended to catch multimillionaire tax scofflaws, will be allowed to kick in and nail millions of middle-class taxpayers with huge tax bills annually starting next year and (3) Congress on its own will make big cuts in domestic spending each year after 2007. (His zeroing war expenditures after 2007 is especially fascinating. Are we being told subtly that he will, after all, follow Rep. John Murtha’s advice and end the occupation of Iraq in quick stages? Not likely.)
Match those assumptions with the president’s call to Congress to make permanent his tax cuts for the wealthy, which are due to expire between 2007 and 2011. That would cost the treasury an extra $1.35 trillion over the next decade.
A budget under control in 2011?
“Unrealistic,” Goldman Sachs told its investor clients yesterday.
“This budget is not going to happen,” said Stanley E. Collender, a federal budget analyst at Financial Dynamics Business Communications. “Of all the budgets I’ve seen recently, this is the one going nowhere the fastest.”
Let us hope.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
SATURDAY EDITORIAL >> Changing the subject
Perhaps it is just as well that President Bush did not deliver on the White House promise that his State of the Union address would unveil major new initiatives to deal with the burgeoning crisis in health care. They were to be the same initiatives that he had proposed in past years, but they were to be the centerpiece of his address, the same heavy emphasis that he gave Social Security privatization in 2005.
He spent less than three minutes on the subject. No doubt he concluded that people need not be reminded of the Social Security blunder or the more recent one in health care, the Medicare prescription drug program. The Arkansas state government as of early this week had shelled out more than $3 million to cover for the federal government’s ineptitude in that farce and the tab keeps rising.
So the president changed the subject to the energy crisis — the cannibalistic rise in gasoline prices. He wanted to end the nation’s dependence on imported oil, although, like those on health care, his proposals would do nothing to achieve that worthy goal.
Either emphasis, were it real, would be good news for Arkansans, who bear a heavier burden on both counts than almost anyone in the United States.
A higher percentage of Arkansans have no or inadequate health insurance than people in almost every state and, owing to our rural commuting habits, we consume more motor fuel on average than people in nearly every state.
But let us at least consider the president’s oh-so-brief pitch for health-care improvements. He wanted to address the major problems, the diminishing medical coverage of people and rising medical costs.
Philosophically, the presidential and Republican solution to both problems is simple. Force people to bear more of the costs of their medical care, which will in turn force them to be more careful about going to the doctor or the hospital every time they feel a little lousy. It also would force people to shop around when they feel bad to see which doctor or pharmacist will give them the cheapest care.
In theory, people would go to the doctor rather than the hospital emergency room and save money. This consumer shopping would wring costs out of the medical system by introducing greater competitiveness into the medical marketplace — or so this theory goes.
You can picture how it will work. You have severe chest pains. You call around among the cardiologists in the community to see how much they would charge to fix whatever is wrong with you. You can imagine their answer.
Anyway, you decide that it’s likely to be too steep for your budget, so you live with it.
The mechanism for achieving this reform would be expanded tax-free medical savings accounts. You would subscribe to a commercial insurance policy with a very high deductible, which would be very cheap and invest money every month in the medical savings account, which you would use to cover your ordinary medical expenses. The money you put into the savings account, which would be like a 401k, would not be taxed.
Medical savings accounts are available now, but the response to them has been underwhelming. Arkansas state employees, who were offered them last year, spurned them, and that has been pretty much the situation nationwide.
The low-cost policies may be appealing to the young, healthy and well-to-do (not to mention banks, which can collect management fees on the burgeoning accounts). They would have some coverage for catastrophic illnesses, but meantime their incomes would be high enough to handle the normal medical expenses.
But medical savings accounts are primarily a tax shelter for those who can use them. That is not most of us.
President Bush’s great failing is that he assumes that nearly all Americans are just like him and his friends.
Most working families will find it awfully hard to save money for the tax-free accounts every month and to accumulate assets in them.
But the Bush plan would not be merely neutral with them. It would increase their burden if more of the healthy and younger among us opt out of regular insurance programs for the high-deductible, savings-accounts plans.
Traditional plans will be left with only people who are older and more prone to sickness, and the premiums will go much higher.
That will drive more and more employers to shed employment-based insurance altogether or to shift more of the costs to workers. Comprehensive coverage for workers and their families will be harder and harder to obtain.
Perhaps the president’s decision at the last minute to de-emphasize his party’s health nostrums means that he realizes that they would make the life-and-death struggle for good medical attention worse for most Americans.
We can hope.
He spent less than three minutes on the subject. No doubt he concluded that people need not be reminded of the Social Security blunder or the more recent one in health care, the Medicare prescription drug program. The Arkansas state government as of early this week had shelled out more than $3 million to cover for the federal government’s ineptitude in that farce and the tab keeps rising.
So the president changed the subject to the energy crisis — the cannibalistic rise in gasoline prices. He wanted to end the nation’s dependence on imported oil, although, like those on health care, his proposals would do nothing to achieve that worthy goal.
Either emphasis, were it real, would be good news for Arkansans, who bear a heavier burden on both counts than almost anyone in the United States.
A higher percentage of Arkansans have no or inadequate health insurance than people in almost every state and, owing to our rural commuting habits, we consume more motor fuel on average than people in nearly every state.
But let us at least consider the president’s oh-so-brief pitch for health-care improvements. He wanted to address the major problems, the diminishing medical coverage of people and rising medical costs.
Philosophically, the presidential and Republican solution to both problems is simple. Force people to bear more of the costs of their medical care, which will in turn force them to be more careful about going to the doctor or the hospital every time they feel a little lousy. It also would force people to shop around when they feel bad to see which doctor or pharmacist will give them the cheapest care.
In theory, people would go to the doctor rather than the hospital emergency room and save money. This consumer shopping would wring costs out of the medical system by introducing greater competitiveness into the medical marketplace — or so this theory goes.
You can picture how it will work. You have severe chest pains. You call around among the cardiologists in the community to see how much they would charge to fix whatever is wrong with you. You can imagine their answer.
Anyway, you decide that it’s likely to be too steep for your budget, so you live with it.
The mechanism for achieving this reform would be expanded tax-free medical savings accounts. You would subscribe to a commercial insurance policy with a very high deductible, which would be very cheap and invest money every month in the medical savings account, which you would use to cover your ordinary medical expenses. The money you put into the savings account, which would be like a 401k, would not be taxed.
Medical savings accounts are available now, but the response to them has been underwhelming. Arkansas state employees, who were offered them last year, spurned them, and that has been pretty much the situation nationwide.
The low-cost policies may be appealing to the young, healthy and well-to-do (not to mention banks, which can collect management fees on the burgeoning accounts). They would have some coverage for catastrophic illnesses, but meantime their incomes would be high enough to handle the normal medical expenses.
But medical savings accounts are primarily a tax shelter for those who can use them. That is not most of us.
President Bush’s great failing is that he assumes that nearly all Americans are just like him and his friends.
Most working families will find it awfully hard to save money for the tax-free accounts every month and to accumulate assets in them.
But the Bush plan would not be merely neutral with them. It would increase their burden if more of the healthy and younger among us opt out of regular insurance programs for the high-deductible, savings-accounts plans.
Traditional plans will be left with only people who are older and more prone to sickness, and the premiums will go much higher.
That will drive more and more employers to shed employment-based insurance altogether or to shift more of the costs to workers. Comprehensive coverage for workers and their families will be harder and harder to obtain.
Perhaps the president’s decision at the last minute to de-emphasize his party’s health nostrums means that he realizes that they would make the life-and-death struggle for good medical attention worse for most Americans.
We can hope.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
OBITUARIES
ESTELLE GLOVER, 87
Estelle Glover, 87, of Jack-sonville went to be with the Lord on Jan. 30.
She was born Jan. 13, 1919, in Humphrey to the late Aaron James and Elizabeth Rodgers Roberson and is preceded in death by her husband, Jeffie F. “Jack” Glover who passed in 1968 as well as a sister, Mary “Dolly” Gregory, bro-ther, Wood-row Rober-son, son-in-law, Phillip Ellerbee and her best friend, Gladys Morrison.
She was a member of First Assembly of God in Jacksonville. She worked for Timex and retired from Southside Junior High in Jacksonville in 1985.
Survivors include her daughters, Marsha Glover and Brenda Eller-bee, both of Jacksonville; a sister, Rachel “Dixie” Casteel of Jackson-ville; four grandchildren, Lisa Gill-iam and her husband Terry, Marty Vondran and his wife Kim and Allen Kirtley, all of Jacksonville, De-von Ellerbee of Conway, and three great grandchildren. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home Chapel with interment to follow in Arkansas Memorial Gardens, Rev. Ammon Collins officiating. Visitation will be from 6 until 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.
VIRGINIA RAMSEY, 92
Virginia Mae Burns Ramsey, 92, of Beebe, went to be with her Lord and Savior Jan. 30. She was born July 20, 1913, at Antioch to Otha and Edna Fisher. She was a faithful member of First Baptist Church at Beebe.
She was preceded in death by her husbands, Jesse Burns and Ellis Ramsey, her parents, two brothers, one sister and two stepsons.
Survivors are five daughters, Emma Sandefur and her husband Doyne, Barbara Simons and her husband Jack, Rebecca Burge and her husband Hubert, Jimmie Brock and his husband Bennie, Susie Pruitt and her husband C.W.; a son, Buddy Burns and his wife Jamie; two stepsons, Paul Ramsey and his wife Pam and Roland Ramsey; two stepdaughters-in-law, Anne Ram-sey of Batesville and Linda Moore of Allen Texas; 20 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, a great-great-grandchild, four sisters-in law, two brothers-in-law, several nieces and nephews and a host of friends.
A special thanks to her caregivers and to hospice. Funeral services will be 2 p.m. today at First Baptist Church of Beebe, with burial at Beebe Cemetery. Arrangements by Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe.
VAUGHN HILL, 82
Vaughn A. Hill, 82, of Cabot, died Jan. 26 at his residence. He was a Army veteran of World War II. He is preceded in death by his wife, Edith Jane, parents Elmer Aaron and Crillie Browning, and three brothers Albin, Virgil, and Bob Hill.
He is survived by two sons and a daughter-in-law, Gregory Hill of Coweta, Okla., Michael and Amy Hill of Clemmon, N.C.: a sister, Wanda Mae Burnett; grandchildren, Heath and Rachel Hill, Mike and Sabrina Hill, Brady and Jennifer Hill, and Sarah Hill; great-grandchildren, Landon, Colton, Bailey, Aidan, Walker, Trenton, Bradon and Alexis.
Memorial services were held Saturday at the Cabot Funeral Home Chapel with Paul Jones officiating.
JIMMY CRAWFORD, 67
Jimmy Carl Crawford, 67, of Humnoke went to be with the Lord Jan. 27. He was a Christian, worked in construction as a welder and farmed. Preceding him in death were his parents, Leo and Beatrice Crawford, and two brothers, Robert and Willie Crawford.
Survivors include his wife, Nor-ma Elois Moody Crawford; a son, Jimmy Crawford, a daughter, The-resa and her husband Michael Block, all of Benton; two brothers, Bobby Crawford of Humnoke and Kim Crawford of Little Rock; seven sisters, Margaret Fisher of Lake Village, Doris Carter of Lonoke, Kaye Rice of Irvin, Texas, Patsy Wilson and Deborah White both of Little Rock, Phyllis Whilder of Benton, and Sue Green of Maumelle; and two godsons, Josh and Brandon Crawford.
Funeral services were held Sun-day at Humnoke Pentecostal Church of God, with interment in Hamilton Cemetery by Boyd Fun-eral Home of Lonoke.
Estelle Glover, 87, of Jack-sonville went to be with the Lord on Jan. 30.
She was born Jan. 13, 1919, in Humphrey to the late Aaron James and Elizabeth Rodgers Roberson and is preceded in death by her husband, Jeffie F. “Jack” Glover who passed in 1968 as well as a sister, Mary “Dolly” Gregory, bro-ther, Wood-row Rober-son, son-in-law, Phillip Ellerbee and her best friend, Gladys Morrison.
She was a member of First Assembly of God in Jacksonville. She worked for Timex and retired from Southside Junior High in Jacksonville in 1985.
Survivors include her daughters, Marsha Glover and Brenda Eller-bee, both of Jacksonville; a sister, Rachel “Dixie” Casteel of Jackson-ville; four grandchildren, Lisa Gill-iam and her husband Terry, Marty Vondran and his wife Kim and Allen Kirtley, all of Jacksonville, De-von Ellerbee of Conway, and three great grandchildren. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home Chapel with interment to follow in Arkansas Memorial Gardens, Rev. Ammon Collins officiating. Visitation will be from 6 until 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.
VIRGINIA RAMSEY, 92
Virginia Mae Burns Ramsey, 92, of Beebe, went to be with her Lord and Savior Jan. 30. She was born July 20, 1913, at Antioch to Otha and Edna Fisher. She was a faithful member of First Baptist Church at Beebe.
She was preceded in death by her husbands, Jesse Burns and Ellis Ramsey, her parents, two brothers, one sister and two stepsons.
Survivors are five daughters, Emma Sandefur and her husband Doyne, Barbara Simons and her husband Jack, Rebecca Burge and her husband Hubert, Jimmie Brock and his husband Bennie, Susie Pruitt and her husband C.W.; a son, Buddy Burns and his wife Jamie; two stepsons, Paul Ramsey and his wife Pam and Roland Ramsey; two stepdaughters-in-law, Anne Ram-sey of Batesville and Linda Moore of Allen Texas; 20 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, a great-great-grandchild, four sisters-in law, two brothers-in-law, several nieces and nephews and a host of friends.
A special thanks to her caregivers and to hospice. Funeral services will be 2 p.m. today at First Baptist Church of Beebe, with burial at Beebe Cemetery. Arrangements by Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe.
