It had been rumored for sometime that Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim might not finish his sixth term in office. Sure enough, he told the city council on Thursday that he’d be stepping down on July 1, when he turns 65, opening the field to several potential candidates who have waited a long time for him to leave office.
A special election will be held before Swaim retires, and the list of possible candidates is growing. A spirited and diverse field will enter the first real contested race for mayor in more than two decades: Swaim has not had a serious challenger since he unseated then-Mayor James Reid in 1986.
It was then that Swaim inherited the urgent need to clean up the Vertac chemical plant site, one of the worst in the nation. It took more than a decade and $150 million to clean it up under the Superfund program before the fund went broke. The cleanup saved Jacksonville and was the mayor’s finest hour.
Swaim helped usher in a building program for Jacksonvillle, including a community center, a city hall, a library and a joint-education center that will go up in front of the air base. The Main Street railroad overpass proved to be less successful, a poorly conceived project that has led to the closing of virtually all retail businesses around it. Swaim’s successor must address the urban blight in that area, especially the Sunnyside neighborhood, where crime remains high.
The city’s schools continue their decline, and it is to be hoped that a new mayor will usher in an era of renewal with the creation of an independent school district. Only then will Jacksonville become a first-rate city.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
TOP STORY>>Arkansans celebrate in Washington
By JOHN HOFHEIMER AND CHRISTY HENDRICKS
Leader staff writers
When President Barack Obama, an African American of humble origins, took the oath of office as 44th president of the United States on Tuesday, 11 Jacksonville High School students, two chaperones, a teacher and Pulaski County Clerk Pat O’Brien were among the two million or so people who braved the Washington cold to witness history.
O’Brien, a Jacksonville resident, was perhaps the first elected official in Arkansas to endorse Obama’s candidacy, back when he was a footnote candidate.
“My realization just happened a lot earlier than other people,” O’Brien said by phone Tuesday afternoon. “It was like I knew a secret that no one else knew, although they could have if they wanted to.”
“I had a chair 100 yards away (from the lectern),” he said. “I had a great view.”
O’Brien said he had always promised himself that if he found a candidate who inspired people the way the late Bobby Kennedy did, that he would support him.
O’Brien confirmed that he would probably announce his candidacy for Arkansas Secretary of State at the end of the 87th General Assembly. Charlie Daniel, the current occupant of the office, can’t run again because of term limits, O’Brien said.
“Oh my gosh,” said Lori Lachowsky, the Jacksonville High School advanced placement government teacher who took some class members to the inauguration. “Think big! Expand it by ten million times. It was beyond anything I could imagine.”
The students were cold, hungry and tired, but moved by their experiences.
“I thought it was pretty amazing,” said Cody Castile, a senior who voted for Obama in his first presidential election. “He gave a great speech and since I voted I had a little to do with his election. He was really great, smart and impressive.
“Everybody kind of came together. That says a lot about our country, people of all races coming together to elect someone like him.”
Brittany Rodgers said she was excited to have been there, heard his speech and to have seen the ex-presidents.
They were about 200 yards from the dais, and watched on a large-screen TV in the VIP section, Lachowsky said. They got up at 4:30 a.m. and stood in endless lines to get to their spots.
She said she was really proud of the maturity of the students who made the trip.
“This was a phenomenon,” Lachowsky said. “It’s such an historical moment for a county that is looking for hope and ready to change. It’s an era of change.”
Wednesday they will visit the National Archives, the Iwo Jima memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial and Union Station before flying home.
People watching the inauguration at the Jacksonville Senior Center had their own take on the moment in history.
“I met him four years ago, when he was a senator, and shook hands with him,” said William Hunter, a Chicago native, while he was watching the inauguration. “I never thought he’d be president.” Hunter spoke these words with a sense of pride.
He sat at a round table with Robert Cain and Eulalie Frank Tuesday morning at the center, patiently waiting for the historical moment when Obama became President.
Many area seniors gathered at the center to watch that moment, playing inaugural trivia and word find games as they waited.
A large screen television sat at the front of the room, tuned into the events at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
When Rev. Rick Warren took the stage to pray, heads bowed. When Aretha Franklin sang “My Country Tis of Thee,” there were nods and words of approval. When Vice President Joe Biden was sworn in, there was clapping. And when Obama took stage, there were cheers for the nation’s 44th and first African-American president.
“I feel good, elated,” said Grace Kelly. “I’m highly elated and thankful.”
Kelly sat with Ceola Crump, Yester Watson, Georgia Thomas, Louise Ford, Alma Bell, Clarice Roy and Annie bonds, all of who seemed very happy to see this day.
The table of ladies gave the loudest cheers in the room.
There was even one attendee who has seen 100-years of history, Esther Cox.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” said Cox, who will celebrate her 101st birthday in just a couple months. “It’s a treat for all of us.”
Leader staff writers
When President Barack Obama, an African American of humble origins, took the oath of office as 44th president of the United States on Tuesday, 11 Jacksonville High School students, two chaperones, a teacher and Pulaski County Clerk Pat O’Brien were among the two million or so people who braved the Washington cold to witness history.
O’Brien, a Jacksonville resident, was perhaps the first elected official in Arkansas to endorse Obama’s candidacy, back when he was a footnote candidate.
“My realization just happened a lot earlier than other people,” O’Brien said by phone Tuesday afternoon. “It was like I knew a secret that no one else knew, although they could have if they wanted to.”
“I had a chair 100 yards away (from the lectern),” he said. “I had a great view.”
O’Brien said he had always promised himself that if he found a candidate who inspired people the way the late Bobby Kennedy did, that he would support him.
O’Brien confirmed that he would probably announce his candidacy for Arkansas Secretary of State at the end of the 87th General Assembly. Charlie Daniel, the current occupant of the office, can’t run again because of term limits, O’Brien said.
“Oh my gosh,” said Lori Lachowsky, the Jacksonville High School advanced placement government teacher who took some class members to the inauguration. “Think big! Expand it by ten million times. It was beyond anything I could imagine.”
The students were cold, hungry and tired, but moved by their experiences.
“I thought it was pretty amazing,” said Cody Castile, a senior who voted for Obama in his first presidential election. “He gave a great speech and since I voted I had a little to do with his election. He was really great, smart and impressive.
“Everybody kind of came together. That says a lot about our country, people of all races coming together to elect someone like him.”
Brittany Rodgers said she was excited to have been there, heard his speech and to have seen the ex-presidents.
They were about 200 yards from the dais, and watched on a large-screen TV in the VIP section, Lachowsky said. They got up at 4:30 a.m. and stood in endless lines to get to their spots.
She said she was really proud of the maturity of the students who made the trip.
“This was a phenomenon,” Lachowsky said. “It’s such an historical moment for a county that is looking for hope and ready to change. It’s an era of change.”
Wednesday they will visit the National Archives, the Iwo Jima memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial and Union Station before flying home.
People watching the inauguration at the Jacksonville Senior Center had their own take on the moment in history.
“I met him four years ago, when he was a senator, and shook hands with him,” said William Hunter, a Chicago native, while he was watching the inauguration. “I never thought he’d be president.” Hunter spoke these words with a sense of pride.
He sat at a round table with Robert Cain and Eulalie Frank Tuesday morning at the center, patiently waiting for the historical moment when Obama became President.
Many area seniors gathered at the center to watch that moment, playing inaugural trivia and word find games as they waited.
A large screen television sat at the front of the room, tuned into the events at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
When Rev. Rick Warren took the stage to pray, heads bowed. When Aretha Franklin sang “My Country Tis of Thee,” there were nods and words of approval. When Vice President Joe Biden was sworn in, there was clapping. And when Obama took stage, there were cheers for the nation’s 44th and first African-American president.
“I feel good, elated,” said Grace Kelly. “I’m highly elated and thankful.”
Kelly sat with Ceola Crump, Yester Watson, Georgia Thomas, Louise Ford, Alma Bell, Clarice Roy and Annie bonds, all of who seemed very happy to see this day.
The table of ladies gave the loudest cheers in the room.
There was even one attendee who has seen 100-years of history, Esther Cox.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” said Cox, who will celebrate her 101st birthday in just a couple months. “It’s a treat for all of us.”
TOP STORY>>Growth ready to resume in Cabot
By JOAN McCOY
Leader staff writer
Home sales in the Cabot School District, which also includes Ward and Austin, are set to rebound despite the slow economy.
The attraction for new residents to Cabot is the schools, and that is not likely to change, say James Moore, a developer and builder in the Cabot area for 27 years, and Bill O’Brien, a realtor who keeps city officials abreast of the housing market in the Cabot School District.
Cabot’s population was 22,092 in 2006 when a special census was taken, but that number is now estimated at 22,500. And despite the downturn in the economy that has driven many area builders out of business, the Cabot area will continue to grow, they say.
Home construction has been declining for at least two years in Cabot. But O’Brien points to the steady sale of recently built houses in the Cabot School District as evidence that Cabot’s growth is not slowing down.
A marketing research firm has determined that the Cabot area is the third fastest-growing in the state behind Lowell in the Rogers-Springdale area and Maumelle.
In descending order, these areas followed Cabot in growth, according to the Gadberry Group, a Little Rock-based firm: Bella Vista, Conway, Bentonville, Bryant and Benton.
Records from Cabot Public Works show that 183 building permits for single-family homes were issued in 2007 compared to 113 in 2008. But at the same time the number of houses for sale in the Cabot School District fell from 590 to 460.
O’Brien says that means the inventory of homes is dropping and will need to be replenished soon.
But the homes they will build in Cabot will be larger than in past years, he said.
“I don’t know if we’re going to see as many of the beginner houses because the price of land is too high in Cabot. Those houses are being built in Ward and Austin (also in the Cabot School District),” he said.
Public Works records show that six building permits for single-family homes have been sold so far this year, but O’Brien says he believes the weather is largely responsible for that low number. There is money available in Cabot for buying homes, and he believes construction will pick up when the weather turns warmer.
“I’ve talked to a lot of builders and they say they’ll start again in the spring,” he said.
Jonathan Lupton, a planner with Metroplan, which distributes federal transportation dollars in Little Rock and the surrounding area, says data Metroplan gathers from cities and the census bureau indicate that the economy is keeping more people in Little Rock, North Little Rock and Sherwood and that household sizes all over the Metroplan area are increasing. Whether that means more adult children are living with their parents or that more people are seeking out roommates to help share the cost of maintaining a household is not known, Lupton said.
But young families, especially military families who are often several states away from their extended families, will always need houses, and Moore says those are the families who will continue to buy the houses he builds.
Most local banks have cut back on the money they lend for houses that are not pre-sold, Moore said, and that has put many builders out of business.
“The builders that are left are lucky enough to have enough money in savings to pay the interest on construction loans,” he said.
Moore’s son was one of those builders who found another way to make a living when the economy started to decline, but Moore says he will stay in the business because he must.
As the developer of Orchard Estates in Austin, Moore says he sold 30 starter homes last year, half the number of new homes sold in the Cabot School District.
He’ll keep building, he said, because he still has 45 empty lots, and if he stops building, his subdivision will die.
But he says he knows when those 45 homes are completed, he will sell them.
“As long as we’ve got a Little Rock Air Force Base, we’ll keep selling houses,” he said.
Leader staff writer
Home sales in the Cabot School District, which also includes Ward and Austin, are set to rebound despite the slow economy.
The attraction for new residents to Cabot is the schools, and that is not likely to change, say James Moore, a developer and builder in the Cabot area for 27 years, and Bill O’Brien, a realtor who keeps city officials abreast of the housing market in the Cabot School District.
Cabot’s population was 22,092 in 2006 when a special census was taken, but that number is now estimated at 22,500. And despite the downturn in the economy that has driven many area builders out of business, the Cabot area will continue to grow, they say.
Home construction has been declining for at least two years in Cabot. But O’Brien points to the steady sale of recently built houses in the Cabot School District as evidence that Cabot’s growth is not slowing down.
A marketing research firm has determined that the Cabot area is the third fastest-growing in the state behind Lowell in the Rogers-Springdale area and Maumelle.
In descending order, these areas followed Cabot in growth, according to the Gadberry Group, a Little Rock-based firm: Bella Vista, Conway, Bentonville, Bryant and Benton.
Records from Cabot Public Works show that 183 building permits for single-family homes were issued in 2007 compared to 113 in 2008. But at the same time the number of houses for sale in the Cabot School District fell from 590 to 460.
O’Brien says that means the inventory of homes is dropping and will need to be replenished soon.
But the homes they will build in Cabot will be larger than in past years, he said.
“I don’t know if we’re going to see as many of the beginner houses because the price of land is too high in Cabot. Those houses are being built in Ward and Austin (also in the Cabot School District),” he said.
Public Works records show that six building permits for single-family homes have been sold so far this year, but O’Brien says he believes the weather is largely responsible for that low number. There is money available in Cabot for buying homes, and he believes construction will pick up when the weather turns warmer.
“I’ve talked to a lot of builders and they say they’ll start again in the spring,” he said.
Jonathan Lupton, a planner with Metroplan, which distributes federal transportation dollars in Little Rock and the surrounding area, says data Metroplan gathers from cities and the census bureau indicate that the economy is keeping more people in Little Rock, North Little Rock and Sherwood and that household sizes all over the Metroplan area are increasing. Whether that means more adult children are living with their parents or that more people are seeking out roommates to help share the cost of maintaining a household is not known, Lupton said.
