By SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
Before state schools see any of the $265.7 million budgeted last Thursday for academic facilities funding, districts are required to sign a seven-page project agreement that includes a recommendation that districts hold architects liable for part of the cost if a project goes over budget because of architect error.
The agreement allows the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation to conduct on-site inspections and review construction plans as well as change orders. Superintendents first heard about the agreement last week during a retreat but have not received copies of the agreement to sign.
“We’ve already had to do a lot of paperwork for the application,” said Belinda Shook, superintendent of the Beebe School District.
“My only complaint with the school funding process has been the amount of paperwork,” Shook added.
The Arkansas school facilities commission approved funding of 1,100 school-construction projects, including $7.8 million for a new cafeteria and physical education building for the Cabot School District, as well as $4.5 million for the new elementary school to be constructed near Campground and Stagecoach roads.
This funding is the largest part of a three-tiered program of nearly $1 billion in school improvements.
Other local districts didn’t apply for or receive the big dollars in this round of facilities funding, with Pulaski County Special School District applying for and receiving about $1.5 million, most of it earmarked for a new elementary school on the west side of the county.
The Lonoke School District received funding for projects totaling about $373,000, and Carlisle’s tentative share should be about $125,000.
The total cost of the projects, including local districts’ share, will be about $600 million. The state’s cost for the projects is $265.7 million over three years. The local districts’ share is based on a wealth index.
The state pays a larger portion of the repairs and expansions for relatively poor districts, a smaller percentage for the wealthier districts. School districts did not receive state aid if the projects were not in a facilities master plan or involve a non-academic building.
CABOT
Cabot School District received $13 million in funding including $303,916 for the addition of four new classrooms at Northside Elementary as well as funding for several projects on the high school campus such as $294,034 for additional parking spaces and bus drive for the new high school building; $120,506 for an outdoor amphitheater; $42,177 for demolition of old buildings after the new high school opens and $30,126 to remodel the agriculture building into an Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps classroom.
The commission decided not to fund a pedestrian walkway over Hwy. 89 for students of both the high school and Cabot Junior High North saying the walkway was not a prudent use of state funding.
BEEBE
Beebe School District was funded $802,597 for its projects including $617,510 for the addition of six classrooms to the front of the junior high school.
For the middle school campus in McRae, the district received $46,556 for an addition to the cafeteria; $36,546 for roof replacement and $19,936 for additional parking.
Beebe Primary School was funded $41,291 to install new flooring for physical education activities and $26,581 to make the doors throughout the building wheelchair accessible. Beebe High School physical education also received $14,177 to install new flooring for physical education activities.
PCSSD
Pulaski County Special School District got about $1.6 million for the state’s portion of virtually everything for which the district applied including $1.5 million for construction of a new elementary school for fourth and fifth graders currently served by aging Baker, Lawson and Robinson elementary schools.
Also included is $32,556 to repair roofs on three Homer Adkins Elementary School classroom buildings and the cafeteria—though the school will be converted to serve only pre-kindergarten students next year, part of the district’s Fiscal Distress Improvement Plan.
LONOKE
The Lonoke District was approved for $373,054 in state funds, most of it for items like making doorways, restrooms and sidewalks comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, or replacing lighting, exit signs and emergency lighting.
About two thirds of the money is earmarked for the Lonoke Primary School, with $97,000 earmarked toward construction of two new classrooms. The primary school also qualified for $40,000 toward creation of 60 new parking spaces.
The old Lonoke Middle School qualified for $48,000 toward asbestos abatement and some demolition. That school will be converted into a vocational technical center when students move into the new middle school after Christmas this year.
CARLISLE
The state tentatively signed off on about $125,000 worth of improvements in the Carlisle District, with the state contributing $64,000 toward a new heating system for the elementary school and nearly $20,000 for parking lot improvement.
Among the $30,390 the state will contribute toward improvements at the Carlisle High School, the largest allocation is $7,773 toward renovation — including painting — of the classroom building and gymnasium.
$1 BILLION AID
This fiscal year, the commission has approved $600 million in construction related to its facilities- partnership program, $300 million for its transitional program and $71 million for immediate repair needs. That puts school and state appropriations for facilities at $971 million.
The highest state share for a project approved under the partnership program is $9.8 million for a new junior high school at Marion. The lowest is $26 to make a lavatory in the Two Rivers School District handicapped accessible.
The state’s share is $5 million or more on some projects, including the new high school cafeteria and physical education building at Cabot; $9.4 million on remodeling and rebuilding at Rogers High School; $8.7 million on a new high school at Trumann; $5.6 million on a new elementary school at Clarksville; $5.7 million at Dover for a primary school; and $5 million for replacement of middle school classrooms at Pine Bluff Dollarway.
Districts will be allowed to apply for assistance through the partnership program annually.
In addition to the state’s share of $250 million for the projects approved Monday, the commission since October has obligated the state to about $121 million for the other programs.
The Legislature will consider another facilities appropriation during the 2007 session, he said. The 2005 General Assembly created the three facilities programs after an assessment of school buildings proposed about $2 billion in facilities needs.
The immediate repair program was designed to address projects where repairs or construction was needed immediately; the transitional program covers school facility costs from Jan. 1, 2005, to June 30 of this year. The partnership program begins July 1 and continues annually.
Education Commissioner Ken James, Department of Finance and Administration Director Richard Weiss and Mac Dodson, president of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority, make up the Commission for Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
TOP STORY >> Prater calls for reforms
By SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
Rep. Sandra Prater (D-Jacksonville), a registered cardiac nurse, says she wasn’t surprised by a recent report showing the state is paying too much for inpatient mental health services for children and relies on outdated practices with poor accountability.
Arkansas has 16 beds at the State Hospital to serve 50,000 children needing mental-health services, according to Julie Munsell, spokes-person for the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services. Hospitals and mental health facilities, such as Living Hope Institute, provide additional beds.
Common mental conditions among children include attention deficit disorder (ADD), behavior disorders, depressive disorders and learning and developmental problems.
“It’s a hard diagnosis to make because some of that could be caused by poor parenting or no structure at home,” said Shayne Power, a psychologist at Counsel-ing Services of Jacksonville.
Prater says by looking at what services are benefiting the children and what aren’t being offered should provide the framework for mental-health services for children legislation in the 2007 General Assembly.
“I think we’re going to need to get the schools involved in this because a lot of times, that’s the first place a child’s problem is spotted,” Prater said.
Munsell said, “The consultant who came in to help us was absolutely on point. We don’t need to focus on beds per se but the entire menu of services available in the community, both inpatient and outpatient services.”
Cliff Davis, with the Washington-based Human Services Collaborative, said the state faces the risk of a federal audit or lawsuit if things don’t change.
“Arkansas is still primarily using practices that were typical in the 1980s,” Davis told a joint meeting of the Senate Interim Committee on Children and Youth and the House Interim Committee on Aging and Legislative Affairs.
Davis’ report, commissioned by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, calls for an overhaul of the state’s mental- health services to focus more on community-based programs. The report was issued through legislation passed last year to create a comprehensive plan for children’s behavioral health.
“I think we’re going to need to get the schools involved in this because a lot of Munsell said engaging families in the child’s care is a milestone the state needs to focus on.
“There are children who would benefit more from an outpatient community because inpatient is ineffective for children who don’t have a good support system to follow them when they get out,” Munsell said.
For example, many caregivers let school-age children go on “drug vacations” during the summer by not giving them medication for reasons that range from religious, indifference or simply giving children a break from the side effects of medication.
According to the report, state officials need to improve accountability for their mental-health programs by defining services and standards for those services. Davis also said the state needs more thorough reviews of what services are received in exchange for funding.
“To put it simply, you have no accountability in your child health care services,” Davis said. “Basically you write checks based on the submission of billing invoices.”
Davis told legislators that of $201 million spent last year on mental health services for children, more than $112 million was paid for inpatient care. The state is spending $89 million on community-based and home-based programs Davis said.
Davis warned that the state could face the risk of a federal audit or a class-action lawsuit unless it improves its way of tracking its funding for mental health programs.
“We need accountability to follow these kids once they’ve been in the state mental health system,” Prater said.
John Selig, director of Health and Human Services, said the state had formed a task force that came up with similar observations about the system.
“We have to take some bold action. It’s not just a matter of tweaking the system,’’ Selig said. “We’ve got to completely change our approach.’’
Rep. Tommy Roebuck (D-Arkadelphia), who co-sponsored the legislation signed into law last year calling for the comprehensive plan, said lawmakers would meet in the coming weeks to discuss ways to improve the mental-health system.
“We don’t have any method at this point to determine whether the kids are receiving the services they need or how good the services are,” Roebuck said. “That’s just part of it, the accountability. It should be there, with as much of an expense we’re talking about.”
But Sen. Shawn Womack (R-Mountain Home) said he was concerned the problems cited may not call for a complete change of the system.
“I think they’re trying to overhaul the system when all it may need is a few improvements,” Womack said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Leader staff writer
Rep. Sandra Prater (D-Jacksonville), a registered cardiac nurse, says she wasn’t surprised by a recent report showing the state is paying too much for inpatient mental health services for children and relies on outdated practices with poor accountability.
Arkansas has 16 beds at the State Hospital to serve 50,000 children needing mental-health services, according to Julie Munsell, spokes-person for the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services. Hospitals and mental health facilities, such as Living Hope Institute, provide additional beds.
Common mental conditions among children include attention deficit disorder (ADD), behavior disorders, depressive disorders and learning and developmental problems.
“It’s a hard diagnosis to make because some of that could be caused by poor parenting or no structure at home,” said Shayne Power, a psychologist at Counsel-ing Services of Jacksonville.
Prater says by looking at what services are benefiting the children and what aren’t being offered should provide the framework for mental-health services for children legislation in the 2007 General Assembly.
“I think we’re going to need to get the schools involved in this because a lot of times, that’s the first place a child’s problem is spotted,” Prater said.
Munsell said, “The consultant who came in to help us was absolutely on point. We don’t need to focus on beds per se but the entire menu of services available in the community, both inpatient and outpatient services.”
Cliff Davis, with the Washington-based Human Services Collaborative, said the state faces the risk of a federal audit or lawsuit if things don’t change.
“Arkansas is still primarily using practices that were typical in the 1980s,” Davis told a joint meeting of the Senate Interim Committee on Children and Youth and the House Interim Committee on Aging and Legislative Affairs.
Davis’ report, commissioned by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, calls for an overhaul of the state’s mental- health services to focus more on community-based programs. The report was issued through legislation passed last year to create a comprehensive plan for children’s behavioral health.
“I think we’re going to need to get the schools involved in this because a lot of Munsell said engaging families in the child’s care is a milestone the state needs to focus on.
“There are children who would benefit more from an outpatient community because inpatient is ineffective for children who don’t have a good support system to follow them when they get out,” Munsell said.
For example, many caregivers let school-age children go on “drug vacations” during the summer by not giving them medication for reasons that range from religious, indifference or simply giving children a break from the side effects of medication.
According to the report, state officials need to improve accountability for their mental-health programs by defining services and standards for those services. Davis also said the state needs more thorough reviews of what services are received in exchange for funding.
“To put it simply, you have no accountability in your child health care services,” Davis said. “Basically you write checks based on the submission of billing invoices.”
Davis told legislators that of $201 million spent last year on mental health services for children, more than $112 million was paid for inpatient care. The state is spending $89 million on community-based and home-based programs Davis said.
Davis warned that the state could face the risk of a federal audit or a class-action lawsuit unless it improves its way of tracking its funding for mental health programs.
“We need accountability to follow these kids once they’ve been in the state mental health system,” Prater said.
John Selig, director of Health and Human Services, said the state had formed a task force that came up with similar observations about the system.
“We have to take some bold action. It’s not just a matter of tweaking the system,’’ Selig said. “We’ve got to completely change our approach.’’
Rep. Tommy Roebuck (D-Arkadelphia), who co-sponsored the legislation signed into law last year calling for the comprehensive plan, said lawmakers would meet in the coming weeks to discuss ways to improve the mental-health system.
“We don’t have any method at this point to determine whether the kids are receiving the services they need or how good the services are,” Roebuck said. “That’s just part of it, the accountability. It should be there, with as much of an expense we’re talking about.”
But Sen. Shawn Womack (R-Mountain Home) said he was concerned the problems cited may not call for a complete change of the system.
“I think they’re trying to overhaul the system when all it may need is a few improvements,” Womack said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
TOP STORY >> School reshuffling
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
A 108-page feasibility study authorized by the state legislature recommends that Jacksonville gets its own school district and schools north of the river that are not going into the Jacksonville School District be part of the North Little Rock School District.
That means Sherwood schools would be transferred from the Pulaski County Special School District to NLRSD.
The yearlong study by William Gordon and Associates of Saluda, N.C., recommends a stand-alone school district in Jacksonville and to include 13 schools in the district. The schools in the new district would be Jacksonville and North Pulaski high schools, Jacksonville and Northwood middle schools, Homer Adkins, Arnold Drive, Bayou Meto, Cato, Dupree, Jackson-ville, Pinewood, Murrell Taylor and Tolleson elementary schools.
“I’m very pleased with the report,” said Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim, “but it doesn’t mean any immediate relief. But I’m optimistic that we will get our own district.”
Former state Representative Pat Bond, who sponsored legislation in 2001 allowing Jacksonville to get its own school district, still has concerns. “In the best case scenario, it’ll still be two or three years before we can even start on our own district. We have to start planning and working towards that, but we need to make sure we don’t forget the kids that we have now. We can’t forget the kids.”
She said a new district would mean a lot of work, it’ll be tough, but we’ll have control over our destiny and that’s something we’ve needed for a long time. I’m hopeful.”
The new district will have its struggles, inheriting five school building recommended for replacement and three under-used buildings that will strain the finances of the infant school district.
In the vision of the consultants, Jacksonville’s school district—which has long been sought by the city—would have about 6,900 students and 13 schools. It’s racial make up would be 55 percent white, 40 percent black and about 5 percent other races.
This would be in line with the current make up of PCSSD that is 53.7 percent white, 41.7 percent black and 5.6 percent other minorities.
However, the new district will inherited buildings that are up to 30 years old, in need of major repair and some currently being underused.
The consultants have given a rating of five—a very poor facility that is in need of major renovation and repair or could be considered for closing or replacement—to Jacksonville High School, Jackson-ville Middle School (both boys and girls campuses), Jacksonville Elementary and Tolleson Elementary.
Specifically, the report says that Jacksonville High School “is a crowded and poorly designed building that should be replaced.”
The Jacksonville Middle School consists of two Category Five buildings. The original facility—the Jacksonville Junior High School—was constructed in 1952, according to the report, and is being used as the boys’ campus. The Jacksonville Middle School building, housing the girls’ campus, was constructed in 1970.
“These facilities need to be replaced,” the report says succinctly.