VAUGHN HILL, 82
Vaughn A. Hill, 82, of Cabot, died Jan. 26 at his residence. He was a Army veteran of World War II. He is preceded in death by his wife, Edith Jane, parents Elmer Aaron and Crillie Browning, and three brothers Albin, Virgil, and Bob Hill.
He is survived by two sons and a daughter-in-law, Gregory Hill of Coweta, Okla., Michael and Amy Hill of Clemmon, N.C.: a sister, Wanda Mae Burnett; grandchildren, Heath and Rachel Hill, Mike and Sabrina Hill, Brady and Jennifer Hill, and Sarah Hill; great-grandchildren, Landon, Colton, Bailey, Aidan, Walker, Trenton, Bradon and Alexis.
Memorial services were held Saturday at the Cabot Funeral Home Chapel with Paul Jones officiating.
JIMMY CRAWFORD, 67
Jimmy Carl Crawford, 67, of Humnoke went to be with the Lord Jan. 27. He was a Christian, worked in construction as a welder and farmed. Preceding him in death were his parents, Leo and Beatrice Crawford, and two brothers, Robert and Willie Crawford.
Survivors include his wife, Nor-ma Elois Moody Crawford; a son, Jimmy Crawford, a daughter, The-resa and her husband Michael Block, all of Benton; two brothers, Bobby Crawford of Humnoke and Kim Crawford of Little Rock; seven sisters, Margaret Fisher of Lake Village, Doris Carter of Lonoke, Kaye Rice of Irvin, Texas, Patsy Wilson and Deborah White both of Little Rock, Phyllis Whilder of Benton, and Sue Green of Maumelle; and two godsons, Josh and Brandon Crawford.
Funeral services were held Sun-day at Humnoke Pentecostal Church of God, with interment in Hamilton Cemetery by Boyd Fun-eral Home of Lonoke.
EDITORIAL >> Let people vote on ethics
The Jack Abramoff scandal and the associated corruption involving Republican congressmen and White House officials has sent nearly every politician in Washington and many in statehouses across the land scrambling for cover. Everyone wants to stand behind some proposition to regulate the behavior of lobbyists.
Congressional Republicans rushed out a plan to regulate lobbyist gifts to lawmakers, including travel, but it would do little to change the culture. A Democratic plan is a trifle stronger, but no Democratic proposal stands a chance of even being considered in the House of Representatives. When a handful of lobbyists, congressional aides and congressmen are trundled off to prison or had a metaphorical wrist slap, Congress will have made a few celebrated reforms that will make the dirty work of lobbyists only a little more complicated. Just as the post-Watergate reforms of campaign financing did not end the requisitioning of public office by wealthy interests the post-Abramoff reforms will not free lawmaking from the soft bribery of special interests.
But could it happen at the state level? A few northern states have adopted rigid ethics laws that are worthy of the name “reform.” Outraged by the behavior of corporate lobbyists in killing his school tax program in 1987, Gov. Bill Clinton drafted an ethics law and got it ratified, but neither it nor subsequent campaign-finance reforms did much to slow the corruption of the statehouse.
Now, one after another candidate for constitutional office, principally attorney general and lieutenant governor, is outlining legislation that actually would address the problem by outlawing gifts to elected public officials. Former Rep. Gunner DeLay of Fort Smith, the Republican candidate for attorney general, said last week that he would draft a resolution that would do it constitutionally and also empower the attorney general to prosecute violators. But we do not need to put either ethics rules or criminal laws in the Constitution.
Prosecuting Attorney Robert Herzfeld of Benton, a Democratic candidate for attorney general, proposes legislation that is simple, direct and effective. Lobbyists could not buy a legislator or the governor even a cup of coffee much less fly him to the NCAA basketball tournament. Former legislators could not lobby the legislature for two years after leaving office and the penalties for ethics violations and public corruption would be stiffened. Now, violators gaily pay a small penalty and go their merry way.
State Sen. Jim Holt of Springdale, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, says he is preparing legislation almost identical to Herzfeld’s. Good for him, although he will never have a chance of introducing it even if he is elected. Lieutenant governors cannot sponsor legislation or try to steer it through the Senate, where they preside.
But outlaw a cup of coffee? Legislators deride such hound’s-tooth righteousness. Their votes, they insist, cannot be purchased by a cup of coffee, dinners or even expense-paid trips to Mexico. Gov. Huckabee takes umbrage at suggestions that the tens of thousands of dollars in gifts that he has accepted ever influenced a single official act, even the honorary appointment of people who tendered the gifts. Perhaps not, but how do we know?
Gov. Dale Bumpers had it right. From the day he took office as governor in 1971 until he retired as a United States senator in 1998 he returned every gift with a form letter explaining his policy. Some were offended. His return of a Rolex watch (price tag still attached) to a man who wanted to be reappointed to a desirable state commission soon after Bumpers’ election in 1970 earned the governor an assassination threat.
Unless gifts of any denomination are outlawed, prohibitions are simply unworkable. Tens of thousands of dollars can be funneled through a $100 loophole.
But Herzfeld’s excellent bill is not going to become law. If he is elected attorney general he may find a sponsor for it, but the Arkansas General Assembly will not pass it. It will not get a “do pass” from a single committee of the House or Senate unless it can first be eviscerated.
Only the voters of Arkansas can do it. Some fine civic organization — one of the political parties perhaps — can bring all the outrage to a
salubrious conclusion by taking Herzfeld’s, or Holt’s, good ideas and putting them on the ballot as an initiated act.
Congressional Republicans rushed out a plan to regulate lobbyist gifts to lawmakers, including travel, but it would do little to change the culture. A Democratic plan is a trifle stronger, but no Democratic proposal stands a chance of even being considered in the House of Representatives. When a handful of lobbyists, congressional aides and congressmen are trundled off to prison or had a metaphorical wrist slap, Congress will have made a few celebrated reforms that will make the dirty work of lobbyists only a little more complicated. Just as the post-Watergate reforms of campaign financing did not end the requisitioning of public office by wealthy interests the post-Abramoff reforms will not free lawmaking from the soft bribery of special interests.
But could it happen at the state level? A few northern states have adopted rigid ethics laws that are worthy of the name “reform.” Outraged by the behavior of corporate lobbyists in killing his school tax program in 1987, Gov. Bill Clinton drafted an ethics law and got it ratified, but neither it nor subsequent campaign-finance reforms did much to slow the corruption of the statehouse.
Now, one after another candidate for constitutional office, principally attorney general and lieutenant governor, is outlining legislation that actually would address the problem by outlawing gifts to elected public officials. Former Rep. Gunner DeLay of Fort Smith, the Republican candidate for attorney general, said last week that he would draft a resolution that would do it constitutionally and also empower the attorney general to prosecute violators. But we do not need to put either ethics rules or criminal laws in the Constitution.
Prosecuting Attorney Robert Herzfeld of Benton, a Democratic candidate for attorney general, proposes legislation that is simple, direct and effective. Lobbyists could not buy a legislator or the governor even a cup of coffee much less fly him to the NCAA basketball tournament. Former legislators could not lobby the legislature for two years after leaving office and the penalties for ethics violations and public corruption would be stiffened. Now, violators gaily pay a small penalty and go their merry way.
State Sen. Jim Holt of Springdale, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, says he is preparing legislation almost identical to Herzfeld’s. Good for him, although he will never have a chance of introducing it even if he is elected. Lieutenant governors cannot sponsor legislation or try to steer it through the Senate, where they preside.
But outlaw a cup of coffee? Legislators deride such hound’s-tooth righteousness. Their votes, they insist, cannot be purchased by a cup of coffee, dinners or even expense-paid trips to Mexico. Gov. Huckabee takes umbrage at suggestions that the tens of thousands of dollars in gifts that he has accepted ever influenced a single official act, even the honorary appointment of people who tendered the gifts. Perhaps not, but how do we know?
Gov. Dale Bumpers had it right. From the day he took office as governor in 1971 until he retired as a United States senator in 1998 he returned every gift with a form letter explaining his policy. Some were offended. His return of a Rolex watch (price tag still attached) to a man who wanted to be reappointed to a desirable state commission soon after Bumpers’ election in 1970 earned the governor an assassination threat.
Unless gifts of any denomination are outlawed, prohibitions are simply unworkable. Tens of thousands of dollars can be funneled through a $100 loophole.
But Herzfeld’s excellent bill is not going to become law. If he is elected attorney general he may find a sponsor for it, but the Arkansas General Assembly will not pass it. It will not get a “do pass” from a single committee of the House or Senate unless it can first be eviscerated.
Only the voters of Arkansas can do it. Some fine civic organization — one of the political parties perhaps — can bring all the outrage to a
salubrious conclusion by taking Herzfeld’s, or Holt’s, good ideas and putting them on the ballot as an initiated act.
EDITORIAL >> School report badly skewed
Lots of teachers and parents in more than a few of our school districts must have been dismayed to see that some of the poorest instruction in Arkansas was occurring in their schools. Only 17 of Arkansas’ 1,116 public schools, for example, were judged to be worse than the Jacksonville Middle School in a performance index crafted by the research team at the new University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform.
Teachers, don’t surrender your certificates. Parents, don’t yank your kids from the schools just yet. You can invest about as much confidence in this academic study as you could in President Bush’s promises of jobs from tax cuts.
We have no idea how any school in the area measures up against the rest of the state, much less the nation, but the methodology and results of this celebrated study are so counter-intuitive — goofy, actually — that no one can take it seriously.
If the “School Performance Index in Arkansas” is accurate, the most abysmally performing schools in Arkansas by traditional standards actually are the best schools, starting with little Altheimer in Jefferson County. So awful were the financial conditions and test scores in Altheimer that the state Department of Education took over the district and ran it until recently. Yet no school district in Arkansas comes close to matching the effective teaching force at Altheimer in the performance index.
Its rankings suggest that teachers who are paid less and have weaker traditional qualifications than teachers generally do, provide the most effective teaching. A goal of the study was to prove that the amount of money spent on education has absolutely nothing to do with its quality, which has long been the thesis of the Dr. Jay P. Greene, the chair of the school-reform department and the director of the research team. He declared that the study proved it, although many of his results supported the opposite. Pulaski County’s magnet and incentive schools, which get extra infusions of money, ranked much higher than other schools in the area.
The premise of the study is undeniable. Standardized test scores alone cannot measure the relative effectiveness of a teacher, although that soon may be how teachers are paid. Gov. Huckabee plans to ask the legislature at a special session to enact a law requiring each teacher to be paid on the basis of standardized test scores of her students. An eighth-grade math teacher who inherits a class in which 60 percent cannot read at a third-grade level or do simple subtractions is not going to make as much progress as a teacher of lesser ability with a class of affluent and motivated kids.
The case against the high-stakes testing required by the No Child Left Behind law is that they do not account for the disabilities that children bring to class. So Greene’s team set out to do that. They factored in the percentage of black and Hispanic kids and those on subsidized lunches because family poverty is a huge factor in student progress. Also, they attempted to factor in the education and income levels of parents and the percentage of single parents, which numerous studies have shown to be big factors in student achievement. They assigned an arbitrary value to each of those factors and arrived at an expected performance level for students in each school. If scores fell below the expected level for that school, the teaching was judged to be failing, and if they were above, it was effective.
But the researchers really could not get all those figures, so they seem to have made up some based on communitywide census data. For example, in Pulaski County, where a high percentage of affluent and middle-class white families send their children to private and religious schools, all the public schools were assigned those characteristics — a high quotient of white, relatively affluent, well-educated and stable parents. Public school enrollment often is quite different. Greene’s men, new to the state, might not have known that. Accurate demographics for schools are not available for much of the state. Arkansas school districts do not follow city, county or even census-tract boundaries.
Conservative foundations, including the Wal-Mart family foundation, settled $20 million on the university to start the school-reform department at Fayetteville in hopes of shaping education policy in Arkansas. Corporate influence on scientific research creates great peril for universities. This is the first product of the big foundation grants, and it is not heartening.
Teachers, don’t surrender your certificates. Parents, don’t yank your kids from the schools just yet. You can invest about as much confidence in this academic study as you could in President Bush’s promises of jobs from tax cuts.
We have no idea how any school in the area measures up against the rest of the state, much less the nation, but the methodology and results of this celebrated study are so counter-intuitive — goofy, actually — that no one can take it seriously.
If the “School Performance Index in Arkansas” is accurate, the most abysmally performing schools in Arkansas by traditional standards actually are the best schools, starting with little Altheimer in Jefferson County. So awful were the financial conditions and test scores in Altheimer that the state Department of Education took over the district and ran it until recently. Yet no school district in Arkansas comes close to matching the effective teaching force at Altheimer in the performance index.
Its rankings suggest that teachers who are paid less and have weaker traditional qualifications than teachers generally do, provide the most effective teaching. A goal of the study was to prove that the amount of money spent on education has absolutely nothing to do with its quality, which has long been the thesis of the Dr. Jay P. Greene, the chair of the school-reform department and the director of the research team. He declared that the study proved it, although many of his results supported the opposite. Pulaski County’s magnet and incentive schools, which get extra infusions of money, ranked much higher than other schools in the area.
The premise of the study is undeniable. Standardized test scores alone cannot measure the relative effectiveness of a teacher, although that soon may be how teachers are paid. Gov. Huckabee plans to ask the legislature at a special session to enact a law requiring each teacher to be paid on the basis of standardized test scores of her students. An eighth-grade math teacher who inherits a class in which 60 percent cannot read at a third-grade level or do simple subtractions is not going to make as much progress as a teacher of lesser ability with a class of affluent and motivated kids.
The case against the high-stakes testing required by the No Child Left Behind law is that they do not account for the disabilities that children bring to class. So Greene’s team set out to do that. They factored in the percentage of black and Hispanic kids and those on subsidized lunches because family poverty is a huge factor in student progress. Also, they attempted to factor in the education and income levels of parents and the percentage of single parents, which numerous studies have shown to be big factors in student achievement. They assigned an arbitrary value to each of those factors and arrived at an expected performance level for students in each school. If scores fell below the expected level for that school, the teaching was judged to be failing, and if they were above, it was effective.
