BY JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Defeated Lonoke County JP Gina Burton accuses top Republican Randy Minton of a vendetta against her and some other party members, and she may ask for a recount.
Whether or not Cabot Republicans were punishing brethren on the Lonoke County Quorum Court who occasionally strayed from the party line, candidates endorsed by the ultraconservative Repub-lican Assembly prevailed in three close races in last week’s primary.
One incumbent who lost, Dist. 12 JP Gina Burton, said late Tuesday afternoon that she may ask for a recount in her six-vote loss to newcomer Casey VanBuskirk and said, “I think the Republican Assembly made the difference.
“It is not about county government, it’s about a personal vendetta—getting even. Maybe this is the reason Mr. (Randy) Minton has lost some elections,” said Burton. “I’ve tried to be discreet and professional, but it is a personal vendetta (against) Marty (Stumbaugh) and me and Patrick Hutton.
“Unfortunately, Randy was not in this alone,” she said.
Burton lost to VanBuskirk, 115-109; JP Larry Odom turned back Hutton, 171 to 156, and first-timer Mark Edward beat Stumbaugh, 151-125.
Unless Burton wins a re-count, VanBuskirk will face Democrat Patty Knox for the District 12 seat in November.
The Lonoke County Election Commission met and adjourned Tuesday without certifying the results of the election and is slated to reconvene for that purpose Thursday morning, according to Larry Clarke, the Republican commissioner.
A week after the primary, Clarke is not yet ready to breathe a sigh of relief. “I’m not going to be glad until Thursday morning,” he said.
Meanwhile, early voting for the June 13 primary has begun at the Lonoke County Courthouse. The only local races are the Democratic runoff for Lonoke mayor between Jim Parks and Wayne McGee and the runoff for Lonoke Township constable between Steve Davenport and George C. Baily.
A number of other Republican incumbents on the quorum court were unchallenged in the primary, but the Republican Assembly suffered one major defeat when Eddie Joe Williams beat Bill “Pete” Pedersen nearly 2-to-1 to represent the Republicans in the Cabot mayor’s race in November. Williams will face three independent candidates.
In other contested JP Republican primary races, Dist. 2 incumbent Jannette Minton (Randy Minton’s wife) beat Vincent Ables, 97-19, and will face former JP Larry Ridgeway, a Democrat, in November.
In Democratic JP primaries, Roger Lynch (375 votes) avoided a runoff in a three-way race, beating Nita Colclasure (199 votes) and Fred Ibbotson (102 votes) for the District 8 Quorum Court seat.
Kyle Lackie got just enough votes to avoid a runoff for the District 10 seat. Lackie (466 votes) beat Virgil Turner (287 votes) and incumbent Norman Walker (158 votes.)
Neither Lynch nor Lackie has opposition in November.
In District 6, incumbent Alexis Malham (R) will face Harry Roderick (I) and Chris Skinner (D) in November.
Unchallenged in the primary or in November are Jodie Grisham Troutman (D), District 1; Donna Pedersen (R), District 4; Lynn Weeks Clarke (R), District 5; Robert Sonny Moery (D), District 9, and Mike Dolan (D) District 11.
COUNTYWIDE
In Lonoke County Democratic primaries for county office, Pat McCallie (2,796 votes), turned back Scotty Belford (476) and Dany Clement (1,429). McCallie, who has no competition in November, will be sworn as collector on Jan. 1.
Coroner Sherry Stracener (3,521 votes) routed her opponents Darriel Ezell (717 votes) and LeRoy Wood (384 votes.) She’ll be sworn in to a new term in January.
Also unopposed now or in November are County Judge Charlie Troutman, Circuit Clerk Deborah Oglesby, Treasurer Karol DePriest and Assessor Jerry Adams, all Democrats.
Sheriff Jim Roberson (R), who took the job from Charlie Martin (D) in 2002 and turned back a challenge from Martin in 2004 will face him for the third time in November, each man having won their primary.
Republican Cassandra Pitts will face Democrat Dawn Porterfield in a run for the county clerk’s office, from which Prudie Perceful is retiring.
Republican Surveyor Samuel E. Smith faces a November challenge from William “Randy” Gipson.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
TOP STORY >>Williams winnner in mayoral primary
BY JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Ex-Cabot alderman, citing his managerial skills, beats Pedersen and will face several independents in the fall.
Former Cabot Alderman Eddie Joe Williams won over Bill Pete Pedersen, 847 to 476, for a place on the November ballot as the Republican candidate for mayor.
Williams attributes his strong win to his management experience with the railroad that he stressed during his campaign.
“I think people were looking for a manager,” he said. “They want someone who can take care of a large budget and work with people.”
Although he left management several years ago and went back to work as an engineer, Wil-liams campaigned on his time as regional director of transportation for the Union Pacific Railroad. According to his campaign Website, he was responsible for day-to-day operations of the Eastern part of the railroad, extending from Chicago to Alexandra, La.
He supervised more than 30 managers and 1,000 employees and oversaw the operation of more than 100 trains a day in seven switching yards.
Pedersen used an old political joke to express his feelings on his loss to Williams.
“As bad as I did, I need to carry a gun,” he said.
Pedersen, who served many years on the Lonoke County Quorum Court, said he was surprised that he lost almost 2 to 1.
“I got what I thought was a lot of support from a lot of people,” he said. “I guess those people didn’t vote.
“We live in a society where people feel like they’ve got to be entertained,” he went on to say. “People vote for the man with the best dog and pony show. Honesty and integrity don’t mean anything anymore.”
Asked if he would support Williams in his campaign against the three independent candidates who have announced and are expected to file between July 20 and Aug. 9, Pedersen said he would not.
“It will be a cold day…,” he said.
The announced independent candidates for Cabot mayor are Alderman David Polantz, Alder-man James Glenn and former Lonoke County Justice of the Peace Kenny Ridgeway.
Pedersen cautions voters not to take campaign ads and rhetoric at face value.
“Check it out,” he said. “Not everything politicians put in their ads is true. Sometimes it’s distorted.
“Like my grandpa said, ‘If a man will lie to you, he will steal from you,’” Pedersen said.
Since most Cabot voters are Re-publicans, Williams knows he is in a strong position, but he said he plans to conduct his campaign from now until the November election the same way he did for the primary.
He will continue to stress his management experience and he will continue to attend “meet and greets” in homes of supporters who hope to strengthen his position.
If he wins in November, he says he intends to schedule what he is calling a “traffic summit” so city and county leaders can start talking to state and national leaders about what can be done about traffic congestion in Cabot.
The lone Republican race for Cabot City Council isn’t over yet. Although Virgil Teague apparently won 586 to 585 over Carl Schmidt for the Ward 2, Position 1 seat now held by Patrick Hutton, Schmidt has asked for a recount.
Schmidt said that when he left the Lonoke courthouse Saturday, he was tied with Teague and that the votes had been posted incorrectly.
He said he worked too hard on the campaign to let it go at that, so he is paying more than $300 for the recount to settle the matter.
“I’ll be the first to shake the man’s hand if it turns out he’s won,” Schmidt said.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Ex-Cabot alderman, citing his managerial skills, beats Pedersen and will face several independents in the fall.
Former Cabot Alderman Eddie Joe Williams won over Bill Pete Pedersen, 847 to 476, for a place on the November ballot as the Republican candidate for mayor.
Williams attributes his strong win to his management experience with the railroad that he stressed during his campaign.
“I think people were looking for a manager,” he said. “They want someone who can take care of a large budget and work with people.”
Although he left management several years ago and went back to work as an engineer, Wil-liams campaigned on his time as regional director of transportation for the Union Pacific Railroad. According to his campaign Website, he was responsible for day-to-day operations of the Eastern part of the railroad, extending from Chicago to Alexandra, La.
He supervised more than 30 managers and 1,000 employees and oversaw the operation of more than 100 trains a day in seven switching yards.
Pedersen used an old political joke to express his feelings on his loss to Williams.
“As bad as I did, I need to carry a gun,” he said.
Pedersen, who served many years on the Lonoke County Quorum Court, said he was surprised that he lost almost 2 to 1.
“I got what I thought was a lot of support from a lot of people,” he said. “I guess those people didn’t vote.
“We live in a society where people feel like they’ve got to be entertained,” he went on to say. “People vote for the man with the best dog and pony show. Honesty and integrity don’t mean anything anymore.”
Asked if he would support Williams in his campaign against the three independent candidates who have announced and are expected to file between July 20 and Aug. 9, Pedersen said he would not.
“It will be a cold day…,” he said.
The announced independent candidates for Cabot mayor are Alderman David Polantz, Alder-man James Glenn and former Lonoke County Justice of the Peace Kenny Ridgeway.
Pedersen cautions voters not to take campaign ads and rhetoric at face value.
“Check it out,” he said. “Not everything politicians put in their ads is true. Sometimes it’s distorted.
“Like my grandpa said, ‘If a man will lie to you, he will steal from you,’” Pedersen said.
Since most Cabot voters are Re-publicans, Williams knows he is in a strong position, but he said he plans to conduct his campaign from now until the November election the same way he did for the primary.
He will continue to stress his management experience and he will continue to attend “meet and greets” in homes of supporters who hope to strengthen his position.
If he wins in November, he says he intends to schedule what he is calling a “traffic summit” so city and county leaders can start talking to state and national leaders about what can be done about traffic congestion in Cabot.
The lone Republican race for Cabot City Council isn’t over yet. Although Virgil Teague apparently won 586 to 585 over Carl Schmidt for the Ward 2, Position 1 seat now held by Patrick Hutton, Schmidt has asked for a recount.
Schmidt said that when he left the Lonoke courthouse Saturday, he was tied with Teague and that the votes had been posted incorrectly.
He said he worked too hard on the campaign to let it go at that, so he is paying more than $300 for the recount to settle the matter.
“I’ll be the first to shake the man’s hand if it turns out he’s won,” Schmidt said.
TOP STORY >> Privett is ousted as Lonoke mayor
BY JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Voters registered their discontent with the controversial official and will decide in a runoff June 13 whether Alderman Wayne McGee or Jim Parks, the top vote-getters in last week’s primary, should be their next mayor.
June 13.
Although he couldn’t be sure until the votes were finally counted late Saturday, Lonoke city voters turned Mayor Thomas Privett out of office last week, his association with indicted former Police Chief Jay Campbell apparently outweighing his leadership and advances on a number of important projects.
In his stead, voters will choose in the June 13 Democratic primary runoff between Alderman Wayne McGee and Jim Parks, a retired businessman. The winner will be mayor in January. McGee was the top vote getter with 438, followed by Parks with 362, Privett with 215 and Roy Henderson with 38 votes.
COUNCIL PRIMARIES
In two contested alderman’s races, former quorum court member Woody Evans unseated incumbent Jackie Moore, 60 to 37, and incumbent Pat Howell turned back a challenge from his predecessor, Bob Butler, 61-33.
Evans and Howell have no opposition in November.
Privett said he was disappointed that his efforts to bring a new I-40 interchange to Lonoke, annexing land to the city and working with the chamber of commerce and others toward bringing manufacturing jobs to town was insufficient for reelection.
But in the end, voters apparently wanted a change, finding Privett tainted not only by his association with Campbell, but by his use of inmate labor at his home.
Campbell resigned in Feb-ruary after being indicted on several theft and drug-related felonies. Privett himself faces a misdemeanor charge related to the inmate labor.
Privett said he’d be an active mayor, continuing to work to bring more jobs and prosperity to the town until the new mayor is sworn in in January.
McGee said Tuesday that he was excited by his top showing, but that the key to victory in the June 13 runoff would be getting his voters back to the polls. Early runoff voting started Tuesday at the Lonoke County Courthouse.
TURNOUT KEY
With only their race and a constable’s runoff locally, both McGee and Parks say turnout may be quite low.
McGee said he thought voters just wanted change. Of the mayor’s entanglements with Campbell and the courts, he said, “I’m sure that had something to do with it. It played a part in my deciding to run.”
McGee said he’d continue the work Privett had advanced to make the town more prosperous.
“I want to continue to try to bring business in but I don’t want it to get out of hand,” he said. “Controlled growth. I don’t want to do anything that would take away from the downtown area.”
He said work with sewer lines and to get the new school open would be top priorities.
Parks said he was confident that concerned citizens would return to the polls to choose the person and leadership style they think can move Lonoke forward.
McGee has lived in Lonoke all his life, but Parks says he’s been in town 33 years. Now retired, he has time to run the town in a professional manner, he said.
Parks’ priorities include the new overpass and continuing work to bring industry, but he also wants a budget and budget process that requires more accountability.
He said it needs to be prepared like county government prepares its budget, showing the amount spent year-to-date and compared to previous years.
BUDGET SAY
Privett said Tuesday that when the city begins its new budget process, he’d bring in the primary winner, who will replace him in January, allowing the new mayor a hand in preparing the budget.
Privett said that he’s disappointed to have lost the primary, but not surprised. “I analyzed it several weeks ago,” he said. “I knew it would be difficult.
“People expect you to get out and ask them for their votes, and I was busy with city business, some of which I can’t talk about yet, and with this other businesses.
“I didn’t get a lot of help from the media either,” he added.
“The city will still be a good place, and I think in the last three and a half years we’ve made it a better place.”
OTHERS
Others slated to be sworn in as Lonoke aldermen in January without opposition are Jane Derning and incumbents Efrem Z. Jones, Raymond Hatton, Michael Flo-rence and Phillip Howell.
In the District 4 alderman seat being vacated after 16 years by Dick Bransford, Republican Robert (Bob) Combs faces Democrat Kenneth Pasley.
Incumbent Jack Wall Mc-Crary is unopposed for city treasurer, and City Clerk Billie U. Uzzell also is unopposed for reelection.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Voters registered their discontent with the controversial official and will decide in a runoff June 13 whether Alderman Wayne McGee or Jim Parks, the top vote-getters in last week’s primary, should be their next mayor.
June 13.
Although he couldn’t be sure until the votes were finally counted late Saturday, Lonoke city voters turned Mayor Thomas Privett out of office last week, his association with indicted former Police Chief Jay Campbell apparently outweighing his leadership and advances on a number of important projects.
In his stead, voters will choose in the June 13 Democratic primary runoff between Alderman Wayne McGee and Jim Parks, a retired businessman. The winner will be mayor in January. McGee was the top vote getter with 438, followed by Parks with 362, Privett with 215 and Roy Henderson with 38 votes.
COUNCIL PRIMARIES
In two contested alderman’s races, former quorum court member Woody Evans unseated incumbent Jackie Moore, 60 to 37, and incumbent Pat Howell turned back a challenge from his predecessor, Bob Butler, 61-33.
Evans and Howell have no opposition in November.
Privett said he was disappointed that his efforts to bring a new I-40 interchange to Lonoke, annexing land to the city and working with the chamber of commerce and others toward bringing manufacturing jobs to town was insufficient for reelection.
But in the end, voters apparently wanted a change, finding Privett tainted not only by his association with Campbell, but by his use of inmate labor at his home.
Campbell resigned in Feb-ruary after being indicted on several theft and drug-related felonies. Privett himself faces a misdemeanor charge related to the inmate labor.
Privett said he’d be an active mayor, continuing to work to bring more jobs and prosperity to the town until the new mayor is sworn in in January.
McGee said Tuesday that he was excited by his top showing, but that the key to victory in the June 13 runoff would be getting his voters back to the polls. Early runoff voting started Tuesday at the Lonoke County Courthouse.
TURNOUT KEY
With only their race and a constable’s runoff locally, both McGee and Parks say turnout may be quite low.
McGee said he thought voters just wanted change. Of the mayor’s entanglements with Campbell and the courts, he said, “I’m sure that had something to do with it. It played a part in my deciding to run.”
McGee said he’d continue the work Privett had advanced to make the town more prosperous.
“I want to continue to try to bring business in but I don’t want it to get out of hand,” he said. “Controlled growth. I don’t want to do anything that would take away from the downtown area.”
He said work with sewer lines and to get the new school open would be top priorities.
Parks said he was confident that concerned citizens would return to the polls to choose the person and leadership style they think can move Lonoke forward.
McGee has lived in Lonoke all his life, but Parks says he’s been in town 33 years. Now retired, he has time to run the town in a professional manner, he said.
Parks’ priorities include the new overpass and continuing work to bring industry, but he also wants a budget and budget process that requires more accountability.
He said it needs to be prepared like county government prepares its budget, showing the amount spent year-to-date and compared to previous years.
BUDGET SAY
Privett said Tuesday that when the city begins its new budget process, he’d bring in the primary winner, who will replace him in January, allowing the new mayor a hand in preparing the budget.
Privett said that he’s disappointed to have lost the primary, but not surprised. “I analyzed it several weeks ago,” he said. “I knew it would be difficult.
“People expect you to get out and ask them for their votes, and I was busy with city business, some of which I can’t talk about yet, and with this other businesses.
“I didn’t get a lot of help from the media either,” he added.
“The city will still be a good place, and I think in the last three and a half years we’ve made it a better place.”
OTHERS
Others slated to be sworn in as Lonoke aldermen in January without opposition are Jane Derning and incumbents Efrem Z. Jones, Raymond Hatton, Michael Flo-rence and Phillip Howell.
In the District 4 alderman seat being vacated after 16 years by Dick Bransford, Republican Robert (Bob) Combs faces Democrat Kenneth Pasley.
Incumbent Jack Wall Mc-Crary is unopposed for city treasurer, and City Clerk Billie U. Uzzell also is unopposed for reelection.
