BY JOHN HOFHEIMER and RICK KRON
Leader staff writers
IN SHORT: Even though the counting went slow again Tuesday night, McGee defeats Parks in Democratic runoff to succeed Privett. McGee has no opponent in November. Green wins for Pulaski County in Dist. 10.
Alderman Wayne McGee is apparently the next mayor of Lonoke, beating Jim Parks, the former alderman, 483 to 270 in the Democratic primary runoff Tuesday.
Election officials announced those numbers earlier in the evening, but it was unclear at the time whether they were complete returns for all Lonoke precincts or just interim results. Later, the election commission said those were the final numbers, according to McGee’s cousin, Gaylon McGee.
No one could be reached in the county clerk’s office to confirm the vote late Tuesday night.
In the Pulaski County runoff for District 10 Justice of the Peace, Rev. Robert Green beat Johnnie Mass by 40 votes. Green had 482 votes, or 52.2 percent, to 442 votes, or 47.8 percent for Mass. In statewide races, Bill Halter defeated Tim Woold-ridge in the Democratic run-off for lieutenant governor and Martha Shoffner defeated Mac Campbell in the Democratic run-off for state treasurer.
With 95 percent of the vote in, Rep. Dustin McDaniel was squeaking by Paul Suskie in the Democratic run-off for attorney general, even though Pulaski County voted three-to-one in favor of Suskie.
In the Lonoke Democratic primary on May 23, voters turned Mayor Thomas Privett out of office.
In that four-way race, McGee was the top vote-getter with 438, followed by Parks with 362, Privett with 215 and Roy Henderson with 38 votes, setting up the Tuesday runoff.
Because no Republican or independent candidate filed for the positions, McGee will succeed Privett in January.
Voters apparently rejected Privett for his association with former Police Chief Jay Campbell, who resigned in February after being indicted on several drug and theft felonies.
“I want to thank my supporters from the bottom of my heart,” said McGee, whose face was red from campaigning in the sun this week.
Privett has offered to include his successor in on budget discussions as the city prepares its 2007 budget, and McGee said he welcomes the opportunity.
“I want to learn as much as I can so I’m ready when I take office,” McGee said.
McGee is part owner of several businesses in Lonoke, including a family furniture store, a used-car dealership and an auction company.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
OBITUARIES >> 06-14-06
Donald Griggs
Donald Lynn Griggs, DDS, 54, of Jacksonville died June 11.
He was born July 26, 1951, in Jacksonville, son of Gladys M. Dunham Griggs and the late Gus S. Griggs. He was a graduate of Jacksonville High School, University of Arkansas and University of Tennessee-Memphis Dental School. He was a life-long member of First United Methodist Church, a player for the Methodist Men’s softball team and an administrative board member as well as a member of the Building Committee of First United Methodist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Pat-rice Griggs; mother, Gladys Marie Griggs; two daughters, Kristen Danielle Griggs and Kirby Dawn Griggs; a son, Bradley Kyle Griggs, all of Jacksonville; two brothers, Kenneth Griggs and his wife Sue of Hot Springs Village and Frank Griggs and his wife Kim of Moores-ville, N.C.; a sister, Fran Honeycutt and her husband Bill of Little Rock, and numerous nieces, nephews and other family and friends.
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. today at First United Methodist Church in Jacksonville with Rev. Wendall Dorman officiating.
Pallbearers are Kenny Elliott, Mack McAlister, Mike Fisher, Terry Toney, Mike Traylor, Leon Nolen, Jeff Welch and Danny Moore. Interment will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Park. Funeral arrangements are under direction of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church Youth Group and Jacksonville Youth Baseball Association.
Marigene Wright
Marigene Howell Wright, 89, died June 12. She was a member of Lonoke First United Methodist Church and a retired school teacher of 28 years.
Survivors include her sons, Randy Wright and wife Terrie of Lonoke and Howell Wright and wife J’Ann of Estes Park, Colorado; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; also survived by numerous nieces, nephews and other family.
Funeral Services will be 10 a.m. Friday at Lonoke First United Methodist Church. Burial will follow in Lonoke Cemetery. Arrangements are by Boyd Funeral Home, Lonoke. The family will receive friends Thursday, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Lonoke First United Methodist Church.
Margie Lou Hunsucker
Margie Lou Hunsucker, 74, of Cotton Plant, Memphis, Tenn., and lately of Beebe, died June 12. She was born Oct. 8, 1931, the first daughter of Charles Henry and Jettie Rich Hunsucker.
She attended school for 12 years in Cotton Plant, graduating May 26, 1949.
She, along with other members of her family, was an accomplished cotton picker at the age of six and went on to hold several jobs during her school years such as store clerk, cashier, and ticket seller at the local theatre. She participated in school activities, sang in a sextet, played in piano recitals, lettered in basketball four years and was a cheerleader.
She went to Memphis in 1951, where she was employed by J.C. Bradford Stock Exchange for seventeen years and Morgan Keegan Investments for thirty years, retiring as a vice president.
In 1999, she moved to Beebe, where she owned a home and had family. She had been a lifelong member of the Methodist Church and enjoyed membership in the First Security Walking Club of Beebe.
She lost her battle with cancer, but she fought valiantly.
She is survived by her brother, Charles A. Hunsucker, of Kerrville, Texas; sisters Zona Norwood and Wanda Woods; brothers-in-law Ira Norwood and Richard Woods; a nephew, Charles Woods and wife Kelly, and their children Garrett and Jettie, all of Beebe; and a niece, Tammie Covington and husband Cleve and their daughter, Leann, of Mt. Vernon.
Funeral will be 2 p.m. today at Cotton Plant First United Methodist Church, with burial in Cotton Plant Cemetery, by Westbrook Funeral Home, Beebe.
Martha Bradberry
Martha Bradberry, 84, of Little Rock passed away June 10. Born June 12, 1921, in Beebe, she was the daughter of A. G. and Gertrude Rogers. She was a loving mother and grandmother.
She is survived by her son Jim Bradberry and wife Mary Jo and granddaughter, Alison of Little Rock. She has one brother, Hoben Rogers and wife Nancy of Lindsey, Oklahoma. She was preceded in death by her husband, Horace; her parents; a brother, A. G. Rogers and two special sisters, Kathleen Knox and Elaine Horton.
The family extends a deep appreciation to her caregivers at Baptist Medical Center and Pleasant Valley Living Center.
Funeral services were held Tuesday at Westbrook Funeral Home, with burial at Beebe Cemetery.
Donald Lynn Griggs, DDS, 54, of Jacksonville died June 11.
He was born July 26, 1951, in Jacksonville, son of Gladys M. Dunham Griggs and the late Gus S. Griggs. He was a graduate of Jacksonville High School, University of Arkansas and University of Tennessee-Memphis Dental School. He was a life-long member of First United Methodist Church, a player for the Methodist Men’s softball team and an administrative board member as well as a member of the Building Committee of First United Methodist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Pat-rice Griggs; mother, Gladys Marie Griggs; two daughters, Kristen Danielle Griggs and Kirby Dawn Griggs; a son, Bradley Kyle Griggs, all of Jacksonville; two brothers, Kenneth Griggs and his wife Sue of Hot Springs Village and Frank Griggs and his wife Kim of Moores-ville, N.C.; a sister, Fran Honeycutt and her husband Bill of Little Rock, and numerous nieces, nephews and other family and friends.
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. today at First United Methodist Church in Jacksonville with Rev. Wendall Dorman officiating.
Pallbearers are Kenny Elliott, Mack McAlister, Mike Fisher, Terry Toney, Mike Traylor, Leon Nolen, Jeff Welch and Danny Moore. Interment will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Park. Funeral arrangements are under direction of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church Youth Group and Jacksonville Youth Baseball Association.
Marigene Wright
Marigene Howell Wright, 89, died June 12. She was a member of Lonoke First United Methodist Church and a retired school teacher of 28 years.
Survivors include her sons, Randy Wright and wife Terrie of Lonoke and Howell Wright and wife J’Ann of Estes Park, Colorado; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; also survived by numerous nieces, nephews and other family.
Funeral Services will be 10 a.m. Friday at Lonoke First United Methodist Church. Burial will follow in Lonoke Cemetery. Arrangements are by Boyd Funeral Home, Lonoke. The family will receive friends Thursday, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Lonoke First United Methodist Church.
Margie Lou Hunsucker
Margie Lou Hunsucker, 74, of Cotton Plant, Memphis, Tenn., and lately of Beebe, died June 12. She was born Oct. 8, 1931, the first daughter of Charles Henry and Jettie Rich Hunsucker.
She attended school for 12 years in Cotton Plant, graduating May 26, 1949.
She, along with other members of her family, was an accomplished cotton picker at the age of six and went on to hold several jobs during her school years such as store clerk, cashier, and ticket seller at the local theatre. She participated in school activities, sang in a sextet, played in piano recitals, lettered in basketball four years and was a cheerleader.
She went to Memphis in 1951, where she was employed by J.C. Bradford Stock Exchange for seventeen years and Morgan Keegan Investments for thirty years, retiring as a vice president.
In 1999, she moved to Beebe, where she owned a home and had family. She had been a lifelong member of the Methodist Church and enjoyed membership in the First Security Walking Club of Beebe.
She lost her battle with cancer, but she fought valiantly.
She is survived by her brother, Charles A. Hunsucker, of Kerrville, Texas; sisters Zona Norwood and Wanda Woods; brothers-in-law Ira Norwood and Richard Woods; a nephew, Charles Woods and wife Kelly, and their children Garrett and Jettie, all of Beebe; and a niece, Tammie Covington and husband Cleve and their daughter, Leann, of Mt. Vernon.
Funeral will be 2 p.m. today at Cotton Plant First United Methodist Church, with burial in Cotton Plant Cemetery, by Westbrook Funeral Home, Beebe.
Martha Bradberry
Martha Bradberry, 84, of Little Rock passed away June 10. Born June 12, 1921, in Beebe, she was the daughter of A. G. and Gertrude Rogers. She was a loving mother and grandmother.
She is survived by her son Jim Bradberry and wife Mary Jo and granddaughter, Alison of Little Rock. She has one brother, Hoben Rogers and wife Nancy of Lindsey, Oklahoma. She was preceded in death by her husband, Horace; her parents; a brother, A. G. Rogers and two special sisters, Kathleen Knox and Elaine Horton.
The family extends a deep appreciation to her caregivers at Baptist Medical Center and Pleasant Valley Living Center.
Funeral services were held Tuesday at Westbrook Funeral Home, with burial at Beebe Cemetery.
WEDNESDAY EDITORIAL >> Huckabee: What a card!
For his sake and for the good of this blessedly humble state, someone needs to tell Gov. Huckabee that he serves us best by not imitating either Don Imus or Ann Coulter when he is in the cultivated precincts of New York, or even North Carolina.
The Southern Baptist preacher becomes oh-so-worldly when he’s gasbagging on radio in New York, Iowa or the southern seaboard. Early in his political career he loved to go on the Imus show and swap half-smutty stories. He learned after a while that the shrinking universe sent his words back home. So when he trashed Arkansas as “a banana republic” in New York, Arkansans were stung and Huckabee had to blow it off as a harmless joke. It was one thing for H. L. Mencken and Mark Twain to sneer about Arkansas’ backwardness and for Opie Read and Bob Burns to joke about it but quite another for our own ambassador to ridicule the state.
The governor has nice comedic timing, as he demonstrated on the Colbert Report a few weeks ago, but taste and good sense escape him sometimes when he’s trying very hard to impress people with his wit and savoir-faire. It is as if he is saying to voters in other regions: “Sure, I’m from Arkansas, but, see, I’m not the uptight hick that you would expect.”
When a reporter asked him last week how he expected to raise the large sums of money needed for a presidential campaign, Huckabee grinned and replied, as if he had been waiting so long for the question: “I’ve got a map of 7-Elevens, a bunch of blue steel revolvers and some ski masks. We’re going to go all over the country and raise money in a very unique way.”
And explaining how his plane troubles brought out emergency crews to the landing strip, he joked that he bet they were disappointed the plane did not crash.
Ann Coulter, the pornographic commentator, might joke about poisoning a Supreme Court justice and widows enjoying the slaughter of their husbands at the World Trade Center and get by with it. No, wait, she didn’t, did she?
Huckabee’s jokes were picked up by a national newsmagazine and circulated through the blogs. His presidential stock was not going up.
The governor needs a taste monitor to travel with him when he heads for distant cities. Alice Stewart does not fill the bill. Where is Rex Nelson when we need him?
The Southern Baptist preacher becomes oh-so-worldly when he’s gasbagging on radio in New York, Iowa or the southern seaboard. Early in his political career he loved to go on the Imus show and swap half-smutty stories. He learned after a while that the shrinking universe sent his words back home. So when he trashed Arkansas as “a banana republic” in New York, Arkansans were stung and Huckabee had to blow it off as a harmless joke. It was one thing for H. L. Mencken and Mark Twain to sneer about Arkansas’ backwardness and for Opie Read and Bob Burns to joke about it but quite another for our own ambassador to ridicule the state.
The governor has nice comedic timing, as he demonstrated on the Colbert Report a few weeks ago, but taste and good sense escape him sometimes when he’s trying very hard to impress people with his wit and savoir-faire. It is as if he is saying to voters in other regions: “Sure, I’m from Arkansas, but, see, I’m not the uptight hick that you would expect.”
When a reporter asked him last week how he expected to raise the large sums of money needed for a presidential campaign, Huckabee grinned and replied, as if he had been waiting so long for the question: “I’ve got a map of 7-Elevens, a bunch of blue steel revolvers and some ski masks. We’re going to go all over the country and raise money in a very unique way.”
And explaining how his plane troubles brought out emergency crews to the landing strip, he joked that he bet they were disappointed the plane did not crash.
Ann Coulter, the pornographic commentator, might joke about poisoning a Supreme Court justice and widows enjoying the slaughter of their husbands at the World Trade Center and get by with it. No, wait, she didn’t, did she?
Huckabee’s jokes were picked up by a national newsmagazine and circulated through the blogs. His presidential stock was not going up.
The governor needs a taste monitor to travel with him when he heads for distant cities. Alice Stewart does not fill the bill. Where is Rex Nelson when we need him?
WEDNESDAY EDITORIAL >> Rove is off the hook
A single terrorist who has murdered and maimed at will for three years around Baghdad while mocking the U.S. military and thousands of intelligence agents is finally crushed by bombs, and then the president’s top aide learns that he will not go to prison. No one ever needed a good week more, and for President Bush those two events pass for a stellar week.
Bush could hardly have enjoyed better news than the special prosecutor’s announcement that he will not seek indictments of Karl Rove, unless it were the mass conversion of Iraqi insurgents to a peaceful Shiite faith. Keeping your brain trust out of jail is not a lot to brag about unless absolutely nothing has gone your way for 18 months. Bush must feel that he has a new lease on his political life.
That should be a healthy thing for the country, which does not need a completely neutered president for two and a half perilous years. For our sake, may he make the best of it.
But he and the country should keep Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald’s notice in perspective. Rove is not exonerated and the damage that he and whoever guided him did to the country and the presidency cannot be recompensed by a no-indictment letter. President Bush said he would fire anyone involved in leaking the identity of a secret agent, and Rove publicly and solemnly declared that he had absolutely nothing to do with it and had no knowledge of it. But it turned out that it was he who directed the operation from the White House. Still, the president did not fire him or anyone else in the gaggle of insiders who participated.
Fitzgerald would have had a hard time making the case that Rove violated the spirit of national security law if he was following even the unstated wishes of the single person who had the power to declassify national secrets, the president. It was all a nasty, devious and corrupt affair, and Bush had run in 2000 on the promise of hounds tooth honesty and integrity.
Rove, Vice President Cheney and others in the old White House and the national security apparatus will still have to testify about exactly what they did and why they did it when Scooter Libby goes on trial for lying to agents and the grand jury about the Valerie Plame affair. But that, conveniently, will not be until January 2007 or even later, after the midterm elections will have determined just how long Bush’s new lease on life will be. The no-indictment letter means that Rove will be free now to use his considerable talent to see that those elections turn the Republicans’ way.
We would feel better about this reinvigorated White House if it gave signs its public discourse would be different. But in the evening after learning of his reprieve, Rove was in New Hampshire blasting patriots like Rep. John Murtha, the Korean War hero, as cowards because they called for a calibrated withdrawal of forces to the perimeters.
Bush could hardly have enjoyed better news than the special prosecutor’s announcement that he will not seek indictments of Karl Rove, unless it were the mass conversion of Iraqi insurgents to a peaceful Shiite faith. Keeping your brain trust out of jail is not a lot to brag about unless absolutely nothing has gone your way for 18 months. Bush must feel that he has a new lease on his political life.
That should be a healthy thing for the country, which does not need a completely neutered president for two and a half perilous years. For our sake, may he make the best of it.