But young families, especially military families who are often several states away from their extended families, will always need houses, and Moore says those are the families who will continue to buy the houses he builds.
Most local banks have cut back on the money they lend for houses that are not pre-sold, Moore said, and that has put many builders out of business.
“The builders that are left are lucky enough to have enough money in savings to pay the interest on construction loans,” he said.
Moore’s son was one of those builders who found another way to make a living when the economy started to decline, but Moore says he will stay in the business because he must.
As the developer of Orchard Estates in Austin, Moore says he sold 30 starter homes last year, half the number of new homes sold in the Cabot School District.
He’ll keep building, he said, because he still has 45 empty lots, and if he stops building, his subdivision will die.
But he says he knows when those 45 homes are completed, he will sell them.
“As long as we’ve got a Little Rock Air Force Base, we’ll keep selling houses,” he said.
TOP STORY>>Race to draw crowd
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Most aldermen felt it was coming but were still surprised and saddened by the news that Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim would resign July 1.
The mayor made the announcement at Thursday’s city council meeting.
“I could sense it coming,” said Alder-man Bob Stroud, “but I’m still saddened like everyone else.” Alderman Bill Howard had spent most of the day with the mayor in other meetings. “He gave me no indication,” Howard said, even though the alderman half expected the mayor not to finish out his term which would have expired on Dec. 31, 2010.
Howard said Swaim has been good for the city and he’s leaving some big shoes to fill. “There’ll be a lot of people wanting to try,” Howard said.
Stroud felt the long dragged-out negotiations to save the city’s hospital did the mayor in.
“He agonized for that for months,” Stroud said, adding, “I appreciate that he got us through numerous trouble spots and has the city on a super foundation.”
The council will set the date for a special election to elect Swaim’s replacement.
“It will probably be in May,” Stroud said. Whoever wins that election will complete Swaim’s unexpired term and will be able to run for the next complete four-year term.
Stroud said the city will continue to move forward. “We’ve got a number of good people ready to step up,” he said.
The only candidates to step into the race for the mayor’s seat so far are Alderman Kenny Elliott, who announced at the council meeting that he would run after Swaim said he was resigning, and Randy (Doc) Rhodd of Family Motorcycle Ministry, who said Tuesday he’s decided “to throw my hat into the ring.”
Alderman Marshall Smith was at Thursday’s meeting to be sworn in with the rest of the council, but then left to be with his wife, who wasn’t feeling well after recent surgery. It was only the 10th meeting in 28 years that the alderman has missed.
“The mayor called me after the meeting and told me about his resignation,” Smith said.
“I was not totally surprised. He had indicated to me earlier that he was thinking in that direction. He’s been at this a longtime and I know how he feels,” Smith said, adding that the mayor has done an excellent job. Smith, himself, has submitted his resignation as chairman of the city’s advertising and promotion commission.
“I’ve been running it since its inception in 2003 and it’s just time for other aldermen to be involved,” he said. Smith’s last commission meeting was Tuesday.
Howard said many people aren’t aware how tough the mayor’s job is. “There’s always another meeting to go to. It’s not an eight-to-five job,” the alderman said.
Alderman Terry Sansing, who admits to bumping heads with the mayor probably more than anyone else on the council, was equally surprised. “The one good thing is the shape of the city,” he said, praising Swaim’s accomplishments. “The mayor’s conservative fiscal management and principles have been a blessing to Jacksonville.”
Elliot had planned to run for mayor in 2008 if Swaim opted not to run again, but Swaim announced he was going for another term and ran unopposed. The mayor had already said he would not seek reelection in 2010.
“I was going to run in 2010. This just moves up the timetable,” Eliott said.
Swaim, who is in his 23rd year as mayor, said family played a major role in his decision. He told the council he missed a lot of his children’s activities while mayor and didn’t want to do the same with his grandchildren.
“It was a hard decision to make, but the right one,” he said. “I’m comfortable with leaving. The city’s in good financial shape and has good employees.”
"I was looking forward to the mayor finishing out his term," said Alderman Reedie Ray. "This took me by surprise, but I wish him the best."
Ray called Swaim a workaholic. "And a workaholic for the city means a lot," he said, adding that he expects at least five or six people to run for the mayor's seat.
"I hope we get another person who has the city in mind," Ray said.
Leader staff writer
Most aldermen felt it was coming but were still surprised and saddened by the news that Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim would resign July 1.
The mayor made the announcement at Thursday’s city council meeting.
“I could sense it coming,” said Alder-man Bob Stroud, “but I’m still saddened like everyone else.” Alderman Bill Howard had spent most of the day with the mayor in other meetings. “He gave me no indication,” Howard said, even though the alderman half expected the mayor not to finish out his term which would have expired on Dec. 31, 2010.
Howard said Swaim has been good for the city and he’s leaving some big shoes to fill. “There’ll be a lot of people wanting to try,” Howard said.
Stroud felt the long dragged-out negotiations to save the city’s hospital did the mayor in.
“He agonized for that for months,” Stroud said, adding, “I appreciate that he got us through numerous trouble spots and has the city on a super foundation.”
The council will set the date for a special election to elect Swaim’s replacement.
“It will probably be in May,” Stroud said. Whoever wins that election will complete Swaim’s unexpired term and will be able to run for the next complete four-year term.
Stroud said the city will continue to move forward. “We’ve got a number of good people ready to step up,” he said.
The only candidates to step into the race for the mayor’s seat so far are Alderman Kenny Elliott, who announced at the council meeting that he would run after Swaim said he was resigning, and Randy (Doc) Rhodd of Family Motorcycle Ministry, who said Tuesday he’s decided “to throw my hat into the ring.”
Alderman Marshall Smith was at Thursday’s meeting to be sworn in with the rest of the council, but then left to be with his wife, who wasn’t feeling well after recent surgery. It was only the 10th meeting in 28 years that the alderman has missed.
“The mayor called me after the meeting and told me about his resignation,” Smith said.
“I was not totally surprised. He had indicated to me earlier that he was thinking in that direction. He’s been at this a longtime and I know how he feels,” Smith said, adding that the mayor has done an excellent job. Smith, himself, has submitted his resignation as chairman of the city’s advertising and promotion commission.
“I’ve been running it since its inception in 2003 and it’s just time for other aldermen to be involved,” he said. Smith’s last commission meeting was Tuesday.
Howard said many people aren’t aware how tough the mayor’s job is. “There’s always another meeting to go to. It’s not an eight-to-five job,” the alderman said.
Alderman Terry Sansing, who admits to bumping heads with the mayor probably more than anyone else on the council, was equally surprised. “The one good thing is the shape of the city,” he said, praising Swaim’s accomplishments. “The mayor’s conservative fiscal management and principles have been a blessing to Jacksonville.”
Elliot had planned to run for mayor in 2008 if Swaim opted not to run again, but Swaim announced he was going for another term and ran unopposed. The mayor had already said he would not seek reelection in 2010.
“I was going to run in 2010. This just moves up the timetable,” Eliott said.
Swaim, who is in his 23rd year as mayor, said family played a major role in his decision. He told the council he missed a lot of his children’s activities while mayor and didn’t want to do the same with his grandchildren.
“It was a hard decision to make, but the right one,” he said. “I’m comfortable with leaving. The city’s in good financial shape and has good employees.”
"I was looking forward to the mayor finishing out his term," said Alderman Reedie Ray. "This took me by surprise, but I wish him the best."
Ray called Swaim a workaholic. "And a workaholic for the city means a lot," he said, adding that he expects at least five or six people to run for the mayor's seat.
"I hope we get another person who has the city in mind," Ray said.
TOP STORY>>Prosecution rests case in court martial
By NANCY DOCKTER
Leader staff writer
The prosecution rested its case Tuesday in the court martial of Staff Sgt. Jerome A. Jones Jr., an airman currently stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base.
Jones is being tried on charges associated with the death of Army Sgt. Juwan L. Johnson following a gang-type hazing in 2005. At the time, both were stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Jones is being accused of aggravated assault, culpable negligence resulting in death, conspiracy to commit assault, conspiracy to obstruct justice, participation in a gang that advocates use of force or violence, witness influencing, participation in violent initiation rituals, use of marijuana, recruitment and fund-raising for a gang that advocates use of force or violence, and aiding and abetting to protect suspects in Johnson’s death. He faces penalties ranging from demotion to E-1, loss of pay, a bad conduct discharge and one to 59 years in prison.
The trial got under way on Friday after a lengthy pretrial phase marked by numerous motions from Jones’ defense team, challenging witnesses and evidence brought by the prosecution. On Saturday and Tuesday the attorneys were on their feet at every turn to impede one another.
Lt. Col. Nancy Paul of the Judge advocate General's office at one point in frustration told defense counsel Capt. Jeremy Emmert, “These calls for a mistrial are getting out of hand!”
During two hours on the stand yesterday morning, witness for the prosecution Thermitros Saroglou described his own violent initiation into a group known as the Gangster Disciples as well as BOS, for Brothers in the Struggle. The Gangster Disciples at one time was a powerful gang whose reach extended across the United States and into many foreign countries. He identified Jones as second in command in the group, which he called “a wannabe gang click.”
Saroglou’s eyewitness testimony clearly marked Jones as a participant in Johnson’s initiation at a park pavilion the night of July 4, 2005. Saraglou that night was not physically well so watched standing on a bench in the pavilion, which was illuminated by car headlights and flashlights.
By his account, that hazing was more brutal than his own or others he’d had a part in. Instead of the usual six men, many more had gathered to administer punches to Jones’ head, chest, and kidneys. Repeatedly Jones fell under the blows, but the others helped him up.
When asked if he wanted to continue, he answered, “F*** yeah!!” Then he fell, and no one helped him up, so the group began kicking him. A timekeeper – at each initiation a member keeps the beatings to six minutes – called to the men to stop, but it took several shouts to subdue the violence.
Johnson weakly got to his feet to receive hugs and cheers of congratulation. He declined the invitation to go out and celebrate at a club and was driven back to his barracks. He was found dead the next morning.
Jones’ attorneys sought to stop an expert in gang identification from taking the stand. The Killeen, Tex., police office, John Bowman, said he has been involved in “hundreds” of investigations involving the Gangster Disciples. He told the five-man jury that the activities of the group in which Jones, Johnson, and Saroglou took part – a secret handshake and stance, symbolic icons, numbers and letters, and identifying colors and clothing – were consistent with that of the group by the same name active in U.S. cities.
Bowman’s testimony largely strengthened the prosecution’s case. However, the defense was helped by his views about the intention of gang initiations: to “establish the heart of the recruit,” never injury, damage to internal organs, and death. That is a point that the defense surely will hammer on when the court martial resumes today. Testimony by defense witnesses, closing arguments, and panel deliberations may take the rest of the week.
Saroglou may still be brought to trial, as have several other airmen who had a part in the death of Johnson. The gang’s ringleader, Rico Williams, who has left the military at the time, remains at large.
Leader staff writer
The prosecution rested its case Tuesday in the court martial of Staff Sgt. Jerome A. Jones Jr., an airman currently stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base.
Jones is being tried on charges associated with the death of Army Sgt. Juwan L. Johnson following a gang-type hazing in 2005. At the time, both were stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Jones is being accused of aggravated assault, culpable negligence resulting in death, conspiracy to commit assault, conspiracy to obstruct justice, participation in a gang that advocates use of force or violence, witness influencing, participation in violent initiation rituals, use of marijuana, recruitment and fund-raising for a gang that advocates use of force or violence, and aiding and abetting to protect suspects in Johnson’s death. He faces penalties ranging from demotion to E-1, loss of pay, a bad conduct discharge and one to 59 years in prison.
The trial got under way on Friday after a lengthy pretrial phase marked by numerous motions from Jones’ defense team, challenging witnesses and evidence brought by the prosecution. On Saturday and Tuesday the attorneys were on their feet at every turn to impede one another.
Lt. Col. Nancy Paul of the Judge advocate General's office at one point in frustration told defense counsel Capt. Jeremy Emmert, “These calls for a mistrial are getting out of hand!”
During two hours on the stand yesterday morning, witness for the prosecution Thermitros Saroglou described his own violent initiation into a group known as the Gangster Disciples as well as BOS, for Brothers in the Struggle. The Gangster Disciples at one time was a powerful gang whose reach extended across the United States and into many foreign countries. He identified Jones as second in command in the group, which he called “a wannabe gang click.”
Saroglou’s eyewitness testimony clearly marked Jones as a participant in Johnson’s initiation at a park pavilion the night of July 4, 2005. Saraglou that night was not physically well so watched standing on a bench in the pavilion, which was illuminated by car headlights and flashlights.
By his account, that hazing was more brutal than his own or others he’d had a part in. Instead of the usual six men, many more had gathered to administer punches to Jones’ head, chest, and kidneys. Repeatedly Jones fell under the blows, but the others helped him up.
When asked if he wanted to continue, he answered, “F*** yeah!!” Then he fell, and no one helped him up, so the group began kicking him. A timekeeper – at each initiation a member keeps the beatings to six minutes – called to the men to stop, but it took several shouts to subdue the violence.
Johnson weakly got to his feet to receive hugs and cheers of congratulation. He declined the invitation to go out and celebrate at a club and was driven back to his barracks. He was found dead the next morning.