But the researchers really could not get all those figures, so they seem to have made up some based on communitywide census data. For example, in Pulaski County, where a high percentage of affluent and middle-class white families send their children to private and religious schools, all the public schools were assigned those characteristics — a high quotient of white, relatively affluent, well-educated and stable parents. Public school enrollment often is quite different. Greene’s men, new to the state, might not have known that. Accurate demographics for schools are not available for much of the state. Arkansas school districts do not follow city, county or even census-tract boundaries.
Conservative foundations, including the Wal-Mart family foundation, settled $20 million on the university to start the school-reform department at Fayetteville in hopes of shaping education policy in Arkansas. Corporate influence on scientific research creates great peril for universities. This is the first product of the big foundation grants, and it is not heartening.
SPORTS >> Red Devils run away late against Bombers
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville boys quickly squelched a brief scare last Friday night at last-place Mountain Home. After dominating most of the game, the Bombers cut the Red Devils’ double-digit lead to three points just seconds into the final quarter. After a quick timeout by interim head coach Jerry Wilson, Jacksonville came out of the break with renewed intensity and put the game away, winning going away 59-45.
Wilson couldn’t be reached for comment, but head coach Vic Joyner watched the film and had mostly good things to say about his club’s performance on Monday.
“They just stepped up the defensive intensity in the fourth quarter and that was the difference,” Joyner said. “We’ve been getting a little relaxed about our defensive principles lately, and we talked about it and tried to correct it. They got back to that in the fourth quarter.”
Joyner also said an offensive adjustment in the fourth quarter helped as well. A new scheme installed just last week wasn’t working, and a late change paid big dividends.
“Coach Wilson made a good coaching move,” Joyner said. “We put in a new offense specifically designed for their matchup, and the kids just weren’t comfortable with it. They just weren’t running it right.
“I noticed that he just scrapped it in the fourth quarter and went back to some things we had done earlier in the year against matchups, and it helped. It got our postmen back down around the basket and we started getting a lot more second-chance points.”
Lavar Neely led all scorers with 20 points while junior forward Kajaun Watson added 16.
The Red Devils improved to 14-6 and 4-3 in the AAAAA-East. The Bombers dropped to 5-15. The win also put Jacksonville alone in third place behind 7-0 Jonesboro and 6-1 Forrest City.
Three teams are tied for fourth. Cabot, Sylvan Hills and Searcy are all 3-4. West Memphis is 2-5 in fifth place.
The Lady Bombers remained one game behind undefeated Cabot in the race for the league championship with a 56-23 win over the Lady Red Devils.
Mountain Home started the game hot from the outside, and ran out to a 35-7 lead by halftime. The lead grew to as much as 43-9 two minutes into the third quarter before reserves played out the rest of the game.
Jacksonville’s Tarneshia Scott led all scorers with 10 points while Samantha Dean led Mountain Home with nine points.
Mountain Home improved to 14-6 overall and 6-1 in league play while Jacksonville fell to 2-16, 0-7.
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville boys quickly squelched a brief scare last Friday night at last-place Mountain Home. After dominating most of the game, the Bombers cut the Red Devils’ double-digit lead to three points just seconds into the final quarter. After a quick timeout by interim head coach Jerry Wilson, Jacksonville came out of the break with renewed intensity and put the game away, winning going away 59-45.
Wilson couldn’t be reached for comment, but head coach Vic Joyner watched the film and had mostly good things to say about his club’s performance on Monday.
“They just stepped up the defensive intensity in the fourth quarter and that was the difference,” Joyner said. “We’ve been getting a little relaxed about our defensive principles lately, and we talked about it and tried to correct it. They got back to that in the fourth quarter.”
Joyner also said an offensive adjustment in the fourth quarter helped as well. A new scheme installed just last week wasn’t working, and a late change paid big dividends.
“Coach Wilson made a good coaching move,” Joyner said. “We put in a new offense specifically designed for their matchup, and the kids just weren’t comfortable with it. They just weren’t running it right.
“I noticed that he just scrapped it in the fourth quarter and went back to some things we had done earlier in the year against matchups, and it helped. It got our postmen back down around the basket and we started getting a lot more second-chance points.”
Lavar Neely led all scorers with 20 points while junior forward Kajaun Watson added 16.
The Red Devils improved to 14-6 and 4-3 in the AAAAA-East. The Bombers dropped to 5-15. The win also put Jacksonville alone in third place behind 7-0 Jonesboro and 6-1 Forrest City.
Three teams are tied for fourth. Cabot, Sylvan Hills and Searcy are all 3-4. West Memphis is 2-5 in fifth place.
The Lady Bombers remained one game behind undefeated Cabot in the race for the league championship with a 56-23 win over the Lady Red Devils.
Mountain Home started the game hot from the outside, and ran out to a 35-7 lead by halftime. The lead grew to as much as 43-9 two minutes into the third quarter before reserves played out the rest of the game.
Jacksonville’s Tarneshia Scott led all scorers with 10 points while Samantha Dean led Mountain Home with nine points.
Mountain Home improved to 14-6 overall and 6-1 in league play while Jacksonville fell to 2-16, 0-7.
SPORTS >> Lady Falcons stay in playoff race
By JASON KING
Leader sports writer
The North Pulaski Lady Falcons continued their mid-season conference winning streak Friday night with a 64-59 win over the White Hall Lady Bull-dogs. After leading the opening quarter, the Lady Falcons fell behind to White Hall by as much as eight points towards the end of the third.
With a strong rally in the final period, the Lady Falcons reclaimed the lead with less than five minutes left in the game.
They held the momentum for the remainder to take their third straight AAAA-Southeast conference win.
“We played at a slower pace until about the start of the fourth quarter,” Lady Falcons coach Katrina Mimms said. “That’s the pace we need to play at all the time. We do a lot better when we just react and don’t have to think.”
North Pulaski looked solid in the first frame, building a 6-2 lead by the 4:56 mark. Two straight baskets from White Hall quickly tied things up 43 seconds later.
The first quarter resulted in a 12-12 tie, with the Lady Bulldogs leading the entire second quarter until a bucket from sophomore guard Neyshia Ridgeway for North Pulaski tied the score at the half at 26-26.
The Lady Falcons also led the opening minutes of the second half, but White Hall quickly rallied to re- gain the lead with a three pointer from junior Ashley Bogy with 4:25 left in the third quarter. Bogy’s three put the Lady Bulldogs up 34-31.
Bogy hit another three-point shot, followed by an inside jumper to give White Hall a 39-31 lead one minute later. By the end of the quarter, the Lady Bulldogs had built up a 44-36 lead, and seemed to have control of the game’s momentum.
White Hall’s control of the contest slipped away quickly in the fourth, as senior Keyshia Ridgeway stole the ball for an easy lay up for the Lady Falcons. Marie Livings followed that up with a basket that narrowed White Halls’ lead to 44-40. White Hall immediately called a time out, and seemed to have thwarted a North Pulaski rally when play resumed.
With 6:14 left in the game, the Lady Bulldogs went back up by six, 49-43 off a pair of free throws from Bogy. White Hall had enjoyed controlling the game’s tempo for the majority of three periods, but the final six minutes would belong to the Lady Falcons.
A pair of free throws by Tish Howell, followed by another steal and lay in from Keyshia Ridgeway cut the lead to 49-47 at the 5:07 mark. Another time out from White Hall did nothing to cool off North Pulaski this time, however. Two more foul shots from Howell tied the score after play resumed.
After a missed NP shot, Jakki Brewer came away with the rebound for White Hall, but got picked clean by Neyshia Ridgeway who put it right back up and in to give the Lady Falcons their first lead of the game since the first minute of the half.
Brewer tied things back up for the Lady Bulldogs with two free throws. Howell then crushed all hope for White Hall in a matter of 14 seconds.
Howell nailed a three-point shot from the left side with 4:38 left, and came right back to the exact same spot with 4:24 left to swish another three to put North Pulaski ahead 57-51.
Howell would also put away two free throws down the stretch to help the Lady Falcons secure the win. Any type of momentum change, that’s what basketball is all about,” Mimms said.
“They had it at the beginning, coming into the fourth, and then we made that run and it shifted our way. We just hung on to it.”
Howell led the Lady Falcons with 17 points in the game, followed by Keyshia Ridgeway with 15. Jalecia Batemon also finished in double-digits with 12 points for North Pulaski, and Livings added 10.
Kianna Pollard led all scorers for White Hall with 24 points in the game.
The win improves North Pulaski’s conference record to 4-3, and gives them a two-game cushion in fourth place in the AAAA-Southeast standings.
The Falcons lost their contest with White Hall 84-65. North Pulaski trailed 47-24 at halftime, but rallied to within 11 points in the third quarter.
The Falcons did not keep the momentum for long, however, as the Bulldogs re-took control of the game on their way to the 19-point victory.
Quinn Cooper led North Pulaski in the game with 26 points, followed by Roderick Rainey and Mike Anorue who both finished with eight points.
North Pulaski faced Mills at home on Tuesday after Leader deadlines.
Leader sports writer
The North Pulaski Lady Falcons continued their mid-season conference winning streak Friday night with a 64-59 win over the White Hall Lady Bull-dogs. After leading the opening quarter, the Lady Falcons fell behind to White Hall by as much as eight points towards the end of the third.
With a strong rally in the final period, the Lady Falcons reclaimed the lead with less than five minutes left in the game.
They held the momentum for the remainder to take their third straight AAAA-Southeast conference win.
“We played at a slower pace until about the start of the fourth quarter,” Lady Falcons coach Katrina Mimms said. “That’s the pace we need to play at all the time. We do a lot better when we just react and don’t have to think.”
North Pulaski looked solid in the first frame, building a 6-2 lead by the 4:56 mark. Two straight baskets from White Hall quickly tied things up 43 seconds later.
The first quarter resulted in a 12-12 tie, with the Lady Bulldogs leading the entire second quarter until a bucket from sophomore guard Neyshia Ridgeway for North Pulaski tied the score at the half at 26-26.
The Lady Falcons also led the opening minutes of the second half, but White Hall quickly rallied to re- gain the lead with a three pointer from junior Ashley Bogy with 4:25 left in the third quarter. Bogy’s three put the Lady Bulldogs up 34-31.
Bogy hit another three-point shot, followed by an inside jumper to give White Hall a 39-31 lead one minute later. By the end of the quarter, the Lady Bulldogs had built up a 44-36 lead, and seemed to have control of the game’s momentum.
White Hall’s control of the contest slipped away quickly in the fourth, as senior Keyshia Ridgeway stole the ball for an easy lay up for the Lady Falcons. Marie Livings followed that up with a basket that narrowed White Halls’ lead to 44-40. White Hall immediately called a time out, and seemed to have thwarted a North Pulaski rally when play resumed.
With 6:14 left in the game, the Lady Bulldogs went back up by six, 49-43 off a pair of free throws from Bogy. White Hall had enjoyed controlling the game’s tempo for the majority of three periods, but the final six minutes would belong to the Lady Falcons.
A pair of free throws by Tish Howell, followed by another steal and lay in from Keyshia Ridgeway cut the lead to 49-47 at the 5:07 mark. Another time out from White Hall did nothing to cool off North Pulaski this time, however. Two more foul shots from Howell tied the score after play resumed.
After a missed NP shot, Jakki Brewer came away with the rebound for White Hall, but got picked clean by Neyshia Ridgeway who put it right back up and in to give the Lady Falcons their first lead of the game since the first minute of the half.
Brewer tied things back up for the Lady Bulldogs with two free throws. Howell then crushed all hope for White Hall in a matter of 14 seconds.
Howell nailed a three-point shot from the left side with 4:38 left, and came right back to the exact same spot with 4:24 left to swish another three to put North Pulaski ahead 57-51.
Howell would also put away two free throws down the stretch to help the Lady Falcons secure the win. Any type of momentum change, that’s what basketball is all about,” Mimms said.
“They had it at the beginning, coming into the fourth, and then we made that run and it shifted our way. We just hung on to it.”
Howell led the Lady Falcons with 17 points in the game, followed by Keyshia Ridgeway with 15. Jalecia Batemon also finished in double-digits with 12 points for North Pulaski, and Livings added 10.
Kianna Pollard led all scorers for White Hall with 24 points in the game.
The win improves North Pulaski’s conference record to 4-3, and gives them a two-game cushion in fourth place in the AAAA-Southeast standings.
The Falcons lost their contest with White Hall 84-65. North Pulaski trailed 47-24 at halftime, but rallied to within 11 points in the third quarter.
The Falcons did not keep the momentum for long, however, as the Bulldogs re-took control of the game on their way to the 19-point victory.
Quinn Cooper led North Pulaski in the game with 26 points, followed by Roderick Rainey and Mike Anorue who both finished with eight points.
North Pulaski faced Mills at home on Tuesday after Leader deadlines.
NEIGHBORS >> From the ground up
By SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
he end of school might seem a long way off, but teachers at Cabot High School are already preparing to move into the new 191,015-square-foot high school building as soon as classes let out for summer.
“Right now the only classrooms we’ve assigned are science because of the locations of the science labs on the second floor,” said Tony Thurman, principal of Cabot High School.
“We’ll be assigning classrooms in March.”
Classrooms in the two-storied, V-shaped building will be arranged to support the district’s six career academies of agriculture, science and mechanics; business, finance and information technology; construction, engineering and automotive technology; health and human services; education, law and public service, and fine arts, journalism and communications.
Thurman said he is expecting about 1,800 students in the fall. The building was designed so 20 additional classrooms can easily be added to handle future student growth.
The $13.9 million building is on the northwest side of the campus, facing Hwys. 89 and 38.