It goes on to say that Jacksonville Elementary, built in 1963, and Tolleson Elementary built in 1951, “are in very poor condition and could be replaced.”
The study also says that less than half of Jacksonville Middle School and Adkins and Cato Elementary School are being used.
Jacksonville Middle School, the consultants say have a capacity of 1,970 student, but has a current enrollment of 892 students. Adkins has space for 526, but an enrollment of 242 and Cato with capacity for 800 only has 349 students.
Consultants, using their figures and the results from Jacksonville’s 2002 study about the feasibility of having its own school district, say the new district should receive sufficient operational funding through the state’s school aid formula and local property taxes to operate effectively and efficiently. But the study adds that the financial costs of replacing or refurbishing some of the schools transferred from PCSSD would “be a challenge.”
“The willingness of the residents of the Jacksonville School District to pass a bond referendum to improve the facilities will determine the extent to which needed replacements, refurbishings and improvements can be made.
The new district would have almost 500 teachers based on current needs. Ranging from 67 at North Pulaski to 19 at Tolleson. If current administrator levels are maintained the district will need 26 principals or assistant principals.
A central office would have to be created for the new district, and the study says 20 to 27 administrators or coordinators would be needed at this level.
The study also suggested adding 13 PCSSD schools to NLRSD. Those would include Sylvan Hills and Oak Grove high schools, Sylvan Hills and Maumelle middle schools, Clinton, Crystal Hills, Harris, Oak Grove, Oakbrook, Pine Forest, Scott, Sherwood and Sylvan Hills elementary schools.
But before any new district can be formed or any current district modified, all three county districts—PCSSD, NLRSD and the Little Rock School District—have to reach unitary status which means that the districts will no longer be under federal court supervision because of their former segregationist practices.
According to the yearlong study performed by William Gordon Associates of Saluda, N.C., an unitary school system is “one that has complied in good-faith with its desegregation decree since it was entered and has eliminated the vestiges of past discrimination to the extent practicable.”
Leader staff writer
A 108-page feasibility study authorized by the state legislature recommends that Jacksonville gets its own school district and schools north of the river that are not going into the Jacksonville School District be part of the North Little Rock School District.
That means Sherwood schools would be transferred from the Pulaski County Special School District to NLRSD.
The yearlong study by William Gordon and Associates of Saluda, N.C., recommends a stand-alone school district in Jacksonville and to include 13 schools in the district. The schools in the new district would be Jacksonville and North Pulaski high schools, Jacksonville and Northwood middle schools, Homer Adkins, Arnold Drive, Bayou Meto, Cato, Dupree, Jackson-ville, Pinewood, Murrell Taylor and Tolleson elementary schools.
“I’m very pleased with the report,” said Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim, “but it doesn’t mean any immediate relief. But I’m optimistic that we will get our own district.”
Former state Representative Pat Bond, who sponsored legislation in 2001 allowing Jacksonville to get its own school district, still has concerns. “In the best case scenario, it’ll still be two or three years before we can even start on our own district. We have to start planning and working towards that, but we need to make sure we don’t forget the kids that we have now. We can’t forget the kids.”
She said a new district would mean a lot of work, it’ll be tough, but we’ll have control over our destiny and that’s something we’ve needed for a long time. I’m hopeful.”
The new district will have its struggles, inheriting five school building recommended for replacement and three under-used buildings that will strain the finances of the infant school district.
In the vision of the consultants, Jacksonville’s school district—which has long been sought by the city—would have about 6,900 students and 13 schools. It’s racial make up would be 55 percent white, 40 percent black and about 5 percent other races.
This would be in line with the current make up of PCSSD that is 53.7 percent white, 41.7 percent black and 5.6 percent other minorities.
However, the new district will inherited buildings that are up to 30 years old, in need of major repair and some currently being underused.
The consultants have given a rating of five—a very poor facility that is in need of major renovation and repair or could be considered for closing or replacement—to Jacksonville High School, Jackson-ville Middle School (both boys and girls campuses), Jacksonville Elementary and Tolleson Elementary.
Specifically, the report says that Jacksonville High School “is a crowded and poorly designed building that should be replaced.”
The Jacksonville Middle School consists of two Category Five buildings. The original facility—the Jacksonville Junior High School—was constructed in 1952, according to the report, and is being used as the boys’ campus. The Jacksonville Middle School building, housing the girls’ campus, was constructed in 1970.
“These facilities need to be replaced,” the report says succinctly.
It goes on to say that Jacksonville Elementary, built in 1963, and Tolleson Elementary built in 1951, “are in very poor condition and could be replaced.”
The study also says that less than half of Jacksonville Middle School and Adkins and Cato Elementary School are being used.
Jacksonville Middle School, the consultants say have a capacity of 1,970 student, but has a current enrollment of 892 students. Adkins has space for 526, but an enrollment of 242 and Cato with capacity for 800 only has 349 students.
Consultants, using their figures and the results from Jacksonville’s 2002 study about the feasibility of having its own school district, say the new district should receive sufficient operational funding through the state’s school aid formula and local property taxes to operate effectively and efficiently. But the study adds that the financial costs of replacing or refurbishing some of the schools transferred from PCSSD would “be a challenge.”
“The willingness of the residents of the Jacksonville School District to pass a bond referendum to improve the facilities will determine the extent to which needed replacements, refurbishings and improvements can be made.
The new district would have almost 500 teachers based on current needs. Ranging from 67 at North Pulaski to 19 at Tolleson. If current administrator levels are maintained the district will need 26 principals or assistant principals.
A central office would have to be created for the new district, and the study says 20 to 27 administrators or coordinators would be needed at this level.
The study also suggested adding 13 PCSSD schools to NLRSD. Those would include Sylvan Hills and Oak Grove high schools, Sylvan Hills and Maumelle middle schools, Clinton, Crystal Hills, Harris, Oak Grove, Oakbrook, Pine Forest, Scott, Sherwood and Sylvan Hills elementary schools.
But before any new district can be formed or any current district modified, all three county districts—PCSSD, NLRSD and the Little Rock School District—have to reach unitary status which means that the districts will no longer be under federal court supervision because of their former segregationist practices.
According to the yearlong study performed by William Gordon Associates of Saluda, N.C., an unitary school system is “one that has complied in good-faith with its desegregation decree since it was entered and has eliminated the vestiges of past discrimination to the extent practicable.”
Monday, July 03, 2006
OBITUARIES >> SATURDAY, JULY 1ST
MARY MARTINEAU, 96
Mary Anna Martineau, 96, died June 2. She was a member of Panola Missionary Baptist Church and was retired from Franklin Electric.
Preceding her in death were her parents, her husband, Johnny Martineau; three sisters and three brothers. She is survived by several nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. today at Boyd Funeral Home Chapel, Lonoke. Burial followed in Concord Cemetery.
SHIRLEY WYATT, 54
Shirley Ann Wyatt, 54, died June 27. She was a casework supervisor with DHHS in Lonoke. Preceding her in death was a sister, Margaret Virginia Shipman. Survivors include sons, Brian Wyatt and wife Shannon of Lowell and Gregory Wyatt and wife Joy of Greenbrier; her parents, A.C. and Zada Linn of Carlisle; sisters, Mary Linn of Carlisle and Jennette Wilkins of Glendale, Ariz.; grandchildren, Brooke Alexander of Savannah, Ga., Dane Wyatt and Seth Wyatt of Lowell, Kieran Wyatt and Noah Wyatt of Greenbrier, and one great-granddaughter. Funeral services were held Friday at Boyd Funeral Home, Lonoke with interment in Hamilton Cemetery.
TANNA FARRAR, 53
Tanna Alycia Farrar, 53, of Lonoke passed away June 2. She was born Dec. 9, 1952, in Houston, Texas, to the late Hugh and Frances McCart. Survivors include her husband, Dale Farrar of the home; two sons, Jerry Howard of Lonoke and Brad Andrews of Justice, Ill.; one daughter, Kelly Howard of Alamosa, Colo.; one brother, Gary Aucoin of Galveston, Texas, and seven grandchildren. Funeral services were held June 30 at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with Bishop Eric Park officiating.
Arrangements were by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
Mary Anna Martineau, 96, died June 2. She was a member of Panola Missionary Baptist Church and was retired from Franklin Electric.
Preceding her in death were her parents, her husband, Johnny Martineau; three sisters and three brothers. She is survived by several nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. today at Boyd Funeral Home Chapel, Lonoke. Burial followed in Concord Cemetery.
SHIRLEY WYATT, 54
Shirley Ann Wyatt, 54, died June 27. She was a casework supervisor with DHHS in Lonoke. Preceding her in death was a sister, Margaret Virginia Shipman. Survivors include sons, Brian Wyatt and wife Shannon of Lowell and Gregory Wyatt and wife Joy of Greenbrier; her parents, A.C. and Zada Linn of Carlisle; sisters, Mary Linn of Carlisle and Jennette Wilkins of Glendale, Ariz.; grandchildren, Brooke Alexander of Savannah, Ga., Dane Wyatt and Seth Wyatt of Lowell, Kieran Wyatt and Noah Wyatt of Greenbrier, and one great-granddaughter. Funeral services were held Friday at Boyd Funeral Home, Lonoke with interment in Hamilton Cemetery.
TANNA FARRAR, 53
Tanna Alycia Farrar, 53, of Lonoke passed away June 2. She was born Dec. 9, 1952, in Houston, Texas, to the late Hugh and Frances McCart. Survivors include her husband, Dale Farrar of the home; two sons, Jerry Howard of Lonoke and Brad Andrews of Justice, Ill.; one daughter, Kelly Howard of Alamosa, Colo.; one brother, Gary Aucoin of Galveston, Texas, and seven grandchildren. Funeral services were held June 30 at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with Bishop Eric Park officiating.
Arrangements were by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
SAT JULY 1ST EDITORIAL >> Ruling hurts school reform
What a quaint, and dangerous, decision that was by Pulaski Circuit Judge Jay Moody in the Paron school case. The harm to the law and, more importantly, to children may last only a year, but that is enough.
The little Paron School District west of Little Rock, 125 children strong, was one of those abolished last year under an act that consolidated districts with fewer than 350 children. They were deemed to be too small to efficiently provide a full array of secondary courses for students.
The Bryant School District, with which it was consolidated, concluded that the high school should be closed this fall and the students transported to Bryant. A few Paron residents sued to block the closing. Judge Moody ordered Bryant not to close the Paron school this fall while he conducted a full hearing on the impact of the closing.
The issue is that a few Paron students at the end of the lengthened bus route would have to ride a bus as much as an hour and a half each way to Bryant, although good roads traverse those foothills. That tentatively was conclusive for Judge Moody. He thought it might be unconstitutional to make children ride a bus for that long. He was sufficiently persuaded without a full hearing that he blocked the closing until he could get the evidence and figure it out conclusively.
No court has ever found that bus rides of any length violated the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws. If that is unconstitutional, then the whole course of school reform for 75 years is unconstitutional. Tens of thousands — nay, hundreds of thousands — of Arkansas children have been transported to schools quite a few miles from the house, farther and in far more primitive and dangerous conditions than those that confront high school students at Paron. At least since the great consolidation drive of 1948, youngsters have been picked up at the gate of the farm or at the fork of the creek at daylight and, to their frequent delight, returned home too late to milk the cows. It was adequate recompense that they got a broader and richer education than their little communities could have provided.
In all of these small communities, there are people who think that having a local high school and basketball teams is more important than the education that is offered. Judge Moody’s order gives them hope that the little schools can be kept at any cost.
The judge said he had seen no evidence that there was any benefit to busing kids to Bryant High School. Apparently, no one had mentioned all those courses and activities that were not available at any cost at Paron.
If the order and its curious reasoning stand, it could offer a fresh remedy at law for hundreds of thousands of people who had to endure the long bus rides to school in their youth. The damages for the deprivation of their constitutional rights could be staggering.
Now there is a use for that $600 million surplus in the state treasury.
The little Paron School District west of Little Rock, 125 children strong, was one of those abolished last year under an act that consolidated districts with fewer than 350 children. They were deemed to be too small to efficiently provide a full array of secondary courses for students.
The Bryant School District, with which it was consolidated, concluded that the high school should be closed this fall and the students transported to Bryant. A few Paron residents sued to block the closing. Judge Moody ordered Bryant not to close the Paron school this fall while he conducted a full hearing on the impact of the closing.
The issue is that a few Paron students at the end of the lengthened bus route would have to ride a bus as much as an hour and a half each way to Bryant, although good roads traverse those foothills. That tentatively was conclusive for Judge Moody. He thought it might be unconstitutional to make children ride a bus for that long. He was sufficiently persuaded without a full hearing that he blocked the closing until he could get the evidence and figure it out conclusively.
No court has ever found that bus rides of any length violated the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws. If that is unconstitutional, then the whole course of school reform for 75 years is unconstitutional. Tens of thousands — nay, hundreds of thousands — of Arkansas children have been transported to schools quite a few miles from the house, farther and in far more primitive and dangerous conditions than those that confront high school students at Paron. At least since the great consolidation drive of 1948, youngsters have been picked up at the gate of the farm or at the fork of the creek at daylight and, to their frequent delight, returned home too late to milk the cows. It was adequate recompense that they got a broader and richer education than their little communities could have provided.
In all of these small communities, there are people who think that having a local high school and basketball teams is more important than the education that is offered. Judge Moody’s order gives them hope that the little schools can be kept at any cost.
The judge said he had seen no evidence that there was any benefit to busing kids to Bryant High School. Apparently, no one had mentioned all those courses and activities that were not available at any cost at Paron.
If the order and its curious reasoning stand, it could offer a fresh remedy at law for hundreds of thousands of people who had to endure the long bus rides to school in their youth. The damages for the deprivation of their constitutional rights could be staggering.
Now there is a use for that $600 million surplus in the state treasury.
SPORTS >> Home Depot topples Blue
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Cabot Home Depot im-proved its overall record to 10-14 on the season with a 9-3 win over Class A Little Rock Blue at the Conrade Sports Complex Thursday night. Home Depot broke away from Blue with a huge offensive stand in the bottom of the second inning, scoring five runs off of five hits. The inning gave Cabot a 6-1 lead, and deflated Blue’s hopes of a road win.
“That was a crazy game,” Cabot coach Andy Runyon said. “I’m proud of my kids, they all did a great job tonight. I think we had four different guys pitching for us tonight, and they all did a good job. We always tell them to jump on our opponents early, and that’s exactly what they did tonight. They scored runs early in the game, and we came away with a six-run win.”
The game was originally scheduled as a twin bill, but a limited number of available pitchers for Little Rock moved the event to one nine-inning game.
The frustration continued to build throughout the game for Blue. A dispute with the field umpire resulted in one of the Little Rock coaches being ejected from the game in the top of the fourth inning. Although Blue managed a couple of runs in the final innings, Home Depot controlled the game from the second inning on for the win.