TOP STORY >> Roberson, Martin rematch
BY JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: It may not be a Thrilla’ in Manila or a Rumble in the Jungle, but if past experience is a predictor, the third matchup between long-time opponents Jim Roberson and Charlie Martin promises to be exciting.
With their primary wins last week, the stage is set for a third consecutive spittin’ match between Lonoke County Sheriff Jim Roberson and the man he wrested the hat from in 2002, Charlie Martin.
Roberson, 58, easily won the Repub-lican primary last week with 1,625 votes, outdistancing Keith Butler (178 votes) and John W. Staley (397).
Butler, a Lonoke High School graduate, studied electrical engineering and works as a food distribution route manager. Staley, 26, is a Jacksonville policeman and an Austin resident.
Martin, 57, had a serious challenge in the Democratic primary from Sam Cham-berlain, Jr., 49, a seniors master sergeant with the Arkansas Air Guard and husband of Austin Mayor Bernie Chamberlain.
Martin won the primary 2,356 to 2,215.
Both men were at the Lonoke County Courthouse, copying voting results from the giant total board during the counting. Although both men say they are friends, Chamberlain refused to say he would endorse Martin against Roberson in the November election.
Chamberlain, in his first political race, said he’s learned a lot, he’s young and he’ll be back.
If past elections are any indication, the race between Roberson and Martin could be contentious.
Last time, Roberson accused Martin’s brother David of picking a fight with him and arrested him.
David Martin died in a nursing facility this month, a few days before the election, his brother said.
Charlie Martin served as the Lonoke County sheriff for six years before Roberson retired him in 2002.
Both men say they stand on their records.
Martin started his law-enforcement career in 1971 as a part-time Jacksonville police officer, later working full-time for eight years. In 1988, Martin became a Lonoke County deputy and won the sheriff’s race in 1996.
Roberson said that on his watch, he has increased the number of deputies and the quality of the patrol fleet.
“When I came in, I only had a pile of keys and one old computer,” he said. His department now has all new computers.
He said he’s proud of the programs he’s started, such as the Senior Citizen Awareness program, which makes a computerized well-being call every day, said Roberson.
It replaces a similar system that was not automated.
The sheriff’s office also provides and installs child-safety seats free and has received grants to pay some deputies overtime to work nothing but DWI cases.
Typically in these elections, Martin gets a lot of support from the south part of the county, while Roberson gets his winning edge from Cabot, a Republican stronghold.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: It may not be a Thrilla’ in Manila or a Rumble in the Jungle, but if past experience is a predictor, the third matchup between long-time opponents Jim Roberson and Charlie Martin promises to be exciting.
With their primary wins last week, the stage is set for a third consecutive spittin’ match between Lonoke County Sheriff Jim Roberson and the man he wrested the hat from in 2002, Charlie Martin.
Roberson, 58, easily won the Repub-lican primary last week with 1,625 votes, outdistancing Keith Butler (178 votes) and John W. Staley (397).
Butler, a Lonoke High School graduate, studied electrical engineering and works as a food distribution route manager. Staley, 26, is a Jacksonville policeman and an Austin resident.
Martin, 57, had a serious challenge in the Democratic primary from Sam Cham-berlain, Jr., 49, a seniors master sergeant with the Arkansas Air Guard and husband of Austin Mayor Bernie Chamberlain.
Martin won the primary 2,356 to 2,215.
Both men were at the Lonoke County Courthouse, copying voting results from the giant total board during the counting. Although both men say they are friends, Chamberlain refused to say he would endorse Martin against Roberson in the November election.
Chamberlain, in his first political race, said he’s learned a lot, he’s young and he’ll be back.
If past elections are any indication, the race between Roberson and Martin could be contentious.
Last time, Roberson accused Martin’s brother David of picking a fight with him and arrested him.
David Martin died in a nursing facility this month, a few days before the election, his brother said.
Charlie Martin served as the Lonoke County sheriff for six years before Roberson retired him in 2002.
Both men say they stand on their records.
Martin started his law-enforcement career in 1971 as a part-time Jacksonville police officer, later working full-time for eight years. In 1988, Martin became a Lonoke County deputy and won the sheriff’s race in 1996.
Roberson said that on his watch, he has increased the number of deputies and the quality of the patrol fleet.
“When I came in, I only had a pile of keys and one old computer,” he said. His department now has all new computers.
He said he’s proud of the programs he’s started, such as the Senior Citizen Awareness program, which makes a computerized well-being call every day, said Roberson.
It replaces a similar system that was not automated.
The sheriff’s office also provides and installs child-safety seats free and has received grants to pay some deputies overtime to work nothing but DWI cases.
Typically in these elections, Martin gets a lot of support from the south part of the county, while Roberson gets his winning edge from Cabot, a Republican stronghold.
FROM THE PUBLISHER >> A dubious distinction for the county
BY GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader publisher
This is really amazing: We’re a twice-weekly newspaper, and we still have late-breaking election news a week after the primaries.
We knew the winner on “Ameri-can Idol” before we knew the local election results. Don’t ask why, but the winner of the Idaho governor’s race popped up on my computer screen minutes after the polls closed there, and they’re two hours behind us.
It’s taken almost a week for Lonoke County to add up the votes. No one can remember any county taking this long to count the votes, especially in a primary with a low turnout. Certification would take a while, but not the counting.
We thought we’d get the Lonoke County election results in Wed-nesday’s Leader — except that we were thinking of last Wednesday rather than today — a week after the primary, which is a record of sorts.
We usually get the election results in Wednesday’s paper after a long night of waiting for the counting to end, but last week’s tally took so long, we still didn’t have results for our Saturday edition.
Lonoke County has always tallied its votes at a snail’s pace — “Can’t anybody count around here?” had been the refrain at the courthouse on election night for years — but now the county has the dubious distinction of being the last one in Arkansas to have tabulated the results. Lonoke County came in behind Phillips County, one of the poorest in the state, which sent its results to the secretary of state on Friday night.
The votes were finally added up on Saturday in Lonoke County, but since it was a holiday weekend, hardly anybody was paying attention by then. Now it’s midweek, and you can check out the results in our election special – and you ‘ll probably read it here first.
Secretary of State Charlie Daniels is blaming the meltdown on Electronic Systems and Software, the vendor which supplied Arkansas with the voting machines and scanners, but someone should show Daniels out the door for not checking the equipment ahead of time.
Arkansas could use a secretary of state who can make sure the equipment he buys will work at election time. But you’ve got to hand it to the folks in White County: Officials there dug into their own pockets and bought enough electronic voting machines so that they didn’t have to rely on paper ballots.
The system worked beautifully: The results were in around midnight, while Pulaski County, which also had computer problems, didn’t have results until the next morning, after officials counted ballots by hand.
They’re blaming the problems on fancy electronic voting machines and scanners that supposedly count the ballots but didn’t until the contractor reprogrammed the software.
While Lonoke County officials were caught completely off-guard, in White County, election officials spent several hundred thousand dollars and tested their equipment before the primary.
Lonoke County officials insist they couldn’t get any more voting machines besides those that were bought with a federal grant. That’s understandable: Cabot has pockets of wealth, but much of Lonoke County is far from rich, which might explain why it trailed even poor Phillips County in the vote counting. Neither had enough electronic machines, but better preparation would have eliminated most of the problems with the vote counting.
Anyway, congratulations to the winners in Lonoke County, even if they had to wait almost a week before they found out the results.
Even the losers thought they might be winners for four days after the polls closed.
The next time, why don’t we all vote on our computers and have instant results?
If we can renew our tags online, why not retain or dump our politicians the same way?
Tabulating would go faster and would keep poll workers from looking over your shoulders to see how you voted.
Leader publisher
This is really amazing: We’re a twice-weekly newspaper, and we still have late-breaking election news a week after the primaries.
We knew the winner on “Ameri-can Idol” before we knew the local election results. Don’t ask why, but the winner of the Idaho governor’s race popped up on my computer screen minutes after the polls closed there, and they’re two hours behind us.
It’s taken almost a week for Lonoke County to add up the votes. No one can remember any county taking this long to count the votes, especially in a primary with a low turnout. Certification would take a while, but not the counting.
We thought we’d get the Lonoke County election results in Wed-nesday’s Leader — except that we were thinking of last Wednesday rather than today — a week after the primary, which is a record of sorts.
We usually get the election results in Wednesday’s paper after a long night of waiting for the counting to end, but last week’s tally took so long, we still didn’t have results for our Saturday edition.
Lonoke County has always tallied its votes at a snail’s pace — “Can’t anybody count around here?” had been the refrain at the courthouse on election night for years — but now the county has the dubious distinction of being the last one in Arkansas to have tabulated the results. Lonoke County came in behind Phillips County, one of the poorest in the state, which sent its results to the secretary of state on Friday night.
The votes were finally added up on Saturday in Lonoke County, but since it was a holiday weekend, hardly anybody was paying attention by then. Now it’s midweek, and you can check out the results in our election special – and you ‘ll probably read it here first.
Secretary of State Charlie Daniels is blaming the meltdown on Electronic Systems and Software, the vendor which supplied Arkansas with the voting machines and scanners, but someone should show Daniels out the door for not checking the equipment ahead of time.
Arkansas could use a secretary of state who can make sure the equipment he buys will work at election time. But you’ve got to hand it to the folks in White County: Officials there dug into their own pockets and bought enough electronic voting machines so that they didn’t have to rely on paper ballots.
The system worked beautifully: The results were in around midnight, while Pulaski County, which also had computer problems, didn’t have results until the next morning, after officials counted ballots by hand.
They’re blaming the problems on fancy electronic voting machines and scanners that supposedly count the ballots but didn’t until the contractor reprogrammed the software.
While Lonoke County officials were caught completely off-guard, in White County, election officials spent several hundred thousand dollars and tested their equipment before the primary.
Lonoke County officials insist they couldn’t get any more voting machines besides those that were bought with a federal grant. That’s understandable: Cabot has pockets of wealth, but much of Lonoke County is far from rich, which might explain why it trailed even poor Phillips County in the vote counting. Neither had enough electronic machines, but better preparation would have eliminated most of the problems with the vote counting.
Anyway, congratulations to the winners in Lonoke County, even if they had to wait almost a week before they found out the results.
Even the losers thought they might be winners for four days after the polls closed.
The next time, why don’t we all vote on our computers and have instant results?
If we can renew our tags online, why not retain or dump our politicians the same way?
Tabulating would go faster and would keep poll workers from looking over your shoulders to see how you voted.
NEIGHBORS >> Museum has foothold in downtown Lonoke
BY JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Lonoke museum grows, seeks volunteers and donations to continue service to the community.
Period kitchen, parlor and workshop scenes fill the display windows at the new and evolving Lonoke County Museum, housed in the old automobile dealership on Hwy. 70.
“We’ve had lots of response from the windows,” says Cheryl Miller, executive director. After having seen them, area resident Joe Brewer brought three truckloads of carpenter, farm and blacksmithing tools.
“We had no notion the display would look so good,” she said. “Shirley Tomlinson made the curtains,” said Miller, whose husband Jackie is manager of the Pettus Cotton Gin and doubled as electrician and carpenter.
“Diane Finley put the window displays together with just the right touch,” Miller said.
After spending more than a year trying unsuccessfully to lease various properties owned by the city and located on the old railroad right of way, the Bennett family made a gift of the old building to the museum board just a year ago. The board and various volunteers have been busy renovating ever since.
The plan for the main room is to line the walls with the façade of a typical 1800s Lonoke County town, similar to the treatment at the Grand Prairie Museum in Stuttgart.
They fixed up the north wall, which has no insulation in it, in part by creating display windows and insulating their interior walls, Miller said.
The main entry room needs carpet. Miller’s office is cheerful, well lit and functional and the adjoining genealogy room has a tall wall of bookshelves and will house a computer.
The roof is patched and the museum board hopes to land a grant for a new roof to keep its displays safe.
“We’re going to have to get a window (air conditioning) unit or two,” she said, until the museum can afford central heat and air.
Miller said the ductwork already was in place.
She said she hoped to have both the front display and the genealogy room completed soon.
Miller said that as usual the museum needs money and volunteers.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Lonoke museum grows, seeks volunteers and donations to continue service to the community.
Period kitchen, parlor and workshop scenes fill the display windows at the new and evolving Lonoke County Museum, housed in the old automobile dealership on Hwy. 70.
“We’ve had lots of response from the windows,” says Cheryl Miller, executive director. After having seen them, area resident Joe Brewer brought three truckloads of carpenter, farm and blacksmithing tools.
“We had no notion the display would look so good,” she said. “Shirley Tomlinson made the curtains,” said Miller, whose husband Jackie is manager of the Pettus Cotton Gin and doubled as electrician and carpenter.
“Diane Finley put the window displays together with just the right touch,” Miller said.
After spending more than a year trying unsuccessfully to lease various properties owned by the city and located on the old railroad right of way, the Bennett family made a gift of the old building to the museum board just a year ago. The board and various volunteers have been busy renovating ever since.
The plan for the main room is to line the walls with the façade of a typical 1800s Lonoke County town, similar to the treatment at the Grand Prairie Museum in Stuttgart.
They fixed up the north wall, which has no insulation in it, in part by creating display windows and insulating their interior walls, Miller said.
The main entry room needs carpet. Miller’s office is cheerful, well lit and functional and the adjoining genealogy room has a tall wall of bookshelves and will house a computer.
The roof is patched and the museum board hopes to land a grant for a new roof to keep its displays safe.
“We’re going to have to get a window (air conditioning) unit or two,” she said, until the museum can afford central heat and air.
Miller said the ductwork already was in place.
She said she hoped to have both the front display and the genealogy room completed soon.
Miller said that as usual the museum needs money and volunteers.
TOP STORY >> Rock Hard Rollergirls: Members sought for new state team
BY SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Women's roller derby team seeking new members to compete against other state teams.
Women’s roller derby–competitive roller skating between teams– is enjoying a renaissance thanks to the efforts of the Rock Hard Rollergirls, a central Arkansas team practicing twice a week at Skateworld in Jacksonville.
“We know we can get hurt doing this but we don’t care,” said Amber Stevens, one of the Rock Hard Rollergirls organizers. Stevens has already injured her tailbone, but it doesn’t keep her from skating. She bought a tailbone guard and tied her skates back on for a recent reunion at Skateworld.
Stevens was inspired to start a central Arkansas roller-derby league by “Rollergirls,” a short-lived reality television series following members of the Texas Roller Derby.
Other leagues have sprouted across the state including Northwest Arkansas Rollergirls in Fayetteville and the River Valley Rollergirls in Fort Smith. Roller rinks were an important part of many teenager’s social life in the late 1970s and early 80s. As inline skating became popular, skaters tended to hit the streets instead of the local rink.
“The transition from inline skates to quad skates isn’t hard at all,” Stevens said.
The Rock Hard Rollergirls team is currently recruiting women 21 and over and is working with trainer Rick Langston of Skateworld.
“We’re working to build everybody’s speed and endurance right now,” Langston said.
Stevens says she’d like to see the team grow to about 12 or 15 members.
Roller-derby rules vary from league to league. Generally, two teams of five skaters wearing protective gear such as helmets, mouth guards and elbow and kneepads take up positions alongside each other in a pack formation. Each team consists of blockers and a jammer. A signal is given and the pack of blockers start skating. A second signal is given and the jammers start skating.
Jammers navigate through or around the pack, then lap around the back of the pack. The first jammer to get through the pack is dubbed lead jammer and may stop the skating at any time by signaling the referees by what is known as “calling off the jam.”
Scoring commences when the jammers lap around the track and pass through the pack a second time. One point is scored for each member of the opposing team passed by an inbound jammer. Blockers try to stop the opposing jammer from passing them, while defending their own jammer whom they can assist by pushing or pulling in an attempt to advance them through the pack. The jam concludes after a fixed period of time or when the lead jammer calls off the jam. Until then, both jammers are free to lap the pack again and again.
Physical contact between players is frequent and sometimes violent. Roller derby skaters generally adopt gimmicks such as team costumes as well as stage names. Stevens, a stay-at home-mom, uses the name “Tara Niploff” at the rink. Andy Holms, a graphic artist in Little Rock, has adopted the moniker “Doma Skatrix.”
Team practices are on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. and Sundays at 8 a.m. at Skateworld. Full gear such as helmet, kneepads, elbow pads, wrist guards and mouthpieces are required to practice. Quad skates are available to rent.
For more information e-mail amberstevens21@hotmail.com.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Women's roller derby team seeking new members to compete against other state teams.
Women’s roller derby–competitive roller skating between teams– is enjoying a renaissance thanks to the efforts of the Rock Hard Rollergirls, a central Arkansas team practicing twice a week at Skateworld in Jacksonville.
“We know we can get hurt doing this but we don’t care,” said Amber Stevens, one of the Rock Hard Rollergirls organizers. Stevens has already injured her tailbone, but it doesn’t keep her from skating. She bought a tailbone guard and tied her skates back on for a recent reunion at Skateworld.
Stevens was inspired to start a central Arkansas roller-derby league by “Rollergirls,” a short-lived reality television series following members of the Texas Roller Derby.
Other leagues have sprouted across the state including Northwest Arkansas Rollergirls in Fayetteville and the River Valley Rollergirls in Fort Smith. Roller rinks were an important part of many teenager’s social life in the late 1970s and early 80s. As inline skating became popular, skaters tended to hit the streets instead of the local rink.
“The transition from inline skates to quad skates isn’t hard at all,” Stevens said.
The Rock Hard Rollergirls team is currently recruiting women 21 and over and is working with trainer Rick Langston of Skateworld.
“We’re working to build everybody’s speed and endurance right now,” Langston said.