Jones’ attorneys sought to stop an expert in gang identification from taking the stand. The Killeen, Tex., police office, John Bowman, said he has been involved in “hundreds” of investigations involving the Gangster Disciples. He told the five-man jury that the activities of the group in which Jones, Johnson, and Saroglou took part – a secret handshake and stance, symbolic icons, numbers and letters, and identifying colors and clothing – were consistent with that of the group by the same name active in U.S. cities.
Bowman’s testimony largely strengthened the prosecution’s case. However, the defense was helped by his views about the intention of gang initiations: to “establish the heart of the recruit,” never injury, damage to internal organs, and death. That is a point that the defense surely will hammer on when the court martial resumes today. Testimony by defense witnesses, closing arguments, and panel deliberations may take the rest of the week.
Saroglou may still be brought to trial, as have several other airmen who had a part in the death of Johnson. The gang’s ringleader, Rico Williams, who has left the military at the time, remains at large.
TOP STORY>>Developers don’t want to wait on loop
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
“The North Belt will be a detriment to Sherwood,” developer Steve Deere told the Sherwood Planning Commission at its January meeting.
Deere, who wants to develop the 586-acre Oakdale North Addition, just west of Hwy. 107, believes the state is holding him and other developers hostage by not buying up the property it needs for the freeway.
Developer Tom Brooks, who is also working on the Oakdale development and is a former alderman, said that area was where future growth for Sherwood would take place, and he did not want its development to be restricted by the proposed location of the North Belt.
The state has only $4 million to buy up right-of-ways and that will not come close to buying what the state needs to extend the North Belt from Hwy. 67/167 to Hwy. 107, let alone covering land expenses to the west of Hwy. 107.
Deere has been told that property acquisition could be 10 years away. “How long am I expected to wait?” he asked the commission.
However, if the commission gives the go-ahead to Deere and other developers who own property along the proposed North Belt route, it could delay or kill the freeway project.
In the late 1990s, Sherwood developers, tired of waiting for the state to move ahead with plans for the North Belt Loop, built a subdivision in the middle of the approved route, causing what has turned out to be at least a 10-year delay of the project.
Now it could happen again.
The new I-440 route was just approved late last year, but would be in jeopardy if Deere and others get the go-ahead.
That new route has I-440 cutting Deere’s development almost in half from east to west. “Not only does it take 66 acres for the freeway, it landlocks about 150 acres in the northern half of the subdivision, according to David Jones with Marlar Engineering.
“There’s no provisions from the state for grade separations and we would need two of them to be able to develop that section,” Jones explained.
Deere says that the proposed route renders most of his property useless for development.
However, state law says once the planning commission approves development plans the state has one year to acquire the land it needs for projects. After that time, the developer is free to build in the right-of-way.
Commissioner Lucien Gillham, who recently met with Metroplan and the highway department, says the law is a little fuzzy, but that seems to be everyone’s interpretation of it.
The commission, knowing that the state most likely cannot work out something in a year’s time, has been reluctant to approve Deere’s plans or that of a few other developers. Deere’s plans were tabled in December and again this month.
“Let’s what and see what the state does,” Gillham said, explaining that the highway department did publicly state it would buy needed right-of-way in the Brockington Road area by Jan. 31.
Former city engineer Michael Clayton, representing the developer of Miller’s Crossroads, Phase II, is more adamant than Deere. He believes the state has already had more than a year to purchase the property in Miller’s Crossroads and that the developer shouldn’t have to wait any longer.
“It’s been well over a year since the Mehlberger Firm submitted plans on this 48-acre parcel of land,” Clayton said. He added that the plans do show the corridor for the North Belt.
But it is the route that is currently on the city’s master street plan, and that is not the same as the recently approved route.
The city council is taking public comment and making final adjustments to an updated master street plan that will show the newest route for the bypass. Clayton believes his client is not bound by the new plans.
Contrary to Clayton’s belief, the new North Belt route was supported and approved by the city in a resolution that was passed Apr. 23. 2007.
In the resolution the city agreed to the new route, only asking for a grade separation north of Oakdale Road and east of Mine Road.
In the resolution, the city also urged “the state Highway and Transportation Department to begin work on this most important project as soon as possible.”
Sherwood developers may do the same, as they want to develop property once again in the proposed North Belt corridor. The new route was just officially approved late last year.
Leader staff writer
“The North Belt will be a detriment to Sherwood,” developer Steve Deere told the Sherwood Planning Commission at its January meeting.
Deere, who wants to develop the 586-acre Oakdale North Addition, just west of Hwy. 107, believes the state is holding him and other developers hostage by not buying up the property it needs for the freeway.
Developer Tom Brooks, who is also working on the Oakdale development and is a former alderman, said that area was where future growth for Sherwood would take place, and he did not want its development to be restricted by the proposed location of the North Belt.
The state has only $4 million to buy up right-of-ways and that will not come close to buying what the state needs to extend the North Belt from Hwy. 67/167 to Hwy. 107, let alone covering land expenses to the west of Hwy. 107.
Deere has been told that property acquisition could be 10 years away. “How long am I expected to wait?” he asked the commission.
However, if the commission gives the go-ahead to Deere and other developers who own property along the proposed North Belt route, it could delay or kill the freeway project.
In the late 1990s, Sherwood developers, tired of waiting for the state to move ahead with plans for the North Belt Loop, built a subdivision in the middle of the approved route, causing what has turned out to be at least a 10-year delay of the project.
Now it could happen again.
The new I-440 route was just approved late last year, but would be in jeopardy if Deere and others get the go-ahead.
That new route has I-440 cutting Deere’s development almost in half from east to west. “Not only does it take 66 acres for the freeway, it landlocks about 150 acres in the northern half of the subdivision, according to David Jones with Marlar Engineering.
“There’s no provisions from the state for grade separations and we would need two of them to be able to develop that section,” Jones explained.
Deere says that the proposed route renders most of his property useless for development.
However, state law says once the planning commission approves development plans the state has one year to acquire the land it needs for projects. After that time, the developer is free to build in the right-of-way.
Commissioner Lucien Gillham, who recently met with Metroplan and the highway department, says the law is a little fuzzy, but that seems to be everyone’s interpretation of it.
The commission, knowing that the state most likely cannot work out something in a year’s time, has been reluctant to approve Deere’s plans or that of a few other developers. Deere’s plans were tabled in December and again this month.
“Let’s what and see what the state does,” Gillham said, explaining that the highway department did publicly state it would buy needed right-of-way in the Brockington Road area by Jan. 31.
Former city engineer Michael Clayton, representing the developer of Miller’s Crossroads, Phase II, is more adamant than Deere. He believes the state has already had more than a year to purchase the property in Miller’s Crossroads and that the developer shouldn’t have to wait any longer.
“It’s been well over a year since the Mehlberger Firm submitted plans on this 48-acre parcel of land,” Clayton said. He added that the plans do show the corridor for the North Belt.
But it is the route that is currently on the city’s master street plan, and that is not the same as the recently approved route.
The city council is taking public comment and making final adjustments to an updated master street plan that will show the newest route for the bypass. Clayton believes his client is not bound by the new plans.
Contrary to Clayton’s belief, the new North Belt route was supported and approved by the city in a resolution that was passed Apr. 23. 2007.
In the resolution the city agreed to the new route, only asking for a grade separation north of Oakdale Road and east of Mine Road.
In the resolution, the city also urged “the state Highway and Transportation Department to begin work on this most important project as soon as possible.”
Sherwood developers may do the same, as they want to develop property once again in the proposed North Belt corridor. The new route was just officially approved late last year.
SPORTS>>Cardinals in the Super Bowl? What’s next?
By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
Maybe it was that double-strength Ambien I took the night before or the new Venezuelan coffee I drank the following morning. I don’t know which, but something has to account for the headline I thought I saw when I opened the paper on Monday morning.
Promise not to send the silly wagon to my house when I tell you that I’m almost certain I read the following in the sports section the other day: Arizona-Pittsburgh to meet in Super Bowl.
My first thought was that, this wasn’t the Super Bowl they were talking about, not the annual battle to determine the best team in the NFL. Couldn’t be that, not with the Arizona Cardinals as a participant. The Cardinals, after all, are a franchise so identified with futility that Chicago Cubs fans pity them.
Must be some sort of bowling story, I figured. Super Bowl must be some clever name for a kegglers’ competition. Bowling’s hot right now. Cabot’s Allfam just hosted an NCAA tournament, after all.
But, no, it turns out it was THE Super Bowl and it was THE Arizona Cardinals who were the NFC Champions, the same Cardinals who, a few weeks back, were gathered around their space heaters in the locker room while the New England Patriots scored about a thousand points on them.
The Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl makes sense. They were there just three years ago — won it, in fact. They’ve been there about a dozen times, it seems. No mystery there. But the Cardinals, well, now that just hardly makes any sense at all. In fact, I got to thinking of headlines that I thought I’d see before the one that made me choke on my Cheerios on Monday:
– Bowling replaces hockey as top spectator sport
– BCS admits it misplaced a decimal, declares Texas national champion
– Michael Phelps rescued from wading pool at Big Splash Amusement Park
– Shiloh Christian shuts down football program due to low turnout
– Brett Favre pleads with media to just leave him alone
– Tim Tebow blames deity for three-interception game, converts to Islam
– Studies reveal Duke can’t get a break from referees
– 400-pound Kansas football coach Mark Mangino releases ‘Tighten Those Glutes, Flatten Those Abs!’ exercise video
– NFL team eschews coaching carousel, hires first-time head coach
– Drive Time Sports host Randy Rainwater receives honorary doctorate in English, recites Shakespeare soliloquy at ceremony
– Harding University opens up first co-ed dorm ... complete with mini-bars!
– Spread offense catching on at Cabot
– NBA All-Star game a defensive struggle
– Historians cite eloquence, humility for George Bush’s ranking as Best President Ever
– Marbury, Artest neck-in-neck for NBA Sportsmanship Award
– Fellow golfers intervene, tell Daly he is ‘dangerously’ thin
– Wally Hall discovers non-awkward way to use first-person references
Leader sports editor
Maybe it was that double-strength Ambien I took the night before or the new Venezuelan coffee I drank the following morning. I don’t know which, but something has to account for the headline I thought I saw when I opened the paper on Monday morning.
Promise not to send the silly wagon to my house when I tell you that I’m almost certain I read the following in the sports section the other day: Arizona-Pittsburgh to meet in Super Bowl.
My first thought was that, this wasn’t the Super Bowl they were talking about, not the annual battle to determine the best team in the NFL. Couldn’t be that, not with the Arizona Cardinals as a participant. The Cardinals, after all, are a franchise so identified with futility that Chicago Cubs fans pity them.
Must be some sort of bowling story, I figured. Super Bowl must be some clever name for a kegglers’ competition. Bowling’s hot right now. Cabot’s Allfam just hosted an NCAA tournament, after all.
But, no, it turns out it was THE Super Bowl and it was THE Arizona Cardinals who were the NFC Champions, the same Cardinals who, a few weeks back, were gathered around their space heaters in the locker room while the New England Patriots scored about a thousand points on them.
The Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl makes sense. They were there just three years ago — won it, in fact. They’ve been there about a dozen times, it seems. No mystery there. But the Cardinals, well, now that just hardly makes any sense at all. In fact, I got to thinking of headlines that I thought I’d see before the one that made me choke on my Cheerios on Monday:
– Bowling replaces hockey as top spectator sport
– BCS admits it misplaced a decimal, declares Texas national champion
– Michael Phelps rescued from wading pool at Big Splash Amusement Park
– Shiloh Christian shuts down football program due to low turnout
– Brett Favre pleads with media to just leave him alone
– Tim Tebow blames deity for three-interception game, converts to Islam
– Studies reveal Duke can’t get a break from referees
– 400-pound Kansas football coach Mark Mangino releases ‘Tighten Those Glutes, Flatten Those Abs!’ exercise video
– NFL team eschews coaching carousel, hires first-time head coach
– Drive Time Sports host Randy Rainwater receives honorary doctorate in English, recites Shakespeare soliloquy at ceremony
– Harding University opens up first co-ed dorm ... complete with mini-bars!
– Spread offense catching on at Cabot
– NBA All-Star game a defensive struggle
– Historians cite eloquence, humility for George Bush’s ranking as Best President Ever
– Marbury, Artest neck-in-neck for NBA Sportsmanship Award
– Fellow golfers intervene, tell Daly he is ‘dangerously’ thin
– Wally Hall discovers non-awkward way to use first-person references
SPORTS>>North Little Rock pounces early
By CHAD MATCHETT
Special to The Leader
By the time the Cabot Lady Panthers found an offensive rhythm, it was already too late.
North Little Rock (11-3, 3-0 in the 7A Central) led by as many as 26 points on the way to a 62-46 win at Panther Pavilion on Friday night.
On Tuesday, the Lady Panthers moved the ball well with perimeter passing, crashed the boards and shot close to 60 percent from the field.
The Lady Charging Wild-cats beat Cabot in all of those categories on Friday.
Lachasity Seale scored the opening two baskets of the game for the Lady Wildcats to set the tone for the rest of the night.
Seale led all scorers with 27 points. Cabot fell to 12-4 overall, 2-1 in league play.
Shelby Ashcraft made a lay-up to make the score 4-2, but Cabot went scoreless over the next 4:30 as the Lady Wildcats surged ahead for a 13-2 lead.