Blue took the early lead with a single run in the top of the first inning. Cabot was able to answer in the opening frame with a run from Justin Free off a Sam Bates RBI. The score was tied 1-1 after one inning, but the game would no longer be close after the following inning.
Logan Lucas led off for Cabot in the second inning with a walk, and quickly made his way to third courtesy of back-to-back balks from starting Blue pitcher James Morhead. A walk for Tyler Sorrells put runners at first and third. Shane Burgan drove in the first run of the inning with a fielder’s choice to shortstop. Sorrells was out at second, but Lucas scored, and Burgan safely made it to first.
A single to center from Free scored Burgan, followed by a single grounder to left from Colin Fuller that brought in Drew Burks. The biggest RBI of the inning went to Chad Bryant. Bryant drove in two scores with a single to center.
Home Depot was in position to score even more runs in the inning, loading the bases with two outs. Blue relief pitcher Nathan Longinotti finally made a stand at the mound, striking out Sorrells for the final out of the inning.
Cabot came very close to run-ruling Little Rock in the bottom of the fifth inning. A pair of doubles from Drew Burks and Ben Wainwright scored Lucas and then Sorrells.
The second hit from Burks brought in Sorrells for the eighth run of the game. Wainwright followed Sorrells to the plate, but was tagged out by Blue catcher Christian Cooley after a good throw to home from left fielder Brett Golden. Wainwright’s lost run would have given Cabot a 9-1 lead, which would have ended the contest under the 8-after-5 run-rule.
Although Blue dodged a bullet in the fifth, they were not able to make up the lost ground. A double from Golden to score Michael Alexander in the top of the seventh, and a run from Tim Watson in the top of the ninth were the only offense Little Rock could put together during the remainder of the game. Cabot added its final run in the bottom of the seventh inning, with several substitute batters taking turns during the final offensive stands.
Cabot finished the game with nine runs, nine hits and three errors. Little Rock had three runs, five hits and two errors. Sean Clarkson got the win from the mound for Cabot, with Sorrells and Gross also taking turns pitching in the game.
After playing North Little Rock in a doubleheader at Burns Park last night, Cabot will take a few days off before returning to action against Jacksonville at Dupree Park on the 4th of July at 2:30 p.m. in a stand-alone Class AAA American Legion matchup.
Leader sportswriter
Cabot Home Depot im-proved its overall record to 10-14 on the season with a 9-3 win over Class A Little Rock Blue at the Conrade Sports Complex Thursday night. Home Depot broke away from Blue with a huge offensive stand in the bottom of the second inning, scoring five runs off of five hits. The inning gave Cabot a 6-1 lead, and deflated Blue’s hopes of a road win.
“That was a crazy game,” Cabot coach Andy Runyon said. “I’m proud of my kids, they all did a great job tonight. I think we had four different guys pitching for us tonight, and they all did a good job. We always tell them to jump on our opponents early, and that’s exactly what they did tonight. They scored runs early in the game, and we came away with a six-run win.”
The game was originally scheduled as a twin bill, but a limited number of available pitchers for Little Rock moved the event to one nine-inning game.
The frustration continued to build throughout the game for Blue. A dispute with the field umpire resulted in one of the Little Rock coaches being ejected from the game in the top of the fourth inning. Although Blue managed a couple of runs in the final innings, Home Depot controlled the game from the second inning on for the win.
Blue took the early lead with a single run in the top of the first inning. Cabot was able to answer in the opening frame with a run from Justin Free off a Sam Bates RBI. The score was tied 1-1 after one inning, but the game would no longer be close after the following inning.
Logan Lucas led off for Cabot in the second inning with a walk, and quickly made his way to third courtesy of back-to-back balks from starting Blue pitcher James Morhead. A walk for Tyler Sorrells put runners at first and third. Shane Burgan drove in the first run of the inning with a fielder’s choice to shortstop. Sorrells was out at second, but Lucas scored, and Burgan safely made it to first.
A single to center from Free scored Burgan, followed by a single grounder to left from Colin Fuller that brought in Drew Burks. The biggest RBI of the inning went to Chad Bryant. Bryant drove in two scores with a single to center.
Home Depot was in position to score even more runs in the inning, loading the bases with two outs. Blue relief pitcher Nathan Longinotti finally made a stand at the mound, striking out Sorrells for the final out of the inning.
Cabot came very close to run-ruling Little Rock in the bottom of the fifth inning. A pair of doubles from Drew Burks and Ben Wainwright scored Lucas and then Sorrells.
The second hit from Burks brought in Sorrells for the eighth run of the game. Wainwright followed Sorrells to the plate, but was tagged out by Blue catcher Christian Cooley after a good throw to home from left fielder Brett Golden. Wainwright’s lost run would have given Cabot a 9-1 lead, which would have ended the contest under the 8-after-5 run-rule.
Although Blue dodged a bullet in the fifth, they were not able to make up the lost ground. A double from Golden to score Michael Alexander in the top of the seventh, and a run from Tim Watson in the top of the ninth were the only offense Little Rock could put together during the remainder of the game. Cabot added its final run in the bottom of the seventh inning, with several substitute batters taking turns during the final offensive stands.
Cabot finished the game with nine runs, nine hits and three errors. Little Rock had three runs, five hits and two errors. Sean Clarkson got the win from the mound for Cabot, with Sorrells and Gross also taking turns pitching in the game.
After playing North Little Rock in a doubleheader at Burns Park last night, Cabot will take a few days off before returning to action against Jacksonville at Dupree Park on the 4th of July at 2:30 p.m. in a stand-alone Class AAA American Legion matchup.
SPORTS >> Bruin pitching improves
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Sylvan Hills’ AAA American Legion team started the season a little shallow in the pitching department, but that area has come along nicely, and the Bruins now have three solid starters. Tony Pavan has been in the starting rotation since the beginning, but his durability has improved dramatically and that has helped his team dramatically as well. Pavan’s latest performance came Thursday night in the first round of the Gwatney Chevrolet Fourth of July Classic, when he kept Sheridan off balance and led his team to a 2-0 victory. It was the third win of the week for Sylvan Hills, who also toppled Maumelle Tuesday, and traveled to Russellville to pick up a win Wednesday night.
The three victories lift Sylvan Hills’ record to 25-7 so far on the season.
Sylvan Hills coach Mike Bromley is very pleased with his pitcher’s progress.
“He was having some trouble finishing games when we first started,” Bromley said. “”But it was between the ears. His endurance is fine. I’ve just been leaving him out there and making him work until the end. He’s done fine for me.”
Thursday’s effort was Pavan’s fourth complete game of the year, three of which have been wins. He carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning and finished with a three-hitter, striking out three and walking two.
The Sylvan Hills bats didn’t light the place up Thursday either, but they did enough to get the win. Taylor Roark led off the top of the third inning with a walk. Nathan Van Schoyck bunted him to second. That brought leadoff hitter Shawn Bybee to the plate, who got the game’s first base hit, a single to right field that scored Roark.
Pavan gave up his first hit to the leadoff hitter, Matt Buie, in the fourth, but got Freddy Flores to ground into a 6-4-3 double play on the next at bat. Kris Pruitt then flew out to right field.
He sat the side down in order in the bottom of the fifth, fanning Steven Harp to end the half-inning.
Sheridan’s biggest threat came in the sixth. Pavan walked the leadoff hitter and hit the third batter with one out. He struck out Buie, then gave up a single to right field by Flores, but Chase Elder made a great play to force Sheridan’s Matt Kimball to stop at third base.
Pavan then got Pruitt to ground out to third to end the threat.
Sylvan Hills’ Austin Gwatney added the insurance run in the sixth. He led off by reaching on an error at shortstop. Nathan Van Schoyck moved him to third with a single to centerfield. Three batters later with two outs, Ashur Tolliver singled to right to drive in the run.
Sheridan pitcher Lucas Cossey also went the distance, giving up four hits while walking two batters. The defense committed three errors behind him while Sylvan Hills played error-free baseball.
“I’m pleased with the defense,” Bromley said. “We’ve cleaned things up on defense pretty good in the last 10 or 15 games. We started out kind of shaky and made a lot of mistakes.
“Hitting, we’re not consistent enough. We’ll have a good game and then a bad one. We didn’t do a very good job tonight of being patient. That pitcher did a good job of keeping us off balance, but he was a little wild at times and we weren’t making him make pitches. We will take batting practice before we play again.”
The Bruins played the late game last night against Jonesboro after Leader deadlines. They will play again Sunday at noon against Dunklin Co., Mo.
Leader sports editor
Sylvan Hills’ AAA American Legion team started the season a little shallow in the pitching department, but that area has come along nicely, and the Bruins now have three solid starters. Tony Pavan has been in the starting rotation since the beginning, but his durability has improved dramatically and that has helped his team dramatically as well. Pavan’s latest performance came Thursday night in the first round of the Gwatney Chevrolet Fourth of July Classic, when he kept Sheridan off balance and led his team to a 2-0 victory. It was the third win of the week for Sylvan Hills, who also toppled Maumelle Tuesday, and traveled to Russellville to pick up a win Wednesday night.
The three victories lift Sylvan Hills’ record to 25-7 so far on the season.
Sylvan Hills coach Mike Bromley is very pleased with his pitcher’s progress.
“He was having some trouble finishing games when we first started,” Bromley said. “”But it was between the ears. His endurance is fine. I’ve just been leaving him out there and making him work until the end. He’s done fine for me.”
Thursday’s effort was Pavan’s fourth complete game of the year, three of which have been wins. He carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning and finished with a three-hitter, striking out three and walking two.
The Sylvan Hills bats didn’t light the place up Thursday either, but they did enough to get the win. Taylor Roark led off the top of the third inning with a walk. Nathan Van Schoyck bunted him to second. That brought leadoff hitter Shawn Bybee to the plate, who got the game’s first base hit, a single to right field that scored Roark.
Pavan gave up his first hit to the leadoff hitter, Matt Buie, in the fourth, but got Freddy Flores to ground into a 6-4-3 double play on the next at bat. Kris Pruitt then flew out to right field.
He sat the side down in order in the bottom of the fifth, fanning Steven Harp to end the half-inning.
Sheridan’s biggest threat came in the sixth. Pavan walked the leadoff hitter and hit the third batter with one out. He struck out Buie, then gave up a single to right field by Flores, but Chase Elder made a great play to force Sheridan’s Matt Kimball to stop at third base.
Pavan then got Pruitt to ground out to third to end the threat.
Sylvan Hills’ Austin Gwatney added the insurance run in the sixth. He led off by reaching on an error at shortstop. Nathan Van Schoyck moved him to third with a single to centerfield. Three batters later with two outs, Ashur Tolliver singled to right to drive in the run.
Sheridan pitcher Lucas Cossey also went the distance, giving up four hits while walking two batters. The defense committed three errors behind him while Sylvan Hills played error-free baseball.
“I’m pleased with the defense,” Bromley said. “We’ve cleaned things up on defense pretty good in the last 10 or 15 games. We started out kind of shaky and made a lot of mistakes.
“Hitting, we’re not consistent enough. We’ll have a good game and then a bad one. We didn’t do a very good job tonight of being patient. That pitcher did a good job of keeping us off balance, but he was a little wild at times and we weren’t making him make pitches. We will take batting practice before we play again.”
The Bruins played the late game last night against Jonesboro after Leader deadlines. They will play again Sunday at noon against Dunklin Co., Mo.
TOP STORY >> Payday lender keeps stores open
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
The owner of 14 payday lending businesses in Arkansas, including businesses in Cabot, Beebe and Searcy, was fined $1.3 million Wednesday for operating without a license and ordered to immediately cease, but all 14 are still open and the state board that handed down the order will have to take him to court to enforce it.
“Whether or not I collect (the $1.3 million) is not as important as getting him shut down,” Peggy Matson, executive director of the Arkansas State Board of Collec-tion Agencies, said Friday when asked if her agency had any authority to enforce the board’s rulings against Dennis Bailey of Fordyce.
“What we’ll do next is go to circuit court and try to get him shut down,” Matson said. “We could get him arrested on a misdemeanor (charge), or we could get his employees arrested. But arresting him wouldn’t close the businesses. And they are just working people who have to make the choice between doing something they know is against the law and losing their jobs.”
To collect the $1.3 million fine – the highest in the board has ever levied in the seven years since it was created to oversee collection agencies, check cashers and payday lenders – would require going to court and getting a judgment against Bailey that would allow the agency to file a lien against his assets, she said. The largest fine before Bailey’s was $50,000.
Bailey’s businesses in Beebe, Searcy, Bryant, Corning, Fordyce, Harrison, Little Rock, Mountain Home, Sheridan and Walnut Ridge go by the name Fast Cash. In Cabot and Hot Springs they are Cash Advance.
The Camden business is called Fast Cash Check Cashing and Central Arkansas Check Cashing operates in Newport.
Operating a payday-lending business without a license is illegal under the Arkansas Check-Cashers Act of 1999.
Bailey opened 13 of the businesses early in 2005 without licenses for any of them, according to documents submitted to the board during the Wednesday hearing.
He applied to the board in January 2005 but was turned down for a variety of reasons, including stopping payment on a $20,000 check he wrote Feb. 9, 2004 to pay a fine for operating a business in Pine Bluff without a license and violations of the state’s alcohol and tobacco laws.
To get around the Arkansas law requiring licensing, documents presented to the board showed that Bailey applied to the state of Missouri for organization of BMB Finance Co., LLC in West Plains, Mo.
After he was licensed in Missouri, Bailey structured his payday loans as loans from BMB Finance Company LLC.
But that also was illegal, according to a letter dated Jan. 26, 2006 from Joe Crider, supervisor of consumer credit for Missouri’s Division of Finance. Bailey’s Missouri business was not licensed to conduct business anywhere except West Plains.
Hank Klein, president of Arkansans Against Abusive Pay-day Lending, said the board’s action was commendable.
“They finally stepped up to the plate and did something” to stop businesses that are “taking ad-vantage of the poorest people,” Klein said.
Bailey could not be reached for comment.
Leader staff writer
The owner of 14 payday lending businesses in Arkansas, including businesses in Cabot, Beebe and Searcy, was fined $1.3 million Wednesday for operating without a license and ordered to immediately cease, but all 14 are still open and the state board that handed down the order will have to take him to court to enforce it.
“Whether or not I collect (the $1.3 million) is not as important as getting him shut down,” Peggy Matson, executive director of the Arkansas State Board of Collec-tion Agencies, said Friday when asked if her agency had any authority to enforce the board’s rulings against Dennis Bailey of Fordyce.
“What we’ll do next is go to circuit court and try to get him shut down,” Matson said. “We could get him arrested on a misdemeanor (charge), or we could get his employees arrested. But arresting him wouldn’t close the businesses. And they are just working people who have to make the choice between doing something they know is against the law and losing their jobs.”