Buses will load and unload at the rear of the building, facing Champs Hall.
The school district is installing a long turn lane on Hwy. 89 so parents can turn into the campus to drop students off at the front of the building without delaying traffic. Students who drive will use an entrance on Hwy. 38.
Thurman said students will get the most use out of the centrally located media center. In addition to library books and comfortable furniture for lounging, the media center will house two computer labs with 25 computers each. There will be an Arkansas History room, study carrels or quiet rooms, as well as a teacher resource room with professional periodicals.
Another feature of the building that will interest teachers is the four resource rooms equipped with kitchenettes, copiers, computers and teleconference equipment.
“The teachers won’t have to come to the main office on the first floor except to check their mailboxes,” Thurman said.
Teachers and students alike will get a lot of use out of the professional-development center says Thurman.
It will have state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment for staff meetings or guest speakers for classes.
“Right now the only place we really have for staff meetings is the cafeteria and the acoustics are terrible,” Thurman said.
Leader staff writer
he end of school might seem a long way off, but teachers at Cabot High School are already preparing to move into the new 191,015-square-foot high school building as soon as classes let out for summer.
“Right now the only classrooms we’ve assigned are science because of the locations of the science labs on the second floor,” said Tony Thurman, principal of Cabot High School.
“We’ll be assigning classrooms in March.”
Classrooms in the two-storied, V-shaped building will be arranged to support the district’s six career academies of agriculture, science and mechanics; business, finance and information technology; construction, engineering and automotive technology; health and human services; education, law and public service, and fine arts, journalism and communications.
Thurman said he is expecting about 1,800 students in the fall. The building was designed so 20 additional classrooms can easily be added to handle future student growth.
The $13.9 million building is on the northwest side of the campus, facing Hwys. 89 and 38.
Buses will load and unload at the rear of the building, facing Champs Hall.
The school district is installing a long turn lane on Hwy. 89 so parents can turn into the campus to drop students off at the front of the building without delaying traffic. Students who drive will use an entrance on Hwy. 38.
Thurman said students will get the most use out of the centrally located media center. In addition to library books and comfortable furniture for lounging, the media center will house two computer labs with 25 computers each. There will be an Arkansas History room, study carrels or quiet rooms, as well as a teacher resource room with professional periodicals.
Another feature of the building that will interest teachers is the four resource rooms equipped with kitchenettes, copiers, computers and teleconference equipment.
“The teachers won’t have to come to the main office on the first floor except to check their mailboxes,” Thurman said.
Teachers and students alike will get a lot of use out of the professional-development center says Thurman.
It will have state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment for staff meetings or guest speakers for classes.
“Right now the only place we really have for staff meetings is the cafeteria and the acoustics are terrible,” Thurman said.
TOP STORY >> Wilson to try to stop funds awarded to library
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
Jacksonville businessman Mike Wilson said Monday that he would ask Pulaski County Circuit Judge Willard Proctor not to let the state Department of Finance and Administration release $190,000 in General Improve-ment Funds earmarked for a new Jacksonville library until he can appeal a ruling from Proctor handed down on Friday.
Wilson has sued to stop the state from releasing General Improvement Fund money for several projects, saying Amend-ment 14 of the state Constitution prohibits funding local projects.
In all, the state’s senators and representatives have earmarked more than $50 million worth of projects, in-cluding $330,000 for Jacksonville projects.
Proctor dismissed Wilson’s suits against libraries in Jacksonville and Heber Springs on Friday and hinted he would dismiss the suit against the Jacksonville Museum of Military History as soon as its attor-ney/founder Ben Rice filed the appropriate motion.
Wilson said Mon-day that he believed Proctor also hinted Friday that he thought Wilson’s suit against the other plaintiffs had merit. Proctor denied motions to dismiss the suits or issue a summary judgment in favor of the other defendants, including the Jacksonville Boys and Girls Club, the Jack-sonville Senior Center and the Reed’s Bridge Preservation Society.
Wilson said he would appeal Proctor’s decision to the state Supreme Court and would ask for the ruling to be stayed in the meantime.
“If the state is going to simply give money away to anybody, that would require a constitutional amendment,” Wilson said, “a vote by the people.”
General Improve-ment Funds as they now exist began in 1997, so Wilson said he wasn’t bringing home the pork when he was a state representative.
Wilson said he would appeal to the state Sup-reme Court.
“I’m not surprised,” he said of Proctor’s ruling. “I disagree with it.
“Some libraries are more equal than others. We all love libraries. I wish there was more money for libraries.”
JACKSONVILLE LIBRARY
While Jacksonville could use the $190,000 toward furnishing the new Central Arkansas Library facility slated for the town, it’s not that money that’s keeping the $2 million project from moving forward.
First, the city has to decide upon a location and purchase the necessary land, according to Bobby Roberts, director of the Central Arkansas Library System.
“We have a preferred site, but we’re still considering others in case we can’t purchase that site,” Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim said.
“Most of the sites under consideration would require negotiating with more than one seller.”
Although Roberts has hired the architectural firm Witsel, Ev-ans and Rasco, “We’re at a standstill until we get some property,” he said.
Wilson said he favors funding libraries, but in the proper fashion. Good thing, since Roberts and Wilson are brothers-in-law.
Roberts said there was some good news.
With revenues up and rates stable, the bond issue appro-ved by Jacksonville voters will probably generate a $2.5 million loan instead of the $2.1 million or $2.2 million expected earlier.
That’s good because prices have gone up considerably in the last nine months, Roberts said.
He hopes to sell the bonds in April, and the money would have to be spent within three years. Roberts said the library could be designed and built by June 2007.
PROJECTS AT RISK
The Jacksonville projects named in the case are:
• $190,000 for the new Esther D. Nixon Library
• $50,000 to the Jackson-ville Boys and Girls Club
• $50,000 to the Jackson-ville Senior Center
• $20,000 to the City of Jacksonville
• $10,000 to the Jacksonville Museum of Military History
• $10,000 for the Reed’s Bridge Preservation Society
Jacksonville voters in July ap-proved a one-mill property tax increase to finance $2.5 million in bonds to build the new library, and Swaim pro-mises it will be built with or without the General Improvement Funds arranged by state Rep. Will Bond, D-Jacksonville and state Sen. John Paul Capps, D-Searcy.
Leader staff writer
Jacksonville businessman Mike Wilson said Monday that he would ask Pulaski County Circuit Judge Willard Proctor not to let the state Department of Finance and Administration release $190,000 in General Improve-ment Funds earmarked for a new Jacksonville library until he can appeal a ruling from Proctor handed down on Friday.
Wilson has sued to stop the state from releasing General Improvement Fund money for several projects, saying Amend-ment 14 of the state Constitution prohibits funding local projects.
In all, the state’s senators and representatives have earmarked more than $50 million worth of projects, in-cluding $330,000 for Jacksonville projects.
Proctor dismissed Wilson’s suits against libraries in Jacksonville and Heber Springs on Friday and hinted he would dismiss the suit against the Jacksonville Museum of Military History as soon as its attor-ney/founder Ben Rice filed the appropriate motion.
Wilson said Mon-day that he believed Proctor also hinted Friday that he thought Wilson’s suit against the other plaintiffs had merit. Proctor denied motions to dismiss the suits or issue a summary judgment in favor of the other defendants, including the Jacksonville Boys and Girls Club, the Jack-sonville Senior Center and the Reed’s Bridge Preservation Society.
Wilson said he would appeal Proctor’s decision to the state Supreme Court and would ask for the ruling to be stayed in the meantime.
“If the state is going to simply give money away to anybody, that would require a constitutional amendment,” Wilson said, “a vote by the people.”
General Improve-ment Funds as they now exist began in 1997, so Wilson said he wasn’t bringing home the pork when he was a state representative.
Wilson said he would appeal to the state Sup-reme Court.
“I’m not surprised,” he said of Proctor’s ruling. “I disagree with it.
“Some libraries are more equal than others. We all love libraries. I wish there was more money for libraries.”
JACKSONVILLE LIBRARY
While Jacksonville could use the $190,000 toward furnishing the new Central Arkansas Library facility slated for the town, it’s not that money that’s keeping the $2 million project from moving forward.
First, the city has to decide upon a location and purchase the necessary land, according to Bobby Roberts, director of the Central Arkansas Library System.
“We have a preferred site, but we’re still considering others in case we can’t purchase that site,” Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim said.
“Most of the sites under consideration would require negotiating with more than one seller.”
Although Roberts has hired the architectural firm Witsel, Ev-ans and Rasco, “We’re at a standstill until we get some property,” he said.
Wilson said he favors funding libraries, but in the proper fashion. Good thing, since Roberts and Wilson are brothers-in-law.
Roberts said there was some good news.
With revenues up and rates stable, the bond issue appro-ved by Jacksonville voters will probably generate a $2.5 million loan instead of the $2.1 million or $2.2 million expected earlier.
That’s good because prices have gone up considerably in the last nine months, Roberts said.
He hopes to sell the bonds in April, and the money would have to be spent within three years. Roberts said the library could be designed and built by June 2007.
PROJECTS AT RISK
The Jacksonville projects named in the case are:
• $190,000 for the new Esther D. Nixon Library
• $50,000 to the Jackson-ville Boys and Girls Club
• $50,000 to the Jackson-ville Senior Center
• $20,000 to the City of Jacksonville
• $10,000 to the Jacksonville Museum of Military History
• $10,000 for the Reed’s Bridge Preservation Society
Jacksonville voters in July ap-proved a one-mill property tax increase to finance $2.5 million in bonds to build the new library, and Swaim pro-mises it will be built with or without the General Improvement Funds arranged by state Rep. Will Bond, D-Jacksonville and state Sen. John Paul Capps, D-Searcy.
TOP STORY >> Many airmen return, but others are leaving
By SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
Twenty-six airmen from the 50th and 61st Airlift Squadrons and the 463rd Airlift Group are preparing to leave within the week for a three- to six-month deployment in the Middle East.
Nearly 100 airmen from Little Rock Air Force Base are deploying in the region in small groups until mid-Feb-ruary to provide training for the Iraqi Air Force at Ali Base, Iraq, as well as fly C-130 Hercules cargo missions out of Balad Air Base, Iraq.
Due to mission security concerns, the date of the deployment and how many C-130s from Little Rock Air Force Base are currently flying in the Middle East cannot be revealed, said Lt. Jon Quinlan, deputy chief of public affairs for the 314th Airlift Wing.
There are about 150 airmen from the 463rd Airlift Group stationed in the Middle East, part of the 500 airmen from Little Rock Air Force Base deployed worldwide to fight in the war on terror.
Those deploying replace the nearly 100 airmen who returned to Little Rock Air Force Base Sunday afternoon after a five-month deployment in the deserts of Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa.
A crowd of about 100 families and friends gathered along the flight line in patient anticipation for the arrival of the returning airmen.
The C-130s flew low over the base so both adults and children could wave at the aircraft.
“My husband deployed earlier in the month, so we’re here to welcome the folks from our unit back,” said Mary Gomez, wife of Col. John Gomez, commander of the 463rd Airlift Group.
She and son Addison, 16, held a bundle of brightly colored balloons as they greeted the airmen.
“You’re always thinking about your family while you’re gone,” said Lt. Col. Mark Czelusta, commander of the 463rd Airlift Group’s Operations Support Squadron.
The time apart was difficult, but Czelusta’s wife, Susan, and daughter, Maddie, 7, made it through.
“I went back to work as a nurse at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Sherwood, so that was a little change,” Susan Czelusta said. “Maddie was a little sad at first but got into a routine and did well.”
“My family has made it work. I owe them the first thank you. They sacrifice so much. This homecoming is as much about the families as it is about us,” Mark Czelusta said.
The returning airmen receive two weeks of reconstitution leave granted after serving abroad. Most of the airmen said they will spend the time with their families, and some will do nothing but relax.
“Being away from home for the holidays was the worst part of being deployed,” said Lt. Gary Toroni, a returning C-130 pilot with the 61st Airlift Squadron. Despite the dangers and loneliness, the mission was rewarding. “The Iraqi people I met over there went through hell but are just as nice as anything,” Toroni said.
Leader staff writer
Twenty-six airmen from the 50th and 61st Airlift Squadrons and the 463rd Airlift Group are preparing to leave within the week for a three- to six-month deployment in the Middle East.
Nearly 100 airmen from Little Rock Air Force Base are deploying in the region in small groups until mid-Feb-ruary to provide training for the Iraqi Air Force at Ali Base, Iraq, as well as fly C-130 Hercules cargo missions out of Balad Air Base, Iraq.
Due to mission security concerns, the date of the deployment and how many C-130s from Little Rock Air Force Base are currently flying in the Middle East cannot be revealed, said Lt. Jon Quinlan, deputy chief of public affairs for the 314th Airlift Wing.
There are about 150 airmen from the 463rd Airlift Group stationed in the Middle East, part of the 500 airmen from Little Rock Air Force Base deployed worldwide to fight in the war on terror.
Those deploying replace the nearly 100 airmen who returned to Little Rock Air Force Base Sunday afternoon after a five-month deployment in the deserts of Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa.
A crowd of about 100 families and friends gathered along the flight line in patient anticipation for the arrival of the returning airmen.
The C-130s flew low over the base so both adults and children could wave at the aircraft.
“My husband deployed earlier in the month, so we’re here to welcome the folks from our unit back,” said Mary Gomez, wife of Col. John Gomez, commander of the 463rd Airlift Group.
She and son Addison, 16, held a bundle of brightly colored balloons as they greeted the airmen.
“You’re always thinking about your family while you’re gone,” said Lt. Col. Mark Czelusta, commander of the 463rd Airlift Group’s Operations Support Squadron.
The time apart was difficult, but Czelusta’s wife, Susan, and daughter, Maddie, 7, made it through.
“I went back to work as a nurse at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Sherwood, so that was a little change,” Susan Czelusta said. “Maddie was a little sad at first but got into a routine and did well.”
