By ERIC FRANCIS
Special to The Leader
A jury was seated and an array of experts took the stand in Little Rock on Tuesday in the double-murder trial of Daud Amir Jones of Jacksonville, charged with the shooting death of his girlfriend Meloney Graham, who was 17 weeks pregnant.
But the most powerful testimony will likely take place today as members of her family take the stand – in at least one case to testify to Jones’ good character.
Jones, facing two counts of first-degree murder, spent the day quietly between two deputy public defenders. He was dressed in a black suit, dark red shirt and black tie, while chief Pulaski County Public Defender Bill Simpson handled his defense.
Deputy prosecuting attorneys Kelly Ward and Will Jones, called on Jacksonville police officers and Arkansas Crime Lab experts to make their case.
By the time the jury was seated, the directions each team of lawyers intended to take was clear. Prosecutor Jones kept asserting to the jury pool, “Actions speak louder than words.” Simpson continually asked them, “Can you hold the state to its high burden of truth?”
Daud Jones allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend at their home on Pike Avenue during an argument over whether he was cheating on her. In a recorded statement to police, Jones claimed it was an accident – that Graham had taken his gun out of a closet during the argument, he took it away from her and then dropped it, whereupon it fired and the bullet struck her in the back of the head.
Prosecutors tried to debunk that version of events by calling upon a firearms expert from the crime lab, Steve Hargis, who handled the inspection of the .380 semi-automatic pistol used in the shooting. Hargis testified that he struck the gun with a rubber mallet in several places to simulate a drop to the floor.
“It never fired when struck,” Hargis said.
In cross-examination, Simpson asked why Hargis had not actually dropped the gun during the tests; to avoid damaging it, Hargis replied.
Simpson asked Hargis if there was a chance that the gun could go off if dropped, to which Hargis replied yes, but “that would be a very slim chance.”
Dr. Frank Peretti, who performed the autopsy, testified that the wound made by the bullet was “a nice, round hole,” which he said indicated straight-on entry.
Challenged by Simpson as to whether such a wound could be from a bullet fired by a dropped gun, Peretti was adamant: “If the gun was dropped, the entry wound would be different,” he said, because it was likely the angle of entry would not be straight.
But he also acknowledged that he could not predict the path of the bullet or position of Graham’s body at the time of the shooting.
At deadline, the court was still listening to the audio recording of the statement Jones made to Jacksonville police hours after the murder.
The jury consists of seven women (three black, four white) and five men (three black, two white). Testimony was expected to end today.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
TOP STORY >> Lonoke judges want two full-time bailiffs for security
By NANCY DOCKTER
Leader staff writer
The Lonoke County Court last week decided to hold off on a request for more than $46,000 needed to fully fund two full-time bailiff positions for the Lonoke County Circuit Court.
The positions would be for Judge Phillip Whiteaker’s and Judge Barbara Elmore’s courtrooms.
Whiteaker made the appeal to the court on behalf of Sheriff Jim Roberson, who is out on medical leave. Whiteaker pitched the idea as a way not only to beef up courtroom security, but as a boon for the sheriff’s department. The bailiffs, when not needed in court, would be available to transport prisoners, serve warrants, and perform other administrative tasks.
The funding request was in response to Act 576 of 2007, which requires the Administrative Office of the Courts of Arkansas to assist district and circuit courts in efforts to improve court-facility security and emergency preparedness.
Assistance would come in the form of training and certification of bailiffs, as well as grants to help cover administrative costs of developing a comprehensive security plan, as well as pay for facility modifications, security equipment or other improvements.
Concerns about violent incidents in courtrooms in Arkansas and around the nation sparked the formation of the policy to direct courts on security issues. This encompasses not only bailiff training and certification, but also mail handling, building access, bomb threats, evacuation planning, and after-hours security.
Whiteaker said it has taken until now for the state to “to get its ducks in a row,” as policy makers developed the criteria for bailiff certification, but that the time had come to get in compliance. Full-time bailiffs – now called court security officers according to the law – need to replace the existing part-time officers, he said.
Rather than approve the proposed ordinance, the quorum court instead voted unanimously to refer the matter to its personnel committee that would come back to the full court in March with recommendations.
As it turns out, the 2007 law does not require full-time bailiffs nor does it mandate the courts to do anything.
On Monday, after she had had a chance to read Act 576, quorum court personnel committee chair Janette Minton, said, “It turns out we are not out of compliance, and we don’t have a deadline. We were told this was an emergency, and it is not an emergency.”
Pete Hollingsworth, director of security and emergency preparedness for the Administra-tive Office of the Courts, explained that although the law is not a mandate for the courts to do anything, the sooner they respond to Act 576, the more likely they’ll get a share of state grant monies to cover costs of stepped-up security.
The state has already allocated $500,000, and there may be more, Hollingsworth said.
“As grant money becomes available, courts that don’t follow guidelines won’t be able to get any of it,” he said.
TOO MANY STRAY DOGS
The court voted to form a committee to explore ways to affordably reduce the number of stray dogs that roam rural Lonoke County.
Justice of the Peace Adam Sims, who sponsored the ordinance, thinks that the number of dogs on the loose will increase as the result of the new animal-cruelty law, which makes it a felony in Arkansas to kill a dog unless it is a threat to livestock or poultry.
“They will make an example of somebody, sometime,” Sims predicted.
Lonoke County resident Rose Klein said over the past five years she has taken in a number of strays, tried to place them in homes, or had them euthanized, but the financial burden has become too much to bear. She now gets calls from folks hoping she will take a stray off their hands.
“I have been inundated with stray animals; I am asking for help, a solution,” Klein told the court. “I want the county to find a solution. There are a lot of people who are very frustrated by these dogs dumped and wandering around and there are no spay and neuter programs.”
STORM READY
Meteorologist John Robinson of the National Weather Service presented a plaque declaring Lonoke County a Storm Ready county. The designation is issued by a national program that encourages communities to take a proactive approach to hazardous-weather preparedness.
Eleven other counties and four cities in the state have earned the Storm Ready recognition.
To become eligible for the designation, a community must have in place a severe-weather preparedness plan, a 24-hour warning and emergency operations center, multiple communications channels and ways to alert the public about severe weather, weather monitoring capabilities, and public education about weather safety.
Lonoke County deputy emergency manager Kathy Zasimovich was credited with doing the bulk of the work, beginning two years ago, toward the Storm Ready award. She helped obtain a grant that has gone toward disseminating weather radios to many locations, including schools, nursing homes, churches and day care centers.
Since 1950, there have been 62 tornadoes in Lonoke County, making it third in Arkansas for tornado prevalence. The county ranks fourth in the state for tornado fatalities.
Robinson said that lack of awareness about an approaching storm contributes to fatalities.
Of the 21 tornado fatalities in Arkansas in 2008, six of the people who died were killed while on the phone rather than in a sheltered location.
“Too many people are oblivious to the warnings,” he said.
DRUG DOG TO BE PURCHASED
The court voted 10-2 in favor of the sheriff’s department purchasing a drug dog to assist with drug bust investigations. A transfer of $7,500 from the Sheriff’s Special Crimes Unit fund will cover the cost of the dog – expected to be $1,500 to $2,000 as well as training and other expenses.
Chief Deputy Dean White told the court, “In essence, a K-9 is another officer, and we could use the nose.”
At present, when the sheriff’s department needs to call in a drug dog, “98 percent of the time one is not available,” White said.
Cabot has a drug dog, and England is looking into getting one. Often, the sheriff turns to Tucker Prison to bring in a dog, and that can take up to two hours.
The dog likely would more than pay for itself. In the past when the county did own a drug dog, seizures of drugs, drug money and other items had a total value of $2.3 million, White said.
Leader staff writer
The Lonoke County Court last week decided to hold off on a request for more than $46,000 needed to fully fund two full-time bailiff positions for the Lonoke County Circuit Court.
The positions would be for Judge Phillip Whiteaker’s and Judge Barbara Elmore’s courtrooms.
Whiteaker made the appeal to the court on behalf of Sheriff Jim Roberson, who is out on medical leave. Whiteaker pitched the idea as a way not only to beef up courtroom security, but as a boon for the sheriff’s department. The bailiffs, when not needed in court, would be available to transport prisoners, serve warrants, and perform other administrative tasks.
The funding request was in response to Act 576 of 2007, which requires the Administrative Office of the Courts of Arkansas to assist district and circuit courts in efforts to improve court-facility security and emergency preparedness.
Assistance would come in the form of training and certification of bailiffs, as well as grants to help cover administrative costs of developing a comprehensive security plan, as well as pay for facility modifications, security equipment or other improvements.
Concerns about violent incidents in courtrooms in Arkansas and around the nation sparked the formation of the policy to direct courts on security issues. This encompasses not only bailiff training and certification, but also mail handling, building access, bomb threats, evacuation planning, and after-hours security.
Whiteaker said it has taken until now for the state to “to get its ducks in a row,” as policy makers developed the criteria for bailiff certification, but that the time had come to get in compliance. Full-time bailiffs – now called court security officers according to the law – need to replace the existing part-time officers, he said.
Rather than approve the proposed ordinance, the quorum court instead voted unanimously to refer the matter to its personnel committee that would come back to the full court in March with recommendations.
As it turns out, the 2007 law does not require full-time bailiffs nor does it mandate the courts to do anything.
On Monday, after she had had a chance to read Act 576, quorum court personnel committee chair Janette Minton, said, “It turns out we are not out of compliance, and we don’t have a deadline. We were told this was an emergency, and it is not an emergency.”
Pete Hollingsworth, director of security and emergency preparedness for the Administra-tive Office of the Courts, explained that although the law is not a mandate for the courts to do anything, the sooner they respond to Act 576, the more likely they’ll get a share of state grant monies to cover costs of stepped-up security.
The state has already allocated $500,000, and there may be more, Hollingsworth said.
“As grant money becomes available, courts that don’t follow guidelines won’t be able to get any of it,” he said.
TOO MANY STRAY DOGS
The court voted to form a committee to explore ways to affordably reduce the number of stray dogs that roam rural Lonoke County.
Justice of the Peace Adam Sims, who sponsored the ordinance, thinks that the number of dogs on the loose will increase as the result of the new animal-cruelty law, which makes it a felony in Arkansas to kill a dog unless it is a threat to livestock or poultry.
“They will make an example of somebody, sometime,” Sims predicted.
Lonoke County resident Rose Klein said over the past five years she has taken in a number of strays, tried to place them in homes, or had them euthanized, but the financial burden has become too much to bear. She now gets calls from folks hoping she will take a stray off their hands.
“I have been inundated with stray animals; I am asking for help, a solution,” Klein told the court. “I want the county to find a solution. There are a lot of people who are very frustrated by these dogs dumped and wandering around and there are no spay and neuter programs.”
STORM READY
Meteorologist John Robinson of the National Weather Service presented a plaque declaring Lonoke County a Storm Ready county. The designation is issued by a national program that encourages communities to take a proactive approach to hazardous-weather preparedness.
Eleven other counties and four cities in the state have earned the Storm Ready recognition.
To become eligible for the designation, a community must have in place a severe-weather preparedness plan, a 24-hour warning and emergency operations center, multiple communications channels and ways to alert the public about severe weather, weather monitoring capabilities, and public education about weather safety.
Lonoke County deputy emergency manager Kathy Zasimovich was credited with doing the bulk of the work, beginning two years ago, toward the Storm Ready award. She helped obtain a grant that has gone toward disseminating weather radios to many locations, including schools, nursing homes, churches and day care centers.
Since 1950, there have been 62 tornadoes in Lonoke County, making it third in Arkansas for tornado prevalence. The county ranks fourth in the state for tornado fatalities.
Robinson said that lack of awareness about an approaching storm contributes to fatalities.
Of the 21 tornado fatalities in Arkansas in 2008, six of the people who died were killed while on the phone rather than in a sheltered location.
“Too many people are oblivious to the warnings,” he said.
DRUG DOG TO BE PURCHASED
The court voted 10-2 in favor of the sheriff’s department purchasing a drug dog to assist with drug bust investigations. A transfer of $7,500 from the Sheriff’s Special Crimes Unit fund will cover the cost of the dog – expected to be $1,500 to $2,000 as well as training and other expenses.
Chief Deputy Dean White told the court, “In essence, a K-9 is another officer, and we could use the nose.”
At present, when the sheriff’s department needs to call in a drug dog, “98 percent of the time one is not available,” White said.
Cabot has a drug dog, and England is looking into getting one. Often, the sheriff turns to Tucker Prison to bring in a dog, and that can take up to two hours.
The dog likely would more than pay for itself. In the past when the county did own a drug dog, seizures of drugs, drug money and other items had a total value of $2.3 million, White said.
TOP STORY >> Cabot rebuilds junior high
By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
Cabot School Board members had a sneak peak last week at the progress being made in the re-building of Cabot Junior High North which is set to open this fall.
James Dalton, assistant superintendent, led board members Jim Coy, Dean Martin, David Hipps and Wendel Msall on a tour of the construction site. The junior high school burned down in 2006.
“I think it was one of the best- planned schools I’ve ever seen. I’m totally blown away and proud of it,” Msall said about the new building.
He said the $12.5 million junior high was about 70 percent completed. He was pleased with the management of all the contractors, especially in light of the project’s complexity.
“I’m very impressed with the progress,” Coy said.
Martin said he is pleased with the size of the junior high given that students will have more room. He said the new building has 33,000 square feet more than the old building and meets all new standards for schools.
The previous junior high was 101,000 square feet; the new one has increased to 134,000 square feet. He noted that the media center will have two separate media labs to help keep up with the demands of new technologies.
In line with new building standards, the cafeteria was built to feed 600 students, half of the student body, at one time. The walk-in coolers and freezers still need to be installed.
March plans to be a busy month for construction crews. During the first week, elevators will be installed, which schools with two or more stories are required to have. Also, crews will start laying floor covering in the building and carpeting in the media center early next month.
According to Dalton, several truckloads of mill work are scheduled to arrive in March. The deliveries will include cabinetry and wood trim for the classrooms.
Around the school, parts of the drop-ceiling panels are in place.
Tile work has begun in the bathrooms. Walls are covered with a primer coat of paint and are waiting for finishing coats to be applied.
When the state-of-the-art construction nears completion, a glass front retaining wall will be installed from the ground at the main staircase to the ceiling to prevent falls.
Leader staff writer
Cabot School Board members had a sneak peak last week at the progress being made in the re-building of Cabot Junior High North which is set to open this fall.
James Dalton, assistant superintendent, led board members Jim Coy, Dean Martin, David Hipps and Wendel Msall on a tour of the construction site. The junior high school burned down in 2006.
“I think it was one of the best- planned schools I’ve ever seen. I’m totally blown away and proud of it,” Msall said about the new building.
He said the $12.5 million junior high was about 70 percent completed. He was pleased with the management of all the contractors, especially in light of the project’s complexity.
“I’m very impressed with the progress,” Coy said.
Martin said he is pleased with the size of the junior high given that students will have more room. He said the new building has 33,000 square feet more than the old building and meets all new standards for schools.
The previous junior high was 101,000 square feet; the new one has increased to 134,000 square feet. He noted that the media center will have two separate media labs to help keep up with the demands of new technologies.
In line with new building standards, the cafeteria was built to feed 600 students, half of the student body, at one time. The walk-in coolers and freezers still need to be installed.
March plans to be a busy month for construction crews. During the first week, elevators will be installed, which schools with two or more stories are required to have. Also, crews will start laying floor covering in the building and carpeting in the media center early next month.
According to Dalton, several truckloads of mill work are scheduled to arrive in March. The deliveries will include cabinetry and wood trim for the classrooms.
Around the school, parts of the drop-ceiling panels are in place.
Tile work has begun in the bathrooms. Walls are covered with a primer coat of paint and are waiting for finishing coats to be applied.
When the state-of-the-art construction nears completion, a glass front retaining wall will be installed from the ground at the main staircase to the ceiling to prevent falls.
EDITORIAL >> Arkansas is getting help
Arkansas’ good fortune in dodging the worst of the global economic collapse will not be its perverse undoing. President Obama assured Governor Beebe on Monday that Arkansas would not be penalized in the distribution of billions in emergency school aid because the state has held the public schools harmless from economic travails since 2003.
Unlike California and most other states, Arkansas has not reduced school funding in the long recession. The Arkansas Supreme Court said in 2002 that the state Constitution forbade it, and the legislature changed its fiscal laws to insure that whatever else happened the schools would not be penalized when the economy turned south.