Things didn’t get better for the Lady Panthers in the second quarter. The Lady Wildcats hit four three-pointers inside the final three minutes of the half to extend their lead to 33-14.
The game was in danger of getting out of hand and turning into a mercy- rule loss for Cabot in the third when North Little Rock opened the quarter with an 11-4 run that made the score 44-18.
Cabot came alive at that point with a 10-0 run and went into the fourth quarter trailing 48-30.
The Lady Panthers pulled within 11 points after Ashcraft hit a pair of three-pointers on consecutive trips down the court.
The next seven points of the game were all free throws from the Lady Wildcats as North Little Rock put the game away from the line. All 14 of the Lady Wildcats’ points came from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
Ashcraft led Cabot with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Stephanie Glover scored 10 points and added 8 more rebounds. Amber Rock scored 7 points, Amalie Benjamin had 4 points and 6 rebounds. Lindsay Hoggatt scored 3 points, while Kristen Spann and Jenna Bailey scored 2. Brooke Taylor added a free throw for Cabot.
Special to The Leader
By the time the Cabot Lady Panthers found an offensive rhythm, it was already too late.
North Little Rock (11-3, 3-0 in the 7A Central) led by as many as 26 points on the way to a 62-46 win at Panther Pavilion on Friday night.
On Tuesday, the Lady Panthers moved the ball well with perimeter passing, crashed the boards and shot close to 60 percent from the field.
The Lady Charging Wild-cats beat Cabot in all of those categories on Friday.
Lachasity Seale scored the opening two baskets of the game for the Lady Wildcats to set the tone for the rest of the night.
Seale led all scorers with 27 points. Cabot fell to 12-4 overall, 2-1 in league play.
Shelby Ashcraft made a lay-up to make the score 4-2, but Cabot went scoreless over the next 4:30 as the Lady Wildcats surged ahead for a 13-2 lead.
Things didn’t get better for the Lady Panthers in the second quarter. The Lady Wildcats hit four three-pointers inside the final three minutes of the half to extend their lead to 33-14.
The game was in danger of getting out of hand and turning into a mercy- rule loss for Cabot in the third when North Little Rock opened the quarter with an 11-4 run that made the score 44-18.
Cabot came alive at that point with a 10-0 run and went into the fourth quarter trailing 48-30.
The Lady Panthers pulled within 11 points after Ashcraft hit a pair of three-pointers on consecutive trips down the court.
The next seven points of the game were all free throws from the Lady Wildcats as North Little Rock put the game away from the line. All 14 of the Lady Wildcats’ points came from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
Ashcraft led Cabot with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Stephanie Glover scored 10 points and added 8 more rebounds. Amber Rock scored 7 points, Amalie Benjamin had 4 points and 6 rebounds. Lindsay Hoggatt scored 3 points, while Kristen Spann and Jenna Bailey scored 2. Brooke Taylor added a free throw for Cabot.
SPORTS>>Panthers blow past Wildcats from long range
By CHAD MATCHETT
Special to The Leader
The Cabot Panthers spread the three-point love around Friday night in a 54-34 win over the North Little Rock Charging Wildcats at Panther Pavilion.
Adam Sterrenberg, Astin Johnson and Jack Bridges each had a pair of threes in the win.
On Tuesday night, Johnson made six three-pointers. Sterrenberg broke out of a short scoring drought to lead Cabot with 25 points. Johnson finished with 14.
Miles Monroe was challenged with sticking to the Charging Wildcats’ best player in Terry Tidwell most of the night. Monroe contributed 8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in the win.
“I thought Miles played some great defense on Tidwell,” said Cabot coach Jerry Bridges, whose Panthers improved to 12-4, 2-1 in the 7A Central. “Tidwell is one heck of a player, but our guys did a good job tonight.”
Monroe was often on one side of Tidwell while a fellow Panther would be on the opposite side to bracket North Little Rock’s big man.
While the Wildcats’ leading scorer for the season was being held in check, the same wasn’t true for the Panthers.
Sterrenberg had been dishing out assists the last two games while Austin Johnson was draining three-pointers. This time, it was Sterrenberg who was sinking threes, and he also added a dunk to lead the Panthers in scoring.
“We preach that we want everyone involved, but we knew Adam would be back,” Cabot coach Jerry Bridges said. “The main thing is that he let the game come to him and had a much better shot selection tonight.”
The Wildcats (7-7, 2-1) scored on their first trip down the court, but didn’t again for over six minutes as the Panthers went on a 13-0 run.
Sterrenberg scored 16 points in the first half as Cabot took a 30-15 lead into halftime. Cabot’s defense forced North Little Rock into 12 turnovers in the first half.
“We’ve got experience guards out there, while they are playing some younger players,” Bridges said. “That makes such a huge difference. Take Adam off the team and we’d have a rough time.”
Cabot was one point away from a mercy rule in the fourth quarter when Bridges started emptying the bench. North Little Rock ended the game on a 9-0 to make the score closer than the game.
Sterrenberg’s 25 points led all scorers, while Johnson made a pair of three-pointers on his way to 14 points. Monroe scored 8, while Jack Bridges scored 6, Baker 3 and Clark 1 in the win.
Special to The Leader
The Cabot Panthers spread the three-point love around Friday night in a 54-34 win over the North Little Rock Charging Wildcats at Panther Pavilion.
Adam Sterrenberg, Astin Johnson and Jack Bridges each had a pair of threes in the win.
On Tuesday night, Johnson made six three-pointers. Sterrenberg broke out of a short scoring drought to lead Cabot with 25 points. Johnson finished with 14.
Miles Monroe was challenged with sticking to the Charging Wildcats’ best player in Terry Tidwell most of the night. Monroe contributed 8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in the win.
“I thought Miles played some great defense on Tidwell,” said Cabot coach Jerry Bridges, whose Panthers improved to 12-4, 2-1 in the 7A Central. “Tidwell is one heck of a player, but our guys did a good job tonight.”
Monroe was often on one side of Tidwell while a fellow Panther would be on the opposite side to bracket North Little Rock’s big man.
While the Wildcats’ leading scorer for the season was being held in check, the same wasn’t true for the Panthers.
Sterrenberg had been dishing out assists the last two games while Austin Johnson was draining three-pointers. This time, it was Sterrenberg who was sinking threes, and he also added a dunk to lead the Panthers in scoring.
“We preach that we want everyone involved, but we knew Adam would be back,” Cabot coach Jerry Bridges said. “The main thing is that he let the game come to him and had a much better shot selection tonight.”
The Wildcats (7-7, 2-1) scored on their first trip down the court, but didn’t again for over six minutes as the Panthers went on a 13-0 run.
Sterrenberg scored 16 points in the first half as Cabot took a 30-15 lead into halftime. Cabot’s defense forced North Little Rock into 12 turnovers in the first half.
“We’ve got experience guards out there, while they are playing some younger players,” Bridges said. “That makes such a huge difference. Take Adam off the team and we’d have a rough time.”
Cabot was one point away from a mercy rule in the fourth quarter when Bridges started emptying the bench. North Little Rock ended the game on a 9-0 to make the score closer than the game.
Sterrenberg’s 25 points led all scorers, while Johnson made a pair of three-pointers on his way to 14 points. Monroe scored 8, while Jack Bridges scored 6, Baker 3 and Clark 1 in the win.
SPORTS>>Red Devils pick up East road win
By RAY BENTON
Special to The Leader
Jacksonville was heavily favored, but still got a big win in a place that’s been a tough place for the Red Devils to play in recent years, beating the Searcy Lions 56-46 Friday night in The Jungle at Searcy High.
Things didn’t start going according to plan until the third quarter, as the home team hung tough with its favored visitors throughout the first half.
The Lions laid back in a tight zone in the first half, hoping to neutralize Jacksonville’s biggest advantages, height and quickness. The Red Devil guards were unable to penetrate, and the big men weren’t open for shots. The Searcy strategy worked on the front end, but offensive rebounds and putbacks kept Jacksonville in front throughout the first half. Searcy’s Jamaal Jones came off the bench to lead the Lions and keep them close in the early going. He scored nine of Searcy’s 22 first-half points as Jacksonville took a four-point lead into the break.
The Red Devils all but ended the drama in the third quarter, outscoring Searcy 18-4 and taking a 44-26 lead into the fourth quarter.
Jacksonville broke the game open about halfway through the third. Leading 33-26, Antwan Lockhart got a steal and assist to teammate LaQuentin Miles, who was fouled on a made basket and converted the three-point play. Another Searcy turnover was followed by a three pointer by DeShone McClure. After a Searcy miss, Miles hit a three that made it 42-26 with 1:49 left in the period.
Shortly after the start of the fourth quarter, Jacksonville’s Darris Morant came off the bench to hit two more three pointers to give the Red Devils complete control.
The lead grew to as much as 25 before Searcy’s Casey Wilmath got hot late with most of Jacksonville’s varsity on the bench. Wilmath scored 15 of his game-high 18 points in the final four minutes of the game, going 6 of 7 from the floor in that span, his only miss a 50-footer at the buzzer.
“We had to get them out of that zone and the only way to do that is to hit some shots from outside,” Jacksonville coach Vic Joyner said. “We finally did that in the second half and the game changed. Darris Morant came off the bench and hit two from the perimeter, because we had to break up that zone. In the first half we didn’t do anything to soften that zone up. They sagged in, and I would’ve done the same thing. Searcy played the percentages and made us hit from the outside. We finally started hit some and the percentages went our way. They went Searcy’s way in the first half and our way in the second.”
Miles led Jacksonville with 15 points while post player Demetris Harris posted another double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jones finished with 11 points for the Lions.
The win lifted Jacksonville to 10-3 overall and 2-1 in league play. Searcy fell to 5-9 and 1-2.
Special to The Leader
Jacksonville was heavily favored, but still got a big win in a place that’s been a tough place for the Red Devils to play in recent years, beating the Searcy Lions 56-46 Friday night in The Jungle at Searcy High.
Things didn’t start going according to plan until the third quarter, as the home team hung tough with its favored visitors throughout the first half.
The Lions laid back in a tight zone in the first half, hoping to neutralize Jacksonville’s biggest advantages, height and quickness. The Red Devil guards were unable to penetrate, and the big men weren’t open for shots. The Searcy strategy worked on the front end, but offensive rebounds and putbacks kept Jacksonville in front throughout the first half. Searcy’s Jamaal Jones came off the bench to lead the Lions and keep them close in the early going. He scored nine of Searcy’s 22 first-half points as Jacksonville took a four-point lead into the break.
The Red Devils all but ended the drama in the third quarter, outscoring Searcy 18-4 and taking a 44-26 lead into the fourth quarter.
Jacksonville broke the game open about halfway through the third. Leading 33-26, Antwan Lockhart got a steal and assist to teammate LaQuentin Miles, who was fouled on a made basket and converted the three-point play. Another Searcy turnover was followed by a three pointer by DeShone McClure. After a Searcy miss, Miles hit a three that made it 42-26 with 1:49 left in the period.
Shortly after the start of the fourth quarter, Jacksonville’s Darris Morant came off the bench to hit two more three pointers to give the Red Devils complete control.
The lead grew to as much as 25 before Searcy’s Casey Wilmath got hot late with most of Jacksonville’s varsity on the bench. Wilmath scored 15 of his game-high 18 points in the final four minutes of the game, going 6 of 7 from the floor in that span, his only miss a 50-footer at the buzzer.
“We had to get them out of that zone and the only way to do that is to hit some shots from outside,” Jacksonville coach Vic Joyner said. “We finally did that in the second half and the game changed. Darris Morant came off the bench and hit two from the perimeter, because we had to break up that zone. In the first half we didn’t do anything to soften that zone up. They sagged in, and I would’ve done the same thing. Searcy played the percentages and made us hit from the outside. We finally started hit some and the percentages went our way. They went Searcy’s way in the first half and our way in the second.”
Miles led Jacksonville with 15 points while post player Demetris Harris posted another double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jones finished with 11 points for the Lions.
The win lifted Jacksonville to 10-3 overall and 2-1 in league play. Searcy fell to 5-9 and 1-2.
SPORTS>>Lonoke’s Jones off to Springdale
By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
Citing family and a desire to reunite with old friends and former coaches, Jeff Jones announced he is leaving Lonoke to take the defensive coordinator’s job at Springdale.
In three years as Jackrabbit head coach, Jones compiled a 22-12 record, including an 8-4 record in 2007 and a 10-2 record last fall. Lonoke won the 2-4A Conference last year and reached the state quarterfinals before falling to eventual state champion Shiloh Christian.
“They’ve been talking to me about coming back ever since I left (Springdale),” said Jones, who was a special teams and cornerbacks coach at Springdale in 2003-2004. “It’s just a good time. Lonoke’s in great shape now, better than when I found it. The cupboard is not empty.”
Jones will rejoin Kevin Johnson, now the head coach at Springdale and a former assistant under Gus Malzahn.
“Coaches always talk about relationships,” Jones said. “It’s not only with the players but with the coaches we work with. Kevin was a good friend even before (we coached together) at Springdale.”
The main reason Jones listed for the move was the opportunity to be near his only son, Zach, who just completed his first year as an assistant coach at Alma.
Jones wouldn’t speculate on his replacement, saying only that his staff consisted of quality coaches.
“Lonoke is a job that should invite a lot of applicants,” he said. “I’d recommend it for everyone. It’s a great community and a great sports town.”