“My family has made it work. I owe them the first thank you. They sacrifice so much. This homecoming is as much about the families as it is about us,” Mark Czelusta said.
The returning airmen receive two weeks of reconstitution leave granted after serving abroad. Most of the airmen said they will spend the time with their families, and some will do nothing but relax.
“Being away from home for the holidays was the worst part of being deployed,” said Lt. Gary Toroni, a returning C-130 pilot with the 61st Airlift Squadron. Despite the dangers and loneliness, the mission was rewarding. “The Iraqi people I met over there went through hell but are just as nice as anything,” Toroni said.
TOP STORY >> Water costs ready to go up in Beebe
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
Water and sewer bills are going up in Beebe to pay for $1.3 million in improvements to the water system.
Currently, the average residential customer uses 6,000 gallons a month and receives a monthly bill of $50.70, which includes water, sewer, garbage collection, all taxes and other fees.
Beginning with the April bill, that $50.70 bill will increase to $53.08. In April 2007, the same bill will rise to $55.29.
Dwight Oxner, water and sewer manager, said that all the work will be on problem areas of the existing water system in the old and not-so-old parts of town, not to extend to the service area.
Oxner said the work to be done includes replacing two-inch lines that can’t support fire protection and connecting dead-end lines to existing lines, called looping.
Where larger, six, eight and 12-inch lines are installed, customers will probably see better pressure and flow, he said.
Where dead-end lines are looped, they could see an im-proved flavor because the flow will be constant. The city council unanimously approved a $1.3 million bond issue Thursday night to pay for the improvements as well as the rate increase to pay off the bonds.
Oxner said his department now uses a water and sewer master plan prepared by B&F Engineer-ing of Hot Springs, to ensure that new lines will support the area where they are installed.
But the plan also shows the many areas throughout the city that need upgrading.
Some sewer lines have already been upgraded, he said, but this will be the first major improvement to the old water lines since the plan was drafted.
Leader staff writer
Water and sewer bills are going up in Beebe to pay for $1.3 million in improvements to the water system.
Currently, the average residential customer uses 6,000 gallons a month and receives a monthly bill of $50.70, which includes water, sewer, garbage collection, all taxes and other fees.
Beginning with the April bill, that $50.70 bill will increase to $53.08. In April 2007, the same bill will rise to $55.29.
Dwight Oxner, water and sewer manager, said that all the work will be on problem areas of the existing water system in the old and not-so-old parts of town, not to extend to the service area.
Oxner said the work to be done includes replacing two-inch lines that can’t support fire protection and connecting dead-end lines to existing lines, called looping.
Where larger, six, eight and 12-inch lines are installed, customers will probably see better pressure and flow, he said.
Where dead-end lines are looped, they could see an im-proved flavor because the flow will be constant. The city council unanimously approved a $1.3 million bond issue Thursday night to pay for the improvements as well as the rate increase to pay off the bonds.
Oxner said his department now uses a water and sewer master plan prepared by B&F Engineer-ing of Hot Springs, to ensure that new lines will support the area where they are installed.
But the plan also shows the many areas throughout the city that need upgrading.
Some sewer lines have already been upgraded, he said, but this will be the first major improvement to the old water lines since the plan was drafted.
TOP STORY >> Utility’s control still not finalized
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
A special council meeting in Cabot on Tuesday night, called to tie up the lose ends of transferring the operation of the water and sewer departments from city control to a new commission, ended with some issues unresolved and one ordinance likely to be vetoed by the mayor.
The council passed an ordinance granting the commission a franchise to operate in the city like those held by the gas and cable companies, much to the ire of Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh.
“You’ll get to re-address this, I grant you,” Stumbaugh told the commission after the franchise ordinance passed 5-3.
Asked after the meeting if he meant by his statement that he intended to veto the franchise, Stumbaugh said, “chances are very likely.”
At the heart of that issue is money. The commission has agreed to pay the city $200,000 this year as a fee for fire and police protection, about the same amount the city collected for two years before the commission took over. But since the promise does not extend to next year and beyond, Stumbaugh says the only way for the city to regain that revenue if it is lost is to actually set a franchise fee for the new commission that would be passed along to the rate payers.
When the commission pays the $200,000 also appears to be critical. The mayor wants it now, because cash flow is a problem in January, according to Alderman David Polantz, the chairman of the council’s budget committee.
Bill Cypert, secretary of the water and wastewater commission, told the commissioners during a 45-minute strategy meeting before the council meeting, that Stum-baugh had accused the commission of holding the city hostage over the fee, an accusation that the commission denies.
Cypert said during that meeting, and the council meeting that followed, the commission was reluctant to release the full amount because they don’t yet know the full financial picture of water and sewer.
The mayor had already alluded to a veto of the franchise by the time the discussion of the $200,000 fee began.
When he asked the commission if they could at least pay one-quarter of that amount within a few days, J.M. Park, the president of the commission who had been silent during the meeting, responded, “We’ll take it under advisement.”
The council would not give the commission authority to pay its own bills for construction of a $19 million sewer project which in-cludes a new plant.
City Clerk Marva Verkler said the city would be audited for the money, not the commission.
The council agreed to give the commission along with the mayor and city clerk authority over the funds.
Some agenda items were tabled until the February meeting.
Leader staff writer
A special council meeting in Cabot on Tuesday night, called to tie up the lose ends of transferring the operation of the water and sewer departments from city control to a new commission, ended with some issues unresolved and one ordinance likely to be vetoed by the mayor.
The council passed an ordinance granting the commission a franchise to operate in the city like those held by the gas and cable companies, much to the ire of Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh.
“You’ll get to re-address this, I grant you,” Stumbaugh told the commission after the franchise ordinance passed 5-3.
Asked after the meeting if he meant by his statement that he intended to veto the franchise, Stumbaugh said, “chances are very likely.”
At the heart of that issue is money. The commission has agreed to pay the city $200,000 this year as a fee for fire and police protection, about the same amount the city collected for two years before the commission took over. But since the promise does not extend to next year and beyond, Stumbaugh says the only way for the city to regain that revenue if it is lost is to actually set a franchise fee for the new commission that would be passed along to the rate payers.
When the commission pays the $200,000 also appears to be critical. The mayor wants it now, because cash flow is a problem in January, according to Alderman David Polantz, the chairman of the council’s budget committee.
Bill Cypert, secretary of the water and wastewater commission, told the commissioners during a 45-minute strategy meeting before the council meeting, that Stum-baugh had accused the commission of holding the city hostage over the fee, an accusation that the commission denies.
Cypert said during that meeting, and the council meeting that followed, the commission was reluctant to release the full amount because they don’t yet know the full financial picture of water and sewer.
The mayor had already alluded to a veto of the franchise by the time the discussion of the $200,000 fee began.
When he asked the commission if they could at least pay one-quarter of that amount within a few days, J.M. Park, the president of the commission who had been silent during the meeting, responded, “We’ll take it under advisement.”
The council would not give the commission authority to pay its own bills for construction of a $19 million sewer project which in-cludes a new plant.
City Clerk Marva Verkler said the city would be audited for the money, not the commission.
The council agreed to give the commission along with the mayor and city clerk authority over the funds.
Some agenda items were tabled until the February meeting.
TOP STORY >> District's plan for facilites approved
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
In less time than it takes to tell, the Pulaski County Special School District School Board convened, approved a $97.2 million, 10-year facility-maintenance plan with an additional $11.6 million in capital improvements and adjourned.
Only four board members attended, but all — Ronnie Calva, Dr. James Bolden III, Carol Burgett and Mildred Tatum — voted to approve the plan.
The state-mandated Academic Facilities and Transportation Plan, which must be submitted to the state today, included $11.6 million in capital improvements between 2006 and 2009, with the new, $10.5 million Chenal Upper Elementary School in west Little Rock accounting for all but $1.1 million of that.
The state is expected to pay 18 percent of the cost of the capital improvements.
Schools in the Jacksonville and Sherwood areas are slated for $836,000 in capital improvements over those three years, nearly all of it in the form of roof improvements.
The bulk of the money in the plan was earmarked for regular maintenance and utilities for all the school buildings, directly tied to the number of square feet involved.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS
Those area schools identified for the improvements are:
2006-2007 school year
• Homer Adkins Elementary School, roof, $120,000
• Sylvan Hills Middle School, old band room/field house, roof, $20,000
• Oakbrooke Elementary School, main building, roof, $190,000
2007-2008 school year
• Homer Adkins Elementary School, asbestos abatement, $126,000
• Jacksonville Middle School girls campus, cafeteria and classroom buildings, roof, $100,000
2008-2009 school year
• Oakbrooke Elementary School kindergarten, roof, $130,000
The other capital expenditures over that three-year period are:
• Fuller Middle School gymnasium, roof, $15,000
• Scott Elementary School, roof, $140,000
• Oak Grove High School, roof, $75,000
• Mills High School, roof, $55,000.
The Chenal school will be built using proceeds from two debt restructurings approved by the voters in 2002 and 2004.
MAINTENANCE COSTS
The plan includes facilities maintenance and operations costs for the next 10 years at the rate of $9.7 million dollars a year, split evenly among the schools based upon the total number of square feet for all the buildings constituting each individual school.
Those maintenance and operations costs include annual utilities, custodial, maintenance, repair and renovation activities and related personnel costs. There are 37 schools in the district, made up of 191 buildings, according to the information provided by Jerry Holder and James Warren, superintendent for support services.
Act 1426 of 2005 requires every school district to create and submit the master plans, with phase I, (2006-2009) due today. The state requires the districts to dedicate at least 9 percent of the $5,400 per student annual minimum foundation aid for maintenance.
The district receives that money for each of approximately 18,000 students each year, for a total of $97.2 million per year. Nine percent of that would be $8.75 million a year earmarked for maintenance, but the district opted to spend 10 percent per year, or $9.72 million a year, Warren said.
Although the master plan maintenance funding is prorated on the basis of square feet per school, the actual amount spent will probably vary from the amount shown, according to the cover letter prepared by the Department of Plant Planning.
The district covers about 730 square miles, requiring greater time and expense for transportation and maintenance needs, the district told the state in describing the geographic features of the district.
HOUSING BOOM
Other information the district submitted to the state indicated that the district has a housing boom in Maumelle, Scott, Sherwood, Jack-sonville and western Little Rock. Jacksonville alone has more than 17 developments with more than 1,500 lots.
In 2005, more than 337 new houses were built in Maumelle, with 783 more housing units slated for completion by the end of 2006.
Scott grew by an estimated 50 new houses in 2005 with another 600 slated between now through 2009. Sherwood growth was characterized as above average.
More school-aged children could be coming to Little Rock Air Force Base, and two new distribution companies were said to be coming to Scott. Asked to identify unique facility needs, the district noted that all districts were required to hire elementary music and art teachers in 2005-2006, but that many elementary schools didn’t have classrooms equipped to accommodate music and art.
Leader staff writer
In less time than it takes to tell, the Pulaski County Special School District School Board convened, approved a $97.2 million, 10-year facility-maintenance plan with an additional $11.6 million in capital improvements and adjourned.
Only four board members attended, but all — Ronnie Calva, Dr. James Bolden III, Carol Burgett and Mildred Tatum — voted to approve the plan.
The state-mandated Academic Facilities and Transportation Plan, which must be submitted to the state today, included $11.6 million in capital improvements between 2006 and 2009, with the new, $10.5 million Chenal Upper Elementary School in west Little Rock accounting for all but $1.1 million of that.
The state is expected to pay 18 percent of the cost of the capital improvements.
Schools in the Jacksonville and Sherwood areas are slated for $836,000 in capital improvements over those three years, nearly all of it in the form of roof improvements.
The bulk of the money in the plan was earmarked for regular maintenance and utilities for all the school buildings, directly tied to the number of square feet involved.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS
Those area schools identified for the improvements are:
2006-2007 school year
• Homer Adkins Elementary School, roof, $120,000
• Sylvan Hills Middle School, old band room/field house, roof, $20,000
• Oakbrooke Elementary School, main building, roof, $190,000
2007-2008 school year
• Homer Adkins Elementary School, asbestos abatement, $126,000
• Jacksonville Middle School girls campus, cafeteria and classroom buildings, roof, $100,000
2008-2009 school year
• Oakbrooke Elementary School kindergarten, roof, $130,000
The other capital expenditures over that three-year period are:
• Fuller Middle School gymnasium, roof, $15,000
• Scott Elementary School, roof, $140,000
• Oak Grove High School, roof, $75,000
• Mills High School, roof, $55,000.
The Chenal school will be built using proceeds from two debt restructurings approved by the voters in 2002 and 2004.
MAINTENANCE COSTS
The plan includes facilities maintenance and operations costs for the next 10 years at the rate of $9.7 million dollars a year, split evenly among the schools based upon the total number of square feet for all the buildings constituting each individual school.
Those maintenance and operations costs include annual utilities, custodial, maintenance, repair and renovation activities and related personnel costs. There are 37 schools in the district, made up of 191 buildings, according to the information provided by Jerry Holder and James Warren, superintendent for support services.
Act 1426 of 2005 requires every school district to create and submit the master plans, with phase I, (2006-2009) due today. The state requires the districts to dedicate at least 9 percent of the $5,400 per student annual minimum foundation aid for maintenance.
The district receives that money for each of approximately 18,000 students each year, for a total of $97.2 million per year. Nine percent of that would be $8.75 million a year earmarked for maintenance, but the district opted to spend 10 percent per year, or $9.72 million a year, Warren said.
Although the master plan maintenance funding is prorated on the basis of square feet per school, the actual amount spent will probably vary from the amount shown, according to the cover letter prepared by the Department of Plant Planning.
The district covers about 730 square miles, requiring greater time and expense for transportation and maintenance needs, the district told the state in describing the geographic features of the district.