But Beebe worried that Arkansas might be penalized in the big economic stimulus program because it did not have the same financial woes that other states had. (Ours just happen to be longstanding, not recent.)
We had suggested after the election that the governor pursue federal stimulus funding for part of the $1 billion of capital needs in Arkansas schools, which were identified in a legislative study two years ago. Arkansas school facilities are among the worst in the nation. Although the state set aside a large sum to help the schools build, remodel, renovate, weatherize and modernize classrooms, not a lot has been done because schools have not been able to raise the money for their matching share. Why couldn’t federal stimulus funds provide that match?
President Obama told the governor Monday that they could be used for school and college buildings, though maybe not for entirely new facilities. No gymnasiums, tracks and stadiums, please. This new president is proving to be a wise and practical man.
The school spending, which will enable the state to modernize and re-equip schools to be energy efficient, will give children a better break and at the same time create work and jobs. Who could be against that?
Well, quite a few, including several Republican governors, our own congressman from northwest Arkansas, John Boozman, and — most shocking of all — our former governor and favorite-son presidential aspirant, Mike Huckabee.
Huckabee, who is counting on the country collapsing and the stimulus program failing, has joined Rush Limbaugh and his fellow Fox News commentator Sean Hannity in condemning the president’s effort to generate a burst of economic activity to halt the slide into depression. He opposes the federal handouts to the states, in the form of new infusions of money for the health care of the poor and for education.
This is the same Mike Huckabee who pushed for a huge expansion of government assistance for health insurance for children and adults while he was governor. No state beseeched Washington for more federal aid than Arkansas under Mike Huckabee. He got waivers from Washington to qualify for 75 percent federal assistance for children of families up to twice the federal poverty line and to qualify whole families for federal health aid under a Medicaid plan for businesses with low-wage employees. He boasted that these little socialist projects were his greatest achievements as governor. He also engaged in some clever maneuvering to qualify Arkansas for an extra helping of U. S. taxpayer aid for nursing homes.
The only difference is that he won’t be able to claim credit for these latest achievements, so they are not worth doing and are taking us down the road to a socialist state. Another difference is that no one is listening to him now.
Unlike California and most other states, Arkansas has not reduced school funding in the long recession. The Arkansas Supreme Court said in 2002 that the state Constitution forbade it, and the legislature changed its fiscal laws to insure that whatever else happened the schools would not be penalized when the economy turned south.
But Beebe worried that Arkansas might be penalized in the big economic stimulus program because it did not have the same financial woes that other states had. (Ours just happen to be longstanding, not recent.)
We had suggested after the election that the governor pursue federal stimulus funding for part of the $1 billion of capital needs in Arkansas schools, which were identified in a legislative study two years ago. Arkansas school facilities are among the worst in the nation. Although the state set aside a large sum to help the schools build, remodel, renovate, weatherize and modernize classrooms, not a lot has been done because schools have not been able to raise the money for their matching share. Why couldn’t federal stimulus funds provide that match?
President Obama told the governor Monday that they could be used for school and college buildings, though maybe not for entirely new facilities. No gymnasiums, tracks and stadiums, please. This new president is proving to be a wise and practical man.
The school spending, which will enable the state to modernize and re-equip schools to be energy efficient, will give children a better break and at the same time create work and jobs. Who could be against that?
Well, quite a few, including several Republican governors, our own congressman from northwest Arkansas, John Boozman, and — most shocking of all — our former governor and favorite-son presidential aspirant, Mike Huckabee.
Huckabee, who is counting on the country collapsing and the stimulus program failing, has joined Rush Limbaugh and his fellow Fox News commentator Sean Hannity in condemning the president’s effort to generate a burst of economic activity to halt the slide into depression. He opposes the federal handouts to the states, in the form of new infusions of money for the health care of the poor and for education.
This is the same Mike Huckabee who pushed for a huge expansion of government assistance for health insurance for children and adults while he was governor. No state beseeched Washington for more federal aid than Arkansas under Mike Huckabee. He got waivers from Washington to qualify for 75 percent federal assistance for children of families up to twice the federal poverty line and to qualify whole families for federal health aid under a Medicaid plan for businesses with low-wage employees. He boasted that these little socialist projects were his greatest achievements as governor. He also engaged in some clever maneuvering to qualify Arkansas for an extra helping of U. S. taxpayer aid for nursing homes.
The only difference is that he won’t be able to claim credit for these latest achievements, so they are not worth doing and are taking us down the road to a socialist state. Another difference is that no one is listening to him now.
TOP STORY >> Push is on to renovate North Hills golf course
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Even though the park study that Sherwood has paid for is about three months away from completion, the parks and recreation committee decided Monday that the 106-acre North Hills Country Club and defunct golf course need to be revamped into a working golf course.
The committee made the decision to renovate the property back into an 18-hole municipal golf course without holding any public hearings or debate on the issue.
The committee, according to Alder-man Ken Rankin, decided that the property would be an 18-hole golf course with work to begin immediately.
“Why are we having a park study done if we are not going to wait for it or look at it?” questioned Mayor Virginia Hillman.
The park study, which the mayor signed the letter of intent for on April 20, 2008 and the council approved on April 28, calls for spending about $90,000 for a complete survey, inventory, needs analysis and short- and long-range plans for the city’s parks, including those in the Gravel Ridge area.
The city bought the North Hills property, which it condemned, for about $5.5 million, and has already invested about $200,000 to renovate the clubhouse for rentals and meetings. The city also recently contracted Casco, a local contractor, to demolish and fill the concrete swimming pool.
Three feasibility studies performed while the city was attempting to purchase the property in 2007 and 2008 estimated that it would cost $1.3 million or more to bring the golf course back up to par.
Mizan Rahman with ETC Engineers, the company commissioned to do the park study, told the council that he could not make any recommendations at without further investigation and financial figures.
He said one of the biggest cost questions was whether or not the sprinkler-irrigation system worked.
Rahman said the golf course system is about 30 years old and the infrastructure may have run its life. “We won’t know until we investigate,” he said.
Sonny Janssen, director of the Sherwood Parks and Recreation Department, said the city may need to purchase or repair pumps and check the well in order to verify the condition of the golf course’s water system.
“We may turn it on and everything works or nothing may happen, but we don’t have any money budgeted in case we have repairs or replace something or to even see if its working,” Janssen said.
Aldermen Rankin and Charlie Harmon, who are both on the parks and recreation committee, wanted a resolution to spend the minimal amount to get the golf course opened, and then backed off and instead voted for a resolution to have the parks department check the sprinkler system. No money restrictions were placed on the resolution.
Harmon, who pushed hard for the golf course decision, with intermittent cheers from the audience, said, “The property is an expense item now. The only feasible use is for it to financially carry itself is by being an 18-hole golf course with 20,000 to 25,000 rounds of golf a year being played. That will cover the cost of the note.
“As good financial stewards, we have to make it an 18-hole golf course,” Harmon said.
He said the committee looked at two other possibilities: doing nothing with the property or turning it into a nine-hole golf course and using the remaining land for other recreational activities like a small water park.
“We just have to plug the greens, fill in some sand traps, get the irrigation running and do some work on the cart paths,” Harmon said, adding, “It needs to be started already.”
Rahman said as part of the master park study, his company was also looking at the cost of the other renovation possibilities. “But at this point I have difficulty recommending anything without investigating what needs to be done and the financial cost,” he said.
“Can’t we at least get a driving range opened?” Alderman Becki Vassar asked, “to get some income started.”
Alderman Butch Davis said there needs to be public input before the council makes a decision.
Rahman said the contract for the park study includes public input and said they were close to that point.
Vassar wanted Rahman to survey not only Sherwood residents, but those outside of the city. “Outside people are having a fit to play on North Hills as a golf course. It’s not fair to just poll Sherwood residents,” she said.
Rahman said his contract obligation was to the people of Sherwood. “They are the ones that have a financial risk in the decision. It would be cost prohibitive to do what you want,” Rahman said.
The council gave Rahman up to 45 days to come up with cost figures for the golf course and told him to be ready to present the information at a workshop.
In other council business:
– Police chief Kel Nicholson presented awards to the police officer, dispatcher and civilian employee of the year. The awards, voted on by members of the police department, went to Officer Danny Kelley, cashier supervisor Nicole Weatherly and dispatcher Allison Rady.
The chief also presented awards to officers Ryan Baker and Bryan Kinder for their efforts in saving an elderly man who was found unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing.
The officers’ quick actions saved the man’s life, according to the chief.
– The council approved a resolution authorizing the study of a possible merger between Sherwood and North Little Rock’s wastewater departments. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will conduct the study at no cost to either city.
Mayor Hillman said the study is non-binding but felt it deserved to be looked at in light of the success of the North Little Rock and Little Rock water department merger into Central Arkansas Water.
– Aldermen voted to condemn the structure at 8800 Landers Road as a public nuisance, meaning the owners have 30 days to bring the building up to code or the city can tear it down.
– The council approved the selection of Don Hughes to re-place Clytice Koehler on the Civil Service Commission.
Leader staff writer
Even though the park study that Sherwood has paid for is about three months away from completion, the parks and recreation committee decided Monday that the 106-acre North Hills Country Club and defunct golf course need to be revamped into a working golf course.
The committee made the decision to renovate the property back into an 18-hole municipal golf course without holding any public hearings or debate on the issue.
The committee, according to Alder-man Ken Rankin, decided that the property would be an 18-hole golf course with work to begin immediately.
“Why are we having a park study done if we are not going to wait for it or look at it?” questioned Mayor Virginia Hillman.
The park study, which the mayor signed the letter of intent for on April 20, 2008 and the council approved on April 28, calls for spending about $90,000 for a complete survey, inventory, needs analysis and short- and long-range plans for the city’s parks, including those in the Gravel Ridge area.
The city bought the North Hills property, which it condemned, for about $5.5 million, and has already invested about $200,000 to renovate the clubhouse for rentals and meetings. The city also recently contracted Casco, a local contractor, to demolish and fill the concrete swimming pool.
Three feasibility studies performed while the city was attempting to purchase the property in 2007 and 2008 estimated that it would cost $1.3 million or more to bring the golf course back up to par.
Mizan Rahman with ETC Engineers, the company commissioned to do the park study, told the council that he could not make any recommendations at without further investigation and financial figures.
He said one of the biggest cost questions was whether or not the sprinkler-irrigation system worked.
Rahman said the golf course system is about 30 years old and the infrastructure may have run its life. “We won’t know until we investigate,” he said.
Sonny Janssen, director of the Sherwood Parks and Recreation Department, said the city may need to purchase or repair pumps and check the well in order to verify the condition of the golf course’s water system.
“We may turn it on and everything works or nothing may happen, but we don’t have any money budgeted in case we have repairs or replace something or to even see if its working,” Janssen said.
Aldermen Rankin and Charlie Harmon, who are both on the parks and recreation committee, wanted a resolution to spend the minimal amount to get the golf course opened, and then backed off and instead voted for a resolution to have the parks department check the sprinkler system. No money restrictions were placed on the resolution.
Harmon, who pushed hard for the golf course decision, with intermittent cheers from the audience, said, “The property is an expense item now. The only feasible use is for it to financially carry itself is by being an 18-hole golf course with 20,000 to 25,000 rounds of golf a year being played. That will cover the cost of the note.
“As good financial stewards, we have to make it an 18-hole golf course,” Harmon said.
He said the committee looked at two other possibilities: doing nothing with the property or turning it into a nine-hole golf course and using the remaining land for other recreational activities like a small water park.
“We just have to plug the greens, fill in some sand traps, get the irrigation running and do some work on the cart paths,” Harmon said, adding, “It needs to be started already.”
Rahman said as part of the master park study, his company was also looking at the cost of the other renovation possibilities. “But at this point I have difficulty recommending anything without investigating what needs to be done and the financial cost,” he said.
“Can’t we at least get a driving range opened?” Alderman Becki Vassar asked, “to get some income started.”
Alderman Butch Davis said there needs to be public input before the council makes a decision.
Rahman said the contract for the park study includes public input and said they were close to that point.
Vassar wanted Rahman to survey not only Sherwood residents, but those outside of the city. “Outside people are having a fit to play on North Hills as a golf course. It’s not fair to just poll Sherwood residents,” she said.
Rahman said his contract obligation was to the people of Sherwood. “They are the ones that have a financial risk in the decision. It would be cost prohibitive to do what you want,” Rahman said.
The council gave Rahman up to 45 days to come up with cost figures for the golf course and told him to be ready to present the information at a workshop.
In other council business:
– Police chief Kel Nicholson presented awards to the police officer, dispatcher and civilian employee of the year. The awards, voted on by members of the police department, went to Officer Danny Kelley, cashier supervisor Nicole Weatherly and dispatcher Allison Rady.
The chief also presented awards to officers Ryan Baker and Bryan Kinder for their efforts in saving an elderly man who was found unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing.
The officers’ quick actions saved the man’s life, according to the chief.
– The council approved a resolution authorizing the study of a possible merger between Sherwood and North Little Rock’s wastewater departments. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will conduct the study at no cost to either city.
Mayor Hillman said the study is non-binding but felt it deserved to be looked at in light of the success of the North Little Rock and Little Rock water department merger into Central Arkansas Water.
– Aldermen voted to condemn the structure at 8800 Landers Road as a public nuisance, meaning the owners have 30 days to bring the building up to code or the city can tear it down.
– The council approved the selection of Don Hughes to re-place Clytice Koehler on the Civil Service Commission.
TOP STORY >> Loop goes forward
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Despite an attorney’s implied threat that if the Sherwood City Council approved the city’s master street plan it could cost the city “tens of millions of dollars,” the aldermen went ahead and approved the plan.
Hal Kemp, an attorney for the Sherwood Land Company which has plans for building 1,500 homes on 500 acres just west of Hwy. 107, said by approving the master street plan, the city is forcing the developers to place the North Belt on their plans and effectively cut off about 60 acres from development.
He added that he was at the council meeting to make sure the aldermen didn’t blindly vote for the street plan. “The Highway Department is not here tonight and neither is Metroplan, but the city is here to vote on taking on my client’s property. Your vote will trigger a train of events,” Kemp said.
Those events, according to the attorney, include the city having to pay not only for the North Belt right of way, but for all the land damaged because the owners don’t have access to develop it.
Kemp said he couldn’t guarantee that his clients would be in court in 30 days asking for the city to pay fair market value for the land. “Your budget is at risk. You will be named the defendants, not the highway department,” Kemp said, and then came back with, “but my clients don’t want to get crosswise” with the city.
Kemp couldn’t understand why the city would put the North Belt above the plans of one of the premier developers in the city. “You are asking him to put his livelihood on hold for a year,” Kemp said.
But Alderman Steve Fender and others questioned why this concern was not brought up a year ago when the council approved a resolution that accepted the latest federally-approved location for the North Belt.
“You are asking us to renege on an agreement,” Fender said.
Alderman Charlie Harmon said he had talked to Dan Flowers, the director of the state Highway Department and has received assurances that the state would not cut off the property, that some kind of access would be made available.
“A problem really doesn’t exist,” Harmon said.
Dwight Pattison, the city planner, told the council that the North Belt was already on the master street plan and had been on it for years. All the city was doing by approving the newest version of the street plan was making an adjustment to the location.
“If we don’t put it on the plan then no federal dollars are allowed to be spent on the project,” Pattison said.
Once the master street plan is approved with the location of the North Belt locked in, it puts the state highway department on notice that it has one year to purchase those right of ways.
If no movement is made, then the developers can build within those corridors, making the land more valuable and most costly for the state to purchase when it’s ready to buy.
Planning commissioner Lucien Gillham said in his talks with members of the highway department and highway commission he felt confident that everything would work out and that there would be significant movement on the project within the next two years.
Leader staff writer
Despite an attorney’s implied threat that if the Sherwood City Council approved the city’s master street plan it could cost the city “tens of millions of dollars,” the aldermen went ahead and approved the plan.
Hal Kemp, an attorney for the Sherwood Land Company which has plans for building 1,500 homes on 500 acres just west of Hwy. 107, said by approving the master street plan, the city is forcing the developers to place the North Belt on their plans and effectively cut off about 60 acres from development.