Stevens says she’d like to see the team grow to about 12 or 15 members.
Roller-derby rules vary from league to league. Generally, two teams of five skaters wearing protective gear such as helmets, mouth guards and elbow and kneepads take up positions alongside each other in a pack formation. Each team consists of blockers and a jammer. A signal is given and the pack of blockers start skating. A second signal is given and the jammers start skating.
Jammers navigate through or around the pack, then lap around the back of the pack. The first jammer to get through the pack is dubbed lead jammer and may stop the skating at any time by signaling the referees by what is known as “calling off the jam.”
Scoring commences when the jammers lap around the track and pass through the pack a second time. One point is scored for each member of the opposing team passed by an inbound jammer. Blockers try to stop the opposing jammer from passing them, while defending their own jammer whom they can assist by pushing or pulling in an attempt to advance them through the pack. The jam concludes after a fixed period of time or when the lead jammer calls off the jam. Until then, both jammers are free to lap the pack again and again.
Physical contact between players is frequent and sometimes violent. Roller derby skaters generally adopt gimmicks such as team costumes as well as stage names. Stevens, a stay-at home-mom, uses the name “Tara Niploff” at the rink. Andy Holms, a graphic artist in Little Rock, has adopted the moniker “Doma Skatrix.”
Team practices are on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. and Sundays at 8 a.m. at Skateworld. Full gear such as helmet, kneepads, elbow pads, wrist guards and mouthpieces are required to practice. Quad skates are available to rent.
For more information e-mail amberstevens21@hotmail.com.
SPORTS >> Bruins win two games in event at Burns Park
BY JASON KING
Leader sports writer
IN SHORT: Sylvan Hills’ Class A American Legion team beat Sheridan and Benton, but lost to Conway in the North Little Rock Colts’ Memorial Day baseball tournament this weekend at Burns Park.
Sylvan Hills finished the American Legion Class A Memorial Day tournament with wins over Sheridan and Benton, and a Saturday loss to Conway. The Bruins earned the No. 3 seed from pool B overall in the tourney, but stormy weather hit Burns Park on Monday just as they were about to take to the field to play Fayetteville in the finals.
The tournament started with two Saturday games for Sylvan Hills. The early morning game against Sheridan was a thrilling 10-8 comeback win for the Bruins, but the afternoon game against Conway was a difficult one. Several starters were not present for the contest due to graduation at SHHS, and Conway took advantage with a lopsided 13-5 run-ruled win.
The Bruins only played one game on Sunday, taking a solid 8-3 win over Benton after the Sport Stop team committed six errors in the first five innings to give Sylvan Hills the early advantage.
The early Saturday game against Sheridan was one of the most closely contested games of the entire tournament. Sheridan held a slim lead over the Bruins until the fourth inning, when Sylvan Hills dished out six runs to take an 8-4 lead.
Sheridan answered in the fifth inning with four runs to tie the game at eight runs apiece. As time expired in the bottom of the fifth, Ross Bogard hit a two-run home run to score himself and Hunter Miller, clinching the opening-round win 10-8 for Sylvan Hills.
The Saturday late game against Conway was not quite as competitive. The Wampus Cats racked up seven hits and eight runs in the bottom of the first inning to put the Bruins in a hole that they could never climb out of. Sylvan Hills made enough of a rally to cut Conway’s lead to 10-5 at one point, but the ‘Cats had three runs in position when the time limit was met, and were allowed to score those runs to end the game under the run-rule at 13-5.
Sylvan Hills went scoreless in the game until the top of the third inning, when shortstop Jessie Everett knocked it over for a home run.
The Bruins trailed 10-1 until the following inning, when Conway left fielder Spencer Jones lost a pop up from Eric Bryant in the sun, allowing Cody Wood and Ryan Wood to score.
Two more runs were added for Sylvan Hills in the fifth inning with RBIs for Chris Eastham and Ryan Wood.
It appeared that the Bruins had turned a blowout into a more respectable result after solid defense in the third and fourth innings, but another breakdown in the fifth inning allowed three more runs for the Wampus Cats.
After scoring two of those runs, Conway still had the bases loaded. The final run enforced the eight-after-five run rule to end the Bruins’ frustrating game.
Sylvan Hills needed a win over Benton Sunday to secure a top- three spot in the finals, and got it with an 8-3 decision over a flat Sport Stop squad.
The Bruins loaded the bases in the top of the second inning. An infield single for Ryan Wood, coupled with a fielding error from Benton shortstop Bo Fulcher allowed T.C. Squires and Cody Wood to cross the plate for the first two Sylvan Hills’ runs of the game.
Bogard added another run in the third inning, and Everett and Ryan Wood increased the lead to 5-1 in the fourth inning off of RBIs from Ryan Wood and Miller.
Another double from Everett in the top of the fifth scored Chris Dalton and Eric Ryan to set the Bruins’ final margin. Sylvan Hills gave up two runs to Sport Stop in the bottom of the fifth, but it would not be enough.
Dalton took the win for the Bruins, allowing three hits and giving up two walks while striking out five batters through six innings. Eastham relieved Dalton for the seventh inning, giving up one walk and no hits to secure the win for Sylvan Hills.
The Bruins finished the game with eight runs, seven hits and two errors. Benton had three runs, three hits and six errors. The Bruins were scheduled to play Fayetteville in Monday’s finals, but Mother Nature took the win, ending the tourney a day early with rain storms.
Leader sports writer
IN SHORT: Sylvan Hills’ Class A American Legion team beat Sheridan and Benton, but lost to Conway in the North Little Rock Colts’ Memorial Day baseball tournament this weekend at Burns Park.
Sylvan Hills finished the American Legion Class A Memorial Day tournament with wins over Sheridan and Benton, and a Saturday loss to Conway. The Bruins earned the No. 3 seed from pool B overall in the tourney, but stormy weather hit Burns Park on Monday just as they were about to take to the field to play Fayetteville in the finals.
The tournament started with two Saturday games for Sylvan Hills. The early morning game against Sheridan was a thrilling 10-8 comeback win for the Bruins, but the afternoon game against Conway was a difficult one. Several starters were not present for the contest due to graduation at SHHS, and Conway took advantage with a lopsided 13-5 run-ruled win.
The Bruins only played one game on Sunday, taking a solid 8-3 win over Benton after the Sport Stop team committed six errors in the first five innings to give Sylvan Hills the early advantage.
The early Saturday game against Sheridan was one of the most closely contested games of the entire tournament. Sheridan held a slim lead over the Bruins until the fourth inning, when Sylvan Hills dished out six runs to take an 8-4 lead.
Sheridan answered in the fifth inning with four runs to tie the game at eight runs apiece. As time expired in the bottom of the fifth, Ross Bogard hit a two-run home run to score himself and Hunter Miller, clinching the opening-round win 10-8 for Sylvan Hills.
The Saturday late game against Conway was not quite as competitive. The Wampus Cats racked up seven hits and eight runs in the bottom of the first inning to put the Bruins in a hole that they could never climb out of. Sylvan Hills made enough of a rally to cut Conway’s lead to 10-5 at one point, but the ‘Cats had three runs in position when the time limit was met, and were allowed to score those runs to end the game under the run-rule at 13-5.
Sylvan Hills went scoreless in the game until the top of the third inning, when shortstop Jessie Everett knocked it over for a home run.
The Bruins trailed 10-1 until the following inning, when Conway left fielder Spencer Jones lost a pop up from Eric Bryant in the sun, allowing Cody Wood and Ryan Wood to score.
Two more runs were added for Sylvan Hills in the fifth inning with RBIs for Chris Eastham and Ryan Wood.
It appeared that the Bruins had turned a blowout into a more respectable result after solid defense in the third and fourth innings, but another breakdown in the fifth inning allowed three more runs for the Wampus Cats.
After scoring two of those runs, Conway still had the bases loaded. The final run enforced the eight-after-five run rule to end the Bruins’ frustrating game.
Sylvan Hills needed a win over Benton Sunday to secure a top- three spot in the finals, and got it with an 8-3 decision over a flat Sport Stop squad.
The Bruins loaded the bases in the top of the second inning. An infield single for Ryan Wood, coupled with a fielding error from Benton shortstop Bo Fulcher allowed T.C. Squires and Cody Wood to cross the plate for the first two Sylvan Hills’ runs of the game.
Bogard added another run in the third inning, and Everett and Ryan Wood increased the lead to 5-1 in the fourth inning off of RBIs from Ryan Wood and Miller.
Another double from Everett in the top of the fifth scored Chris Dalton and Eric Ryan to set the Bruins’ final margin. Sylvan Hills gave up two runs to Sport Stop in the bottom of the fifth, but it would not be enough.
Dalton took the win for the Bruins, allowing three hits and giving up two walks while striking out five batters through six innings. Eastham relieved Dalton for the seventh inning, giving up one walk and no hits to secure the win for Sylvan Hills.
The Bruins finished the game with eight runs, seven hits and two errors. Benton had three runs, three hits and six errors. The Bruins were scheduled to play Fayetteville in Monday’s finals, but Mother Nature took the win, ending the tourney a day early with rain storms.
SPORTS >>Searcy gets just one of four at NLR tournament
BY JASON KING
Leader sports writer
IN SHORT: Searcy found winning difficult in the Class A Memorial Day tournament at Burns Park. A 8-5 win Saturday over Vilonia was its only victory.
Searcy’s B&B Oil American Legion A team struggled at last weekend’s Memorial Day tournament at Burns Park. A Saturday win against Vilonia was the only win in four games for Searcy in the tourney, as they dropped three other games against North Little Rock, Fayetteville and Jacksonville.
The tournament started out tough for B and B, with a Friday-night rout at the hands of host team North Little Rock 12-1. Searcy recovered from the blowout to play its strongest game of the tournament against Vilonia with an 8-5 win Saturday afternoon.
Vilonia took the early lead in the game, leading 3-2 after the first inning. Runs from Jordan Bradley and Jordan Roberson in the bottom of the first inning narrowed a three-run lead for Vilonia down to one.
Searcy took that lead away in the bottom of the third with three runs to put them up 5-2. Bradley and Jason Jennings both scored on passed balls, and Roger Glaude scored on a fielding error to give B&B Oil the advantage.
They extended their lead in the bottom of the fourth with runs from Jonathan Luthe and Bradley. Bradley hit a triple to right field to score Luthe, and scored himself off a one-hopper to right field from Jennings. Jennings scored the final run for B&B when Glaude doubled to left for the RBI.
Searcy finished the game with eight runs, seven hits and two errors. Vilonia had five runs, eight hits and three errors. Royce Smith took the win at the mound for Searcy, going all seven innings to earn the victory.
Searcy found it difficult to hit off of starting Jacksonville pitcher Cameron Hood Sunday. Hood allowed two hits the entire game.
A fielding error allowed Kendall Chasteen and Jennings to score in the bottom of the fifth.
Leader sports writer
IN SHORT: Searcy found winning difficult in the Class A Memorial Day tournament at Burns Park. A 8-5 win Saturday over Vilonia was its only victory.
Searcy’s B&B Oil American Legion A team struggled at last weekend’s Memorial Day tournament at Burns Park. A Saturday win against Vilonia was the only win in four games for Searcy in the tourney, as they dropped three other games against North Little Rock, Fayetteville and Jacksonville.
The tournament started out tough for B and B, with a Friday-night rout at the hands of host team North Little Rock 12-1. Searcy recovered from the blowout to play its strongest game of the tournament against Vilonia with an 8-5 win Saturday afternoon.
Vilonia took the early lead in the game, leading 3-2 after the first inning. Runs from Jordan Bradley and Jordan Roberson in the bottom of the first inning narrowed a three-run lead for Vilonia down to one.
Searcy took that lead away in the bottom of the third with three runs to put them up 5-2. Bradley and Jason Jennings both scored on passed balls, and Roger Glaude scored on a fielding error to give B&B Oil the advantage.
They extended their lead in the bottom of the fourth with runs from Jonathan Luthe and Bradley. Bradley hit a triple to right field to score Luthe, and scored himself off a one-hopper to right field from Jennings. Jennings scored the final run for B&B when Glaude doubled to left for the RBI.
Searcy finished the game with eight runs, seven hits and two errors. Vilonia had five runs, eight hits and three errors. Royce Smith took the win at the mound for Searcy, going all seven innings to earn the victory.
Searcy found it difficult to hit off of starting Jacksonville pitcher Cameron Hood Sunday. Hood allowed two hits the entire game.
A fielding error allowed Kendall Chasteen and Jennings to score in the bottom of the fifth.
SPORTS >> Gwatney A team goes unbeaten at Memorial
BY JASON KING
Leader sports writer
IN SHORT: The Jacksonville Class A American Legion team went 2-0-1 at North Little Rock’s Memorial Day tournament.
It was a successful tourney for Gwatney Chevrolet in this year’s Memorial Day single-A American Legion tournament at Vince De Salvo Stadium in Burns Park. The Chevy boys took wins over Vilonia and Searcy, and tied with Fayetteville in the Saturday night game to earn the No. 2 seed in Monday’s rained-out finals.
Jacksonville started the tournament Friday night with a 9-3 win over Vilonia. Vilonia took the early lead scoring two runs in the first inning.
Gwatney’s first run of the game came off an unassisted run from Shane Graham. Graham reached with a base on balls, and stole his way to third base before scoring off a wild pitch. Vilonia held on to a 2-1 lead until the fifth inning, when Jacksonville’s offense came to life.
Darius Christopher started things off for Gwatney in the inning by reaching with an error, and scored on a single RBI from Travis Twitty. Another fielding error allowed Shane Graham to reach first. Graham would score on a passed ball, before Cameron Hood and Adrian Baker added scores after both being walked.
Vilonia added its final run in the sixth inning, but Jacksonville answered with two more runs from McMunn and Twitty in the sixth to secure the win.
Saturday’s late game with Fayetteville was the closest Gwatney came to a loss in the entire tournament, but time was called at nearly 1 a.m. with the score tied at four runs apiece. Fayetteville had also tied with North Little Rock 5-5 earlier in the evening.
Jacksonville’s most dominant performance in the tourney came in the Sunday game against the Searcy B & B Oil team. Gwatney took the win 8-2, with a fielding error allowing the only two Searcy runs of the game.
Cameron Hood took the win for Gwatney, going the entire six innings on the mound. Hood allowed two hits and walked three batters while striking out five.
Adam Ussery scored first for Jacksonville in the top of the first. Ussery was walked by starting Searcy pitcher Chad Cates, and stole his way to third before scoring on a passed ball.
Cates struggled on the mound for Searcy, walking three of the first four Jacksonville batters in the top of the third inning. Ussery, Hood and Adrian Baker all received the free pass to first, loading the bases for Jacksonville with only one out. A sacrifice fly from Twitty allowed Ussery to tag up for his second run of the evening, giving Gwatney a 2-0 lead after three innings.
Hood sent B & B Oil three and out in the bottom of the third, and Jacksonville then took to the plate for the game-sealer in the top of the fourth.
Gwatney once again loaded the bases on Cates to start the inning. A ground-rule double from Hood over the centerfield wall scored Clayton Fenton and Christopher. Searcy then finally put Cates out of his misery, sending Jordan Roberson in as relief pitcher.
A fielding error by shortstop Roger Glaude on a grounder from Baker scored Shane Graham and Hood for a 6-0 lead.
Hood’s hopes for a shut out were dashed in the bottom of the fifth inning, when a hard toss from Hood to first baseman Baker for the third out was missed, scoring Kendall Chasteen and Jason Jennings.
Jennings was the third Searcy pitcher to throw to start the sixth inning, and gave up two runs. Hood got his third RBI of the game with another double to score Ussery once again, before scoring himself on a passed ball that would have been a strikeout on Josh Graham. Graham made it all the way to second on the mishap, as Hood’s run set the final margin in the contest.
Jacksonville and North Little Rock both ended bracket-A play with two wins and a tie for the best records of the tourney, but the Colts received the No. 1 seed by allowing less runs than Gwatney in their three games to earn the tiebreaker. It was all for naught, however, as the Memorial Day rains forced the cancellation of the finals.
Jacksonville’s record now stands at 3-1-1 after week one.
Leader sports writer
IN SHORT: The Jacksonville Class A American Legion team went 2-0-1 at North Little Rock’s Memorial Day tournament.
It was a successful tourney for Gwatney Chevrolet in this year’s Memorial Day single-A American Legion tournament at Vince De Salvo Stadium in Burns Park. The Chevy boys took wins over Vilonia and Searcy, and tied with Fayetteville in the Saturday night game to earn the No. 2 seed in Monday’s rained-out finals.
Jacksonville started the tournament Friday night with a 9-3 win over Vilonia. Vilonia took the early lead scoring two runs in the first inning.
Gwatney’s first run of the game came off an unassisted run from Shane Graham. Graham reached with a base on balls, and stole his way to third base before scoring off a wild pitch. Vilonia held on to a 2-1 lead until the fifth inning, when Jacksonville’s offense came to life.
Darius Christopher started things off for Gwatney in the inning by reaching with an error, and scored on a single RBI from Travis Twitty. Another fielding error allowed Shane Graham to reach first. Graham would score on a passed ball, before Cameron Hood and Adrian Baker added scores after both being walked.
Vilonia added its final run in the sixth inning, but Jacksonville answered with two more runs from McMunn and Twitty in the sixth to secure the win.
Saturday’s late game with Fayetteville was the closest Gwatney came to a loss in the entire tournament, but time was called at nearly 1 a.m. with the score tied at four runs apiece. Fayetteville had also tied with North Little Rock 5-5 earlier in the evening.