But he and the country should keep Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald’s notice in perspective. Rove is not exonerated and the damage that he and whoever guided him did to the country and the presidency cannot be recompensed by a no-indictment letter. President Bush said he would fire anyone involved in leaking the identity of a secret agent, and Rove publicly and solemnly declared that he had absolutely nothing to do with it and had no knowledge of it. But it turned out that it was he who directed the operation from the White House. Still, the president did not fire him or anyone else in the gaggle of insiders who participated.
Fitzgerald would have had a hard time making the case that Rove violated the spirit of national security law if he was following even the unstated wishes of the single person who had the power to declassify national secrets, the president. It was all a nasty, devious and corrupt affair, and Bush had run in 2000 on the promise of hounds tooth honesty and integrity.
Rove, Vice President Cheney and others in the old White House and the national security apparatus will still have to testify about exactly what they did and why they did it when Scooter Libby goes on trial for lying to agents and the grand jury about the Valerie Plame affair. But that, conveniently, will not be until January 2007 or even later, after the midterm elections will have determined just how long Bush’s new lease on life will be. The no-indictment letter means that Rove will be free now to use his considerable talent to see that those elections turn the Republicans’ way.
We would feel better about this reinvigorated White House if it gave signs its public discourse would be different. But in the evening after learning of his reprieve, Rove was in New Hampshire blasting patriots like Rep. John Murtha, the Korean War hero, as cowards because they called for a calibrated withdrawal of forces to the perimeters.
FROM THE PUBLISHER >> More words from Kansas grim reaper
BY GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader publisher
Jonathan Phelps, who was in Beebe last week demonstrating at the funeral for a local soldier who died in Baghdad two weeks ago, was picketing Monday in front of a hardware store in Topeka, Kan.
Phelps said he and his group from Westboro Baptist Church, who demonstrate every day in many parts of the country, were picketing in their hometown because the hardware store was selling vacuum cleaners from Sweden, which tolerates homosexuality, like this country.
That’s why he was in Arkansas last week, picketing outside First Baptist Church of Beebe, where the funeral services for Army Specialist Bobby West were about to get underway.
In his mind, America’s tolerance of homosexuals has brought God’s wrath down on this nation and is the reason U.S. soldiers are dying in Afghanistan and Iraq. You can get more information from his Web site godhatesamerica.com.
We asked him, “What is your evidence that soldiers dying in Iraq is linked to homosexuality? If it is in the Bible, please cite the verse(s) and phrase(s). If it is a direct link to God that you have, please specify date, time and place in which you received “the message.”
Phelps’ e-mail response: “Pur-suant to my never-ending quest to NOT reinvent the wheel, and because you’re a lucky duck today, I cut and pasted for your immediate reference a ‘Dear Margie’ response hot off the press, touching upon what you mockingly refer to as ‘a direct link to God.’ (We receive hundreds, if not thousands of e-mails a day, with questions similar to yours; some of which we respond to.)”
The ‘Dear Margie’ response includes this sentence: “We have the unspeakable privilege, unique among all humankind, of being God’s mouth on earth in the Last Days, which is Our Day.
“I can read (the Bible),” Phelps added.
Most church members appear related — his father, Fred Phelps, runs the church, and Jonathan’s brother and sister and children also demonstrate at funerals. They usually drive long distances when they find out about military funerals.
“The members of Westboro Baptist Church are employed full-time, many working enough to equal the hours of two full-time positions,” Phelps told us. “The church members pay their own way to conduct open-air preaching, a/k/a protesting or picketing.”
But why protest at funerals?
“This particular platform—soldier’s funerals, a/k/a patriotic pep rallies, has been created by an apostate nation who have exalted idolatry to an art form in the manner in which they worship the dead, and while they draw close to God with their lips, their hearts are far from Him. Matthew 15:7-8: ‘Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, ‘This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoreth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.’”
“But God has promised terror to a nation like America: Leviticus 26:14 — ‘But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; 15 And if ye shall despise My statutes, or if your soul abhor My judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break My covenant: 16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning plague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. 18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass. 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.’”
When we asked him why he was so angry and if he might consider cooling his rhetoric, he replied, “What you and every eternity-bound soul needs to concern yourself about is the anger of the Lord. See, for example, Jeremiah 23:20: “The anger of the LORD shall not return until He has executed, and till He has performed the thoughts of His heart; in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.’
“That’s what is wrong with this evil country, they have no fear of the Lord, and so they’re dirt dumb.” Phelps continued. Job 28:28 ‘And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’
“Therefore, we deliver the following message to this country: Proverbs 1:27-28: ‘When your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me.’ And not only does God not answer these evil American people when His calamities strike them at His hand, such as killing their young children in this bloody war, He laughs and mocks them when He visits them in wrath.”
Let’s hope there are no military funerals in your town. That way you won’t have to see Phelps and his grim entourage.
Leader publisher
Jonathan Phelps, who was in Beebe last week demonstrating at the funeral for a local soldier who died in Baghdad two weeks ago, was picketing Monday in front of a hardware store in Topeka, Kan.
Phelps said he and his group from Westboro Baptist Church, who demonstrate every day in many parts of the country, were picketing in their hometown because the hardware store was selling vacuum cleaners from Sweden, which tolerates homosexuality, like this country.
That’s why he was in Arkansas last week, picketing outside First Baptist Church of Beebe, where the funeral services for Army Specialist Bobby West were about to get underway.
In his mind, America’s tolerance of homosexuals has brought God’s wrath down on this nation and is the reason U.S. soldiers are dying in Afghanistan and Iraq. You can get more information from his Web site godhatesamerica.com.
We asked him, “What is your evidence that soldiers dying in Iraq is linked to homosexuality? If it is in the Bible, please cite the verse(s) and phrase(s). If it is a direct link to God that you have, please specify date, time and place in which you received “the message.”
Phelps’ e-mail response: “Pur-suant to my never-ending quest to NOT reinvent the wheel, and because you’re a lucky duck today, I cut and pasted for your immediate reference a ‘Dear Margie’ response hot off the press, touching upon what you mockingly refer to as ‘a direct link to God.’ (We receive hundreds, if not thousands of e-mails a day, with questions similar to yours; some of which we respond to.)”
The ‘Dear Margie’ response includes this sentence: “We have the unspeakable privilege, unique among all humankind, of being God’s mouth on earth in the Last Days, which is Our Day.
“I can read (the Bible),” Phelps added.
Most church members appear related — his father, Fred Phelps, runs the church, and Jonathan’s brother and sister and children also demonstrate at funerals. They usually drive long distances when they find out about military funerals.
“The members of Westboro Baptist Church are employed full-time, many working enough to equal the hours of two full-time positions,” Phelps told us. “The church members pay their own way to conduct open-air preaching, a/k/a protesting or picketing.”
But why protest at funerals?
“This particular platform—soldier’s funerals, a/k/a patriotic pep rallies, has been created by an apostate nation who have exalted idolatry to an art form in the manner in which they worship the dead, and while they draw close to God with their lips, their hearts are far from Him. Matthew 15:7-8: ‘Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, ‘This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoreth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.’”
“But God has promised terror to a nation like America: Leviticus 26:14 — ‘But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; 15 And if ye shall despise My statutes, or if your soul abhor My judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break My covenant: 16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning plague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. 18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass. 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.’”
When we asked him why he was so angry and if he might consider cooling his rhetoric, he replied, “What you and every eternity-bound soul needs to concern yourself about is the anger of the Lord. See, for example, Jeremiah 23:20: “The anger of the LORD shall not return until He has executed, and till He has performed the thoughts of His heart; in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.’
“That’s what is wrong with this evil country, they have no fear of the Lord, and so they’re dirt dumb.” Phelps continued. Job 28:28 ‘And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’
“Therefore, we deliver the following message to this country: Proverbs 1:27-28: ‘When your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me.’ And not only does God not answer these evil American people when His calamities strike them at His hand, such as killing their young children in this bloody war, He laughs and mocks them when He visits them in wrath.”
Let’s hope there are no military funerals in your town. That way you won’t have to see Phelps and his grim entourage.
TOP STORY >> Asphalt cost slows road work
BY PAUL PETERSON
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Rising prices could affect the pace of street repair and maintenance.
For the last five years, the price-per-ton of asphalt has remained stable. Since asphalt, which is petroleum-based, began skyrocketing in March, public-works departments have faced the daunting task of de-ciding their road-maintenance schedules, repairing heavy damage first, as well as exploring options to stretch operating budgets.
Glen Bolick, a spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transporta-tion Department, said municipal and county governments must set priorities on which roads to repair and pave.
“Sure, obviously the rising price is going to affect any project of this type,” he said. “Cities and counties are going to have a harder time than we are. It’s a little hard to explain, but the best analogy I can offer is to think of having to mow your grass year round, regardless of the price of gas. In some areas, you may mow them out of turn. It’s the same way with street maintenance. The worst problems are going to get fixed first, whether asphalt price is high or not, just like gasoline.”
Bolick emphasized that contractors are most likely to feel the strongest pinch, as bidding pro-cesses can be extensive for long-term projects, and asphalt prices may increase after a bid is secured “With tonnage prices, who gets affected more than anybody is going to be the contractor,” Bolick said.
“Say, for instance, he comes in to bid us on a half-million-dollar job. It takes 30 days to bid and maybe between 45 and 60 days to get on the job. If prices go up again, he’s locked into it. It’s still a half-million-dollar bid. That’s the nature of the bidding process.”
Bolick explained how the High-way Department is adjusting to high cost of asphalt. “We’re splitting some jobs,” he said. “Instead of a million-dollar, 10-mile overlay, we’ll do a half-million, 10-mile project so contractors can bid a job that won’t take three or four years. The market dictates.”
As for a dismal or promising future, Bolick is uncertain. “Ask a city or county judge,” he said. “A city mayor or local contractor will probably bear most of the brunt of this increase. Prices are going up, bids are higher on jobs, so it made sense for us to make for smaller jobs for contractors to bid. It benefits them, us and the entire state.”
Some city and county governments haven’t felt the pressures of rising asphalt costs because of current contracts with locked prices. But in all likelihood, they will, once contracts expire.
Cabot Public Works director Jim Towe said the city hasn’t funded any overlays this year. “From my standpoint we don’t need to, as of yet,” he said. “We’re still working out of Greystone.
Ward Mayor Art Brooke said, “We’ll just have do to a little less work than we normally would do. In smaller areas like ours, we don’t have the tax base other cities have. Also, asphalt costs will have an adverse effect on the 19 streets we’ve scheduled for repair maintenance. The seven we’ve looked at for this year will probably be all we can do.”
Brooke said his city has considered other options. “We’ve looked at chip and seal,” he said. “It’s an alternative to asphalt. The county does a lot with it and the state does a lot of renovation resurfacing by using a sticker base and putting loose shad on top and rolling it. At one-third the cost, it’s still not near as durable and long-term as asphalt.“
Austin Mayor Bernie Cham-berlain anticipates asphalt prices will affect her town as well, even though water line improvement is current priority. “Oh, it will,” she said. “We’re upgrading water lines that are old and have been here since the 1960s, so we’ll hold off on roads. Once the lines are in, we’ll need to do a lot of asphalting. But we may have to do it only a little at a time.”
Jim Oakley, Jacksonville public works director, said his department paid about $42 a ton.
“We’re fixing to go over the budget for our 2006 overlay program,” he said. “We may have to cut about 30 percent. Right now, we’ve got approximately $250,000 a year for overlays, at $30 to $40 per ton of asphalt.
“We only bid overlays once a year, and it was $42 a ton in June 2005. Now, a local contractor could be paying around $60. That’s an estimate for June 2006. We’ll know in about two or three weeks the 2006 prices. For linear feet, a ton of asphalt will do approximately 10 square yards of roadway, but it depends on how wide the street is. The cost per ton is cutting back on how much you can do, but we’ve budgeted the same amount. I guess we’ll do a few less overlays than normal.
“Jacksonville is fortunate enough to budget an overlay program. We’re in good shape for the most part, but if the price keeps going up, it could be hard to catch up with our workload, and we’d have to look at coming up with more money,” Oakley said.
But a hefty reserve supply of materials does have its advantages. Lonoke Public Works director Tony Scroggins said, “As far as road maintenance, we’re in good shape because we pretty much stocked up on prepackaged coal mix that we already bought. There’s not any maintenance to do right now.
“Sure it’s going to have an effect on asphalt bidding price per ton. If it’s tripled, we’ll have to decide whether or not to make repairs. Typically, it costs around $4,000 a city block. We may cut down in overlays instead and I’m sure it will have an effect as far as any new overlay projects are concerned.”
Another Lonoke Public Works employee said, “Depending on the amount of dollars, if asphalt goes up, streets get shorter.”
McRae Mayor Bob Sullivan said his city isn’t currently undergoing any roadwork. “The rising cost of asphalt is affecting everything,” he said. “It’s going to limit our repairs this summer. With high costs, we’ll just do what we can with the worst streets and next year do the rest. We’ve seen it coming, but didn’t realize it was going to be so drastic, on account of fuel prices. Fuel prices are killing everything in America.”
Barbara Richard, director of the Roads and Bridges Department with Pulaski County Public Works, said, “We have been operating for the last three years under a contract with locked prices. We get asphalt ourselves by going over in a truck to get materials and do jobs ourselves or we can have the contractors apply it for us.
“But we will have to re-bid in August,” Richard said. “From all indications, we’re looking at a 30 percent increase. When that happens, we’ll definitely start feeling it, because asphalt is an oil-based product. I think everybody’s going to have to take a good hard look before spending dollars.
“There is preventative maintenance to consider, such as applying seal coats to buy more time before resurfacing asphalt. Counties may have to cut another line item for extra money to fund road repair. As for Pulaski County, it’s the judge’s priority to keep roads up. We only have so much budgeted each year for every type of county project, but I can tell you it’s a big priority with our county judge,” Richard said. “He won’t let them suffer. We’re proud of roads in Pulaski County. We’ve got a good road system and intend to keep it that way.”
Tracey Perkins, with the Roads and Bridges Department of Pulaski County Public Works, said, “The current price per ton is $43.07 in-place, and when our truck picks it up, the price is $32.65.”
Perkins said “in-place” is the term applied when contractors apply the asphalt surfacing.
John Suskie, executive director of Arkansas Asphalt Pavement Association, said, “As far as local cities and counties, we have producers and what we call lay-down contractors. Right now it appears prices are based on a national average, but it depends on where you are and how far you have to haul it. In recent years industry experts have been saying that with no increase in actual revenue, that basically, the same dollars available will only be able to purchase 20 percent less than what they could have before the price increase.”
Suskie explained that regardless of the type of paving project, costs won’t stretch as far as they once did, and that any business or municipality involved with road surfacing and repair will endure the resulting frustrations of higher asphalt prices.
“Whether it’s city or rural, heavy or light overlay, a two-inch repaving or 8 to 10 inches, you can bet that fewer cities will be able to pay as a result of this,” he said.
“That’s what contractors are wresting with right now. It’s a real gamble our guys take, and they may have to bid a little higher right now just to cover their own expenses. One approach the Highway De-partment has taken, and it’s real admirable, has helped, though. What they might do is to bid road work, bridges or widening shoulders, or ‘dirt work’ as it’s called, and delay bidding on paving itself, where they’d usually bid it all out at once.”
Suskie said that prioritizing paving projects is key. “As for long-term, we’re looking at having to make hard decisions,” he said. This has caused some contractors not to bid jobs at all, some as far out as 18 months.”
But this cause-and-effect relationship with operating expenses also occurs in other business sectors.
“It goes back to the entrepreneurial spirit,” Suskie said. “This happens to homebuilders, too. If the cost of material goes up, consequently, they feel it too. But I’m proud to say I never hear any comments from any of our associates about cutting the quality of work, just maybe the quantity. The public really needs to understand what we’re going through, especially with probing out long-term projects. Some aren’t conscious of the process of contracting. It’s kind of a frustrating thing. Of our 120 members, 40 are asphalt producers”
Even though the price hike is drastic, Suskie said it came forewarned. “It’s really been coming strong since last summer; without any question Katrina had an effect,” he said. “The cost of diesel was more of a concern last year than the price of asphalt. The drier to heat aggregate runs on it; some use natural gas. Also, it depends on how far you have to haul it, which is usually between 30 and 50 miles. Imagine the fuel costs to move heavy tonnage. We had meetings with haulers, local dump truck operators and aggregate haulers. They bid too, for hauling routes, and if they don’t get enough to cover mileage, it’s not worth it,” Suskie said.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Rising prices could affect the pace of street repair and maintenance.
For the last five years, the price-per-ton of asphalt has remained stable. Since asphalt, which is petroleum-based, began skyrocketing in March, public-works departments have faced the daunting task of de-ciding their road-maintenance schedules, repairing heavy damage first, as well as exploring options to stretch operating budgets.
Glen Bolick, a spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transporta-tion Department, said municipal and county governments must set priorities on which roads to repair and pave.