He added that he was at the council meeting to make sure the aldermen didn’t blindly vote for the street plan. “The Highway Department is not here tonight and neither is Metroplan, but the city is here to vote on taking on my client’s property. Your vote will trigger a train of events,” Kemp said.
Those events, according to the attorney, include the city having to pay not only for the North Belt right of way, but for all the land damaged because the owners don’t have access to develop it.
Kemp said he couldn’t guarantee that his clients would be in court in 30 days asking for the city to pay fair market value for the land. “Your budget is at risk. You will be named the defendants, not the highway department,” Kemp said, and then came back with, “but my clients don’t want to get crosswise” with the city.
Kemp couldn’t understand why the city would put the North Belt above the plans of one of the premier developers in the city. “You are asking him to put his livelihood on hold for a year,” Kemp said.
But Alderman Steve Fender and others questioned why this concern was not brought up a year ago when the council approved a resolution that accepted the latest federally-approved location for the North Belt.
“You are asking us to renege on an agreement,” Fender said.
Alderman Charlie Harmon said he had talked to Dan Flowers, the director of the state Highway Department and has received assurances that the state would not cut off the property, that some kind of access would be made available.
“A problem really doesn’t exist,” Harmon said.
Dwight Pattison, the city planner, told the council that the North Belt was already on the master street plan and had been on it for years. All the city was doing by approving the newest version of the street plan was making an adjustment to the location.
“If we don’t put it on the plan then no federal dollars are allowed to be spent on the project,” Pattison said.
Once the master street plan is approved with the location of the North Belt locked in, it puts the state highway department on notice that it has one year to purchase those right of ways.
If no movement is made, then the developers can build within those corridors, making the land more valuable and most costly for the state to purchase when it’s ready to buy.
Planning commissioner Lucien Gillham said in his talks with members of the highway department and highway commission he felt confident that everything would work out and that there would be significant movement on the project within the next two years.
TOP STORY >> Go-ahead seen for big water project
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
The Lonoke-White Water Project to bring water from Greers Ferry Lake to the central part of the state that has been in the planning stages for about 15 years could be funded from President Obama’s $800 billion economic-stimulus package approved earlier this month and be under construction by June.
The project is “shovel ready,” said project engineer Tommy Bond of Bond Consulting Engineers in Jacksonville. That will likely make it eligible for about $30 million in low-interest loans and possibly make it eligible for up to $5 million in grants to build the 24-inch transmission line from the lake.
Only projects that are ready for construction are eligible for economic-stimulus money because the purpose of the stimulus package is to put people to work now.
Partners in the total $62 million water project still hope that Congress will give the Corps of Engineers the $6 million approved in 2002 to build the intake site at Cove Creek. And although officials with the project are talking to Community Water Systems about temporarily using its water-treatment plant, eventually $30 million would be needed to build a treatment plant for Lonoke White.
Bond has been working with an alphabet soup of government agencies trying to find money for the long-awaited water project even before Congress approved the stimulus package: the ANRC (Arkansas Natural Resources Commission) ADEQ (Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality) and the USDARD (United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development).
Although it has become clear that Jacksonville and Cabot, which have a population greater than 10,000, are ineligible for grant money from the USDARD, the other 12 project members might be eligible for grants.
In addition to Cabot and Jacksonville, the members of the project are Grand Prairie, Beebe, Lonoke, Ward, McRae, Vilonia, North Pulaski, Furlow, Southwest White County Water Association (SOWCO) and Austin.
Bond said the ANRC, which volunteered about eight years ago to provide loan money for the project, is looking now at all the available pockets of money that could make the project affordable.
The challenge over the next 30 to 45 days, he said, is to get signed contracts from the 12 members which will include how much water they will pay for from the transmission line whether they use it or not. If the members as a group sign contracts to pay for 4 million gallons a day, the water will cost $2.64 per thousand gallons.
The problem, Bond said, is that right now several of the partners, like Cabot, Beebe, Jacksonville and Grand Prairie, have wells and don’t need water from Greers Ferry Lake at this time. Additionally, Cabot, Jacksonville and North Pulaski Water are under contract to buy ground water from Central Arkansas Water and are working toward building a transmission line from the Little Rock area.
“We have to get a commitment of at least 3 million gallons a day from the 12 members,” Bond said.
“What it all boils down to is the future of your water system. You pay a little now so you don’t have to pay outrageously in the future. Water won’t get any cheaper.
“If we use stimulus money, we would have to start (the project) in June and be finished in 21 months,” he said. “It’s doable. We can meet the challenge if we’re just turned loose.”
Leader staff writer
The Lonoke-White Water Project to bring water from Greers Ferry Lake to the central part of the state that has been in the planning stages for about 15 years could be funded from President Obama’s $800 billion economic-stimulus package approved earlier this month and be under construction by June.
The project is “shovel ready,” said project engineer Tommy Bond of Bond Consulting Engineers in Jacksonville. That will likely make it eligible for about $30 million in low-interest loans and possibly make it eligible for up to $5 million in grants to build the 24-inch transmission line from the lake.
Only projects that are ready for construction are eligible for economic-stimulus money because the purpose of the stimulus package is to put people to work now.
Partners in the total $62 million water project still hope that Congress will give the Corps of Engineers the $6 million approved in 2002 to build the intake site at Cove Creek. And although officials with the project are talking to Community Water Systems about temporarily using its water-treatment plant, eventually $30 million would be needed to build a treatment plant for Lonoke White.
Bond has been working with an alphabet soup of government agencies trying to find money for the long-awaited water project even before Congress approved the stimulus package: the ANRC (Arkansas Natural Resources Commission) ADEQ (Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality) and the USDARD (United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development).
Although it has become clear that Jacksonville and Cabot, which have a population greater than 10,000, are ineligible for grant money from the USDARD, the other 12 project members might be eligible for grants.
In addition to Cabot and Jacksonville, the members of the project are Grand Prairie, Beebe, Lonoke, Ward, McRae, Vilonia, North Pulaski, Furlow, Southwest White County Water Association (SOWCO) and Austin.
Bond said the ANRC, which volunteered about eight years ago to provide loan money for the project, is looking now at all the available pockets of money that could make the project affordable.
The challenge over the next 30 to 45 days, he said, is to get signed contracts from the 12 members which will include how much water they will pay for from the transmission line whether they use it or not. If the members as a group sign contracts to pay for 4 million gallons a day, the water will cost $2.64 per thousand gallons.
The problem, Bond said, is that right now several of the partners, like Cabot, Beebe, Jacksonville and Grand Prairie, have wells and don’t need water from Greers Ferry Lake at this time. Additionally, Cabot, Jacksonville and North Pulaski Water are under contract to buy ground water from Central Arkansas Water and are working toward building a transmission line from the Little Rock area.
“We have to get a commitment of at least 3 million gallons a day from the 12 members,” Bond said.
“What it all boils down to is the future of your water system. You pay a little now so you don’t have to pay outrageously in the future. Water won’t get any cheaper.
“If we use stimulus money, we would have to start (the project) in June and be finished in 21 months,” he said. “It’s doable. We can meet the challenge if we’re just turned loose.”
TOP STORY >> Bailouts costly, but do not let them fleece us
By GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader editor-in-chief
The federal government could soon take over more failing financial institutions, including the giant Bank of America, which has several branches in the area.
Bank of America is a crippled giant, having lost 90 percent of its value, even after it received $45 billion in federal aid. The U.S. government in effect now owns 66 percent of the bank, but its chances for survival look grim.
The feds will keep pumping more funds into the ailing institution and will probably sell its less-toxic assets after a formal takeover.
Regions, another bank with several branches here, has accepted only — only! — $3.5 billion in bailout money, but that translates into a 69 percent federal- ownership stake.
Citigroup leads the pack with a $42 billion bailout, which means the government owns 40 percent of the rotting corpse.
Whatever the outcome of this financial crisis, you’ll pay for the mistakes of others, and not just with your taxes. In fact, you’ll pay in many different ways, especially if you’re not careful.
Watch out for hidden fees from financial institutions, as well as sudden spikes in interest rates on your credit cards, even if you’ve never missed a payment. Don’t let them pick your wallet and pockets, too. Next, they’ll steal your kids’ piggybank.
Many of you may have opened your credit card bills recently and noticed that the interest rate you’re paying has jumped to 24.49 percent, which is about what payday lenders and mobsters charge their customers.
Some banks are suddenly raising interest rates without warning as a way to cover their losses elsewhere. They’re hoping you’re not paying attention. The big national banks think they can cover their losses by taking advantage of unsuspecting customers who have always paid their bills and would never default on their mortgage.
As a punishment for your good behavior, some banks have doubled and even tripled the interest rate they charge their faithful credit card customers.
You need to call and tell them you’re already bailing them out with your tax dollars, and you’re not paying them any more.
The gang of incompetents who run our largest banks are penalizing their honest customers for the banks’ mistakes.
This scenario is repeating itself across the country: Bailing out financial institutions means that responsible citizens are stuck with huge bills that will remain unpaid for generations.
You’ve been paying your bills and your mortgage, but these floundering banks think they can get away with double-billing you and the government, too.
First the government decided that responsible citizens should pay for the billions in losses the banks suffered from bad mortgages, credit-card defaults and other loans that went sour.
Then the banks figured on recouping some of those losses by fleecing their best customers.
Families across America are asked to save these bankers from drowning. But their credit-worthy borrowers were not the ones who went in over their heads. They were responsible borrowers, yet they’re stuck with the tab.
If they’re going to nationalize the banks, shouldn’t we at least get stock certificates as part owners of those failed financial institutions?
The certificates will make nice wall decorations, even if they’re worthless.
We could pass them on to our grandkids as mementos of these depressed times.
Leader editor-in-chief
The federal government could soon take over more failing financial institutions, including the giant Bank of America, which has several branches in the area.
Bank of America is a crippled giant, having lost 90 percent of its value, even after it received $45 billion in federal aid. The U.S. government in effect now owns 66 percent of the bank, but its chances for survival look grim.
The feds will keep pumping more funds into the ailing institution and will probably sell its less-toxic assets after a formal takeover.
Regions, another bank with several branches here, has accepted only — only! — $3.5 billion in bailout money, but that translates into a 69 percent federal- ownership stake.
Citigroup leads the pack with a $42 billion bailout, which means the government owns 40 percent of the rotting corpse.
Whatever the outcome of this financial crisis, you’ll pay for the mistakes of others, and not just with your taxes. In fact, you’ll pay in many different ways, especially if you’re not careful.
Watch out for hidden fees from financial institutions, as well as sudden spikes in interest rates on your credit cards, even if you’ve never missed a payment. Don’t let them pick your wallet and pockets, too. Next, they’ll steal your kids’ piggybank.
Many of you may have opened your credit card bills recently and noticed that the interest rate you’re paying has jumped to 24.49 percent, which is about what payday lenders and mobsters charge their customers.
Some banks are suddenly raising interest rates without warning as a way to cover their losses elsewhere. They’re hoping you’re not paying attention. The big national banks think they can cover their losses by taking advantage of unsuspecting customers who have always paid their bills and would never default on their mortgage.
As a punishment for your good behavior, some banks have doubled and even tripled the interest rate they charge their faithful credit card customers.
You need to call and tell them you’re already bailing them out with your tax dollars, and you’re not paying them any more.
The gang of incompetents who run our largest banks are penalizing their honest customers for the banks’ mistakes.
This scenario is repeating itself across the country: Bailing out financial institutions means that responsible citizens are stuck with huge bills that will remain unpaid for generations.
You’ve been paying your bills and your mortgage, but these floundering banks think they can get away with double-billing you and the government, too.
First the government decided that responsible citizens should pay for the billions in losses the banks suffered from bad mortgages, credit-card defaults and other loans that went sour.
Then the banks figured on recouping some of those losses by fleecing their best customers.
Families across America are asked to save these bankers from drowning. But their credit-worthy borrowers were not the ones who went in over their heads. They were responsible borrowers, yet they’re stuck with the tab.
If they’re going to nationalize the banks, shouldn’t we at least get stock certificates as part owners of those failed financial institutions?
The certificates will make nice wall decorations, even if they’re worthless.
We could pass them on to our grandkids as mementos of these depressed times.
TOP STORY >> Group objects to funding school
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
A special school board meeting has been called for Tuesday at the request of 228 Jacksonville-area residents afraid that an $80 million second-lien bond to build yet another new school in Maumelle will saddle them with so much debt that Jacksonville might never get the standalone school district for which they have worked so diligently.
Some members of the Jacksonville World Class Education Association feel that their board member, Bill Vasquez, has taken positions contrary to the best interests of Jacksonville residents, according to Daniel Gray, one of the association’s activists.
Jacksonville residents are also upset with plans for a Sherwood middle school. (See p. 3A.)
Despite a dire warning by Pulaski County Special School District chief financial officer Larry O’Briant that the district may not have the revenues to pay off that bond, the board voted 4-3 to proceed with selling bonds, and ground will be broken at 10:30 a.m. Friday for the Maumelle High School. That precedes the special meeting by four days.
O’Briant said that the district stands to lose many millions of dollars a year when the state stops funding desegregation efforts for the three public Pulaski County school districts, that enrollment has declined for 15 years and the district will lose even more if Jacksonville finally gets it standalone district.
Furthermore, if the $80 million second-lien bond is finally approved and then Jacksonville breaks off, members of the Jacksonville World Class Education Association fear that area residents will be responsible for 15 percent of that $80 million debt, but with nothing to show for it.
“The debt-to-income ratio would adversely affect (creation of a Jacksonville district) and we might need a new feasibility study,” according to former state Rep. Will Bond.
“The prudent thing is to hold off or adopt an amendment to the bond issue saying that it will not attach that debt to the proposed new district,” said Bond, who has been among the leaders seeking a Jacksonville district.
Bond is moving to Little Rock, where he has become managing partner of the McMath Law Firm, but he remains active in seeking the new district for his hometown.
Bond also questions the propriety of the PCSSD board, particularly Vasquez, recombining the boys and girls middle schools at Jacksonville.
“We believe any rush to combine the schools without proper planning, funding and proper communication with Jacksonville area students and parents would be adverse to their interests,” Bond wrote to the board prior to the February meeting at which the board recombined the schools.
Both he and Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim say that decision should have been left for the eventual Jacksonville district board to decide.
The petition for the meeting asked to discuss the financial impact of those second-lien bonds, the possible loss of desegregation funding and projected enrollment decline on the ability to repay the bonds, and also the possible effect on teacher’s salaries and positions in the event that bond repayment causes a shortfall.
It suggests possible litigation over the matter, the near doubling of the cost of the Maumelle High School and the bid process.
The petition also asks for a discussion establishing a finance committee to monitor and investigate long-term deficit ramifications and finally, the recombining of the single-gender middle schools.
Leader senior staff writer
A special school board meeting has been called for Tuesday at the request of 228 Jacksonville-area residents afraid that an $80 million second-lien bond to build yet another new school in Maumelle will saddle them with so much debt that Jacksonville might never get the standalone school district for which they have worked so diligently.
Some members of the Jacksonville World Class Education Association feel that their board member, Bill Vasquez, has taken positions contrary to the best interests of Jacksonville residents, according to Daniel Gray, one of the association’s activists.
Jacksonville residents are also upset with plans for a Sherwood middle school. (See p. 3A.)
Despite a dire warning by Pulaski County Special School District chief financial officer Larry O’Briant that the district may not have the revenues to pay off that bond, the board voted 4-3 to proceed with selling bonds, and ground will be broken at 10:30 a.m. Friday for the Maumelle High School. That precedes the special meeting by four days.
O’Briant said that the district stands to lose many millions of dollars a year when the state stops funding desegregation efforts for the three public Pulaski County school districts, that enrollment has declined for 15 years and the district will lose even more if Jacksonville finally gets it standalone district.
Furthermore, if the $80 million second-lien bond is finally approved and then Jacksonville breaks off, members of the Jacksonville World Class Education Association fear that area residents will be responsible for 15 percent of that $80 million debt, but with nothing to show for it.
“The debt-to-income ratio would adversely affect (creation of a Jacksonville district) and we might need a new feasibility study,” according to former state Rep. Will Bond.
“The prudent thing is to hold off or adopt an amendment to the bond issue saying that it will not attach that debt to the proposed new district,” said Bond, who has been among the leaders seeking a Jacksonville district.
Bond is moving to Little Rock, where he has become managing partner of the McMath Law Firm, but he remains active in seeking the new district for his hometown.