To collect the $1.3 million fine – the highest in the board has ever levied in the seven years since it was created to oversee collection agencies, check cashers and payday lenders – would require going to court and getting a judgment against Bailey that would allow the agency to file a lien against his assets, she said. The largest fine before Bailey’s was $50,000.
Bailey’s businesses in Beebe, Searcy, Bryant, Corning, Fordyce, Harrison, Little Rock, Mountain Home, Sheridan and Walnut Ridge go by the name Fast Cash. In Cabot and Hot Springs they are Cash Advance.
The Camden business is called Fast Cash Check Cashing and Central Arkansas Check Cashing operates in Newport.
Operating a payday-lending business without a license is illegal under the Arkansas Check-Cashers Act of 1999.
Bailey opened 13 of the businesses early in 2005 without licenses for any of them, according to documents submitted to the board during the Wednesday hearing.
He applied to the board in January 2005 but was turned down for a variety of reasons, including stopping payment on a $20,000 check he wrote Feb. 9, 2004 to pay a fine for operating a business in Pine Bluff without a license and violations of the state’s alcohol and tobacco laws.
To get around the Arkansas law requiring licensing, documents presented to the board showed that Bailey applied to the state of Missouri for organization of BMB Finance Co., LLC in West Plains, Mo.
After he was licensed in Missouri, Bailey structured his payday loans as loans from BMB Finance Company LLC.
But that also was illegal, according to a letter dated Jan. 26, 2006 from Joe Crider, supervisor of consumer credit for Missouri’s Division of Finance. Bailey’s Missouri business was not licensed to conduct business anywhere except West Plains.
Hank Klein, president of Arkansans Against Abusive Pay-day Lending, said the board’s action was commendable.
“They finally stepped up to the plate and did something” to stop businesses that are “taking ad-vantage of the poorest people,” Klein said.
Bailey could not be reached for comment.
TOP STORY >>Panel asks JPs to seek vote on jail
By PAUL PETERSON
Leader staff writer
Although Pulaski County can’t afford to add more beds to its jail, the county is willing to spend $100,000 for a special election for a sales tax to almost double the number of beds at the county jail.
On Tuesday, the Pulaski County Quorum Court threw out the idea of a private jail, and on Wednesday a task force opted to push for a quarter-cent sales tax.
The Pulaski County Jail task force believes the sales tax would give the county enough money to quickly build or reopen space to house 1,618 inmates. Currently the jail can only house 880 prisoners.
The task force has also called for a special election on the tax issue, rather than have it on the ballot in November’s general election. The recommended date for the special election is Sept. 12.
The Pulaski County Quorum Court will meet July 11 or possibly earlier to consider the tax and special election recommendations.
The tax, if approved by voters, would generate about $18 million a year and would allow the county to increase its jail budget from $16.8 million a year to more than $34 million per year.
On Tuesday, the quorum court said no to the idea of a privately-operated detention facility after the presenter failed to answer numerous questions and told the task force that they had no plans to take in felons.
“We don’t accept felons,” said Greg Caldwell, a marketing representative for the Central Arkansas Regional Detention Facility, which is being built in Lonoke County.
“Well, everyone at our county lockup is a felon,” said Justice of the Peace Charles Roberson. “Why are we even having this discussion, and why didn’t any of us know this before now?”
Caldwell’s presentation offering a “private solution to a public problem” – the county jail crisis — came as a special request by the court and took place before new business on the agenda, resulting in a court apology for time wasted.
Caldwell held the interest of the standing-room-only audience and court members with a barrage of pie charts and bar graphs.
His slide presentation comparing operational expenses between CARDC and the overflowing county jail in Little Rock painted a convincing portrait, with estimates of daily costs per bed, total cost per day-per inmate and projected savings by the county of $4.5 million a year. Caldwell essentially claimed
That CARDC could reduce the county’s $52,000 annual cost per inmate to $39,600.
But he was stymied once the floor was opened for discussion.
Questions regarding previous clients, job opportunities, county contract fees based upon specific criminal charges, bed reservations, financial stability and verification of the company’s performance record dealt a staggering blow to Caldwell’s momentum.
He refused to disclose any financial numbers and said privately held companies have no obligation to do so. Caldwell’s routine replies of, “I’ll have to re-fer you to my supervisors and operations manager David Hamilton,” prompted Justice of the Peace Phil Stowers to ask for the job titles and roles of the CARDC office-management team and said he would be contacting them soon.
“Why isn’t Hamilton here then, if he has all the answers?,” Stowers asked.
When asked simple questions, such as how long had his employers been in business, Caldwell replied, “We have over 75 years of management experience,” and fell quiet when a court member asked, “Managing what?”
The final salvo to Caldwell resulted when asked how contract fees were rated according to levels of charges against inmates, such as how much more it would cost to reserve a certain number of misdemeanor or felony beds.
In other quorum court business:
• Discussion continued to flourish when the topic shifted to the poor performance of air conditioning units at the sheriff’s office and the funding source for part-time custodians at district court facilities. County comptroller Ron Quillen said repair estimates total approximately $40,000.
• The court approved issuance of county public-facility board student housing bonds for residential quarters on the campus of Philander Smith College Little Rock.
Leader staff writer
Although Pulaski County can’t afford to add more beds to its jail, the county is willing to spend $100,000 for a special election for a sales tax to almost double the number of beds at the county jail.
On Tuesday, the Pulaski County Quorum Court threw out the idea of a private jail, and on Wednesday a task force opted to push for a quarter-cent sales tax.
The Pulaski County Jail task force believes the sales tax would give the county enough money to quickly build or reopen space to house 1,618 inmates. Currently the jail can only house 880 prisoners.
The task force has also called for a special election on the tax issue, rather than have it on the ballot in November’s general election. The recommended date for the special election is Sept. 12.
The Pulaski County Quorum Court will meet July 11 or possibly earlier to consider the tax and special election recommendations.
The tax, if approved by voters, would generate about $18 million a year and would allow the county to increase its jail budget from $16.8 million a year to more than $34 million per year.
On Tuesday, the quorum court said no to the idea of a privately-operated detention facility after the presenter failed to answer numerous questions and told the task force that they had no plans to take in felons.
“We don’t accept felons,” said Greg Caldwell, a marketing representative for the Central Arkansas Regional Detention Facility, which is being built in Lonoke County.
“Well, everyone at our county lockup is a felon,” said Justice of the Peace Charles Roberson. “Why are we even having this discussion, and why didn’t any of us know this before now?”
Caldwell’s presentation offering a “private solution to a public problem” – the county jail crisis — came as a special request by the court and took place before new business on the agenda, resulting in a court apology for time wasted.
Caldwell held the interest of the standing-room-only audience and court members with a barrage of pie charts and bar graphs.
His slide presentation comparing operational expenses between CARDC and the overflowing county jail in Little Rock painted a convincing portrait, with estimates of daily costs per bed, total cost per day-per inmate and projected savings by the county of $4.5 million a year. Caldwell essentially claimed
That CARDC could reduce the county’s $52,000 annual cost per inmate to $39,600.
But he was stymied once the floor was opened for discussion.
Questions regarding previous clients, job opportunities, county contract fees based upon specific criminal charges, bed reservations, financial stability and verification of the company’s performance record dealt a staggering blow to Caldwell’s momentum.
He refused to disclose any financial numbers and said privately held companies have no obligation to do so. Caldwell’s routine replies of, “I’ll have to re-fer you to my supervisors and operations manager David Hamilton,” prompted Justice of the Peace Phil Stowers to ask for the job titles and roles of the CARDC office-management team and said he would be contacting them soon.
“Why isn’t Hamilton here then, if he has all the answers?,” Stowers asked.
When asked simple questions, such as how long had his employers been in business, Caldwell replied, “We have over 75 years of management experience,” and fell quiet when a court member asked, “Managing what?”
The final salvo to Caldwell resulted when asked how contract fees were rated according to levels of charges against inmates, such as how much more it would cost to reserve a certain number of misdemeanor or felony beds.
In other quorum court business:
• Discussion continued to flourish when the topic shifted to the poor performance of air conditioning units at the sheriff’s office and the funding source for part-time custodians at district court facilities. County comptroller Ron Quillen said repair estimates total approximately $40,000.
• The court approved issuance of county public-facility board student housing bonds for residential quarters on the campus of Philander Smith College Little Rock.
TOP STORY >>Report: Split up county district
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Jacksonville should get its own school district.
Pulaski County Special School District should continue to exist in some fashion.
But nothing can happen until all three Pulaski County districts—PCSSD, along with Little Rock and North Little Rock school districts—are released from federal court supervision.
That’s the essence of a 108-page feasibility study released late Friday afternoon. The study resulted from 2005 state legislation authorizing the Arkansas Department of Education to conduct a feasibility study to evaluate and determine whether Pulaski County Special School District should continue to exist.
At the time, the beleaguered district was in fiscal distress.
The nearly yearlong study by William Gordon Associates out of Saluda, N.C., recommends that Jacksonville should have its own district, consisting of 13 schools that are currently in the PCSSD.
Jacksonville has tried at least twice since the mid-70s to form its own school district.
The consultants said a Jacksonville district would be “more likely to address the educational needs of students attending schools north of the Arkansas River.”
In looking at a Jacksonville school district, the consultants said that the district would have a student population of slightly more than 6,900 students, of which 55 percent would be white, 40 percent black and 5 percent other minorities.
Five of the 13 county schools to be moved to the new district were in “need of extensive renovation or replacement.”
The new district would have nearly 500 teachers and would need 26 building administrators and a central office of 19 to 27 administrators.
The study recommends the new Jacksonville school district in-clude Jacksonville and North Pulaski high schools, along with Jacksonville and Northwood middle schools. Elementary schools would include Homer Adkins, Arnold Drive, Bayou Meto, Cato, Warren Dupree, Jacksonville, Pinewood, Murrell Taylor and Tolleson.
But before Jacksonville can have its own district or any boundary changes made to the county district, Little Rock, North Little Rock and the county school districts need to be dismissed from court desegregation monitoring.
The study states that any reconfiguration of the county school districts, while still under federal supervision, would require an order from the federal district court.
Jacksonville tried for its own school district a few years ago, but the federal court, using some of the same legal arguments in the study, said no.
The study said that reorganization of the districts “are not legally feasible in the context of the ongoing school desegregation litigation,” and that is why the districts must pursue efforts to be released from court supervision.
Both Little Rock and North Little Rock schools districts are making efforts to be released into what is called unitary status, meaning they have met the court requirements to be released from monitoring.
The federal court recently turned down a bid by LRSD, which has been under federal scrutiny since 1965, to be released from monitoring. The court said the district hadn’t successfully evaluated its academic programs for how well they help black students.
PCSSD is making plans for only a partial release from court monitoring.
The consultants surmise that “at least one reason for this approach is a fear on the part of the school board that full unitary status and an end to the school district’s involvement in the litigation might result in the dissolution of the school district.”
The consultants state in their study that PCSSD should be given assurances that it “will continue to exist in some shape or form.”
Once all three districts have been dismissed from court monitoring, then the study recommends the creation of a Jackson-ville school district, followed by phasing out majority-to-minority transfers and retaining existing countywide magnet schools.
In order to implement these recommendations in a post-unitary status setting, consultants say state legislative action will be necessary.
The state legislature is expected to take up the issue in its 2007 session.
Leader staff writer
Jacksonville should get its own school district.
Pulaski County Special School District should continue to exist in some fashion.
But nothing can happen until all three Pulaski County districts—PCSSD, along with Little Rock and North Little Rock school districts—are released from federal court supervision.
That’s the essence of a 108-page feasibility study released late Friday afternoon. The study resulted from 2005 state legislation authorizing the Arkansas Department of Education to conduct a feasibility study to evaluate and determine whether Pulaski County Special School District should continue to exist.
At the time, the beleaguered district was in fiscal distress.
The nearly yearlong study by William Gordon Associates out of Saluda, N.C., recommends that Jacksonville should have its own district, consisting of 13 schools that are currently in the PCSSD.
Jacksonville has tried at least twice since the mid-70s to form its own school district.
The consultants said a Jacksonville district would be “more likely to address the educational needs of students attending schools north of the Arkansas River.”
In looking at a Jacksonville school district, the consultants said that the district would have a student population of slightly more than 6,900 students, of which 55 percent would be white, 40 percent black and 5 percent other minorities.
Five of the 13 county schools to be moved to the new district were in “need of extensive renovation or replacement.”
The new district would have nearly 500 teachers and would need 26 building administrators and a central office of 19 to 27 administrators.
The study recommends the new Jacksonville school district in-clude Jacksonville and North Pulaski high schools, along with Jacksonville and Northwood middle schools. Elementary schools would include Homer Adkins, Arnold Drive, Bayou Meto, Cato, Warren Dupree, Jacksonville, Pinewood, Murrell Taylor and Tolleson.
But before Jacksonville can have its own district or any boundary changes made to the county district, Little Rock, North Little Rock and the county school districts need to be dismissed from court desegregation monitoring.
The study states that any reconfiguration of the county school districts, while still under federal supervision, would require an order from the federal district court.
Jacksonville tried for its own school district a few years ago, but the federal court, using some of the same legal arguments in the study, said no.
The study said that reorganization of the districts “are not legally feasible in the context of the ongoing school desegregation litigation,” and that is why the districts must pursue efforts to be released from court supervision.
Both Little Rock and North Little Rock schools districts are making efforts to be released into what is called unitary status, meaning they have met the court requirements to be released from monitoring.
The federal court recently turned down a bid by LRSD, which has been under federal scrutiny since 1965, to be released from monitoring. The court said the district hadn’t successfully evaluated its academic programs for how well they help black students.
PCSSD is making plans for only a partial release from court monitoring.
The consultants surmise that “at least one reason for this approach is a fear on the part of the school board that full unitary status and an end to the school district’s involvement in the litigation might result in the dissolution of the school district.”
The consultants state in their study that PCSSD should be given assurances that it “will continue to exist in some shape or form.”
Once all three districts have been dismissed from court monitoring, then the study recommends the creation of a Jackson-ville school district, followed by phasing out majority-to-minority transfers and retaining existing countywide magnet schools.
In order to implement these recommendations in a post-unitary status setting, consultants say state legislative action will be necessary.
The state legislature is expected to take up the issue in its 2007 session.
TOP STORY >> Fourth of July
By PEG KENYON
Leader staff writer
Hundreds filled Jan Crow Memorial Stadium in Jacksonville Friday night as they were entertained by songs and fireworks at the “Home of the Brave” Patriotic Spectacular in Jacksonville.
“First of all, it’s a celebration of our country and then, the Cub Scouts (Jacksonville Pack 819) are going to clean up after it’s over,” said Judy Van Newkirk.
One family attending the holiday weekend event is a newcomer to Jacksonville. “Actually, we just moved here about a week ago from Miami (Florida), and we’re out here to see what’s going on in the community,” said Shannon Feloss.