“Sure, obviously the rising price is going to affect any project of this type,” he said. “Cities and counties are going to have a harder time than we are. It’s a little hard to explain, but the best analogy I can offer is to think of having to mow your grass year round, regardless of the price of gas. In some areas, you may mow them out of turn. It’s the same way with street maintenance. The worst problems are going to get fixed first, whether asphalt price is high or not, just like gasoline.”
Bolick emphasized that contractors are most likely to feel the strongest pinch, as bidding pro-cesses can be extensive for long-term projects, and asphalt prices may increase after a bid is secured “With tonnage prices, who gets affected more than anybody is going to be the contractor,” Bolick said.
“Say, for instance, he comes in to bid us on a half-million-dollar job. It takes 30 days to bid and maybe between 45 and 60 days to get on the job. If prices go up again, he’s locked into it. It’s still a half-million-dollar bid. That’s the nature of the bidding process.”
Bolick explained how the High-way Department is adjusting to high cost of asphalt. “We’re splitting some jobs,” he said. “Instead of a million-dollar, 10-mile overlay, we’ll do a half-million, 10-mile project so contractors can bid a job that won’t take three or four years. The market dictates.”
As for a dismal or promising future, Bolick is uncertain. “Ask a city or county judge,” he said. “A city mayor or local contractor will probably bear most of the brunt of this increase. Prices are going up, bids are higher on jobs, so it made sense for us to make for smaller jobs for contractors to bid. It benefits them, us and the entire state.”
Some city and county governments haven’t felt the pressures of rising asphalt costs because of current contracts with locked prices. But in all likelihood, they will, once contracts expire.
Cabot Public Works director Jim Towe said the city hasn’t funded any overlays this year. “From my standpoint we don’t need to, as of yet,” he said. “We’re still working out of Greystone.
Ward Mayor Art Brooke said, “We’ll just have do to a little less work than we normally would do. In smaller areas like ours, we don’t have the tax base other cities have. Also, asphalt costs will have an adverse effect on the 19 streets we’ve scheduled for repair maintenance. The seven we’ve looked at for this year will probably be all we can do.”
Brooke said his city has considered other options. “We’ve looked at chip and seal,” he said. “It’s an alternative to asphalt. The county does a lot with it and the state does a lot of renovation resurfacing by using a sticker base and putting loose shad on top and rolling it. At one-third the cost, it’s still not near as durable and long-term as asphalt.“
Austin Mayor Bernie Cham-berlain anticipates asphalt prices will affect her town as well, even though water line improvement is current priority. “Oh, it will,” she said. “We’re upgrading water lines that are old and have been here since the 1960s, so we’ll hold off on roads. Once the lines are in, we’ll need to do a lot of asphalting. But we may have to do it only a little at a time.”
Jim Oakley, Jacksonville public works director, said his department paid about $42 a ton.
“We’re fixing to go over the budget for our 2006 overlay program,” he said. “We may have to cut about 30 percent. Right now, we’ve got approximately $250,000 a year for overlays, at $30 to $40 per ton of asphalt.
“We only bid overlays once a year, and it was $42 a ton in June 2005. Now, a local contractor could be paying around $60. That’s an estimate for June 2006. We’ll know in about two or three weeks the 2006 prices. For linear feet, a ton of asphalt will do approximately 10 square yards of roadway, but it depends on how wide the street is. The cost per ton is cutting back on how much you can do, but we’ve budgeted the same amount. I guess we’ll do a few less overlays than normal.
“Jacksonville is fortunate enough to budget an overlay program. We’re in good shape for the most part, but if the price keeps going up, it could be hard to catch up with our workload, and we’d have to look at coming up with more money,” Oakley said.
But a hefty reserve supply of materials does have its advantages. Lonoke Public Works director Tony Scroggins said, “As far as road maintenance, we’re in good shape because we pretty much stocked up on prepackaged coal mix that we already bought. There’s not any maintenance to do right now.
“Sure it’s going to have an effect on asphalt bidding price per ton. If it’s tripled, we’ll have to decide whether or not to make repairs. Typically, it costs around $4,000 a city block. We may cut down in overlays instead and I’m sure it will have an effect as far as any new overlay projects are concerned.”
Another Lonoke Public Works employee said, “Depending on the amount of dollars, if asphalt goes up, streets get shorter.”
McRae Mayor Bob Sullivan said his city isn’t currently undergoing any roadwork. “The rising cost of asphalt is affecting everything,” he said. “It’s going to limit our repairs this summer. With high costs, we’ll just do what we can with the worst streets and next year do the rest. We’ve seen it coming, but didn’t realize it was going to be so drastic, on account of fuel prices. Fuel prices are killing everything in America.”
Barbara Richard, director of the Roads and Bridges Department with Pulaski County Public Works, said, “We have been operating for the last three years under a contract with locked prices. We get asphalt ourselves by going over in a truck to get materials and do jobs ourselves or we can have the contractors apply it for us.
“But we will have to re-bid in August,” Richard said. “From all indications, we’re looking at a 30 percent increase. When that happens, we’ll definitely start feeling it, because asphalt is an oil-based product. I think everybody’s going to have to take a good hard look before spending dollars.
“There is preventative maintenance to consider, such as applying seal coats to buy more time before resurfacing asphalt. Counties may have to cut another line item for extra money to fund road repair. As for Pulaski County, it’s the judge’s priority to keep roads up. We only have so much budgeted each year for every type of county project, but I can tell you it’s a big priority with our county judge,” Richard said. “He won’t let them suffer. We’re proud of roads in Pulaski County. We’ve got a good road system and intend to keep it that way.”
Tracey Perkins, with the Roads and Bridges Department of Pulaski County Public Works, said, “The current price per ton is $43.07 in-place, and when our truck picks it up, the price is $32.65.”
Perkins said “in-place” is the term applied when contractors apply the asphalt surfacing.
John Suskie, executive director of Arkansas Asphalt Pavement Association, said, “As far as local cities and counties, we have producers and what we call lay-down contractors. Right now it appears prices are based on a national average, but it depends on where you are and how far you have to haul it. In recent years industry experts have been saying that with no increase in actual revenue, that basically, the same dollars available will only be able to purchase 20 percent less than what they could have before the price increase.”
Suskie explained that regardless of the type of paving project, costs won’t stretch as far as they once did, and that any business or municipality involved with road surfacing and repair will endure the resulting frustrations of higher asphalt prices.
“Whether it’s city or rural, heavy or light overlay, a two-inch repaving or 8 to 10 inches, you can bet that fewer cities will be able to pay as a result of this,” he said.
“That’s what contractors are wresting with right now. It’s a real gamble our guys take, and they may have to bid a little higher right now just to cover their own expenses. One approach the Highway De-partment has taken, and it’s real admirable, has helped, though. What they might do is to bid road work, bridges or widening shoulders, or ‘dirt work’ as it’s called, and delay bidding on paving itself, where they’d usually bid it all out at once.”
Suskie said that prioritizing paving projects is key. “As for long-term, we’re looking at having to make hard decisions,” he said. This has caused some contractors not to bid jobs at all, some as far out as 18 months.”
But this cause-and-effect relationship with operating expenses also occurs in other business sectors.
“It goes back to the entrepreneurial spirit,” Suskie said. “This happens to homebuilders, too. If the cost of material goes up, consequently, they feel it too. But I’m proud to say I never hear any comments from any of our associates about cutting the quality of work, just maybe the quantity. The public really needs to understand what we’re going through, especially with probing out long-term projects. Some aren’t conscious of the process of contracting. It’s kind of a frustrating thing. Of our 120 members, 40 are asphalt producers”
Even though the price hike is drastic, Suskie said it came forewarned. “It’s really been coming strong since last summer; without any question Katrina had an effect,” he said. “The cost of diesel was more of a concern last year than the price of asphalt. The drier to heat aggregate runs on it; some use natural gas. Also, it depends on how far you have to haul it, which is usually between 30 and 50 miles. Imagine the fuel costs to move heavy tonnage. We had meetings with haulers, local dump truck operators and aggregate haulers. They bid too, for hauling routes, and if they don’t get enough to cover mileage, it’s not worth it,” Suskie said.
TOP STORY >> Local area sees more residences going up
BY SARA GREENE and JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writers
IN SHORT: New or used, homeownership keeps increasing here at a rapid clip.
June is Homeownership Month, and the housing market in central Arkansas continues to boom despite predictions of a slump in housing nationwide.
“I have been in this business for 19 years and my team has posted record sales for three consecutive months in a row.
Currently, we are averaging a home sale every 19 hours in my office,” said Steve Blackwood, of The Blackwood Team realty. Blackwood credits the Cabot School District with the solid housing market in the area. The population of Cabot is projected to be about 20,000 soon, with an average 25 new home permits per month. In May, the city issued building permits for $3.6 million in construction, including 18 permits for homes over $100,000.
The housing market in Beebe has been described as “ready to boom” after years of near-dormancy.
Jason Scheel, chairman of the city’s planning commission, said he is seeing more growth in housing now than he has seen in five years on the commission. Allen Ridings, the city’s code enforcement officer and building inspector, says he seen more construction recently than in eight years on the job.
Scheel attributes the five new subdivisions with about 200 homes either under construction or in the planning phases to the quality of life possible in Beebe.
“We have a good school district and ASU-Beebe is right here,” Scheel said. “Most people work in or around Little Rock, but they know they can live here and have a good place to spend their afternoons and weekends.”
Most of the homes planned for Beebe are relatively small at 1,200 to 1,500 square feet and will sell for about $100,000 he said. The larger, high-dollar houses are outside the city where lots are measured in acres.
Scheel said Beebe simply doesn’t have enough land for developers to offer large lots. The city council’s attempt last year to grow through annexation failed, but the plan is to try again, he said.
The draw of the Cabot School District, responsible for Cabot’s phenomenal growth, also benefits the housing market in Austin and Ward, which are part of the district.
Like Beebe, Austin also is on the verge of a building boom, but unlike Beebe which will have to annex for any large change in population, Austin could potentially grow from 604 in the last census to about 4,500 when the 1,500 homes in nine subdivisions either planned or under construction are sold.
Ward has about 10 subdivisions that are either filling up with new houses or are in the preliminary phase where the streets are built. So far, this year about 100 building permits have been sold at city hall.
Ward’s growth has been steady. The last census set its population at 2,500, but new subdivisions have already increased that number to almost 3,400 and with more houses being built all the time, the population is expected to reach 5,000 by 2010.
Mayor Art Brooke says houses in Ward sell for an average of $20,000 less than in Cabot.
Neither does Ward have the traffic problems that Cabot has, which makes the city more desirable to some families, he says.
While the housing market is expected to keep fading from its record levels, 2006 is still expected by many economists to be the third best year for housing ever. Arkansas, homeownership is at a near-record high of 69 percent.
“With the soaring cost of new construction, we have seen an increasing demand for existing homes which are perceived to be a better value in comparison to many new construction homes,” Black-wood told The Leader.
Little Rock Air Force Base’s economic impact on the local economy increased $20 million from $580 million in 2004 to $600 million in 2005, most of which comes from military members living in surrounding communities.
According to Little Rock Air Force Base’s 2005 fiscal year economic impact analysis released in April, the base’s 5,919 active duty personnel collect $274 million in pay, part of which is spent in surrounding cities of Sherwood, Jacksonville, Cabot and Beebe for rent and housing.
Only 483 airmen live on base now as the older homes on base are being either demolished or renovated as part of a $500 million housing contract awarded to American Eagle Communities. By 2012, American Eagle plans to renovate 732 existing homes and build 648 new homes to make living on the base more appealing to military families.
Analysts with the National Association of Realtors are expecting the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to average 6.9 percent during the second half of the year and the unemployment rate is expected to average 4.8 percent in 2006.
Buyers are currently committing to an average 6.67 percent interest on new, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, compared with about 5.5 percent a year ago. That change raises the monthly cost $150 for a $200,000 mortgage.
The national median existing-home price for all housing types is forecast to rise 5.3 percent this year to $231,300.
With more construction in 2006 taking place in lower-cost housing markets, the median new-home price is projected to increase 0.8 percent to $242,900.
Leader staff writers
IN SHORT: New or used, homeownership keeps increasing here at a rapid clip.
June is Homeownership Month, and the housing market in central Arkansas continues to boom despite predictions of a slump in housing nationwide.
“I have been in this business for 19 years and my team has posted record sales for three consecutive months in a row.
Currently, we are averaging a home sale every 19 hours in my office,” said Steve Blackwood, of The Blackwood Team realty. Blackwood credits the Cabot School District with the solid housing market in the area. The population of Cabot is projected to be about 20,000 soon, with an average 25 new home permits per month. In May, the city issued building permits for $3.6 million in construction, including 18 permits for homes over $100,000.
The housing market in Beebe has been described as “ready to boom” after years of near-dormancy.
Jason Scheel, chairman of the city’s planning commission, said he is seeing more growth in housing now than he has seen in five years on the commission. Allen Ridings, the city’s code enforcement officer and building inspector, says he seen more construction recently than in eight years on the job.
Scheel attributes the five new subdivisions with about 200 homes either under construction or in the planning phases to the quality of life possible in Beebe.
“We have a good school district and ASU-Beebe is right here,” Scheel said. “Most people work in or around Little Rock, but they know they can live here and have a good place to spend their afternoons and weekends.”
Most of the homes planned for Beebe are relatively small at 1,200 to 1,500 square feet and will sell for about $100,000 he said. The larger, high-dollar houses are outside the city where lots are measured in acres.
Scheel said Beebe simply doesn’t have enough land for developers to offer large lots. The city council’s attempt last year to grow through annexation failed, but the plan is to try again, he said.
The draw of the Cabot School District, responsible for Cabot’s phenomenal growth, also benefits the housing market in Austin and Ward, which are part of the district.
Like Beebe, Austin also is on the verge of a building boom, but unlike Beebe which will have to annex for any large change in population, Austin could potentially grow from 604 in the last census to about 4,500 when the 1,500 homes in nine subdivisions either planned or under construction are sold.
Ward has about 10 subdivisions that are either filling up with new houses or are in the preliminary phase where the streets are built. So far, this year about 100 building permits have been sold at city hall.
Ward’s growth has been steady. The last census set its population at 2,500, but new subdivisions have already increased that number to almost 3,400 and with more houses being built all the time, the population is expected to reach 5,000 by 2010.
Mayor Art Brooke says houses in Ward sell for an average of $20,000 less than in Cabot.
Neither does Ward have the traffic problems that Cabot has, which makes the city more desirable to some families, he says.
While the housing market is expected to keep fading from its record levels, 2006 is still expected by many economists to be the third best year for housing ever. Arkansas, homeownership is at a near-record high of 69 percent.
“With the soaring cost of new construction, we have seen an increasing demand for existing homes which are perceived to be a better value in comparison to many new construction homes,” Black-wood told The Leader.
Little Rock Air Force Base’s economic impact on the local economy increased $20 million from $580 million in 2004 to $600 million in 2005, most of which comes from military members living in surrounding communities.
According to Little Rock Air Force Base’s 2005 fiscal year economic impact analysis released in April, the base’s 5,919 active duty personnel collect $274 million in pay, part of which is spent in surrounding cities of Sherwood, Jacksonville, Cabot and Beebe for rent and housing.
Only 483 airmen live on base now as the older homes on base are being either demolished or renovated as part of a $500 million housing contract awarded to American Eagle Communities. By 2012, American Eagle plans to renovate 732 existing homes and build 648 new homes to make living on the base more appealing to military families.
Analysts with the National Association of Realtors are expecting the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to average 6.9 percent during the second half of the year and the unemployment rate is expected to average 4.8 percent in 2006.
Buyers are currently committing to an average 6.67 percent interest on new, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, compared with about 5.5 percent a year ago. That change raises the monthly cost $150 for a $200,000 mortgage.
The national median existing-home price for all housing types is forecast to rise 5.3 percent this year to $231,300.
With more construction in 2006 taking place in lower-cost housing markets, the median new-home price is projected to increase 0.8 percent to $242,900.
TOP STORY >> Outcome still the same following recount
BY JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Lonoke County’s optical scanner returned the exact same numbers Saturday as two challenged Republican primary races were recounted.
If it changed nothing else, the recount of two Republican primary races Saturday confirmed the original tallies and helped ease doubts about the optical scanner and its programming.
Following the May 23 Republican primary election, Virgil Teague, Jr. held a one-vote advantage over Carl Schmidt, 586 to 585 in the Cabot alderman Ward 2, Position 1 race. Teague’s narrowest of victories withstood Schmidt’s recount challenge Saturday.
Teague could still face one or more independents in November. Cabot independents haven’t filed yet.
Teague said he had been as confident as he could be under the circumstances, since he was winner in the first primary count—discarded because the optical scanner was programmed incorrectly, then again May 28 for official count of all Lonoke County ballots and then again last Saturday in the face of Schmidt’s petition for a recount.
“I knew that’s the way it should have come out,” Teague said Monday, but “you never know what’s going to happen in a recount.”
Teague, a retired Union Pacific manager, said he’d bring his management skills to bear on the city council. Traffic and drainage are probably the biggest problems, he said.