Bond also questions the propriety of the PCSSD board, particularly Vasquez, recombining the boys and girls middle schools at Jacksonville.
“We believe any rush to combine the schools without proper planning, funding and proper communication with Jacksonville area students and parents would be adverse to their interests,” Bond wrote to the board prior to the February meeting at which the board recombined the schools.
Both he and Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim say that decision should have been left for the eventual Jacksonville district board to decide.
The petition for the meeting asked to discuss the financial impact of those second-lien bonds, the possible loss of desegregation funding and projected enrollment decline on the ability to repay the bonds, and also the possible effect on teacher’s salaries and positions in the event that bond repayment causes a shortfall.
It suggests possible litigation over the matter, the near doubling of the cost of the Maumelle High School and the bid process.
The petition also asks for a discussion establishing a finance committee to monitor and investigate long-term deficit ramifications and finally, the recombining of the single-gender middle schools.
TOP STORY >> Jacksonville gets upbeat review
By NANCY DOCKTER
Leader staff writer
City officials and business leaders convening for an annual planning retreat last week seemed optimistic about Jacksonville in 2009. In the three-hour session, the 30 participants looked at milestones met in 2008 and set goals for this year.
Forging stronger connections with Little Rock Air Force Base, downtown revitalization and community pride, city-employee retention, Vandenberg Boulevard intersection modifications, and more parks and activities for youth and families topped the list of action items for 2009.
Better public schools for Jack-sonville through establishment of an independent school district was mentioned more than once during the evening as the steppingstone to a brighter future for Jacksonville. That hinges on a decision by the courts.
A LOOK BACK AT 2008
Ron Copeland, director of the university district partnership for University of Arkansas at Little Rock, facilitated the session that began with a look back at accomplishments and major events impacting the city in 2008.
Noted were the opening of the new library, approval of a charter school, the city’s $5 million donation to Little Rock Air Force Base for construction of the joint education center, new management of the city-owned hospital that ensures continuation of vital medical services, expansion of CenturyTel’s operations in Jacksonville, $4 million dedicated for a police and fire training facility, a failed annexation of Gravel Ridge, the school board’s endorsement of an independent Jacksonville school district, hiring of a new police chief and a national economic recession.
Thankfully, Jacksonville so far has not been hit hard by the downturn, with the exception of a cooled real estate and housing sector.
“Retail sales have remained steady according to sales tax revenues,” Mayor Tommy Swaim said.
“The economic downturn has affected the housing industry because of the psyche of all us; people have hit the bunkers,” said real estate broker Bart Gray.
The consensus in the room was that the city last year made progress on seven strategic fronts identified at last year’s planning retreat: developing activities to attract youth and families; securing the future of LRAFB; retaining employees; maintaining a clean city; improving Jacksonville schools; improving roads and transportation and improving housing.
Participants were not so sure that those who live and work in Jacksonville share in their sense of progress and optimism.
“If you go around the gossip coffee shops, most feel that not much has been done,” said Alderman Reedie Ray.
It was proposed that better communication to city residents, through the news media, city Web site and other outlets, was vital to getting the word out about the city’s vision, achievements and events. To that end, a Web site designer has been hired to revamp and update the city’s site, Swaim noted.
On each of the strategic fronts, participants divided up into small groups to talk about progress on last year’s goals and to brainstorm on goals for 2009.
BETTER HOUSING,
BETTER LOOKING TOWN
Attendants’ discussions of improved housing and the city’s overall appearance seemed to go hand-in-hand.
On housing, concern was expressed about the low rate of home ownership and the poor appearance of many rental properties owned by individuals who don’t reside in Jacksonville.
“Non-local owners don’t have a vested interest because they don’t see (their properties) every day,” said Alderman Marshall Smith.
Tax incentives, low-interest loans, better communication by the city with landlords, and a public education campaign to promote pride in home ownership were among suggestions for making Jacksonville a more attractive place.
Improving the appearance of the city involves not only pride of property ownership, but continued revitalization of the Main Street district, it was decided. The revamping of the Dupree-Main intersection, the new library, Walgreens, First Arkansas Bank and Trust’s headquarters, and the Chamber of Commerce building were seen as a foundation for future enhancements to the corridor.
A streetscape plan with landscaping and public art, continued support of Keep Jacksonville Beautiful, as well as removal of overhead utility lines, could all play a part, McCulley reported.
ATTRACTING YOUNG FAMILIES
On more activities to attract youth and families, city Parks and Recreation Director George Biggs pointed out that a ball tournament on city fields is planned every weekend but three this season. Recommendations were for more parks and green space, especially in the west part of town, and enhancements to Paradise Park that might include a water park.
EASING TRAFFIC FLOW
On improved roads and transportation, the widening of Vandenberg intersection was identified as a top priority. Engagement of air base representatives in the planning process and a design that serves the future joint education center, to be located at the west side of the intersection, are critical it was decided, as will be a feasibility study by the Arkansas Department of Highways and Transportation. But that one thing could bog down the process.
“They have so much on their plates right now, it may not be realistic with the department of Highways and Transportation,” said Susan Dollar, a city planning commissioner.
Work on other transportation goals set forth last year is moving ahead, officials reported. A study has been completed on how best to reconfigure the Dupree-Main intersection.
Widening of Hwy. 67/167 is in progress. The city will issue a request for proposals to redesign West Main Street for smoother traffic flow. About $280,000 has been appropriated for maintenance of existing roads.
It was agreed that an idea proposed at the 2008 planning retreat — using school buses while not in use for in-town public transit — should be put on hold until the day that Jacksonville has its own school district.
RETAINING CITY EMPLOYEES
Besides coming through last year on its goal of a 5 percent salary increase for city employees, the city has other means for keeping folks around – longevity bonuses, college tuition reimbursements and community center memberships. In 2008, the city had a 35 percent turnover rate.
Suggestions for keeping city-employee relations humming in-cluded making sure job descriptions and competitive salary data are up to date and rewarding employees for jobs well done. A good example, someone noted, was a recent breakfast for public works employees put on by department head Jimmy Oakley. Things like that can go a long way in creating a “family-type environment and keep them all there,” said city planner Chip McCulley, who reported for his discussion group.
SECURING THE AIR BASE'S FUTURE
The future of LRAFB requires continual efforts to strengthen community ties to the base, it was agreed, although the relationship is already strong. Swaim noted his briefings held weekly to welcome air base newcomers and that he as mayor, attends weekly briefings on base, where he is made privy to insider information.
“No other base (community) in the country has that privilege,” Swaim said.
Recommendations for improvement include stepped up efforts to engage airmen in civic activities and involve base representatives in city planning on issues of mutual interest such as the Vandenberg intersection.
Better public education in Jacksonville by establishment of an independent school district awaits a decision from the courts. Meanwhile, keeping the public informed that the effort is alive and ongoing is important, it was decided.
On that note, Alderman Mar-shall Smith summed up the evening by saying, “It’s been good tonight … but a lot of things are tied to our having a separate school district. When that happens, a lot of things will happen.” No one disagreed.
Meeting facilitator Copeland said that proceedings from the retreat will be compiled and distributed so that city leaders can monitor their progress on action items throughout the months to come. The retreat report will be posted on the city Web site.
Leader staff writer
City officials and business leaders convening for an annual planning retreat last week seemed optimistic about Jacksonville in 2009. In the three-hour session, the 30 participants looked at milestones met in 2008 and set goals for this year.
Forging stronger connections with Little Rock Air Force Base, downtown revitalization and community pride, city-employee retention, Vandenberg Boulevard intersection modifications, and more parks and activities for youth and families topped the list of action items for 2009.
Better public schools for Jack-sonville through establishment of an independent school district was mentioned more than once during the evening as the steppingstone to a brighter future for Jacksonville. That hinges on a decision by the courts.
A LOOK BACK AT 2008
Ron Copeland, director of the university district partnership for University of Arkansas at Little Rock, facilitated the session that began with a look back at accomplishments and major events impacting the city in 2008.
Noted were the opening of the new library, approval of a charter school, the city’s $5 million donation to Little Rock Air Force Base for construction of the joint education center, new management of the city-owned hospital that ensures continuation of vital medical services, expansion of CenturyTel’s operations in Jacksonville, $4 million dedicated for a police and fire training facility, a failed annexation of Gravel Ridge, the school board’s endorsement of an independent Jacksonville school district, hiring of a new police chief and a national economic recession.
Thankfully, Jacksonville so far has not been hit hard by the downturn, with the exception of a cooled real estate and housing sector.
“Retail sales have remained steady according to sales tax revenues,” Mayor Tommy Swaim said.
“The economic downturn has affected the housing industry because of the psyche of all us; people have hit the bunkers,” said real estate broker Bart Gray.
The consensus in the room was that the city last year made progress on seven strategic fronts identified at last year’s planning retreat: developing activities to attract youth and families; securing the future of LRAFB; retaining employees; maintaining a clean city; improving Jacksonville schools; improving roads and transportation and improving housing.
Participants were not so sure that those who live and work in Jacksonville share in their sense of progress and optimism.
“If you go around the gossip coffee shops, most feel that not much has been done,” said Alderman Reedie Ray.
It was proposed that better communication to city residents, through the news media, city Web site and other outlets, was vital to getting the word out about the city’s vision, achievements and events. To that end, a Web site designer has been hired to revamp and update the city’s site, Swaim noted.
On each of the strategic fronts, participants divided up into small groups to talk about progress on last year’s goals and to brainstorm on goals for 2009.
BETTER HOUSING,
BETTER LOOKING TOWN
Attendants’ discussions of improved housing and the city’s overall appearance seemed to go hand-in-hand.
On housing, concern was expressed about the low rate of home ownership and the poor appearance of many rental properties owned by individuals who don’t reside in Jacksonville.
“Non-local owners don’t have a vested interest because they don’t see (their properties) every day,” said Alderman Marshall Smith.
Tax incentives, low-interest loans, better communication by the city with landlords, and a public education campaign to promote pride in home ownership were among suggestions for making Jacksonville a more attractive place.
Improving the appearance of the city involves not only pride of property ownership, but continued revitalization of the Main Street district, it was decided. The revamping of the Dupree-Main intersection, the new library, Walgreens, First Arkansas Bank and Trust’s headquarters, and the Chamber of Commerce building were seen as a foundation for future enhancements to the corridor.
A streetscape plan with landscaping and public art, continued support of Keep Jacksonville Beautiful, as well as removal of overhead utility lines, could all play a part, McCulley reported.
ATTRACTING YOUNG FAMILIES
On more activities to attract youth and families, city Parks and Recreation Director George Biggs pointed out that a ball tournament on city fields is planned every weekend but three this season. Recommendations were for more parks and green space, especially in the west part of town, and enhancements to Paradise Park that might include a water park.
EASING TRAFFIC FLOW
On improved roads and transportation, the widening of Vandenberg intersection was identified as a top priority. Engagement of air base representatives in the planning process and a design that serves the future joint education center, to be located at the west side of the intersection, are critical it was decided, as will be a feasibility study by the Arkansas Department of Highways and Transportation. But that one thing could bog down the process.
“They have so much on their plates right now, it may not be realistic with the department of Highways and Transportation,” said Susan Dollar, a city planning commissioner.
Work on other transportation goals set forth last year is moving ahead, officials reported. A study has been completed on how best to reconfigure the Dupree-Main intersection.
Widening of Hwy. 67/167 is in progress. The city will issue a request for proposals to redesign West Main Street for smoother traffic flow. About $280,000 has been appropriated for maintenance of existing roads.
It was agreed that an idea proposed at the 2008 planning retreat — using school buses while not in use for in-town public transit — should be put on hold until the day that Jacksonville has its own school district.
RETAINING CITY EMPLOYEES
Besides coming through last year on its goal of a 5 percent salary increase for city employees, the city has other means for keeping folks around – longevity bonuses, college tuition reimbursements and community center memberships. In 2008, the city had a 35 percent turnover rate.
Suggestions for keeping city-employee relations humming in-cluded making sure job descriptions and competitive salary data are up to date and rewarding employees for jobs well done. A good example, someone noted, was a recent breakfast for public works employees put on by department head Jimmy Oakley. Things like that can go a long way in creating a “family-type environment and keep them all there,” said city planner Chip McCulley, who reported for his discussion group.
SECURING THE AIR BASE'S FUTURE
The future of LRAFB requires continual efforts to strengthen community ties to the base, it was agreed, although the relationship is already strong. Swaim noted his briefings held weekly to welcome air base newcomers and that he as mayor, attends weekly briefings on base, where he is made privy to insider information.
“No other base (community) in the country has that privilege,” Swaim said.
Recommendations for improvement include stepped up efforts to engage airmen in civic activities and involve base representatives in city planning on issues of mutual interest such as the Vandenberg intersection.
Better public education in Jacksonville by establishment of an independent school district awaits a decision from the courts. Meanwhile, keeping the public informed that the effort is alive and ongoing is important, it was decided.
On that note, Alderman Mar-shall Smith summed up the evening by saying, “It’s been good tonight … but a lot of things are tied to our having a separate school district. When that happens, a lot of things will happen.” No one disagreed.
Meeting facilitator Copeland said that proceedings from the retreat will be compiled and distributed so that city leaders can monitor their progress on action items throughout the months to come. The retreat report will be posted on the city Web site.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
SPORTS >> Cabot girls take over 2nd place
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Once the fourth quarter started, the Pointerettes found themselves between a Rock and a hard place.
Amber Rock scored half of her team-leading 10 points for Cabot — including the go-ahead basket — in the final period as the Lady Panthers came from behind for a 37-34 win over Van Buren on Friday night at Panther Pavilion. Post player Stephanie Glover also came up big on the low block late in the game, tallying all six of her points in the fourth quarter.
“It was like two old men at a party,” said Cabot assistant coach Charles Ruple. “Nobody wanted to find a dance partner. It wasn’t pretty, but they make a lot of teams play that way. They are very well coached, and they’re deceptive.”
The win, combined with Bryant’s loss to North Little Rock on Friday, puts the Lady Panthers in sole possession of second place in the 7A-Central Conference standings. North Little Rock has clinched the league title with a 13-0 record, while Cabot (19-6 overall) sits 9-3 and Bryant is 9-4. Van Buren fell to 13-12 overall and 5-7 in league play, a half-game behind fourth-place Central.
Van Buren stretched its lead to as many as 10 points to start the third quarter. Keri Arnold’s jumper at the 3:55 mark gave the Pointerettes a 27-17 lead, but Rock cut that lead in half with a three and two free throws that made it 27-22 by the 2:51 mark.
Defense made the difference in the end, as the Lady Panthers held Van Buren 1 of 7 from the floor in the fourth quarter, while outscoring them 14-5. Glover hit two free throws with 3:19 left to pull Cabot to within two, and Shelby Ashcraft knotted it up with a putback at the 2:48 mark. Rock gave the Lady Panthers their first lead of the game with less than two minutes left with her second three-point basket of the night to make it 35-32, and Cabot never trailed again.
A struggle for both teams in the first quarter was a sign of things to come in the sloppy contest. The first field goal of the night came at the 4:14 mark when Amy Waldon tied the game for Van Buren at 2-2 after Shelby Ashcraft put up two foul shots for Cabot in the first minute.
The Lady Panthers continued scoreless from the floor until junior post Sarah Moore hit from the paint with 1:43 left in the opening period. Lindsay Hoggatt scored the only other Cabot goal of the first quarter on a putback with 1:04 left, but Van Buren added two more before the end of the frame for a 10-6 lead.
The Lady Panthers finished the game 11 of 44 from the field, while Van Buren was 10 of 38.
Van Buren finished with 30 rebounds, with 28 for Cabot. Cabot also suffered 17 turnovers, but the Pointerettes were even more careless with 25 miscues.
Ashcraft led the Lady Panthers with six rebounds, with six blocks for Moore. Waldon led Van Buren with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Leader sportswriter
Once the fourth quarter started, the Pointerettes found themselves between a Rock and a hard place.
Amber Rock scored half of her team-leading 10 points for Cabot — including the go-ahead basket — in the final period as the Lady Panthers came from behind for a 37-34 win over Van Buren on Friday night at Panther Pavilion. Post player Stephanie Glover also came up big on the low block late in the game, tallying all six of her points in the fourth quarter.
“It was like two old men at a party,” said Cabot assistant coach Charles Ruple. “Nobody wanted to find a dance partner. It wasn’t pretty, but they make a lot of teams play that way. They are very well coached, and they’re deceptive.”