HOUSING BOOM
Other information the district submitted to the state indicated that the district has a housing boom in Maumelle, Scott, Sherwood, Jack-sonville and western Little Rock. Jacksonville alone has more than 17 developments with more than 1,500 lots.
In 2005, more than 337 new houses were built in Maumelle, with 783 more housing units slated for completion by the end of 2006.
Scott grew by an estimated 50 new houses in 2005 with another 600 slated between now through 2009. Sherwood growth was characterized as above average.
More school-aged children could be coming to Little Rock Air Force Base, and two new distribution companies were said to be coming to Scott. Asked to identify unique facility needs, the district noted that all districts were required to hire elementary music and art teachers in 2005-2006, but that many elementary schools didn’t have classrooms equipped to accommodate music and art.
TOP STORY >> No stopping crime
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
The bust last week of a methamphetamine lab near Macon in north Pulaski County is precisely the kind of event that leaves some residents feeling vulnerable and fearful, and with cutbacks in road deputies and felony jail beds, the problem will likely only get worse.
That’s according to John Rehrauer, spokesman for the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office.
One woman, who didn’t want to be identified, sought out Cong. Vic Snyder, who came to Jack-sonville to hear from his constituents last week. She said she and her neighbors in the Gravel Ridge area were afraid of local drug users and meth cooks, and they need more law enforcement help at a time when they are getting less.
Budget cuts for 2006 reduced the number of deputies by about 23, but by juggling personnel — moving people from the main office to the outlying areas — each precinct is down only about two deputies, Rehrauer said.
“The way we have realigned and taken people out of jobs in our building,” Rehrauer said, “we are down about two deputies per district from before.”
He said the north central district — Gravel Ridge area — has nine deputies; the northwest district — the Oak Grove area — has eight, and the northeast district — which includes McAlmont — has seven.
Rehrauer said the department is looking at when and where crimes are occurring and moving people around in response. Sometimes shifts overlap to allow a concentration of deputies during peak crime times.
“If we get a rash of a certain kind of crime, we have to do more task-force type things,” he said.
When there was a rash of burglaries and crime in the north central district, the department took two thirds of its investigators and some reserve deputies and flooded the area.
“The problem is you make the arrest and how long are they gone before they are right back on the street?” Rehrauer said.
Reports of robberies, stolen cars and rapes in Pulaski County in 2005 were slightly down from 2004 reports, according to Uni-form Crime Reporting Statistics provided by the sheriff’s office, and the number of burglaries in-creased slightly.
But for budgetary reasons, the county has closed its work-release center and reduced the capacity of its jail to hold felons from 1,125 to 880, so there will be more criminals on the streets instead of in jail for the foreseeable future, according to Rehrauer.
The sheriff’s office breaks unincorporated parts of Pulaski County up into six districts.
In 2005, the three northern districts accounted for 11 of 23 robberies in the county, 212 of the 360 burglaries countywide, 132 of 212 car thefts and 14 of 26 rapes.
Between 2004 and 2005 in the north Pulaski precincts, robberies fell from 18 to 11, burglaries in-creased from 198 to 212, car thefts increased from 112 to 132 and rapes fell from 20 in 2004 to 14 in 2005.
Rehrauer said his concern was that the numbers don’t reflect the current situation, with the number of available jail beds down by a third. “Residential burglaries, car theft … that’s the type of crime we fear is going to go up,” he said. “You’re not going to see homicide rates soar, those people are still going to be incarcerated. It’s crimes against people and properties.
“More of those people are not going to serve any significant jail time. We’re going to do our best with what we have to work with, but … there are people getting citations for things they should be in jail for.”
“We’ve seen the number of meth labs go down over the past couple of years,” Rehrauer added. “There is less local manufacturing, but that doesn’t mean the usage is going down. More meth is being brought in.”
Rehrauer said residents aware of criminal activity should contact the sheriff’s office.
Their identities can be protected, he said.
Leader staff writer
The bust last week of a methamphetamine lab near Macon in north Pulaski County is precisely the kind of event that leaves some residents feeling vulnerable and fearful, and with cutbacks in road deputies and felony jail beds, the problem will likely only get worse.
That’s according to John Rehrauer, spokesman for the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office.
One woman, who didn’t want to be identified, sought out Cong. Vic Snyder, who came to Jack-sonville to hear from his constituents last week. She said she and her neighbors in the Gravel Ridge area were afraid of local drug users and meth cooks, and they need more law enforcement help at a time when they are getting less.
Budget cuts for 2006 reduced the number of deputies by about 23, but by juggling personnel — moving people from the main office to the outlying areas — each precinct is down only about two deputies, Rehrauer said.
“The way we have realigned and taken people out of jobs in our building,” Rehrauer said, “we are down about two deputies per district from before.”
He said the north central district — Gravel Ridge area — has nine deputies; the northwest district — the Oak Grove area — has eight, and the northeast district — which includes McAlmont — has seven.
Rehrauer said the department is looking at when and where crimes are occurring and moving people around in response. Sometimes shifts overlap to allow a concentration of deputies during peak crime times.
“If we get a rash of a certain kind of crime, we have to do more task-force type things,” he said.
When there was a rash of burglaries and crime in the north central district, the department took two thirds of its investigators and some reserve deputies and flooded the area.
“The problem is you make the arrest and how long are they gone before they are right back on the street?” Rehrauer said.
Reports of robberies, stolen cars and rapes in Pulaski County in 2005 were slightly down from 2004 reports, according to Uni-form Crime Reporting Statistics provided by the sheriff’s office, and the number of burglaries in-creased slightly.
But for budgetary reasons, the county has closed its work-release center and reduced the capacity of its jail to hold felons from 1,125 to 880, so there will be more criminals on the streets instead of in jail for the foreseeable future, according to Rehrauer.
The sheriff’s office breaks unincorporated parts of Pulaski County up into six districts.
In 2005, the three northern districts accounted for 11 of 23 robberies in the county, 212 of the 360 burglaries countywide, 132 of 212 car thefts and 14 of 26 rapes.
Between 2004 and 2005 in the north Pulaski precincts, robberies fell from 18 to 11, burglaries in-creased from 198 to 212, car thefts increased from 112 to 132 and rapes fell from 20 in 2004 to 14 in 2005.
Rehrauer said his concern was that the numbers don’t reflect the current situation, with the number of available jail beds down by a third. “Residential burglaries, car theft … that’s the type of crime we fear is going to go up,” he said. “You’re not going to see homicide rates soar, those people are still going to be incarcerated. It’s crimes against people and properties.
“More of those people are not going to serve any significant jail time. We’re going to do our best with what we have to work with, but … there are people getting citations for things they should be in jail for.”
“We’ve seen the number of meth labs go down over the past couple of years,” Rehrauer added. “There is less local manufacturing, but that doesn’t mean the usage is going down. More meth is being brought in.”
Rehrauer said residents aware of criminal activity should contact the sheriff’s office.
Their identities can be protected, he said.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
TOP STORY >> NFL official a big hit at chamber banquet
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
As outgoing Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce chairman Mark Perry passed the gavel to John Farrell, chamber members and guests in the fully-packed community center Tuesday night enjoyed hearing from keynote speaker Walt Coleman.
Coleman, chief executive officer of Coleman Dairy and a 17-year veteran official in the National Football League, started things off asking for help from the crowd to help him feel more comfortable.
“As you all know I’m a football referee and it would really help me feel more at home — and maybe make some of the politicians here felt at home too — if on the count of three you all could boo,” Coleman said. The crowd obliged with someone even throwing a red “challenge” flag onto the stage.
“I’ve been extremely fortunate,” he said. “Every Sunday for the last 17 years I’ve been on the field with the likes of John Elway, Tom Brady, Joe Montana and Troy Aikman — players who are the best. I’ve been face-to-face with coaches like Mike Ditka, Jimmy Johnson, Don Shula — okay, maybe it ain’t all that great,” he joked.
The point, he said, was that when you are surrounded by great people, the best in the world, “if you just pay attention, it will help you become a better person.”
He said that’s what the chamber does. It brings together great people. Coleman told the audience about his first game as an NFL official.
“It was many years ago in San Francisco. The 49ers were playing the Raiders,” he said. “As I was walking on the field before the game I walked past Al Davis, the owner of the Raiders. Here I was a nobody from Arkansas and I was on the field with Mr. NFL. That’s when I knew I was actually in the NFL.”
Leader staff writer
As outgoing Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce chairman Mark Perry passed the gavel to John Farrell, chamber members and guests in the fully-packed community center Tuesday night enjoyed hearing from keynote speaker Walt Coleman.
Coleman, chief executive officer of Coleman Dairy and a 17-year veteran official in the National Football League, started things off asking for help from the crowd to help him feel more comfortable.
“As you all know I’m a football referee and it would really help me feel more at home — and maybe make some of the politicians here felt at home too — if on the count of three you all could boo,” Coleman said. The crowd obliged with someone even throwing a red “challenge” flag onto the stage.
“I’ve been extremely fortunate,” he said. “Every Sunday for the last 17 years I’ve been on the field with the likes of John Elway, Tom Brady, Joe Montana and Troy Aikman — players who are the best. I’ve been face-to-face with coaches like Mike Ditka, Jimmy Johnson, Don Shula — okay, maybe it ain’t all that great,” he joked.
The point, he said, was that when you are surrounded by great people, the best in the world, “if you just pay attention, it will help you become a better person.”
He said that’s what the chamber does. It brings together great people. Coleman told the audience about his first game as an NFL official.
“It was many years ago in San Francisco. The 49ers were playing the Raiders,” he said. “As I was walking on the field before the game I walked past Al Davis, the owner of the Raiders. Here I was a nobody from Arkansas and I was on the field with Mr. NFL. That’s when I knew I was actually in the NFL.”
SPORTS >> Cabot’s quickness too much for FC girls
By FRED CONLEY
Forrest City Times-Herald
The Cabot girls were just too quick and had too much depth for Forrest City’s Lady Mustangs to overcome Friday night at Mustang Arena.
Cabot improved to 15-3 for the year and 5-0 in the AAAAA-East Conference by taking a 72-55 win over the Lady Mustangs, who fall to 9-6 overall and 2-3 in the conference.
It was the third-straight conference loss for the Lady Mustangs, who are battling to make the state tournament for the first time in more than a decade.
Fifth-ranked Cabot led 20-12 after one period and went into the half with a 35-24 cushion.
Forrest City outscored Cabot 19-18 in the third period and twice got within eight points, but it wasn’t enough as the Lady Panthers led 53-43 to start the fourth.
Cabot senior Kim Sitzmann led the Lady Panthers by scoring 22 points but it was Forrest City sophomore Cassandra Jackson who led all scorers with 28 points.
“Cassandra did all she could do,” said Lady Mustangs coach Jacky England. “But by the fourth period, she was just worn out.”
The biggest difference for Cabot was being able to play eight different Lady Panthers and having all eight contribute in scoring. Forrest City played seven but got points from only four.
Junior center Kesha Stovall was the only other Forrest City player to finish in double figures, hitting 12 points. LaShunda Rogers added nine points and junior guard Fareedah Wash-ington was held to just six points.
Maddie Helms finished with 14 points for Cabot while Lindsey Watts had nine and Jamie Sterrenberg and Leah Watts had seven points each.
The Lady Panthers were 10 of 13 from the foul line while Forrest City converted six of their free throws.
The Lady Panthers lead the conference at 5-0, and are followed by Mountain Home at 4-1, West Memphis, 3-2, Sylvan Hills, 3-2, Searcy, 2-3, Forrest City, 2-3, Jonesboro, 2-3 and Jacksonville is 0-5.
Forrest city 49 cabot boys 37
Talk about overcoming obstacles and bucking the odds.
Friday night at Mustangs Arena the Forrest City Mustangs did both to post their 14th win of the season, a 49-37 win over the Cabot Panthers. The win also keeps the Mustangs in second place in the AAAAA-East with a 4-1 record.
They did it without the services of junior starting forward Stephon Weaver, who suffered an injury in the second period and did not return, and they did it by overcoming one of their worst shooting nights in quite some time.
After scoring 15 points in the opening period, the Mustangs went stone cold in the second period, hitting just one of 11 shots from the floor and scoring just two points.
Ironically, the one field goal was by Weaver, his only points of the night, before a Cabot player stepped on his foot, possibly causing a hyper-extended type injury to Weaver’s big toe.
Cabot wasn’t much better from the field in the second, hitting only two of their 14 shots from the floor and dropping in two free throws to stay within three points of at the half, 17-14.
The game’s pace and intensity picked up in the second half when the Mustangs put 32 points on the board. While the production from the floor was still bordering on anemic, the Mustangs made up for it at the foul line, hitting 13 of 16 free throws to take a 32-22 lead to start the fourth period.
“That’s what we had to do,” Lofton said. “Once we got that lead and they had to start fouling in the fourth, we had to step up and knock down our free throws.”
Cabot, who did not shoot well from the floor either, managed to slice the Forrest City lead to 32-26 with under seven minutes to play in the fourth period, but that was as close as the Panthers would get.
Cabot got 10 points from 6-9 senior center Chad Glover in the fourth period, but beyond Glover, the Panthers’ offense was almost nonexistent.
Two free throws by Jarvis Palmer put the Mustangs in front by 12 points with 2:49 to play.
Palmer struck again with two more free throws with 1:45 to play, giving the Mustangs a 14- point cushion at 45-31.
Forrest City’s Michael Alston connected for the Mustangs’ final two field goals late in the game.
The Mustangs finished by hitting 13 of their 43 shots from the floor and converting 15 of 22 from the foul line. Cabot was just 5 of 6 from the free-throw line.
Kelson Stewart recorded his first double double of the season, leading the Mustangs with 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Palmer finished with 11 points while Marcus Britt had 10 and Heath King, who filled in when Weaver was forced to leave the game, finished with five points.