Since Stumbaugh didn’t pay for his recount, Edwards will be the quorum member.
He said he wants to bring accountability to the budget process and help take care of traffic problems in the northern part of the county.
Edwards said that despite talk and news stories about his being part of an ultraconservative conspiracy to take over the Republican Party, neither he nor Casey Van Buskirk, who beat incumbent Gina Burton, met Randy Minton until after they filed for office.
“I’ve only spoken to Randy one time, for 15 to 20 minutes. I know they think Randy is who we are going to speak for.”
He said he wasn’t there to push Minton’s agenda through the quorum court.
“The Republican Assembly aren’t ultraconservative,” said Edwards. “They are just true Republicans. They have conservative, true Reagan values.”
In a letter to the editor published last Wednesday, Van Bus-kirk said essentially the same thing.
“I like to think that I won the election because of my hard work and dedication to winning. Randy Minton does not get to choose the JP for District 12. The people who live within District 12 make that decision.”
Of Burton, Van Buskirk said, “The only reason she is out of office is because of the simple fact that she did not vote as a Republican. She ran for office as a Republican but too often chose to vote with the Democrats.”
Burton says she will not endorse Van Buskirk when she runs against Patty Knox, a Democrat, in November.
“She’s been to only one quorum court meeting and is completely unknowledgeable about the way it functions. She has an association with the Minton Assembly,” Burton said.
“She’ll be told how to vote and that’s something I object to. I think JPs should vote according to their conscience and the information they are given.”
Burton said she has no immediate plans but would remain active in the Republican Party.
“I believe in the Republican Party and Republican values and I want to do what I can to just promote the Republican agenda.”
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Lonoke County’s optical scanner returned the exact same numbers Saturday as two challenged Republican primary races were recounted.
If it changed nothing else, the recount of two Republican primary races Saturday confirmed the original tallies and helped ease doubts about the optical scanner and its programming.
Following the May 23 Republican primary election, Virgil Teague, Jr. held a one-vote advantage over Carl Schmidt, 586 to 585 in the Cabot alderman Ward 2, Position 1 race. Teague’s narrowest of victories withstood Schmidt’s recount challenge Saturday.
Teague could still face one or more independents in November. Cabot independents haven’t filed yet.
Teague said he had been as confident as he could be under the circumstances, since he was winner in the first primary count—discarded because the optical scanner was programmed incorrectly, then again May 28 for official count of all Lonoke County ballots and then again last Saturday in the face of Schmidt’s petition for a recount.
“I knew that’s the way it should have come out,” Teague said Monday, but “you never know what’s going to happen in a recount.”
Teague, a retired Union Pacific manager, said he’d bring his management skills to bear on the city council. Traffic and drainage are probably the biggest problems, he said.
Since Stumbaugh didn’t pay for his recount, Edwards will be the quorum member.
He said he wants to bring accountability to the budget process and help take care of traffic problems in the northern part of the county.
Edwards said that despite talk and news stories about his being part of an ultraconservative conspiracy to take over the Republican Party, neither he nor Casey Van Buskirk, who beat incumbent Gina Burton, met Randy Minton until after they filed for office.
“I’ve only spoken to Randy one time, for 15 to 20 minutes. I know they think Randy is who we are going to speak for.”
He said he wasn’t there to push Minton’s agenda through the quorum court.
“The Republican Assembly aren’t ultraconservative,” said Edwards. “They are just true Republicans. They have conservative, true Reagan values.”
In a letter to the editor published last Wednesday, Van Bus-kirk said essentially the same thing.
“I like to think that I won the election because of my hard work and dedication to winning. Randy Minton does not get to choose the JP for District 12. The people who live within District 12 make that decision.”
Of Burton, Van Buskirk said, “The only reason she is out of office is because of the simple fact that she did not vote as a Republican. She ran for office as a Republican but too often chose to vote with the Democrats.”
Burton says she will not endorse Van Buskirk when she runs against Patty Knox, a Democrat, in November.
“She’s been to only one quorum court meeting and is completely unknowledgeable about the way it functions. She has an association with the Minton Assembly,” Burton said.
“She’ll be told how to vote and that’s something I object to. I think JPs should vote according to their conscience and the information they are given.”
Burton said she has no immediate plans but would remain active in the Republican Party.
“I believe in the Republican Party and Republican values and I want to do what I can to just promote the Republican agenda.”
TOP STORY >> Cabot High almost ready
BY SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Finishing touches are added to the $13.9 million structure as an addition to the Fine Arts Building gets underway.
As workers put the finishing touches on the new $13.9 million Cabot High School on the northwest side of the campus, facing Highways 89 and 38, teachers are already moving boxes from their classrooms in 25 trailers scattered across campus.
Across campus, construction workers are erecting the walls for a $1,888,722 addition to the south end of the Fine Arts Building. The addition will have new choir, chorus and band rehearsal rooms and several classrooms.
“We feel like everything is progressing and we’re in good shape to be in the new high school in August, and we hope to schedule an open house for the parents, students and community in mid-August,” said Frank Holman, superintendent of the Cabot School District.
About 1,800 students are expected on campus this fall.
The massive heating and air conditioning ventilation system for the 191,015 square-foot building is being turned on this month as workers finish in-stalling the ceiling tiles, ceramic floor tiles and carpet on the first floor.
Once painters are through with the interior walls on the second floor, ceiling tiles and flooring will be installed.
The completed 12,000- square-foot media center is being used for temporary storage while the inside of the building is being finished.
“I’m just amazed of the size of this building. You start from the beginning of construction on paper, and when you get over there and see it finished, it’s just amazing,” Holman told The Leader.
When the classrooms are completely moved into the new high school’s 105 classrooms, 25 trailers across campus are scheduled to be removed, and buildings C and D are scheduled for demolition to provide additional parking around the new building.
“Parents and patrons are ex-cited about the new high school and feel it is long overdue,” said Jim Dalton, assistant superintendent for the Cabot School District.
Later this summer, workers will start building a long turn lane on Hwy. 89 so parents can turn into the campus to drop students off at the front of the building without delaying traffic. Students who drive will use an entrance on Hwy. 38.
Construction on the new high school started last August. The two-story, V-shaped building will be arranged to support the district’s six career academies of agriculture, science and mechanics; business, finance and information technology; construction, engineering and automotive technology; health and human services; education, law and public service, and fine arts, journalism and communications.
There will be eight offices for principals and support personnel as well as eight counseling offices.
Cabot High School Principal Tony Thurman says students will get the most use out of the centrally located media center while teachers will take advantage of the four resource rooms equipped with kitchenettes, copiers, computers and teleconference equipment.
Teachers and students alike will get a lot of use out of the professional-development center says Thurman. It will have state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment for staff meetings or guest speakers for classes.
“We will have seating for 160 without tables and 65 individuals when we want to use tables,” Thurman told The Leader.
Students will be both safe and comfortable at the new school. Every entrance to the building will have video surveillance monitored by principals and resource officers.
Covered outside walkways on both floors of the building will help students get to and from classes even in inclement weather, without crowding the interior hallway.
The Cabot Board of Education is considering having an open house for parents and community members to view the new building in September.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Finishing touches are added to the $13.9 million structure as an addition to the Fine Arts Building gets underway.
As workers put the finishing touches on the new $13.9 million Cabot High School on the northwest side of the campus, facing Highways 89 and 38, teachers are already moving boxes from their classrooms in 25 trailers scattered across campus.
Across campus, construction workers are erecting the walls for a $1,888,722 addition to the south end of the Fine Arts Building. The addition will have new choir, chorus and band rehearsal rooms and several classrooms.
“We feel like everything is progressing and we’re in good shape to be in the new high school in August, and we hope to schedule an open house for the parents, students and community in mid-August,” said Frank Holman, superintendent of the Cabot School District.
About 1,800 students are expected on campus this fall.
The massive heating and air conditioning ventilation system for the 191,015 square-foot building is being turned on this month as workers finish in-stalling the ceiling tiles, ceramic floor tiles and carpet on the first floor.
Once painters are through with the interior walls on the second floor, ceiling tiles and flooring will be installed.
The completed 12,000- square-foot media center is being used for temporary storage while the inside of the building is being finished.
“I’m just amazed of the size of this building. You start from the beginning of construction on paper, and when you get over there and see it finished, it’s just amazing,” Holman told The Leader.
When the classrooms are completely moved into the new high school’s 105 classrooms, 25 trailers across campus are scheduled to be removed, and buildings C and D are scheduled for demolition to provide additional parking around the new building.
“Parents and patrons are ex-cited about the new high school and feel it is long overdue,” said Jim Dalton, assistant superintendent for the Cabot School District.
Later this summer, workers will start building a long turn lane on Hwy. 89 so parents can turn into the campus to drop students off at the front of the building without delaying traffic. Students who drive will use an entrance on Hwy. 38.
Construction on the new high school started last August. The two-story, V-shaped building will be arranged to support the district’s six career academies of agriculture, science and mechanics; business, finance and information technology; construction, engineering and automotive technology; health and human services; education, law and public service, and fine arts, journalism and communications.
There will be eight offices for principals and support personnel as well as eight counseling offices.
Cabot High School Principal Tony Thurman says students will get the most use out of the centrally located media center while teachers will take advantage of the four resource rooms equipped with kitchenettes, copiers, computers and teleconference equipment.
Teachers and students alike will get a lot of use out of the professional-development center says Thurman. It will have state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment for staff meetings or guest speakers for classes.
“We will have seating for 160 without tables and 65 individuals when we want to use tables,” Thurman told The Leader.
Students will be both safe and comfortable at the new school. Every entrance to the building will have video surveillance monitored by principals and resource officers.
Covered outside walkways on both floors of the building will help students get to and from classes even in inclement weather, without crowding the interior hallway.
The Cabot Board of Education is considering having an open house for parents and community members to view the new building in September.
NEIGHBORS >> Boards and Bagels
BY JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: New Lonoke deli serves up meals, skateboards
The downtown Center Street storefront that once housed Flavours — a coffee and sandwich shop — has given way to
T & T Deli, with at least eight sandwiches, a variety of salads, fruit salads, breakfast sweets, soups or casseroles, coffee and latte.
Or, if you want, a skateboard.
Terry and Teresa Leslie opened the shop recently. Terry Leslie is a Lonoke patrolman.
“I opened Little Rock’s first New York-style deli, The Big Apple, in west Little Rock,” Teresa said one day while Terry oversaw the repositioning of the new sign, which reads “T & T Deli and Skateboards.
The skateboards are sold by David Leslie, a Lonoke ninth grader, who posed reluctantly with one of his favorites in the family shop.
Terry, previously a Little Rock police officer, has been on the Lonoke force for 18 months.
The Leslies say they opened the deli because there was a need for it.
While Flavours offered a very large variety of coffee and breakfast sweets, but a limited number of sandwiches.
T & T deli sandwiches include the club, poboy, chicken salad, a create-your-own, a BLT, vegetarian and bagel sandwiches.
Salad offerings include the chief’s special — comparable to the U.S. Pizza salad, they say, and fruit and chicken salad, fruit and cheese, fresh fruit cup, pasta or chicken salad.
Morning choices include bagels and cream cheese, biscuits and gravy, muffins and pastries.
Desserts include cheesecake, banana pudding and brownies.
They offer coffee, tea, soft drinks, cappuccino, latte, ice tea, fruit smoothie and iced latte.
Meat and cheese is available by the pound and breads by the package, according to the menu.
Open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, the Leslies offer a breakfast special of two biscuits, gravy and sausage or bacon for $1.50.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: New Lonoke deli serves up meals, skateboards
The downtown Center Street storefront that once housed Flavours — a coffee and sandwich shop — has given way to
T & T Deli, with at least eight sandwiches, a variety of salads, fruit salads, breakfast sweets, soups or casseroles, coffee and latte.
Or, if you want, a skateboard.
Terry and Teresa Leslie opened the shop recently. Terry Leslie is a Lonoke patrolman.
“I opened Little Rock’s first New York-style deli, The Big Apple, in west Little Rock,” Teresa said one day while Terry oversaw the repositioning of the new sign, which reads “T & T Deli and Skateboards.
The skateboards are sold by David Leslie, a Lonoke ninth grader, who posed reluctantly with one of his favorites in the family shop.
Terry, previously a Little Rock police officer, has been on the Lonoke force for 18 months.
The Leslies say they opened the deli because there was a need for it.
While Flavours offered a very large variety of coffee and breakfast sweets, but a limited number of sandwiches.
T & T deli sandwiches include the club, poboy, chicken salad, a create-your-own, a BLT, vegetarian and bagel sandwiches.
Salad offerings include the chief’s special — comparable to the U.S. Pizza salad, they say, and fruit and chicken salad, fruit and cheese, fresh fruit cup, pasta or chicken salad.
Morning choices include bagels and cream cheese, biscuits and gravy, muffins and pastries.
Desserts include cheesecake, banana pudding and brownies.
They offer coffee, tea, soft drinks, cappuccino, latte, ice tea, fruit smoothie and iced latte.
Meat and cheese is available by the pound and breads by the package, according to the menu.
Open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, the Leslies offer a breakfast special of two biscuits, gravy and sausage or bacon for $1.50.
SPORTS >> Jacksonville names youth All-Star teams
Leader report
The Jacksonville Youth Baseball Association has selected its All-Stars for each age group. These select players have wrapped up league play in the city league, and will continue play in weekend tournaments in several different areas. Some will advance to state tournaments to vie for the state championship in their respective age groups.
JYBA won its first youth state championship last season when the 9-year-old team took the crown. Many of those players are back this year competing with the 10-year-old team.
This year’s JYBA All-Stars are as follows:
6-year-olds
Demarcus Adell, Ingle Fence
Tylon Anderson, Lions Club
Brandon Barnes, Ingle Fence
Deboious Cobbs, Lions Club
Shawn Ellis, Tom Bush Dental Clinic
Caleb Kendricks, Lions Club
Kylan Roddy, Ingle Fence
Breenan Shelton, Ingle Fence
Quentin Stallard, Western Sizzlin
Brandon Steadman, Lions Club
Kenneth Whitfield, Ingle Fence
Nick Whisker, Bond and Chamberlain Law Firm
Peyton Williams, Western Sizzlin
7-year-olds
Christopher Bass, Marshall Rd. Pharmacy
Zachary Bobo, Boyd Veterinary Clinic
Devin Dodson, McDonalds
Tyson Flowers, K&R Photo
Kolbe Garner, Marshall Rd. Pharmacy
Christian Gartman, McAlister CPA
Michael Havard, Jacksonville Chiropractic
Archie Jackson, Marshall Rd. Pharmacy
Bralyn James, McAlister CPA
DaJaun Ridgeway, RPM Realty
Landon Rowland, Boyd Veterinary Clinic
Jacob Sherrill, K&R Photo
Trent Toney, RPM Realty
Jordan Wickersham, McAlister CPA
8 year olds
Bradly Brown, Ashcraft Orthodontics
D’Unta Dodson, K&R Photo
Brandon Hickingbotham, RPM Realty
Clayton Holderfield, McAlister CPA
Logan Kirkendoll, Marshall Rd. Pharmacy
Rodney Middleton, Marshall Rd. Pharmacy
Keiontay Mosley, Jacksonville Chiropractic
D.J. Scott, RPM Realty
Garrett Sherrill, K&R Photo
Peyton Traywick, K&R Photo
Ramiro Urena, RPM Realty
Michael Watts, Jacksonville Chiropractic
Zachary West, K&R Photo
Cordarious Winston, Unique Furniture
9 year olds
Myles Bush, State Farm Insurance
Devin Campbell, Farmers Insurance
Christian Henson, Kessler Team Sports
Greg Jones, Farmers Insurance
Courtland McDonald, State Farm Insurance
Lance Nolen, Absolute Pix
Blake Perry, Farmers Insurance
Derrious Perry, Farmers Insurance
Steven Perse, Kessler Team Sports
Andrew Tucker, State Farm Insurance
James Tucker, State Farm Insurance
Shane Wudkewych, Harry Morton P.T.