The win, combined with Bryant’s loss to North Little Rock on Friday, puts the Lady Panthers in sole possession of second place in the 7A-Central Conference standings. North Little Rock has clinched the league title with a 13-0 record, while Cabot (19-6 overall) sits 9-3 and Bryant is 9-4. Van Buren fell to 13-12 overall and 5-7 in league play, a half-game behind fourth-place Central.
Van Buren stretched its lead to as many as 10 points to start the third quarter. Keri Arnold’s jumper at the 3:55 mark gave the Pointerettes a 27-17 lead, but Rock cut that lead in half with a three and two free throws that made it 27-22 by the 2:51 mark.
Defense made the difference in the end, as the Lady Panthers held Van Buren 1 of 7 from the floor in the fourth quarter, while outscoring them 14-5. Glover hit two free throws with 3:19 left to pull Cabot to within two, and Shelby Ashcraft knotted it up with a putback at the 2:48 mark. Rock gave the Lady Panthers their first lead of the game with less than two minutes left with her second three-point basket of the night to make it 35-32, and Cabot never trailed again.
A struggle for both teams in the first quarter was a sign of things to come in the sloppy contest. The first field goal of the night came at the 4:14 mark when Amy Waldon tied the game for Van Buren at 2-2 after Shelby Ashcraft put up two foul shots for Cabot in the first minute.
The Lady Panthers continued scoreless from the floor until junior post Sarah Moore hit from the paint with 1:43 left in the opening period. Lindsay Hoggatt scored the only other Cabot goal of the first quarter on a putback with 1:04 left, but Van Buren added two more before the end of the frame for a 10-6 lead.
The Lady Panthers finished the game 11 of 44 from the field, while Van Buren was 10 of 38.
Van Buren finished with 30 rebounds, with 28 for Cabot. Cabot also suffered 17 turnovers, but the Pointerettes were even more careless with 25 miscues.
Ashcraft led the Lady Panthers with six rebounds, with six blocks for Moore. Waldon led Van Buren with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
SPORTS >> Owls grind out gritty win against league rival
By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
CONWAY – Tim Ballard politely declined the offer to cut down the nets shortly after his Abundant Life Owls beat Conway St. Joseph 43-35 to capture the 5-2A North district tournament championship on Saturday night.
Maybe the high-octane Owls proving they could prevail in a slugfest was reward enough for Ballard. More likely, Ballard had his eyes on bigger nets — and prizes — down the road.
“I don’t want any kind of feeling of closure right now,” said Ballard, whose team remains atop the state rankings in 2A. “I told them before the game, I don’t care if you win or lose, I just want to see some things that show we’re ready for state. Toughness and grit and determination. I saw that tonight.”
The Owls, who ran the table in the conference regular season, handed the Bulldogs their third loss of the season to drop them to 27-4. Abundant Life improved to 28-7 and will open regional play next Wednesday evening at 8:30 when it takes on host team Augusta.
“I feel like every time we beat (St. Joseph) like we stole something,” Ballard said. “I feel like they’re better than us, but we’ve somehow beat them three times.”
With the Bulldogs limiting Owls leading scorer Dane Lottner to just 11 points, it was Mike Stramiello who picked up the slack for Abundant Life, leading the way with 18 points, hitting critical free throws and repeatedly taking it inside against the big Bulldogs for baskets or fouls. He single-handedly kept the Owls around in a brutal first half when the team that routinely scores in the 70s connected on only 4 of 17 shots and trailed 14-13 at intermission. Abundant Life scored only four points in the first quarter.
“Mike is a savvy player,” Ballard said. “He makes things happen. I told him tonight that I needed him to be a playmaker, to go with his instincts and make plays. Sometimes he has a tendency to question what he’s doing but I told him, don’t look at me, just go make some plays.”
Marcus Kordsmeier, who led the Bulldogs with 18 points, gave St. Joseph its biggest lead at 14-7 on a bucket and a free throw at the 3:08 mark of the first half.
But a couple of inside buckets and a free throw by Stramiello had the Owls trailing by a single point at intermission. Stramiello had 10 of Abundant Life’s points at halftime.
The Owls finally began to solve the Bulldogs’ man defense in the third period when they made 5 of 10 shots. Lottner finally got untracked, opening the quarter with a pull-up three-pointer to give the Owls their first lead of the game. Terrell Ghant followed with a three and Dustin Keathley added another with 2:14 left. Lottner’s spinning 10-footer opened up a 26-19 Abundant Life lead late in the period.
“They threw us off,” Ballard said. “We were all keyed for their world famous match-up zone and went and flipped the script on us (and played man). It was a good move so I decided to change it up on (St. Joseph coach Brent Bruich). We hadn’t played them man before so went to man to see if we couldn’t bother them some.”
Cameron Slayton’s three from the left corner rattled in to give the Owls an eight-point lead and when Lottner scored from 12 feet and Ghant drilled a pair of free throws, it looked like the Owls were home free at 35-25 midway through the final period.
But Abundant Life turned the ball over twice in succession and Kordsmeier delivered a three-pointer and a bucket and free throw to close the gap to 37-34 with 1:52 left.
Stramiello, who made all six of his free throws in the fourth quarter, knocked down a pair to extend the lead to five and Kordsmeier hit one of two to whittle it to four.
St. Joseph had a chance to get it to a one-possession game after another Owl turnover, but missed and Slayton made a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 41-35 with 1:10 left. The Bulldogs’ last gasp came five seconds later when they got two free throws. They missed them both and Lottner made 2 of 4 charities over the final 41 seconds to set the final margin.
While Lottner struggled on the offensive end, he came up with two steals and two blocks. Ghant, the Owls point guard, helped his team to a critical 31-20 advantage on the boards by pulling down a team-high eight rebounds. He also had a pair of steals and scored five points.
After missing all seven of their three-point attempts in the first half, the Owls hit 4 of 6 in the second half and finished the game 11 of 30 overall from the field. They turned it over 19 times. The Bulldogs were a frigid 13 of 42 overall and made only 2 of 14 from deep. The Owls helped themselves at the free throw line, where they made 17 of 21.
“I tell you why a game like this helps our confidence,” Ballard said. “Everybody knows we can play up-tempo and flashy and win on the run. But people question whether we can grind one out and win a tough one. When you can win a tough one like this on their court, that speaks well of you as a team.”
Leader sports editor
CONWAY – Tim Ballard politely declined the offer to cut down the nets shortly after his Abundant Life Owls beat Conway St. Joseph 43-35 to capture the 5-2A North district tournament championship on Saturday night.
Maybe the high-octane Owls proving they could prevail in a slugfest was reward enough for Ballard. More likely, Ballard had his eyes on bigger nets — and prizes — down the road.
“I don’t want any kind of feeling of closure right now,” said Ballard, whose team remains atop the state rankings in 2A. “I told them before the game, I don’t care if you win or lose, I just want to see some things that show we’re ready for state. Toughness and grit and determination. I saw that tonight.”
The Owls, who ran the table in the conference regular season, handed the Bulldogs their third loss of the season to drop them to 27-4. Abundant Life improved to 28-7 and will open regional play next Wednesday evening at 8:30 when it takes on host team Augusta.
“I feel like every time we beat (St. Joseph) like we stole something,” Ballard said. “I feel like they’re better than us, but we’ve somehow beat them three times.”
With the Bulldogs limiting Owls leading scorer Dane Lottner to just 11 points, it was Mike Stramiello who picked up the slack for Abundant Life, leading the way with 18 points, hitting critical free throws and repeatedly taking it inside against the big Bulldogs for baskets or fouls. He single-handedly kept the Owls around in a brutal first half when the team that routinely scores in the 70s connected on only 4 of 17 shots and trailed 14-13 at intermission. Abundant Life scored only four points in the first quarter.
“Mike is a savvy player,” Ballard said. “He makes things happen. I told him tonight that I needed him to be a playmaker, to go with his instincts and make plays. Sometimes he has a tendency to question what he’s doing but I told him, don’t look at me, just go make some plays.”
Marcus Kordsmeier, who led the Bulldogs with 18 points, gave St. Joseph its biggest lead at 14-7 on a bucket and a free throw at the 3:08 mark of the first half.
But a couple of inside buckets and a free throw by Stramiello had the Owls trailing by a single point at intermission. Stramiello had 10 of Abundant Life’s points at halftime.
The Owls finally began to solve the Bulldogs’ man defense in the third period when they made 5 of 10 shots. Lottner finally got untracked, opening the quarter with a pull-up three-pointer to give the Owls their first lead of the game. Terrell Ghant followed with a three and Dustin Keathley added another with 2:14 left. Lottner’s spinning 10-footer opened up a 26-19 Abundant Life lead late in the period.
“They threw us off,” Ballard said. “We were all keyed for their world famous match-up zone and went and flipped the script on us (and played man). It was a good move so I decided to change it up on (St. Joseph coach Brent Bruich). We hadn’t played them man before so went to man to see if we couldn’t bother them some.”
Cameron Slayton’s three from the left corner rattled in to give the Owls an eight-point lead and when Lottner scored from 12 feet and Ghant drilled a pair of free throws, it looked like the Owls were home free at 35-25 midway through the final period.
But Abundant Life turned the ball over twice in succession and Kordsmeier delivered a three-pointer and a bucket and free throw to close the gap to 37-34 with 1:52 left.
Stramiello, who made all six of his free throws in the fourth quarter, knocked down a pair to extend the lead to five and Kordsmeier hit one of two to whittle it to four.
St. Joseph had a chance to get it to a one-possession game after another Owl turnover, but missed and Slayton made a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 41-35 with 1:10 left. The Bulldogs’ last gasp came five seconds later when they got two free throws. They missed them both and Lottner made 2 of 4 charities over the final 41 seconds to set the final margin.
While Lottner struggled on the offensive end, he came up with two steals and two blocks. Ghant, the Owls point guard, helped his team to a critical 31-20 advantage on the boards by pulling down a team-high eight rebounds. He also had a pair of steals and scored five points.
After missing all seven of their three-point attempts in the first half, the Owls hit 4 of 6 in the second half and finished the game 11 of 30 overall from the field. They turned it over 19 times. The Bulldogs were a frigid 13 of 42 overall and made only 2 of 14 from deep. The Owls helped themselves at the free throw line, where they made 17 of 21.
“I tell you why a game like this helps our confidence,” Ballard said. “Everybody knows we can play up-tempo and flashy and win on the run. But people question whether we can grind one out and win a tough one. When you can win a tough one like this on their court, that speaks well of you as a team.”
SPORTS >> Bost named new coach at Lonoke
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Lonoke High School an-nounced Monday that current junior high football coach Doug Bost will be the new varsity football coach of the Jackrabbits. He replaces three-year coach Jeff Jones, who announced earlier this year he would be departing to return to Springdale High School as its new defensive coordinator.
“This is something that has come along in the last seven or eight years that I knew I wanted to work toward being some day,” Bost said. “It’s something that I had kind of burning inside of me. It’s very exciting. There were a couple of years that really weren’t like Lonoke football, but we came in with the new system, and now, the kids are excited too.”
That new system was Jones’ version of the popular Spread formation. Bost spent countless hours meeting with Jones over the past three seasons learning the system, and said that will be the same system Jackrabbit fans will see when the 2009 team takes the field in early September.
“I told the kids that 90 to 95 percent of what was in place will still be,” Bost said. “Of course, there are a few of the pass sets that I call a little differently from coach Jones, but it will be the same type of philosophy.”
Bost has also been the boys track coach at Lonoke High for the past seven years. He took over as coach of the junior high football team in 2006, leading the junior ’Rabbits to a conference title and an 8-1 season record in his first year.
“One of the factors was that coach Bost has done such a nice job with the junior high team,” said Lonoke athletic director Mark Hobson. “Learning the system under coach Jones, we expect a smooth transition.”
Lonoke defensive coordinator Tim Scarborough was one of two in-house candidates for the job. Offensive line coach Larry Smith initially expressed interest before pulling out.
As a member of the faculty at Lonoke for the past 13 years, Bost has worked his way up through the ranks. He began as an assistant coach on the junior high team and head coach of the junior high track team.
The Jackrabbits earned their only state championship in football in 1994, but fell on hard times after the departure of coach Mark Uhiren after the 2001 season. Lonoke suffered through four straight losing seasons before Jones came on board in 2006. Jones’ team struggled to a sub-.500 record in his first year, but the Jackrabbits earned a conference runner-up No. 2 seed in his second season, as well as a trip to the second round of the 4A state playoffs. Lonoke won the 2-4A league title outright in 2008 and made it to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs with a final 10-2 record.
Bost will lead the senior boys track team at the indoor meet in Fayetteville this weekend before stepping down from that helm to focus on football. He said athletic director Mark Hobson “has a couple of guys in mind to fill that spot.”
He will have his work cut out for him. Only three starters on offense will return for 2009. That includes running backs Brandon Harris and Morgan Linton, along with guard Tyler Breashears.
Upon the announcement on Monday night at the school board meeting, Bost met with the team the following morning. He will meet with each player individually through the rest of this week to discuss team and individual goals.
He plans on keeping the summer 7-on-7 tournament squad going, as well as the weight regimen for linemen.
“The biggest thing for us this spring will be filling positions,” Bost said. “We lost a lot. We will lift two or three days a week, and we will keep doing the 7-on-7.
“That’s something you have to have when you’re running out of the spread. You have to have the kids out there doing it all summer or you’ll get behind. Lonoke was traditionally an I-formation team, but since we’ve switched to the spread, more kids have come out.”
Leader sportswriter
Lonoke High School an-nounced Monday that current junior high football coach Doug Bost will be the new varsity football coach of the Jackrabbits. He replaces three-year coach Jeff Jones, who announced earlier this year he would be departing to return to Springdale High School as its new defensive coordinator.
“This is something that has come along in the last seven or eight years that I knew I wanted to work toward being some day,” Bost said. “It’s something that I had kind of burning inside of me. It’s very exciting. There were a couple of years that really weren’t like Lonoke football, but we came in with the new system, and now, the kids are excited too.”
That new system was Jones’ version of the popular Spread formation. Bost spent countless hours meeting with Jones over the past three seasons learning the system, and said that will be the same system Jackrabbit fans will see when the 2009 team takes the field in early September.
“I told the kids that 90 to 95 percent of what was in place will still be,” Bost said. “Of course, there are a few of the pass sets that I call a little differently from coach Jones, but it will be the same type of philosophy.”
Bost has also been the boys track coach at Lonoke High for the past seven years. He took over as coach of the junior high football team in 2006, leading the junior ’Rabbits to a conference title and an 8-1 season record in his first year.
“One of the factors was that coach Bost has done such a nice job with the junior high team,” said Lonoke athletic director Mark Hobson. “Learning the system under coach Jones, we expect a smooth transition.”
Lonoke defensive coordinator Tim Scarborough was one of two in-house candidates for the job. Offensive line coach Larry Smith initially expressed interest before pulling out.
As a member of the faculty at Lonoke for the past 13 years, Bost has worked his way up through the ranks. He began as an assistant coach on the junior high team and head coach of the junior high track team.
The Jackrabbits earned their only state championship in football in 1994, but fell on hard times after the departure of coach Mark Uhiren after the 2001 season. Lonoke suffered through four straight losing seasons before Jones came on board in 2006. Jones’ team struggled to a sub-.500 record in his first year, but the Jackrabbits earned a conference runner-up No. 2 seed in his second season, as well as a trip to the second round of the 4A state playoffs. Lonoke won the 2-4A league title outright in 2008 and made it to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs with a final 10-2 record.
Bost will lead the senior boys track team at the indoor meet in Fayetteville this weekend before stepping down from that helm to focus on football. He said athletic director Mark Hobson “has a couple of guys in mind to fill that spot.”
He will have his work cut out for him. Only three starters on offense will return for 2009. That includes running backs Brandon Harris and Morgan Linton, along with guard Tyler Breashears.
Upon the announcement on Monday night at the school board meeting, Bost met with the team the following morning. He will meet with each player individually through the rest of this week to discuss team and individual goals.
He plans on keeping the summer 7-on-7 tournament squad going, as well as the weight regimen for linemen.
“The biggest thing for us this spring will be filling positions,” Bost said. “We lost a lot. We will lift two or three days a week, and we will keep doing the 7-on-7.