“Heath did not play well last week when we faced Jonesboro but I had already made up my mind that I was going to use him,” Lofton said. “He may have hit the biggest shot of the night when Cabot made their run in the fourth and cut the lead to six. He stepped up and hit that big three from the corner, which gave us a boost. He is a good option for us off the bench.”
Glover led Cabot, 13-5 and 2-3, with 14 points while Matt Lowry finished with seven. No other Cabot player had more than four points.
Each team had 10 turnovers.
The Panthers hosted Sylvan Hills Tuesday and will host Jonesboro Friday. Forrest City hosted Mountain Home Tues-day and will make a road trip to Sylvan Hills on Friday.
As of Friday night, the standings in the boys division has Jonesboro in first place at 5-0, followed by Forrest City at 4-1, Jacksonville at 3-2, Sylvan Hills 3-2, Searcy 2-3, Cabot 2-3, West Memphis 1-4 and Mountain Home at 0-5.
Forrest City Times-Herald
The Cabot girls were just too quick and had too much depth for Forrest City’s Lady Mustangs to overcome Friday night at Mustang Arena.
Cabot improved to 15-3 for the year and 5-0 in the AAAAA-East Conference by taking a 72-55 win over the Lady Mustangs, who fall to 9-6 overall and 2-3 in the conference.
It was the third-straight conference loss for the Lady Mustangs, who are battling to make the state tournament for the first time in more than a decade.
Fifth-ranked Cabot led 20-12 after one period and went into the half with a 35-24 cushion.
Forrest City outscored Cabot 19-18 in the third period and twice got within eight points, but it wasn’t enough as the Lady Panthers led 53-43 to start the fourth.
Cabot senior Kim Sitzmann led the Lady Panthers by scoring 22 points but it was Forrest City sophomore Cassandra Jackson who led all scorers with 28 points.
“Cassandra did all she could do,” said Lady Mustangs coach Jacky England. “But by the fourth period, she was just worn out.”
The biggest difference for Cabot was being able to play eight different Lady Panthers and having all eight contribute in scoring. Forrest City played seven but got points from only four.
Junior center Kesha Stovall was the only other Forrest City player to finish in double figures, hitting 12 points. LaShunda Rogers added nine points and junior guard Fareedah Wash-ington was held to just six points.
Maddie Helms finished with 14 points for Cabot while Lindsey Watts had nine and Jamie Sterrenberg and Leah Watts had seven points each.
The Lady Panthers were 10 of 13 from the foul line while Forrest City converted six of their free throws.
The Lady Panthers lead the conference at 5-0, and are followed by Mountain Home at 4-1, West Memphis, 3-2, Sylvan Hills, 3-2, Searcy, 2-3, Forrest City, 2-3, Jonesboro, 2-3 and Jacksonville is 0-5.
Forrest city 49 cabot boys 37
Talk about overcoming obstacles and bucking the odds.
Friday night at Mustangs Arena the Forrest City Mustangs did both to post their 14th win of the season, a 49-37 win over the Cabot Panthers. The win also keeps the Mustangs in second place in the AAAAA-East with a 4-1 record.
They did it without the services of junior starting forward Stephon Weaver, who suffered an injury in the second period and did not return, and they did it by overcoming one of their worst shooting nights in quite some time.
After scoring 15 points in the opening period, the Mustangs went stone cold in the second period, hitting just one of 11 shots from the floor and scoring just two points.
Ironically, the one field goal was by Weaver, his only points of the night, before a Cabot player stepped on his foot, possibly causing a hyper-extended type injury to Weaver’s big toe.
Cabot wasn’t much better from the field in the second, hitting only two of their 14 shots from the floor and dropping in two free throws to stay within three points of at the half, 17-14.
The game’s pace and intensity picked up in the second half when the Mustangs put 32 points on the board. While the production from the floor was still bordering on anemic, the Mustangs made up for it at the foul line, hitting 13 of 16 free throws to take a 32-22 lead to start the fourth period.
“That’s what we had to do,” Lofton said. “Once we got that lead and they had to start fouling in the fourth, we had to step up and knock down our free throws.”
Cabot, who did not shoot well from the floor either, managed to slice the Forrest City lead to 32-26 with under seven minutes to play in the fourth period, but that was as close as the Panthers would get.
Cabot got 10 points from 6-9 senior center Chad Glover in the fourth period, but beyond Glover, the Panthers’ offense was almost nonexistent.
Two free throws by Jarvis Palmer put the Mustangs in front by 12 points with 2:49 to play.
Palmer struck again with two more free throws with 1:45 to play, giving the Mustangs a 14- point cushion at 45-31.
Forrest City’s Michael Alston connected for the Mustangs’ final two field goals late in the game.
The Mustangs finished by hitting 13 of their 43 shots from the floor and converting 15 of 22 from the foul line. Cabot was just 5 of 6 from the free-throw line.
Kelson Stewart recorded his first double double of the season, leading the Mustangs with 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Palmer finished with 11 points while Marcus Britt had 10 and Heath King, who filled in when Weaver was forced to leave the game, finished with five points.
“Heath did not play well last week when we faced Jonesboro but I had already made up my mind that I was going to use him,” Lofton said. “He may have hit the biggest shot of the night when Cabot made their run in the fourth and cut the lead to six. He stepped up and hit that big three from the corner, which gave us a boost. He is a good option for us off the bench.”
Glover led Cabot, 13-5 and 2-3, with 14 points while Matt Lowry finished with seven. No other Cabot player had more than four points.
Each team had 10 turnovers.
The Panthers hosted Sylvan Hills Tuesday and will host Jonesboro Friday. Forrest City hosted Mountain Home Tues-day and will make a road trip to Sylvan Hills on Friday.
As of Friday night, the standings in the boys division has Jonesboro in first place at 5-0, followed by Forrest City at 4-1, Jacksonville at 3-2, Sylvan Hills 3-2, Searcy 2-3, Cabot 2-3, West Memphis 1-4 and Mountain Home at 0-5.
SPORTS >> JHS dominates Blue Devils
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Red Devils took care of West Memphis last Friday night with surprising ease, beating the Blue Devils 62-51 at home to move to 3-2 in conference play and into a tie for third place in the brutally tough AAAAA-East conference.
The game was not without its moments of excitement, but that drama was short-lived.
The Red Devils scored the first nine points of the game, and took a 20-8 lead by the start of the second quarter.
The Blue Devils came back strong in the second and cut the margin to 33-31 by halftime, but that’s as close as it would get.
Jacksonville went on another run in the third quarter and the defending state champions had no answer in the second half.
Jacksonville coach Vic Joyner said the strong start was the key to the game.
“Knowing what West Memphis had done to this team the last couple of years, I think getting off to that fast start, and proving to themselves that they could play with this bunch, was essential,” Joyner said. “I knew they would make a run, but my guys already knew they could play with them and handle it. That was key.”
Senior center Kelsey Credit sparked the early run that put the Red Devils in the lead. He had three steals, four points and an assist to get Jacksonville out to the fast start.
Credit only scored two more points in the game, but added four blocks defensively, and the guards took over most of the scoring.
Seniors Lavar Neely and Airic Hughes combined for 36 of Jacksonville’s 62 points, including 21 of the team’s 29 in the second half.
Hughes scored seven of his 14 in the third quarter to lead Jacksonville back out to a commanding lead, while Neely took over the in the final period and put the game away.
In the third quarter, Hughes got the ball rolling with a steal and a layup. He immediately got another steal and dished to Neely for a 37-31 lead, forcing West Memphis to call timeout.
After the break, Hughes hit a three pointer after a defensive stop, then fed Credit inside for a 42-32 advantage with five minutes left in the quarter.
The scoring slowed for the remainder of the quarter. Two free throws by Tresdan Winkfield made it 45-36 with 14 seconds left, but Hughes answered with a three pointer from the corner at the buzzer.
He added the first bucket of the fourth before Neely stepped in for six straight points that sealed the game.
Jacksonville was a perfect 8 for 8 from the line in the fourth quarter when West Memphis was forced to begin fouling to stop the clock.
The defensive intensity was at an all-time high in the second half. After giving up 23 points in the second quarter, including 13 by 6-foot-7 guard Jason Henry, the Red Devils didn’t allow a single field goal in the third quarter.
West Memphis managed just five free throws.
The lead grew to as much as 62-46 in the final period. Henry scored the Blue Devils’ first bucket of the second half a minute into the fourth, but that was the only field goal for another six minutes.
West Memphis didn’t score from the field again until Henry hit a layup with 1:04 showing on the clock. The Blue Devils added a third basket with seven seconds left in the game when Jacksonville’s only strategy was not to foul.
The win lifted the Red Devils to 12-5 overall while West Memphis slumps to 6-9 and 1-4 in conference play.
The Lady Blue Devils won their matchup Friday, beating Jacksonville 74-34.
West Memphis improved to 3-2 in conference play while Jacksonville dropped to 0-5.
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Red Devils took care of West Memphis last Friday night with surprising ease, beating the Blue Devils 62-51 at home to move to 3-2 in conference play and into a tie for third place in the brutally tough AAAAA-East conference.
The game was not without its moments of excitement, but that drama was short-lived.
The Red Devils scored the first nine points of the game, and took a 20-8 lead by the start of the second quarter.
The Blue Devils came back strong in the second and cut the margin to 33-31 by halftime, but that’s as close as it would get.
Jacksonville went on another run in the third quarter and the defending state champions had no answer in the second half.
Jacksonville coach Vic Joyner said the strong start was the key to the game.
“Knowing what West Memphis had done to this team the last couple of years, I think getting off to that fast start, and proving to themselves that they could play with this bunch, was essential,” Joyner said. “I knew they would make a run, but my guys already knew they could play with them and handle it. That was key.”
Senior center Kelsey Credit sparked the early run that put the Red Devils in the lead. He had three steals, four points and an assist to get Jacksonville out to the fast start.
Credit only scored two more points in the game, but added four blocks defensively, and the guards took over most of the scoring.
Seniors Lavar Neely and Airic Hughes combined for 36 of Jacksonville’s 62 points, including 21 of the team’s 29 in the second half.
Hughes scored seven of his 14 in the third quarter to lead Jacksonville back out to a commanding lead, while Neely took over the in the final period and put the game away.
In the third quarter, Hughes got the ball rolling with a steal and a layup. He immediately got another steal and dished to Neely for a 37-31 lead, forcing West Memphis to call timeout.
After the break, Hughes hit a three pointer after a defensive stop, then fed Credit inside for a 42-32 advantage with five minutes left in the quarter.
The scoring slowed for the remainder of the quarter. Two free throws by Tresdan Winkfield made it 45-36 with 14 seconds left, but Hughes answered with a three pointer from the corner at the buzzer.
He added the first bucket of the fourth before Neely stepped in for six straight points that sealed the game.
Jacksonville was a perfect 8 for 8 from the line in the fourth quarter when West Memphis was forced to begin fouling to stop the clock.
The defensive intensity was at an all-time high in the second half. After giving up 23 points in the second quarter, including 13 by 6-foot-7 guard Jason Henry, the Red Devils didn’t allow a single field goal in the third quarter.
West Memphis managed just five free throws.
The lead grew to as much as 62-46 in the final period. Henry scored the Blue Devils’ first bucket of the second half a minute into the fourth, but that was the only field goal for another six minutes.
West Memphis didn’t score from the field again until Henry hit a layup with 1:04 showing on the clock. The Blue Devils added a third basket with seven seconds left in the game when Jacksonville’s only strategy was not to foul.
The win lifted the Red Devils to 12-5 overall while West Memphis slumps to 6-9 and 1-4 in conference play.
The Lady Blue Devils won their matchup Friday, beating Jacksonville 74-34.
West Memphis improved to 3-2 in conference play while Jacksonville dropped to 0-5.
TOP STORY >> Cabot names Citizen of Year
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
Cabot’s new Citizen of the Year, named Friday during the annual Chamber of Commerce banquet, is a 43-year-old native who says he takes a lot of pride in making sure the city where he grew up is growing as it should.
Since Gary McMillan is a senior vice president with First Arkansas Bank and Trust and is responsible for all the branch banks in Cabot and El Paso, it’s easy to see how helping Cabot grow would benefit him professionally. But McMillan says helping Cabot is personal.
“I grew up here,” he said. “I went to all 12 grades of school here before I went away to Fayetteville. I worked in Little Rock for 13 years, but I came back here in 1998.
“It raised me. So I want to be a part of planning for its future,” he said.
McMillan was chosen from among six nominees by a panel of judges not from Cabot. He was nominated by Jay Robinson with the Arkansas Department of Economic Development and Wayne Welch with Farmers In-surance.
“In my 25 plus years of business and community development, I have seen many volunteers accomplish worthwhile projects,” Robinson wrote in the cover letter to the essay he submitted to the judges when Mc-Millan was nominated. “His innovative thinking; straightforward process of moving things forward is to me the essence of the Citizen of the Year.”
The essay listed many of those accomplishments:
“For the last two years, Gary has served as the chairman of the Cabot Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Com-mittee,” Robinson wrote.
“The Economic Development Committee has been instrumental in preparing demographics, specialized maps, reports and other information needed by prospective business and industry representatives.
During the two years of his leadership, over 500 new jobs have been created in Cabot due to new business development and/or expansion of existing businesses.
“Due to his involvement in the economic development activities of Cabot, he was asked by Lonoke County Judge Charlie Troutman to serve on the Lonoke County Long Range Transportation Com-mittee.
This committee is charged with finding immediate, practical solutions to some of Cabot’s traffic problems as well as planning for future infrastructure to support our growing population.
“The extension of Rockwood Road to the Hwy. 5 exit is a direct result of Gary’s input and involvement in this new committee.
“Gary has been active in a variety of other organizations and activities including, but not limited to, the Cabot Home Builders Association, Little Rock Air Force Base Community Council, and the Arkansas Economic Developers,” he wrote.
