By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Bryant’s Robert Baker proved a good, consistent car, and a willingness to be aggressive at crunch time can pay off as he collected the $3,000 first-place payday in the 10th annual running of the Scrapp Fox Memorial Modified Championship race at Beebe Speedway on Friday.
Baker, now a rookie in the Comp Cams late-model series, proved his modified chops were still sharp with a good jump on fast qualifier Mike Bowers on the initial start of the 35-lap feature, and held off a hard-charging Dallas Everett in the closing laps to claim the biggest victory of his career in modifieds.
In what has so far proved to be a breakout season for the 27-year-old, Baker has now won major events in both modifieds and late models in 2012.
“I knew if we could get the lead on the first lap, we would have a chance to win it,” Baker said. “I was going to do whatever it took to make sure we had a good run.”
Everett came from the seventh starting spot in defense of his Scrapp Fox title from last year, and made up the first few positions quickly before a lengthy battle with Paragould driver Robby Arnold for the third spot. Everett finally prevailed on lap 13 and set his sights on Bowers, but that’s as far as he would get until Bowers’ 12W broke going down the front stretch to complete lap 28.
The restart not only removed Bowers from the equation for Everett, but also put him right on the bumper of Bakers’ 17M machine for the final start. The Beebe pilot moved his 26E car inside and outside of Baker, and appeared to have the line on the leader when the two made contact exiting turn four on lap 32.
That allowed Arnold back to move into second, as Baker led the remaining three laps to take the checkers.
“The car was giving up,” Baker said. “It was awesome about halfway through the race. I think with maybe the cautions, we lost a little rear percent. We didn’t really come prepared. The tires are pretty used up. We were pretty hungry for it; we weren’t going to give it up. They were going to have to get us on the top for sure.”
Everett held on to third at the finish with Floral’s Brandon Smith in fourth.
Cabot driver Jason Flory had a lengthy battle with Tennessee driver T.J. Herndon for fifth during much of the first half of the race before settling into the spot, holding off Conway’s Chuck McGinty in the closing stages.
McGinty finished sixth, followed by Jim Freeman with Jacksonville’s Brad Calhoun in eighth.
Brad Buck was the last car running in ninth at the finish as Bowers was credited with a 10th-place effort despite not finishing.
Baker’s win comes on the heels of a great spring in which he quickly won the respect of competitors in the Comp Cams Super Dirt Series late model tour with a feature win in just his fourth start. He leads both the championship points and rookie points after five of 23 events on the regional tour.
“We definitely work hard for it,” Baker said. “We do R and D 24-7. I sit at home and we work on cars, if you know what I mean. I think it’s paying off and it show a little bit. We’re trying to do what people aren’t, and I think that gives us a little bit of an advantage.”
In other classes, Jacksonville’s Todd Sherrill took the win in the mini stocks, holding off the 99jr of Kenny Loux and the 11 of Paul Shackleford. Doyle Blankenship of Cabot was sixth.
McGinty did double duty with a winning run in the hobby-stock feature over the 7K of Eddie Hoyer and the R1 of Allen McElroy. Jacksonville’s Brandon Capps was fourth and Sherrill finished fifth. Jeremy Tharp won the factory-stock feature by holding off the 5 car of Beebe driver Dakota Mahoney and the 1J of Terry Brooks in third.
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
SPORTS STORY >> Lady Panthers topple Bryant
By JASON KING
Leader sportswrier
Senior night produced another win for the Cabot Lady Panthers as they defeated visiting Bryant 2-1 at Panther Stadium on Friday.
The Lady Panthers (13-5, 9-4) scored two first-half goals, and held their ground defensively in the second half when the Lady Hornets mounted their comeback charge.
Cabot forwards Jessica Souza and Lexi Lewis sliced through Bryant’s defense and created shots, including a penalty kick for Codee Park from 18 yards out that gave the Lady Panthers an early 1-0 lead.
“Striking the set piece is Codee’s specialty,” Lady Panthers coach Kerry Castillo said. “She takes our corners and can send it swinging in deep, and she can also take the close free kick and finesse the ball to goal. She’s also a threat in the run of play making runs out of the backline unmarked to freely cross or shoot. She’s one of our scoring weapons and the beautiful part is the other team never sees her coming because she’s a defender.”
Souza got the next scored for Cabot later in the first half when Braxton Reed played her in behind the defense for the assist on an 18-yard strike by Souza to give the Lady Panthers a 2-0 lead at halftime.”
“I could rave about our work rate in this game,” Castillo said. “We took steps to prevent the players from dehydrating and it’s a good thing because each one of them that touched the field absolutely played every minute like it was their last.”
Defensively, senior Taylor Brady and sophomore Devin Patterson prevented Bryant’s attackers from getting looks at junior goalkeeper Hana Cooper. Cabot changed its midfield defense throughout the first half, but it did not affect the Lady Panthers’ ability to mount offensive charges.
Cabot played as conservatively as possible in the second half, but Bryant still managed one score from the corner.
“We came out knowing that the game dynamic was about to change, Castillo said. “They had a big deficit to overcome and we had the “worst lead” you can have in soccer. 2-0 is never safe. You have to defend the other team’s onslaught while trying to manage possession. Most of the time, it’s inevitable that they’ll score at least one, and then you have a nail-biter.”
The Lady Panthers finished up as the No. 3 seed out of the 7A Central Conference, and will take on host Fort Smith Southside in the first round of the 7A state tournament tomorrow at 7 p.m.
The Panthers were not as fortunate and fell to Bryant 4-2 in a penalty-kick shootout after tying the Hornets 1-1 in regulation with a last-minute goal from Jordan Sumler.
“Once again the guy’s prove that they do not know when they are beat,” Panthers coach Steve Porter said. “They kept fighting and battling until the final moments of the game and got the tying goal with one minute remaining in the game. I was disappointed in the goal we conceded, but other than that everyone went out and performed well for the team. Trevor Reed is slowly returning to form and fitness and hopefully by state tournament time will be 100 percent fit.”
Leader sportswrier
Senior night produced another win for the Cabot Lady Panthers as they defeated visiting Bryant 2-1 at Panther Stadium on Friday.
The Lady Panthers (13-5, 9-4) scored two first-half goals, and held their ground defensively in the second half when the Lady Hornets mounted their comeback charge.
Cabot forwards Jessica Souza and Lexi Lewis sliced through Bryant’s defense and created shots, including a penalty kick for Codee Park from 18 yards out that gave the Lady Panthers an early 1-0 lead.
“Striking the set piece is Codee’s specialty,” Lady Panthers coach Kerry Castillo said. “She takes our corners and can send it swinging in deep, and she can also take the close free kick and finesse the ball to goal. She’s also a threat in the run of play making runs out of the backline unmarked to freely cross or shoot. She’s one of our scoring weapons and the beautiful part is the other team never sees her coming because she’s a defender.”
Souza got the next scored for Cabot later in the first half when Braxton Reed played her in behind the defense for the assist on an 18-yard strike by Souza to give the Lady Panthers a 2-0 lead at halftime.”
“I could rave about our work rate in this game,” Castillo said. “We took steps to prevent the players from dehydrating and it’s a good thing because each one of them that touched the field absolutely played every minute like it was their last.”
Defensively, senior Taylor Brady and sophomore Devin Patterson prevented Bryant’s attackers from getting looks at junior goalkeeper Hana Cooper. Cabot changed its midfield defense throughout the first half, but it did not affect the Lady Panthers’ ability to mount offensive charges.
Cabot played as conservatively as possible in the second half, but Bryant still managed one score from the corner.
“We came out knowing that the game dynamic was about to change, Castillo said. “They had a big deficit to overcome and we had the “worst lead” you can have in soccer. 2-0 is never safe. You have to defend the other team’s onslaught while trying to manage possession. Most of the time, it’s inevitable that they’ll score at least one, and then you have a nail-biter.”
The Lady Panthers finished up as the No. 3 seed out of the 7A Central Conference, and will take on host Fort Smith Southside in the first round of the 7A state tournament tomorrow at 7 p.m.
The Panthers were not as fortunate and fell to Bryant 4-2 in a penalty-kick shootout after tying the Hornets 1-1 in regulation with a last-minute goal from Jordan Sumler.
“Once again the guy’s prove that they do not know when they are beat,” Panthers coach Steve Porter said. “They kept fighting and battling until the final moments of the game and got the tying goal with one minute remaining in the game. I was disappointed in the goal we conceded, but other than that everyone went out and performed well for the team. Trevor Reed is slowly returning to form and fitness and hopefully by state tournament time will be 100 percent fit.”
SPORTS STORY > >Beebe girls shut down Red Devils to win 7-0
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
In what amounted to a senior celebration for the Lady Red Devils and a state-tournament primer for both teams, Beebe downed Jacksonville 7-0 through five innings at Dupree Park on Monday.
Beebe took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning before pulling away with five runs in the top of the fifth inning.
“We needed a game like this,” Beebe coach Eric Chambers said. “We’ve got a lot of young kids. We have 11 freshmen and thee sophomores, so we need some game time. Just get them out there on the dirt and let them figure some stuff out. There were some good things we did, but hopefully some things we can do different next time we’re in that situation.”