“That’s something you have to have when you’re running out of the spread. You have to have the kids out there doing it all summer or you’ll get behind. Lonoke was traditionally an I-formation team, but since we’ve switched to the spread, more kids have come out.”
SPORTS >> Panthers keep pace
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Adam Sterrenberg continued his reign of terror over the 7A Central on Friday night, pouring in 33 points in Cabot’s 72-56 win over Van Buren.
Sterrenberg has scored 196 points over his past seven games — all Panther wins. Cabot has won eight in a row.
Sterrenberg scored 15 of his points in the decisive third quarter, when Cabot rallied. Despite committing no first-half turnovers, Cabot led only 32-31 at intermission before the senior began to score almost at will in the third quarter.
The Pointers did a respectable job of containing the Arkansas State signee in the first half, holding Sterrenberg to only three field goals and nine points.
“When you have an Adam, you have a chance,” said Panthers coach Jerry Bridges. “Very rarely does he have off nights. All of our seniors contributed tonight. I thought Jack (Bridges) hit some big shots early to get us going. I thought (Miles) Monroe did a good job defending their big man, especially in the second half on the rebounding part, also. Austin Johnson is a heck of a ballplayer too; just a great team effort.”
Cabot (20-5 overall) still remains tied with Conway for first place in the 7A-Central Conference standings with 10-2 records. North Little Rock is two games back in third at 9-4.
The containment of Sterrenberg came to an end at the 7:38 mark of the third quarter when he took an assist from Jack Bridges and put the Panthers up 34-31 on a long jumper. He followed that with a steal and lay-up, but his biggest damage began with 4:32 left in the period.
That’s when he hit the first of three-straight shots from behind the arc. The Pointers were still able to keep pace, however, with treys from Tyler Spoon and Brooks White. The last of Sterrenberg’s barrage at the 3:42 mark put the Panthers up 45-37. Seth Bloomberg followed that with a three-point play for Cabot’s first double-digit lead of the night, 48-37.
Aaron Owen snuck in a three-pointer for Van Buren at the buzzer to cut the Panthers’ lead to 52-44 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Pointers still had one push left in them, and used that to pull within 56-50 with 5:13 left on an inside shot by Colton Montgomery. Austin Johnson hit two free throws to extend it back to eight, and Sterrenberg dunked it off a steal at the 4:43 mark for a 60-50 lead.
The fairly large Van Buren crowd held out hope until the 3:48 mark, when Sterrenberg missed a long attempt, but got the ball back when Johnson rebounded and quickly dished back to him. He immediately put it up once again, this time finding all net for a 63-51 lead.
Johnson added late insurance for Cabot with a putback, followed by a three-pointer with 59 seconds left.
“We were trying to run and jump a little too much, and we were leaving their shooters wide open,” Bridges said of Cabot’s defense in the first half. “That’s my fault, and that’s why we said for the second half, let’s go full-court on them and make them work. Let’s get behind the post instead of fronting them.”
Johnson finished with 15 points for Cabot, while Bridges had nine, all on three-pointers. Gary Clark led the Panthers in rebounds with six. Sterrenberg also had four steals along with his 33 points.
Cabot shot 25 of 53 from the field, including 10 of 21 three-pointers, while Van Buren was 19 of 49. The Panthers finished the game with only two team turnovers, compared to 21 for Van Buren. The Pointers won the rebounding battle 28-23.
White led the Pointers with 18 points, with 11 for Owen.
Bridges said his senior-led team of Sterrenberg, Johnson, Monroe, Jack Bridges and Clark have not only brought great success to the program, but have also changed the face of Cabot basketball completely.
“It’s been fun coaching him,” Bridges said of Sterrenberg. “And we’re coming down to that final stretch run. Cabot basketball used to be the laughing stock of 6A/7A, I don’t care what you say. These young men have worked hard to change that. I’m not going to lie, it helps to have an Adam Sterrenberg and Austin Johnson. But dadgummit, Gary Clark, Jack Bridges and Miles Monroe do a great job too for us. I can’t lie, I just try to stay out of his way and not screw him up.”
Cabot finished the regular season out last night at Russellville.
Leader sportswriter
Adam Sterrenberg continued his reign of terror over the 7A Central on Friday night, pouring in 33 points in Cabot’s 72-56 win over Van Buren.
Sterrenberg has scored 196 points over his past seven games — all Panther wins. Cabot has won eight in a row.
Sterrenberg scored 15 of his points in the decisive third quarter, when Cabot rallied. Despite committing no first-half turnovers, Cabot led only 32-31 at intermission before the senior began to score almost at will in the third quarter.
The Pointers did a respectable job of containing the Arkansas State signee in the first half, holding Sterrenberg to only three field goals and nine points.
“When you have an Adam, you have a chance,” said Panthers coach Jerry Bridges. “Very rarely does he have off nights. All of our seniors contributed tonight. I thought Jack (Bridges) hit some big shots early to get us going. I thought (Miles) Monroe did a good job defending their big man, especially in the second half on the rebounding part, also. Austin Johnson is a heck of a ballplayer too; just a great team effort.”
Cabot (20-5 overall) still remains tied with Conway for first place in the 7A-Central Conference standings with 10-2 records. North Little Rock is two games back in third at 9-4.
The containment of Sterrenberg came to an end at the 7:38 mark of the third quarter when he took an assist from Jack Bridges and put the Panthers up 34-31 on a long jumper. He followed that with a steal and lay-up, but his biggest damage began with 4:32 left in the period.
That’s when he hit the first of three-straight shots from behind the arc. The Pointers were still able to keep pace, however, with treys from Tyler Spoon and Brooks White. The last of Sterrenberg’s barrage at the 3:42 mark put the Panthers up 45-37. Seth Bloomberg followed that with a three-point play for Cabot’s first double-digit lead of the night, 48-37.
Aaron Owen snuck in a three-pointer for Van Buren at the buzzer to cut the Panthers’ lead to 52-44 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Pointers still had one push left in them, and used that to pull within 56-50 with 5:13 left on an inside shot by Colton Montgomery. Austin Johnson hit two free throws to extend it back to eight, and Sterrenberg dunked it off a steal at the 4:43 mark for a 60-50 lead.
The fairly large Van Buren crowd held out hope until the 3:48 mark, when Sterrenberg missed a long attempt, but got the ball back when Johnson rebounded and quickly dished back to him. He immediately put it up once again, this time finding all net for a 63-51 lead.
Johnson added late insurance for Cabot with a putback, followed by a three-pointer with 59 seconds left.
“We were trying to run and jump a little too much, and we were leaving their shooters wide open,” Bridges said of Cabot’s defense in the first half. “That’s my fault, and that’s why we said for the second half, let’s go full-court on them and make them work. Let’s get behind the post instead of fronting them.”
Johnson finished with 15 points for Cabot, while Bridges had nine, all on three-pointers. Gary Clark led the Panthers in rebounds with six. Sterrenberg also had four steals along with his 33 points.
Cabot shot 25 of 53 from the field, including 10 of 21 three-pointers, while Van Buren was 19 of 49. The Panthers finished the game with only two team turnovers, compared to 21 for Van Buren. The Pointers won the rebounding battle 28-23.
White led the Pointers with 18 points, with 11 for Owen.
Bridges said his senior-led team of Sterrenberg, Johnson, Monroe, Jack Bridges and Clark have not only brought great success to the program, but have also changed the face of Cabot basketball completely.
“It’s been fun coaching him,” Bridges said of Sterrenberg. “And we’re coming down to that final stretch run. Cabot basketball used to be the laughing stock of 6A/7A, I don’t care what you say. These young men have worked hard to change that. I’m not going to lie, it helps to have an Adam Sterrenberg and Austin Johnson. But dadgummit, Gary Clark, Jack Bridges and Miles Monroe do a great job too for us. I can’t lie, I just try to stay out of his way and not screw him up.”
Cabot finished the regular season out last night at Russellville.
SPORTS >> Lady ’Rabbits grab district title
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
BATESVILLE – Want to spice up an already bitter rivalry?
Just put a little hardware on the line.
The Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits put up one of their best defensive efforts of the year in a 47-35 win over Bald Knob to capture the 2-4A district championship on Saturday at SHS Southerner gymnasium. The Lady Bulldogs swept Lonoke (21-7) during the regular season, but struggled to find any offense in the third meeting other than senior post Brittany Fulks’ 13-point, nine-rebound performance.
The win gives the Lady Jackrabbits a No. 1 seed heading into this week’s 4A East Region tournament at Heber Springs. Lonoke will take on 3-4A No. 4 seed Trumann today at 4 p.m.
“We have a lot of respect for them, but I guess it’s like the old days of Texas and Arkansas,” said Lady Jackrabbits coach Nathan Morris, of Bald Knob. “We have a genuine dislike for each other because they are our rivals. Not that we’re wishing anything bad on them, we just don’t like them that much. You can tell by all the close games and the fan support that both teams have, and we are consistently playing each other with a lot on the line.”
Lonoke had plenty of offense for the task, just not from any of the usual suspects. It was junior point guard Michaela Brown that led the way for the Lady ’Rabs with 17 points, four assists and three steals, eclipsing the normal point generators of Asiah Scribner, Cara Neighbors and junior guard Ashleigh Himstedt.
The trio still finished with good numbers. Neighbors had nine points, six rebounds and four steals. Scribner had seven points and 10 rebounds, while Himstedt chipped in six points. But perhaps the biggest story in the game was who didn’t produce for Bald Knob.
All-state senior guard Phagen Altom struggled to reach double digits in the second game between the two teams, and fell short on Saturday. All of Altom’s eight points for the game came at the foul line. She was 8 of 10 at the stripe, 0 of 4 from the floor.
“We did a great job of defending,” said Morris. “We didn’t give up any easy baskets. We took them on man-to-man, and did as good a job as we have done all year.”
At 5-6, Brown was one of the smallest players on the court, but played bigger than everyone. Besides her stellar defensive work against Altom, her biggest offensive play of the game with 1:20 left to play killed momentum during Bald Knob’s biggest run when she drove the paint and floated to the basket for a side-arm shot that gave Lonoke a 43-35 lead.
The Lady Bulldogs began to find Fulks inside to start the fourth quarter. She cut a 40-25 lead at the end of the third with two free throws, followed by a three-point play that made it a 10-point game with 7:03 left. A free throw by Scribner at the 4:59 mark served as Lonoke’s only point in the fourth quarter until Brown’s strong move late.
That put momentum back on the Lady ’Rabbits side, as Himstedt caused a steal that was picked up by Neighbors on the ensuing BK possession. She converted for two, and Erin Shoemaker put it away with 47 seconds left following a Lady Bulldog miss with a basket assisted by Brown that made it 45-35. Brown and Scribner each tacked on a free throw from there to set the final score.
“That kid came to play,” Morris said. “On both ends, offense and defense. She kept Altom from getting in the lane too many times and frustrated her. She got to the basket, opened things up. I can’t say enough about her game. Seventeen points, that’s like Asiah or Cara scoring 30.”
Brown wasted no time showing her hand, putting Lonoke up 2-0 on a jumper to start the game, and a three-pointer moments later to up the advantage to five. She struck again at the 1:41 mark with a basket that gave the Lady ’Rabbits a 10-4 lead.
She hit another from long distance to start the second quarter, and senior Lauren Harper backed Brown up at the 5:13 mark with a trey that gave Lonoke a 17-13 lead.
Brown then ended the first half the same way she started it, with a strong move to the basket to give the Lady Jackrabbits a 26-19 lead at intermission.
The Lady Jackrabbits finished 15 of 35 from the floor, and 3 of 6 behind the three-point line. They were 14 of 29 at the foul line, and had nine turnovers. Bald Knob was 9 of 29 from the field and 1 of 11 on three-point attempts and had 14 turnovers for the game.
Leader sportswriter
BATESVILLE – Want to spice up an already bitter rivalry?
Just put a little hardware on the line.
The Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits put up one of their best defensive efforts of the year in a 47-35 win over Bald Knob to capture the 2-4A district championship on Saturday at SHS Southerner gymnasium. The Lady Bulldogs swept Lonoke (21-7) during the regular season, but struggled to find any offense in the third meeting other than senior post Brittany Fulks’ 13-point, nine-rebound performance.
The win gives the Lady Jackrabbits a No. 1 seed heading into this week’s 4A East Region tournament at Heber Springs. Lonoke will take on 3-4A No. 4 seed Trumann today at 4 p.m.
“We have a lot of respect for them, but I guess it’s like the old days of Texas and Arkansas,” said Lady Jackrabbits coach Nathan Morris, of Bald Knob. “We have a genuine dislike for each other because they are our rivals. Not that we’re wishing anything bad on them, we just don’t like them that much. You can tell by all the close games and the fan support that both teams have, and we are consistently playing each other with a lot on the line.”
Lonoke had plenty of offense for the task, just not from any of the usual suspects. It was junior point guard Michaela Brown that led the way for the Lady ’Rabs with 17 points, four assists and three steals, eclipsing the normal point generators of Asiah Scribner, Cara Neighbors and junior guard Ashleigh Himstedt.
The trio still finished with good numbers. Neighbors had nine points, six rebounds and four steals. Scribner had seven points and 10 rebounds, while Himstedt chipped in six points. But perhaps the biggest story in the game was who didn’t produce for Bald Knob.
All-state senior guard Phagen Altom struggled to reach double digits in the second game between the two teams, and fell short on Saturday. All of Altom’s eight points for the game came at the foul line. She was 8 of 10 at the stripe, 0 of 4 from the floor.
“We did a great job of defending,” said Morris. “We didn’t give up any easy baskets. We took them on man-to-man, and did as good a job as we have done all year.”
At 5-6, Brown was one of the smallest players on the court, but played bigger than everyone. Besides her stellar defensive work against Altom, her biggest offensive play of the game with 1:20 left to play killed momentum during Bald Knob’s biggest run when she drove the paint and floated to the basket for a side-arm shot that gave Lonoke a 43-35 lead.
The Lady Bulldogs began to find Fulks inside to start the fourth quarter. She cut a 40-25 lead at the end of the third with two free throws, followed by a three-point play that made it a 10-point game with 7:03 left. A free throw by Scribner at the 4:59 mark served as Lonoke’s only point in the fourth quarter until Brown’s strong move late.
That put momentum back on the Lady ’Rabbits side, as Himstedt caused a steal that was picked up by Neighbors on the ensuing BK possession. She converted for two, and Erin Shoemaker put it away with 47 seconds left following a Lady Bulldog miss with a basket assisted by Brown that made it 45-35. Brown and Scribner each tacked on a free throw from there to set the final score.
“That kid came to play,” Morris said. “On both ends, offense and defense. She kept Altom from getting in the lane too many times and frustrated her. She got to the basket, opened things up. I can’t say enough about her game. Seventeen points, that’s like Asiah or Cara scoring 30.”
Brown wasted no time showing her hand, putting Lonoke up 2-0 on a jumper to start the game, and a three-pointer moments later to up the advantage to five. She struck again at the 1:41 mark with a basket that gave the Lady ’Rabbits a 10-4 lead.
She hit another from long distance to start the second quarter, and senior Lauren Harper backed Brown up at the 5:13 mark with a trey that gave Lonoke a 17-13 lead.
Brown then ended the first half the same way she started it, with a strong move to the basket to give the Lady Jackrabbits a 26-19 lead at intermission.
The Lady Jackrabbits finished 15 of 35 from the floor, and 3 of 6 behind the three-point line. They were 14 of 29 at the foul line, and had nine turnovers. Bald Knob was 9 of 29 from the field and 1 of 11 on three-point attempts and had 14 turnovers for the game.
SPORTS >> Moore released from team for leaving bench
By JOE ANGOLIA
UALR sports information
UALR head coach Steve Shields announced Monday that junior guard Steven Moore has been dismissed from the men’s basketball team. Moore was suspended from Saturday’s game at North Texas for his actions during the Western Kentucky game on Feb. 19, which included walking off the court midway through the first half.
“I met with Steve this morning and have decided in the best interest of our basketball team to move forward without him. We appreciate Steve’s contributions over the last three years and wish him the best going forward,” said Shields.
“With us being in a race for the overall conference championship, we have a big week ahead of us with games against New Orleans and Louisiana-Lafayette. I know how excited our guys are about the challenge in front of us.”
Moore, the team’s leading scorer at 13.6 points per game, came out of the WKU game with 9:43 left in the first half after a disagreement with Shields.