10 year olds
Austin Allen, Sate Farm Insurance
Troy Allen, State Farm Insurance
Reginal Barnes, Farmers Insurance
Michael Benton, State Farm Insurance
Jay Craig, State Farm Insurance
Hunter Garrison, State Farm Insurance
Timothy Green, State Farm Insurance
Justin Harris, Kessler Team Sports
Simeon Jackson, Kessler Team Sports
Jacob Price, Absolute Pix
Nicholas Nicolini, Absolute Pix
Antonious Rockamore, Absolute Pix
11 year olds
Bryan Ayers, Chambers Drug
Brandon Beard, Chambers Drug
Ricky Brown, Chambers Drug
Max Carroll, Greg Bollen Dental
Jaleel Henson, Greg Bollen Dental
Logan Kulesa, Chambers Drug
William Miller, Greg Bollen Dental
Eric Moore, Greg Bollen Dental
Tanner Ruple, Chambers Drug
Dylan Sanders, Whit Davis Lumber
David Williams, Chambers Drug
Terrance Yelder, Whit Davis Lumber
12 year olds
Tirrell Brown, Greg Bolen Dental
Xavier Brown, Greg Bolen Dental
Kenneth Cummings, Whit Davis Lumber
Brandon Barrow, 1st Arkansas Bank
Bradley Griggs, Whit Davis Lumber
Jesse Harbin, Chambers Drug
Haley Hudson, Whit Davis Lumber
Lerome Kelly, 1st Arkansas Bank
Landon Nolen, Whit Davis Lumber
Tyler Toney, Whit Davis Lumber
Zachary Traylor, Greg Bolen Dental
Chaunce Umfleet, Chambers Drug
Chris Young, Greg Bolen Dental
13 year olds
Jacob Abrahamson, Sonic
Jeremy Bormann, Sonic
Tyler Crook, Bart Gray Realty
Derek Day, Sonic
Clint Gray, Two Pine Landfill
Zachary Hibbs, Sertoma Club
Jacob Lackovic, Bart Gray Realty
Michael Lamb, Sonic
Casey Maricle, Two Pine Landfill
Logan Perry, Jacksonville Athletics
Toby Robinson, Sertoma Club
Adrian Rodriguez, Two Pine Landfill
Alexander Tucker, Jacksonville Athletics
The Jacksonville Youth Baseball Association has selected its All-Stars for each age group. These select players have wrapped up league play in the city league, and will continue play in weekend tournaments in several different areas. Some will advance to state tournaments to vie for the state championship in their respective age groups.
JYBA won its first youth state championship last season when the 9-year-old team took the crown. Many of those players are back this year competing with the 10-year-old team.
This year’s JYBA All-Stars are as follows:
6-year-olds
Demarcus Adell, Ingle Fence
Tylon Anderson, Lions Club
Brandon Barnes, Ingle Fence
Deboious Cobbs, Lions Club
Shawn Ellis, Tom Bush Dental Clinic
Caleb Kendricks, Lions Club
Kylan Roddy, Ingle Fence
Breenan Shelton, Ingle Fence
Quentin Stallard, Western Sizzlin
Brandon Steadman, Lions Club
Kenneth Whitfield, Ingle Fence
Nick Whisker, Bond and Chamberlain Law Firm
Peyton Williams, Western Sizzlin
7-year-olds
Christopher Bass, Marshall Rd. Pharmacy
Zachary Bobo, Boyd Veterinary Clinic
Devin Dodson, McDonalds
Tyson Flowers, K&R Photo
Kolbe Garner, Marshall Rd. Pharmacy
Christian Gartman, McAlister CPA
Michael Havard, Jacksonville Chiropractic
Archie Jackson, Marshall Rd. Pharmacy
Bralyn James, McAlister CPA
DaJaun Ridgeway, RPM Realty
Landon Rowland, Boyd Veterinary Clinic
Jacob Sherrill, K&R Photo
Trent Toney, RPM Realty
Jordan Wickersham, McAlister CPA
8 year olds
Bradly Brown, Ashcraft Orthodontics
D’Unta Dodson, K&R Photo
Brandon Hickingbotham, RPM Realty
Clayton Holderfield, McAlister CPA
Logan Kirkendoll, Marshall Rd. Pharmacy
Rodney Middleton, Marshall Rd. Pharmacy
Keiontay Mosley, Jacksonville Chiropractic
D.J. Scott, RPM Realty
Garrett Sherrill, K&R Photo
Peyton Traywick, K&R Photo
Ramiro Urena, RPM Realty
Michael Watts, Jacksonville Chiropractic
Zachary West, K&R Photo
Cordarious Winston, Unique Furniture
9 year olds
Myles Bush, State Farm Insurance
Devin Campbell, Farmers Insurance
Christian Henson, Kessler Team Sports
Greg Jones, Farmers Insurance
Courtland McDonald, State Farm Insurance
Lance Nolen, Absolute Pix
Blake Perry, Farmers Insurance
Derrious Perry, Farmers Insurance
Steven Perse, Kessler Team Sports
Andrew Tucker, State Farm Insurance
James Tucker, State Farm Insurance
Shane Wudkewych, Harry Morton P.T.
10 year olds
Austin Allen, Sate Farm Insurance
Troy Allen, State Farm Insurance
Reginal Barnes, Farmers Insurance
Michael Benton, State Farm Insurance
Jay Craig, State Farm Insurance
Hunter Garrison, State Farm Insurance
Timothy Green, State Farm Insurance
Justin Harris, Kessler Team Sports
Simeon Jackson, Kessler Team Sports
Jacob Price, Absolute Pix
Nicholas Nicolini, Absolute Pix
Antonious Rockamore, Absolute Pix
11 year olds
Bryan Ayers, Chambers Drug
Brandon Beard, Chambers Drug
Ricky Brown, Chambers Drug
Max Carroll, Greg Bollen Dental
Jaleel Henson, Greg Bollen Dental
Logan Kulesa, Chambers Drug
William Miller, Greg Bollen Dental
Eric Moore, Greg Bollen Dental
Tanner Ruple, Chambers Drug
Dylan Sanders, Whit Davis Lumber
David Williams, Chambers Drug
Terrance Yelder, Whit Davis Lumber
12 year olds
Tirrell Brown, Greg Bolen Dental
Xavier Brown, Greg Bolen Dental
Kenneth Cummings, Whit Davis Lumber
Brandon Barrow, 1st Arkansas Bank
Bradley Griggs, Whit Davis Lumber
Jesse Harbin, Chambers Drug
Haley Hudson, Whit Davis Lumber
Lerome Kelly, 1st Arkansas Bank
Landon Nolen, Whit Davis Lumber
Tyler Toney, Whit Davis Lumber
Zachary Traylor, Greg Bolen Dental
Chaunce Umfleet, Chambers Drug
Chris Young, Greg Bolen Dental
13 year olds
Jacob Abrahamson, Sonic
Jeremy Bormann, Sonic
Tyler Crook, Bart Gray Realty
Derek Day, Sonic
Clint Gray, Two Pine Landfill
Zachary Hibbs, Sertoma Club
Jacob Lackovic, Bart Gray Realty
Michael Lamb, Sonic
Casey Maricle, Two Pine Landfill
Logan Perry, Jacksonville Athletics
Toby Robinson, Sertoma Club
Adrian Rodriguez, Two Pine Landfill
Alexander Tucker, Jacksonville Athletics
SPORTS >> Conway sweeps Sylvan Hills
BY JASON KING
Leader sports writer
IN SHORT: The Conway Class A team swept a doubleheader in Sherwood Saturday.
A pair of late-game runs from Conway handed Sylvan Hills two close losses Saturday at Kevin McReynolds field in Sherwood during an American Legion Class A doubleheader with the Wampus Cats. The Bruins trailed by only one run in the opener until Jessie Cormier scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the sixth to tie it at 4-4. Conway was able to retake the lead in the seventh, holding on for a 5-4 win.
The second game was even closer. Sylvan Hills’ only run in the contest came from lead-off batter Jessie Everett in the top of the first inning. Conway tied the game in the bottom of the second, and scored the winning run in the fifth to bring the game to a halt due to time.
The Wampus Cats took the early lead in the opener, scoring two runs in the first inning. Sylvan Hills was able to make up one of those runs in the first with lead-off batter Everett. After reaching first with a single, Everett was driven home moments later off a double from Ricky Wheeler. The run pulled the Bruins to within one heading into the second inning.
Conway built on its lead in the top of the second with another pair of runs to go up 4-1. The Bruins once again came away with only one run during their turn; this time it was T.C. Squires singling to put the score in position, and scoring off a Conway error. Everett’s run made the score 4-2 after two innings.
Ross Bogard pulled Sylvan Hills to within one in the bottom of the fourth inning with an RBI that scored Wheeler, who had singled at the start of the Bruins’ turn in the fourth. Wheeler’s run closed the gap to 4-3 Conway.
Sylvan Hills completed the comeback in the bottom of the sixth. Cormier led off the inning with a single down the third-base line. He got to second with a steal, and then made his way to third off a 5-3 fielder’s choice for the Wampus Cats. A passed ball during Wheeler’s turn at the plate allowed Cormier to make it in, tying the game with one inning remaining.
Conway almost went three-and-out in the seventh, but a fielding error in right field allowed the second batter on. The potential third out came on a fly ball, but another error in the outfield allowed the winning run to score. The Bruins did go three-and-out in the bottom of the seventh, handing the game-one win to Conway.
The Bruins got off to a strong start in the second game, scoring with lead-off batter Everett. Bogard drove Everett in with a double to give Sylvan Hills a 1-0 lead. A chance to take a commanding lead diminished in the second with an outstanding play from the Conway shortstop. Dalton, Wheeler and Cormier occupied the bases with only one out. A hit to shortstop was caught and quickly thrown to second, catching Wheeler for the third out of the inning.
Conway tied the game in the bottom of the second, and relied on its defense to keep the Bruins from scoring further runs. The Wampus Cats took to the plate in the bottom of the fifth as time expired, scoring the final run of the afternoon to win the second game 2-1 and taking the sweep.
Sylvan Hills hosted Jack-sonville in a Class A and AAA doubleheader yesterday after Leader deadlines, and will be back in action Thursday with a Class A doubleheader against Pine Bluff in Sherwood starting at 6 p.m.
Leader sports writer
IN SHORT: The Conway Class A team swept a doubleheader in Sherwood Saturday.
A pair of late-game runs from Conway handed Sylvan Hills two close losses Saturday at Kevin McReynolds field in Sherwood during an American Legion Class A doubleheader with the Wampus Cats. The Bruins trailed by only one run in the opener until Jessie Cormier scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the sixth to tie it at 4-4. Conway was able to retake the lead in the seventh, holding on for a 5-4 win.
The second game was even closer. Sylvan Hills’ only run in the contest came from lead-off batter Jessie Everett in the top of the first inning. Conway tied the game in the bottom of the second, and scored the winning run in the fifth to bring the game to a halt due to time.
The Wampus Cats took the early lead in the opener, scoring two runs in the first inning. Sylvan Hills was able to make up one of those runs in the first with lead-off batter Everett. After reaching first with a single, Everett was driven home moments later off a double from Ricky Wheeler. The run pulled the Bruins to within one heading into the second inning.
Conway built on its lead in the top of the second with another pair of runs to go up 4-1. The Bruins once again came away with only one run during their turn; this time it was T.C. Squires singling to put the score in position, and scoring off a Conway error. Everett’s run made the score 4-2 after two innings.
Ross Bogard pulled Sylvan Hills to within one in the bottom of the fourth inning with an RBI that scored Wheeler, who had singled at the start of the Bruins’ turn in the fourth. Wheeler’s run closed the gap to 4-3 Conway.
Sylvan Hills completed the comeback in the bottom of the sixth. Cormier led off the inning with a single down the third-base line. He got to second with a steal, and then made his way to third off a 5-3 fielder’s choice for the Wampus Cats. A passed ball during Wheeler’s turn at the plate allowed Cormier to make it in, tying the game with one inning remaining.
Conway almost went three-and-out in the seventh, but a fielding error in right field allowed the second batter on. The potential third out came on a fly ball, but another error in the outfield allowed the winning run to score. The Bruins did go three-and-out in the bottom of the seventh, handing the game-one win to Conway.
The Bruins got off to a strong start in the second game, scoring with lead-off batter Everett. Bogard drove Everett in with a double to give Sylvan Hills a 1-0 lead. A chance to take a commanding lead diminished in the second with an outstanding play from the Conway shortstop. Dalton, Wheeler and Cormier occupied the bases with only one out. A hit to shortstop was caught and quickly thrown to second, catching Wheeler for the third out of the inning.
Conway tied the game in the bottom of the second, and relied on its defense to keep the Bruins from scoring further runs. The Wampus Cats took to the plate in the bottom of the fifth as time expired, scoring the final run of the afternoon to win the second game 2-1 and taking the sweep.
Sylvan Hills hosted Jack-sonville in a Class A and AAA doubleheader yesterday after Leader deadlines, and will be back in action Thursday with a Class A doubleheader against Pine Bluff in Sherwood starting at 6 p.m.
SPORTS >> Basketball trailblazer for women in 1930s
Leader report
IN SHORT: Mabel Williams of Jacksonville helped lead the Crescent Comets of Eureka Springs to a national championship game in Wichita, Kan., in the Depression.
During the early 1930s, “guests” of what is now the 1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa, a historic hotel of America located in Eureka Springs , slept in the rooms… but they also went to class and some of them played basketball. One of them played basketball very well.
In fact, Mabel Williams of Jack-sonville took her college team, the Crescent Comets, all the way to a national championship game in Wichita, Kan., where they lost the title game by only one point to a team led by All-American Babe Didrikson.
She and her fellow Comets did manage to win two other national championships for Crescent College and Conservatory for Women in tournaments played in Dallas. Some say this championship team played like they had been playing together for years. They had.
“My fellow Comet teammates all came to Crescent College, like I did, from Sparkman (Ark),” Williams said. “All 10 of us played for the Sparklers, our high school team, where we won three state championships. Mrs. Engels, who owned the hotel college, offered our team a full scholarship to come to Eureka Springs and play for the Comets.
“We loved it,” explained Williams. “We had the entire fourth floor just for our team. And even though the school was for rich girls, our team was accepted with kindness from the regular students. We all loved it so.”
Williams righted a few Eureka Springs’ urban legends as well when she explained, “We never played in the hotel’s glass conservatory like some think. We always practiced and played in the basement of Eureka’s city auditorium where the boys played also. In fact, our coach would make us run from the hotel to the auditorium every day for practice.”
It should be noted that their route from the Crescent Hotel, which sits atop Crescent Mount-ain, to the City Auditorium, located downtown in the valley below, was about a two-mile run. The auditorium was also the site of many of the Comets’ tournaments.
“Most of our games however were in Oklahoma and Kansas,” noted Williams. “And when you’ve got a bunch of girls from Sparkman, Yellville, Flippin and Hartman, trips out of state were quite exciting… especially in the early ‘30s.”
Basketball wasn’t Williams’ only fond memory of her time at Crescent College, a finishing school for young women. She also remembers the dances.
“It was marvelous,” beamed Williams. “We got to dance in the lobby with all the other girls and we looked just as nice. Mrs. Engels saw to it. Before the college’s first formal, she bought each member of our team a formal gown from a fancy dress shop in Springfield, Missouri so we could go and feel like we fit in.”
The years of 1930 to 1933 were filled with more than just basketball and dances for Mabel Williams. This highly regarded offensive forward was a championship student as well. Her studies in general curriculum earned her a degree allowing her the opportunity to become a teacher upon graduation.
Williams opted to stay at Crescent College another year after graduation but then the school closed due to hard times. So “ol’ number 5” went home, got married, and started a family and a career in the height of The Great Depression… a transition she refers to as “from the hardwood to the hard life.”
Even though she was offered a chance to play basketball in Joplin, Williams stayed home, raised two sons, Jack and Bob, and began her career as a banker. She began her banking career at First Jacksonville State Bank and and stayed with it through its transition to First Arkansas Bank and Trust, where she was employed at the time of her retirement.
Bank president Larry Wilson recalls training under Williams in his early 20s.
“I was in college I guess,” Wilson said. “She worked at the base branch, I think the entire time she worked for us. I remember working over there with her. The military got a check the 15th and 30th of every month, and I can rember she and I just cashing checks all day long. She was very patient and she came to be known by the military as their banker. She always did an outstanding job for us. She was the manager over there. She trained me and she trained a number of people that have come through here.”
When asked if there is any one thing she cherishes most from her basketball days at Crescent College, Williams smiles warmly and simply says, “The friendships.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Sparkman Sparklers team on which Ms. Williams played was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Dallas County Museum in Fordyce, Arkansas.
IN SHORT: Mabel Williams of Jacksonville helped lead the Crescent Comets of Eureka Springs to a national championship game in Wichita, Kan., in the Depression.
During the early 1930s, “guests” of what is now the 1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa, a historic hotel of America located in Eureka Springs , slept in the rooms… but they also went to class and some of them played basketball. One of them played basketball very well.
In fact, Mabel Williams of Jack-sonville took her college team, the Crescent Comets, all the way to a national championship game in Wichita, Kan., where they lost the title game by only one point to a team led by All-American Babe Didrikson.
She and her fellow Comets did manage to win two other national championships for Crescent College and Conservatory for Women in tournaments played in Dallas. Some say this championship team played like they had been playing together for years. They had.
“My fellow Comet teammates all came to Crescent College, like I did, from Sparkman (Ark),” Williams said. “All 10 of us played for the Sparklers, our high school team, where we won three state championships. Mrs. Engels, who owned the hotel college, offered our team a full scholarship to come to Eureka Springs and play for the Comets.
“We loved it,” explained Williams. “We had the entire fourth floor just for our team. And even though the school was for rich girls, our team was accepted with kindness from the regular students. We all loved it so.”