Calah Hill led off with a single and got to second on an outfield error before scoring on another error on a bunt by Madelyn Poe, who later tagged up on a pop up to first base from cleanup hitter Makenzie Bingham.
The Lady Red Devils found hitting harder against the dominance of Beebe freshman pitcher Elle Reaves. Reaves struck out six batters and gave up three hits.
“Again, there’s a freshman – she throws the ball real hard,” Chambers said. “She spins the ball real good too. She can make it break in or break out. She’ll be a good one. She’s the type of Division I pitchers that people will be looking at.”
The Lady Red Devils got their sticks going the second time through the lineup as Shyrel McKinney led off with a double in the bottom of the third inning, but she was picked off a first moments later for the third out.
The Lady Badgers went through their lineup in the top of the fifth. Sophomore Schyler Watson struck out to lead off the inning, but freshman Denna Hamm got things going with a single to shallow center before she advanced on a bunt by Courtney Cauldwell.
Hill doubled to score Watson, and two more fielding errors by Jacksonville allowed Hill and Poe to come across the plate to give the Lady Badgers a 5-0 lead.
Poe and Gentry both reached on errors, and a triple by Bingham that landed in the gap between left and center field scored Gentry. Bingham set the final margin when freshman Megan Davlin scored her with a single to left.
Jacksonville almost avoided the shut out when Alexis House reached second base on an outfield error to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning. She reached third when Mailani Walker singled on a bunt, but Beebe pulled off a stunning double play that retired McKinney at first base and House at the plate.
For Beebe, Hill was 2 for 3 with a double.
Leader sportswriter
In what amounted to a senior celebration for the Lady Red Devils and a state-tournament primer for both teams, Beebe downed Jacksonville 7-0 through five innings at Dupree Park on Monday.
Beebe took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning before pulling away with five runs in the top of the fifth inning.
“We needed a game like this,” Beebe coach Eric Chambers said. “We’ve got a lot of young kids. We have 11 freshmen and thee sophomores, so we need some game time. Just get them out there on the dirt and let them figure some stuff out. There were some good things we did, but hopefully some things we can do different next time we’re in that situation.”
Calah Hill led off with a single and got to second on an outfield error before scoring on another error on a bunt by Madelyn Poe, who later tagged up on a pop up to first base from cleanup hitter Makenzie Bingham.
The Lady Red Devils found hitting harder against the dominance of Beebe freshman pitcher Elle Reaves. Reaves struck out six batters and gave up three hits.
“Again, there’s a freshman – she throws the ball real hard,” Chambers said. “She spins the ball real good too. She can make it break in or break out. She’ll be a good one. She’s the type of Division I pitchers that people will be looking at.”
The Lady Red Devils got their sticks going the second time through the lineup as Shyrel McKinney led off with a double in the bottom of the third inning, but she was picked off a first moments later for the third out.
The Lady Badgers went through their lineup in the top of the fifth. Sophomore Schyler Watson struck out to lead off the inning, but freshman Denna Hamm got things going with a single to shallow center before she advanced on a bunt by Courtney Cauldwell.
Hill doubled to score Watson, and two more fielding errors by Jacksonville allowed Hill and Poe to come across the plate to give the Lady Badgers a 5-0 lead.
Poe and Gentry both reached on errors, and a triple by Bingham that landed in the gap between left and center field scored Gentry. Bingham set the final margin when freshman Megan Davlin scored her with a single to left.
Jacksonville almost avoided the shut out when Alexis House reached second base on an outfield error to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning. She reached third when Mailani Walker singled on a bunt, but Beebe pulled off a stunning double play that retired McKinney at first base and House at the plate.
For Beebe, Hill was 2 for 3 with a double.
SPORTS STORY >> Cabot girls, Beebe boys take fifth at state meets
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Lady Panthers scored a top-five finish at the 7A state track meet in Rogers on Thursday, while the Beebe Badgers did the same in the 5A boys state meet in Hot Springs. The Lady Panthers finished in the points in six events, racking up 59 total points for a comfortable margin over sixth-place finisher Fort Smith Southside with 36 points.
The Panther boys track team also had a string of good performances, but not enough entrants as they finished up 12th overall with 14 points.
Bentonville took the overall title with 259 total points, with 168 of those points courtesy of a dominating Lady Tiger team that left runner up Fayetteville in the dust with 105 points.
But the Purple Dogs won the boys side. Fayetteville scored a total of 219 points, good enough for second overall. The Lady Panthers were the highest-finishing 7A Central Conference team in the meet with Little Rock Central seventh.
Seniors Sabrina Antimo and Emkay Myers led the way with a string of second-place performances for Cabot. Antimo finished second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.87, just over two-tenths off Fayettville’s Sydney Conley. Antimo also reached a height of 5-3 to finish second in the high-jump event.
The showdown in the long-distance races was between Rogers junior Maggie Montoya and Cabot’s Emily “Emkay” Myers. Montoya won the 1,600-meter run with a fair margin of 5:06.32 to a 5:11.99 for second-place Myers, but the University of Nevada signee gave Montoya a fight to the finish in the grueling 3,200-meter run. Montoya pulled out her third win of the meet with an 11:16.44 with Myers close behind at 11:18.91.
Myers teamed with Marlene Sheehan, Meagan Duncan and Allison Sinning in the 4x800 relay and brought home another runner-up finish with a 10:04.73.
Senior Julia Gairhan also finished second in her best event, the pole vault. Gairhan reached a height of 9-06 to tie with Fayettville’s Sara Calhoun.
In boys events, senior Caleb DeLaPaz finished eighth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:03.76. Scott Foltz took fifth place in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:34.59. Foltz also finished 10th in the 3,200 event.
DeLaPaz, Foltz, Alex Simpson and Forrest Lair teamed up for a second-place finish in the 4x800 relay event by running an 8:10.55. And in field events, Jesse King finished up eighth overall in the pole vault, reaching a height of 11-06.
The Beebe 4x800 relay teams scored strong finishes on both the boys and girls sides.
In fact, the Badger relay team of Jake Schlenker, John Diaz, Hunter Plante and Alex Smith bested the field to win the boys 4x800 with a time of 8:09, a good six seconds ahead of second-place Vilonia and good enough to break the school record.
Senior leaper Dayton Scott easily won the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 7 inches.
The relay team and Scott will compete in the 2012 Meet of Champions at Lake Hamilton on Saturday.
“A top 5 finish in the state is a significant accomplishment for this team, especially if you look at where we were just two years ago,” Beebe track coach Mark Pinkerton said. “I feel like our track program is headed in the right direction with the opportunity in the future to continue to finish in the top 5 and higher.
The Lady Badgers team of Stormy Taylor, Rachel Treece, Cecily Brock and Katie McGraw took seventh in the girls 4x800 relay with a time of 11:03.
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Lady Panthers scored a top-five finish at the 7A state track meet in Rogers on Thursday, while the Beebe Badgers did the same in the 5A boys state meet in Hot Springs. The Lady Panthers finished in the points in six events, racking up 59 total points for a comfortable margin over sixth-place finisher Fort Smith Southside with 36 points.
The Panther boys track team also had a string of good performances, but not enough entrants as they finished up 12th overall with 14 points.
Bentonville took the overall title with 259 total points, with 168 of those points courtesy of a dominating Lady Tiger team that left runner up Fayetteville in the dust with 105 points.
But the Purple Dogs won the boys side. Fayetteville scored a total of 219 points, good enough for second overall. The Lady Panthers were the highest-finishing 7A Central Conference team in the meet with Little Rock Central seventh.
Seniors Sabrina Antimo and Emkay Myers led the way with a string of second-place performances for Cabot. Antimo finished second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.87, just over two-tenths off Fayettville’s Sydney Conley. Antimo also reached a height of 5-3 to finish second in the high-jump event.
The showdown in the long-distance races was between Rogers junior Maggie Montoya and Cabot’s Emily “Emkay” Myers. Montoya won the 1,600-meter run with a fair margin of 5:06.32 to a 5:11.99 for second-place Myers, but the University of Nevada signee gave Montoya a fight to the finish in the grueling 3,200-meter run. Montoya pulled out her third win of the meet with an 11:16.44 with Myers close behind at 11:18.91.
Myers teamed with Marlene Sheehan, Meagan Duncan and Allison Sinning in the 4x800 relay and brought home another runner-up finish with a 10:04.73.
Senior Julia Gairhan also finished second in her best event, the pole vault. Gairhan reached a height of 9-06 to tie with Fayettville’s Sara Calhoun.
In boys events, senior Caleb DeLaPaz finished eighth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:03.76. Scott Foltz took fifth place in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:34.59. Foltz also finished 10th in the 3,200 event.
DeLaPaz, Foltz, Alex Simpson and Forrest Lair teamed up for a second-place finish in the 4x800 relay event by running an 8:10.55. And in field events, Jesse King finished up eighth overall in the pole vault, reaching a height of 11-06.
The Beebe 4x800 relay teams scored strong finishes on both the boys and girls sides.
In fact, the Badger relay team of Jake Schlenker, John Diaz, Hunter Plante and Alex Smith bested the field to win the boys 4x800 with a time of 8:09, a good six seconds ahead of second-place Vilonia and good enough to break the school record.