He left the floor at the 8:10 mark and went to the locker room, only to reemerge with 6:21 on the clock and sit in the stands. He went back to the locker room with 2:52 left in the half, but came back out with the team at the start of the second half.
Moore was named preseason All-Sun Belt Conference prior to the start of the 2008-09 season, and was averaging team highs of 13.6 points and 3.2 assists per game for the Trojans.
He was suspended at the start of the season for conduct detrimental to the team, and missed UALR’s first two games. Following Saturday’s win at North Texas, the Trojans are now 4-0 in games Moore has missed this year.
A native of Little Rock and a North Pulaski graduate, Moore played in 84 games over the past three seasons with 48 starts, and averaged 9.8 points per game for his career.
As a sophomore, Moore led UALR in scoring and assists, averaging 9.9 points and 3.5 assists per game. UALR (20-7, 13-3) closes out the regular season at home this week with games against New Orleans (Feb. 26) and Louisiana-Lafayette (Feb. 28).
The Trojans are currently tied with WKU atop the Sun Belt Conference standings with a 13-3 record in league play.
UALR sports information
UALR head coach Steve Shields announced Monday that junior guard Steven Moore has been dismissed from the men’s basketball team. Moore was suspended from Saturday’s game at North Texas for his actions during the Western Kentucky game on Feb. 19, which included walking off the court midway through the first half.
“I met with Steve this morning and have decided in the best interest of our basketball team to move forward without him. We appreciate Steve’s contributions over the last three years and wish him the best going forward,” said Shields.
“With us being in a race for the overall conference championship, we have a big week ahead of us with games against New Orleans and Louisiana-Lafayette. I know how excited our guys are about the challenge in front of us.”
Moore, the team’s leading scorer at 13.6 points per game, came out of the WKU game with 9:43 left in the first half after a disagreement with Shields.
He left the floor at the 8:10 mark and went to the locker room, only to reemerge with 6:21 on the clock and sit in the stands. He went back to the locker room with 2:52 left in the half, but came back out with the team at the start of the second half.
Moore was named preseason All-Sun Belt Conference prior to the start of the 2008-09 season, and was averaging team highs of 13.6 points and 3.2 assists per game for the Trojans.
He was suspended at the start of the season for conduct detrimental to the team, and missed UALR’s first two games. Following Saturday’s win at North Texas, the Trojans are now 4-0 in games Moore has missed this year.
A native of Little Rock and a North Pulaski graduate, Moore played in 84 games over the past three seasons with 48 starts, and averaged 9.8 points per game for his career.
As a sophomore, Moore led UALR in scoring and assists, averaging 9.9 points and 3.5 assists per game. UALR (20-7, 13-3) closes out the regular season at home this week with games against New Orleans (Feb. 26) and Louisiana-Lafayette (Feb. 28).
The Trojans are currently tied with WKU atop the Sun Belt Conference standings with a 13-3 record in league play.
SPORTS >> Red Devils pounce early
By CHAD MATCHETT
Special to The Leader
Marion didn’t give up, but also didn’t have a chance against Jacksonville on Friday night at the Devils’ Den.
Jacksonville took the lead for good with the first shot of the game, cruising to a 53-42 win over the Patriots.
Deshone McClure drained a three-pointer to spark a 10-2 run to begin the game. McClure scored seven points during the run, including another three-pointer.
Jacksonville was forced into a slower tempo than coach Victor Joyner would like, but still held a comfortable lead throughout.
“We’ve got a bigger team, so they did what they had to do,” Joyner said. “He spread us out on defense and was really patient. So we adjusted and I thought did a pretty good job.”
McClure was the only Red Devil to score in double figures with 21 points. The junior guard did it both inside and outside with three dunks and three three-pointers.
The Red Devils’ largest lead came midway though the third quarter after a pair of Cortrell Eskridge free throws made the score 40-17. McClure had scored seven straight points before that with a dunk, followed by a steal at half court and another dunk. McClure’s third three followed.
Jacksonville had identical first-half runs at 15-7 in the first and second quarters.
Marion (11-14, 3-9) was able to cut into the lead in the fourth quarter, but never pulled the deficit within single digits.
“The guys seem to relax a little with a 20-point lead and you don’t want that,” said Joyner. “The other team is playing even harder trying to come back and you need to be able to keep that intensity. But we had another blessing tonight.”
Jacksonville improved to 17-3 overall and 10-1 in the 6A-East with the win. Laquinton Miles scored nine points, while Demetrius Harris added seven and Cortrell Eskridge six.
MARION 53,
JACKSONVILLE GIRLS 47
The Jacksonville Lady Devils gave another tough opponent a scare, but also came up just short again against Marion.
Jacksonville fell 53-47 to the Lady Patriots on Friday night after fighting back from 17 points down.
“Our girls just don’t give up,” Jacksonville coach Katrina Mimms said. “Marion is a really good team, but we didn’t let ourselves get down mentally just because we were behind.”
Marion raced out to big lead at 15-6 after the first quarter and seemed to have control of the game early. The Lady Patriots are in third place in the 6A-East and ranked fourth overall in Class 6A.
Jacksonville was able to cut into that lead in the second quarter to go into halftime down 23-19.
Too many turnovers in the third quarter by Jacksonville allowed Marion to surge back ahead to a 42-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Marion quickly increased that lead to 46-29 after a pair of buckets.
Jacksonville seemed to have run out of gas with no points in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the fourth. Then suddenly, the shots started to fall for the Lady Red Devils.
Sherice Randell’s lay-up began a rally that turned into a 16-2 run for the Lady Red Devils. Tyra Terry scored the last six points of the run to pull Jacksonville within a single basket at 47-45.
After trading baskets, Marion made an extra free throw to take a 50-47 lead with just over one minute left to play.
But the rim finally became unkind to Jacksonville in the final seconds. Terry was fouled during a three-point attempt with 47 seconds remaining in the game. Each of the next three free-throw attempts was off just enough to bounce off the rim.
Jacksonville was forced to foul, but the Lady Patriots made 3 of 4 free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.
Marion improved to 20-4 overall and 9-3 in the 6A-East with the win. Jacksonville fell to 7-18 overall and 1-11 in conference action.
Terry led the Lady Red Devils with 15 points, while Randell added 12.
Special to The Leader
Marion didn’t give up, but also didn’t have a chance against Jacksonville on Friday night at the Devils’ Den.
Jacksonville took the lead for good with the first shot of the game, cruising to a 53-42 win over the Patriots.
Deshone McClure drained a three-pointer to spark a 10-2 run to begin the game. McClure scored seven points during the run, including another three-pointer.
Jacksonville was forced into a slower tempo than coach Victor Joyner would like, but still held a comfortable lead throughout.
“We’ve got a bigger team, so they did what they had to do,” Joyner said. “He spread us out on defense and was really patient. So we adjusted and I thought did a pretty good job.”
McClure was the only Red Devil to score in double figures with 21 points. The junior guard did it both inside and outside with three dunks and three three-pointers.
The Red Devils’ largest lead came midway though the third quarter after a pair of Cortrell Eskridge free throws made the score 40-17. McClure had scored seven straight points before that with a dunk, followed by a steal at half court and another dunk. McClure’s third three followed.
Jacksonville had identical first-half runs at 15-7 in the first and second quarters.
Marion (11-14, 3-9) was able to cut into the lead in the fourth quarter, but never pulled the deficit within single digits.
“The guys seem to relax a little with a 20-point lead and you don’t want that,” said Joyner. “The other team is playing even harder trying to come back and you need to be able to keep that intensity. But we had another blessing tonight.”
Jacksonville improved to 17-3 overall and 10-1 in the 6A-East with the win. Laquinton Miles scored nine points, while Demetrius Harris added seven and Cortrell Eskridge six.
MARION 53,
JACKSONVILLE GIRLS 47
The Jacksonville Lady Devils gave another tough opponent a scare, but also came up just short again against Marion.
Jacksonville fell 53-47 to the Lady Patriots on Friday night after fighting back from 17 points down.
“Our girls just don’t give up,” Jacksonville coach Katrina Mimms said. “Marion is a really good team, but we didn’t let ourselves get down mentally just because we were behind.”
Marion raced out to big lead at 15-6 after the first quarter and seemed to have control of the game early. The Lady Patriots are in third place in the 6A-East and ranked fourth overall in Class 6A.
Jacksonville was able to cut into that lead in the second quarter to go into halftime down 23-19.
Too many turnovers in the third quarter by Jacksonville allowed Marion to surge back ahead to a 42-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Marion quickly increased that lead to 46-29 after a pair of buckets.
Jacksonville seemed to have run out of gas with no points in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the fourth. Then suddenly, the shots started to fall for the Lady Red Devils.
Sherice Randell’s lay-up began a rally that turned into a 16-2 run for the Lady Red Devils. Tyra Terry scored the last six points of the run to pull Jacksonville within a single basket at 47-45.
After trading baskets, Marion made an extra free throw to take a 50-47 lead with just over one minute left to play.
But the rim finally became unkind to Jacksonville in the final seconds. Terry was fouled during a three-point attempt with 47 seconds remaining in the game. Each of the next three free-throw attempts was off just enough to bounce off the rim.
Jacksonville was forced to foul, but the Lady Patriots made 3 of 4 free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.
Marion improved to 20-4 overall and 9-3 in the 6A-East with the win. Jacksonville fell to 7-18 overall and 1-11 in conference action.
Terry led the Lady Red Devils with 15 points, while Randell added 12.
Monday, February 23, 2009
EDITORIAL >> Anniversary to remember
Thursday, Feb. 19, was not an official holiday nor should it be, but it is a day worth marking from time to time because it bears lessons that we keep forgetting, or rationalizing. On Feb. 19, 1942, Franklin D. Roosevelt, a great president, a good man and a wise one in nearly all respects, issued Executive Order 9066, which caused 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent to be imprisoned so that they would not be a threat to people living on the West Coast.
Two of the prisons, or “relocation centers” as they were called, were set up in the cotton fields of southeast Arkansas, at Rohwer and Jerome, and there, all those Americans who had done nothing wrong waited out the war behind barbed wire. So the name of Arkansas was yoked in history to still another shame, though in this instance the state and its people were not complicit. By most accounts Arkansas was quite hospitable, and quite a few of the residents there decided to make Arkansas their home after the war.
One was Sam Yada, who lived in Sherwood and ran a nursery business before his death a few years ago. He was well known and beloved in this community. Yada was not bitter, but he did not forget and he did not want his countrymen to forget. He raised money to erect a monument, a stone obelisk, at Rohwer to the people who endured or died at the camps. The monument’s plaque utters no reproaches to the country or the government but honors the memory of the Japanese-American soldiers who fought valiantly with the 442nd Regiment, the “Go for Broke” Regiment.
Sam Yada’s was only one of 9,000 stories of the manifest injustice of E.O. 9066 from the Arkansas Delta, for which the United States government has now formally apologized. Others have spilled out in oral histories and remembrances in the past quarter century.
Here is one you may not have heard. Yuri Kochiyama, who now lives in a nursing home in Oakland, Calif., was 20 and living in a small working-class town outside Los Angeles when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The next day the FBI came to her house to fetch her father, who had just come home from the hospital after stomach surgery. “Is there a Seguchi Nakahara living here?” an agent asked. They took him away and Yuri ran down the street to find her mother.
It took weeks before Kochiyama’s family could see him. He was held at a military hospital with soldiers wounded on Wake Island and they feared for his life because of the hostility in the hospital. The FBI sent him home at suppertime one day and he died that night.
Then Roosevelt, responding to the hysteria about all the Japanese, mostly native Hawaiians, on the West Coast, issued E.O. 9066 and Yuri and her mourning family were rounded up and put on a train for Arkansas. They arrived like cattle and were herded into pens and makeshift barracks. Two brothers fought for the United States but not heroically enough apparently that their mother and siblings should be spared the punishment that went with their ancestry.
Yuri, who met her future husband behind the wire at Rohwer, became a lifelong civil rights activist. Malcolm X, who was assassinated in the Audubon Ballroom in New York City 44 years ago today, died in her arms.
Sam Yada and Yuri Kochiyama did not want us to forget. But in the hysteria of crisis we do forget and the lesson has to be learned again and again, the lesson that the liberties of free people should not and need not be sacrificed in the name of patriotism or ersatz security. Safety and freedom are not countermanding principles. Every Feb. 19, we ought to take a few moments to recite the lesson.
Two of the prisons, or “relocation centers” as they were called, were set up in the cotton fields of southeast Arkansas, at Rohwer and Jerome, and there, all those Americans who had done nothing wrong waited out the war behind barbed wire. So the name of Arkansas was yoked in history to still another shame, though in this instance the state and its people were not complicit. By most accounts Arkansas was quite hospitable, and quite a few of the residents there decided to make Arkansas their home after the war.
One was Sam Yada, who lived in Sherwood and ran a nursery business before his death a few years ago. He was well known and beloved in this community. Yada was not bitter, but he did not forget and he did not want his countrymen to forget. He raised money to erect a monument, a stone obelisk, at Rohwer to the people who endured or died at the camps. The monument’s plaque utters no reproaches to the country or the government but honors the memory of the Japanese-American soldiers who fought valiantly with the 442nd Regiment, the “Go for Broke” Regiment.
Sam Yada’s was only one of 9,000 stories of the manifest injustice of E.O. 9066 from the Arkansas Delta, for which the United States government has now formally apologized. Others have spilled out in oral histories and remembrances in the past quarter century.
Here is one you may not have heard. Yuri Kochiyama, who now lives in a nursing home in Oakland, Calif., was 20 and living in a small working-class town outside Los Angeles when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The next day the FBI came to her house to fetch her father, who had just come home from the hospital after stomach surgery. “Is there a Seguchi Nakahara living here?” an agent asked. They took him away and Yuri ran down the street to find her mother.
It took weeks before Kochiyama’s family could see him. He was held at a military hospital with soldiers wounded on Wake Island and they feared for his life because of the hostility in the hospital. The FBI sent him home at suppertime one day and he died that night.
Then Roosevelt, responding to the hysteria about all the Japanese, mostly native Hawaiians, on the West Coast, issued E.O. 9066 and Yuri and her mourning family were rounded up and put on a train for Arkansas. They arrived like cattle and were herded into pens and makeshift barracks. Two brothers fought for the United States but not heroically enough apparently that their mother and siblings should be spared the punishment that went with their ancestry.
Yuri, who met her future husband behind the wire at Rohwer, became a lifelong civil rights activist. Malcolm X, who was assassinated in the Audubon Ballroom in New York City 44 years ago today, died in her arms.
Sam Yada and Yuri Kochiyama did not want us to forget. But in the hysteria of crisis we do forget and the lesson has to be learned again and again, the lesson that the liberties of free people should not and need not be sacrificed in the name of patriotism or ersatz security. Safety and freedom are not countermanding principles. Every Feb. 19, we ought to take a few moments to recite the lesson.
TOP STORY >> Trash haulers see slowdown
By ALIYA FELDMAN
Leader editor
Jacksonville’s landfill addition is in business, but the waste company has delayed closing the original dump.
The addition, which is doubling the size of the dump, was approved in 2008 with the understanding that the first dump would close last August.
The dump’s management blames the slowing economy and receipt of less trash for its continued use. The new landfill opened on Jan. 20.
“The old landfill has not been capped. We are currently developing construction plans for the capping project,” David Conrad, director of landfill operations at Two Pine, said.
The old landfill stopped taking trash temporarily on Jan. 19, but will open again for use, Conrad said. He had previously asked the state if both landfills could be used simultaneously, but that request was denied.
He said the old landfill will be opened for use again sometime between May and July.
“We pulled off of the old landfill in January due to high winds. By late summer, we should be done filling in the old landfill,” Conrad said.
Two Pine representatives at Jacksonville City Council meetings and a public meeting last spring, said the original landfill would be at capacity by last August.
Conrad said that much less trash is coming into the dump because businesses are closing and less shopping is being done as a result of the bad economy.
He said the dump averaged 1,800 to 2,000 tons of trash a day last year. Now about 1,200 to 1,400 tons make it there.
Conrad said the dump is permitted to be 430 feet above sea level. “We’re at top elevation,” he said.
It sits on about 96 acres of land at the intersection of Hwy. 67/167 and I-440. Waste Management owns 530 acres there. The new dump, when included with the existing trash mound, will bring the total trash range to 239 acres. It is permitted to hold 34.4 million tons of trash for 24 years.