Since Springdale won the 2005 state championship in dominating fashion under Malzahn, quarterback Mitch Mustain, wide receiver Damien Williams and an unprecedented host of talented players, it has fallen on rough times. Johnson compiled a 6-4 record in his first season and followed that up with 4-6 and 5-6 campaigns.
Jones will take over the defensive coaching duties from Johnson, who doubled as both head coach and defensive coordinator last season. The Bulldogs allowed 34 points a game in 2008.
Jones, who led an immensely talented offense at Lonoke last season, said he is really a defensive coach at heart.
“I’m a football player and all I care about is football,” he said. “I’m a team guy. I don’t have a big ego. I do what I’m assigned. But I love defense. My first job was as a defensive coordinator at Dierks, so I’ve always been on the defensive side of the ball.”
Jones said he will honor the rest of his contract at Lonoke and finish out the spring semester, though he will spend some time up at Springdale to prepare for spring football and to begin installing defensive packages.
Leader sports editor
Citing family and a desire to reunite with old friends and former coaches, Jeff Jones announced he is leaving Lonoke to take the defensive coordinator’s job at Springdale.
In three years as Jackrabbit head coach, Jones compiled a 22-12 record, including an 8-4 record in 2007 and a 10-2 record last fall. Lonoke won the 2-4A Conference last year and reached the state quarterfinals before falling to eventual state champion Shiloh Christian.
“They’ve been talking to me about coming back ever since I left (Springdale),” said Jones, who was a special teams and cornerbacks coach at Springdale in 2003-2004. “It’s just a good time. Lonoke’s in great shape now, better than when I found it. The cupboard is not empty.”
Jones will rejoin Kevin Johnson, now the head coach at Springdale and a former assistant under Gus Malzahn.
“Coaches always talk about relationships,” Jones said. “It’s not only with the players but with the coaches we work with. Kevin was a good friend even before (we coached together) at Springdale.”
The main reason Jones listed for the move was the opportunity to be near his only son, Zach, who just completed his first year as an assistant coach at Alma.
Jones wouldn’t speculate on his replacement, saying only that his staff consisted of quality coaches.
“Lonoke is a job that should invite a lot of applicants,” he said. “I’d recommend it for everyone. It’s a great community and a great sports town.”
Since Springdale won the 2005 state championship in dominating fashion under Malzahn, quarterback Mitch Mustain, wide receiver Damien Williams and an unprecedented host of talented players, it has fallen on rough times. Johnson compiled a 6-4 record in his first season and followed that up with 4-6 and 5-6 campaigns.
Jones will take over the defensive coaching duties from Johnson, who doubled as both head coach and defensive coordinator last season. The Bulldogs allowed 34 points a game in 2008.
Jones, who led an immensely talented offense at Lonoke last season, said he is really a defensive coach at heart.
“I’m a football player and all I care about is football,” he said. “I’m a team guy. I don’t have a big ego. I do what I’m assigned. But I love defense. My first job was as a defensive coordinator at Dierks, so I’ve always been on the defensive side of the ball.”
Jones said he will honor the rest of his contract at Lonoke and finish out the spring semester, though he will spend some time up at Springdale to prepare for spring football and to begin installing defensive packages.
SPORTS>>Jackrabbits race past Heber Springs
By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
The Lonoke Jackrabbits did what jackrabbits do: run and then run some more.
After getting off to a sluggish start against Heber Springs, Lonoke was off to the races in an 84-63 win over the Panthers on Friday night at Lonoke. The Jackrabbits bounced back from a four-game span in which they lost three times, and improved to 10-4 overall, 3-2 in the 2-4A Conference.
The Jackrabbits trailed only once in the game at 2-0, but scored the next eight points on their way to a 22-6 lead early in the second period.
Though the ’Rabbits held Heber Springs to just nine points midway through the second quarter and 7 of 27 from the field in the first half, coach Wes Swift was far from pleased with his team’s defensive effort.
“Giving up 63 is not going to get it done,” Swift said. “We give up 63 to Marianna, then 63 against Heber Springs. I think I’ve had teams that haven’t given up that many points the whole season.
“Defense starts with ball pressure but we’re not containing the ball well and we’re not challenging passes. You don’t want guys driving by you. Our overall toughness is what I’m really not happy about. We just had a two-and-a-half hour practice and that’s all we worked on was defense.”
Lonoke was not shooting a whole lot better at 12 of 31, but the Jackrabbits finally found the range from the free-throw line, an area that has plagued them through much of the season. After missing five of their first six, Lonoke hit 14 of their next 15 to finish a respectable 19 of 28 for the game.
“A lot of (free-throw shooting) is between the kids’ ears,” Swift said. “A lot of it is focus, understanding that that point is important. We’re just kind of a nonchalant team right now. We don’t have much focus. We’re struggling.”
The Jackrabbits maintained a 20- to 25-point lead throughout most of the third quarter. It reached 60-35 on Darius Scott’s steal and lay-up with 2:15 left in the third. An 11-2 Heber Springs run narrowed the gap to 16 early in the final period, but Lonoke merely turned it into overdrive at that point, getting fast-break baskets by Michael Howard and Trenton Spencer, a drive and basket by Howard and an end-to-end breakaway by Lance Jackson to push the lead back to 24.
The game was played at a frantic pace from the start, which played into Lonoke’s much deeper bench. Nine Jackrabbits scored in the first half. Eight players scored six points or more and four reached double figures in the game. Despite the frantic pace, the Rabbits committed only 10 turnovers.
Clarence Harris led the way with 14 points and added three blocked shots. Spencer added 13 points, two assists and two steals. Howard had 12 points, six boards and four assists and Jackson had 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
“I thought we shared the ball a little better,” Swift said. “And I’m not disappointed with 84 points. I’ll take 10 turnovers at the pace we play at.”
Tyler Gibbs had eight points, while Pierre Smith added seven points. Mike Jones scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds.
Lonoke warmed up significantly in the second half, thanks primarily to a slew of fast-break baskets and 3-of-4 shooting from deep. The Jackrabbits hit 18 of 29 after intermission to finish the game 30 of 60. Heber heated up a little in the second half, though the Panthers still finished at 19 of 55 and connected on only 3 of 16 from beyond the arc. But Heber Springs got to the line 33 times, a number Swift chalked up to being out of position on defense.
Big post player Juice Lambert is still struggling to regain his timing after missing the first part of the season with injury. Lambert scored four points and grabbed five rebounds.
“He’s rushing a lot, but kids that come back do that,” Swift said. “And on our end, we’re having to learn to play with him. We want to attack, sure, but we actually want to use Juice, too. We tell them, if we can’t get it immediately to the rack, lets reverse the ball and try to use him.
“He has a lot of mass and can get down in the low position for us.”
Leader sports editor
The Lonoke Jackrabbits did what jackrabbits do: run and then run some more.
After getting off to a sluggish start against Heber Springs, Lonoke was off to the races in an 84-63 win over the Panthers on Friday night at Lonoke. The Jackrabbits bounced back from a four-game span in which they lost three times, and improved to 10-4 overall, 3-2 in the 2-4A Conference.
The Jackrabbits trailed only once in the game at 2-0, but scored the next eight points on their way to a 22-6 lead early in the second period.
Though the ’Rabbits held Heber Springs to just nine points midway through the second quarter and 7 of 27 from the field in the first half, coach Wes Swift was far from pleased with his team’s defensive effort.
“Giving up 63 is not going to get it done,” Swift said. “We give up 63 to Marianna, then 63 against Heber Springs. I think I’ve had teams that haven’t given up that many points the whole season.
“Defense starts with ball pressure but we’re not containing the ball well and we’re not challenging passes. You don’t want guys driving by you. Our overall toughness is what I’m really not happy about. We just had a two-and-a-half hour practice and that’s all we worked on was defense.”
Lonoke was not shooting a whole lot better at 12 of 31, but the Jackrabbits finally found the range from the free-throw line, an area that has plagued them through much of the season. After missing five of their first six, Lonoke hit 14 of their next 15 to finish a respectable 19 of 28 for the game.
“A lot of (free-throw shooting) is between the kids’ ears,” Swift said. “A lot of it is focus, understanding that that point is important. We’re just kind of a nonchalant team right now. We don’t have much focus. We’re struggling.”
The Jackrabbits maintained a 20- to 25-point lead throughout most of the third quarter. It reached 60-35 on Darius Scott’s steal and lay-up with 2:15 left in the third. An 11-2 Heber Springs run narrowed the gap to 16 early in the final period, but Lonoke merely turned it into overdrive at that point, getting fast-break baskets by Michael Howard and Trenton Spencer, a drive and basket by Howard and an end-to-end breakaway by Lance Jackson to push the lead back to 24.
The game was played at a frantic pace from the start, which played into Lonoke’s much deeper bench. Nine Jackrabbits scored in the first half. Eight players scored six points or more and four reached double figures in the game. Despite the frantic pace, the Rabbits committed only 10 turnovers.
Clarence Harris led the way with 14 points and added three blocked shots. Spencer added 13 points, two assists and two steals. Howard had 12 points, six boards and four assists and Jackson had 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
“I thought we shared the ball a little better,” Swift said. “And I’m not disappointed with 84 points. I’ll take 10 turnovers at the pace we play at.”
Tyler Gibbs had eight points, while Pierre Smith added seven points. Mike Jones scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds.
Lonoke warmed up significantly in the second half, thanks primarily to a slew of fast-break baskets and 3-of-4 shooting from deep. The Jackrabbits hit 18 of 29 after intermission to finish the game 30 of 60. Heber heated up a little in the second half, though the Panthers still finished at 19 of 55 and connected on only 3 of 16 from beyond the arc. But Heber Springs got to the line 33 times, a number Swift chalked up to being out of position on defense.
Big post player Juice Lambert is still struggling to regain his timing after missing the first part of the season with injury. Lambert scored four points and grabbed five rebounds.
“He’s rushing a lot, but kids that come back do that,” Swift said. “And on our end, we’re having to learn to play with him. We want to attack, sure, but we actually want to use Juice, too. We tell them, if we can’t get it immediately to the rack, lets reverse the ball and try to use him.
“He has a lot of mass and can get down in the low position for us.”
SPORTS>>Searcy girls hold off Jacksonville for win
By RAY BENTON
Special to The Leader
The Lady Red Devil defense started hot, and the Lady Lion offense was cold. The result was a big early lead for the visiting underdogs, but the hosting Searcy girls slowly and steadily came back to claim a 46-37 win Friday night at SHS.
Searcy didn’t score in the first six minutes of the game. Its first points came from a free throw by Kristen Celsor.
Thanks in large part to an aggressive Jacksonville defense, Searcy hit just 1 of 16 shot attempts from the floor, and was one of four from the foul line. The Lady Red Devils, meanwhile, hit six of 12 attempts and held a 13-3 lead after one quarter.
Jacksonville’s lead remained in the nine- to 10-point range for the better part of the second quarter, but Searcy then took its turn to apply some pressure.
The pressure, as well as several second-chance opportunities, sparked a 9-2 run late in the second quarter that turned an 18-10 margin into a 20-19 score by halftime.
“I thought we did a much better job in the second quarter of getting to the offensive boards,” Searcy coach Michelle Birdsong said. “We didn’t rebound very well early. We did a much better job of that starting in the second quarter and I thought that made the difference.”
The Lady Lions got hot from the outside in the third quarter. Searcy tied the game at 22 apiece in the first minute of the second half. A three-pointer by Celsor gave the hosts their first lead at 25-22 with six minutes left in the third quarter.
Jacksonville tied the game again shortly thereafter, and the two teams stayed tied for almost three minutes. Searcy broke the drought with a 5-0 run that forced Jacksonville to take its first timeout with 1:49 left in the third quarter. Searcy’s Tara Gardner hit a three after the break, but Jacksonville came back to pull within 35-29 by the start of the fourth quarter.
The Lady Red Devils went with full-court pressure to start the fourth. That created turnovers and Jacksonville capitalized. Five points by Sherice Randel and a bucket by Jessica Lanier went unanswered as the Lady Devils took the lead back at 36-35 with a 6:35 left in the game. From there it was all Searcy as Jacksonville would manage just two more points the rest of the way. Searcy closed the game with a 12-2 run that was almost entirely on putbacks and free throws.
“We’ve got some young guards handling the ball and we’ve had trouble handling the press,” Birdsong said. “Once we got through it a couple times and got a couple of shots to go down, I think we settled down and did a much better job.”
Neither team took very good care of the ball. Jacksonville committed 19 turnovers while Searcy gave it up 20 times. The rebounding, as Birdsong recognized, was resoundingly in her team’s favor. Searcy out-rebounded the Lady Lions 39-25.
Celsor led all scorers with 18 points. Lauren Harrison added 10 for Searcy. Celsor and Elliot Scarbrough each pulled down nine rebounds to lead the team, while Lindsey Hanshew grabbed eight boards.
Randel led Jacksonville with 16 points while Lanier, who spent much of the game on the bench with foul trouble, finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
Searcy improved to 11-5 overall and 2-1 in the 6A-East. Jacksonville fell to 7-8 and 1-2 in league play.
Special to The Leader
The Lady Red Devil defense started hot, and the Lady Lion offense was cold. The result was a big early lead for the visiting underdogs, but the hosting Searcy girls slowly and steadily came back to claim a 46-37 win Friday night at SHS.