Senior leaper Dayton Scott easily won the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 7 inches.
The relay team and Scott will compete in the 2012 Meet of Champions at Lake Hamilton on Saturday.
“A top 5 finish in the state is a significant accomplishment for this team, especially if you look at where we were just two years ago,” Beebe track coach Mark Pinkerton said. “I feel like our track program is headed in the right direction with the opportunity in the future to continue to finish in the top 5 and higher.
The Lady Badgers team of Stormy Taylor, Rachel Treece, Cecily Brock and Katie McGraw took seventh in the girls 4x800 relay with a time of 11:03.
SPORTS STORY >> Carlisle grinds to regional title
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
A gutsy return to the mound, a show of power and a team’s resiliency to win shorthanded all helped make the Carlisle Bison the East Region champions and a No. 1 seed in this week’s class 2A state tournament in White Hall.
Nothing came easy for the Bison, who played their semifinal game minus one starter. They beat Magnet Cove 5-1 on Thursday, Conway St. Joseph’s 14-13 on Saturday and Conway Christian 7-6 Monday.
“It’s just resiliency,” Carlisle coach B.J. Greene said after beating Conway Christian. “At times this year we’ve had a really bad habit of sort of coasting through the middle innings and we did that again today. But this team has found a way to either hang on or come back when they had to.”
Carlisle pitcher Tommy Inman suffered a horrible start on Saturday, giving up four earned runs and getting run off the mound with just one out in the first inning against Conway St. Joseph’s. He made up for the bad start on the mound with a 3 for 4 performance at the plate, including a walk, single, double and triple to help his squad come back to beat the Bulldogs in the bottom of the last inning.
Then on Monday, against the 2A-5 North regular-season and tournament champions, Inman was spectacular on the mound. He went six and a third innings, gave up just two hits and no earned runs while striking out four and walking two.
“Words can’t even describe how proud I am of Tommy Inman,” Greene said. “He just didn’t have it on Saturday. To come back and pitch the way he did, against an even better team. That took some guts. The only reason I took him out was because he was coming up to the top of the order and I didn’t want them to see him again. He was phenomenal.”
Conway Christian still made it interesting. The Eagles came to bat in the bottom of the seventh trailing 7-4. After Inman walked the nine-hole hitter with one out, Greene brought Chris Hart to the mound. The first two batters he faced got base hits. Leadoff hitter Jacob Callaway got single to right field and pitcher Andrew Dather singled down the third-base line to score a run. Will Smith, Hart’s replacement at shortstop, committed an error that allowed another run to score to make it 7-6 with one out.
Hart then fanned cleanup hitter Mark Stevenson. Tyler Ratliff then hit a blooper to shallow right field, where second baseman Austin Allen made a great catch running backwards to end the game and preserve the victory.
It wasn’t all great defense for Carlisle though. The Bison committed five errors, including three at shortstop. The biggest though, came in the bottom of the fifth with Carlisle leading 5-0. Both hits Inman gave up came in that half inning. The fist was a leadoff double by Josh Helms. Josiah Smith then flew out to left field and Inman hit the next batter. Nine-hole hitter Paul Henderson then reached on an error by Hart at short, his second of the game. That loaded the bases. Callaway then hit a one-hopper back to Inman. The ball bounced out of Inman’s glove. Inman then fell trying to retrieve it. He was able to crawl to the ball and throw the lead runner out at home, but the Bison weren’t able to turn a double play that would have gotten them out of the inning. Dather then singled to centerfield with two outs and the bases still loaded. Carlisle centerfielder Hayden Hoover charged in and tried to short-hop the ball in his glove side, but missed. The ball rolled all the way to the fence, allowing all three base runners and Dather to score, making it 5-4 with one swing of the bat.
Carlisle answered with two in the top of the sixth. Reed led off with a single to centerfield and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Hoover. Hart then reached on an error at third base and Inman doubled to right field to score Reed. Conway Christian walked Trey Wilson, who had hit a towering home run in the first inning. Dather then hit Deric Herring with the bases loaded to drive in Carlisle’s final run of the game.
Wilson’s home run in the first inning was good for two RBIs. Inman reached after striking out on a wild pitch that got by the Eagle catcher.
The Bison added a run in the third when Hoover walked, stole second, got to third on an infield single by Hart and scored on a passed ball.
Two more runs scored in the third inning, Herring doubled to left field with one out. Ricks then reached on an error deep in right field. Josh Mathis advanced the runners with a groundout, and freshman Dylan Brazeal got a two-RBI base hit to straightway centerfield to make it 5-0.
The Bison will play Gurdon at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Greene believes the best baseball in the state is played in the South.
“The state champion is going to come from one of these two regions,” Greene said. “It didn’t really matter where we finished. Anyone, one seed through four seed, is going to get a tough draw facing that region. Gurdon, I honestly believe has the best pitcher in the state. If we can get past him, we can beat anybody.”
Gurdon won its first-round game at regionals, but lost the next two to get a four seed. Pitcher Zach Gooding faced the minimum 21 batters and struck out 18 in his last outing.
Leader sports editor
A gutsy return to the mound, a show of power and a team’s resiliency to win shorthanded all helped make the Carlisle Bison the East Region champions and a No. 1 seed in this week’s class 2A state tournament in White Hall.
Nothing came easy for the Bison, who played their semifinal game minus one starter. They beat Magnet Cove 5-1 on Thursday, Conway St. Joseph’s 14-13 on Saturday and Conway Christian 7-6 Monday.
“It’s just resiliency,” Carlisle coach B.J. Greene said after beating Conway Christian. “At times this year we’ve had a really bad habit of sort of coasting through the middle innings and we did that again today. But this team has found a way to either hang on or come back when they had to.”
Carlisle pitcher Tommy Inman suffered a horrible start on Saturday, giving up four earned runs and getting run off the mound with just one out in the first inning against Conway St. Joseph’s. He made up for the bad start on the mound with a 3 for 4 performance at the plate, including a walk, single, double and triple to help his squad come back to beat the Bulldogs in the bottom of the last inning.
Then on Monday, against the 2A-5 North regular-season and tournament champions, Inman was spectacular on the mound. He went six and a third innings, gave up just two hits and no earned runs while striking out four and walking two.
“Words can’t even describe how proud I am of Tommy Inman,” Greene said. “He just didn’t have it on Saturday. To come back and pitch the way he did, against an even better team. That took some guts. The only reason I took him out was because he was coming up to the top of the order and I didn’t want them to see him again. He was phenomenal.”
Conway Christian still made it interesting. The Eagles came to bat in the bottom of the seventh trailing 7-4. After Inman walked the nine-hole hitter with one out, Greene brought Chris Hart to the mound. The first two batters he faced got base hits. Leadoff hitter Jacob Callaway got single to right field and pitcher Andrew Dather singled down the third-base line to score a run. Will Smith, Hart’s replacement at shortstop, committed an error that allowed another run to score to make it 7-6 with one out.
Hart then fanned cleanup hitter Mark Stevenson. Tyler Ratliff then hit a blooper to shallow right field, where second baseman Austin Allen made a great catch running backwards to end the game and preserve the victory.
It wasn’t all great defense for Carlisle though. The Bison committed five errors, including three at shortstop. The biggest though, came in the bottom of the fifth with Carlisle leading 5-0. Both hits Inman gave up came in that half inning. The fist was a leadoff double by Josh Helms. Josiah Smith then flew out to left field and Inman hit the next batter. Nine-hole hitter Paul Henderson then reached on an error by Hart at short, his second of the game. That loaded the bases. Callaway then hit a one-hopper back to Inman. The ball bounced out of Inman’s glove. Inman then fell trying to retrieve it. He was able to crawl to the ball and throw the lead runner out at home, but the Bison weren’t able to turn a double play that would have gotten them out of the inning. Dather then singled to centerfield with two outs and the bases still loaded. Carlisle centerfielder Hayden Hoover charged in and tried to short-hop the ball in his glove side, but missed. The ball rolled all the way to the fence, allowing all three base runners and Dather to score, making it 5-4 with one swing of the bat.
Carlisle answered with two in the top of the sixth. Reed led off with a single to centerfield and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Hoover. Hart then reached on an error at third base and Inman doubled to right field to score Reed. Conway Christian walked Trey Wilson, who had hit a towering home run in the first inning. Dather then hit Deric Herring with the bases loaded to drive in Carlisle’s final run of the game.
Wilson’s home run in the first inning was good for two RBIs. Inman reached after striking out on a wild pitch that got by the Eagle catcher.
The Bison added a run in the third when Hoover walked, stole second, got to third on an infield single by Hart and scored on a passed ball.
Two more runs scored in the third inning, Herring doubled to left field with one out. Ricks then reached on an error deep in right field. Josh Mathis advanced the runners with a groundout, and freshman Dylan Brazeal got a two-RBI base hit to straightway centerfield to make it 5-0.
The Bison will play Gurdon at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Greene believes the best baseball in the state is played in the South.