The old dump is not yet at lateral capacity. “If you drive by, part of the landfill looks like a saddle,” he said. “On each end, there are two higher parts.”
“The tops of the saddle are at final grade,” he said. He said “the middle of the saddle” has room to dump more trash. Until that happens, the original dump will be available for use.
The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), which regulates disposal of trash and other potentially hazardous materials, approved the landfill expansion on April 21 last year.
“Approved closure and final cover plans for the existing landfill were already in place before the expansion was approved,” Aaron Sadler, a spokesman for ADEQ, said.
“We’re developing construction drawings to tell a contractor to do the capping,” Conrad said.
He said he hopes capping will start by late spring.
“We just want to clarify what the different layers of the cap would be,” Conrad said.
Over the more than 30 years the dump has been in use, there have been various designs. Conrad said he wants to “cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s.”
He said 35 acres are planned for capping in 2009 and 20 acres in 2010.
Capping includes landscaping intended to make the mound look more appealing than a trash heap.
A liner made from polyethylene is put down beneath soil and vegetation to prevent leakage.
The grass planted on a closed dump is considered landscaping, according to Conrad. He said I-440 was built too close to the dump for room to plant trees or other plants that could help block the sight of the trash heap at Jacksonville’s entrance.
Last year, concerns were raised at ADEQ about protection against flooding near the dump.
In a letter dated Oct. 14, 2008, ADEQ notified Two Pine that the relief channel that would prevent the landfill and Hwy. 67/167 from flooding was not completed.
“If the relief channel is not completed and waste is allowed to be placed in Cell 1, there is potential for the washout of solid waste, which may pose a hazard to human health and the environment,” the letter stated.
ADEQ later approved beginning stages of the new dump’s construction.
“Engineers for construction of the flood-relief channel in cell 1 of the expansion area provided documentation to ADEQ that showed the channel had been constructed to FEMA and permit requirements.
“Once the documentation was reviewed, ADEQ approved use of that cell in the expansion area,” Sadler said.
Conrad said the landfill has “plenty of capacity for flood waters because the landfill is not built yet…It will be many years before the 144 acres are full.
“The relief channel will be done this summer or spring,” Conrad said.
Wetland mitigation is also planned for completion at that time. Land previously cultivated for soybeans will be restored to bottomland hardwood forest.
“ADEQ reviewed and issued the permit for the landfill based on applicable federal and state regulations that protect human health and the environment.
“In addition, the landfill is inspected by ADEQ inspectors quarterly. Inspectors have not found any problems at the landfill over the past four inspections,” Sadler said.
Leader editor
Jacksonville’s landfill addition is in business, but the waste company has delayed closing the original dump.
The addition, which is doubling the size of the dump, was approved in 2008 with the understanding that the first dump would close last August.
The dump’s management blames the slowing economy and receipt of less trash for its continued use. The new landfill opened on Jan. 20.
“The old landfill has not been capped. We are currently developing construction plans for the capping project,” David Conrad, director of landfill operations at Two Pine, said.
The old landfill stopped taking trash temporarily on Jan. 19, but will open again for use, Conrad said. He had previously asked the state if both landfills could be used simultaneously, but that request was denied.
He said the old landfill will be opened for use again sometime between May and July.
“We pulled off of the old landfill in January due to high winds. By late summer, we should be done filling in the old landfill,” Conrad said.
Two Pine representatives at Jacksonville City Council meetings and a public meeting last spring, said the original landfill would be at capacity by last August.
Conrad said that much less trash is coming into the dump because businesses are closing and less shopping is being done as a result of the bad economy.
He said the dump averaged 1,800 to 2,000 tons of trash a day last year. Now about 1,200 to 1,400 tons make it there.
Conrad said the dump is permitted to be 430 feet above sea level. “We’re at top elevation,” he said.
It sits on about 96 acres of land at the intersection of Hwy. 67/167 and I-440. Waste Management owns 530 acres there. The new dump, when included with the existing trash mound, will bring the total trash range to 239 acres. It is permitted to hold 34.4 million tons of trash for 24 years.
The old dump is not yet at lateral capacity. “If you drive by, part of the landfill looks like a saddle,” he said. “On each end, there are two higher parts.”
“The tops of the saddle are at final grade,” he said. He said “the middle of the saddle” has room to dump more trash. Until that happens, the original dump will be available for use.
The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), which regulates disposal of trash and other potentially hazardous materials, approved the landfill expansion on April 21 last year.
“Approved closure and final cover plans for the existing landfill were already in place before the expansion was approved,” Aaron Sadler, a spokesman for ADEQ, said.
“We’re developing construction drawings to tell a contractor to do the capping,” Conrad said.
He said he hopes capping will start by late spring.
“We just want to clarify what the different layers of the cap would be,” Conrad said.
Over the more than 30 years the dump has been in use, there have been various designs. Conrad said he wants to “cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s.”
He said 35 acres are planned for capping in 2009 and 20 acres in 2010.
Capping includes landscaping intended to make the mound look more appealing than a trash heap.
A liner made from polyethylene is put down beneath soil and vegetation to prevent leakage.
The grass planted on a closed dump is considered landscaping, according to Conrad. He said I-440 was built too close to the dump for room to plant trees or other plants that could help block the sight of the trash heap at Jacksonville’s entrance.
Last year, concerns were raised at ADEQ about protection against flooding near the dump.
In a letter dated Oct. 14, 2008, ADEQ notified Two Pine that the relief channel that would prevent the landfill and Hwy. 67/167 from flooding was not completed.
“If the relief channel is not completed and waste is allowed to be placed in Cell 1, there is potential for the washout of solid waste, which may pose a hazard to human health and the environment,” the letter stated.
ADEQ later approved beginning stages of the new dump’s construction.
“Engineers for construction of the flood-relief channel in cell 1 of the expansion area provided documentation to ADEQ that showed the channel had been constructed to FEMA and permit requirements.
“Once the documentation was reviewed, ADEQ approved use of that cell in the expansion area,” Sadler said.
Conrad said the landfill has “plenty of capacity for flood waters because the landfill is not built yet…It will be many years before the 144 acres are full.
“The relief channel will be done this summer or spring,” Conrad said.
Wetland mitigation is also planned for completion at that time. Land previously cultivated for soybeans will be restored to bottomland hardwood forest.
“ADEQ reviewed and issued the permit for the landfill based on applicable federal and state regulations that protect human health and the environment.
“In addition, the landfill is inspected by ADEQ inspectors quarterly. Inspectors have not found any problems at the landfill over the past four inspections,” Sadler said.
TOP STORY >> Metroplan to act on stimulus bill
By ERIC FRANCIS
Special to The Leader
Projects in Sherwood, Cabot and Jacksonville are on the short list for how $14.2 million in federal stimulus money for local projects will be spent.
Metroplan, the regional planning agency for Pulaski, Lonoke, Saline and Faulkner counties, had produced a tentative list of “shovel-ready” projects in central Arkansas before the federal stimulus bill was finalized. Its board will make the final allocation when it meets at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Little Rock.
“We have a number of projects that were suggested when the whole stimulus package was brought up,” said Richard Magee, deputy director of Metroplan. “We have some that were already in our pipeline, and a combination of those plus these new projects is what we’re trying to sift through.
“The problem is trying to determine if they’re ‘shovel-ready,’” he added. “Are they actually close to ready to go?”
The projects identified by the Metroplan staff for consideration by the full board – which is composed of mayors and county judges from its member governments – include Graham Road in Jacksonville; Brockington Road in Sherwood; the interchange of Highways 67/167 and 5 in Cabot; Military Road in Benton; the Salem rail-grade separation in Conway; the South Loop rail-grade separation in Little Rock; a roundabout on Pike Avenue in North Little Rock; and in Pulaski County, Kanis Road bridge replacements, a pedestrian bridge over the Little Maumelle River, and improvements to the Big Dam Bridge.
While the initial list produced by the Metroplan staff showed costs ranging from $500,000 to $8.37 million for these projects, Magee noted that they have since reviewed each project with local officials and some of those amounts will have changed by Wednesday’s meeting. Also, the original list anticipated $12.7 million in stimulus money, but that grew by $1.5 million in the final package.
The influx of federal money will not only allow pay for a number of projects that are ready to go, Pulaski County Judge Floyd G. “Buddy” Villines III said, but it will also free up some funds already allocated for those projects to be put to use elsewhere.
“We’ve got some money already in the form of the ICE-T bill last year, the federal program,” Villines said. “We’re trying to figure out how we can get the most bang for our bucks.”
Villines said he understands that local governments have up to one year to get their projects under contract.
“But I think it’ll go pretty fast,” he said.
In Sherwood, $4.6 million of Surface Transportation Program funds allocated for the Brockington Road project would become available for another project.
Sherwood Mayor Virginia Hillman said that while the Brockington Road widening project is already funded by the Highway Department, approval of stimulus money for it would mean additional road work could be done in the city.
“Probably some improvements on, perhaps, Woodruff or Maryland,” she said of likely uses for the $4.6 million that would be freed up.
The widening of Brockington to four lanes is actually already under-way, with phase one starting at Indian Bay and going north.
Phase two, which is what’s on the Metroplan short list, would go from Indian Bay south to Kiehl Avenue, she said.
The Graham Road project in Jacksonville involves widening it to four lanes from Loop Road to Oak Street, a distance of about 1.14 miles. Mayor Tommy Swaim said he’s also checking into other potential projects in the event more stimulus money becomes available.
“We’re doing the engineering and design work on two other projects to hopefully get some of the later stimulus money,” said Swaim. “That would be the straightening of West Main Street and the extension of Oneida Street to the West Main cutoff.”
Those were not “shovel-ready” at the time the stimulus project list was initially put together, the mayor said.
As for a timetable on the Graham Road project, Swaim said he didn’t have one, but noted that if the stimulus money hadn’t come along, it could havve been 2011 before it happened.
“The Graham Road project was on the Transportation Improvement Program and was to be funded hopefully within the next two years,” he said. “This just moves it forward that period of time.”
Swaim cautioned that there was still “a lot unknown” about the stimulus package – for example, the regulations regarding expenditures haven’t yet been released – but he hoped that it would have “a long-term effect” and that additional money would come out later for more local projects.
Metroplan’s Magee noted that in some cases, money from other sources would actually be freed up because of the stimulus spending.
The work on the Hwy. 67/167 exit at Hwy. 5 will be in the northwest quadrant of that interchange, which Cabot Mayor Eddie Joe Williams has said would help alleviate congestion there.
The $14.2 million going to local projects will actually be coming out of a much larger appropriation going to the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, said spokesman Randy Ort.
While that number hasn’t been nailed down yet – the federal Highway Administration had 21 days from the signing of the stimulus bill to draft orders for state highway departments – Ort said that “our best guess is it looks like Arkansas is going to get in the neighborhood of $350 million to $360 million.”
Some of that will go to Metroplan and some to West Memphis, which is part of the metropolitan planning area that includes Memphis. The rest will be spent by the Highway Department.
And no, Ort said, they can’t say where yet. At least not specifically.
“We have gone on the record that we plan to spread it around the state,” he said. “We have documented around 150 or so projects we could have ready to go within the time frame mandated, and those projects are well over $1 billion.”
Once the federal Highway Administration has issued its marching orders to state departments, Ort said, half of the stimulus money on a given projects must be obligated within 120 days, with the remainder spent within one year.
According to an MSNBC interview with Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas) posted on the network’s Web site, the stimulus money should create 31,000 jobs in Arkansas.
Special to The Leader
Projects in Sherwood, Cabot and Jacksonville are on the short list for how $14.2 million in federal stimulus money for local projects will be spent.
Metroplan, the regional planning agency for Pulaski, Lonoke, Saline and Faulkner counties, had produced a tentative list of “shovel-ready” projects in central Arkansas before the federal stimulus bill was finalized. Its board will make the final allocation when it meets at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Little Rock.
“We have a number of projects that were suggested when the whole stimulus package was brought up,” said Richard Magee, deputy director of Metroplan. “We have some that were already in our pipeline, and a combination of those plus these new projects is what we’re trying to sift through.
“The problem is trying to determine if they’re ‘shovel-ready,’” he added. “Are they actually close to ready to go?”
The projects identified by the Metroplan staff for consideration by the full board – which is composed of mayors and county judges from its member governments – include Graham Road in Jacksonville; Brockington Road in Sherwood; the interchange of Highways 67/167 and 5 in Cabot; Military Road in Benton; the Salem rail-grade separation in Conway; the South Loop rail-grade separation in Little Rock; a roundabout on Pike Avenue in North Little Rock; and in Pulaski County, Kanis Road bridge replacements, a pedestrian bridge over the Little Maumelle River, and improvements to the Big Dam Bridge.
While the initial list produced by the Metroplan staff showed costs ranging from $500,000 to $8.37 million for these projects, Magee noted that they have since reviewed each project with local officials and some of those amounts will have changed by Wednesday’s meeting. Also, the original list anticipated $12.7 million in stimulus money, but that grew by $1.5 million in the final package.
The influx of federal money will not only allow pay for a number of projects that are ready to go, Pulaski County Judge Floyd G. “Buddy” Villines III said, but it will also free up some funds already allocated for those projects to be put to use elsewhere.
“We’ve got some money already in the form of the ICE-T bill last year, the federal program,” Villines said. “We’re trying to figure out how we can get the most bang for our bucks.”
Villines said he understands that local governments have up to one year to get their projects under contract.
“But I think it’ll go pretty fast,” he said.
In Sherwood, $4.6 million of Surface Transportation Program funds allocated for the Brockington Road project would become available for another project.
Sherwood Mayor Virginia Hillman said that while the Brockington Road widening project is already funded by the Highway Department, approval of stimulus money for it would mean additional road work could be done in the city.
“Probably some improvements on, perhaps, Woodruff or Maryland,” she said of likely uses for the $4.6 million that would be freed up.
The widening of Brockington to four lanes is actually already under-way, with phase one starting at Indian Bay and going north.
Phase two, which is what’s on the Metroplan short list, would go from Indian Bay south to Kiehl Avenue, she said.
The Graham Road project in Jacksonville involves widening it to four lanes from Loop Road to Oak Street, a distance of about 1.14 miles. Mayor Tommy Swaim said he’s also checking into other potential projects in the event more stimulus money becomes available.
“We’re doing the engineering and design work on two other projects to hopefully get some of the later stimulus money,” said Swaim. “That would be the straightening of West Main Street and the extension of Oneida Street to the West Main cutoff.”
Those were not “shovel-ready” at the time the stimulus project list was initially put together, the mayor said.
As for a timetable on the Graham Road project, Swaim said he didn’t have one, but noted that if the stimulus money hadn’t come along, it could havve been 2011 before it happened.
“The Graham Road project was on the Transportation Improvement Program and was to be funded hopefully within the next two years,” he said. “This just moves it forward that period of time.”
Swaim cautioned that there was still “a lot unknown” about the stimulus package – for example, the regulations regarding expenditures haven’t yet been released – but he hoped that it would have “a long-term effect” and that additional money would come out later for more local projects.
Metroplan’s Magee noted that in some cases, money from other sources would actually be freed up because of the stimulus spending.
The work on the Hwy. 67/167 exit at Hwy. 5 will be in the northwest quadrant of that interchange, which Cabot Mayor Eddie Joe Williams has said would help alleviate congestion there.
The $14.2 million going to local projects will actually be coming out of a much larger appropriation going to the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, said spokesman Randy Ort.
While that number hasn’t been nailed down yet – the federal Highway Administration had 21 days from the signing of the stimulus bill to draft orders for state highway departments – Ort said that “our best guess is it looks like Arkansas is going to get in the neighborhood of $350 million to $360 million.”
Some of that will go to Metroplan and some to West Memphis, which is part of the metropolitan planning area that includes Memphis. The rest will be spent by the Highway Department.
And no, Ort said, they can’t say where yet. At least not specifically.
“We have gone on the record that we plan to spread it around the state,” he said. “We have documented around 150 or so projects we could have ready to go within the time frame mandated, and those projects are well over $1 billion.”
Once the federal Highway Administration has issued its marching orders to state departments, Ort said, half of the stimulus money on a given projects must be obligated within 120 days, with the remainder spent within one year.
According to an MSNBC interview with Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas) posted on the network’s Web site, the stimulus money should create 31,000 jobs in Arkansas.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)