Jacksonville’s most dominant performance in the tourney came in the Sunday game against the Searcy B & B Oil team. Gwatney took the win 8-2, with a fielding error allowing the only two Searcy runs of the game.
Cameron Hood took the win for Gwatney, going the entire six innings on the mound. Hood allowed two hits and walked three batters while striking out five.
Adam Ussery scored first for Jacksonville in the top of the first. Ussery was walked by starting Searcy pitcher Chad Cates, and stole his way to third before scoring on a passed ball.
Cates struggled on the mound for Searcy, walking three of the first four Jacksonville batters in the top of the third inning. Ussery, Hood and Adrian Baker all received the free pass to first, loading the bases for Jacksonville with only one out. A sacrifice fly from Twitty allowed Ussery to tag up for his second run of the evening, giving Gwatney a 2-0 lead after three innings.
Hood sent B & B Oil three and out in the bottom of the third, and Jacksonville then took to the plate for the game-sealer in the top of the fourth.
Gwatney once again loaded the bases on Cates to start the inning. A ground-rule double from Hood over the centerfield wall scored Clayton Fenton and Christopher. Searcy then finally put Cates out of his misery, sending Jordan Roberson in as relief pitcher.
A fielding error by shortstop Roger Glaude on a grounder from Baker scored Shane Graham and Hood for a 6-0 lead.
Hood’s hopes for a shut out were dashed in the bottom of the fifth inning, when a hard toss from Hood to first baseman Baker for the third out was missed, scoring Kendall Chasteen and Jason Jennings.
Jennings was the third Searcy pitcher to throw to start the sixth inning, and gave up two runs. Hood got his third RBI of the game with another double to score Ussery once again, before scoring himself on a passed ball that would have been a strikeout on Josh Graham. Graham made it all the way to second on the mishap, as Hood’s run set the final margin in the contest.
Jacksonville and North Little Rock both ended bracket-A play with two wins and a tie for the best records of the tourney, but the Colts received the No. 1 seed by allowing less runs than Gwatney in their three games to earn the tiebreaker. It was all for naught, however, as the Memorial Day rains forced the cancellation of the finals.
Jacksonville’s record now stands at 3-1-1 after week one.
SPORTS >> North Pulaski displays new look in spring
BY RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
IN SHORT: North Pulaski’s football team spent spring practice working on new offensive and defensive sets that they will use in the upcoming 2006 football season.
North Pulaski closed out its spring practices last Thursday with a lively scrimmage that gave the Falcon coaching staff something to look forward to next fall.
The Falcons will have to deal with the uphill battle of being youthful in most positions, but there’s depth at some key spots.
Most notably, North Pulaski has no shortage of backfield players. Charles Baker is the returning starter and has taken most of the hand-offs in practice, but he’s joined by a good group of ball carriers.
“Baker has looked good,” NP coach Tony Bohannon said. “He’s been strong and hitting the line pretty hard. Right now he’s the workhorse.”
Others like Daniel Thurman, Houston Regan, Alex Thomas, sophomore Stanley Appleby and newcomer Desmond Thomas have also had their moments toting the ball.
The numbers dressed out for practice varied. At least 35 worked out every day. The team peaked at 51 for one practice.
“There’s just a lot of things that interfere this time of year,” Bohannon said. “Some of them legit, some are questionable. We’ll make a team out of the ones that want to be here.”
Another area that Bohannon was pleased with was the offensive line. The line has been a weakness in the past couple of years, but Bohannon believes it will be stronger this year, just in time for the Falcons’ return to a run-oriented offense.
“We weren’t big enough or deep enough to try to run at people last year, but I think we might have the hosses in there that can make some holes for us this year,” Bohannon said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can carry the ball, so if we get the line up to snuff we ought to be able to move the ball down the field this year.”
“One of the brightest spots on the interior during spring drills was senior Jeffrey Bogard. Bogard also looked good at defensive end.
“He had himself a really good four or five days of practice,” Bohannon said. “We’re excited about him.”
Chris Matthews, J.J. Thomas and Cary Toomer have also made some holes on the inside. One more piece of the puzzle is still needed though.
“I feel real good about those four,” Bohannon said. “If they can stay healthy and we can find one or two more, we will be ready to go.”
Senior Shoin Hand returns to the team as a speedy wideout with good hands. He was the team’s fastest player last year before leaving the team for unspecified reasons. His return is a big plus according to Bohannon.
“He gives us a deep threat if we need it,” Bohannon said. “He might take some hand-offs too.”
Bohannon hinted at one of the areas that still needs some work- quarterback.
The leading candidate after spring practice was surprising.
“If we started tomorrow we’d go with Michael Fleshman,” Bohannon said of his sophomore. Junior Jason Regnas and Appleby also took snaps, but neither was present for every practice.
Many of the same names were mentioned when talking about the defensive side of the ball. The biggest news about the defense is that it will be switching to a 5-3 set, a change from last year’s 4-4.
“We’ll still run a 4-4 because we’ve got all those wide-spread teams in this conference,” Bohan-non said of NP’s move to the 5A-East. “Our base set will be the 5-3.”
The Falcons will go to the Razorback football camp June 11, then return to begin league 7-on-7.
Leader sports editor
IN SHORT: North Pulaski’s football team spent spring practice working on new offensive and defensive sets that they will use in the upcoming 2006 football season.
North Pulaski closed out its spring practices last Thursday with a lively scrimmage that gave the Falcon coaching staff something to look forward to next fall.
The Falcons will have to deal with the uphill battle of being youthful in most positions, but there’s depth at some key spots.
Most notably, North Pulaski has no shortage of backfield players. Charles Baker is the returning starter and has taken most of the hand-offs in practice, but he’s joined by a good group of ball carriers.
“Baker has looked good,” NP coach Tony Bohannon said. “He’s been strong and hitting the line pretty hard. Right now he’s the workhorse.”
Others like Daniel Thurman, Houston Regan, Alex Thomas, sophomore Stanley Appleby and newcomer Desmond Thomas have also had their moments toting the ball.
The numbers dressed out for practice varied. At least 35 worked out every day. The team peaked at 51 for one practice.
“There’s just a lot of things that interfere this time of year,” Bohannon said. “Some of them legit, some are questionable. We’ll make a team out of the ones that want to be here.”
Another area that Bohannon was pleased with was the offensive line. The line has been a weakness in the past couple of years, but Bohannon believes it will be stronger this year, just in time for the Falcons’ return to a run-oriented offense.
“We weren’t big enough or deep enough to try to run at people last year, but I think we might have the hosses in there that can make some holes for us this year,” Bohannon said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can carry the ball, so if we get the line up to snuff we ought to be able to move the ball down the field this year.”
“One of the brightest spots on the interior during spring drills was senior Jeffrey Bogard. Bogard also looked good at defensive end.
“He had himself a really good four or five days of practice,” Bohannon said. “We’re excited about him.”
Chris Matthews, J.J. Thomas and Cary Toomer have also made some holes on the inside. One more piece of the puzzle is still needed though.
“I feel real good about those four,” Bohannon said. “If they can stay healthy and we can find one or two more, we will be ready to go.”
Senior Shoin Hand returns to the team as a speedy wideout with good hands. He was the team’s fastest player last year before leaving the team for unspecified reasons. His return is a big plus according to Bohannon.
“He gives us a deep threat if we need it,” Bohannon said. “He might take some hand-offs too.”
Bohannon hinted at one of the areas that still needs some work- quarterback.
The leading candidate after spring practice was surprising.
“If we started tomorrow we’d go with Michael Fleshman,” Bohannon said of his sophomore. Junior Jason Regnas and Appleby also took snaps, but neither was present for every practice.
Many of the same names were mentioned when talking about the defensive side of the ball. The biggest news about the defense is that it will be switching to a 5-3 set, a change from last year’s 4-4.
“We’ll still run a 4-4 because we’ve got all those wide-spread teams in this conference,” Bohan-non said of NP’s move to the 5A-East. “Our base set will be the 5-3.”
The Falcons will go to the Razorback football camp June 11, then return to begin league 7-on-7.
OBITUARIES >> 05-31-06
MARCIA JEAN CHEATHAM
Marcia Jean Cheatham, 60, of Scott, passed away May 26.
She was born March 23, 1946, in Little Rock to the late Bernest “Rab” Overton and Lorene Carpenter Overton. She graduated from North Little Rock High School in 1964.
Also preceding her in death were her husband, Robert Herschel Cheatham and one brother, Wayne Overton.
Survivors include two sons, Mike and wife Clara Hughes of Keo and James Cheat-ham of Car-lisle; a daughter, Lisa and husband Jeff Goodman of Scott; two brothers, James Over-ton of Beebe and Boyd Overton of Paragould; five grandchildren, Michael-Ryan and Caitlyn Hughes and Daniel Cheatham of Keo, Melissa and Andrew Goodman of Scott; two very special best friends, Bonnie Mae and Mildred; two uncles, Charles Ouzts and Floyd S. Hines Sr.; along with numerous other family members and friends.
Visitation will be held from 1 to 9 p.m. today with the family receiving friends from 6 to 8 p.m.
Services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at Toltec Baptist Church in Scott with Bro. Ron Pierce officiating. Interment will follow at Arkan-sas Memorial Gardens in North Little Rock.
James Overton, Boyd Overton, Michael-Ryan Hughes, Michael Hughes and Jeff Goodman are active pallbearers, and Charles Ouzts, Stanley Fleming, Tommy Goodman, Daniel Cheatham and Andrew Goodman are honorary pallbearers. Arrangements are by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
WESLEY CHAD MAY
Wesley Chad May, 17, of McRae, drowned May 28 at the lake at Heber Springs.
He would have been a 2007 graduate of Beebe High School. He played football, ran track and played in the band. He was an employee of Heritage. Chad is survived by his father, Dwayne May of McRae; his mother, Wendy Conway of Kensett; one brother, Joel May of McRae; grandparents, Sonny and Linda May of McRae and Virginia Prestige of Greenville, Texas, and lots of aunts and uncles. His family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today at the family home, 450 Tweedy Road, McRae, Ark., 72102.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at Westbrook Fu-neral Home in Beebe. Burial will be in Weir Cemetery.
MITCHELL SMITH
Mitchell Alan Smith, 38, of Lonoke, passed away May 27. He was born Feb. 8, 1968, in Huntington Park, Calif., to Marvin Smith and Mary Jane Ellis Bay. Survivors include his mother and stepfather, Mary Jane and Dennis Bayles of Lonoke; father, Marvin Smith of San Antonio, Texas; five children: Mitchell, Jane, Traci, Anthony and Russell; brother Michael and Suzanne Smith of Minnesota and aunt Betty Earnhart of California.
Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday with the family receiving friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Monk Cemetery in Ward with arrangements by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
JOHN JACKSON SR.
John Henry Jackson, Sr., 92, of North Little Rock, died May 28. He was a World War II Veteran who served as a medic in the Army in the Fiji Islands. He was a 32nd Degree Mason and a member of Trinity Methodist Church on Lynch Drive. John loved to watch Arkansas Razorback football and baseball at Travelers Field. He loved fishing at the White River with Arkansas veterans and he loved to dance. He always had a smile and kind words. He loved to spend time with his family. He attended the Nazarene Church on Hwy. 107.
John was preceded in death by his first wife, Vida Combs Jackson.
He is survived by his wife, Wanda Jackson of Jacksonville; one son, John Jackson, Jr. and wife, Debbie of Cabot; one stepdaughter, Beverly Cole of Jacksonville; two grandsons, Travis and Justin Jackson of Cabot, and one sister, Alcidean Liles of Beebe. His family will receive visitors from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at West-brook Funeral Home in Beebe.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Westbrook Funeral Home with burial in Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens.
CHARLESY HALEY SR.
Charles Eugene Haley Sr., 73, of McRae, left his earthly home to be with the Lord on May 27.
He was born May 19, 1933, to Carson and Dora Mapps Haley at Luxora. His hobbies were rebuilding guns, fishing, gardening and woodworking. He retired from Harding University and was a founding member of Gracepoint Church at Beebe. He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Cecil Horace Haley and Carson Mayfield Haley. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Shirley Vernon Haley; two sons, Charles Haley, Jr. and wife Charlotte of McRae, and David Haley and wife Shirley of Beebe; one daughter, Diane McCollum and husband Tom, of McRae; five grandchildren, Bethany Manuel and husband Eric of Cave City, Seth McCollum and wife Jaunte’ of McRae, Megan Haley of Beebe, Cole Haley and Caitlin McCollum both of McRae; three great-grandchildren, Cris and Amy Reeve and Elijah Manuel. His two surviving sisters are Vernice Wilson of Pocahontas and Louise Vincent of Glendale, Ariz.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 9 p.m. today at Westbrook Funeral Home, Beebe. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home with burial in Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens.
DONNIE WATSON
Donnie Cleveland Watson, 45, of Cabot, passed away May 29. He was born Aug. 10, 1960, in Mendota, Ill., to Joyce Parish and the late Carl Watson. Also preceding him in death is one son Chad Watson; paternal ggrandparents, Lawrence and Grace Watson and maternal grandparents, Sherman and Onie Parish.
Survivors include his wife Donna; daughter, Ashley; two sons, Adam Watson of Cabot and Eric Jones of Fayetteville; his mother and stepfather, Joyce and Charlie Win-gate of Cabot; sister, Phyllis Henry of Searcy; brother, Steve Watson of Romance, and two stepbrothers, Tommy and Richard Wingate of Cabot; along with many loving aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and friends. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday night. Services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Christ Worship Center with interment following at Romance Cemetery.
Arrangements are by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
CHRISTINE STUDER-REHBACH
Christine Jeanette Studer-Reh-bach, 48, of Cabot, went to be with the Lord on May 26. She was born April 5, 1958, in Oakland City, Ind. She was preceded in death by her father, William Edward Studer; a grandson, Jonathan Jackson; and two grandfathers, Clarence Martin and John Eckert.
She is survived by her mother, Beulah Ray and step-father, H.L. Ray of Cabot; a son, Toby Rehbach and a daughter, Amy Jackson, both of Jacksonville; four grandsons, Justin, Jordan, Jeffery and Skyler; two brothers, Bill and (wife) Pat Studer of Jacksonville and David and (wife) Amy Studer of Cabot; a sister Katina Ray of Cabot; two grandmothers, Naomi Eckert of West Baden Springs, Ind., and Elizabeth Martin of Winslow, Ind., and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends.
Funeral services were held May 28 at Mt. Springs Baptist Church in Cabot with arrangements by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
CARL STECKS
Tireless farmer, perfectionist, devoted husband, father of three, traveler, self-taught from the eighth grade, Carl Frederick Stecks went to be with the Lord at the age of 91 from a stroke and subsequent pneumonia. He was born Nov. 25, 1914, to Carl Gustave and Minnie Bock Stecks in Stuttgart. He was the son of early Arkansas settlers who introduced rice farming to the communities of Almyra and Crocketts Bluff.
He attended the Prairie Dell School, a one-room school north of Al-myra and a three mile walk from the family farm. In 1932, the Stecks family moved their machinery and livestock to a farm be-tween Lonoke and Scott. With wife and children he was named Farm Family of the Year for Arkansas in 1963. Carl and wife of 68 years, Ida Mae, retired to Sherwood where he lived at the time of his death. Preceding him in death were his beloved wife; parents; and brothers, William H. Stecks and Ervin G. Stecks.
Survivors are his sister, Eunice Watson; children, Carl “Freddie” Jr. and Jane Stecks, Michael and Jo Anne Stecks, Brenda and Randall Smith; grandchildren, Carl Stecks, III, and sons, Carl, IV, and Ethan; Gregory Stecks; Leigh and Brendan Quirk and children, Lily, James and Ernest; Kevin and Alecia Stecks and daughter, Haven; Michael Stecks, Jr., and daughter, Kennedy; Ami Stecks, Sarah, Stephen, Ben and Eric Smith.
Funeral services were held Tues-day at Lonoke United Methodist Church with interment in Lonoke Cemetery with arrangements by Boyd Funeral Home, Lonoke.
Serving as pallbearers will be his grandsons. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Lonoke United Methodist Church, Lonoke County Library, St. Jude Children’s Hospital or a charity of choice.
ELMER SHUBERT
Elmer Durward Shubert, 87, of Cabot passed away May 26.
He was born April 19, 1919, in Mt. Pleasant to the late Carl Carroll and Mary Frances Carmichael Shubert.
Shubert was a lifelong member of Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church. He was a Petty Officer First Class in the Navy from 1938 to 1945. He served our country in the Second World War in the South Pacific and was an Honor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Va.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his first wife, A. Aleene Chancey Shubert and his second wife, Murrel Moran Shu-bert; as well as two sisters, Dorothy Brannon and Elzera Gwin. He is survived by his children, Dwight Shu-bert of North Little Rock and Kathy Ragar of Cabot; one sister, Maude Brannon of Cabot; two grandchildren, Heather Wagner of Monticello and Dr. Brent Ragar of Boston, Mass. He is also survived by one niece, Barbara Raley of Sherwood, and four nephews, Thomas Bran-non and Vernon Brannon, both of Cabot, Wayne Brannon of Jack-sonville, and Kenny Gwin of San Diego, Calif. Funeral services were held May 28 in the chapel of Cabot Funeral Home. Burial followed at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.
IRMA JEAN BOYD
Irma Jean Boyd, 71, of Austin, went to be with the Lord on May 27. She was born July 2, 1934, to the late Russell Edison Davis and Ila Davis Johnson.