“The state champion is going to come from one of these two regions,” Greene said. “It didn’t really matter where we finished. Anyone, one seed through four seed, is going to get a tough draw facing that region. Gurdon, I honestly believe has the best pitcher in the state. If we can get past him, we can beat anybody.”
Gurdon won its first-round game at regionals, but lost the next two to get a four seed. Pitcher Zach Gooding faced the minimum 21 batters and struck out 18 in his last outing.
Friday, May 04, 2012
EDITORIAL >> Farewell, C-130E
Little Rock Air Force Base this week retired its last active-duty C-130E, which was made in 1961, and flew it to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., where the 51-year-old cargo plane will join a static display.
The C-130Es have turned out to be perhaps the best investment in Air Force history: The planes, made between 1961 and 1965 at the Lockheed assembly line in Marietta, Ga., cost about $2 million ($15.4 million in today’s dollars), or only about $40,000 a year, not counting fuel over the life of the plane: By comparison, the new C-130Js cost about $65 million, and although they have computerized navigational features unheard of in 1961, they’re still about four times as expensive as the old planes even when accounting for inflation.
The C-130s were rebuilt, repainted and refitted over the decades, and like a priceless 1962 T-Bird, they never faltered. It’s a tribute to American engineering: Designed back in 1954, the C-130s could fly for another generation if needed. They are the favored transport plane among our allies—far better than the old Soviet cargo planes, which are prone to frequent crashes.
The C-130E saw action in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and around the world. The C-130s have delivered personnel and cargo and reduced the need for dangerous ground transports that are often threatened with roadside bombs and snipers.
Having flown for a half-century from Antarctica to South America, the old C-130s did more than their share of humanitarian relief: From Albania to Haiti, from Afghanistan to Serbia, from Burma to Libya, from Japan to Kosovo and dozens of places in between, they were there when people were cold and hungry and homeless.
Col. Brian Robinson, commander of the 19th Airlift Wing, led a retirement ceremony Tuesday at Little Rock Air Force Base before the C-130E took off for California. “This plane represents a milestone in the history of the C-130 and the history of the Air Force,” Robinson said. “It’s been to every remote corner of the planet. She never rested. She did her mission to the end.”
They were a grand bargain indeed. Even as Little Rock Air Force Base transitions to an all-C-130J active-duty fleet, some C-130Es will still remain with the Air National Guard and Reserves at the base. But every time an old plane is retired, we start missing them. A big bang for the buck for sure.
The C-130Es have turned out to be perhaps the best investment in Air Force history: The planes, made between 1961 and 1965 at the Lockheed assembly line in Marietta, Ga., cost about $2 million ($15.4 million in today’s dollars), or only about $40,000 a year, not counting fuel over the life of the plane: By comparison, the new C-130Js cost about $65 million, and although they have computerized navigational features unheard of in 1961, they’re still about four times as expensive as the old planes even when accounting for inflation.
The C-130s were rebuilt, repainted and refitted over the decades, and like a priceless 1962 T-Bird, they never faltered. It’s a tribute to American engineering: Designed back in 1954, the C-130s could fly for another generation if needed. They are the favored transport plane among our allies—far better than the old Soviet cargo planes, which are prone to frequent crashes.
The C-130E saw action in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and around the world. The C-130s have delivered personnel and cargo and reduced the need for dangerous ground transports that are often threatened with roadside bombs and snipers.
Having flown for a half-century from Antarctica to South America, the old C-130s did more than their share of humanitarian relief: From Albania to Haiti, from Afghanistan to Serbia, from Burma to Libya, from Japan to Kosovo and dozens of places in between, they were there when people were cold and hungry and homeless.
Col. Brian Robinson, commander of the 19th Airlift Wing, led a retirement ceremony Tuesday at Little Rock Air Force Base before the C-130E took off for California. “This plane represents a milestone in the history of the C-130 and the history of the Air Force,” Robinson said. “It’s been to every remote corner of the planet. She never rested. She did her mission to the end.”
They were a grand bargain indeed. Even as Little Rock Air Force Base transitions to an all-C-130J active-duty fleet, some C-130Es will still remain with the Air National Guard and Reserves at the base. But every time an old plane is retired, we start missing them. A big bang for the buck for sure.
TOP STORY >> Water contractor delays Graham Road widening
By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
The relocation of water lines to make way for the widening of Graham Road is four months behind schedule and projected to cost about $63,000 more than the lowest bid that Jacksonville Waterworks accepted.
The original bid from CoBar Contracting, a North Little Rock company, was about $436,000. The project is expected to cost close to $499,000, said Jake Short, the water department’s new general manager.
He said that amount is 100 percent reimbursable to Jacksonville Waterworks. The state pays the department back for the relocation.
For decades, the Jackson-ville street plan and other area maps have shown a four-lane roadway connecting Hwy. 89 in Lonoke County to Hwy. 107 in Pulaski County. The $7 million widening of Graham to four lanes from Loop Road to Elm and Oak streets, a distance of about a mile, is part of that master plan. The project is 80 percent federally funded.
Work on moving the water lines began in October and was supposed to be done by Jan. 1, Short said.
The contracting company got its first extension — 43 days — when it failed to meet that deadline, he said.
Short said the contractor told the department the work was delayed by more than 30 days when they had difficulty getting materials. Another few days of delays were blamed on bad weather, Short said.
After the contractor didn’t meet a second deadline, the company was granted another extension — 48 days — for “more of the same” problems, Short said.
Monday was the most recent deadline and the contractor did not meet that one either.
Short said on Tuesday, “They’re progressing. I know that they’re out there working.”
He said the department would be meeting on Monday to discuss its next step, but didn’t immediately return a call from the Leader on Friday.
Short said, “I realize it’s been a disruption to businesses and residents of the area. As of today, I don’t have a completion day going forward. It’s top priority that it gets done ASAP. We’re monitoring their progress daily. We don’t want to disrupt people’s everyday lives. That’s not what we want to do and it’s been a disruption. We’re aware.”
City Engineer Jay Whisker said the contractor has passed a water pressure test. Next, he needs to pass a water quality test and then the connections can be made. At that point, the old water lines can be abandoned.
“We’re in the ending phase,” Whisker said. Last week he said there were several places where the lines were broken. But those have been fixed.
He also said the contractor has to lower a line at Cherry Street and Pulaski Drive becuase of a miscalculation on where it was.
Whisker said, “He’s dug it up from Loop all the way back down to Oak again. It looks terrible. It’s not like he dug terrible holes or anything, but you go ‘Are you kidding me, really, didn’t we just do this?’
“The contractor wants to leave because you know he’s got to be losing money. He’s got to be in this deep at this point. (He told me), ‘Look, this was a three-day deal for us.’ He’d been there a week and a half, two weeks, a little over two weeks at that point,” Whisker explained.
Mayor Gary Fletcher said, “It’s turning out to be probably far more expensive than if we had gotten a different bid, not just because of time overruns, but because of the stress and hardship it’s placed on everybody who drives up and down Graham Road and utilizes Graham Road.
“We’re fixing to take some stronger actions against the contractor because I see some safety concerns that need to be addressed. I’m fixing to issue an administrative order that there be some citations issued; that this job be done, be done in an expedient, professional and safe way,” the mayor said.
“Get those leaks fixed, get it covered up and get out of there. That’s what I want. That’s what we all want so the actual construction of a road can commence down there because that’s going to be an inconvenience too,” he said.
Whisker said the safety concerns were, “You’ve got to have fence around (a hole). These are all OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requirements. If you go so deep then you have to have a trench box or you have to do what they call benching, which means you have a plateau like every three feet. So you can climb out like stairs.”
Fletcher said he’ll have to fine the contractor because “our job is to promote the health, safety and welfare of our citizens. I don’t want to slow them down, but at the same time I can’t ignore that. My first job is to protect citizens even before making something convenient.
I can’t ignore safety in order to expedite something to make everyone happy. Generally, if there’s no pain there’s no change. They’ve been warned. We’ve got a problem but it would be compounded if someone gets hurt.”
The mayor said, “I don’t want to bad mouth people, but I’m just frustrated that this has went on way too long and for no reason. This has to be done and it has to be done now. This has not been a pleasant experience for any of us and it’s uncalled for. I expect better from my contractors.
“From the engineering that is supposed to be inspecting this, Garver (a Little Rock-based firm), I’m not happy there. This thing should have never been drug out this long. We’ve had a mild winter, so we can’t use that. Sometimes there are issues that we cannot control that prolong jobs. That is not an excuse here.
“Time is money. The longer you draw out a job the more money it costs you. If they did bid the job low, the best thing they could have done is got in there, do the job and get out of there rather than drag it out,” Fletcher said.
“I know what happens sometimes — I’m not saying it happened in this case — is that because they underbid the job so much they spend their other time on another job to try to make money and use the job they underbid as a filler job, which naturally drags it out. I don’t know. I just know I’m frustrated. I’m sick of it. I’m angry that people have been inconvenienced this long,” Fletcher said.
Whisker posed the question, “At this point, do you continue to stick with the guy who is almost at the end?”
The mayor said, “You can get mad at the guy, say OK we’re going to pull your contact or get someone else to finish the job. But the process there will drag it out even longer. And right now we’re trying to deal with two things, time and quality. We want it to work. What people are concerned about is the time issue. They want it closed up so they can proceed on.”