Williams righted a few Eureka Springs’ urban legends as well when she explained, “We never played in the hotel’s glass conservatory like some think. We always practiced and played in the basement of Eureka’s city auditorium where the boys played also. In fact, our coach would make us run from the hotel to the auditorium every day for practice.”
It should be noted that their route from the Crescent Hotel, which sits atop Crescent Mount-ain, to the City Auditorium, located downtown in the valley below, was about a two-mile run. The auditorium was also the site of many of the Comets’ tournaments.
“Most of our games however were in Oklahoma and Kansas,” noted Williams. “And when you’ve got a bunch of girls from Sparkman, Yellville, Flippin and Hartman, trips out of state were quite exciting… especially in the early ‘30s.”
Basketball wasn’t Williams’ only fond memory of her time at Crescent College, a finishing school for young women. She also remembers the dances.
“It was marvelous,” beamed Williams. “We got to dance in the lobby with all the other girls and we looked just as nice. Mrs. Engels saw to it. Before the college’s first formal, she bought each member of our team a formal gown from a fancy dress shop in Springfield, Missouri so we could go and feel like we fit in.”
The years of 1930 to 1933 were filled with more than just basketball and dances for Mabel Williams. This highly regarded offensive forward was a championship student as well. Her studies in general curriculum earned her a degree allowing her the opportunity to become a teacher upon graduation.
Williams opted to stay at Crescent College another year after graduation but then the school closed due to hard times. So “ol’ number 5” went home, got married, and started a family and a career in the height of The Great Depression… a transition she refers to as “from the hardwood to the hard life.”
Even though she was offered a chance to play basketball in Joplin, Williams stayed home, raised two sons, Jack and Bob, and began her career as a banker. She began her banking career at First Jacksonville State Bank and and stayed with it through its transition to First Arkansas Bank and Trust, where she was employed at the time of her retirement.
Bank president Larry Wilson recalls training under Williams in his early 20s.
“I was in college I guess,” Wilson said. “She worked at the base branch, I think the entire time she worked for us. I remember working over there with her. The military got a check the 15th and 30th of every month, and I can rember she and I just cashing checks all day long. She was very patient and she came to be known by the military as their banker. She always did an outstanding job for us. She was the manager over there. She trained me and she trained a number of people that have come through here.”
When asked if there is any one thing she cherishes most from her basketball days at Crescent College, Williams smiles warmly and simply says, “The friendships.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Sparkman Sparklers team on which Ms. Williams played was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Dallas County Museum in Fordyce, Arkansas.
SPORTS >> Pitchers dominate in Bruins' triumph
BY JASON KING
Leader sports writer
IN SHORT: Sylvan Hills’ and Cabot’s pitchers dominated a AAA encounter, but the Bruins did just enough to pull out a 2-1 victory Monday in Cabot.
Sylvan Hills’ Carter Lance and Cabot’s Justin Haas turned Monday night’s game between the Bruins and Home Depot Legion AAA teams into a pitchers’ duel. Both young men went the distance on the mound for their respective teams. Haas put up very respectable numbers for Home Depot with five hits, two earned runs, and one walk along with six strikeouts.
Lance gave up even less for Sylvan Hills. Three hits and two walks is all the big right hander would allow, also topping Cabot’s southpaw in the strikeout department by one with seven on the evening. He had 95 pitches in seven innings to take the win.
“We didn’t hit the ball like we have been,” Bruins coach Mike Bromley said. “Their little lefty did a good job on the mound for them. I thought Carter Lance did an outstanding job on the mound for us, he looked in control, and that’s what we want to see. It wasn’t our best day hitting, but we did what we had to do to win the ball game.”
Chase Elder tagged-up on a SAC from Bruins first baseman Tony Pavan for Sylvan Hills’ first run in the top of the fourth inning. The second and final run was scored on a double to center from Elder that brought in Gwatney in the fifth inning. Both teams started out strong defensively in the opening inning. Haas sent the Bruins three-and-out, as Lance did the same to Home Depot.
The first offensive highlight did not occur until the top of the second inning. Pavan hit a single to center, followed by a single to left from Jerry Lawson. The hits came after Haas had already forced two pop-ups, and Haas was able force another fly for the final out, this time from eight-hole hitter Ryan Wood. The Bruins left both runners on base, and Cabot avoided the early threat.
Lance also gave up his first hit in the second. Justin Free hopped it to center for a Cabot hit, followed by a walk for Drew Burks.
Lance had started the inning with a strikeout on Gross, and got his rhythm back with strikeouts on Murphy and Burgan to leave the Cabot runners on first and second.
Both teams collected a hit each in the third inning, but neither would go past first base. Gwatney sent it to left for a single during the Bruins’ turn, but the hit came with two outs for Sylvan Hills. Garlington followed Gwatney in the order, and popped up to Cabot centerfielder Corey Wade for the third out of the inning.
Trey Rosel bunted for the infield hit in the bottom of the third. Rosel led off for Home Depot, but the following three batters all popped up for outs, leaving Rosel on the bag at the end of Cabot’s turn.
The errors for Cabot were few, but the first was most costly. Elder started the top of the fourth for Sylvan Hills with a pop-up to center, but a fielding error allowed him all the way to second base. Jarrett Boles moved him to third with a single grounder to left field, and Pavan popped it up to center for the sacrifice fly.
Boles made it to second when Elder scored, but the final two batters popped out to center, leaving him on.
Free got his second hit for Cabot in the fourth, but didn’t make it past first. Lance shut down the next two batters with a K and a 5-3 grounder to take it to the fifth inning.
It looked like the fifth would be Haas’ strongest inning. Lead-off batter Bogard and following batter Roark both went down with strikeouts, and No. 3 hitter Gwatney was down in the count. A slight slip from Haas hit Gwatney in the shoulder, moving him to first base.
Grant Garlington followed that with a single to left that moved Gwatney to second. Elder then layed down the biggest hit of the entire game.
Elder’s double was the only non-single hit of the night. It also managed to score Gwatney for the Bruins’ final run of the game.
Cabot put two runners on base in the sixth inning. Free was hit by a pitch, followed by a walk for Murphy twobatters later.
With two runners on and two outs, Cabot finished its inning with a pop-up from Shane Burgan.
The bottom of the seventh would be even less productive for Cabot. Lance sent Home Depot three-and-out in the final frame to seal the win.
Sylvan Hills now has a record of 14-4. Cabot’s record fell to 3-3 for the AAA squad. Cabot will host Russellville tomorrow at 6 p.m. Sylvan Hills will play Pine Bluff at home tomorrow at 6 p.m., after hosting a double header against Jacksonville’s Gwatney Chevrolet at Sherwood last night after Leader deadlines.
Leader sports writer
IN SHORT: Sylvan Hills’ and Cabot’s pitchers dominated a AAA encounter, but the Bruins did just enough to pull out a 2-1 victory Monday in Cabot.
Sylvan Hills’ Carter Lance and Cabot’s Justin Haas turned Monday night’s game between the Bruins and Home Depot Legion AAA teams into a pitchers’ duel. Both young men went the distance on the mound for their respective teams. Haas put up very respectable numbers for Home Depot with five hits, two earned runs, and one walk along with six strikeouts.
Lance gave up even less for Sylvan Hills. Three hits and two walks is all the big right hander would allow, also topping Cabot’s southpaw in the strikeout department by one with seven on the evening. He had 95 pitches in seven innings to take the win.
“We didn’t hit the ball like we have been,” Bruins coach Mike Bromley said. “Their little lefty did a good job on the mound for them. I thought Carter Lance did an outstanding job on the mound for us, he looked in control, and that’s what we want to see. It wasn’t our best day hitting, but we did what we had to do to win the ball game.”
Chase Elder tagged-up on a SAC from Bruins first baseman Tony Pavan for Sylvan Hills’ first run in the top of the fourth inning. The second and final run was scored on a double to center from Elder that brought in Gwatney in the fifth inning. Both teams started out strong defensively in the opening inning. Haas sent the Bruins three-and-out, as Lance did the same to Home Depot.
The first offensive highlight did not occur until the top of the second inning. Pavan hit a single to center, followed by a single to left from Jerry Lawson. The hits came after Haas had already forced two pop-ups, and Haas was able force another fly for the final out, this time from eight-hole hitter Ryan Wood. The Bruins left both runners on base, and Cabot avoided the early threat.
Lance also gave up his first hit in the second. Justin Free hopped it to center for a Cabot hit, followed by a walk for Drew Burks.
Lance had started the inning with a strikeout on Gross, and got his rhythm back with strikeouts on Murphy and Burgan to leave the Cabot runners on first and second.
Both teams collected a hit each in the third inning, but neither would go past first base. Gwatney sent it to left for a single during the Bruins’ turn, but the hit came with two outs for Sylvan Hills. Garlington followed Gwatney in the order, and popped up to Cabot centerfielder Corey Wade for the third out of the inning.
Trey Rosel bunted for the infield hit in the bottom of the third. Rosel led off for Home Depot, but the following three batters all popped up for outs, leaving Rosel on the bag at the end of Cabot’s turn.
The errors for Cabot were few, but the first was most costly. Elder started the top of the fourth for Sylvan Hills with a pop-up to center, but a fielding error allowed him all the way to second base. Jarrett Boles moved him to third with a single grounder to left field, and Pavan popped it up to center for the sacrifice fly.
Boles made it to second when Elder scored, but the final two batters popped out to center, leaving him on.
Free got his second hit for Cabot in the fourth, but didn’t make it past first. Lance shut down the next two batters with a K and a 5-3 grounder to take it to the fifth inning.
It looked like the fifth would be Haas’ strongest inning. Lead-off batter Bogard and following batter Roark both went down with strikeouts, and No. 3 hitter Gwatney was down in the count. A slight slip from Haas hit Gwatney in the shoulder, moving him to first base.
Grant Garlington followed that with a single to left that moved Gwatney to second. Elder then layed down the biggest hit of the entire game.
Elder’s double was the only non-single hit of the night. It also managed to score Gwatney for the Bruins’ final run of the game.
Cabot put two runners on base in the sixth inning. Free was hit by a pitch, followed by a walk for Murphy twobatters later.
With two runners on and two outs, Cabot finished its inning with a pop-up from Shane Burgan.
The bottom of the seventh would be even less productive for Cabot. Lance sent Home Depot three-and-out in the final frame to seal the win.
Sylvan Hills now has a record of 14-4. Cabot’s record fell to 3-3 for the AAA squad. Cabot will host Russellville tomorrow at 6 p.m. Sylvan Hills will play Pine Bluff at home tomorrow at 6 p.m., after hosting a double header against Jacksonville’s Gwatney Chevrolet at Sherwood last night after Leader deadlines.
Friday, June 09, 2006
OBITUARIES >> 06-10-06
Thelma Waymire
Thelma Louise Waymire, 80, of Beebe, formerly of Pangburn, died May 7. She is survived by two daughters, Loretta Norman of Illinois and Melinda Sue Eubanks of Kansas City, Kan.; 10 grandchildren, Pamela Laymon of Greenbrier, Tamera White of Friendswood, Texas, Randy Corpening of Virginia, Christinia Morrison of Tulsa, Okla., Aaron Cooper of Tennessee, Dewey Cooper of Tulsa, Okla., Melinda Weiser of Illinois, James Eubanks of Kansas City, Kan., Lottie Eubanks of Texas and Krystal Eubanks of Kansas City, Kan.; and 15 great-grandchildren. Family will receive friends from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Westbrook Funeral Home, Beebe, with cremation to follow.
Edna Smith
Edna Smith was born Aug. 9, 1924, in Crisfield, Md., and departed June 9. She is survived by five children: Allen and wife Susan Smith of Vilonia, Victor and wife Debi Smith and Troy and wife Belinda Smith of California, Sandra Smith of Washington and April Smith of Vilonia; six grandchildren and eight great- grandkids. She has lived in Arkansas for the past 10 years. Funeral services will be 1 p.m. Monday at Zion Hill Baptist Church, Cabot.
Interment will be in Maryland. Arrangements are by Boyd Funeral Home in Lonoke.
Thelma Louise Waymire, 80, of Beebe, formerly of Pangburn, died May 7. She is survived by two daughters, Loretta Norman of Illinois and Melinda Sue Eubanks of Kansas City, Kan.; 10 grandchildren, Pamela Laymon of Greenbrier, Tamera White of Friendswood, Texas, Randy Corpening of Virginia, Christinia Morrison of Tulsa, Okla., Aaron Cooper of Tennessee, Dewey Cooper of Tulsa, Okla., Melinda Weiser of Illinois, James Eubanks of Kansas City, Kan., Lottie Eubanks of Texas and Krystal Eubanks of Kansas City, Kan.; and 15 great-grandchildren. Family will receive friends from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Westbrook Funeral Home, Beebe, with cremation to follow.
Edna Smith
Edna Smith was born Aug. 9, 1924, in Crisfield, Md., and departed June 9. She is survived by five children: Allen and wife Susan Smith of Vilonia, Victor and wife Debi Smith and Troy and wife Belinda Smith of California, Sandra Smith of Washington and April Smith of Vilonia; six grandchildren and eight great- grandkids. She has lived in Arkansas for the past 10 years. Funeral services will be 1 p.m. Monday at Zion Hill Baptist Church, Cabot.
Interment will be in Maryland. Arrangements are by Boyd Funeral Home in Lonoke.
TOP STORY >> Moratorium on building could end
BY JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Cabot commission works out a solution to the maxed-out pumping system in Hwy. 321 area.
The moratorium on building on Hwy. 321 in Cabot could be over soon since the Water and Wastewater Com-mission has worked out a solution to the maxed-out sewer-pumping system in that area.
Building permits will be issued as soon as developers of five planned subdivisions in the area that will add 397 new customers to the system pay about $235 for each meter that will be set. The money collected will pay for about $93,000 in upgrades to the lift station and force main.
The problem the commission faced in dealing with the outgrown pumping system was that the city doesn’t own it. It belongs to the Cabot South Sewer Improvement District, which built it about 10 years ago and whose customers are paying for it on their real-estate tax bills.
Before new developments could use the system, the owners had to pay the improvement district an amount equal to what the original customers had paid over the years.
For Jim Green, a Jacksonville developer trying to build his first subdivision in Cabot, that means he will have to pay Cabot Water and Wastewater Commission $42,000 in addition to the $60,000 or so he has already paid Cabot South Sewer subdivision. Although the city has maintained the system in the sewer district since it was built, Bill Cypert, commission secretary, said he could find no records of the system being dedicated to the city or of the city agreeing to maintain it.
So the nature of the relationship between the Cabot Water and Wastewater Commission and the commission that runs the Cabot South Sewer Improvement District is unclear. But Cypert made it clear Thursday night, during the regular commission meeting that from here on out, the commission, not the improvement district will deal with developers.
The city is under a consent order from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to improve its sewer system or pay heavy fines or worse.
“This is serious business,” Cypert said. “If something goes awry, the whole construction on that end of town could be shut down.”
In other business, the commission spoke to Jim Dalton, assistant superintendent for Cabot School District, who asked the commission to help pay for a $130,000, 14-inch water line to the planned elementary school at Campground and Kerr Station. The commission agreed to consider the request but made no promises.
Dalton had two selling points for the request for any assistance the commission might give.
The school district is one of the water department’s biggest customers, he said. If the school is built there, the area will certainly develop and bring in even more customers.
And the district will never make any money back on laying the large water line.
“We’re not contractors. We’re not ever going to see any profit off this,” Dalton told the commission.
The commission also heard from Vernon Williams with USI-Arkansas, Inc., the engineering firm that will build the new sewer plant.
Williams told the commission the construction plan is on schedule and the plant should be substantially completed by Dec. 31, 2007. Improvement District.
Green, who attended the Thursday night commission meeting, said he will pay because he has no choice if he wants to continue with plans for his 182-home Lakewood
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Cabot commission works out a solution to the maxed-out pumping system in Hwy. 321 area.
The moratorium on building on Hwy. 321 in Cabot could be over soon since the Water and Wastewater Com-mission has worked out a solution to the maxed-out sewer-pumping system in that area.
Building permits will be issued as soon as developers of five planned subdivisions in the area that will add 397 new customers to the system pay about $235 for each meter that will be set. The money collected will pay for about $93,000 in upgrades to the lift station and force main.
The problem the commission faced in dealing with the outgrown pumping system was that the city doesn’t own it. It belongs to the Cabot South Sewer Improvement District, which built it about 10 years ago and whose customers are paying for it on their real-estate tax bills.
Before new developments could use the system, the owners had to pay the improvement district an amount equal to what the original customers had paid over the years.
For Jim Green, a Jacksonville developer trying to build his first subdivision in Cabot, that means he will have to pay Cabot Water and Wastewater Commission $42,000 in addition to the $60,000 or so he has already paid Cabot South Sewer subdivision. Although the city has maintained the system in the sewer district since it was built, Bill Cypert, commission secretary, said he could find no records of the system being dedicated to the city or of the city agreeing to maintain it.