She was a member of Austin Station Baptist Church, where she taught Sunday School for many years. She served as acting mayor of Austin, city recorder and served on the Austin City Council. She was the editor of the Austin News for the Cabot Star Herald for many years. She was a member of the Nail Benders for Jesus and Grannies On The Go. She was a homemaker and a beloved wife, mother, and grandmother.
She is preceded in death by her father, Russell Davis and brother Leland Davis.
She is survived by her husband of 52 years, Kenneth L. Boyd; two sons, Benjamin Boyd of Mississippi and Kenny Boyd of Austin; three daughters, Marilyn Trammell of Mt. View, Carolyn Oakes of Ward and Vickie Harmon of Austin; her mother, Ila Johnson of Beebe; 10 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; two brothers, Jim Davis of Vilonia and Gary Davis of Beebe; three sisters, Laveda Freeman and Rachel Campbell, both of Beebe, and Deb McCormack of Little Rock.
Funeral services were held Tuesday at Austin Station Baptist Church, with burial in Sylvania Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Rebsamen Home Health, 1400 Braden St., Jacksonville, Ark., 72076; Arkansas Hospice, 5600 West 12th St., Little Rock, Ark., 72204, or Austin Station Baptist Church, P.O. Box 130, Austin, Ark., 72007.
ALEX 'POP' BORYSCHTSCK
Alex “Pop” Boryschtsck Sr., 81, of Cabot, passed away May 26.
Survivors include his son Alex, Jr.; grandson Alex Shane Boryschtsck, two great-grandchildren and his caregivers Alisha and Brian Brooks.
Memorial services were held Tuesday at Holiness Tabernacle in Cabot.
His family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Holiness Tabernacle. Arrange-ments were by Thomas Funeral Service, Cabot.
Marcia Jean Cheatham, 60, of Scott, passed away May 26.
She was born March 23, 1946, in Little Rock to the late Bernest “Rab” Overton and Lorene Carpenter Overton. She graduated from North Little Rock High School in 1964.
Also preceding her in death were her husband, Robert Herschel Cheatham and one brother, Wayne Overton.
Survivors include two sons, Mike and wife Clara Hughes of Keo and James Cheat-ham of Car-lisle; a daughter, Lisa and husband Jeff Goodman of Scott; two brothers, James Over-ton of Beebe and Boyd Overton of Paragould; five grandchildren, Michael-Ryan and Caitlyn Hughes and Daniel Cheatham of Keo, Melissa and Andrew Goodman of Scott; two very special best friends, Bonnie Mae and Mildred; two uncles, Charles Ouzts and Floyd S. Hines Sr.; along with numerous other family members and friends.
Visitation will be held from 1 to 9 p.m. today with the family receiving friends from 6 to 8 p.m.
Services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at Toltec Baptist Church in Scott with Bro. Ron Pierce officiating. Interment will follow at Arkan-sas Memorial Gardens in North Little Rock.
James Overton, Boyd Overton, Michael-Ryan Hughes, Michael Hughes and Jeff Goodman are active pallbearers, and Charles Ouzts, Stanley Fleming, Tommy Goodman, Daniel Cheatham and Andrew Goodman are honorary pallbearers. Arrangements are by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
WESLEY CHAD MAY
Wesley Chad May, 17, of McRae, drowned May 28 at the lake at Heber Springs.
He would have been a 2007 graduate of Beebe High School. He played football, ran track and played in the band. He was an employee of Heritage. Chad is survived by his father, Dwayne May of McRae; his mother, Wendy Conway of Kensett; one brother, Joel May of McRae; grandparents, Sonny and Linda May of McRae and Virginia Prestige of Greenville, Texas, and lots of aunts and uncles. His family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today at the family home, 450 Tweedy Road, McRae, Ark., 72102.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at Westbrook Fu-neral Home in Beebe. Burial will be in Weir Cemetery.
MITCHELL SMITH
Mitchell Alan Smith, 38, of Lonoke, passed away May 27. He was born Feb. 8, 1968, in Huntington Park, Calif., to Marvin Smith and Mary Jane Ellis Bay. Survivors include his mother and stepfather, Mary Jane and Dennis Bayles of Lonoke; father, Marvin Smith of San Antonio, Texas; five children: Mitchell, Jane, Traci, Anthony and Russell; brother Michael and Suzanne Smith of Minnesota and aunt Betty Earnhart of California.
Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday with the family receiving friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Monk Cemetery in Ward with arrangements by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
JOHN JACKSON SR.
John Henry Jackson, Sr., 92, of North Little Rock, died May 28. He was a World War II Veteran who served as a medic in the Army in the Fiji Islands. He was a 32nd Degree Mason and a member of Trinity Methodist Church on Lynch Drive. John loved to watch Arkansas Razorback football and baseball at Travelers Field. He loved fishing at the White River with Arkansas veterans and he loved to dance. He always had a smile and kind words. He loved to spend time with his family. He attended the Nazarene Church on Hwy. 107.
John was preceded in death by his first wife, Vida Combs Jackson.
He is survived by his wife, Wanda Jackson of Jacksonville; one son, John Jackson, Jr. and wife, Debbie of Cabot; one stepdaughter, Beverly Cole of Jacksonville; two grandsons, Travis and Justin Jackson of Cabot, and one sister, Alcidean Liles of Beebe. His family will receive visitors from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at West-brook Funeral Home in Beebe.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Westbrook Funeral Home with burial in Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens.
CHARLESY HALEY SR.
Charles Eugene Haley Sr., 73, of McRae, left his earthly home to be with the Lord on May 27.
He was born May 19, 1933, to Carson and Dora Mapps Haley at Luxora. His hobbies were rebuilding guns, fishing, gardening and woodworking. He retired from Harding University and was a founding member of Gracepoint Church at Beebe. He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Cecil Horace Haley and Carson Mayfield Haley. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Shirley Vernon Haley; two sons, Charles Haley, Jr. and wife Charlotte of McRae, and David Haley and wife Shirley of Beebe; one daughter, Diane McCollum and husband Tom, of McRae; five grandchildren, Bethany Manuel and husband Eric of Cave City, Seth McCollum and wife Jaunte’ of McRae, Megan Haley of Beebe, Cole Haley and Caitlin McCollum both of McRae; three great-grandchildren, Cris and Amy Reeve and Elijah Manuel. His two surviving sisters are Vernice Wilson of Pocahontas and Louise Vincent of Glendale, Ariz.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 9 p.m. today at Westbrook Funeral Home, Beebe. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home with burial in Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens.
DONNIE WATSON
Donnie Cleveland Watson, 45, of Cabot, passed away May 29. He was born Aug. 10, 1960, in Mendota, Ill., to Joyce Parish and the late Carl Watson. Also preceding him in death is one son Chad Watson; paternal ggrandparents, Lawrence and Grace Watson and maternal grandparents, Sherman and Onie Parish.
Survivors include his wife Donna; daughter, Ashley; two sons, Adam Watson of Cabot and Eric Jones of Fayetteville; his mother and stepfather, Joyce and Charlie Win-gate of Cabot; sister, Phyllis Henry of Searcy; brother, Steve Watson of Romance, and two stepbrothers, Tommy and Richard Wingate of Cabot; along with many loving aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and friends. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday night. Services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Christ Worship Center with interment following at Romance Cemetery.
Arrangements are by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
CHRISTINE STUDER-REHBACH
Christine Jeanette Studer-Reh-bach, 48, of Cabot, went to be with the Lord on May 26. She was born April 5, 1958, in Oakland City, Ind. She was preceded in death by her father, William Edward Studer; a grandson, Jonathan Jackson; and two grandfathers, Clarence Martin and John Eckert.
She is survived by her mother, Beulah Ray and step-father, H.L. Ray of Cabot; a son, Toby Rehbach and a daughter, Amy Jackson, both of Jacksonville; four grandsons, Justin, Jordan, Jeffery and Skyler; two brothers, Bill and (wife) Pat Studer of Jacksonville and David and (wife) Amy Studer of Cabot; a sister Katina Ray of Cabot; two grandmothers, Naomi Eckert of West Baden Springs, Ind., and Elizabeth Martin of Winslow, Ind., and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends.
Funeral services were held May 28 at Mt. Springs Baptist Church in Cabot with arrangements by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
CARL STECKS
Tireless farmer, perfectionist, devoted husband, father of three, traveler, self-taught from the eighth grade, Carl Frederick Stecks went to be with the Lord at the age of 91 from a stroke and subsequent pneumonia. He was born Nov. 25, 1914, to Carl Gustave and Minnie Bock Stecks in Stuttgart. He was the son of early Arkansas settlers who introduced rice farming to the communities of Almyra and Crocketts Bluff.
He attended the Prairie Dell School, a one-room school north of Al-myra and a three mile walk from the family farm. In 1932, the Stecks family moved their machinery and livestock to a farm be-tween Lonoke and Scott. With wife and children he was named Farm Family of the Year for Arkansas in 1963. Carl and wife of 68 years, Ida Mae, retired to Sherwood where he lived at the time of his death. Preceding him in death were his beloved wife; parents; and brothers, William H. Stecks and Ervin G. Stecks.
Survivors are his sister, Eunice Watson; children, Carl “Freddie” Jr. and Jane Stecks, Michael and Jo Anne Stecks, Brenda and Randall Smith; grandchildren, Carl Stecks, III, and sons, Carl, IV, and Ethan; Gregory Stecks; Leigh and Brendan Quirk and children, Lily, James and Ernest; Kevin and Alecia Stecks and daughter, Haven; Michael Stecks, Jr., and daughter, Kennedy; Ami Stecks, Sarah, Stephen, Ben and Eric Smith.
Funeral services were held Tues-day at Lonoke United Methodist Church with interment in Lonoke Cemetery with arrangements by Boyd Funeral Home, Lonoke.
Serving as pallbearers will be his grandsons. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Lonoke United Methodist Church, Lonoke County Library, St. Jude Children’s Hospital or a charity of choice.
ELMER SHUBERT
Elmer Durward Shubert, 87, of Cabot passed away May 26.
He was born April 19, 1919, in Mt. Pleasant to the late Carl Carroll and Mary Frances Carmichael Shubert.
Shubert was a lifelong member of Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church. He was a Petty Officer First Class in the Navy from 1938 to 1945. He served our country in the Second World War in the South Pacific and was an Honor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Va.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his first wife, A. Aleene Chancey Shubert and his second wife, Murrel Moran Shu-bert; as well as two sisters, Dorothy Brannon and Elzera Gwin. He is survived by his children, Dwight Shu-bert of North Little Rock and Kathy Ragar of Cabot; one sister, Maude Brannon of Cabot; two grandchildren, Heather Wagner of Monticello and Dr. Brent Ragar of Boston, Mass. He is also survived by one niece, Barbara Raley of Sherwood, and four nephews, Thomas Bran-non and Vernon Brannon, both of Cabot, Wayne Brannon of Jack-sonville, and Kenny Gwin of San Diego, Calif. Funeral services were held May 28 in the chapel of Cabot Funeral Home. Burial followed at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.
IRMA JEAN BOYD
Irma Jean Boyd, 71, of Austin, went to be with the Lord on May 27. She was born July 2, 1934, to the late Russell Edison Davis and Ila Davis Johnson.
She was a member of Austin Station Baptist Church, where she taught Sunday School for many years. She served as acting mayor of Austin, city recorder and served on the Austin City Council. She was the editor of the Austin News for the Cabot Star Herald for many years. She was a member of the Nail Benders for Jesus and Grannies On The Go. She was a homemaker and a beloved wife, mother, and grandmother.
She is preceded in death by her father, Russell Davis and brother Leland Davis.
She is survived by her husband of 52 years, Kenneth L. Boyd; two sons, Benjamin Boyd of Mississippi and Kenny Boyd of Austin; three daughters, Marilyn Trammell of Mt. View, Carolyn Oakes of Ward and Vickie Harmon of Austin; her mother, Ila Johnson of Beebe; 10 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; two brothers, Jim Davis of Vilonia and Gary Davis of Beebe; three sisters, Laveda Freeman and Rachel Campbell, both of Beebe, and Deb McCormack of Little Rock.
Funeral services were held Tuesday at Austin Station Baptist Church, with burial in Sylvania Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Rebsamen Home Health, 1400 Braden St., Jacksonville, Ark., 72076; Arkansas Hospice, 5600 West 12th St., Little Rock, Ark., 72204, or Austin Station Baptist Church, P.O. Box 130, Austin, Ark., 72007.
ALEX 'POP' BORYSCHTSCK
Alex “Pop” Boryschtsck Sr., 81, of Cabot, passed away May 26.
Survivors include his son Alex, Jr.; grandson Alex Shane Boryschtsck, two great-grandchildren and his caregivers Alisha and Brian Brooks.
Memorial services were held Tuesday at Holiness Tabernacle in Cabot.
His family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Holiness Tabernacle. Arrange-ments were by Thomas Funeral Service, Cabot.
Friday, May 26, 2006
TOP STORY >> Long school-bus rides problems for students
BY SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT >> Commutes taking an hour or more are often the norm for many Arkansas students.
Long rides on buses are inevitable for students who live in rural areas and there are no limits on the length of time children spend riding to and from school in Arkansas, but some parents and educators complain that overly long rides can affect academic performance.
“Parents complain every day about the length of the bus rides,” said Johnny White, transportation and athletic director for the Cabot School District. The Cabot School District has 85 bus routes for its 8,200 students.
“We cover 200 square miles in our district and we try to keep all the routes to about an hour,” White explained.
Superintendent Belinda Shook of the Beebe School Dis-trict told The Leader she felt the district was fortunate when it merged with the McRae School District last year because that district was just five miles away. After converting McRae’s campus into a middle school for fifth- and sixth-graders last summer, middle-school students now arrive at the Beebe campus and then board shuttle buses for a brief commute to the McRae campus, she said.
“I don’t think any of our bus routes are exceedingly long,” Shook said.
The district has a total of 31 bus routes for the district’s 2,900 students. The longest route is 36 miles one way.
According to Betty Stringfel-low, director of transportation for Pulaski County Special School District, the longest ride of any of the 273 routes in the 729-square-mile area is an hour and 28 minutes. There are more than 17,000 students enrolled in PCSSD.
“Our longest bus routes are to the magnet or TAG (Talented and Gifted) schools and parents don’t complain because they know those bus rides are going to be a little longer than normal,” Stringfellow said.
In the Lonoke School District, there are 18 bus routes for 1,838 students. The longest commute is an hour and half, about the same length Paron High School students in Saline County face next fall.
Paron School District was annexed into the Bryant School District in 2004. Last month, the Bryant School Board voted to close Paron High School because of financial concerns.
Parents of Paron High School students are asking a judge to bar closing the school claiming excessive time on a bus would violate some students’ right to equal educational opportunities under the state constitution.
The lawsuit against the state board of education claims long bus rides hurt academic performance.
Doug Eaton, director of public school facilities and transportation for Arkansas, said relocation is one option for rural residents concerned about lengthy bus rides.
“If they don’t like to ride the bus, move closer to the school,” Eaton said.
“I think anybody would be extremely, extremely hard pressed to be able to draw a parallel between a child’s inability to read and write and how long they’ve sat on a bus,” Eaton said.
A state department of education study on isolated schools is expected to be finished in 2007. The study was mandated by the Legislature last year.
“A statement like (Eaton’s) is similar to saying if kids in poor Delta school districts don’t like the education they’re getting, they ought to move to Little Rock,” said Chris Heller, attorney for the Paron patrons.
Eaton’s boss, Education Com-missioner Ken James, said the issue does not have such an easy solution.
“There are always going to be issues with respect to transportation,” James said.
“People don’t live in a magic box and they never will.”
The director of the National Association for Pupil Transporta-tion (NAPT) said bus ride limits are almost exclusively a local issue.
“Sort of the industry rule of thumb is you try to limit bus rides to an hour, maximum,” NAPT director Michael Martin said.
“But by the same token, in states where there are tremendously rural districts, often those times can be much longer than that.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson has said he would seek “reasonable standards” for school bus rides as governor. Hutchinson’s Democratic opponent, Attorney General Mike Beebe, said the isolated-schools study should offer guidelines for transportation times.
Rod McKnight of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services cited numerous studies that suggest a correlation between long bus rides and student achievement, though he said even those conclusions have conditions.
“It’s quick to come back and say, yeah, you may lose some educational time, but the consensus was there’s not a lot people could do about it,” McKnight said.
West Virginia asks school districts to limit bus rides for elementary students to 30 minutes and high schoolers to one hour, but an official there said the regulation is rarely enforced.
Kansas encourages districts to limit bus rides to less than an hour. Until 1993, South Carolina required rides of no longer than one hour and 15 minutes.
The regulation was removed when officials attempted to make it part of state law, said South Carolina Director of Transportation Donald Tudor. No statute was implemented, he said.
“We know our (rule) is not going to happen from time to time,” said Debbie Romine, a transportation safety consultant in Kansas.
“We have lots of gravel. Arkansas probably does, too, and Arkansas probably has a lot more windy roads than we do.”
States surrounding Arkansas do not limit the length of school bus rides. Texas and Okla-homa officials said several bus routes in those states are longer than 90 minutes.
Even in the nation’s most isolated state, Alaska, there are no restrictions on bus trip lengths.
“We leave it to the local school board to determine length of ridership,” said Alaska Department of Education spokesman Eddy Jean.
Plaintiffs in the Paron suit contend the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has already set a standard for bus rides of not more than 45 minutes one way.
Eaton, a former Little Rock School District official, said the federal case was related to desegregation efforts in Little Rock and should have no bearing on the Paron case.
Aaron Sadler of the Arkansas News Bureau contributed to this story.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT >> Commutes taking an hour or more are often the norm for many Arkansas students.