Searcy didn’t score in the first six minutes of the game. Its first points came from a free throw by Kristen Celsor.
Thanks in large part to an aggressive Jacksonville defense, Searcy hit just 1 of 16 shot attempts from the floor, and was one of four from the foul line. The Lady Red Devils, meanwhile, hit six of 12 attempts and held a 13-3 lead after one quarter.
Jacksonville’s lead remained in the nine- to 10-point range for the better part of the second quarter, but Searcy then took its turn to apply some pressure.
The pressure, as well as several second-chance opportunities, sparked a 9-2 run late in the second quarter that turned an 18-10 margin into a 20-19 score by halftime.
“I thought we did a much better job in the second quarter of getting to the offensive boards,” Searcy coach Michelle Birdsong said. “We didn’t rebound very well early. We did a much better job of that starting in the second quarter and I thought that made the difference.”
The Lady Lions got hot from the outside in the third quarter. Searcy tied the game at 22 apiece in the first minute of the second half. A three-pointer by Celsor gave the hosts their first lead at 25-22 with six minutes left in the third quarter.
Jacksonville tied the game again shortly thereafter, and the two teams stayed tied for almost three minutes. Searcy broke the drought with a 5-0 run that forced Jacksonville to take its first timeout with 1:49 left in the third quarter. Searcy’s Tara Gardner hit a three after the break, but Jacksonville came back to pull within 35-29 by the start of the fourth quarter.
The Lady Red Devils went with full-court pressure to start the fourth. That created turnovers and Jacksonville capitalized. Five points by Sherice Randel and a bucket by Jessica Lanier went unanswered as the Lady Devils took the lead back at 36-35 with a 6:35 left in the game. From there it was all Searcy as Jacksonville would manage just two more points the rest of the way. Searcy closed the game with a 12-2 run that was almost entirely on putbacks and free throws.
“We’ve got some young guards handling the ball and we’ve had trouble handling the press,” Birdsong said. “Once we got through it a couple times and got a couple of shots to go down, I think we settled down and did a much better job.”
Neither team took very good care of the ball. Jacksonville committed 19 turnovers while Searcy gave it up 20 times. The rebounding, as Birdsong recognized, was resoundingly in her team’s favor. Searcy out-rebounded the Lady Lions 39-25.
Celsor led all scorers with 18 points. Lauren Harrison added 10 for Searcy. Celsor and Elliot Scarbrough each pulled down nine rebounds to lead the team, while Lindsey Hanshew grabbed eight boards.
Randel led Jacksonville with 16 points while Lanier, who spent much of the game on the bench with foul trouble, finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
Searcy improved to 11-5 overall and 2-1 in the 6A-East. Jacksonville fell to 7-8 and 1-2 in league play.
Monday, January 19, 2009
TOP STORY > > Hazen resident works toward earning his GED
By NANCY DOCKTER
Leader staff writer
Charles Washington of Hazen had a rude awakening when one day long ago he went job hunting in the city, after a move to Tulsa from an Arkansas cotton farm. He was 20 years old, but was no stranger to work – that was not the problem. From childhood he had toiled in the fields, chopping cotton, along with his father and siblings. For the 12 children in his family, school was a luxury. The crops and the owner’s demands came first. After eighth grade, Washington dropped out of school entirely to run a tractor and other farm equipment. Yes, he knew how to work.
But he did not know how to read or fill out a job application.
“The lady brought me an application and a pencil and told me to fill it out,” he recalled. “I just sat there and looked at it. It was kind of funny, but not really.”
Luckily, his prospective employer knew a good man when he saw one and asked the secretary to fill out the form for Washington. “That was really embarrassing. When you can’t read, when you have no knowledge of what’s on that paper, you are really missing a whole lot. Reading is knowledge, but reading is understanding, too.”
In his spare time, Washington began studying for his GED, but soon gave that up to get a second job to support his family. What Washington lacked in education, he made up in a strong work ethic, making it through the years as a janitor and pipe fitter. However, his experience on the farm as an equipment operator was of no value to any employer, because he could not pass the test for a license.
Three years ago, Washington saw his chance again to pursue his education. An accident had forced him into an early retirement, but blessed him with time on his hands. Roy Henderson of the Literacy Council of Lonoke County began tutoring Washington; they have become fast friends.
Washington was clear on his goals: to be able to read and understand the Bible, and to earn his GED. He has accomplished the first, and is well on his way to achieving the second, despite a learning disability from the accident. In a year, he should be ready to test for the GED. “He can do anything now that he wants to,” Henderson says emphatically. “He is one of our best students ever. I admire his courage.”
Today, being able to read is critical, Washington observed. Even his old job on the farm might be out of reach for someone who can’t read. “The way things are going now, everything is computerized, even a tractor. I couldn’t drive it; I doubt I could even start it. You have to be able to read the manual.”
Leader staff writer
Charles Washington of Hazen had a rude awakening when one day long ago he went job hunting in the city, after a move to Tulsa from an Arkansas cotton farm. He was 20 years old, but was no stranger to work – that was not the problem. From childhood he had toiled in the fields, chopping cotton, along with his father and siblings. For the 12 children in his family, school was a luxury. The crops and the owner’s demands came first. After eighth grade, Washington dropped out of school entirely to run a tractor and other farm equipment. Yes, he knew how to work.
But he did not know how to read or fill out a job application.
“The lady brought me an application and a pencil and told me to fill it out,” he recalled. “I just sat there and looked at it. It was kind of funny, but not really.”
Luckily, his prospective employer knew a good man when he saw one and asked the secretary to fill out the form for Washington. “That was really embarrassing. When you can’t read, when you have no knowledge of what’s on that paper, you are really missing a whole lot. Reading is knowledge, but reading is understanding, too.”
In his spare time, Washington began studying for his GED, but soon gave that up to get a second job to support his family. What Washington lacked in education, he made up in a strong work ethic, making it through the years as a janitor and pipe fitter. However, his experience on the farm as an equipment operator was of no value to any employer, because he could not pass the test for a license.
Three years ago, Washington saw his chance again to pursue his education. An accident had forced him into an early retirement, but blessed him with time on his hands. Roy Henderson of the Literacy Council of Lonoke County began tutoring Washington; they have become fast friends.
Washington was clear on his goals: to be able to read and understand the Bible, and to earn his GED. He has accomplished the first, and is well on his way to achieving the second, despite a learning disability from the accident. In a year, he should be ready to test for the GED. “He can do anything now that he wants to,” Henderson says emphatically. “He is one of our best students ever. I admire his courage.”
Today, being able to read is critical, Washington observed. Even his old job on the farm might be out of reach for someone who can’t read. “The way things are going now, everything is computerized, even a tractor. I couldn’t drive it; I doubt I could even start it. You have to be able to read the manual.”
Friday, January 16, 2009
EDITORIAL >>Pollution control not on agenda
Thomas Schueck, the president of a flourishing steel company at Little Rock, is a member of the state Pollution Control and Ecology Commission, where he sits as a representative of polluting industries. Conflicts of interest are almost unavoidable in such an arrangement, so you would expect that Schueck and everyone involved in the regulatory scheme would be keenly watchful for them.
You would be disappointed.
A permit for utility conglomerates to build a big coal-fired generating plant in Hempstead County was appealed to Schueck’s commission last fall. Unless Governor Beebe replaces him on the commission, he will help decide that appeal. Meantime, Schueck insisted that his fellow commissioners allow the utilities to proceed with construction of the plant before it is ever decided whether the environmental poisons that it will emit are acceptable. People need the jobs down there, he said, and the commissioners voted with him.
Now it turns out that Schueck’s company all along had at least six projects with the companies that are building the generating plant. Should he have divulged all of that and recused from the case because he was transparently conflicted? Sure he should have. But that has never been how the regulatory commission worked. On the Pollution Control and Ecology Commission, a person who has a personal or business interest in a question before him is simply a person who is apt to be more knowledgeable.
The public interest thus becomes inseparable from private interests. When that happens, when the regulator’s task is to see that the regulated party gets what it wants, there is no need for regulation at all. It is a sham. That has described the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission since its creation a half-century ago, and regrettably it describes it today.
You would be disappointed.
A permit for utility conglomerates to build a big coal-fired generating plant in Hempstead County was appealed to Schueck’s commission last fall. Unless Governor Beebe replaces him on the commission, he will help decide that appeal. Meantime, Schueck insisted that his fellow commissioners allow the utilities to proceed with construction of the plant before it is ever decided whether the environmental poisons that it will emit are acceptable. People need the jobs down there, he said, and the commissioners voted with him.
Now it turns out that Schueck’s company all along had at least six projects with the companies that are building the generating plant. Should he have divulged all of that and recused from the case because he was transparently conflicted? Sure he should have. But that has never been how the regulatory commission worked. On the Pollution Control and Ecology Commission, a person who has a personal or business interest in a question before him is simply a person who is apt to be more knowledgeable.
The public interest thus becomes inseparable from private interests. When that happens, when the regulator’s task is to see that the regulated party gets what it wants, there is no need for regulation at all. It is a sham. That has described the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission since its creation a half-century ago, and regrettably it describes it today.
EDITORIAL >>Battle looms in Fayetteville
Barney Alan Sugg has kept such a low profile for the past 20 years that people may be tempted to believe that it makes no difference who is president of the University of Arkansas. Any rabid Razorback fan can do the job.
If we are to believe the blog reporting out of Fayetteville that very nearly became the prevailing dogma on the selection of a new president. We hope that the intrigue is dead and that the university makes a serious and dignified search for a president when Dr. Sugg retires. That may be June 30, 2010, when his contract ends. Dr. Sugg had asked the Board of Trustees a couple of years ago not to roll over his contract because he will be nearing 72 then and it might be a good time to quit. He said that at any rate he would give the board a year’s notice before stepping down.
A couple of blogs, including the reliable Arkansas Times blog, reported that Jim Lindsey, whose term on the Board of Trustees expires this month, wanted to go ahead and name the next president right now. The president would be Lindsey’s good friend and his farm manager, Stanley E. Reed of Marianna. Reed, a wealthy planter, served 10 years on the university board, like Lindsey under appointment by Governor Mike Huckabee. Reed’s 10-year term on the board ended last year.
Reed, a nice man we are given to believe, has no credentials to run a state university system, at least none that would be recognized by any academic institution or any scholar in the United States. That is not an inconsequential consideration in choosing a president for the state’s flagship university. The university attracts the best scholars that it can, and the little matter of who the president is and how and why he was chosen will have some bearing on its success in recruiting the people who will teach and conduct the research that makes a great university. The planning and directing of growth of a network of academic institutions is different from if not necessarily harder than managing sizable tracts of fertile Delta farmland. Reed has been a director of the white academy in Marianna set up to thwart integration of the city’s schools. Wouldn’t that be a fine qualification for a university president in 2009?
Lindsey, the old Razorback tailback and Minnesota Vikings special teams player, has been a force on the board the past 10 years, seen most often in the frequent Razorback coaching intrigues. Lindsey is a real estate magnate and continues to own farmland in St. Francis County, which Reed manages for him.
He was quoted by one blog this week as saying he would go along with a national search for a new president but in his own mind they just needed a president who understood what “woooo pig soooie means.” That would befit a university campus that ranks No. 1 in America in the percentage of instructional money that is spent on athletics. A U. S. Department of Education report listed the University of Arkansas first at more than 56 percent, far ahead of even the second-place school, the University of Alabama. But Arkansas ought to be trying to shed that image, not burnish it.
The Arkansas Times reported that four of the 10 trustees strongly resisted the move to rush pell mell into naming a new president this weekend, long before Sugg announces his departure and without a national search. The word was that Lindsey’s idea would not be discussed. It is heartening to learn that there are adults on the university board of trustees.
If we are to believe the blog reporting out of Fayetteville that very nearly became the prevailing dogma on the selection of a new president. We hope that the intrigue is dead and that the university makes a serious and dignified search for a president when Dr. Sugg retires. That may be June 30, 2010, when his contract ends. Dr. Sugg had asked the Board of Trustees a couple of years ago not to roll over his contract because he will be nearing 72 then and it might be a good time to quit. He said that at any rate he would give the board a year’s notice before stepping down.
A couple of blogs, including the reliable Arkansas Times blog, reported that Jim Lindsey, whose term on the Board of Trustees expires this month, wanted to go ahead and name the next president right now. The president would be Lindsey’s good friend and his farm manager, Stanley E. Reed of Marianna. Reed, a wealthy planter, served 10 years on the university board, like Lindsey under appointment by Governor Mike Huckabee. Reed’s 10-year term on the board ended last year.
Reed, a nice man we are given to believe, has no credentials to run a state university system, at least none that would be recognized by any academic institution or any scholar in the United States. That is not an inconsequential consideration in choosing a president for the state’s flagship university. The university attracts the best scholars that it can, and the little matter of who the president is and how and why he was chosen will have some bearing on its success in recruiting the people who will teach and conduct the research that makes a great university. The planning and directing of growth of a network of academic institutions is different from if not necessarily harder than managing sizable tracts of fertile Delta farmland. Reed has been a director of the white academy in Marianna set up to thwart integration of the city’s schools. Wouldn’t that be a fine qualification for a university president in 2009?
Lindsey, the old Razorback tailback and Minnesota Vikings special teams player, has been a force on the board the past 10 years, seen most often in the frequent Razorback coaching intrigues. Lindsey is a real estate magnate and continues to own farmland in St. Francis County, which Reed manages for him.