Whisker said, “Everything we do to (the contractor) makes him focus on us instead of the job. So the whole thing is a catch-22. The bottom line of it is it’s been the headache of the people there on Graham Road and that was not the intention at all.
“The intention of Graham Road is to improve the lives,” he continued.” The construction should be a little inconvenient. I think everybody understands a little inconvenient, but it’s become very inconvenient.”
There is little the city can do to help, both officials said.
Fletcher said, “The one thing that people just need to understand is that their inconvenience and their cries are not being ignored. We’re limited in what we can do, other than cry, holler, and fine (the contractor) for safety violations. We can make it harder on him to where it takes him more time, but we just want him out of there.”
Whisker said, “The problem becomes that we are separated by three or four degrees from this. The city gives 20 percent to this job, the federal government has its 80 percent share, they’re paying and we’re paying together for utility relocations.
“The utility hires a separate engineering company to do the relocation and they’re the ones that are watching the contractor. If I go on site, I can’t tell anybody to do anything. Technically in charge is the water company, but they’re relying on their engineers and they’re actually paying people to have people on site to make sure everything gets done and everything gets done in a timely manner,” Whisker said.
Fletcher said, “Like (Whisk-er) said we’re removed from this thing by several different layers. We can holler, we can cuss and fuss and everything else, but I’m not signing that guy’s check. Somebody else is and he needs to be the one holding these people accountable. He hasn’t been doing that, evidently.”
Both city officials agreed that the city only encountered minor issues with the relocation of other utilities.
The mayor said, “You’re going to have some glitches here and there. But I guess because this water thing is so big that they just pale. It’s like we didn’t have any problems.”
Aside from the water relocation, electricity relocation took the next longest. Whisker said that contractor was on Graham Road for just one week.
Some of these issues could go back to the bid process, Fletcher said.
“I am one for always doing bids. I believe in the bid process because we’re caretakers of public money. We’ve got to stretch our money in order to do everything we need to do with very limited funds. We just can’t make money grow on trees,” he said.
The mayor said, “This is a perfect example, sometimes, of when low bids are not going to be your best bids. The bid being so low could have created this problem. Cheap is not cheap sometimes. This is an example of why you need to look at all aspects when it comes to bidding.
“I don’t want to throw the water commission under the bus, but the truth of the matter is, this is true for all of us, this reminds us that there is more to giving out jobs, to giving out bids, than just low price. We need references and all that stuff.”
Jim Durham, director of administration, said the options the city has are to waive competitive bidding and take a single-source bid.
One example of a single-source bid is when the city went with Motorola for the update to its emergency communications system. The company is only one approved by the Arkansas Wireless Information Network and Jacksonville wanted to be part of that network.
Durham also said, “If you don’t take the low bid, there has to be, obviously, a justification for it.”
That justification could refer to references or previous experience with a company.
Leader staff writer
The relocation of water lines to make way for the widening of Graham Road is four months behind schedule and projected to cost about $63,000 more than the lowest bid that Jacksonville Waterworks accepted.
The original bid from CoBar Contracting, a North Little Rock company, was about $436,000. The project is expected to cost close to $499,000, said Jake Short, the water department’s new general manager.
He said that amount is 100 percent reimbursable to Jacksonville Waterworks. The state pays the department back for the relocation.
For decades, the Jackson-ville street plan and other area maps have shown a four-lane roadway connecting Hwy. 89 in Lonoke County to Hwy. 107 in Pulaski County. The $7 million widening of Graham to four lanes from Loop Road to Elm and Oak streets, a distance of about a mile, is part of that master plan. The project is 80 percent federally funded.
Work on moving the water lines began in October and was supposed to be done by Jan. 1, Short said.
The contracting company got its first extension — 43 days — when it failed to meet that deadline, he said.
Short said the contractor told the department the work was delayed by more than 30 days when they had difficulty getting materials. Another few days of delays were blamed on bad weather, Short said.
After the contractor didn’t meet a second deadline, the company was granted another extension — 48 days — for “more of the same” problems, Short said.
Monday was the most recent deadline and the contractor did not meet that one either.
Short said on Tuesday, “They’re progressing. I know that they’re out there working.”
He said the department would be meeting on Monday to discuss its next step, but didn’t immediately return a call from the Leader on Friday.
Short said, “I realize it’s been a disruption to businesses and residents of the area. As of today, I don’t have a completion day going forward. It’s top priority that it gets done ASAP. We’re monitoring their progress daily. We don’t want to disrupt people’s everyday lives. That’s not what we want to do and it’s been a disruption. We’re aware.”
City Engineer Jay Whisker said the contractor has passed a water pressure test. Next, he needs to pass a water quality test and then the connections can be made. At that point, the old water lines can be abandoned.
“We’re in the ending phase,” Whisker said. Last week he said there were several places where the lines were broken. But those have been fixed.
He also said the contractor has to lower a line at Cherry Street and Pulaski Drive becuase of a miscalculation on where it was.
Whisker said, “He’s dug it up from Loop all the way back down to Oak again. It looks terrible. It’s not like he dug terrible holes or anything, but you go ‘Are you kidding me, really, didn’t we just do this?’
“The contractor wants to leave because you know he’s got to be losing money. He’s got to be in this deep at this point. (He told me), ‘Look, this was a three-day deal for us.’ He’d been there a week and a half, two weeks, a little over two weeks at that point,” Whisker explained.
Mayor Gary Fletcher said, “It’s turning out to be probably far more expensive than if we had gotten a different bid, not just because of time overruns, but because of the stress and hardship it’s placed on everybody who drives up and down Graham Road and utilizes Graham Road.
“We’re fixing to take some stronger actions against the contractor because I see some safety concerns that need to be addressed. I’m fixing to issue an administrative order that there be some citations issued; that this job be done, be done in an expedient, professional and safe way,” the mayor said.
“Get those leaks fixed, get it covered up and get out of there. That’s what I want. That’s what we all want so the actual construction of a road can commence down there because that’s going to be an inconvenience too,” he said.
Whisker said the safety concerns were, “You’ve got to have fence around (a hole). These are all OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requirements. If you go so deep then you have to have a trench box or you have to do what they call benching, which means you have a plateau like every three feet. So you can climb out like stairs.”
Fletcher said he’ll have to fine the contractor because “our job is to promote the health, safety and welfare of our citizens. I don’t want to slow them down, but at the same time I can’t ignore that. My first job is to protect citizens even before making something convenient.
I can’t ignore safety in order to expedite something to make everyone happy. Generally, if there’s no pain there’s no change. They’ve been warned. We’ve got a problem but it would be compounded if someone gets hurt.”
The mayor said, “I don’t want to bad mouth people, but I’m just frustrated that this has went on way too long and for no reason. This has to be done and it has to be done now. This has not been a pleasant experience for any of us and it’s uncalled for. I expect better from my contractors.
“From the engineering that is supposed to be inspecting this, Garver (a Little Rock-based firm), I’m not happy there. This thing should have never been drug out this long. We’ve had a mild winter, so we can’t use that. Sometimes there are issues that we cannot control that prolong jobs. That is not an excuse here.
“Time is money. The longer you draw out a job the more money it costs you. If they did bid the job low, the best thing they could have done is got in there, do the job and get out of there rather than drag it out,” Fletcher said.
“I know what happens sometimes — I’m not saying it happened in this case — is that because they underbid the job so much they spend their other time on another job to try to make money and use the job they underbid as a filler job, which naturally drags it out. I don’t know. I just know I’m frustrated. I’m sick of it. I’m angry that people have been inconvenienced this long,” Fletcher said.
Whisker posed the question, “At this point, do you continue to stick with the guy who is almost at the end?”
The mayor said, “You can get mad at the guy, say OK we’re going to pull your contact or get someone else to finish the job. But the process there will drag it out even longer. And right now we’re trying to deal with two things, time and quality. We want it to work. What people are concerned about is the time issue. They want it closed up so they can proceed on.”
Whisker said, “Everything we do to (the contractor) makes him focus on us instead of the job. So the whole thing is a catch-22. The bottom line of it is it’s been the headache of the people there on Graham Road and that was not the intention at all.
“The intention of Graham Road is to improve the lives,” he continued.” The construction should be a little inconvenient. I think everybody understands a little inconvenient, but it’s become very inconvenient.”
There is little the city can do to help, both officials said.
Fletcher said, “The one thing that people just need to understand is that their inconvenience and their cries are not being ignored. We’re limited in what we can do, other than cry, holler, and fine (the contractor) for safety violations. We can make it harder on him to where it takes him more time, but we just want him out of there.”
Whisker said, “The problem becomes that we are separated by three or four degrees from this. The city gives 20 percent to this job, the federal government has its 80 percent share, they’re paying and we’re paying together for utility relocations.
“The utility hires a separate engineering company to do the relocation and they’re the ones that are watching the contractor. If I go on site, I can’t tell anybody to do anything. Technically in charge is the water company, but they’re relying on their engineers and they’re actually paying people to have people on site to make sure everything gets done and everything gets done in a timely manner,” Whisker said.