Long rides on buses are inevitable for students who live in rural areas and there are no limits on the length of time children spend riding to and from school in Arkansas, but some parents and educators complain that overly long rides can affect academic performance.
“Parents complain every day about the length of the bus rides,” said Johnny White, transportation and athletic director for the Cabot School District. The Cabot School District has 85 bus routes for its 8,200 students.
“We cover 200 square miles in our district and we try to keep all the routes to about an hour,” White explained.
Superintendent Belinda Shook of the Beebe School Dis-trict told The Leader she felt the district was fortunate when it merged with the McRae School District last year because that district was just five miles away. After converting McRae’s campus into a middle school for fifth- and sixth-graders last summer, middle-school students now arrive at the Beebe campus and then board shuttle buses for a brief commute to the McRae campus, she said.
“I don’t think any of our bus routes are exceedingly long,” Shook said.
The district has a total of 31 bus routes for the district’s 2,900 students. The longest route is 36 miles one way.
According to Betty Stringfel-low, director of transportation for Pulaski County Special School District, the longest ride of any of the 273 routes in the 729-square-mile area is an hour and 28 minutes. There are more than 17,000 students enrolled in PCSSD.
“Our longest bus routes are to the magnet or TAG (Talented and Gifted) schools and parents don’t complain because they know those bus rides are going to be a little longer than normal,” Stringfellow said.
In the Lonoke School District, there are 18 bus routes for 1,838 students. The longest commute is an hour and half, about the same length Paron High School students in Saline County face next fall.
Paron School District was annexed into the Bryant School District in 2004. Last month, the Bryant School Board voted to close Paron High School because of financial concerns.
Parents of Paron High School students are asking a judge to bar closing the school claiming excessive time on a bus would violate some students’ right to equal educational opportunities under the state constitution.
The lawsuit against the state board of education claims long bus rides hurt academic performance.
Doug Eaton, director of public school facilities and transportation for Arkansas, said relocation is one option for rural residents concerned about lengthy bus rides.
“If they don’t like to ride the bus, move closer to the school,” Eaton said.
“I think anybody would be extremely, extremely hard pressed to be able to draw a parallel between a child’s inability to read and write and how long they’ve sat on a bus,” Eaton said.
A state department of education study on isolated schools is expected to be finished in 2007. The study was mandated by the Legislature last year.
“A statement like (Eaton’s) is similar to saying if kids in poor Delta school districts don’t like the education they’re getting, they ought to move to Little Rock,” said Chris Heller, attorney for the Paron patrons.
Eaton’s boss, Education Com-missioner Ken James, said the issue does not have such an easy solution.
“There are always going to be issues with respect to transportation,” James said.
“People don’t live in a magic box and they never will.”
The director of the National Association for Pupil Transporta-tion (NAPT) said bus ride limits are almost exclusively a local issue.
“Sort of the industry rule of thumb is you try to limit bus rides to an hour, maximum,” NAPT director Michael Martin said.
“But by the same token, in states where there are tremendously rural districts, often those times can be much longer than that.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson has said he would seek “reasonable standards” for school bus rides as governor. Hutchinson’s Democratic opponent, Attorney General Mike Beebe, said the isolated-schools study should offer guidelines for transportation times.
Rod McKnight of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services cited numerous studies that suggest a correlation between long bus rides and student achievement, though he said even those conclusions have conditions.
“It’s quick to come back and say, yeah, you may lose some educational time, but the consensus was there’s not a lot people could do about it,” McKnight said.
West Virginia asks school districts to limit bus rides for elementary students to 30 minutes and high schoolers to one hour, but an official there said the regulation is rarely enforced.
Kansas encourages districts to limit bus rides to less than an hour. Until 1993, South Carolina required rides of no longer than one hour and 15 minutes.
The regulation was removed when officials attempted to make it part of state law, said South Carolina Director of Transportation Donald Tudor. No statute was implemented, he said.
“We know our (rule) is not going to happen from time to time,” said Debbie Romine, a transportation safety consultant in Kansas.
“We have lots of gravel. Arkansas probably does, too, and Arkansas probably has a lot more windy roads than we do.”
States surrounding Arkansas do not limit the length of school bus rides. Texas and Okla-homa officials said several bus routes in those states are longer than 90 minutes.
Even in the nation’s most isolated state, Alaska, there are no restrictions on bus trip lengths.
“We leave it to the local school board to determine length of ridership,” said Alaska Department of Education spokesman Eddy Jean.
Plaintiffs in the Paron suit contend the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has already set a standard for bus rides of not more than 45 minutes one way.
Eaton, a former Little Rock School District official, said the federal case was related to desegregation efforts in Little Rock and should have no bearing on the Paron case.
Aaron Sadler of the Arkansas News Bureau contributed to this story.
TOP STORY >> Road improvements on tap for Sherwood
BY JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Two major road widenings are intended to help rapidly
growing Sherwood alleviate some rush-hour congestion.
The city of Sherwood can begin buying right-of-way for the long-awaited widening of Brockington Road between Kiehl Avenue and Hwy. 107, Mayor Bill Harmon told the Sherwood City Council this week.
The first segment goes from Mary-land Avenue north to Hwy. 107. The second segment, not yet funded, will run from Kiehl to Maryland. Even as the city prepared to begin the job, the state Highway Department held a public hearing Tuesday evening on its plan to four-lane Hwy. 107 from Bear Paw Drive to Brockington Road, where the two projects will intersect.
“That’s not exactly controversial,” said Highway Department spokesman Randy Ort of the Hwy. 107 widening.
“There’s a limited number of property owners, and (the highway) is already widened to the south and underway to the north,” he said. “Everybody knew it was coming.”
The widening to four lanes will be about 1.6 miles long and cost an estimated $7.5 million, according to Martin Cruce, highway design engineer.
The project could be let for bids early in summer of 2007 and be completed within two years.
BROCKINGTON
The entire Brockington Road widening between Kiehl and Hwy. 107 is about 1.9 miles long.
The segment between Maryland and Hwy. 107 is about 1.2 miles long and will have four travel lanes and a raised median.
The .8-mile segment from Kiehl to Maryland will be four travel lanes plus a continuous two-way, left-turn lane down the middle, Ort said.
Current traffic along the route is 14,807 vehicles a day, according to a state Highway Department spokes-man, expected to increase 50 percent over the next 20 years.
Harmon said the city had money allocated for the first phase of the project.
The federal government will fund 80 percent of the project. Of the remaining 20 percent, Sherwood will pay 40 percent and Pulaski County 60 percent.
The project originally was estimated at $6 million to $7 million, but construction costs have increased as much as 40 percent since then, according to Jim McKenzie, executive director of Metroplan.
As the local metropolitan planning organization, Metroplan must approve of the plan.
“Our board is committed to the whole project,” said McKenzie, but there are a bunch of other projects in the pipeline as well. When Congress passed the Highway Reauthorization Bill, it included “smoke and mirrors,” he said. At most, 86 percent of what was authorized will be funded.
“The first projects to get there will get the money,” he said.
The state Highway Department reviewed the plans and “We’ll be the ones to award the contract and prided construction oversight,” said Ort.
“We don’t show any target (construction) dates right now,” Ort said.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Two major road widenings are intended to help rapidly
growing Sherwood alleviate some rush-hour congestion.
The city of Sherwood can begin buying right-of-way for the long-awaited widening of Brockington Road between Kiehl Avenue and Hwy. 107, Mayor Bill Harmon told the Sherwood City Council this week.
The first segment goes from Mary-land Avenue north to Hwy. 107. The second segment, not yet funded, will run from Kiehl to Maryland. Even as the city prepared to begin the job, the state Highway Department held a public hearing Tuesday evening on its plan to four-lane Hwy. 107 from Bear Paw Drive to Brockington Road, where the two projects will intersect.
“That’s not exactly controversial,” said Highway Department spokesman Randy Ort of the Hwy. 107 widening.
“There’s a limited number of property owners, and (the highway) is already widened to the south and underway to the north,” he said. “Everybody knew it was coming.”
The widening to four lanes will be about 1.6 miles long and cost an estimated $7.5 million, according to Martin Cruce, highway design engineer.
The project could be let for bids early in summer of 2007 and be completed within two years.
BROCKINGTON
The entire Brockington Road widening between Kiehl and Hwy. 107 is about 1.9 miles long.
The segment between Maryland and Hwy. 107 is about 1.2 miles long and will have four travel lanes and a raised median.
The .8-mile segment from Kiehl to Maryland will be four travel lanes plus a continuous two-way, left-turn lane down the middle, Ort said.
Current traffic along the route is 14,807 vehicles a day, according to a state Highway Department spokes-man, expected to increase 50 percent over the next 20 years.
Harmon said the city had money allocated for the first phase of the project.
The federal government will fund 80 percent of the project. Of the remaining 20 percent, Sherwood will pay 40 percent and Pulaski County 60 percent.
The project originally was estimated at $6 million to $7 million, but construction costs have increased as much as 40 percent since then, according to Jim McKenzie, executive director of Metroplan.
As the local metropolitan planning organization, Metroplan must approve of the plan.
“Our board is committed to the whole project,” said McKenzie, but there are a bunch of other projects in the pipeline as well. When Congress passed the Highway Reauthorization Bill, it included “smoke and mirrors,” he said. At most, 86 percent of what was authorized will be funded.
“The first projects to get there will get the money,” he said.
The state Highway Department reviewed the plans and “We’ll be the ones to award the contract and prided construction oversight,” said Ort.
“We don’t show any target (construction) dates right now,” Ort said.
TOP STORY >> Tax would boost size of county jail
BY JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
In addition to considering an ambitious jail- expansion program funded by a new sales tax, the Pulaski County Public Safety Task Force is studying the feasibility of reorganizing policing to merge county deputies with North Little Rock police north of the Arkansas River, and with the Little Rock police south of the river.
In a report to the task force, which met Wednes-day night at Sherwood’s Bill Harmon Recreation Center, Pulaski County Comptroller Ron Quillin, considered staffing levels for the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, taking into account not only salaries and benefits but health insurance premiums and holiday pay as well.
The task force members seem inclined to propose a quarter-penny county tax increase dedicated to the county jail which would double the capacity of the existing county detention center from 880 inmates to 1,778 in five years or less, depending on the type of financing.
Sherwood Mayor Bill Harmon said he favored short-term financing that might cost a little more at first but which would allow faster realization of the new prison space and saving interest in the long run.
According to Quillin’s findings, merging deputies with patrolmen north of the river at current levels would require the county toraise its pay, increasing benefits and salaries for 41 deputies and officers from about $1.8 million to about $2.5 million—an increase of about $620,000 a year.
South of the river, to merge deputies with Little Rock police would increase the salaries and benefits of 45 lawmen from about $2 million to $2.7 million, an increase of about $760,000.
Combined, it could cost the county an additional $1.4 million a year.
Committee chairman Judge Buddy Villines, noting the ever-increasing cost of energy, suggested considering geothermal heating and cooling as an upfront construction cost that could save a lot of money in the long run.
Glen Shwartz, a long-time advocate of legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana, testified that the county would need fewer jail beds if marijuana were decriminalized and if other relatively minor drug offenders were ticketed or rehabilitated instead of locked up.
A breakdown of prisoners in the county lockup on May 16 showed six out of 1,292 incarcerated solely for possession of marijuana.
Shwartz also charged that enforcing drug laws was racist, bad policy and contributed to “a growing contempt of the rule of law.”
Community activist Jim Lynch added that fewer jail beds would be needed if the community locked up only people it is afraid of, not people it’s mad at.
Villines said it would require a two-thirds majority of the quorum court to place a sales-tax increase on the ballot. Revenues from the quarter-cent sales tax would generate about $17 million in 2007 and increase by about 4 percent per year after that, according to Quillin.
Of that, $16.15 million would be available by state law to be budgeted.
The proposed time line shows full collection of the tax by January 2007, along with the opening of 250 minimum-security beds in a work- release center, with no capital costs.
A 192-bed minimum-security barracks would be designed by August 2007 and completed a year later and ready to open in September 2008 at a cost of $4.5 million.
Repair of the old jail would start in September 2008 and open in January 2009 at an estimated cost of $1.57 million, mostly for fixing the mechanical systems and the roof.
Construction of a new 296-bed medium and maximum-security pod would begin in January 2009 and be opened in January 2010 at a cost of $16.5 million.
Leader staff writer
In addition to considering an ambitious jail- expansion program funded by a new sales tax, the Pulaski County Public Safety Task Force is studying the feasibility of reorganizing policing to merge county deputies with North Little Rock police north of the Arkansas River, and with the Little Rock police south of the river.
In a report to the task force, which met Wednes-day night at Sherwood’s Bill Harmon Recreation Center, Pulaski County Comptroller Ron Quillin, considered staffing levels for the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, taking into account not only salaries and benefits but health insurance premiums and holiday pay as well.
The task force members seem inclined to propose a quarter-penny county tax increase dedicated to the county jail which would double the capacity of the existing county detention center from 880 inmates to 1,778 in five years or less, depending on the type of financing.
Sherwood Mayor Bill Harmon said he favored short-term financing that might cost a little more at first but which would allow faster realization of the new prison space and saving interest in the long run.
According to Quillin’s findings, merging deputies with patrolmen north of the river at current levels would require the county toraise its pay, increasing benefits and salaries for 41 deputies and officers from about $1.8 million to about $2.5 million—an increase of about $620,000 a year.
South of the river, to merge deputies with Little Rock police would increase the salaries and benefits of 45 lawmen from about $2 million to $2.7 million, an increase of about $760,000.
Combined, it could cost the county an additional $1.4 million a year.
Committee chairman Judge Buddy Villines, noting the ever-increasing cost of energy, suggested considering geothermal heating and cooling as an upfront construction cost that could save a lot of money in the long run.
Glen Shwartz, a long-time advocate of legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana, testified that the county would need fewer jail beds if marijuana were decriminalized and if other relatively minor drug offenders were ticketed or rehabilitated instead of locked up.
A breakdown of prisoners in the county lockup on May 16 showed six out of 1,292 incarcerated solely for possession of marijuana.
Shwartz also charged that enforcing drug laws was racist, bad policy and contributed to “a growing contempt of the rule of law.”
Community activist Jim Lynch added that fewer jail beds would be needed if the community locked up only people it is afraid of, not people it’s mad at.
Villines said it would require a two-thirds majority of the quorum court to place a sales-tax increase on the ballot. Revenues from the quarter-cent sales tax would generate about $17 million in 2007 and increase by about 4 percent per year after that, according to Quillin.
Of that, $16.15 million would be available by state law to be budgeted.
The proposed time line shows full collection of the tax by January 2007, along with the opening of 250 minimum-security beds in a work- release center, with no capital costs.
A 192-bed minimum-security barracks would be designed by August 2007 and completed a year later and ready to open in September 2008 at a cost of $4.5 million.
Repair of the old jail would start in September 2008 and open in January 2009 at an estimated cost of $1.57 million, mostly for fixing the mechanical systems and the roof.
Construction of a new 296-bed medium and maximum-security pod would begin in January 2009 and be opened in January 2010 at a cost of $16.5 million.
TOP STORY >> Glitches didn't hit everyone in primary
BY JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: White County’s vote counting went off with hardly a hitch, while Lonoke County still struggled at week’s end to start counting the ballots. That’s because one county had the funds to prepare for the primary, while the other lacked funds and resources to conduct this week’s voting properly.
The primary in White County came off almost without a hitch, while in Lonoke County, voters and candidates alike are still waiting to see who won. The main reason for the disparity in neighboring counties is a simple one – money.
White County took the entire $272,155 grant it received from the state to buy equipment, added $58,145 to it and bought all new electronic voting machines to take the place of the old paper-ballot machines. So on election night the only ballots that had to be scanned were the absentee ballots.
Lonoke County took half of its grant and bought approximately 40 electronic voting machines for this election, and election commissioners plan to buy the rest over the next two or three years.
While White County election commissioners were talking Tues-day night about how well the new machines were received by voters, Lonoke County election officials were trying to figure out what went wrong. The answer from Larry Clarke, the Republican member of the three-member Lonoke County election commission: The new scanner for the old paper ballots wasn’t programmed to look for every race, so it didn’t see every race.
“We had roughly $300,000 to buy machines, but that wouldn’t have been enough to outfit the whole county, so we opted to install just the ADA-required one (electronic) machine per polling place,” Clarke said. “If we had outfitted like White County, it would have cost $400,000, and the county doesn’t have the money.”
But even if both counties had spent the same amount on new electronic voting machines, county officials say if the equipment had arrived earlier, the technical problems likely could have been minimized. And both counties lay the blame on Secretary of State Charlie Daniels, who didn’t order it sooner.
“The secretary of state was looking at two or three companies, and he couldn’t figure out which one to buy,” said White County Judge Bob Parish. By the time he had decided on Elec-tion Systems & Software and the equipment arrived, there wasn’t time to make sure it was working right.
“The contract for voting equipment didn’t go out until last fall,” Clarke said. “In my opinion, it should have gone out well before that.”
Both ES&S and the secretary of state Wednesday issued statements about the Election Day snafus.
“Despite issues we are still addressing to finalize the tabulation of some results, in general, yesterday was a positive day—2,500 new iVotronic touch-screen machines functioned extremely well – as the polls opened, during voting, and in the tabulation of results,” ES&S wrote. “Based on feedback we’ve received, voters had a good experience with the new system; and poll-worker-related challenges were limited to what we would expect in a first-time use. In several counties where officials used the new system, results were tabulated in record time – in Boone County, for example, results were reported about an hour after the polls closed last evening. This is a solid start to Secretary of State Daniels’ plans to implement the new system, statewide.