He was quoted by one blog this week as saying he would go along with a national search for a new president but in his own mind they just needed a president who understood what “woooo pig soooie means.” That would befit a university campus that ranks No. 1 in America in the percentage of instructional money that is spent on athletics. A U. S. Department of Education report listed the University of Arkansas first at more than 56 percent, far ahead of even the second-place school, the University of Alabama. But Arkansas ought to be trying to shed that image, not burnish it.
The Arkansas Times reported that four of the 10 trustees strongly resisted the move to rush pell mell into naming a new president this weekend, long before Sugg announces his departure and without a national search. The word was that Lindsey’s idea would not be discussed. It is heartening to learn that there are adults on the university board of trustees.
TOP STORY > >Lonoke Literacy Council volunteers pass the gift of reading to others
By NANCY DOCKTER
Leader staff writer
The Literacy Council of Lonoke County is in the business of crime prevention. But if you ask any of the volunteer tutors why they love their work, they more likely will talk about the joy that comes with teaching someone how to read, seeing a life transformed, and getting to be part of that.
Few individuals who can’t read become criminals, but if a community is looking for ways to reduce crime, improving the literacy rate is a good proactive measure. If one can’t read, speak or write English proficiently, one is more likely to lead a life of poverty, poor health and desperation – or even crime. Most individuals who do jail time – 7 out of 10 – have poor reading skills or were high school dropouts.
Most folks who can’t read simply struggle along for years hiding the problem as best they can, sometimes quite well, from employers, friends, and family. Most are employed though living below the poverty line. Most put off getting help with reading until their forties.
The Literacy Council takes all comers, regardless of age, disability, or proficiency in speaking English. The service and study materials are free. All that is required is a desire to learn. In a year of tutored studying, a per son who does not have a learning disability can progress from not even knowing the alphabet to a sixth-grade reading level. It may take a year or more of additional study to become a good enough reader to pass a written driver’s test, fill out a job application, and hold down a decent job.
Since opening its doors in 1986, the Literacy Council has helped students of all ages, walks of life, educational attainment, and nationalities. They have ranged in age from teens to eighties. Some are graduates of local high schools, others dropped out when still children.
One man who sought tutoring in his fifties had never been to school a day in his life, didn’t even know the ABCs, having worked the fields from childhood. After two months of hard studying, the joyous day came that he could write his name.
“He broke down and cried,” Roy Henderson, the council’s director, recounted in a recent interview.
One lady came to the council at age 85, at the encouragement of her children. She’d been consigned to a life of illiteracy when her father removed her from school at age 10 and married her off to an uncle to be his house servant and bear his children.
She managed to earn a seventh-grade diploma before Alzheimer’s closed in on her.
Some students are single moms on welfare, wanting to get the skills to make them employable. Others with limited reading skills do work but want a better job and higher wages. One fellow working at the Remington plant managed to conceal his reading deficit long enough to improve his skills and land a promotion.
The council’s tutors have assisted many immigrants including employees of local Chinese and Vietnamese eateries and a Russian lawyer who needed to read English well enough to take the bar exam. He now practices law in Arkansas. Hispanic workers at the Lonoke fisheries and Cabot orchards, as well as in construction and farming, are some of the most motivated students the council gets.
Generally literate in Spanish, they are quick learners. Sometimes an entire family comes for lessons. As Henderson puts it, immigrants understand, perhaps more clearly than do the native-born, “If you can’t read and speak English, then you can’t get by in the good ol’ U.S.A.”
Last year, one of the council’s star students, Randy Moore, became a high-profile example of how illiteracy can lead to horrifically bad choices and how learning to read is a redemptive act.
The Arkansas Bar Association honored Moore as the state’s literacy student of 2008. The tragedy is that Moore didn’t enroll in the reading program until after he was sentenced to 40 years in prison for robbing a bank.
Moore was graduated from an Arkansas public high school, having been promoted year after year, unable to read, because of his athletic talents. He finished school with diploma in hand, but was incapable of filling out a job application.
A few years later, unemployed, married and with a baby on the way, he wrongly concluded that crime and quick cash were the easy answer. He hopes to be paroled next year.
Henderson wishes more folks would see the direct connection between social problems like poverty, crime and broken homes and the ability to read.
More than 20 percent of adults in Arkansas read at or below a fifth-grade level. That is far below the skill level needed to earn a living wage, according to the Arkansas Literacy Council. Most will live in dire poverty, earning an average monthly income of $425. No wonder that for a few, crime eventually seems like a good career move.
“If people would ever stop to look at that, they would be amazed, and add another 5 to 6 percent who cannot read or speak English, that is a whole lot of people,” he said. He fears that if the economy worsens and jobs are cut, anyone with poor reading skills will be the first to be left out in the cold.
That may mean more folks will be knocking at the council’s door. The council’s 21 volunteer tutors are not nearly enough, Henderson says, already busy with 100 students.
To be a tutor, one must be a high school graduate, have an hour each week to give, and have a desire to help someone learn to read.
Leader staff writer
The Literacy Council of Lonoke County is in the business of crime prevention. But if you ask any of the volunteer tutors why they love their work, they more likely will talk about the joy that comes with teaching someone how to read, seeing a life transformed, and getting to be part of that.
Few individuals who can’t read become criminals, but if a community is looking for ways to reduce crime, improving the literacy rate is a good proactive measure. If one can’t read, speak or write English proficiently, one is more likely to lead a life of poverty, poor health and desperation – or even crime. Most individuals who do jail time – 7 out of 10 – have poor reading skills or were high school dropouts.
Most folks who can’t read simply struggle along for years hiding the problem as best they can, sometimes quite well, from employers, friends, and family. Most are employed though living below the poverty line. Most put off getting help with reading until their forties.
The Literacy Council takes all comers, regardless of age, disability, or proficiency in speaking English. The service and study materials are free. All that is required is a desire to learn. In a year of tutored studying, a per son who does not have a learning disability can progress from not even knowing the alphabet to a sixth-grade reading level. It may take a year or more of additional study to become a good enough reader to pass a written driver’s test, fill out a job application, and hold down a decent job.
Since opening its doors in 1986, the Literacy Council has helped students of all ages, walks of life, educational attainment, and nationalities. They have ranged in age from teens to eighties. Some are graduates of local high schools, others dropped out when still children.
One man who sought tutoring in his fifties had never been to school a day in his life, didn’t even know the ABCs, having worked the fields from childhood. After two months of hard studying, the joyous day came that he could write his name.
“He broke down and cried,” Roy Henderson, the council’s director, recounted in a recent interview.
One lady came to the council at age 85, at the encouragement of her children. She’d been consigned to a life of illiteracy when her father removed her from school at age 10 and married her off to an uncle to be his house servant and bear his children.
She managed to earn a seventh-grade diploma before Alzheimer’s closed in on her.
Some students are single moms on welfare, wanting to get the skills to make them employable. Others with limited reading skills do work but want a better job and higher wages. One fellow working at the Remington plant managed to conceal his reading deficit long enough to improve his skills and land a promotion.
The council’s tutors have assisted many immigrants including employees of local Chinese and Vietnamese eateries and a Russian lawyer who needed to read English well enough to take the bar exam. He now practices law in Arkansas. Hispanic workers at the Lonoke fisheries and Cabot orchards, as well as in construction and farming, are some of the most motivated students the council gets.
Generally literate in Spanish, they are quick learners. Sometimes an entire family comes for lessons. As Henderson puts it, immigrants understand, perhaps more clearly than do the native-born, “If you can’t read and speak English, then you can’t get by in the good ol’ U.S.A.”
Last year, one of the council’s star students, Randy Moore, became a high-profile example of how illiteracy can lead to horrifically bad choices and how learning to read is a redemptive act.
The Arkansas Bar Association honored Moore as the state’s literacy student of 2008. The tragedy is that Moore didn’t enroll in the reading program until after he was sentenced to 40 years in prison for robbing a bank.
Moore was graduated from an Arkansas public high school, having been promoted year after year, unable to read, because of his athletic talents. He finished school with diploma in hand, but was incapable of filling out a job application.
A few years later, unemployed, married and with a baby on the way, he wrongly concluded that crime and quick cash were the easy answer. He hopes to be paroled next year.
Henderson wishes more folks would see the direct connection between social problems like poverty, crime and broken homes and the ability to read.
More than 20 percent of adults in Arkansas read at or below a fifth-grade level. That is far below the skill level needed to earn a living wage, according to the Arkansas Literacy Council. Most will live in dire poverty, earning an average monthly income of $425. No wonder that for a few, crime eventually seems like a good career move.
“If people would ever stop to look at that, they would be amazed, and add another 5 to 6 percent who cannot read or speak English, that is a whole lot of people,” he said. He fears that if the economy worsens and jobs are cut, anyone with poor reading skills will be the first to be left out in the cold.
That may mean more folks will be knocking at the council’s door. The council’s 21 volunteer tutors are not nearly enough, Henderson says, already busy with 100 students.
To be a tutor, one must be a high school graduate, have an hour each week to give, and have a desire to help someone learn to read.
TOP STORY > >Many residents heading to D.C. for inaugural
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
Among 10,000 high school students making the trip to Washington for Barack Obama’s inauguration, 22 VIP tickets were awarded and Jacksonville High School got 14 of those, according to advance placement government teacher Lori Lachowsky.
She credits Cong. Vic Snyder and the Arkansas delegation with getting those tickets, which will allow 11 students, Lachowsky and two parents or chaperones close enough to see the activities.
Also headed out for the festivities is Pulaski County Clerk Pat O’Brien of Jacksonville. O’Brien was the first elected official in central Arkansas to openly support Obama’s campaign, and he was an Obama delegate at the Democratic National Convention.
Cody Castile, 18, said, “I had a little part in what I’m about to see.”
He barely made the voting age cutoff and voted for Obama. “I’m going to witness what’s going down in the history books
forever,” he added.
Brianna Bush, another student, credits Lachowsky with starting to work toward going to the inauguration at the end of the last school year.
“She was very consistent, emailing and talking to the right people,” Bush said.
Marie Dahlke says she’s excited about getting in the VIP section “with all the elites and seeing (famous) people in person. That never happens to kids in Arkansas.”
“This is a once in a lifetime event,” said Sydney York, who claims decorated World War I hero Sgt. Alvin York as her great, great, great uncle. She said her excitement is getting “worse and worse.”
O’Brien will stay mostly with an aunt in Annapolis, Md., but will stay in a hotel on Monday night after attending the Arkansas Ball and the Southern Regional Ball.
He expects to witness the inauguration the next day as “one of the closest 240,000 people, depending on how quickly I get there.”
He said he wouldn’t be close enough “to give Obama a shout out.”
Leader senior staff writer
Among 10,000 high school students making the trip to Washington for Barack Obama’s inauguration, 22 VIP tickets were awarded and Jacksonville High School got 14 of those, according to advance placement government teacher Lori Lachowsky.
She credits Cong. Vic Snyder and the Arkansas delegation with getting those tickets, which will allow 11 students, Lachowsky and two parents or chaperones close enough to see the activities.
Also headed out for the festivities is Pulaski County Clerk Pat O’Brien of Jacksonville. O’Brien was the first elected official in central Arkansas to openly support Obama’s campaign, and he was an Obama delegate at the Democratic National Convention.
Cody Castile, 18, said, “I had a little part in what I’m about to see.”
He barely made the voting age cutoff and voted for Obama. “I’m going to witness what’s going down in the history books
forever,” he added.
Brianna Bush, another student, credits Lachowsky with starting to work toward going to the inauguration at the end of the last school year.
“She was very consistent, emailing and talking to the right people,” Bush said.
Marie Dahlke says she’s excited about getting in the VIP section “with all the elites and seeing (famous) people in person. That never happens to kids in Arkansas.”
“This is a once in a lifetime event,” said Sydney York, who claims decorated World War I hero Sgt. Alvin York as her great, great, great uncle. She said her excitement is getting “worse and worse.”
O’Brien will stay mostly with an aunt in Annapolis, Md., but will stay in a hotel on Monday night after attending the Arkansas Ball and the Southern Regional Ball.
He expects to witness the inauguration the next day as “one of the closest 240,000 people, depending on how quickly I get there.”
He said he wouldn’t be close enough “to give Obama a shout out.”
TOP STORY > >Sherwood fire board adds candidate
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
It wasn’t the fact that the Sherwood Fire Board took about two hours to interview three applicants for the full-time Sherwood fire chief position that angered a number of the department’s firefighters.
It was the 20 minutes the board spent interviewing a fourth candidate who was not on the agenda that had upset the group and caused one firefighter to demand that the board go ahead and interview the current head of the department, Chief Frank Hill, and the other three candidates the board had passed on at its previous meeting.
With the board committing at least a procedural mistake, if not a legal violation by bringing in a fourth candidate, Alderman Butch Davis was seeking help from the county judge to have a cooling-off period as allegations arose that the fire department may have misappropriated more than $3,600 in salaries.
After interviewing David Teague, a battalion chief from Memphis; Phillip Flynn, a former North Little Rock firefighter and a full-time lieutenant with the Sherwood Fire Department, and Andy Traffanstedt, the Gravel Ridge fire chief and a part-time captain with the Sherwood department — another applicant, Alan Ford, was called into the board’s executive session.