So the nature of the relationship between the Cabot Water and Wastewater Commission and the commission that runs the Cabot South Sewer Improvement District is unclear. But Cypert made it clear Thursday night, during the regular commission meeting that from here on out, the commission, not the improvement district will deal with developers.
The city is under a consent order from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to improve its sewer system or pay heavy fines or worse.
“This is serious business,” Cypert said. “If something goes awry, the whole construction on that end of town could be shut down.”
In other business, the commission spoke to Jim Dalton, assistant superintendent for Cabot School District, who asked the commission to help pay for a $130,000, 14-inch water line to the planned elementary school at Campground and Kerr Station. The commission agreed to consider the request but made no promises.
Dalton had two selling points for the request for any assistance the commission might give.
The school district is one of the water department’s biggest customers, he said. If the school is built there, the area will certainly develop and bring in even more customers.
And the district will never make any money back on laying the large water line.
“We’re not contractors. We’re not ever going to see any profit off this,” Dalton told the commission.
The commission also heard from Vernon Williams with USI-Arkansas, Inc., the engineering firm that will build the new sewer plant.
Williams told the commission the construction plan is on schedule and the plant should be substantially completed by Dec. 31, 2007. Improvement District.
Green, who attended the Thursday night commission meeting, said he will pay because he has no choice if he wants to continue with plans for his 182-home Lakewood
TOP STORY >> Conservative vs. moderate in party feud
BY JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Randy Minton rejects the label “ultraconservative” for the Republican Assembly and disputes notion of power struggle in the county party.
The Arkansas Republican Assembly, which has recently asserted itself in Lonoke County by fielding two candidates who—barring a change in Saturday’s recount — un-seated two incumbent Republicans, embraces all the conservative and traditional family values, according to Randy Minton of Cabot.
The ARRA wants to uphold the Consti-tution, promote free-market capitalism and the Bill of Rights, according to Minton, who is a board member.
Minton objects to the characterization of the group as “ultraconservative,” saying it was “mainstream conservative.”
The assembly refers to itself as “The Republican wing of the Re-publican Party.”
Until about 10 years ago, the Lonoke County Quorum Court was strictly the domain of the Democrats. Now all the Cabot-area seats are held by Republicans, who enjoy a one-vote advantage on the court.
But among those Republicans, “some of political principals we be-lieved in were being pushed to the side,” said Minton. That’s why the assembly recruited other Repub-licans to run against Dist. 12 JP Gina Burton and Dist. 13 JP Marty Stumbaugh.
Burton lost her race to newcomer Casey Van Buskirk by only six votes, 115 to 109, and Stumbaugh lost to newcomer Mark Edward 151 to 125.
Both incumbents asked for recounts, which were to have been conducted Saturday.
Stumbaugh says Minton and the others in the Republican Assembly were punishing him for his vote with Democratic JPs on a tax issue nearly two years ago to raise revenues to fix and expand the jail.
“Locally we are concerned about any kind of tax increases, about not being good stewards of taxpayers’ money,” Minton said. “We’re concerned about growth of government and trying to control those type things.”
People should be able to redirect existing taxes, according to Minton. That’s what he and also most of the Republicans on the quorum court tried to do—put a referendum on the ballot to direct more of the county sales tax money to county government, less to the cities.
Stumbaugh voted with the Democrats, who offered a quarter-cent increase in the sales tax to fix the jail—a proposal that lost.
Burton said she believed that Minton and the Republican Assem-bly singled her out for replacement because she won the county Repub-lican Party chairmanship and be-cause he was later defeated by a single vote by Prosecutor Lona Mc-Castlain’s deputy, Chuck Graham.
People on Minton’s side claim more moderate Republicans brought in a bunch of ringers to join the party and vote for Graham.
The moderates say they had been recruiting actively for a long time.
Minton said the successful effort to replace Burton with newcomer Casey Van Buskirk was not vindictive, “just a difference in philosophy of governance.”
“In Gina’s case, there were times she voted with the Democrats on the quorum court,” Minton said.
He said there is no schism in the county Republican Party, though he agreed there were factions, like those that might exist on a corporate board of directors.
Minton, who is on the board of the ARRA and is president of the Arkansas chapter of the equally conservative Eagle Forum, says he doesn’t have time to seek the county chairmanship next time.
But he said he wouldn’t rule out other races. State Rep. Susan Schulte, R-Cabot, will be term-limited in 2007 and state Sen. Bobby Glover, D-Carlisle, will be term- limited out of the Senate after four more years.
Glover beat Minton in the 2002 general election.
In theory, Minton could serve two years after Schulte, then run for Glover’s seat.
Minton said the number of contested Republican primaries is an indication of the growth of the party.
“When a party changes from minority part to majority party, you always have people who see the change and want to be on the winning side,” Minton said. “The Republican Assembly wants to make sure that we have people who are elected who believe in conservative principles.”
The assembly is also trying to grow its influence statewide and to make sure that the leadership of state party reflects more closely the conservative values.
As for the victories by Van Buskirk and Edwards, majority of the credit needs to go to those two candidates, door to door, asking for votes, he said. The assembly ran newspaper ads endorsing a slate that included the two, JP Larry Odom and for Cabot mayor, Bill “Pete” Pederson, who lost to Eddie Joe Williams.
They also distributed 3,500 door hangers.
As for President Bush, Minton said the Assembly thinks he’s done a good job on family-value issues like abortion, gay marriage and cutting taxes and fighting terrorism abroad, but not such a good job holding down spending, expansion of federal education budget and dealing with illegal immigration.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Randy Minton rejects the label “ultraconservative” for the Republican Assembly and disputes notion of power struggle in the county party.
The Arkansas Republican Assembly, which has recently asserted itself in Lonoke County by fielding two candidates who—barring a change in Saturday’s recount — un-seated two incumbent Republicans, embraces all the conservative and traditional family values, according to Randy Minton of Cabot.
The ARRA wants to uphold the Consti-tution, promote free-market capitalism and the Bill of Rights, according to Minton, who is a board member.
Minton objects to the characterization of the group as “ultraconservative,” saying it was “mainstream conservative.”
The assembly refers to itself as “The Republican wing of the Re-publican Party.”
Until about 10 years ago, the Lonoke County Quorum Court was strictly the domain of the Democrats. Now all the Cabot-area seats are held by Republicans, who enjoy a one-vote advantage on the court.
But among those Republicans, “some of political principals we be-lieved in were being pushed to the side,” said Minton. That’s why the assembly recruited other Repub-licans to run against Dist. 12 JP Gina Burton and Dist. 13 JP Marty Stumbaugh.
Burton lost her race to newcomer Casey Van Buskirk by only six votes, 115 to 109, and Stumbaugh lost to newcomer Mark Edward 151 to 125.
Both incumbents asked for recounts, which were to have been conducted Saturday.
Stumbaugh says Minton and the others in the Republican Assembly were punishing him for his vote with Democratic JPs on a tax issue nearly two years ago to raise revenues to fix and expand the jail.
“Locally we are concerned about any kind of tax increases, about not being good stewards of taxpayers’ money,” Minton said. “We’re concerned about growth of government and trying to control those type things.”
People should be able to redirect existing taxes, according to Minton. That’s what he and also most of the Republicans on the quorum court tried to do—put a referendum on the ballot to direct more of the county sales tax money to county government, less to the cities.
Stumbaugh voted with the Democrats, who offered a quarter-cent increase in the sales tax to fix the jail—a proposal that lost.
Burton said she believed that Minton and the Republican Assem-bly singled her out for replacement because she won the county Repub-lican Party chairmanship and be-cause he was later defeated by a single vote by Prosecutor Lona Mc-Castlain’s deputy, Chuck Graham.
People on Minton’s side claim more moderate Republicans brought in a bunch of ringers to join the party and vote for Graham.
The moderates say they had been recruiting actively for a long time.
Minton said the successful effort to replace Burton with newcomer Casey Van Buskirk was not vindictive, “just a difference in philosophy of governance.”
“In Gina’s case, there were times she voted with the Democrats on the quorum court,” Minton said.
He said there is no schism in the county Republican Party, though he agreed there were factions, like those that might exist on a corporate board of directors.
Minton, who is on the board of the ARRA and is president of the Arkansas chapter of the equally conservative Eagle Forum, says he doesn’t have time to seek the county chairmanship next time.
But he said he wouldn’t rule out other races. State Rep. Susan Schulte, R-Cabot, will be term-limited in 2007 and state Sen. Bobby Glover, D-Carlisle, will be term- limited out of the Senate after four more years.
Glover beat Minton in the 2002 general election.
In theory, Minton could serve two years after Schulte, then run for Glover’s seat.
Minton said the number of contested Republican primaries is an indication of the growth of the party.
“When a party changes from minority part to majority party, you always have people who see the change and want to be on the winning side,” Minton said. “The Republican Assembly wants to make sure that we have people who are elected who believe in conservative principles.”
The assembly is also trying to grow its influence statewide and to make sure that the leadership of state party reflects more closely the conservative values.
As for the victories by Van Buskirk and Edwards, majority of the credit needs to go to those two candidates, door to door, asking for votes, he said. The assembly ran newspaper ads endorsing a slate that included the two, JP Larry Odom and for Cabot mayor, Bill “Pete” Pederson, who lost to Eddie Joe Williams.
They also distributed 3,500 door hangers.
As for President Bush, Minton said the Assembly thinks he’s done a good job on family-value issues like abortion, gay marriage and cutting taxes and fighting terrorism abroad, but not such a good job holding down spending, expansion of federal education budget and dealing with illegal immigration.
TOP STORY >>Voters set to choose mayor, JP in runoff
BY JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Local voters return to the polls Tuesday to decide who will be the Lonoke mayor and who will
represent a district including parts of McAlmont, Sherwood and Jacksonville on the Pulaski County Circuit Court.
Voters will decide a handful of local contests and pick their favorites in three races for statewide office in primary runoffs Tuesday.
Meanwhile, recounts were slated for 10 a.m. Saturday in three Lonoke County Republican primary races—two of them at the request of defeated incumbents, the other in the case of a Cabot alderman’s race decided by a single vote out of the 1,171 cast.
LONOKE MAYOR
In a four-way primary contest in Lonoke May 23, voters turned Mayor Thomas Privett out of office, setting up a Democratic runoff between Alderman Wayne McGee and former Alderman Jim Parks. Since there are no Republican or independent opponents, the winner of the runoff will be Lonoke’s next mayor.
McGee’s race against Parks may be less about substance than style, with each promising to continue the work Privett initiated to attract business and to bring a second I-40 interchange to Lonoke.
CONFLICTING STYLES
McGee is an open-faced good ole boy, buying and trading cars, selling furniture and running an auction company, all with his cousin Gaylen McGee. Inclined toward blue jeans, shorts and polo shirts, his is a down-home appeal. He says he knows everyone in town and, delivering furniture, has been in about everyone’s home.
Parks, on the other hand, favors more formal attire like the crisp, three-piece suit and shined shoes he wore speak last week before the Lonoke Chamber of Commerce.
Tall, white-haired and angular, he often refers to himself in the third person, promising to bring professionalism to the office.
A former manager and sales representative for Abbot Labora-tories, Parks implies that he is best suited to meet with national and international representatives seeking to locate a manufacturing plant.
Both men say they expect a light turnout for the runoff and just hope to get their supporters to the polls.
PULASKI JP RACE
In Pulaski County, voters in parts of Sherwood, McAlmont and Jacksonville will pick the next Pulaski County District 10 Justice of the Peace, choosing between the incumbent, Rev. Robert E. Green, and former JP John Mass.
Between them, Mass, Green or Green’s wife has represented the district for more than a decade. Among those voting locations are the Jacksonville Community Cen-ter and the Bill Harmon Recreation Center in Sherwood.
STATEWIDE
Statewide races on the Demo-cratic runoff ballot pit state Rep. Tim Wooldridge against Bill Halter for the nomination for lieutenant governor, and North Little Rock City Attorney Paul Suskie and state Rep. Dustin McDaniel for attorney general. Martha Schoffner and Mac Campbell are in a runoff state treasurer.
The winner of the Wooldridge-Halter race will face Republican state Sen. Jim Holt in November.
The winner of the increasingly contentious primary runoff for attorney general will face Gunner Delay in November.
Schoffner or Campbell will face Republican Chris Morris.
PRIMARY RECOUNT
Carl Schmidt, who lost 586 to 585 to Virgil Teague Jr. in a Republican primary race for Cabot alderman Ward 2, Position 1, seems the most likely to turn an election around.
Dist. 12 JP Gina Burton, who lost her race to newcomer Casey Van Buskirk by only six votes, 115 to 109, has asked for a recount, and so has Dist. 13 JP Marty Stumbaugh, who lost to newcomer Mark Edward, 151 to 125.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Local voters return to the polls Tuesday to decide who will be the Lonoke mayor and who will
represent a district including parts of McAlmont, Sherwood and Jacksonville on the Pulaski County Circuit Court.
Voters will decide a handful of local contests and pick their favorites in three races for statewide office in primary runoffs Tuesday.
Meanwhile, recounts were slated for 10 a.m. Saturday in three Lonoke County Republican primary races—two of them at the request of defeated incumbents, the other in the case of a Cabot alderman’s race decided by a single vote out of the 1,171 cast.
LONOKE MAYOR
In a four-way primary contest in Lonoke May 23, voters turned Mayor Thomas Privett out of office, setting up a Democratic runoff between Alderman Wayne McGee and former Alderman Jim Parks. Since there are no Republican or independent opponents, the winner of the runoff will be Lonoke’s next mayor.
McGee’s race against Parks may be less about substance than style, with each promising to continue the work Privett initiated to attract business and to bring a second I-40 interchange to Lonoke.
CONFLICTING STYLES
McGee is an open-faced good ole boy, buying and trading cars, selling furniture and running an auction company, all with his cousin Gaylen McGee. Inclined toward blue jeans, shorts and polo shirts, his is a down-home appeal. He says he knows everyone in town and, delivering furniture, has been in about everyone’s home.
Parks, on the other hand, favors more formal attire like the crisp, three-piece suit and shined shoes he wore speak last week before the Lonoke Chamber of Commerce.
Tall, white-haired and angular, he often refers to himself in the third person, promising to bring professionalism to the office.
A former manager and sales representative for Abbot Labora-tories, Parks implies that he is best suited to meet with national and international representatives seeking to locate a manufacturing plant.
Both men say they expect a light turnout for the runoff and just hope to get their supporters to the polls.
PULASKI JP RACE
In Pulaski County, voters in parts of Sherwood, McAlmont and Jacksonville will pick the next Pulaski County District 10 Justice of the Peace, choosing between the incumbent, Rev. Robert E. Green, and former JP John Mass.
Between them, Mass, Green or Green’s wife has represented the district for more than a decade. Among those voting locations are the Jacksonville Community Cen-ter and the Bill Harmon Recreation Center in Sherwood.
STATEWIDE
Statewide races on the Demo-cratic runoff ballot pit state Rep. Tim Wooldridge against Bill Halter for the nomination for lieutenant governor, and North Little Rock City Attorney Paul Suskie and state Rep. Dustin McDaniel for attorney general. Martha Schoffner and Mac Campbell are in a runoff state treasurer.
The winner of the Wooldridge-Halter race will face Republican state Sen. Jim Holt in November.
The winner of the increasingly contentious primary runoff for attorney general will face Gunner Delay in November.
Schoffner or Campbell will face Republican Chris Morris.
PRIMARY RECOUNT
Carl Schmidt, who lost 586 to 585 to Virgil Teague Jr. in a Republican primary race for Cabot alderman Ward 2, Position 1, seems the most likely to turn an election around.
Dist. 12 JP Gina Burton, who lost her race to newcomer Casey Van Buskirk by only six votes, 115 to 109, has asked for a recount, and so has Dist. 13 JP Marty Stumbaugh, who lost to newcomer Mark Edward, 151 to 125.
TOP STORY >> Bikers protect funeral
BY JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: An anti-gay group mars funeral with chants and signs.
Six wholesome-looking church-goers holding signs proclaiming God’s hate for America faced off against hundreds of grungy-looking bikers in vests and doo-rags proclaiming His love.
That was the scene in Beebe on Wednesday afternoon for the funeral service of Army Specialist Bobby West, who died May 30 in Iraq.
Surreal, perhaps, but it is a scene played out almost daily across the nation as soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan come home for the last time. Members of the small Topeka, Kan., Westboro Baptist Church, whose 70 to 100 members are mostly the family of Fred Phelps, who founded it in 1955, schedule anti-gay protests wherever time permits. And where they are, the Patriot Guard Riders are there also, waving American flags and serving as a human shield to block the mourners’ view of the protesters.
Jonathan Phelps, the seventh of Fred Phelps’ 13 children, and one of the lawyers in the family, was leading the group Wednesday, which also included his younger sister Abigail, and four teenage boys.
He said the church’s mission is to tell the world that homosexuality is wrong and that nations that tolerate it are damned. That the dissenting viewpoint from the bikers across the highway was the one shared by most people was not a concern.