When the crowd heard the song, “I’m Proud to Be an American,” young and old stood up, cheered and waved their arms as balloons of red, white and balloon floated into the air.
The crowd of nearly 500 watched as red, white and blue rockets, sparklers and firecrackers exploded into the night’s sky.
Celebrating Independence Day early, under the supervision of Hubert Alexander and Ron Fejfar, the crowd saw bright and noisy fireworks of all kinds lit up the night sky.
Jacksonville leaders and officials portrayed some of the nation’s founding fathers. Thad Gray of the Jacksonville Water Commission assumed the role of Benjamin Franklin; Gary Fletcher, a Jacksonville alderman, donned a top hat for his role as Abe Lincoln, and Bob Stroud, another alderman, did his best impersonating John Adams.
The city also honored many of its best, including members of the 314th Maintenance Group, who have helped with hurrican recovery efforts.
Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim served as narrator. Local singers and choir members with the 75 Voice Choir and Youth Community Choir entertained with patriotic songs for this fifth annual show.
A number of soloists performed, including Claire Vann, Amber Mitchell, Sidney Piggee and Robby and Brandon Francis.
On Thursday, Angie Mitchell, one of the event organizers, was busy preparing for Friday night’s festivities.
“Several churches, businesses and the city are involved,” she said.
Mitchell gave credit to Jack-sonville High School personnel who allow the stadium’s use for the event. She said that Ted Bland, Dickie Penn and his crew built the actual set being used tonight.
“Asa Hutchinson will be presenting our community hero awards,” Mitchell said before the event.
This year’s recipients were Regina Boyd, a police officer; Mark Looney, a firefighter; Dr. J. Dale Calhoon and Mary Scruggins, an X-ray technician.
“Mark won’t be here…he’s in Iraq right now, but someone will accept on his behalf,” Mitchell said.
Among those being included in the Fallen Heroes portion of Friday’s event were Dr. Donald Griggs, a well-known dentist who served as a Jacksonville parks commissioner. Griggs died June 11.
Rev. Robert Lewis who served for more than two decades as a Jacksonville alderman will not be honored this year, according to Mitchell.
He died on June 14.
Leader staff writer
Hundreds filled Jan Crow Memorial Stadium in Jacksonville Friday night as they were entertained by songs and fireworks at the “Home of the Brave” Patriotic Spectacular in Jacksonville.
“First of all, it’s a celebration of our country and then, the Cub Scouts (Jacksonville Pack 819) are going to clean up after it’s over,” said Judy Van Newkirk.
One family attending the holiday weekend event is a newcomer to Jacksonville. “Actually, we just moved here about a week ago from Miami (Florida), and we’re out here to see what’s going on in the community,” said Shannon Feloss.
When the crowd heard the song, “I’m Proud to Be an American,” young and old stood up, cheered and waved their arms as balloons of red, white and balloon floated into the air.
The crowd of nearly 500 watched as red, white and blue rockets, sparklers and firecrackers exploded into the night’s sky.
Celebrating Independence Day early, under the supervision of Hubert Alexander and Ron Fejfar, the crowd saw bright and noisy fireworks of all kinds lit up the night sky.
Jacksonville leaders and officials portrayed some of the nation’s founding fathers. Thad Gray of the Jacksonville Water Commission assumed the role of Benjamin Franklin; Gary Fletcher, a Jacksonville alderman, donned a top hat for his role as Abe Lincoln, and Bob Stroud, another alderman, did his best impersonating John Adams.
The city also honored many of its best, including members of the 314th Maintenance Group, who have helped with hurrican recovery efforts.
Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim served as narrator. Local singers and choir members with the 75 Voice Choir and Youth Community Choir entertained with patriotic songs for this fifth annual show.
A number of soloists performed, including Claire Vann, Amber Mitchell, Sidney Piggee and Robby and Brandon Francis.
On Thursday, Angie Mitchell, one of the event organizers, was busy preparing for Friday night’s festivities.
“Several churches, businesses and the city are involved,” she said.
Mitchell gave credit to Jack-sonville High School personnel who allow the stadium’s use for the event. She said that Ted Bland, Dickie Penn and his crew built the actual set being used tonight.
“Asa Hutchinson will be presenting our community hero awards,” Mitchell said before the event.
This year’s recipients were Regina Boyd, a police officer; Mark Looney, a firefighter; Dr. J. Dale Calhoon and Mary Scruggins, an X-ray technician.
“Mark won’t be here…he’s in Iraq right now, but someone will accept on his behalf,” Mitchell said.
Among those being included in the Fallen Heroes portion of Friday’s event were Dr. Donald Griggs, a well-known dentist who served as a Jacksonville parks commissioner. Griggs died June 11.
Rev. Robert Lewis who served for more than two decades as a Jacksonville alderman will not be honored this year, according to Mitchell.
He died on June 14.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
NEIGHBORS >> Rotary speaker talks about potential of city dog park
BY PAUL PETERSON
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: The president of the Jacksonville Dog Park Club discusses the advantages of a canine recreation area in Dupree Park.
Jacksonville Dog Park Club president Dan Limke told Jacksonville Rotary Club members Monday that with the help of a few successful fund-raisers, Dupree Park lies on the verge of becoming one of among the 700 stomp-and-sniff parks for which dog owners nationwide are howling praise and gratitude.
“Across the United States, these parks have opened a whole new set of services to exercise dogs, let them run off-leash legally, mingle, and live happier, healthier lives,” Limke said.
“Visiting Murray Park in Little Rock, and dog parks in Maumelle and Burns Park proved how popular and well-received they are. During one visit, we counted the arrival of 60 people in 90 minutes.”
The proposed area for the park consists of the wooded area at the southwest corner of Dupree Lake because of availability of shade and open ground, access to water and adequate parking.
Of the four acres designated for canine recreation, fences will need posting.
Limke said two separate sections would accommodate large and small breeds, and would grant access for mowing equipment and overflow parking for large events such as the Wing Ding Festival.
In its two proposals to Jacksonville city officials, the six-member dog park committee outlined benefits to local dog owners and demonstrated why Dupree Park would be the best location to install such enhancements.
Characteristics such as location, size, popularity, landscape, parking availability and proximity to the city’s animal shelter make it attractive and quite feasible, Limke said.
“Dog parks are places dogs are allowed to legally run off their leash, and benefit progressive communities by providing a specific area to socialize and exercise dogs in a safe environment,” he said. “Our goal as a club is promotion of responsible pet ownership.”
A fenced area consisting of two separate sections would accommodate both large and small breeds, while allowing access for mowing equipment and overflow parking. It also is surrounded by plenty of ground to buffer dog park activity from ballpark and residential areas to the north and east.
Limke said two long vertical rows will provide access through a five-foot rubberized fence with entrance gates at each side, preventing dogs from entering the lake adjacent to the park. The rubber fence will minimize urinary corrosion.
Limke said a portion of the cost to develop the dog park would be financed by general funds of Jacksonville Parks and Recrea-tion’s budget.
The dog park committee would generate funds toward the purchase of additional amenities such as benches, tables, lights and dog recreation equipment.
Various community fundraisers, private and corporate contributions and a vigorous publicity campaign are vital.
Limke said the time frame in which to secure funds to open the dog park is of primary concern.
Fundraising efforts are being scheduled to help pay the approximate $10,000 the dog club needs, which include dog washes, photo shoots, and a manufactured doghouse contest on Oct. 22.
Paved name inscriptions on brick walkways will recognize donors. “City funds won’t be available after this year, so we’ve only got a limited time to get this off the ground,” Limke said.
“The parks and recreation budget allocates available funding through the end of the year, which is why we’re doing all we can to get the word out and come up with as many ideas as possible to raise money for this.”
The dog park could likely become a source for additional revenue through rentals for dog-related activities. Limke believes visitors from in and around Jacksonville would enhance the local economy.
Maintenance and patrol of the park would include routine inspections to remove trash and leftover dog deposits, as well as examining fence conditions.
Limke said these responsibilities would become part of the regular routine of the parks and recreation employees, and Jacksonville Animal Shelter would include the dog park among its routine Dupree Park patrol.
Limke said city pet ordinances prohibit untagged and vicious dogs from the park.
“The same ordinances apply to the park as they do for a shelter,” he said. When asked of foreseeable circumstances of pet abandonment, he said, “Most abandoned pets are left at shelters, not at dog parks.”
As for cleanliness, Limke said, “Dog parks stay pretty clean. They’re self-policed; people are generally responsible for cleaning up after their pets.”
The growing popularity of dog parks nationwide keeps Limke optimistic about local enthusiasm.
“Across the country, so many people live in apartments with dogs who have no room to run,” he said.
“These parks become a social environment. It’s just as much for people as it is for dogs.”
Before Limke’s discussion, club president Thea Hughes announced a donation request to send a Jacksonville child to a five-day asthma camp in Little Rock in late July.
Members agreed by voice vote to donate $600, the amount given last year for the same cause.
Before adjourning, members expressed admiration and gratitude toward Jacksonville firefighters who volunteered time to reposition tombstones overturned at the vandalized Bayou Meto Cemetery.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: The president of the Jacksonville Dog Park Club discusses the advantages of a canine recreation area in Dupree Park.
Jacksonville Dog Park Club president Dan Limke told Jacksonville Rotary Club members Monday that with the help of a few successful fund-raisers, Dupree Park lies on the verge of becoming one of among the 700 stomp-and-sniff parks for which dog owners nationwide are howling praise and gratitude.
“Across the United States, these parks have opened a whole new set of services to exercise dogs, let them run off-leash legally, mingle, and live happier, healthier lives,” Limke said.
“Visiting Murray Park in Little Rock, and dog parks in Maumelle and Burns Park proved how popular and well-received they are. During one visit, we counted the arrival of 60 people in 90 minutes.”
The proposed area for the park consists of the wooded area at the southwest corner of Dupree Lake because of availability of shade and open ground, access to water and adequate parking.
Of the four acres designated for canine recreation, fences will need posting.
Limke said two separate sections would accommodate large and small breeds, and would grant access for mowing equipment and overflow parking for large events such as the Wing Ding Festival.
In its two proposals to Jacksonville city officials, the six-member dog park committee outlined benefits to local dog owners and demonstrated why Dupree Park would be the best location to install such enhancements.
Characteristics such as location, size, popularity, landscape, parking availability and proximity to the city’s animal shelter make it attractive and quite feasible, Limke said.
“Dog parks are places dogs are allowed to legally run off their leash, and benefit progressive communities by providing a specific area to socialize and exercise dogs in a safe environment,” he said. “Our goal as a club is promotion of responsible pet ownership.”
A fenced area consisting of two separate sections would accommodate both large and small breeds, while allowing access for mowing equipment and overflow parking. It also is surrounded by plenty of ground to buffer dog park activity from ballpark and residential areas to the north and east.
Limke said two long vertical rows will provide access through a five-foot rubberized fence with entrance gates at each side, preventing dogs from entering the lake adjacent to the park. The rubber fence will minimize urinary corrosion.
Limke said a portion of the cost to develop the dog park would be financed by general funds of Jacksonville Parks and Recrea-tion’s budget.
The dog park committee would generate funds toward the purchase of additional amenities such as benches, tables, lights and dog recreation equipment.
Various community fundraisers, private and corporate contributions and a vigorous publicity campaign are vital.
Limke said the time frame in which to secure funds to open the dog park is of primary concern.
Fundraising efforts are being scheduled to help pay the approximate $10,000 the dog club needs, which include dog washes, photo shoots, and a manufactured doghouse contest on Oct. 22.
Paved name inscriptions on brick walkways will recognize donors. “City funds won’t be available after this year, so we’ve only got a limited time to get this off the ground,” Limke said.
“The parks and recreation budget allocates available funding through the end of the year, which is why we’re doing all we can to get the word out and come up with as many ideas as possible to raise money for this.”
The dog park could likely become a source for additional revenue through rentals for dog-related activities. Limke believes visitors from in and around Jacksonville would enhance the local economy.
Maintenance and patrol of the park would include routine inspections to remove trash and leftover dog deposits, as well as examining fence conditions.
Limke said these responsibilities would become part of the regular routine of the parks and recreation employees, and Jacksonville Animal Shelter would include the dog park among its routine Dupree Park patrol.
Limke said city pet ordinances prohibit untagged and vicious dogs from the park.
“The same ordinances apply to the park as they do for a shelter,” he said. When asked of foreseeable circumstances of pet abandonment, he said, “Most abandoned pets are left at shelters, not at dog parks.”
As for cleanliness, Limke said, “Dog parks stay pretty clean. They’re self-policed; people are generally responsible for cleaning up after their pets.”
The growing popularity of dog parks nationwide keeps Limke optimistic about local enthusiasm.
“Across the country, so many people live in apartments with dogs who have no room to run,” he said.
“These parks become a social environment. It’s just as much for people as it is for dogs.”
Before Limke’s discussion, club president Thea Hughes announced a donation request to send a Jacksonville child to a five-day asthma camp in Little Rock in late July.
Members agreed by voice vote to donate $600, the amount given last year for the same cause.
Before adjourning, members expressed admiration and gratitude toward Jacksonville firefighters who volunteered time to reposition tombstones overturned at the vandalized Bayou Meto Cemetery.
NEIGHBORS >> KidFit
BY PEG KENYON
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Martin Street Youth Center has summer fitness classes for kids
Motivated by the national obesity woes among adults, the Jacksonville Parks and Recreation Department devised two exercise programs to teach youngsters the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
Last week, Kids Fit and Reality Fit, programs targeting two different age groups, kicked off at the Martin Street Recreation Center in Jacksonville.
Children ages 8 to 12 will be in the Kids Fit classes and teenagers 13 to 15 can participate in the Reality Fit classes. Both pilot exercise programs are scheduled to run for the next six weeks, and Staci McHenry, aerobics coordinator for the parks and recreation department, will oversee them.
“The older class did the aerobics pretty well, but the younger ones, to keep their interest, will do active games like basketball, jump rope and dance,” said Cathy Brand, program manager for the department.
Brand said she hopes these classes will help the children develop a healthy lifestyle which will carry over into adulthood.
“It was a combination of myself, George (Biggs, director of the department) and the Jacksonville Health Coalition thinking about and discussing the possibility of a summer program of exercise for the kids.”
Between 1988 and 1994 and1999 and 2002, National Health and Nutrition Examination surveys show the U.S. has experienced a 45 percent increase in overweight youth ages 6 to 19.
After each class, youngsters and teens participating in the fitness programs are then taught about nutritional facts and instructed about healthy foods to eat instead of snacking on sugary treats. As an added bonus, the classes are free.
Minorities appear to tip the scale in being overweight. According to the American Heart Association website, 27.3 percent of Hispanic-American boys are considered to be overweight, while the percentage of overweight Hispanic-American girls is 19.6 percent.