Fletcher said, “Like (Whisk-er) said we’re removed from this thing by several different layers. We can holler, we can cuss and fuss and everything else, but I’m not signing that guy’s check. Somebody else is and he needs to be the one holding these people accountable. He hasn’t been doing that, evidently.”
Both city officials agreed that the city only encountered minor issues with the relocation of other utilities.
The mayor said, “You’re going to have some glitches here and there. But I guess because this water thing is so big that they just pale. It’s like we didn’t have any problems.”
Aside from the water relocation, electricity relocation took the next longest. Whisker said that contractor was on Graham Road for just one week.
Some of these issues could go back to the bid process, Fletcher said.
“I am one for always doing bids. I believe in the bid process because we’re caretakers of public money. We’ve got to stretch our money in order to do everything we need to do with very limited funds. We just can’t make money grow on trees,” he said.
The mayor said, “This is a perfect example, sometimes, of when low bids are not going to be your best bids. The bid being so low could have created this problem. Cheap is not cheap sometimes. This is an example of why you need to look at all aspects when it comes to bidding.
“I don’t want to throw the water commission under the bus, but the truth of the matter is, this is true for all of us, this reminds us that there is more to giving out jobs, to giving out bids, than just low price. We need references and all that stuff.”
Jim Durham, director of administration, said the options the city has are to waive competitive bidding and take a single-source bid.
One example of a single-source bid is when the city went with Motorola for the update to its emergency communications system. The company is only one approved by the Arkansas Wireless Information Network and Jacksonville wanted to be part of that network.
Durham also said, “If you don’t take the low bid, there has to be, obviously, a justification for it.”
That justification could refer to references or previous experience with a company.
TOP STORY >> Early voting is starting Monday in area
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Primary voting to narrow down the Democratic and Republican candidates and, in many cases, to determine judges for the next four years is set for May 22, but early voting starts Monday.
Judicial candidates don’t declare a party affiliation. When there is more than one candidate for a position, the one who gets the most votes in the primary will automatically get the nod as an unopposed candidate in November.
For Congress in Dist. 1, three Democrats are vying for a chance to run against Republican Rep. Rick Crawford. The Democrats are former Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington, Clark Hall and Gary Latanich.
In Lonoke County, the most crowded race is for sheriff where the incumbent, Sheriff Jim Roberson, opted not to run for re-election. Two Democrats and four Republicans are vying for the chance to move forward to the general election.
On the Democratic ticket are Steve Rich and Dean White. The Republican candidates are James Kulesa, John Staley, Steve Finch and Jason Wilkerson.
For Lonoke County circuit clerk, incumbent Denise Brown is battling it out with former clerk Deborah Oglesby. Both are Republicans. With no Democrats in the race, the highest vote getter will go into the November election unopposed.
Two Republican are also fighting it out to challenge County Clerk Dawn Porterfield, a Democrat. The Republicans are William “Larry” Clarke and Lisa Goodman.
Six of the Lonoke County justices of the peace have pairs of Republicans fighting to gain the seat without a Democratic opponent. In Dist. 1, its Brent Cannon against Toby Troutman; in Dist. 2, it’s Barry “BJ” Weathers and Larry Ridgeway; the Dist. 3 choices are Joshua McCann and incumbent Dr. Henry L. Lang; in Dist. 4, it’s B.L. “Ernie” Ernst against Darrin Waymack; in Dist. 8, Tate House will take on Charles Evans and in Dist. 13, it’s Tim Yarboro against Larry Odom.
In Jacksonville, District Judge Robert Batton, who has served 35 years in the position, is challenged by attorney Marshall Nash in the primary. The winner will be listed as an unopposed candidate in November.
In Sherwood, longtime District Judge Milas “Butch” Hale is running unopposed in the primary and will also do so in November’s general election.
The leadership of the Pulaski County government; the county assessor, the circuit/county clerk, the county judge, the sheriff and the treasurer are unopposed in the primary.
Some of the Pulaski County justice of the peace races do have multiple candidates.
In Dist. 11, which covers a large portion of Jacksonville, Justice of the Peace Bob Johnson of Jacksonville is challenged by James Stanley of rural North Pulaski County in the Republican primary. Democrat Suzette McNeely of Jacksonville will face the winner in November.
In Dist. 12, which covers a large portion of Sherwood, Republicans Jeff Rollin and Karilyn Brown will face off for the right to face independent James George. All three candidates live in Sherwood.
Justice of the Peace Phil Stowers of Maumelle, a Republican, and Jane Gray-Todd of Sher-wood, a Democrat, are the only two on the ballot for Dist. 13 and will face each other in the general election.
Leader staff writer
Primary voting to narrow down the Democratic and Republican candidates and, in many cases, to determine judges for the next four years is set for May 22, but early voting starts Monday.
Judicial candidates don’t declare a party affiliation. When there is more than one candidate for a position, the one who gets the most votes in the primary will automatically get the nod as an unopposed candidate in November.
For Congress in Dist. 1, three Democrats are vying for a chance to run against Republican Rep. Rick Crawford. The Democrats are former Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington, Clark Hall and Gary Latanich.
In Lonoke County, the most crowded race is for sheriff where the incumbent, Sheriff Jim Roberson, opted not to run for re-election. Two Democrats and four Republicans are vying for the chance to move forward to the general election.
On the Democratic ticket are Steve Rich and Dean White. The Republican candidates are James Kulesa, John Staley, Steve Finch and Jason Wilkerson.
For Lonoke County circuit clerk, incumbent Denise Brown is battling it out with former clerk Deborah Oglesby. Both are Republicans. With no Democrats in the race, the highest vote getter will go into the November election unopposed.
Two Republican are also fighting it out to challenge County Clerk Dawn Porterfield, a Democrat. The Republicans are William “Larry” Clarke and Lisa Goodman.
Six of the Lonoke County justices of the peace have pairs of Republicans fighting to gain the seat without a Democratic opponent. In Dist. 1, its Brent Cannon against Toby Troutman; in Dist. 2, it’s Barry “BJ” Weathers and Larry Ridgeway; the Dist. 3 choices are Joshua McCann and incumbent Dr. Henry L. Lang; in Dist. 4, it’s B.L. “Ernie” Ernst against Darrin Waymack; in Dist. 8, Tate House will take on Charles Evans and in Dist. 13, it’s Tim Yarboro against Larry Odom.
In Jacksonville, District Judge Robert Batton, who has served 35 years in the position, is challenged by attorney Marshall Nash in the primary. The winner will be listed as an unopposed candidate in November.
In Sherwood, longtime District Judge Milas “Butch” Hale is running unopposed in the primary and will also do so in November’s general election.
The leadership of the Pulaski County government; the county assessor, the circuit/county clerk, the county judge, the sheriff and the treasurer are unopposed in the primary.
Some of the Pulaski County justice of the peace races do have multiple candidates.
In Dist. 11, which covers a large portion of Jacksonville, Justice of the Peace Bob Johnson of Jacksonville is challenged by James Stanley of rural North Pulaski County in the Republican primary. Democrat Suzette McNeely of Jacksonville will face the winner in November.
In Dist. 12, which covers a large portion of Sherwood, Republicans Jeff Rollin and Karilyn Brown will face off for the right to face independent James George. All three candidates live in Sherwood.
Justice of the Peace Phil Stowers of Maumelle, a Republican, and Jane Gray-Todd of Sher-wood, a Democrat, are the only two on the ballot for Dist. 13 and will face each other in the general election.
TOP STORY >> Unions file lawsuit to keep right to bargain
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
Pulaski County Special School District’s two employee unions were back in court Friday, asking a pair of Pulaski County circuit judges to order their contracts be reinstated and to order the district to again recognize the unions as the bargaining agents for the employees.
The Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers is suing in Judge Mary McGowan’s 9th Division Court, while the Pulaski Association of Support Staff is in Judge Wendell Griffen’s 5th Division Court.
The PCSSD has been designated as being in fiscal distress and the district and the unions negotiated unsuccessfully to cut about $11 million out of the next budget. When the unions failed to accede to district requirements, state Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell authorized—instructed, actually—PCSSD Superintendent Jerry Guess to end the contracts three years early and to send the unions packing.
Not surprisingly, the unions say this was done improperly and illegally, and Friday they returned to court to ask circuit judges to overturn those actions.
“We haven’t seen (the amended complaints) and will hold comment until we do,” said Guess, whose fiscal distress recovery plan included the actions to which the unions object.
Guess was reached on his way to a funeral out of state.
Neither of the district’s two longtime lawyers, Sam Jones of Mitchell, Williams Selig and Jay Bequette of Bequette Billingsley, had received a copy of the amended complaints filed Friday.
The original complaints, filed by the unions two months ago, asked the courts to find illegal or improper two personnel policy committees formed with an eye toward dismissing the unions.
In an April 20 letter, Kimbrell told Guess to terminate the contracts June 30 and to cease recognition of the unions immediately. Hence the amended complaints. These two unions have prevailed pretty regularly in court when the district has tried to run them off.
In a press release, Pulaski Association of Class-room Teachers president Marty Nix said, “Guess’ financial demands and goals increased with each meeting, culminating with nonrenewal letters to teachers. We believe the (state education commissioner) exceeded his authority when he removed the union contracts and recognition.”