Ford is a former board member and currently a captain with the Little Rock Fire Department.
Soon after Ford’s interview, the board reconvened in public and with no fanfare said they would meet again at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday at the fire station to discuss the 2009 budget and any decision they will make regarding to hiring a full-time chief.
The board then adjoined.
Firefighters and others tried to get an explanation as to why the board interviewed someone who was not on the list of final candidates.
Commissioner Mike Anderson said, “Ford was not on the list, not on the agenda, and I feel it was wrong to have brought him in.”
So why was Ford called in? Anderson said it was at the request of the board chairman Michael Dupslaff.
Commissioner Tom Brooks said, “It was a courtesy to the chairman that we talked to Ford. Once he came in we could just tell him to leave,” Brooks explained.
Dupslaff did not give the disgruntled firefighters any reason for why Ford was called in, only saying that the public would have input at Tuesday’s meeting when the chief’s position comes up again on the agenda.
When asked then if Hill and the other applicants would get an interview since Ford did, Brooks said no.
At the board’s previous meeting, Mayor Virginia Hillman tried to get the board to consider a letter she introduced calling for the board to stop its efforts to convert the department from a part-time chief to a full-time chief until Sherwood officials and residents could give input.
The board refused to take up the suggestion because it was not on the agenda, yet allowed a candidate not on the agenda Thursday night to be interviewed.
Also earlier in the week Alderman Butch Davis tried to talk to County Judge Villines, who appoints the fire board commissioners, to ask him to have the board halt the search for 30 to 60 days to allow everyone to calm down. But Villines was out of town. “This whole thing is just snowballing out of control,” Davis said.
He was also concerned about who the board is supposed to represent. “If it’s the people of Sherwood, they aren’t listening,” Davis said.
Then there are the allegations of improper salary payments that are coming to the board’s attention. In approving its 2008 budget early last year, the board authorized hourly salary payments of $9.20, $10.20 and $11.20 to firefighters based on experience, rank and position.
But a number of firefighters received an hourly wage of $12.20 an hour, a dollar more than the board supposedly approved.
These extra payments total $3,625 which could make it a felony if an investigation shows criminal wrongdoing. At this point, the board has not asked for an investigation.
The fire department, which encompasses all of Sherwood, is not a municipal fire department but a fire-protection district department under the control of the county judge and the five-member board. The board members are appointed by the judge without any city input.
The board received eight resumes for the full-time position, including one from the current fire chief.
In a meeting earlier this month, the board narrowed down the field of applicants to Traffanstedt, Flynn and Teague.
According to his resume, Traffanstedt has been involved in fire service since 1982 and has worked with the Little Rock, Sherwood and Gravel Ridge fire departments. The Gravel Ridge Fire Department, like the Sherwood department, is under the control of the county.
Traffanstedt has been the Gravel Ridge fire chief since 1993 and is also the chief of the Pulaski County Hazardous Materials Response Team. He has a Firefighters III certification, as well as state and national certification as a paramedic.
In his application, Traffanstedt has asked for a guaranteed five-year contact, a take home department vehicle and to be allowed to appoint his own command staff.
Flynn is a long-time resident of Sherwood and has 28 years of public safety service, according to his resume. He also has a Firefighters III certification, and is also a certified fire arson investigator and Arkansas law enforcement officer.
Flynn has worked as the public- safety officer at Camp Robinson and spent 23 years with the North Little Rock Fire Department, reaching the rank of captain.
He has asked the board for a minimum of a two-year contract.
Teague says his background and education in emergency services has prepared him to lead the Sherwood department. As a battalion chief in Memphis, he is in a mid-level management position in a department that includes 1,700 people and 59 stations.
According to his resume, Teague has served as the director of emergency medical services for Cleburne Memorial Hospital in Heber Springs and spent 23 years with the Southbend Volunteer Fire Department in Lonoke County. He also owns and operates Klad Co., a consulting and inspection firm for large roofing systems, and David Teague Roofing Co. Both are in Jacksonville.
Teague has a bachelor’s degree in fire administration from the University of Memphis and has attended various courses at the National Fire Academy in Maryland.
Leader staff writer
It wasn’t the fact that the Sherwood Fire Board took about two hours to interview three applicants for the full-time Sherwood fire chief position that angered a number of the department’s firefighters.
It was the 20 minutes the board spent interviewing a fourth candidate who was not on the agenda that had upset the group and caused one firefighter to demand that the board go ahead and interview the current head of the department, Chief Frank Hill, and the other three candidates the board had passed on at its previous meeting.
With the board committing at least a procedural mistake, if not a legal violation by bringing in a fourth candidate, Alderman Butch Davis was seeking help from the county judge to have a cooling-off period as allegations arose that the fire department may have misappropriated more than $3,600 in salaries.
After interviewing David Teague, a battalion chief from Memphis; Phillip Flynn, a former North Little Rock firefighter and a full-time lieutenant with the Sherwood Fire Department, and Andy Traffanstedt, the Gravel Ridge fire chief and a part-time captain with the Sherwood department — another applicant, Alan Ford, was called into the board’s executive session.
Ford is a former board member and currently a captain with the Little Rock Fire Department.
Soon after Ford’s interview, the board reconvened in public and with no fanfare said they would meet again at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday at the fire station to discuss the 2009 budget and any decision they will make regarding to hiring a full-time chief.
The board then adjoined.
Firefighters and others tried to get an explanation as to why the board interviewed someone who was not on the list of final candidates.
Commissioner Mike Anderson said, “Ford was not on the list, not on the agenda, and I feel it was wrong to have brought him in.”
So why was Ford called in? Anderson said it was at the request of the board chairman Michael Dupslaff.
Commissioner Tom Brooks said, “It was a courtesy to the chairman that we talked to Ford. Once he came in we could just tell him to leave,” Brooks explained.
Dupslaff did not give the disgruntled firefighters any reason for why Ford was called in, only saying that the public would have input at Tuesday’s meeting when the chief’s position comes up again on the agenda.
When asked then if Hill and the other applicants would get an interview since Ford did, Brooks said no.
At the board’s previous meeting, Mayor Virginia Hillman tried to get the board to consider a letter she introduced calling for the board to stop its efforts to convert the department from a part-time chief to a full-time chief until Sherwood officials and residents could give input.
The board refused to take up the suggestion because it was not on the agenda, yet allowed a candidate not on the agenda Thursday night to be interviewed.
Also earlier in the week Alderman Butch Davis tried to talk to County Judge Villines, who appoints the fire board commissioners, to ask him to have the board halt the search for 30 to 60 days to allow everyone to calm down. But Villines was out of town. “This whole thing is just snowballing out of control,” Davis said.
He was also concerned about who the board is supposed to represent. “If it’s the people of Sherwood, they aren’t listening,” Davis said.
Then there are the allegations of improper salary payments that are coming to the board’s attention. In approving its 2008 budget early last year, the board authorized hourly salary payments of $9.20, $10.20 and $11.20 to firefighters based on experience, rank and position.
But a number of firefighters received an hourly wage of $12.20 an hour, a dollar more than the board supposedly approved.
These extra payments total $3,625 which could make it a felony if an investigation shows criminal wrongdoing. At this point, the board has not asked for an investigation.
The fire department, which encompasses all of Sherwood, is not a municipal fire department but a fire-protection district department under the control of the county judge and the five-member board. The board members are appointed by the judge without any city input.
The board received eight resumes for the full-time position, including one from the current fire chief.
In a meeting earlier this month, the board narrowed down the field of applicants to Traffanstedt, Flynn and Teague.
According to his resume, Traffanstedt has been involved in fire service since 1982 and has worked with the Little Rock, Sherwood and Gravel Ridge fire departments. The Gravel Ridge Fire Department, like the Sherwood department, is under the control of the county.
Traffanstedt has been the Gravel Ridge fire chief since 1993 and is also the chief of the Pulaski County Hazardous Materials Response Team. He has a Firefighters III certification, as well as state and national certification as a paramedic.
In his application, Traffanstedt has asked for a guaranteed five-year contact, a take home department vehicle and to be allowed to appoint his own command staff.
Flynn is a long-time resident of Sherwood and has 28 years of public safety service, according to his resume. He also has a Firefighters III certification, and is also a certified fire arson investigator and Arkansas law enforcement officer.
Flynn has worked as the public- safety officer at Camp Robinson and spent 23 years with the North Little Rock Fire Department, reaching the rank of captain.
He has asked the board for a minimum of a two-year contract.
Teague says his background and education in emergency services has prepared him to lead the Sherwood department. As a battalion chief in Memphis, he is in a mid-level management position in a department that includes 1,700 people and 59 stations.
According to his resume, Teague has served as the director of emergency medical services for Cleburne Memorial Hospital in Heber Springs and spent 23 years with the Southbend Volunteer Fire Department in Lonoke County. He also owns and operates Klad Co., a consulting and inspection firm for large roofing systems, and David Teague Roofing Co. Both are in Jacksonville.
Teague has a bachelor’s degree in fire administration from the University of Memphis and has attended various courses at the National Fire Academy in Maryland.
TOP STORY > >When your Stockbroker ignores you
By GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader editor-in-chief
In some cultures, people who have betrayed others are so ashamed that in extreme cases they will end their lives for doing you wrong.
A French stockbroker who was involved with the notorious Bernard Madoff slit his own wrists in his office. A German financier who made bad bets on the stock market jumped in front of a moving train.
B. Ramalinga Raju, chairman of Satyam, an Indian outsourcing firm, after admitting to cooking the company’s books, resigned and is ready to face the consequences.
He said the fraud had grown to “unmanageable proportions.”
In India, like in other societies, you can’t lie and say you did nothing wrong, like those charlatans at Enron and WorldCom and on Wall Street.
“I am now prepared to subject myself to the laws of the land and face the consequences thereof,” Raju said, describing how he added $1 billion in fake assets to his company’s books.
“It was like riding a tiger, not knowing when to get off without being eaten,” said Raju before he was led off to prison.
While in other societies wrongdoers will apologize before they fall on their sword, here it’s business as usual. It’s partying as if we’re still in the 1990s.
But it’s too bad if your stockbroker has made himself unavailable because he won’t discuss the beating you took in the financial markets.
Most Americans have participated in the stock market, even if only through their 401Ks, and now they can’t even find their broker, who’s probably gone on a permanent vacation or faked his own death.
They could have warned their clients back in the summer that things would get worse and they should have put their money under the mattress, but no such advice was offered.
Americans hate to apologize when they do something bad. President Bush can’t think of any mistakes he may have committed while in office, other than maybe putting up that “Mission Accomplished” banner on that aircraft carrier a little prematurely.
We might apologize for ancient wrongs, like slavery, but nothing that we might have done ourselves. In Europe, stockbrokers who have let their clients down have committed suicide, and in Japan, they still commit Hara-kiri if they’ve done wrong. They still have a sense of honor there. Over here, it’s more bailout money for the thieves.
The devastation is almost unbelievable: The stock market has declined about 40 percent, wiping out about $7 trillion in assets.
The U.S. government now has stock in more than 200 banks while the fat cats still draw bonuses.
The so-called experts knew very little, except how to steal. Perhaps the Obama administration will make it a top order of business to pursue these criminals at least until the economy rebounds, which could be a very long time.
Leader editor-in-chief
In some cultures, people who have betrayed others are so ashamed that in extreme cases they will end their lives for doing you wrong.
A French stockbroker who was involved with the notorious Bernard Madoff slit his own wrists in his office. A German financier who made bad bets on the stock market jumped in front of a moving train.
B. Ramalinga Raju, chairman of Satyam, an Indian outsourcing firm, after admitting to cooking the company’s books, resigned and is ready to face the consequences.
He said the fraud had grown to “unmanageable proportions.”
In India, like in other societies, you can’t lie and say you did nothing wrong, like those charlatans at Enron and WorldCom and on Wall Street.
“I am now prepared to subject myself to the laws of the land and face the consequences thereof,” Raju said, describing how he added $1 billion in fake assets to his company’s books.
“It was like riding a tiger, not knowing when to get off without being eaten,” said Raju before he was led off to prison.
While in other societies wrongdoers will apologize before they fall on their sword, here it’s business as usual. It’s partying as if we’re still in the 1990s.
But it’s too bad if your stockbroker has made himself unavailable because he won’t discuss the beating you took in the financial markets.
Most Americans have participated in the stock market, even if only through their 401Ks, and now they can’t even find their broker, who’s probably gone on a permanent vacation or faked his own death.
They could have warned their clients back in the summer that things would get worse and they should have put their money under the mattress, but no such advice was offered.
Americans hate to apologize when they do something bad. President Bush can’t think of any mistakes he may have committed while in office, other than maybe putting up that “Mission Accomplished” banner on that aircraft carrier a little prematurely.
We might apologize for ancient wrongs, like slavery, but nothing that we might have done ourselves. In Europe, stockbrokers who have let their clients down have committed suicide, and in Japan, they still commit Hara-kiri if they’ve done wrong. They still have a sense of honor there. Over here, it’s more bailout money for the thieves.
The devastation is almost unbelievable: The stock market has declined about 40 percent, wiping out about $7 trillion in assets.
The U.S. government now has stock in more than 200 banks while the fat cats still draw bonuses.
The so-called experts knew very little, except how to steal. Perhaps the Obama administration will make it a top order of business to pursue these criminals at least until the economy rebounds, which could be a very long time.
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