Approximately 17.5 percent of young males of African-American descent 22.1 percent of young females in that group are considered overweight. However, 11.9 percent of Caucasian boys are considered overweight as compared to 12 percent of Caucasian girls.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Martin Street Youth Center has summer fitness classes for kids
Motivated by the national obesity woes among adults, the Jacksonville Parks and Recreation Department devised two exercise programs to teach youngsters the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
Last week, Kids Fit and Reality Fit, programs targeting two different age groups, kicked off at the Martin Street Recreation Center in Jacksonville.
Children ages 8 to 12 will be in the Kids Fit classes and teenagers 13 to 15 can participate in the Reality Fit classes. Both pilot exercise programs are scheduled to run for the next six weeks, and Staci McHenry, aerobics coordinator for the parks and recreation department, will oversee them.
“The older class did the aerobics pretty well, but the younger ones, to keep their interest, will do active games like basketball, jump rope and dance,” said Cathy Brand, program manager for the department.
Brand said she hopes these classes will help the children develop a healthy lifestyle which will carry over into adulthood.
“It was a combination of myself, George (Biggs, director of the department) and the Jacksonville Health Coalition thinking about and discussing the possibility of a summer program of exercise for the kids.”
Between 1988 and 1994 and1999 and 2002, National Health and Nutrition Examination surveys show the U.S. has experienced a 45 percent increase in overweight youth ages 6 to 19.
After each class, youngsters and teens participating in the fitness programs are then taught about nutritional facts and instructed about healthy foods to eat instead of snacking on sugary treats. As an added bonus, the classes are free.
Minorities appear to tip the scale in being overweight. According to the American Heart Association website, 27.3 percent of Hispanic-American boys are considered to be overweight, while the percentage of overweight Hispanic-American girls is 19.6 percent.
Approximately 17.5 percent of young males of African-American descent 22.1 percent of young females in that group are considered overweight. However, 11.9 percent of Caucasian boys are considered overweight as compared to 12 percent of Caucasian girls.
NEIGHBORS >> Keeping the past alive
BY JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Beebe Middle School enshrines McRae School’s former persona
What happens to the trophies and class pictures when small schools are forced to consolidate with larger ones?
With consolidation looming over several Arkansas schools two years ago and the possibility of all those memories being lost, the state stepped in and said the receiving school districts must make arrangements to store memorabilia somewhere on the consolidating school’s campus. But where?
“We didn’t want to just put it in a box somewhere,” said Hal Crisco, assistant superintendent of Beebe Schools and a graduate of McRae High.
So instead of storing everything, Crisco’s maintenance workers built display cases and painted and waxed the rooms on the second floor of the McRae gym and created a sort of museum for the former school that is now called Beebe Middle School McRae Campus.
By all accounts it was a hit with the McRae Alumni who gathered on the second Saturday in June as they do every year for the annual McRae School reunion.
This year, about 175 former students attended the evening get-together and several made their way to the upstairs of the gym to see the new home of their school memorabilia.
“Everybody was so appreciative,” said Eva Burris, a 1954 graduate and one of the coordinators of the reunion. “I’m sure there is still some sadness with losing the school…but the fact that they went above what they had to do showed that they are trying really hard.”
Among the trophies on new shelving were the ones Burris helped win in her senior year when the girls basketball team took county and region and went on to the state playoffs.
“We didn’t win state, but we went,” Burris said proudly.
Also there were the senior class pictures dating from 1941, old basketball uniforms and artwork by art teacher Margo Shoffner, to enhance the overall effect.
Dr. Belinda Shook, Beebe schools superintendent, said she was a little surprised by how well it turned out and was also very pleased with how well it had been received.
Not counting the labor, it cost between $2,500 and $3,000 to build the memorabilia room, Crisco said. And so far it seems worth it.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Beebe Middle School enshrines McRae School’s former persona
What happens to the trophies and class pictures when small schools are forced to consolidate with larger ones?
With consolidation looming over several Arkansas schools two years ago and the possibility of all those memories being lost, the state stepped in and said the receiving school districts must make arrangements to store memorabilia somewhere on the consolidating school’s campus. But where?
“We didn’t want to just put it in a box somewhere,” said Hal Crisco, assistant superintendent of Beebe Schools and a graduate of McRae High.
So instead of storing everything, Crisco’s maintenance workers built display cases and painted and waxed the rooms on the second floor of the McRae gym and created a sort of museum for the former school that is now called Beebe Middle School McRae Campus.
By all accounts it was a hit with the McRae Alumni who gathered on the second Saturday in June as they do every year for the annual McRae School reunion.
This year, about 175 former students attended the evening get-together and several made their way to the upstairs of the gym to see the new home of their school memorabilia.
“Everybody was so appreciative,” said Eva Burris, a 1954 graduate and one of the coordinators of the reunion. “I’m sure there is still some sadness with losing the school…but the fact that they went above what they had to do showed that they are trying really hard.”
Among the trophies on new shelving were the ones Burris helped win in her senior year when the girls basketball team took county and region and went on to the state playoffs.
“We didn’t win state, but we went,” Burris said proudly.
Also there were the senior class pictures dating from 1941, old basketball uniforms and artwork by art teacher Margo Shoffner, to enhance the overall effect.
Dr. Belinda Shook, Beebe schools superintendent, said she was a little surprised by how well it turned out and was also very pleased with how well it had been received.
Not counting the labor, it cost between $2,500 and $3,000 to build the memorabilia room, Crisco said. And so far it seems worth it.
EDITORIAL >> Giving it all away
Warren E. Buffett, the shrewdest investor in history, has always been an iconoclast in the mercantile world. His uncanny and intuitive grasp of markets made him the envy of investors everywhere and often the object of their resentment. Buffett thinks the estate tax is the fairest tax on the books and should be raised, not eliminated as President Bush and wealthy families like the Waltons want. He opposed all those tax cuts for his class since 2001 and suggested instead that working people be given a holiday from payroll taxes.
Monday, the 75-year-old businessman announced that he was going to give 85 percent of his vast fortune of $45 billion or thereabouts to foundations that seek to combat disease and environmental misfortune in the third world and educational shortcomings in America. Here is the shocker: The name of Warren E. Buffett will not be on the door of any of the foundations, and his name will not be written across the skylines like those you see on the towering edifices at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences campus at Little Rock or other universities where rich men have their names enshrined.
The largest share by far, some $37.5 billion, will go to the philanthropic foundation of Bill and Melinda Gates. The rest will go to foundations run by his family, including his three children, which spend the money to promote literacy, end poverty and discrimination and restore the environment. Buffett said he was good at making money — how’s that for understatement? — but not good at spending it. He will leave it to the Gateses to see that his stupendous fortune will perform efficient good works. Gates and his wife, who already run the biggest philanthropic foundation in the world, said they hoped that the money would produce cures for the 20 major diseases afflicting poor countries and distribution of the cures throughout the third world.
History records generous and selfless men and women of wealth, including even a few who left their money anonymously to do good works, but Warren Buffett’s gesture puts him on a different level among history’s philanthropists, ahead of Ford, Rockefeller and Carnegie. The Gates foundation, already by far the largest in the world, will more than double in assets, and its ability to elevate health and reduce suffering around the world will multiply. It will spend many times the aggregate of the United Nations on health and education around the globe.
It occurs to us that the timing of Buffett’s dramatic announcement is not a coincidence. This week or next, the Bush administration and the Republican Congress will make the final push to eliminate the estate tax forever, or at least to make it little more than a nuisance for the mega-rich. If they can bring Arkansas’ Sen. Mark Pryor over, Bush should get the bill in July. The estate tax, which averages about 19 percent, is collected on less than 1 percent of estates — this year on estates valued at more than $2 million ($4 million for couples). Family farms and businesses qualify for special exemptions, deductions and long grace periods that make the tax almost inconsequential for even the few that are large enough to owe taxes.
Buffett denounced the effort to repeal the tax Monday, as he has so often the last decade. He said he never intended to pass on dynastic wealth to his children and grandchildren, who nevertheless are and will be very wealthy people. Like Andrew Carnegie, an early exponent of the estate tax, he thinks vast dynastic wealth is undemocratic and un-American. Eliminating the estate tax and giving rich investors like himself far lower tax rates than other Americans pay, Buffett said, shifts the burden from the rich and corporations to poor and middle-class families, who ultimately will have to pay much higher taxes when the government’s staggering bills finally have to be paid.
American and global capitalism afforded him and others like him the special opportunity to aggregate great wealth, Buffett said, and they have a moral obligation not to hoard it like feudal aristocracies but to help the underprivileged and unlucky through philanthropy or fair taxation.
What a weirdo! May his example spread in this brave materialist world.
Monday, the 75-year-old businessman announced that he was going to give 85 percent of his vast fortune of $45 billion or thereabouts to foundations that seek to combat disease and environmental misfortune in the third world and educational shortcomings in America. Here is the shocker: The name of Warren E. Buffett will not be on the door of any of the foundations, and his name will not be written across the skylines like those you see on the towering edifices at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences campus at Little Rock or other universities where rich men have their names enshrined.
The largest share by far, some $37.5 billion, will go to the philanthropic foundation of Bill and Melinda Gates. The rest will go to foundations run by his family, including his three children, which spend the money to promote literacy, end poverty and discrimination and restore the environment. Buffett said he was good at making money — how’s that for understatement? — but not good at spending it. He will leave it to the Gateses to see that his stupendous fortune will perform efficient good works. Gates and his wife, who already run the biggest philanthropic foundation in the world, said they hoped that the money would produce cures for the 20 major diseases afflicting poor countries and distribution of the cures throughout the third world.
History records generous and selfless men and women of wealth, including even a few who left their money anonymously to do good works, but Warren Buffett’s gesture puts him on a different level among history’s philanthropists, ahead of Ford, Rockefeller and Carnegie. The Gates foundation, already by far the largest in the world, will more than double in assets, and its ability to elevate health and reduce suffering around the world will multiply. It will spend many times the aggregate of the United Nations on health and education around the globe.
It occurs to us that the timing of Buffett’s dramatic announcement is not a coincidence. This week or next, the Bush administration and the Republican Congress will make the final push to eliminate the estate tax forever, or at least to make it little more than a nuisance for the mega-rich. If they can bring Arkansas’ Sen. Mark Pryor over, Bush should get the bill in July. The estate tax, which averages about 19 percent, is collected on less than 1 percent of estates — this year on estates valued at more than $2 million ($4 million for couples). Family farms and businesses qualify for special exemptions, deductions and long grace periods that make the tax almost inconsequential for even the few that are large enough to owe taxes.
Buffett denounced the effort to repeal the tax Monday, as he has so often the last decade. He said he never intended to pass on dynastic wealth to his children and grandchildren, who nevertheless are and will be very wealthy people. Like Andrew Carnegie, an early exponent of the estate tax, he thinks vast dynastic wealth is undemocratic and un-American. Eliminating the estate tax and giving rich investors like himself far lower tax rates than other Americans pay, Buffett said, shifts the burden from the rich and corporations to poor and middle-class families, who ultimately will have to pay much higher taxes when the government’s staggering bills finally have to be paid.
American and global capitalism afforded him and others like him the special opportunity to aggregate great wealth, Buffett said, and they have a moral obligation not to hoard it like feudal aristocracies but to help the underprivileged and unlucky through philanthropy or fair taxation.
What a weirdo! May his example spread in this brave materialist world.
FROM THE PUBLISHER >> Good folks should get in the limelight
BY GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader publisher
(This is the second part of a two-part column that we’ve turned over to Jaynie M. McClain of Lonoke, whose cousin, Army Specialist Bobby West of Beebe, was killed May 30 in Baghdad at the age of 23. He was buried June 7 in Beebe as hundreds of Patriot Guard Riders protected the family from about 10 protesters from Kansas, who be-lieve God has punished America because it tolerates homosexuals.)
I became so irritated that night as I watched the local news. I mean, if you just watched the television news coverage, and weren’t there, you would have thought that there were 400 protesters from Topeka, Kansas, and six Patriot Guard Riders. They wasted all their film on six hate-filled individuals, while ignoring (for the most part) the sea of black leather, mingled with red, white and blue that was probably 400-500 strong.
As a Baptist myself, a member of Marshall Road Baptist in Jacksonville, I was very ashamed of the display of disrespect toward a serviceman and even toward a grieving family. I never would have thought that they would show up at a funeral I would attend. You hear about them going to funerals and it just doesn’t seem real until you are there and you see them. I don’t know what Bible they read, but the Bible that I read says that Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus just prior to Him raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus grieved with those who grieved. He didn’t show up at a funeral and protest the politics of the Roman government!
Bobby was not a homosexual. If they want to protest homosexuality, then they need to go find someplace other than a funeral to do it. Particularly the funeral of a young man who has just died to keep them free in a nation where they can express their opinions, no matter how offensive or wrong they are. For them to hold signs that say: GOD LOVES IEDS, GOD HATES YOUR TEARS, DON’T WORSHIP THE DEAD, GOD IS OUR TERRORIST and YOU ARE GOING TO HELL were extremely offensive to me both as a Christian and as a member of the grieving family. Not one of those signs spoke the truth about the situation.
We were there to honor Bobby, a soldier, not to worship him; apparently they don’t know the difference. We were there to remember him with tears at a life cut short and smiles at good memories. Bobby would not have wanted us to worship him, he knew who God was. God does not hate our tears, on the contrary the psalmist said that He captures our tears (Psalm 56.8) and puts them in His book. It also says that God is close to the brokenhearted and that He heals the brokenhearted (Psalm 147.3).
Psalm 116.15 says, “Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of His saints.” Bobby is alive in heaven today. His death was not the act of a vengeful god, but of a loving God who removed him from a world of pain and death. God doesn’t love improvised explosive devices — that’s like saying that God loved what the terrorists did on Sept. 11. IEDs are inventions from the minds of those who don’t want any religion in the earth except for their version of radical Islam.
As a born-again Christian and a Baptist, I would like for you and others to know that true Christians would never, ever picket at the funeral of anyone. I was very ashamed of the antics of those so-called “Baptists.” I might consider a picket for Osama Bin Laden, but certainly not at the funeral of an honorable man or woman who served this country in the military, as law enforcement, firefighters, or as first responders. These are the ones who have stood between this nation and tyranny for over two hundred years.
One of the saddest things is that they are bringing their children and teaching them that such disrespect is acceptable. One teenage boy was standing on the American flag. I know that seeing that sight hurt each of those veterans and active duty people who saw it. This does not fall under the admonition of the Shema in Deuteron-omy 6. 4-9, does it? The people of Westboro Baptist Church have more in common with the KKK than they do with followers of Jesus Christ.
After checking out one of their many Web sites, I found that basically, everyone except for the members of their own church is hell-bound in their eyes. They were critical this week of the Southern Baptist Convention (my church is a member of this denomination) stating: “WBC to picket the idolatrous Southern Baptist Convention as they worship the 10-foot graven image of Billy Graham at the Greensboro Coliseum.” The people of Westboro were planning on being there on Tuesday and Wednesday to picket there. The bottom of the flier on their Web site says: “The worshippers (Southern Baptists) and the worshippee (sic) (Billy Graham) are all Hell-bound heretics.” So, my family is actually in pretty good company being on their hit list: all Southern Baptists, Billy Graham, one of the most respected evangelists of all time, and our military.