“We’ve made a constitutional claim,” said union attorney Mark Burnette of the Mitchell Blackstock firm. “We’re saying there are elements (in the district and state’s actions) not covered by the state law that gives them the right to do some (other things.)” He said the unions’ position is that state law did not give the commissioner or the state education department authority to nullify the union contracts.
In its complaint, PACT charged that the state “exceeded the scope of its statutory authority and were arbitrary, capricious and in bad faith.
“The Arkansas Department of Education impaired the plaintiffs’ contractual rights in violation of both the state and federal constitutions.
“The district breached the professional negotiating agreement by withdrawing recognition and by unilaterally terminating the plethora of provisions of the PNA that were not subject to modification through the four-step negotiation procedure.”
Both suits claim the district breached the agreement by failing to complete the mediation process before modifying the agreement.
It claims that the district violated state law by recognizing the professional personnel committees and withdrawing union recognition and that the committees are illegal and have no power or authority.
District officials say they will respond after they have seen the amended complaints. The unions are reaching out for public support and will have a rally at the Capitol at 10 a.m. this morning.
Leader senior staff writer
Pulaski County Special School District’s two employee unions were back in court Friday, asking a pair of Pulaski County circuit judges to order their contracts be reinstated and to order the district to again recognize the unions as the bargaining agents for the employees.
The Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers is suing in Judge Mary McGowan’s 9th Division Court, while the Pulaski Association of Support Staff is in Judge Wendell Griffen’s 5th Division Court.
The PCSSD has been designated as being in fiscal distress and the district and the unions negotiated unsuccessfully to cut about $11 million out of the next budget. When the unions failed to accede to district requirements, state Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell authorized—instructed, actually—PCSSD Superintendent Jerry Guess to end the contracts three years early and to send the unions packing.
Not surprisingly, the unions say this was done improperly and illegally, and Friday they returned to court to ask circuit judges to overturn those actions.
“We haven’t seen (the amended complaints) and will hold comment until we do,” said Guess, whose fiscal distress recovery plan included the actions to which the unions object.
Guess was reached on his way to a funeral out of state.
Neither of the district’s two longtime lawyers, Sam Jones of Mitchell, Williams Selig and Jay Bequette of Bequette Billingsley, had received a copy of the amended complaints filed Friday.
The original complaints, filed by the unions two months ago, asked the courts to find illegal or improper two personnel policy committees formed with an eye toward dismissing the unions.
In an April 20 letter, Kimbrell told Guess to terminate the contracts June 30 and to cease recognition of the unions immediately. Hence the amended complaints. These two unions have prevailed pretty regularly in court when the district has tried to run them off.
In a press release, Pulaski Association of Class-room Teachers president Marty Nix said, “Guess’ financial demands and goals increased with each meeting, culminating with nonrenewal letters to teachers. We believe the (state education commissioner) exceeded his authority when he removed the union contracts and recognition.”
“We’ve made a constitutional claim,” said union attorney Mark Burnette of the Mitchell Blackstock firm. “We’re saying there are elements (in the district and state’s actions) not covered by the state law that gives them the right to do some (other things.)” He said the unions’ position is that state law did not give the commissioner or the state education department authority to nullify the union contracts.
In its complaint, PACT charged that the state “exceeded the scope of its statutory authority and were arbitrary, capricious and in bad faith.
“The Arkansas Department of Education impaired the plaintiffs’ contractual rights in violation of both the state and federal constitutions.
“The district breached the professional negotiating agreement by withdrawing recognition and by unilaterally terminating the plethora of provisions of the PNA that were not subject to modification through the four-step negotiation procedure.”
Both suits claim the district breached the agreement by failing to complete the mediation process before modifying the agreement.
It claims that the district violated state law by recognizing the professional personnel committees and withdrawing union recognition and that the committees are illegal and have no power or authority.
District officials say they will respond after they have seen the amended complaints. The unions are reaching out for public support and will have a rally at the Capitol at 10 a.m. this morning.
SPORTS STORY >> Jacksonville sweeps two against WM
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville baseball team got an impressive doubleheader sweep over West Memphis Tuesday at Dupree Park. David Williams got a game-winning home run in game one and freshman pitcher James Tucker dominated the Blue Devil lineup in game two.
The wins didn’t help Jacksonville’s seeding in the state tournament. Despite finishing the conference schedule with four-straight wins and an 8-6 record, the Red Devils have to settle for the No. 6 seed from the East Conference in the state tournament that begins next Thursday in Mountain Home.
Jacksonville beat the Blue Devils 4-3 and 8-2 to pull even at 14-14 overall this season. The Red Devils were behind early in both games. They were behind late in game one as well until Williams changed all that with one swing in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Trailing 3-1, Greg Jones started things off with a base hit. After one out was recorded, Cole Bredenburg singled to put runners on the corners. Williams then out a charge into a 2-1 pitch and sent it over the wall in left field.
“He ran into one,” Burrows said. “That was easily his biggest hit of the year.”
Senior pitcher Jesse Harbin took the one-run lead into the top of the seventh and put the Blue Devils down in order to seal the victory.
Harbin gave up just four hits while striking out seven and walking no one. He gave up only two earned runs. Kaleb Reeves and Bredenburg each got two hits to lead Jacksonville. The Red Devils finished with seven base hits total.
Jacksonville’s first run of the game came in the third inning. D’Vone McClure singled to lead off the inning. Reeves, Harbin and Jones drew consecutive walks, with Jones’ walk scoring McClure and tying the game at one.
West Memphis added two runs in the top of the fourth and held that 3-1 lead until Williams’ bomb in the sixth.
The Red Devils got 11 hits in the nightcap with McClure and Bredenburg going 3 for 4 to lead the way.
Again West Memphis grab-bed an early lead, getting one run in each of the first two innings. And again Jacksonville finally got things going in the third.
Derek St. Clair drew a walk to start it off and Tanner Burks hit into a fielder’s choice. McClure then doubled to drive in one run. He later scored on a sacrifice fly by Harbin that tied the game.
The Red Devils took the lead for good in the sixth inning. Greg Jones singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Courtland McDonald. Bredenberg singled to drive him home, then scored himself on a base hit by Williams. Ragan Jones walked and McClure singled for another RBI base hit that made it 5-2.
Jacksonville tacked on three more in the top of the seventh inning. Harbin singled, got to second on a passed ball and moved to third on a fly out by Greg Jones. He then scored on a sacrifice by McDonald. With two outs, Bredenberg got his third hit of the game.
Williams walked and the duo moved up on stolen bases. Ragan Jones then singled to drive in the two runners and set the final margin.
“We hit the ball a little better,” Burrows said. “We’re getting better, there’s no question. Last time we played them, they shut us down without throwing any of their best pitchers. We’re definitely getting better.”
Greg Jones and Williams each got two hits in game two.
Tucker was masterful on the mound. He gave up just four hits while striking out nine, walking one and hitting one batter.
Jacksonville closes the regular season today with a non-conference game against Beebe at Dupree Park.
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville baseball team got an impressive doubleheader sweep over West Memphis Tuesday at Dupree Park. David Williams got a game-winning home run in game one and freshman pitcher James Tucker dominated the Blue Devil lineup in game two.
The wins didn’t help Jacksonville’s seeding in the state tournament. Despite finishing the conference schedule with four-straight wins and an 8-6 record, the Red Devils have to settle for the No. 6 seed from the East Conference in the state tournament that begins next Thursday in Mountain Home.
Jacksonville beat the Blue Devils 4-3 and 8-2 to pull even at 14-14 overall this season. The Red Devils were behind early in both games. They were behind late in game one as well until Williams changed all that with one swing in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Trailing 3-1, Greg Jones started things off with a base hit. After one out was recorded, Cole Bredenburg singled to put runners on the corners. Williams then out a charge into a 2-1 pitch and sent it over the wall in left field.
“He ran into one,” Burrows said. “That was easily his biggest hit of the year.”
Senior pitcher Jesse Harbin took the one-run lead into the top of the seventh and put the Blue Devils down in order to seal the victory.
Harbin gave up just four hits while striking out seven and walking no one. He gave up only two earned runs. Kaleb Reeves and Bredenburg each got two hits to lead Jacksonville. The Red Devils finished with seven base hits total.
Jacksonville’s first run of the game came in the third inning. D’Vone McClure singled to lead off the inning. Reeves, Harbin and Jones drew consecutive walks, with Jones’ walk scoring McClure and tying the game at one.
West Memphis added two runs in the top of the fourth and held that 3-1 lead until Williams’ bomb in the sixth.
The Red Devils got 11 hits in the nightcap with McClure and Bredenburg going 3 for 4 to lead the way.
Again West Memphis grab-bed an early lead, getting one run in each of the first two innings. And again Jacksonville finally got things going in the third.
Derek St. Clair drew a walk to start it off and Tanner Burks hit into a fielder’s choice. McClure then doubled to drive in one run. He later scored on a sacrifice fly by Harbin that tied the game.
The Red Devils took the lead for good in the sixth inning. Greg Jones singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Courtland McDonald. Bredenberg singled to drive him home, then scored himself on a base hit by Williams. Ragan Jones walked and McClure singled for another RBI base hit that made it 5-2.