“He serves on the Cabot High School Business Advisory Council and the Cabot Public Schools Business and Industry Council. Gary is also a presenter for the Arkansas Scholars program, which is aimed at eighth graders to help them achieve their goals during their high school years.
“The Arkansas Scholars program is a partnership between the Cabot Public Schools and the Cabot Chamber of Commerce.
“In addition, Gary has brought together community leaders from throughout Lonoke County on numerous occasions to discuss the possibility of a county-wide drug coalition.
“Just git it done,” is McMillan’s philosophy, according to Cham-ber of Commerce executive director Mary Jane Sawyer.
But McMillan says he was shocked Friday night when his name was announced.
“With such great people nominated like Bob Duke, who has been on the city council for 30 years, I didn’t think I even had a chance, he said.
“I still don’t believe it.”
Leader staff writer
Cabot’s new Citizen of the Year, named Friday during the annual Chamber of Commerce banquet, is a 43-year-old native who says he takes a lot of pride in making sure the city where he grew up is growing as it should.
Since Gary McMillan is a senior vice president with First Arkansas Bank and Trust and is responsible for all the branch banks in Cabot and El Paso, it’s easy to see how helping Cabot grow would benefit him professionally. But McMillan says helping Cabot is personal.
“I grew up here,” he said. “I went to all 12 grades of school here before I went away to Fayetteville. I worked in Little Rock for 13 years, but I came back here in 1998.
“It raised me. So I want to be a part of planning for its future,” he said.
McMillan was chosen from among six nominees by a panel of judges not from Cabot. He was nominated by Jay Robinson with the Arkansas Department of Economic Development and Wayne Welch with Farmers In-surance.
“In my 25 plus years of business and community development, I have seen many volunteers accomplish worthwhile projects,” Robinson wrote in the cover letter to the essay he submitted to the judges when Mc-Millan was nominated. “His innovative thinking; straightforward process of moving things forward is to me the essence of the Citizen of the Year.”
The essay listed many of those accomplishments:
“For the last two years, Gary has served as the chairman of the Cabot Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Com-mittee,” Robinson wrote.
“The Economic Development Committee has been instrumental in preparing demographics, specialized maps, reports and other information needed by prospective business and industry representatives.
During the two years of his leadership, over 500 new jobs have been created in Cabot due to new business development and/or expansion of existing businesses.
“Due to his involvement in the economic development activities of Cabot, he was asked by Lonoke County Judge Charlie Troutman to serve on the Lonoke County Long Range Transportation Com-mittee.
This committee is charged with finding immediate, practical solutions to some of Cabot’s traffic problems as well as planning for future infrastructure to support our growing population.
“The extension of Rockwood Road to the Hwy. 5 exit is a direct result of Gary’s input and involvement in this new committee.
“Gary has been active in a variety of other organizations and activities including, but not limited to, the Cabot Home Builders Association, Little Rock Air Force Base Community Council, and the Arkansas Economic Developers,” he wrote.
“He serves on the Cabot High School Business Advisory Council and the Cabot Public Schools Business and Industry Council. Gary is also a presenter for the Arkansas Scholars program, which is aimed at eighth graders to help them achieve their goals during their high school years.
“The Arkansas Scholars program is a partnership between the Cabot Public Schools and the Cabot Chamber of Commerce.
“In addition, Gary has brought together community leaders from throughout Lonoke County on numerous occasions to discuss the possibility of a county-wide drug coalition.
“Just git it done,” is McMillan’s philosophy, according to Cham-ber of Commerce executive director Mary Jane Sawyer.
But McMillan says he was shocked Friday night when his name was announced.
“With such great people nominated like Bob Duke, who has been on the city council for 30 years, I didn’t think I even had a chance, he said.
“I still don’t believe it.”
TOP STORY >> Gen. Self praises deployed airmen
By SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
Brig. Gen. Kip Self, commander of the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, praised 100 airmen due home Sunday from a four-month deployment to Iraq and 500 airmen deploying over the next several weeks.
The 500 airmen are deploying in small groups to Iraq and other locations around the world, such as South America, to fight in the global war on terror. A group of 20 airmen boarded two C-130s on Friday bound for forward air bases in Balam, Iraq.
“These airmen are the finest men and women America has to offer, and Little Rock will keep them close through our prayers while they’re away from their homes, their friends and their families,” Self said.
“I ask that the tremendous supporting communities of central Arkansas continue to watch over their family members while they are serving in other countries and often in harm’s way, for we all can play an important part in defending our freedom,” Self said.
“I am deeply grateful to them and their families for their sacrifice and patriotism.”
The deploying airmen are members of the 314th Airlift Wing and the 463rd Airlift Group assigned to LRAFB. They are part of the Air Expeditionary Force, which was created in 2000 to provide rotation cycles from four to six months, giving airmen from units around the world and their families more predictability for deployments.
Members of the 463rd Airlift Group already stationed in Iraq helped train the first all-Iraqi C-130 Hercules crew.
The 463rd has about 1,200 airmen under its command divided up among an aircraft-maintenance squadron, maintenance operations squadron and an operations-support squadron, as well as two airlift squadrons, the 50th and the 61st. The 61st Airlift Squadron flies 12 of the older C-130E aircraft, and the 50th Airlift Squadron flies 14 of the C-130H3 aircraft.
Leader staff writer
Brig. Gen. Kip Self, commander of the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, praised 100 airmen due home Sunday from a four-month deployment to Iraq and 500 airmen deploying over the next several weeks.
The 500 airmen are deploying in small groups to Iraq and other locations around the world, such as South America, to fight in the global war on terror. A group of 20 airmen boarded two C-130s on Friday bound for forward air bases in Balam, Iraq.
“These airmen are the finest men and women America has to offer, and Little Rock will keep them close through our prayers while they’re away from their homes, their friends and their families,” Self said.
“I ask that the tremendous supporting communities of central Arkansas continue to watch over their family members while they are serving in other countries and often in harm’s way, for we all can play an important part in defending our freedom,” Self said.
“I am deeply grateful to them and their families for their sacrifice and patriotism.”
The deploying airmen are members of the 314th Airlift Wing and the 463rd Airlift Group assigned to LRAFB. They are part of the Air Expeditionary Force, which was created in 2000 to provide rotation cycles from four to six months, giving airmen from units around the world and their families more predictability for deployments.
Members of the 463rd Airlift Group already stationed in Iraq helped train the first all-Iraqi C-130 Hercules crew.
The 463rd has about 1,200 airmen under its command divided up among an aircraft-maintenance squadron, maintenance operations squadron and an operations-support squadron, as well as two airlift squadrons, the 50th and the 61st. The 61st Airlift Squadron flies 12 of the older C-130E aircraft, and the 50th Airlift Squadron flies 14 of the C-130H3 aircraft.
TOP STORY >> Hopefuls confident they can ease woes
By RICKY HARVEY
Leader managing editor
The first two candidates interviewing with the school board for the Pulaski County Special School District’s superintendent position feel they have the experience to help solve the district’s many woes.
One is more familiar with the situation than the other, who said he’s catching up quickly thanks to many hours of research and the help of the Internet.
James Sharpe, 64, current interim superintendent and the district’s assistant superintendent for human resources, and Dr. Aquine Jackson, 59, chief academic officer with Milwaukee Public Schools, interviewed with the board Monday and Tuesday.
The interviews, which en-ded day-long meetings and sessions with district employees, school principals and members of the community ended the first two days of a five-day process that will continue until Friday.
Dr. Carl Davis, director of human resources with Cobb County (Ga.) Schools, will be in the area today, including a 5:30 p.m. public forum at district headquarters. Dr. Bruce Harter, superintendent with the Brandywine (Del.) School District, will have the same schedule on Thursday, and Dr. Ed Musgrove, superintendent of the Waynesville (Mo.) School District, will wrap up the process on Friday.
Jackson had his day in the spotlight on Monday, which included a tour of schools in each of the district’s four spread-out zones. Those visits gave him one of his biggest areas of concerns for the district — facilities.
“There is a wide range of facilities in the district and is something I plan on discussing with the board,” Jackson said Monday afternoon, hours before he was planned to interview with the board.
Many poor facilities are among an array of difficulties the district is currently facing. Financial woes, being under the desegregation court order and uneasiness among members of the district’s various communities are all problems Jackson is aware of.
And while he admitted he was concerned with the uncertainty the district is facing, he said he is confident he is the man for the job and has the experience in all areas to help turn the district around.
“The staff that I talked with really want this district to survive, be successful and do the job that it was designed to do, and that’s to educate kids,” said Jackson, who has spent his entire 35-year education career with Milwaukee Public Schools. “I think with my experience, it’s the right time for me, and this is the right place. I think my accomplishments mirror the very needs of what this district needs.
“I have dealt with these kind of problems before, and if the board is willing to work together to create a plan to help the district, then it will work. We can work together,” Jackson added.
Sharpe said the five and a half years he’s worked at the district have helped him become familiar with the uniqueness of the PCSSD and makes him the right choice to help fix the problems.
“It takes a while to learn the interests and dynamics of this district, to learn and understand its culture … and to even understand its subculture, the individual communities within the district,” Sharpe said. “Knowing there are things broken and knowing they are fixable does energize me to want this job.”
Sharpe opted to go on a tour of district schools Tuesday morning, just as the other candidates, because he admitted there were some schools he had yet to visit and some school administrators he had yet to meet. “I learned some things I didn’t already know,” he said.
Sharpe received his bachelor’s in chemistry from Philander Smith College in Little Rock in 1964, his master’s degree in chemistry from Pittsburg State University in 1974 and his administration certification from the University of Tulsa in 1990.
From 1994-1998, he was a high school principal and director of human resources in the 11,500-student St. Cloud School District in Minnesota and then spent two years as executive director of the Flint (Mich.) Community Schools before being hired as PCSSD’s assistant superintendent for human re-sources in 2000.
If he’s selected as permanent superintendent, Sharpe said he wants to work on emphasizing school safety, improve the support and relationship with the various communities in the district and stay on task with various state mandates.
“We must also have a good communication network,” Sharpe said. “I want to start some type of publication, either weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, something. Right now we don’t have a consistent system of communication with our employees and parents.”
But at the top of the list of things to improve, he said, was the district’s financial woes.
“That’s the priority,” he said. “We’ve got to come out of this and satisfy the fiscal distress plan and the state Department of Education, and in the process, built trust and confidence with our communities.”
Leader managing editor
The first two candidates interviewing with the school board for the Pulaski County Special School District’s superintendent position feel they have the experience to help solve the district’s many woes.
One is more familiar with the situation than the other, who said he’s catching up quickly thanks to many hours of research and the help of the Internet.
James Sharpe, 64, current interim superintendent and the district’s assistant superintendent for human resources, and Dr. Aquine Jackson, 59, chief academic officer with Milwaukee Public Schools, interviewed with the board Monday and Tuesday.
The interviews, which en-ded day-long meetings and sessions with district employees, school principals and members of the community ended the first two days of a five-day process that will continue until Friday.
Dr. Carl Davis, director of human resources with Cobb County (Ga.) Schools, will be in the area today, including a 5:30 p.m. public forum at district headquarters. Dr. Bruce Harter, superintendent with the Brandywine (Del.) School District, will have the same schedule on Thursday, and Dr. Ed Musgrove, superintendent of the Waynesville (Mo.) School District, will wrap up the process on Friday.
Jackson had his day in the spotlight on Monday, which included a tour of schools in each of the district’s four spread-out zones. Those visits gave him one of his biggest areas of concerns for the district — facilities.
“There is a wide range of facilities in the district and is something I plan on discussing with the board,” Jackson said Monday afternoon, hours before he was planned to interview with the board.
Many poor facilities are among an array of difficulties the district is currently facing. Financial woes, being under the desegregation court order and uneasiness among members of the district’s various communities are all problems Jackson is aware of.
And while he admitted he was concerned with the uncertainty the district is facing, he said he is confident he is the man for the job and has the experience in all areas to help turn the district around.
“The staff that I talked with really want this district to survive, be successful and do the job that it was designed to do, and that’s to educate kids,” said Jackson, who has spent his entire 35-year education career with Milwaukee Public Schools. “I think with my experience, it’s the right time for me, and this is the right place. I think my accomplishments mirror the very needs of what this district needs.
“I have dealt with these kind of problems before, and if the board is willing to work together to create a plan to help the district, then it will work. We can work together,” Jackson added.
Sharpe said the five and a half years he’s worked at the district have helped him become familiar with the uniqueness of the PCSSD and makes him the right choice to help fix the problems.
“It takes a while to learn the interests and dynamics of this district, to learn and understand its culture … and to even understand its subculture, the individual communities within the district,” Sharpe said. “Knowing there are things broken and knowing they are fixable does energize me to want this job.”
Sharpe opted to go on a tour of district schools Tuesday morning, just as the other candidates, because he admitted there were some schools he had yet to visit and some school administrators he had yet to meet. “I learned some things I didn’t already know,” he said.
Sharpe received his bachelor’s in chemistry from Philander Smith College in Little Rock in 1964, his master’s degree in chemistry from Pittsburg State University in 1974 and his administration certification from the University of Tulsa in 1990.
From 1994-1998, he was a high school principal and director of human resources in the 11,500-student St. Cloud School District in Minnesota and then spent two years as executive director of the Flint (Mich.) Community Schools before being hired as PCSSD’s assistant superintendent for human re-sources in 2000.
If he’s selected as permanent superintendent, Sharpe said he wants to work on emphasizing school safety, improve the support and relationship with the various communities in the district and stay on task with various state mandates.
“We must also have a good communication network,” Sharpe said. “I want to start some type of publication, either weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, something. Right now we don’t have a consistent system of communication with our employees and parents.”
But at the top of the list of things to improve, he said, was the district’s financial woes.
“That’s the priority,” he said. “We’ve got to come out of this and satisfy the fiscal distress plan and the state Department of Education, and in the process, built trust and confidence with our communities.”
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