Jesus sat down and ate meals with the dregs of His society, prostitutes, tax collectors, and Samaritans. His words of anger were said to the self-righteous of His day who thought they were so much better than all the rest, the self-righteous who thought that they were the only ones who were right, the only ones who were truly serving God.
The photos that I took were of the positive scenes of the day, and to remind me of my cousin. Bobby died doing what he loved and wanted to do. He was willing to go to a foreign country and attempt to show them what liberty feels like. The liberty that the people of Iraq want is the same liberty that the protesters from Kansas were exercising so rudely at his funeral.
I’ve heard it said that we are losing the old warriors of the Greatest Generation at the rate of 2,000 per day. I have wondered what our nation would be like when this patriotic group was gone. But after Bobby’s funeral, I have found that their place is being taken by their children…The Patriot Guard Riders, the people who have never served but respect those who have chosen to serve, and the young men and women who are serving their nation today in bases around the world. Perhaps as the Greatest Generation of World War II veterans have passed away, they passed along their fervor for this nation to the next generation.
Those young men and women in the armed forces today deserve our respect and our gratitude. They are all that is standing between us and another, perhaps even more devastating Sept. 11 attack. One wonders if the people from Kansas have given even a passing thought as to why terrorist attacks have hit the other western nations of Britain and Italy, but not in America again. Were it not for the military of the United States in the past and those currently serving, we would be speaking the language of some conqueror as a defeated people. Instead, most of us live our lives from day to day, not fearing a suicide bomber, or political retribution from the party in control. We are safe in our homes because of men and women like my young cousins, my stepson, my husband, my father and the countless others whose faces are a sea of desert camo, or jungle camo.
I cannot sing “America” without crying especially the line that says, “who more than self, their country loved and mercy more than life.” Now, besides thinking of the aging warrior who is my beloved dad, I will think of the face of my eternally 23-year-old cousin.
Thank you, Bobby, for your service to us, for the sacrifice that you were willing to make so that I can go to bed each night without fear. I will never forget you for that.
Thank you also to your older brother, Patrick, for his continued service to our country in Iraq. We all are so grateful to him and all those like him who have chosen the frontlines of defense.
Thank you, Garrick for the sensitive article on the funeral of a hero. Thank you also for realizing that the people from Kansas are not representative of everyone who calls themselves a Christian and a Baptist. Please, may no one associate all Christians as being like the people from that church. We are not. Most of all, we would have the good sense not to protest at a funeral.
Leader publisher
(This is the second part of a two-part column that we’ve turned over to Jaynie M. McClain of Lonoke, whose cousin, Army Specialist Bobby West of Beebe, was killed May 30 in Baghdad at the age of 23. He was buried June 7 in Beebe as hundreds of Patriot Guard Riders protected the family from about 10 protesters from Kansas, who be-lieve God has punished America because it tolerates homosexuals.)
I became so irritated that night as I watched the local news. I mean, if you just watched the television news coverage, and weren’t there, you would have thought that there were 400 protesters from Topeka, Kansas, and six Patriot Guard Riders. They wasted all their film on six hate-filled individuals, while ignoring (for the most part) the sea of black leather, mingled with red, white and blue that was probably 400-500 strong.
As a Baptist myself, a member of Marshall Road Baptist in Jacksonville, I was very ashamed of the display of disrespect toward a serviceman and even toward a grieving family. I never would have thought that they would show up at a funeral I would attend. You hear about them going to funerals and it just doesn’t seem real until you are there and you see them. I don’t know what Bible they read, but the Bible that I read says that Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus just prior to Him raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus grieved with those who grieved. He didn’t show up at a funeral and protest the politics of the Roman government!
Bobby was not a homosexual. If they want to protest homosexuality, then they need to go find someplace other than a funeral to do it. Particularly the funeral of a young man who has just died to keep them free in a nation where they can express their opinions, no matter how offensive or wrong they are. For them to hold signs that say: GOD LOVES IEDS, GOD HATES YOUR TEARS, DON’T WORSHIP THE DEAD, GOD IS OUR TERRORIST and YOU ARE GOING TO HELL were extremely offensive to me both as a Christian and as a member of the grieving family. Not one of those signs spoke the truth about the situation.
We were there to honor Bobby, a soldier, not to worship him; apparently they don’t know the difference. We were there to remember him with tears at a life cut short and smiles at good memories. Bobby would not have wanted us to worship him, he knew who God was. God does not hate our tears, on the contrary the psalmist said that He captures our tears (Psalm 56.8) and puts them in His book. It also says that God is close to the brokenhearted and that He heals the brokenhearted (Psalm 147.3).
Psalm 116.15 says, “Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of His saints.” Bobby is alive in heaven today. His death was not the act of a vengeful god, but of a loving God who removed him from a world of pain and death. God doesn’t love improvised explosive devices — that’s like saying that God loved what the terrorists did on Sept. 11. IEDs are inventions from the minds of those who don’t want any religion in the earth except for their version of radical Islam.
As a born-again Christian and a Baptist, I would like for you and others to know that true Christians would never, ever picket at the funeral of anyone. I was very ashamed of the antics of those so-called “Baptists.” I might consider a picket for Osama Bin Laden, but certainly not at the funeral of an honorable man or woman who served this country in the military, as law enforcement, firefighters, or as first responders. These are the ones who have stood between this nation and tyranny for over two hundred years.
One of the saddest things is that they are bringing their children and teaching them that such disrespect is acceptable. One teenage boy was standing on the American flag. I know that seeing that sight hurt each of those veterans and active duty people who saw it. This does not fall under the admonition of the Shema in Deuteron-omy 6. 4-9, does it? The people of Westboro Baptist Church have more in common with the KKK than they do with followers of Jesus Christ.
After checking out one of their many Web sites, I found that basically, everyone except for the members of their own church is hell-bound in their eyes. They were critical this week of the Southern Baptist Convention (my church is a member of this denomination) stating: “WBC to picket the idolatrous Southern Baptist Convention as they worship the 10-foot graven image of Billy Graham at the Greensboro Coliseum.” The people of Westboro were planning on being there on Tuesday and Wednesday to picket there. The bottom of the flier on their Web site says: “The worshippers (Southern Baptists) and the worshippee (sic) (Billy Graham) are all Hell-bound heretics.” So, my family is actually in pretty good company being on their hit list: all Southern Baptists, Billy Graham, one of the most respected evangelists of all time, and our military.
Jesus sat down and ate meals with the dregs of His society, prostitutes, tax collectors, and Samaritans. His words of anger were said to the self-righteous of His day who thought they were so much better than all the rest, the self-righteous who thought that they were the only ones who were right, the only ones who were truly serving God.
The photos that I took were of the positive scenes of the day, and to remind me of my cousin. Bobby died doing what he loved and wanted to do. He was willing to go to a foreign country and attempt to show them what liberty feels like. The liberty that the people of Iraq want is the same liberty that the protesters from Kansas were exercising so rudely at his funeral.
I’ve heard it said that we are losing the old warriors of the Greatest Generation at the rate of 2,000 per day. I have wondered what our nation would be like when this patriotic group was gone. But after Bobby’s funeral, I have found that their place is being taken by their children…The Patriot Guard Riders, the people who have never served but respect those who have chosen to serve, and the young men and women who are serving their nation today in bases around the world. Perhaps as the Greatest Generation of World War II veterans have passed away, they passed along their fervor for this nation to the next generation.
Those young men and women in the armed forces today deserve our respect and our gratitude. They are all that is standing between us and another, perhaps even more devastating Sept. 11 attack. One wonders if the people from Kansas have given even a passing thought as to why terrorist attacks have hit the other western nations of Britain and Italy, but not in America again. Were it not for the military of the United States in the past and those currently serving, we would be speaking the language of some conqueror as a defeated people. Instead, most of us live our lives from day to day, not fearing a suicide bomber, or political retribution from the party in control. We are safe in our homes because of men and women like my young cousins, my stepson, my husband, my father and the countless others whose faces are a sea of desert camo, or jungle camo.
I cannot sing “America” without crying especially the line that says, “who more than self, their country loved and mercy more than life.” Now, besides thinking of the aging warrior who is my beloved dad, I will think of the face of my eternally 23-year-old cousin.
Thank you, Bobby, for your service to us, for the sacrifice that you were willing to make so that I can go to bed each night without fear. I will never forget you for that.
Thank you also to your older brother, Patrick, for his continued service to our country in Iraq. We all are so grateful to him and all those like him who have chosen the frontlines of defense.
Thank you, Garrick for the sensitive article on the funeral of a hero. Thank you also for realizing that the people from Kansas are not representative of everyone who calls themselves a Christian and a Baptist. Please, may no one associate all Christians as being like the people from that church. We are not. Most of all, we would have the good sense not to protest at a funeral.
TOP STORY >> Firefighters help right headstones
BY PEG KENYON
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Jacksonville’s Bayou Meto Cemetery makes repairs and tries to figure out how to keep vandals away.
Jacksonville firefighters have cleaned up historic Bayou Meto Cemetery, where vandals broke and toppled about 200 headstones last week.
“Boy, they saved our necks,” said a grateful Vestal Johnson, chairman of the Bayou Meto Cemetery board of directors.
Although many of the damaged headstones are being repaired, it’s unlikely the oldest ones will ever be fixed, according to cemetery historian David Brannon.
Saturday morning, Scott Moon, president of the Jack-sonville Firefighters Union, and Scott Teague, another firefighter, along with John-son surveyed the damages caused by vandals who have not yet been arrested. Johnson told firefighters about all the headstones in the back row of the cemetery that were pushed to the ground.
“It’s a crying shame what they did here, but we’re here to do all we can for our citizens,” Moon told The Leader. “We can get him (Johnson) everything from landscapers to front-end loaders.”
Moon, a 14-year veteran of the Jacksonville Fire Department, and Teague, a seven-year veteran, walked the grounds to see the damage first-hand. Johnson, who is retired, pointed to a headstone lying on the ground with only the base to mark the gravesite.
“She was a teacher when I was in elementary school,” Johnson said as he looked at the destruction.
Moon said he could not believe what the vandals had done. “I guess we’re turning into a big city, but this just isn’t normal for Jacksonville,” he lamented. “We’ll be more vigilant from now on.”
Johnson is making plans to repair the damaged headstones. “I believe they call it tiger glue, and it’s expensive,” he told the firefighters.
Over the weekend, firefighters spread the adhesive material onto the exposed bases of approximately 180 headstones.
On Monday, some of the older headstones had sticks propping them up to keep them from tipping over again. Over the weekend, firefighters, coping in the summer’s heat, reattached the headstones to their original bases.
Many of those headstones weighed between 400 and 500 pounds. After spreading the glue, several firefighters lifted the headstones onto their bases.
Meanwhile, Jo Purnell-Johnson of Alaska arrived at the cemetery to visit her father’s grave, which had been spared. “I’m shocked…this is Arkansas and I thought this was the land of pride.”
Jerry O’Riley, who accompanied Pumell-Johnson to the cemetery, was also saddened by the possible loss of older headstones.
“They hit the 1800s’ headstones,” O’Riley said. “That’s a piece of history gone.”
As chairman of the local cemetery board, Johnson estimated there could only be about a 10 percent chance that those buried under the headstones from the 1800s still had living descendants.
Some historic headstones were broken into more than one piece, making chances slim for their repairs to stick.
By Monday, “tiger glue” turned into “gorilla glue,” which cost about $100, according to Johnson.
Either way, plans to shore up security appear necessary considering the damage.
Johnson said there have been problems at the cemetery before, but nothing of the magnitude experienced last week. “Now, we’ve had a little trouble with beer drinkers before,” he said as he pointed to the southeast area of the cemetery.
A plan for installing fences has been underway for about a year, according to Johnson. He estimates it will cost about $150,000 to construct a fence to enclose the cemetery.
But the Arkansas Department of Highway and Transportation doesn’t want a fence too close to North First Street, which runs along the cemetery. “They wanted us to jut the fence line in, and it wouldn’t be straight across,” Johnson said.
But Johnson says a compromise is likely. Shrubbery will be placed along a small strip of land on the front section where the historic headstones are located. “I think they thought we might be burying some more people here,” Johnson said ruefully.
Someone visiting from out of state suggested that the cemetery board should operate a dog park there.
A fee could be charged for dog walkers and the cemetery would not only become more secure with increased foot traffic but also increase its income to help with the cemetery’s upkeep.
The Association for the Preservation of the Historic Congressional Cemetery in Virginia makes about $23,000 a year from dog walker fees. Johnson said he would not be opposed to the idea, but the cemetery board would have to vote on the proposal.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Jacksonville’s Bayou Meto Cemetery makes repairs and tries to figure out how to keep vandals away.
Jacksonville firefighters have cleaned up historic Bayou Meto Cemetery, where vandals broke and toppled about 200 headstones last week.
“Boy, they saved our necks,” said a grateful Vestal Johnson, chairman of the Bayou Meto Cemetery board of directors.
Although many of the damaged headstones are being repaired, it’s unlikely the oldest ones will ever be fixed, according to cemetery historian David Brannon.
Saturday morning, Scott Moon, president of the Jack-sonville Firefighters Union, and Scott Teague, another firefighter, along with John-son surveyed the damages caused by vandals who have not yet been arrested. Johnson told firefighters about all the headstones in the back row of the cemetery that were pushed to the ground.
“It’s a crying shame what they did here, but we’re here to do all we can for our citizens,” Moon told The Leader. “We can get him (Johnson) everything from landscapers to front-end loaders.”
Moon, a 14-year veteran of the Jacksonville Fire Department, and Teague, a seven-year veteran, walked the grounds to see the damage first-hand. Johnson, who is retired, pointed to a headstone lying on the ground with only the base to mark the gravesite.
“She was a teacher when I was in elementary school,” Johnson said as he looked at the destruction.
Moon said he could not believe what the vandals had done. “I guess we’re turning into a big city, but this just isn’t normal for Jacksonville,” he lamented. “We’ll be more vigilant from now on.”
Johnson is making plans to repair the damaged headstones. “I believe they call it tiger glue, and it’s expensive,” he told the firefighters.
Over the weekend, firefighters spread the adhesive material onto the exposed bases of approximately 180 headstones.
On Monday, some of the older headstones had sticks propping them up to keep them from tipping over again. Over the weekend, firefighters, coping in the summer’s heat, reattached the headstones to their original bases.
Many of those headstones weighed between 400 and 500 pounds. After spreading the glue, several firefighters lifted the headstones onto their bases.