“We don’t care,” Phelps said. “We publish the message. That’s all that matters. We’re not interested in changing anybody’s views.”
And whether the bikers (whom Phelps called “biker bitches”) like it or not, they help get that message out.
“Even though they sometimes beat us to a bloody pulp, they’re serving us so we love them,” he said. “When they come we get more publicity, so we love them to death.”
If the signs they carried – “Don’t worship the dead,” “Thank God for dead soldiers,” “God hates your tears” — weren’t enough to rile the bikers, the Phelps’ family’s actions were.
Abigail Phelps wore an American flag for a skirt.
“I’m not just wearing it,” she said. “I’m wearing it upside down to show this nation is in distress. I’m giving it its due respect.”
Later, her brother dragged it on the ground, as the two groups shouted across Hwy. 64 at each other.
Most of the bikers, who lined up for for a roaring procession down Hwy. 64 and in front of First Baptist Church where the funeral was held, came from Arkansas and had never attended one of the Phelps’ rallies. But some, like John Leke from Trinton, Tenn., makes it a point to be where they are as often as he can.
“I’ve been to at least a half dozen,” he said.
The Patriot Guard Riders are a loosely knit organization made up of numerous veterans and biker groups who have been working together since last summer to counter the work of Phelps’ church. They reportedly started with the American Legion Riders Chapter 136 from Kansas who mustered enough bikers for a counter protest at the funeral of Sgt. John Doles. Since that time their campaign has gone national, with every state responsible for finding enough bikers to cover funerals where the church pickets.
In the case of the West funeral, the family asked the guard to attend, said Pete Waddell, the state president. The family asked for 30 bikers, but by using mass e-mail to get the word out, 300 showed up.
Among them was Lee Lowder whose biker vest said he was a member of the Highway Hedges Ministry in Little Rock.
That the bikers’ appearance at the funeral brought more attention to the demonstrators was not of particular concern to Lowder.
“We’re bringing more attention to what’s right,” Lowder said. “These people have a very distorted view of who God is.”
Some of the counter protesters said they were there because they remembered how they were treated when they returned from Viet-nam. Still others said they came to block the view.
Dressed in typical summer apparel and standing elbow to elbow with the bikers were Josh Kamer, Ashley Mitchell and Cassie Metcalf, teenagers from Beebe, who said they came because it was the right thing to do.
“We’re here to support the family and all the people overseas doing what they’re doing,” Kamer said.
Margie and Micah Briley and their three children from nearby Austin stood quietly on the corner near the church driveway holding a large American flag in an attempt to shield West’s family from the protesters.
Micah Briley’s brother, Chief Warrant Officer Donovan Briley, died in Mogadishu, Somalia, when the Blackhawk helicopter he co-piloted went down. The Oct. 3, 1993, mission in which 18 Ame-rican soldiers were killed, 73 were wounded and 500 to 1,000 So-malis were killed changed Ame-rican policy on interfering with foreign governments and became the subject of the movie “Blackhawk Down.”
“We tried to get right in front of them, but the police asked us to leave,” Margie Briley said.
The Phelps’ demonstration was just as disgusting as she had anticipated it would be, Briley said.
“I believe they have the right to protest, but you shouldn’t protest the very people who give you that right,” she said.
Army Reserve Sgt. Kenneth Kimball, who said he had been home from Iraq for only two days, was the only person across the highway from the protesters who was dressed in uniform. He squatted in the middle of the driveway to the church, seemingly contemplating the scene.
“It’s disturbing,” he said of the protesters and their signs. Asked what bothered him the most, he said, “The kids.”
Keeping the peace at the protest were dozens of law-enforcement officers, including 18 from White County, 12 state troopers and two policemen from Bradford.
Asked if he was concerned for the safety of the children who accompanied him, Jonathan Phelps said, “That one over there in purple is a champion runner. And the other three, I guess are in training.”
Bradford Police Chief Josh Chambliss, who returned home from Iraq to a 9-month-old baby he had never seen before, had no comment about what he witnessed Wednesday.
But he said he felt he should be there, so he volunteered himself and one other officer.
White County Sheriff Pat Garrett said he brought in volunteers and off-duty deputies to make sure the county was covered while so many were in Beebe.
“This man gave up his life so these people have the right to protest,” Garrett said.
“As a Marine veteran, I find it offensive, but this is the United States of America, and they have the right to believe what they want.”
Phelps said members of Westboro Baptist Church never picket the funerals of soldiers whose families have indicated that the services are to be private.
“We target only those wanting to use dead children to promote the idea that America is OK,” he said.
A new state law prohibits de-monstrating during funerals, so eventually, the Phelps group left, the police officers thinned out and the counter demonstrators relaxed and waited for the funeral procession to the cemetery while “An American Soldier” by Toby Keith played continually from a car parked on the grass near the highway.
Jessica and Janette Allen, sisters from Sherwood who are home from college for the summer, arrived after the demonstrators left and took their places at the end of the church driveway, saying they wanted to be sure the family saw their signs.
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friend, John 15:13,” read Janette’s poster board sign.
Her sister’s was simpler. “We love you Bobby,” it said.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: An anti-gay group mars funeral with chants and signs.
Six wholesome-looking church-goers holding signs proclaiming God’s hate for America faced off against hundreds of grungy-looking bikers in vests and doo-rags proclaiming His love.
That was the scene in Beebe on Wednesday afternoon for the funeral service of Army Specialist Bobby West, who died May 30 in Iraq.
Surreal, perhaps, but it is a scene played out almost daily across the nation as soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan come home for the last time. Members of the small Topeka, Kan., Westboro Baptist Church, whose 70 to 100 members are mostly the family of Fred Phelps, who founded it in 1955, schedule anti-gay protests wherever time permits. And where they are, the Patriot Guard Riders are there also, waving American flags and serving as a human shield to block the mourners’ view of the protesters.
Jonathan Phelps, the seventh of Fred Phelps’ 13 children, and one of the lawyers in the family, was leading the group Wednesday, which also included his younger sister Abigail, and four teenage boys.
He said the church’s mission is to tell the world that homosexuality is wrong and that nations that tolerate it are damned. That the dissenting viewpoint from the bikers across the highway was the one shared by most people was not a concern.
“We don’t care,” Phelps said. “We publish the message. That’s all that matters. We’re not interested in changing anybody’s views.”
And whether the bikers (whom Phelps called “biker bitches”) like it or not, they help get that message out.
“Even though they sometimes beat us to a bloody pulp, they’re serving us so we love them,” he said. “When they come we get more publicity, so we love them to death.”
If the signs they carried – “Don’t worship the dead,” “Thank God for dead soldiers,” “God hates your tears” — weren’t enough to rile the bikers, the Phelps’ family’s actions were.
Abigail Phelps wore an American flag for a skirt.
“I’m not just wearing it,” she said. “I’m wearing it upside down to show this nation is in distress. I’m giving it its due respect.”
Later, her brother dragged it on the ground, as the two groups shouted across Hwy. 64 at each other.
Most of the bikers, who lined up for for a roaring procession down Hwy. 64 and in front of First Baptist Church where the funeral was held, came from Arkansas and had never attended one of the Phelps’ rallies. But some, like John Leke from Trinton, Tenn., makes it a point to be where they are as often as he can.
“I’ve been to at least a half dozen,” he said.
The Patriot Guard Riders are a loosely knit organization made up of numerous veterans and biker groups who have been working together since last summer to counter the work of Phelps’ church. They reportedly started with the American Legion Riders Chapter 136 from Kansas who mustered enough bikers for a counter protest at the funeral of Sgt. John Doles. Since that time their campaign has gone national, with every state responsible for finding enough bikers to cover funerals where the church pickets.
In the case of the West funeral, the family asked the guard to attend, said Pete Waddell, the state president. The family asked for 30 bikers, but by using mass e-mail to get the word out, 300 showed up.
Among them was Lee Lowder whose biker vest said he was a member of the Highway Hedges Ministry in Little Rock.
That the bikers’ appearance at the funeral brought more attention to the demonstrators was not of particular concern to Lowder.
“We’re bringing more attention to what’s right,” Lowder said. “These people have a very distorted view of who God is.”
Some of the counter protesters said they were there because they remembered how they were treated when they returned from Viet-nam. Still others said they came to block the view.
Dressed in typical summer apparel and standing elbow to elbow with the bikers were Josh Kamer, Ashley Mitchell and Cassie Metcalf, teenagers from Beebe, who said they came because it was the right thing to do.
“We’re here to support the family and all the people overseas doing what they’re doing,” Kamer said.
Margie and Micah Briley and their three children from nearby Austin stood quietly on the corner near the church driveway holding a large American flag in an attempt to shield West’s family from the protesters.
Micah Briley’s brother, Chief Warrant Officer Donovan Briley, died in Mogadishu, Somalia, when the Blackhawk helicopter he co-piloted went down. The Oct. 3, 1993, mission in which 18 Ame-rican soldiers were killed, 73 were wounded and 500 to 1,000 So-malis were killed changed Ame-rican policy on interfering with foreign governments and became the subject of the movie “Blackhawk Down.”
“We tried to get right in front of them, but the police asked us to leave,” Margie Briley said.
The Phelps’ demonstration was just as disgusting as she had anticipated it would be, Briley said.
“I believe they have the right to protest, but you shouldn’t protest the very people who give you that right,” she said.
Army Reserve Sgt. Kenneth Kimball, who said he had been home from Iraq for only two days, was the only person across the highway from the protesters who was dressed in uniform. He squatted in the middle of the driveway to the church, seemingly contemplating the scene.
“It’s disturbing,” he said of the protesters and their signs. Asked what bothered him the most, he said, “The kids.”
Keeping the peace at the protest were dozens of law-enforcement officers, including 18 from White County, 12 state troopers and two policemen from Bradford.
Asked if he was concerned for the safety of the children who accompanied him, Jonathan Phelps said, “That one over there in purple is a champion runner. And the other three, I guess are in training.”
Bradford Police Chief Josh Chambliss, who returned home from Iraq to a 9-month-old baby he had never seen before, had no comment about what he witnessed Wednesday.
But he said he felt he should be there, so he volunteered himself and one other officer.
White County Sheriff Pat Garrett said he brought in volunteers and off-duty deputies to make sure the county was covered while so many were in Beebe.
“This man gave up his life so these people have the right to protest,” Garrett said.
“As a Marine veteran, I find it offensive, but this is the United States of America, and they have the right to believe what they want.”
Phelps said members of Westboro Baptist Church never picket the funerals of soldiers whose families have indicated that the services are to be private.
“We target only those wanting to use dead children to promote the idea that America is OK,” he said.
A new state law prohibits de-monstrating during funerals, so eventually, the Phelps group left, the police officers thinned out and the counter demonstrators relaxed and waited for the funeral procession to the cemetery while “An American Soldier” by Toby Keith played continually from a car parked on the grass near the highway.
Jessica and Janette Allen, sisters from Sherwood who are home from college for the summer, arrived after the demonstrators left and took their places at the end of the church driveway, saying they wanted to be sure the family saw their signs.
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friend, John 15:13,” read Janette’s poster board sign.
Her sister’s was simpler. “We love you Bobby,” it said.
FROM THE PUBLISHER >> Shameful protest
BY GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader publisher
Jonathan Phelps and his small group from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., this week demonstrated at two funerals for soldiers who were recently killed in Iraq.
Phelps and his group don’t mourn the deaths of soldiers like everyone else but celebrate their passing as evidence of divine retribution for America’s tolerance of homosexuality.
I walked up to Phelps as the de-monstration was winding down at Army Specialist Bobby West’s funeral in Beebe. Phelps’ time was almost up — his group had to leave half an hour before the funeral service started — and I wanted to talk to him before he left.
He’s an affable person, with an easy smile who looks like a high school coach or a minister. He’s a good talker. He later told me he’s been a practicing attorney for 20 years.
“We’ve had to deliver a message,” Phelps said. “Doom and gloom is facing this country. I read the Bible. Any nation that goes the way of Sodom and Gemorrah awaits a similar fate.”
Phelps and his group have held demonstrations almost every day for 15 years. Phelps says he averages three demonstrations a week at funerals for soldiers who’d been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Military funerals are where the action is,” he told us.
His father and church leader, Brother Fred Phelps, did not attend Wednesday’s protest here. “He was giving an interview to Rolling Stone magazine,” Phelps said, laughing. It didn’t seem to bother him that the publisher of that counterculture publication is gay.
The group had been to Arkansas before. Phelps was pleased that we noted in an editorial that his group had picketed at the funeral of Virginia Kelly, Bill Clinton’s mother.
The church was upset with Clinton’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on homosexuals in the military. “It’s a sodomite agenda,” Phelps said. “His momma raised him from the Devil.”
They were now on Hwy. 64 in Beebe, waving and singing and stomping on flags and holding up signs that said “America Is Doomed,” “Fags Doom Nations,” “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” and “Thank God for IEDs.”
An improvised explosive device had killed West, 23, in Baghdad on May 30. His funeral was about to start at First Baptist Church of Beebe, across the road from where Phelps and his entourage were whooping it up, while counterdemonstrators, most of them bikers with U.S. flags, lined up in two long rows in front of the church.
There was some tension in the air, but law-enforcement officials kept the two sides apart. Someone was carrying an eight-inch knife, but the police took it away from him.
Phelps’ group carried other signs that read “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” “God Is Your Enemy” and “God Hates Fag Enablers.”
There were cheers when the protesters left Beebe. Phelps and his group walked to their cars and headed for Gerard, Kan., where they picketed at the funeral for a young Marine who was recently killed in the fighting.
He says he keeps up with military funerals by checking a Pentagon Web site and doing Google searches.
We called Phelps on Thursday evening and asked him how the funeral in Kansas had gone.
“It was a grand and glorious event,” said Phelps, talking to us at his church. “The Marine who was killed was very popular in Crawford County, Kansas, where the funeral was held. He was touted as a big hero. We had to set the record straight.
“God is destroying this nation,” he continued.
“It’s not a question of if but when it will be destroyed. He is killing the fruit of this nation in that war. God will bring this nation to Judgment Day by fire and by flood.”
Leader publisher
Jonathan Phelps and his small group from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., this week demonstrated at two funerals for soldiers who were recently killed in Iraq.
Phelps and his group don’t mourn the deaths of soldiers like everyone else but celebrate their passing as evidence of divine retribution for America’s tolerance of homosexuality.
I walked up to Phelps as the de-monstration was winding down at Army Specialist Bobby West’s funeral in Beebe. Phelps’ time was almost up — his group had to leave half an hour before the funeral service started — and I wanted to talk to him before he left.
He’s an affable person, with an easy smile who looks like a high school coach or a minister. He’s a good talker. He later told me he’s been a practicing attorney for 20 years.
“We’ve had to deliver a message,” Phelps said. “Doom and gloom is facing this country. I read the Bible. Any nation that goes the way of Sodom and Gemorrah awaits a similar fate.”
Phelps and his group have held demonstrations almost every day for 15 years. Phelps says he averages three demonstrations a week at funerals for soldiers who’d been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Military funerals are where the action is,” he told us.
His father and church leader, Brother Fred Phelps, did not attend Wednesday’s protest here. “He was giving an interview to Rolling Stone magazine,” Phelps said, laughing. It didn’t seem to bother him that the publisher of that counterculture publication is gay.
The group had been to Arkansas before. Phelps was pleased that we noted in an editorial that his group had picketed at the funeral of Virginia Kelly, Bill Clinton’s mother.
The church was upset with Clinton’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on homosexuals in the military. “It’s a sodomite agenda,” Phelps said. “His momma raised him from the Devil.”
They were now on Hwy. 64 in Beebe, waving and singing and stomping on flags and holding up signs that said “America Is Doomed,” “Fags Doom Nations,” “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” and “Thank God for IEDs.”
An improvised explosive device had killed West, 23, in Baghdad on May 30. His funeral was about to start at First Baptist Church of Beebe, across the road from where Phelps and his entourage were whooping it up, while counterdemonstrators, most of them bikers with U.S. flags, lined up in two long rows in front of the church.
There was some tension in the air, but law-enforcement officials kept the two sides apart. Someone was carrying an eight-inch knife, but the police took it away from him.
Phelps’ group carried other signs that read “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” “God Is Your Enemy” and “God Hates Fag Enablers.”
There were cheers when the protesters left Beebe. Phelps and his group walked to their cars and headed for Gerard, Kan., where they picketed at the funeral for a young Marine who was recently killed in the fighting.
He says he keeps up with military funerals by checking a Pentagon Web site and doing Google searches.
We called Phelps on Thursday evening and asked him how the funeral in Kansas had gone.
“It was a grand and glorious event,” said Phelps, talking to us at his church. “The Marine who was killed was very popular in Crawford County, Kansas, where the funeral was held. He was touted as a big hero. We had to set the record straight.
“God is destroying this nation,” he continued.
“It’s not a question of if but when it will be destroyed. He is killing the fruit of this nation in that war. God will bring this nation to Judgment Day by fire and by flood.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)