“Since we were chosen as the state’s election partner, our goal has been to work with Secretary of State Daniels to vastly improve the election process, and to offer all Arkan-sas voters an enhanced voting experience. Though we believe yesterday’s election was a solid first step, we also recognize there are changes we have to make going forward.
“In that regard, we do have confidence in our Arkansas team. How-ever, we also know that we can always improve the service we provide. We are already in discussions with Secretary of State Daniels and his staff about how we can make the process even better for the upcoming run off and the November election.”
“Secretary of State Charlie Daniels remains very pleased with the overall performance of the state’s new touch-screen voting system,” said the press release from his office.
“As is the case in any election — but particularly in an election like this where several types of voting technology were used — issues are going to arise. This was a monumental change in technology, and the secretary of state’s office expected a certain number of issues related to first-time use of new equipment or the marrying of different types of machines.
“To that end, no matter how well most counties performed, Secretary Daniels and his staff are gravely concerned with tabulation problems, particularly in Lonoke, Phillips and Pulaski counties. The issues experienced by Phillips and Pulaski counties are in regard to old optical scanners that were not programmed adequately to count the paper ballots used in the election. In Lonoke County, programming errors also oc-curred with the new optical scan tabulator. Secretary Daniels is holding the vendor solely responsible for not communicating with the state and with county officials on the programming problems they were having.” While Arkansas overall saw a generally successful election yesterday, the errors and delays in these three counties in particular are inexcusable. Secretary Daniels made that very clear to Election Systems & Software today.
”
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: White County’s vote counting went off with hardly a hitch, while Lonoke County still struggled at week’s end to start counting the ballots. That’s because one county had the funds to prepare for the primary, while the other lacked funds and resources to conduct this week’s voting properly.
The primary in White County came off almost without a hitch, while in Lonoke County, voters and candidates alike are still waiting to see who won. The main reason for the disparity in neighboring counties is a simple one – money.
White County took the entire $272,155 grant it received from the state to buy equipment, added $58,145 to it and bought all new electronic voting machines to take the place of the old paper-ballot machines. So on election night the only ballots that had to be scanned were the absentee ballots.
Lonoke County took half of its grant and bought approximately 40 electronic voting machines for this election, and election commissioners plan to buy the rest over the next two or three years.
While White County election commissioners were talking Tues-day night about how well the new machines were received by voters, Lonoke County election officials were trying to figure out what went wrong. The answer from Larry Clarke, the Republican member of the three-member Lonoke County election commission: The new scanner for the old paper ballots wasn’t programmed to look for every race, so it didn’t see every race.
“We had roughly $300,000 to buy machines, but that wouldn’t have been enough to outfit the whole county, so we opted to install just the ADA-required one (electronic) machine per polling place,” Clarke said. “If we had outfitted like White County, it would have cost $400,000, and the county doesn’t have the money.”
But even if both counties had spent the same amount on new electronic voting machines, county officials say if the equipment had arrived earlier, the technical problems likely could have been minimized. And both counties lay the blame on Secretary of State Charlie Daniels, who didn’t order it sooner.
“The secretary of state was looking at two or three companies, and he couldn’t figure out which one to buy,” said White County Judge Bob Parish. By the time he had decided on Elec-tion Systems & Software and the equipment arrived, there wasn’t time to make sure it was working right.
“The contract for voting equipment didn’t go out until last fall,” Clarke said. “In my opinion, it should have gone out well before that.”
Both ES&S and the secretary of state Wednesday issued statements about the Election Day snafus.
“Despite issues we are still addressing to finalize the tabulation of some results, in general, yesterday was a positive day—2,500 new iVotronic touch-screen machines functioned extremely well – as the polls opened, during voting, and in the tabulation of results,” ES&S wrote. “Based on feedback we’ve received, voters had a good experience with the new system; and poll-worker-related challenges were limited to what we would expect in a first-time use. In several counties where officials used the new system, results were tabulated in record time – in Boone County, for example, results were reported about an hour after the polls closed last evening. This is a solid start to Secretary of State Daniels’ plans to implement the new system, statewide.
“Since we were chosen as the state’s election partner, our goal has been to work with Secretary of State Daniels to vastly improve the election process, and to offer all Arkan-sas voters an enhanced voting experience. Though we believe yesterday’s election was a solid first step, we also recognize there are changes we have to make going forward.
“In that regard, we do have confidence in our Arkansas team. How-ever, we also know that we can always improve the service we provide. We are already in discussions with Secretary of State Daniels and his staff about how we can make the process even better for the upcoming run off and the November election.”
“Secretary of State Charlie Daniels remains very pleased with the overall performance of the state’s new touch-screen voting system,” said the press release from his office.
“As is the case in any election — but particularly in an election like this where several types of voting technology were used — issues are going to arise. This was a monumental change in technology, and the secretary of state’s office expected a certain number of issues related to first-time use of new equipment or the marrying of different types of machines.
“To that end, no matter how well most counties performed, Secretary Daniels and his staff are gravely concerned with tabulation problems, particularly in Lonoke, Phillips and Pulaski counties. The issues experienced by Phillips and Pulaski counties are in regard to old optical scanners that were not programmed adequately to count the paper ballots used in the election. In Lonoke County, programming errors also oc-curred with the new optical scan tabulator. Secretary Daniels is holding the vendor solely responsible for not communicating with the state and with county officials on the programming problems they were having.” While Arkansas overall saw a generally successful election yesterday, the errors and delays in these three counties in particular are inexcusable. Secretary Daniels made that very clear to Election Systems & Software today.
”
TOP STORY >> Lonoke County could start count today
BY JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Software failure leaves candidates and voters in suspense and in the dark.
For the fourth night, Lonoke County office seekers and voters went to bed Friday without knowing who won, lost or must compete in a runoff, the ballots locked up in the courthouse while a software company scrambled to properly program the optical-ballot scanner.
If all goes well—and it hasn’t yet—the Lonoke County Election Commission will begin counting votes at 7:30 a.m. Satur-day, according to commission chairperson Jean McCanliss, who confided it might be more like 10 a.m.
That’s more than 84 hours after the polls closed Tuesday evening.
Election watchers realized early in the count election night that the optical scanner reading the paper ballots was im-properly programmed, counting only countywide votes and some local votes.
Specifically, how could more than 120 Ward I Cabot Republicans vote for one of three sheriff candidates, but only 28 Republicans in that ward vote for a mayoral candidate?
A “repaired” program installed by Electronic Systems and Software, the vendor for both the hardware and the software, Thursday still didn’t work.
“It had a glitch,” said County Clerk Prudie Perceful.
When the company failed to make good on its promise to have a corrected program and a company technician to install and test it Friday afternoon, McCanliss sent the politicians, workers and watchers assembled at the courthouse for a hoped-for vote count home until Saturday morning.
McCanliss and fellow Democratic commissioner Al Martin held out hope until then that they could count votes Friday, but the lone Republican commissioner, Larry Clarke, expressed skepticism since early Friday that ES&S would make good on its word in time to run the ballots Friday night.
ES&S has publicly taken responsibility for this and a series of other Arkansas voting problems, saying in part, “We sincerely regret the delay and are working to get the last remaining votes counted and results reported as quickly as possible.”
County Judge Charlie Trout-man said that if the scanner didn’t work properly Saturday morning, the ballots should be hand counted over the weekend.
Arkansas counties are supposed to have early voting for primary runoff elections beginning seven days after the primary—a tight squeeze under the best of circumstances, according to Janet Harris, deputy secretary of state.
“If (Lonoke election officials) don’t start Tuesday, they won’t be the only county,” said Harris. “Some are still waiting for absentee ballots from overseas. Others won’t have their ballots back from the printer.”
“Historically, counties have had trouble with the primary runoff because of the short time,” she said. “Counties have 10 days to certify election results,” she said, but runoff voting begins in seven days.
“They just have to begin as early as practical,” said Harris.
“I feel so sorry for the candidates,” said Perceful, presiding over her last election season as county clerk before retirement. “They don’t know if they won, whether they are in runoffs. We’re all in limbo.”
Even if votes are successfully counted Saturday, either by machine or hand, that’s not much time for a printer to prepare a variety of different ballots to include local runoffs.
The state’s contract with ES&S is worth $15.9 million, but so far the company has been paid only $3.9 million, according to Harris.
“There are deliverables that they must meet, and they get paid a percentage when they meet them,” said Harris. “One of those is a successful primary election.”
She said her office had contracted for an independent review of the election with a North Carolina company. Earlier in the day, Clarke said the scanner program had been de-bugged in Omaha and that a technician was en route from Phillips County to test the scanner.
A successful test, witnessed by the commission and by local politicians, could have resulted in a Friday night count.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Software failure leaves candidates and voters in suspense and in the dark.
For the fourth night, Lonoke County office seekers and voters went to bed Friday without knowing who won, lost or must compete in a runoff, the ballots locked up in the courthouse while a software company scrambled to properly program the optical-ballot scanner.
If all goes well—and it hasn’t yet—the Lonoke County Election Commission will begin counting votes at 7:30 a.m. Satur-day, according to commission chairperson Jean McCanliss, who confided it might be more like 10 a.m.
That’s more than 84 hours after the polls closed Tuesday evening.
Election watchers realized early in the count election night that the optical scanner reading the paper ballots was im-properly programmed, counting only countywide votes and some local votes.
Specifically, how could more than 120 Ward I Cabot Republicans vote for one of three sheriff candidates, but only 28 Republicans in that ward vote for a mayoral candidate?
A “repaired” program installed by Electronic Systems and Software, the vendor for both the hardware and the software, Thursday still didn’t work.
“It had a glitch,” said County Clerk Prudie Perceful.
When the company failed to make good on its promise to have a corrected program and a company technician to install and test it Friday afternoon, McCanliss sent the politicians, workers and watchers assembled at the courthouse for a hoped-for vote count home until Saturday morning.
McCanliss and fellow Democratic commissioner Al Martin held out hope until then that they could count votes Friday, but the lone Republican commissioner, Larry Clarke, expressed skepticism since early Friday that ES&S would make good on its word in time to run the ballots Friday night.
ES&S has publicly taken responsibility for this and a series of other Arkansas voting problems, saying in part, “We sincerely regret the delay and are working to get the last remaining votes counted and results reported as quickly as possible.”
County Judge Charlie Trout-man said that if the scanner didn’t work properly Saturday morning, the ballots should be hand counted over the weekend.
Arkansas counties are supposed to have early voting for primary runoff elections beginning seven days after the primary—a tight squeeze under the best of circumstances, according to Janet Harris, deputy secretary of state.
“If (Lonoke election officials) don’t start Tuesday, they won’t be the only county,” said Harris. “Some are still waiting for absentee ballots from overseas. Others won’t have their ballots back from the printer.”
“Historically, counties have had trouble with the primary runoff because of the short time,” she said. “Counties have 10 days to certify election results,” she said, but runoff voting begins in seven days.
“They just have to begin as early as practical,” said Harris.
“I feel so sorry for the candidates,” said Perceful, presiding over her last election season as county clerk before retirement. “They don’t know if they won, whether they are in runoffs. We’re all in limbo.”
Even if votes are successfully counted Saturday, either by machine or hand, that’s not much time for a printer to prepare a variety of different ballots to include local runoffs.
The state’s contract with ES&S is worth $15.9 million, but so far the company has been paid only $3.9 million, according to Harris.
“There are deliverables that they must meet, and they get paid a percentage when they meet them,” said Harris. “One of those is a successful primary election.”
She said her office had contracted for an independent review of the election with a North Carolina company. Earlier in the day, Clarke said the scanner program had been de-bugged in Omaha and that a technician was en route from Phillips County to test the scanner.
A successful test, witnessed by the commission and by local politicians, could have resulted in a Friday night count.
OBITUARIES >> 05-27-06
Elmer Shubert
Elmer Derward Shubert, 87, of Cabot passed away Friday. He was born April 19, 1919 in Mt. Pleasant to the late Carl Carroll and Mary Frances Carmichael Shubert.
Mr. Shubert was a lifelong member of Mt. Pleasant Mission-ary Baptist Church.
He was a Petty Officer First Class in the Navy from 1938 to 1945.
He served in the South Pacific during the Sec-ond World War and was an honor guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Va.
Mr. Shubert was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, A. Aleene Chancey Shubert, as well as two sisters, Dorothy Brannon and Elzera Gwin.
He is survived by his children, Dwight Shubert of North Little Rock and Kathy Ragar of Cabot; a sister, Maude Brannon of Cabot; two grandchildren, Heather Wag-ner of Monticello and Dr. Brent Ragar of Boston, Mass. He is also survived by a niece, Barbara Raley of Sherwood, and four nephews, Thomas Brannon of Cabot, Vernon Brannon of Cabot, Wayne Brannon of Jacksonville and Kenny Gwin of San Diego.
The family will receive friends from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday. Funeral services will be Sunday at 2 p.m. in the chapel of Cabot Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.
Arrangements are by Cabot Moore’s Funeral Home.
Jimmy Elliott
Jimmy Elliott, 69, of Hum-phrey passed on May 20.
Preceding him in death were his parents, Robert and Bessie Elliott; two brothers, Bobby and Bill Elliott, and a sister, Martha Francis Davis. Survivors include three sisters, Joyce Larkin of Hazen, Betty Nick of Greenbrier and Jean Crossett of Texas, and a brother, Starlin Elliott of Humphrey.
Graveside services will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at Frazier Cemetery in Humphrey. Arrangements by Thomas Funeral Service.
David Phillips
David M. Phillips, 61, of Lonoke died May 25. He was born Oct. 4, 1944 at Delhi, La., to Leon and Joanie Phillips. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, bowling and cooking. He worked for Union Pacific Railroad for eight years and was an electrician for 27 years with IBEW Local 516 at Jonesboro. He was devoted to his job and his local brothers.
He was preceded in death by two daughters, Michelle Lea Phillips and Dava Lynn Phillips; his parents and his brother, Emmett Phillips.
David is survived by his daughters, Connie Ann Halbrook of Little Rock and Kim Phillips of Gravel Ridge; three sisters, Sandra Crowe of Clinton, Miss., Lenora Johnson of Beebe and Mary Cunningham of Lonoke; five grandchildren, a great grandchild and an abundance of nieces, nephews and friends.
Family will receive friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Westbrook Funeral Home, Beebe. Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Westbrook Funeral Home with burial in Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens, Beebe.
Friends are invited to the home of Larry and Lenora Johnson, 707 N. Orange St., Beebe, following services.
Vernon Parker
Vernon Clarence Parker, 72, of Jacksonville passed away May 25 in Jacksonville. He was born Oct. 29, 1933, in Harvey, Ill., to the late Clarence and Clara Urhammer Parker.
He was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Nona and Thelma. He was a Protestant and attended the Little Rock Air Force Base Chapel. He is survived by his loving wife, Neva Dell Parker of the home.
Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Moore’s Jackson-ville Funeral Home Chapel with Chaplain Tony Wade officiating. Interment will follow at Arkansas Memorial Gardens in North Little Rock. Visitation will be 5-7 p.m. at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Funeral arrangements are under direction of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home (501) 982-2136.
Elmer Derward Shubert, 87, of Cabot passed away Friday. He was born April 19, 1919 in Mt. Pleasant to the late Carl Carroll and Mary Frances Carmichael Shubert.
Mr. Shubert was a lifelong member of Mt. Pleasant Mission-ary Baptist Church.
He was a Petty Officer First Class in the Navy from 1938 to 1945.
He served in the South Pacific during the Sec-ond World War and was an honor guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Va.
Mr. Shubert was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, A. Aleene Chancey Shubert, as well as two sisters, Dorothy Brannon and Elzera Gwin.
He is survived by his children, Dwight Shubert of North Little Rock and Kathy Ragar of Cabot; a sister, Maude Brannon of Cabot; two grandchildren, Heather Wag-ner of Monticello and Dr. Brent Ragar of Boston, Mass. He is also survived by a niece, Barbara Raley of Sherwood, and four nephews, Thomas Brannon of Cabot, Vernon Brannon of Cabot, Wayne Brannon of Jacksonville and Kenny Gwin of San Diego.
The family will receive friends from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday. Funeral services will be Sunday at 2 p.m. in the chapel of Cabot Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.
Arrangements are by Cabot Moore’s Funeral Home.
Jimmy Elliott
Jimmy Elliott, 69, of Hum-phrey passed on May 20.
Preceding him in death were his parents, Robert and Bessie Elliott; two brothers, Bobby and Bill Elliott, and a sister, Martha Francis Davis. Survivors include three sisters, Joyce Larkin of Hazen, Betty Nick of Greenbrier and Jean Crossett of Texas, and a brother, Starlin Elliott of Humphrey.
Graveside services will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at Frazier Cemetery in Humphrey. Arrangements by Thomas Funeral Service.
David Phillips
David M. Phillips, 61, of Lonoke died May 25. He was born Oct. 4, 1944 at Delhi, La., to Leon and Joanie Phillips. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, bowling and cooking. He worked for Union Pacific Railroad for eight years and was an electrician for 27 years with IBEW Local 516 at Jonesboro. He was devoted to his job and his local brothers.
He was preceded in death by two daughters, Michelle Lea Phillips and Dava Lynn Phillips; his parents and his brother, Emmett Phillips.
David is survived by his daughters, Connie Ann Halbrook of Little Rock and Kim Phillips of Gravel Ridge; three sisters, Sandra Crowe of Clinton, Miss., Lenora Johnson of Beebe and Mary Cunningham of Lonoke; five grandchildren, a great grandchild and an abundance of nieces, nephews and friends.