Meanwhile, Jo Purnell-Johnson of Alaska arrived at the cemetery to visit her father’s grave, which had been spared. “I’m shocked…this is Arkansas and I thought this was the land of pride.”
Jerry O’Riley, who accompanied Pumell-Johnson to the cemetery, was also saddened by the possible loss of older headstones.
“They hit the 1800s’ headstones,” O’Riley said. “That’s a piece of history gone.”
As chairman of the local cemetery board, Johnson estimated there could only be about a 10 percent chance that those buried under the headstones from the 1800s still had living descendants.
Some historic headstones were broken into more than one piece, making chances slim for their repairs to stick.
By Monday, “tiger glue” turned into “gorilla glue,” which cost about $100, according to Johnson.
Either way, plans to shore up security appear necessary considering the damage.
Johnson said there have been problems at the cemetery before, but nothing of the magnitude experienced last week. “Now, we’ve had a little trouble with beer drinkers before,” he said as he pointed to the southeast area of the cemetery.
A plan for installing fences has been underway for about a year, according to Johnson. He estimates it will cost about $150,000 to construct a fence to enclose the cemetery.
But the Arkansas Department of Highway and Transportation doesn’t want a fence too close to North First Street, which runs along the cemetery. “They wanted us to jut the fence line in, and it wouldn’t be straight across,” Johnson said.
But Johnson says a compromise is likely. Shrubbery will be placed along a small strip of land on the front section where the historic headstones are located. “I think they thought we might be burying some more people here,” Johnson said ruefully.
Someone visiting from out of state suggested that the cemetery board should operate a dog park there.
A fee could be charged for dog walkers and the cemetery would not only become more secure with increased foot traffic but also increase its income to help with the cemetery’s upkeep.
The Association for the Preservation of the Historic Congressional Cemetery in Virginia makes about $23,000 a year from dog walker fees. Johnson said he would not be opposed to the idea, but the cemetery board would have to vote on the proposal.
TOP STORY >> Audit by state
BY SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
Accounting irregularities discovered in an annual state audit spurred the Beebe City Council on Monday to hire Leonard Fort as the interim code-enforcement officer, replacing Alan Ridings temporarily.
Council members told The Leader they couldn’t comment on the decision pending an internal investigation in the code-enforcement department budget.
A spokesman for the Department of Finance and Adminis-tration Division of Joint Legislative Audit told The Leader that auditors couldn’t comment on “accounting irregularities” or how long the investigation might take.
Fort had been the city code-enforcement officer from 1991 to 1999.
In other business, the city condemned two properties and pledged $1,400 toward a Fourth of July fireworks display.
The condemned properties are an abandoned home at 112 W. Illinois St. and the burned remains of a home at 613 California St.
The city’s Fourth of July celebration will be held at 4 p.m. at the Beebe Fire Department.
There will be a horseshoe competition, poetry reading, a martial arts demonstration, music by the Luke Williams band and a 30-minute fireworks display at dark.
The event is free.
Leader staff writer
Accounting irregularities discovered in an annual state audit spurred the Beebe City Council on Monday to hire Leonard Fort as the interim code-enforcement officer, replacing Alan Ridings temporarily.
Council members told The Leader they couldn’t comment on the decision pending an internal investigation in the code-enforcement department budget.
A spokesman for the Department of Finance and Adminis-tration Division of Joint Legislative Audit told The Leader that auditors couldn’t comment on “accounting irregularities” or how long the investigation might take.
Fort had been the city code-enforcement officer from 1991 to 1999.
In other business, the city condemned two properties and pledged $1,400 toward a Fourth of July fireworks display.
The condemned properties are an abandoned home at 112 W. Illinois St. and the burned remains of a home at 613 California St.
The city’s Fourth of July celebration will be held at 4 p.m. at the Beebe Fire Department.
There will be a horseshoe competition, poetry reading, a martial arts demonstration, music by the Luke Williams band and a 30-minute fireworks display at dark.
The event is free.
TOP STORY >> Sherwood agrees to second pay hike
BY RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Sherwood city employees will be seeing larger paychecks at the end of July as the council passed a 2 percent pay raise Monday night.
This will be the employees’ second pay raise of the year and will cost the city an additional $77,000.
Mayor Bill Harmon explained that the 3 percent pay raise given to employees in January didn’t match the cost of living, but the council felt it couldn’t give any more at the time, but it promised to look at funding again in mid year.
“We’ve got the money now,” Harmon said. “This will put our people in very good shape.”
The pay raise will go into effect July 10 and appear on checks at the end of that month.
In other council business:
- Alderman Dan Stedman took his government hat off and put on his Rotary Club hat and presented the city with a $5,000 check from the civic organization.
He also thanked the city for all of its help with the recently completed veterans memorial project.
- Alderman Becky Vasser questioned why the city’s street sweeper was used only four times in the past month. She said it needed to be used more.
The mayor said the problem was that the sweeper driver had to be used to operate other vehicles too.
“If anyone calls for their street to get swept, we’ll do it, even if we have to get a supervisor out to operate the sweeper.” Harmon said he hated that the “high-dollar piece of equipment” wasn’t being used enough.
- Sharon McMinn told the council that the city’s Fourth of July festivities would be on the Fourth from 6 to 9 p.m. at Sherwood Forest, off of Maryland Avenue.
She said entertainment would include the Air National Guard Band of the Smoky Mountains, plus a number of local youth bands.
She also said there would be a “surprise” this year, but wouldn’t elaborate.
- Herschel Bowman, chairman of the city’s Keep Sherwood Beautiful Committee, which is just getting underway asked for one or more aldermen to also serve on the committee and wanted a resolution officially making the group a city committee or commission. “Eventually we’d like to be a non-profit group with a full-time executive director.”
He reminded the council that the group was “not here to pick up litter, but to prevent it.” The anti-litter group will meet at 4 p.m. July 11 at the Harmon Recreation Center.
- In his monthly report to the council, Police Chief Kelvin Nicholson said his patrol division worked 77 accidents, made 18 DWI arrests, 16 drug arrests and nine arrests for domestic battery in May.
During May, 653 individuals were booked into Sherwood’s detention facility. There were also 1,386 hot check charges and 554 criminal charges filed during the month.
More than $163,000 worth of property was reported stolen in May through thefts or burglary. Police recovered almost $57,000 worth of stolen items during the month.
- The council approved the preliminary development plan for Jayroe Subdivision, Phase I, Lot I. The plan calls for a duplex to be built on the vacant lot.
- The council approved a resolution adopting Pulaski County’s hazard mitigation plan. Jack-sonville adopted this plan a few months ago.
All cities need to have some sort of hazard plan in effect in order to obtain pre- and post-disaster funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The county’s plan would satisfy the federal requirements.
Leader staff writer
Sherwood city employees will be seeing larger paychecks at the end of July as the council passed a 2 percent pay raise Monday night.
This will be the employees’ second pay raise of the year and will cost the city an additional $77,000.
Mayor Bill Harmon explained that the 3 percent pay raise given to employees in January didn’t match the cost of living, but the council felt it couldn’t give any more at the time, but it promised to look at funding again in mid year.
“We’ve got the money now,” Harmon said. “This will put our people in very good shape.”
The pay raise will go into effect July 10 and appear on checks at the end of that month.
In other council business:
- Alderman Dan Stedman took his government hat off and put on his Rotary Club hat and presented the city with a $5,000 check from the civic organization.
He also thanked the city for all of its help with the recently completed veterans memorial project.
- Alderman Becky Vasser questioned why the city’s street sweeper was used only four times in the past month. She said it needed to be used more.
The mayor said the problem was that the sweeper driver had to be used to operate other vehicles too.
“If anyone calls for their street to get swept, we’ll do it, even if we have to get a supervisor out to operate the sweeper.” Harmon said he hated that the “high-dollar piece of equipment” wasn’t being used enough.
- Sharon McMinn told the council that the city’s Fourth of July festivities would be on the Fourth from 6 to 9 p.m. at Sherwood Forest, off of Maryland Avenue.
She said entertainment would include the Air National Guard Band of the Smoky Mountains, plus a number of local youth bands.
She also said there would be a “surprise” this year, but wouldn’t elaborate.
- Herschel Bowman, chairman of the city’s Keep Sherwood Beautiful Committee, which is just getting underway asked for one or more aldermen to also serve on the committee and wanted a resolution officially making the group a city committee or commission. “Eventually we’d like to be a non-profit group with a full-time executive director.”
He reminded the council that the group was “not here to pick up litter, but to prevent it.” The anti-litter group will meet at 4 p.m. July 11 at the Harmon Recreation Center.
- In his monthly report to the council, Police Chief Kelvin Nicholson said his patrol division worked 77 accidents, made 18 DWI arrests, 16 drug arrests and nine arrests for domestic battery in May.
During May, 653 individuals were booked into Sherwood’s detention facility. There were also 1,386 hot check charges and 554 criminal charges filed during the month.
More than $163,000 worth of property was reported stolen in May through thefts or burglary. Police recovered almost $57,000 worth of stolen items during the month.
- The council approved the preliminary development plan for Jayroe Subdivision, Phase I, Lot I. The plan calls for a duplex to be built on the vacant lot.
- The council approved a resolution adopting Pulaski County’s hazard mitigation plan. Jack-sonville adopted this plan a few months ago.
All cities need to have some sort of hazard plan in effect in order to obtain pre- and post-disaster funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The county’s plan would satisfy the federal requirements.
TOP STORY >> Growth to leave one city behind
BY RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Cabot could pass Jacksonville in 10 years, Searcy and Sherwood not far behind.
Cabot could pass Jacksonville in population in about 10 years based on U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Sherwood and Searcy could do it in about 30 years.
Also, Lonoke County will grow at a pace more than seven times faster than Pulaski County. White County’s growth will be three times faster than Pulaski County.
Based on census projections from July 2000 to July 2004, Cabot is growing at a rate of 1,040 new residents a year, Searcy is adding 372 new residents a year and Sherwood about 250 residents.
Jacksonville lags behind, according to the estimates, with a growth of 135 new residents per year.
If the trend continues, Cabot will surpass Jacksonville in just over ten years. In 2017, Cabot’s population will be 33,127 and Jacksonville’s will be 32,355.
Searcy will overtake Sherwood within 20 years, and both could overtake Jacksonville 10 years after that.
In 2026, Searcy’s population, according to estimates, will be 28,601 and Sherwood’s will be 28,014. Cabot will be over 42,000 and Jacksonville just under 34,000.
Many variables can come into play between now and then. If Jacksonville gets its own school district, proponents say that will bring more growth to Jacksonville.
If Sherwood gets to annex 2,000 acres later this summer, bringing its northern boundary up to the air base, that would increase Sher-wood’s growth potential and landlock Jacksonville’s growth efforts in that direction.
For example, North Little Rock, which is already landlocked, is projected to lose about 300 residents a year.
At some point Cabot and Jacksonville will face annexation issues on borders between the two cities and there could even be future land issues between Jacksonville, Cabot and Lonoke.
Cabot has already had land issues with Ward and Austin and could have some with cities to the north such as Beebe as growth continues.
According to the Census Bureau trends, Lonoke County is growing at a rate of about 3 percent or 1,565 new residents a year—70 percent of that growth is just in Cabot. The county’s population is projected to grow from 52,828 in 2000 to 68,478 in 2010.
White County, based on estimates, will grow about 1.3 percent a year or 833 new residents, going from 67,165 in 2000 to 75,495 in 2010.
Pulaski County, meanwhile is growing at a rate of about .3 percent or 997 new resident a year.
At that rate, Pulaski County will grow from 361,474 in 2000 to 371,444 at decade’s end.
For other cities in the area, the U.S. Census Bureau predicts growth, albeit small.
Austin’s growth is estimated at nine new residents a year, going from 608 in 2000 to 698 in 2010.
Beebe is expected to grow by 104 residents a year, going from 5,057 in 2000 to 6,097 in 2010.
Lonoke has an estimated growth of 55 people per year, going from 4,294 in 2000 to 4,844 in 2010.
McRae will increase its population by nearly five people per year, going from 662 in 2000 to 707 in 2010.
Ward is expected to grow by about 100 people a year, going from 2,612 on 2000 to 3,612 in 2010.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Cabot could pass Jacksonville in 10 years, Searcy and Sherwood not far behind.
Cabot could pass Jacksonville in population in about 10 years based on U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Sherwood and Searcy could do it in about 30 years.
Also, Lonoke County will grow at a pace more than seven times faster than Pulaski County. White County’s growth will be three times faster than Pulaski County.
Based on census projections from July 2000 to July 2004, Cabot is growing at a rate of 1,040 new residents a year, Searcy is adding 372 new residents a year and Sherwood about 250 residents.
Jacksonville lags behind, according to the estimates, with a growth of 135 new residents per year.
If the trend continues, Cabot will surpass Jacksonville in just over ten years. In 2017, Cabot’s population will be 33,127 and Jacksonville’s will be 32,355.
Searcy will overtake Sherwood within 20 years, and both could overtake Jacksonville 10 years after that.
In 2026, Searcy’s population, according to estimates, will be 28,601 and Sherwood’s will be 28,014. Cabot will be over 42,000 and Jacksonville just under 34,000.
Many variables can come into play between now and then. If Jacksonville gets its own school district, proponents say that will bring more growth to Jacksonville.
If Sherwood gets to annex 2,000 acres later this summer, bringing its northern boundary up to the air base, that would increase Sher-wood’s growth potential and landlock Jacksonville’s growth efforts in that direction.
For example, North Little Rock, which is already landlocked, is projected to lose about 300 residents a year.
At some point Cabot and Jacksonville will face annexation issues on borders between the two cities and there could even be future land issues between Jacksonville, Cabot and Lonoke.
Cabot has already had land issues with Ward and Austin and could have some with cities to the north such as Beebe as growth continues.
According to the Census Bureau trends, Lonoke County is growing at a rate of about 3 percent or 1,565 new residents a year—70 percent of that growth is just in Cabot. The county’s population is projected to grow from 52,828 in 2000 to 68,478 in 2010.
White County, based on estimates, will grow about 1.3 percent a year or 833 new residents, going from 67,165 in 2000 to 75,495 in 2010.
Pulaski County, meanwhile is growing at a rate of about .3 percent or 997 new resident a year.
At that rate, Pulaski County will grow from 361,474 in 2000 to 371,444 at decade’s end.
For other cities in the area, the U.S. Census Bureau predicts growth, albeit small.
Austin’s growth is estimated at nine new residents a year, going from 608 in 2000 to 698 in 2010.
Beebe is expected to grow by 104 residents a year, going from 5,057 in 2000 to 6,097 in 2010.
Lonoke has an estimated growth of 55 people per year, going from 4,294 in 2000 to 4,844 in 2010.
McRae will increase its population by nearly five people per year, going from 662 in 2000 to 707 in 2010.
Ward is expected to grow by about 100 people a year, going from 2,612 on 2000 to 3,612 in 2010.
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