Family will receive friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Westbrook Funeral Home, Beebe. Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Westbrook Funeral Home with burial in Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens, Beebe.
Friends are invited to the home of Larry and Lenora Johnson, 707 N. Orange St., Beebe, following services.
Vernon Parker
Vernon Clarence Parker, 72, of Jacksonville passed away May 25 in Jacksonville. He was born Oct. 29, 1933, in Harvey, Ill., to the late Clarence and Clara Urhammer Parker.
He was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Nona and Thelma. He was a Protestant and attended the Little Rock Air Force Base Chapel. He is survived by his loving wife, Neva Dell Parker of the home.
Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Moore’s Jackson-ville Funeral Home Chapel with Chaplain Tony Wade officiating. Interment will follow at Arkansas Memorial Gardens in North Little Rock. Visitation will be 5-7 p.m. at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Funeral arrangements are under direction of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home (501) 982-2136.
SATURDAY EDITORIAL >> Stay tuned for runoffs
We still don’t have results from Lonoke County and a few other areas of Arkansas, which is a disgrace both to the candidates and the people who voted for them.
Except for local snafus, it’s agreed that statewide, the most boring and inconsequential Arkansas primary in more than a century is history, and now we prepare for one that is sure to be even more pepless, the runoffs.
Democrats still have to nominate a candidate for three statewide offices — attorney general, lieutenant governor and treasurer — although two of the offices are among the most useless jobs in all of government. Here and there across the state, Republicans or Democrats still must choose between two candidates for a state legislative position or a county office.
A shortage of lively or even live races for state offices and the traditionally fought-over local offices dampened turnout everywhere except, as far as we can tell, a legislative district in central Little Rock and the whole county of Benton in northwest Arkansas, where Republicans were excited about a local extremist who was running for lieutenant governor.
Elsewhere, people had to be reminded that it was election day and that there was a summons to their civic responsibility.
We are not sure of all the reasons for the ennui. The arrival of a true two-party system is one. In the old days everything had to be settled in the Democratic primary but now there is powerful impetus in both parties to keep down primary opposition so that the party’s anointed can go unfettered and unharmed into the general election. That is what happened in the governor’s race.
Term limits has ended the lively competition for legislative seats every two years. Once someone wins a term in the Senate or House of Representatives, the rest of the ambitious in the district cool their heels until the lawmaker’s allotted terms — six years for representatives and eight for senators — expire. Incumbents tend to get by free until then except in the few highly competitive districts.
And fewer and fewer people are seeking office. Term limits, remember, were supposed to stimulate the democracy, not deaden it.
Still, the commonwealth and the public welfare have something at stake in even this little primary, and the consequences are worth trudging to the polls again next month when the ballots are set. We hope the new voting equipment — more accurately, the people who operate it — will be up to it. We may be thankful in that way that the turnout was so poor Tuesday, or else we might have had violence at the polls as in the old days.
Democrats have one important task: nominating a candidate for attorney general. Two of the three candidates, all competent and reasonably progressive, will go at each other again, this time more aggressively, we imagine. Our choice remains Paul Suskie, the North Little Rock city attorney, who conducted a most dignified campaign. State Rep. Dustin McDaniel of Jonesboro, charismatic and well-financed, was and remains the frontrunner. Our problem remains his stalwart advocacy of a law that robs every school in Arkansas to help big land developers like the one who pumped money into his campaign. Every teacher and every parent of a public school child should demand an accounting from him for that.
Bill Halter of North Little Rock, the brainy former Clinton administrator, is running for lieutenant governor against state Sen. Tim Wooldridge of Paragould. There is no reason anyone should care who is lieutenant governor — it is the only job among 50,000 in state government where no service is affected and no one inconvenienced a whit if the holder decides to stay at home any day of the year, or every day.
But these men want that dubious honor and we follow the race because three times in the past 75 years the office has proved to be the right place at the right time. The governor did not complete his term, for different reasons, and the lieutenant governor got to hold the state’s highest office without having been elected to it. Halter and Wooldridge — and the Republican candidate, Jim Holt — hope that happens to them. We hope it doesn’t, but we must pay attention in case it does.
Our favorite continues to be Halter because he is bright and talented even if he is capable occasionally of the silly. He favors a state lottery, a popular but foolish idea that will not help the schools or the elderly, as Halter and its champions maintain. Barring further aberrations, we intend to mark our ballot for him again, if we can remember when the day comes. But we have a couple of weeks for him to change our mind.
Except for local snafus, it’s agreed that statewide, the most boring and inconsequential Arkansas primary in more than a century is history, and now we prepare for one that is sure to be even more pepless, the runoffs.
Democrats still have to nominate a candidate for three statewide offices — attorney general, lieutenant governor and treasurer — although two of the offices are among the most useless jobs in all of government. Here and there across the state, Republicans or Democrats still must choose between two candidates for a state legislative position or a county office.
A shortage of lively or even live races for state offices and the traditionally fought-over local offices dampened turnout everywhere except, as far as we can tell, a legislative district in central Little Rock and the whole county of Benton in northwest Arkansas, where Republicans were excited about a local extremist who was running for lieutenant governor.
Elsewhere, people had to be reminded that it was election day and that there was a summons to their civic responsibility.
We are not sure of all the reasons for the ennui. The arrival of a true two-party system is one. In the old days everything had to be settled in the Democratic primary but now there is powerful impetus in both parties to keep down primary opposition so that the party’s anointed can go unfettered and unharmed into the general election. That is what happened in the governor’s race.
Term limits has ended the lively competition for legislative seats every two years. Once someone wins a term in the Senate or House of Representatives, the rest of the ambitious in the district cool their heels until the lawmaker’s allotted terms — six years for representatives and eight for senators — expire. Incumbents tend to get by free until then except in the few highly competitive districts.
And fewer and fewer people are seeking office. Term limits, remember, were supposed to stimulate the democracy, not deaden it.
Still, the commonwealth and the public welfare have something at stake in even this little primary, and the consequences are worth trudging to the polls again next month when the ballots are set. We hope the new voting equipment — more accurately, the people who operate it — will be up to it. We may be thankful in that way that the turnout was so poor Tuesday, or else we might have had violence at the polls as in the old days.
Democrats have one important task: nominating a candidate for attorney general. Two of the three candidates, all competent and reasonably progressive, will go at each other again, this time more aggressively, we imagine. Our choice remains Paul Suskie, the North Little Rock city attorney, who conducted a most dignified campaign. State Rep. Dustin McDaniel of Jonesboro, charismatic and well-financed, was and remains the frontrunner. Our problem remains his stalwart advocacy of a law that robs every school in Arkansas to help big land developers like the one who pumped money into his campaign. Every teacher and every parent of a public school child should demand an accounting from him for that.
Bill Halter of North Little Rock, the brainy former Clinton administrator, is running for lieutenant governor against state Sen. Tim Wooldridge of Paragould. There is no reason anyone should care who is lieutenant governor — it is the only job among 50,000 in state government where no service is affected and no one inconvenienced a whit if the holder decides to stay at home any day of the year, or every day.
But these men want that dubious honor and we follow the race because three times in the past 75 years the office has proved to be the right place at the right time. The governor did not complete his term, for different reasons, and the lieutenant governor got to hold the state’s highest office without having been elected to it. Halter and Wooldridge — and the Republican candidate, Jim Holt — hope that happens to them. We hope it doesn’t, but we must pay attention in case it does.
Our favorite continues to be Halter because he is bright and talented even if he is capable occasionally of the silly. He favors a state lottery, a popular but foolish idea that will not help the schools or the elderly, as Halter and its champions maintain. Barring further aberrations, we intend to mark our ballot for him again, if we can remember when the day comes. But we have a couple of weeks for him to change our mind.
SPORTS >> Jacksonville senior shows big and overactive heart
BY RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
IN SHORT: JHS softballer Whitney Conrade overcame multiple physical setbacks.
There’s a lot to be said about any high-school student-athlete that gets a scholarship to continue his or her sport in college.
There’s a lot more to be said about one who overcame knee injuries and heart surgery to get one.
Jacksonville shortstop Whitney Conrade recently signed with Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, opting to sign early rather than waiting to see what else came along.
Conrade was loyal to WBC coach Angie Burnside, who was the first college coach to show interest in her, the first to offer her a scholarship, and the one who drove to multiple Jacksonville games to see her play.
“All that really meant a lot to me,” Conrade said.
“She didn’t have to drive two-and-a-half hours to watch us play North Little Rock, but she did and that meant something to me.”
Conrade has received some interest from UCA, Ouchita Baptist and Hendrix, but none have come forward with a scholarship offer. It may have been different if they had seen the game Burnside saw when she watched Conrade play for the first time in Jonesboro.
Conrade blasted two pitches out of the park that day, and Burnside wasted no time telling Conrade she wanted her to play for WBC.
“She didn’t actually offer me right then and there, but she told me she wanted me to play for her,” Conrade said. “She just had to go back and check her budget to see what she could offer me.”
Just two days later the call came, and the offer was made.
Conrade thought it over for several weeks, and finally made her decision shortly after the Lady Devils lost to Fayetteville in the semifinals of the state tournament.
“I sort of already knew what I wanted to do, I just didn’t say anything because I was thinking about waiting to see if any of the others offered anything,” Con-rade said. “But I really knew I wanted to play for Williams, so I made my decision.”
The shortstop/catcher, who can also pitch, made All-Conference as a freshman and sophomore at North Pulaski. After transferring to Jacksonville, she made All-Conference and All-State her junior and senior seasons.
In her senior campaign, she hit .411 with three home runs, four triples and had an .805 on-base percentage.
And she’s not just a softball player. She’s also receiving an academic scholarship from Williams Baptist.
Despite all the accolades, Jacksonville High School coach Phil Bradley felt she ended her high school career one accolade short of what she deserved.
“She should have been on the All-Star team,” Bradley said. “Those girls from our conference, from Mountain Home and Jonesboro that they took in front of her, Whitney can play circles around them.
Fortunately for her it worked out ok because she already had a scholarship, but there’s no reason that I can see why she’s not playing in that game. She’s one of the best players in the state.”
Bradley isn’t just impressed with Conrade’s ability to play, he says she is one of the most dedicated players he has coached.
Conrade overcame a knee injury last year, and this year came back from heart surgery in February. The same day of the operation, Conrade was at the practice field as an observer.
“She was back that day, and she was practicing with us again in a week,” Bradley said.
Conrade didn’t understand her coach’s apprehension.
“I just wanted to be out there playing,” Conrade said. “Coach (Tanya) Ganey kept telling me to take it easy, and I didn’t have to be out there so soon, but I was determined to get back out there.”
Conrade began suffering from spells of increased heart rate and dizziness during volleyball season, but repeated doctor visits found nothing wrong.
Finally, in February, doctors detected too much electricity running through her heart, causing the sudden spikes in pulse rate. Corrupt cells were forming extra pathways for the electricity to flow through.
So she went through a procedure called a heart ablation.
The surgeon raised her pulse to 200+ beats per minute to identify the problem cells, and froze them. The procedure was simple, but potentially very dangerous.
Conrade made it through cleanly.
“I was a pretty sore in my leg where they went in, but once that was gone I was ready to play,” Conrade said.
The Lady Red Devils had a great season, and became the first Jacksonville fastpitch team to advance to the final four of the state tournament. There they suffered their most disappointing loss, 6-4 to eventual state champion Fayetteville, a game in which all six of the Lady Bulldog runs were unearned.
“That was a big, big disappointment, but we still had a good season. We won 23 games and we set a school record by making the final four. And it was fun. I’m really going to miss my teammates and coaches.”
Conrade is now trying to find a team to play with this summer, but 18-under teams are few, and the ones that are around are full.
“I really want to play, but if I can’t, I’m still going to work out and practice with my dad,” Conrade said. “I’ve got to make sure I’m in shape and ready to play when I get to college.”
WBC has a fledgling softball program that showed vast improvement last season when it went 6-9 in conference and 20-30 overall.
That record had many more wins than the previous year, under the direction of first-year coach Angie Burnside.
Conrade will join Jacksonville graduate Justine Rial on the Lady Eagles’ roster next year, and looks forward to helping build a strong program.
“I saw them play and they weren’t bad,” Conrade said. “They are improving and they showed a lot of improvement this year. I really like coach Burnside and I can’t wait to get there.”
Conrade can play anywhere on the field.
Her favorite position is behind the plate, but she has a team-first attitude that she hopes will get her early playing time.
“I know that I’m not going to start every game,” Conrade said. “I just want to play and coach Burnside says I will.
“I love catching because I’m in on every play of the whole game, but I’ll play anywhere the team needs me. It doesn’t matter to me where they put me, I just want to be on the field.”
Leader sports editor
IN SHORT: JHS softballer Whitney Conrade overcame multiple physical setbacks.
There’s a lot to be said about any high-school student-athlete that gets a scholarship to continue his or her sport in college.
There’s a lot more to be said about one who overcame knee injuries and heart surgery to get one.
Jacksonville shortstop Whitney Conrade recently signed with Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, opting to sign early rather than waiting to see what else came along.
Conrade was loyal to WBC coach Angie Burnside, who was the first college coach to show interest in her, the first to offer her a scholarship, and the one who drove to multiple Jacksonville games to see her play.
“All that really meant a lot to me,” Conrade said.
“She didn’t have to drive two-and-a-half hours to watch us play North Little Rock, but she did and that meant something to me.”
Conrade has received some interest from UCA, Ouchita Baptist and Hendrix, but none have come forward with a scholarship offer. It may have been different if they had seen the game Burnside saw when she watched Conrade play for the first time in Jonesboro.
Conrade blasted two pitches out of the park that day, and Burnside wasted no time telling Conrade she wanted her to play for WBC.
“She didn’t actually offer me right then and there, but she told me she wanted me to play for her,” Conrade said. “She just had to go back and check her budget to see what she could offer me.”
Just two days later the call came, and the offer was made.
Conrade thought it over for several weeks, and finally made her decision shortly after the Lady Devils lost to Fayetteville in the semifinals of the state tournament.
“I sort of already knew what I wanted to do, I just didn’t say anything because I was thinking about waiting to see if any of the others offered anything,” Con-rade said. “But I really knew I wanted to play for Williams, so I made my decision.”
The shortstop/catcher, who can also pitch, made All-Conference as a freshman and sophomore at North Pulaski. After transferring to Jacksonville, she made All-Conference and All-State her junior and senior seasons.
In her senior campaign, she hit .411 with three home runs, four triples and had an .805 on-base percentage.
And she’s not just a softball player. She’s also receiving an academic scholarship from Williams Baptist.
Despite all the accolades, Jacksonville High School coach Phil Bradley felt she ended her high school career one accolade short of what she deserved.
“She should have been on the All-Star team,” Bradley said. “Those girls from our conference, from Mountain Home and Jonesboro that they took in front of her, Whitney can play circles around them.
Fortunately for her it worked out ok because she already had a scholarship, but there’s no reason that I can see why she’s not playing in that game. She’s one of the best players in the state.”
Bradley isn’t just impressed with Conrade’s ability to play, he says she is one of the most dedicated players he has coached.
Conrade overcame a knee injury last year, and this year came back from heart surgery in February. The same day of the operation, Conrade was at the practice field as an observer.
“She was back that day, and she was practicing with us again in a week,” Bradley said.
Conrade didn’t understand her coach’s apprehension.
“I just wanted to be out there playing,” Conrade said. “Coach (Tanya) Ganey kept telling me to take it easy, and I didn’t have to be out there so soon, but I was determined to get back out there.”
Conrade began suffering from spells of increased heart rate and dizziness during volleyball season, but repeated doctor visits found nothing wrong.
Finally, in February, doctors detected too much electricity running through her heart, causing the sudden spikes in pulse rate. Corrupt cells were forming extra pathways for the electricity to flow through.
So she went through a procedure called a heart ablation.
The surgeon raised her pulse to 200+ beats per minute to identify the problem cells, and froze them. The procedure was simple, but potentially very dangerous.
Conrade made it through cleanly.
“I was a pretty sore in my leg where they went in, but once that was gone I was ready to play,” Conrade said.
The Lady Red Devils had a great season, and became the first Jacksonville fastpitch team to advance to the final four of the state tournament. There they suffered their most disappointing loss, 6-4 to eventual state champion Fayetteville, a game in which all six of the Lady Bulldog runs were unearned.
“That was a big, big disappointment, but we still had a good season. We won 23 games and we set a school record by making the final four. And it was fun. I’m really going to miss my teammates and coaches.”
Conrade is now trying to find a team to play with this summer, but 18-under teams are few, and the ones that are around are full.
“I really want to play, but if I can’t, I’m still going to work out and practice with my dad,” Conrade said. “I’ve got to make sure I’m in shape and ready to play when I get to college.”
WBC has a fledgling softball program that showed vast improvement last season when it went 6-9 in conference and 20-30 overall.
That record had many more wins than the previous year, under the direction of first-year coach Angie Burnside.
Conrade will join Jacksonville graduate Justine Rial on the Lady Eagles’ roster next year, and looks forward to helping build a strong program.
“I saw them play and they weren’t bad,” Conrade said. “They are improving and they showed a lot of improvement this year. I really like coach Burnside and I can’t wait to get there.”
Conrade can play anywhere on the field.
Her favorite position is behind the plate, but she has a team-first attitude that she hopes will get her early playing time.
“I know that I’m not going to start every game,” Conrade said. “I just want to play and coach Burnside says I will.
“I love catching because I’m in on every play of the whole game, but I’ll play anywhere the team needs me. It doesn’t matter to me where they put me, I just want to be on the field.”
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