Jacksonville tacked on three more in the top of the seventh inning. Harbin singled, got to second on a passed ball and moved to third on a fly out by Greg Jones. He then scored on a sacrifice by McDonald. With two outs, Bredenberg got his third hit of the game.
Williams walked and the duo moved up on stolen bases. Ragan Jones then singled to drive in the two runners and set the final margin.
“We hit the ball a little better,” Burrows said. “We’re getting better, there’s no question. Last time we played them, they shut us down without throwing any of their best pitchers. We’re definitely getting better.”
Greg Jones and Williams each got two hits in game two.
Tucker was masterful on the mound. He gave up just four hits while striking out nine, walking one and hitting one batter.
Jacksonville closes the regular season today with a non-conference game against Beebe at Dupree Park.
SPORTS STORY >> Beebe ladies blast Chicks in final East league series
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The Beebe Lady Badgers’ softball team finished 5A East Conference play with a bang, beating Blytheville 15-0 in both games of a doubleheader Tuesday at Beebe.
Freshman standout pitcher Ellie Reaves threw a perfect game in the first part of the twin bill as the Lady Badgers put away the Lady Chickasaws in four innings. Reaves struck out nine batters in game one.
Reaves stayed on the mound for the second game, but showed she was human as she gave up one hit in a complete game shutout performance. The one hit Blytheville managed against Reaves was her one blemish of the day. Reaves struck out four and walked no one, leading the Lady Badgers to another 15-0 win, this time ending the game in three innings.
“Blytheville, bless them, they just don’t have a lot,” said Beebe coach Eric Chambers. “We just have to take care of business when you play who you have to play.”
In game one, it took Beebe a couple of innings to get things going at the plate. The Lady Badgers led comfortably after two innings, but put the game out of reach in the third and fourth innings to quickly total 15 runs for the mercy rule win.
Beebe picked up right where it left off at the plate in the second game, scoring four runs in the first inning. Junior Annlee Glass started the second inning with a double. Center fielder Makenzie Bingham followed with a single that allowed Glass to score from second.
Bingham stole second, and senior Sarah White singled as well to drive in Bingham. Megan Davlin then singled to keep the Lady Badgers’ hitting streak going. After White and Davlin advanced to second and third on a passed ball, Lannie Reaves singled in the gap in left field to bring White and Davlin home.
Blytheville finally got out of the second inning, but not until Courtney Shepard tripled, allowing Reaves to score from first to give Beebe a 9-0 lead. After another one-two-three inning in the field, the Lady Badgers got back to work at the plate.
Bingham singled to start the bottom of the third and after stealing second, Brittany Gentry went to first after being hit by a pitch. Davlin then came to the plate and sent Bingham and Gentry home with a two-RBI double.
White followed with a double of her own to bring Davlin across home plate. Beebe added two more runs in the inning, and earned its second 15-0 mercy rule win of the day after Schyler Watson singled to drive in Shepard.
The two conference wins allowed Beebe (21-7, 11-3) to lock up the No. 2 seed going into the state tournament.
Beebe will play at Jacksonville on Monday. The Lady Badgers begin their run at the state title Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Wynne.
They will face Monticello, the No. 3 seed from the 5A Southeast.
Leader sportswriter
The Beebe Lady Badgers’ softball team finished 5A East Conference play with a bang, beating Blytheville 15-0 in both games of a doubleheader Tuesday at Beebe.
Freshman standout pitcher Ellie Reaves threw a perfect game in the first part of the twin bill as the Lady Badgers put away the Lady Chickasaws in four innings. Reaves struck out nine batters in game one.
Reaves stayed on the mound for the second game, but showed she was human as she gave up one hit in a complete game shutout performance. The one hit Blytheville managed against Reaves was her one blemish of the day. Reaves struck out four and walked no one, leading the Lady Badgers to another 15-0 win, this time ending the game in three innings.
“Blytheville, bless them, they just don’t have a lot,” said Beebe coach Eric Chambers. “We just have to take care of business when you play who you have to play.”
In game one, it took Beebe a couple of innings to get things going at the plate. The Lady Badgers led comfortably after two innings, but put the game out of reach in the third and fourth innings to quickly total 15 runs for the mercy rule win.
Beebe picked up right where it left off at the plate in the second game, scoring four runs in the first inning. Junior Annlee Glass started the second inning with a double. Center fielder Makenzie Bingham followed with a single that allowed Glass to score from second.
Bingham stole second, and senior Sarah White singled as well to drive in Bingham. Megan Davlin then singled to keep the Lady Badgers’ hitting streak going. After White and Davlin advanced to second and third on a passed ball, Lannie Reaves singled in the gap in left field to bring White and Davlin home.
Blytheville finally got out of the second inning, but not until Courtney Shepard tripled, allowing Reaves to score from first to give Beebe a 9-0 lead. After another one-two-three inning in the field, the Lady Badgers got back to work at the plate.
Bingham singled to start the bottom of the third and after stealing second, Brittany Gentry went to first after being hit by a pitch. Davlin then came to the plate and sent Bingham and Gentry home with a two-RBI double.
White followed with a double of her own to bring Davlin across home plate. Beebe added two more runs in the inning, and earned its second 15-0 mercy rule win of the day after Schyler Watson singled to drive in Shepard.
The two conference wins allowed Beebe (21-7, 11-3) to lock up the No. 2 seed going into the state tournament.
Beebe will play at Jacksonville on Monday. The Lady Badgers begin their run at the state title Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Wynne.
They will face Monticello, the No. 3 seed from the 5A Southeast.
SPORTS STORY >> Sylvan Hills closes by beating NP
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
The Sylvan Hills Lady Bears capped off a milestone week with a 3-1 victory over North Pulaski at home on Tuesday.
The Lady Bears (15-4-3, 6-0) were awarded the 5A Southeast Conference championship at the conference meeting in White Hall earlier in the week, and completed their unbeaten league run by downing the Lady Falcons.
“It is extremely special to us,” Lady Bears coach Nate Persson said. “Especially since we’re two years into a rebuilding period. It shows the progress we’ve made. We’ve been extremely competitive in all our games.”
Missing leading scorer Abi Persson was not a problem for the Lady Bears on Tuesday, as sophomore forward Calyn Fulton stepped up in her absence with two goals, while freshman midfielder Shelby Brown added the final goal.
North Pulaski struck first with an early goal to take the initial lead before Sylvan Hills went on a 3-0 unanswered run through the remainder of the contest.
The league championship is a first in program history for the Lady Bears soccer program, and resulted in six players being named to the all-conference team.
Sophomore forwards Abi Persson and Calyn Fulton, junior goalkeeper Naomi Gregory, senior defender Kashima Wright, senior Dori Franco and sophomore Rachel Franco all made the exclusive list of standout players for the 5A Southeast Conference.
Persson was held out of the North Pulaski game after suffering a concussion during a 1-1 tie to Sheridan in non-conference play last Thursday, but she was instrumental in a 5-1 league victory over Mills University Studies earlier in the week when she scored two goals against the Lady Comets. Rachel Franco scored one goal, as did Fulton and Wright.
The Lady Bears will wrap up the regular season with a match against the Mount St. Mary junior-varsity team on Monday, and will face East No. 4 seed Nettleton in the first round of the 5A state tournament at Burns Park Thursday at 2 p.m.
The Sylvan Hills boys let their hair down in a 7-0 blowout over the Falcons on Tuesday. The Bears (9-12, 4-3) took control early on, and finished the game with players in positions they normally would not find themselves in, including a second-half goalkeeping performance by senior forward Jeremiah Persson.
Persson spent the first half setting up teammates for shots on goal before fronting the defensive net in the second half, while a host of Bears got a rare chance to play offense.
Scoring went by committee, as sophomore David Johnson was the only player to score multiple goals with two. Alec Nance, senior Daylon Jones, Kylan Wade and Terrance Allen all scored one goal each.
“It was a fun game,” Bears coach Sam Persson said. “It was senior night, and we had some guys who were really hungry to score. We shuffled the lineup around some and actually had Jeremiah Persson playing goalkeeper in the second half. That let our freshman goalkeeper James Waller get out there and play in an offensive capacity in a game that was already in control.”
The victory marks three straight wins in the 5A Southeast Conference for Sylvan Hills, which had a chance to secure the No. 2 state tournament seed with a victory at Monticello last night. The Bears and Billies will settle the dispute for the two and three seeds while White Hall has clinched the league title outright.
“I hope we’re peaking at the right time,” Persson said. “When we play Monticello, we will have a good idea where we’re at, kind of a final test for us. I’m looking forward to it; I feel like we’re playing our best soccer of the year right now.”
Leader sportswriter
The Sylvan Hills Lady Bears capped off a milestone week with a 3-1 victory over North Pulaski at home on Tuesday.
The Lady Bears (15-4-3, 6-0) were awarded the 5A Southeast Conference championship at the conference meeting in White Hall earlier in the week, and completed their unbeaten league run by downing the Lady Falcons.
“It is extremely special to us,” Lady Bears coach Nate Persson said. “Especially since we’re two years into a rebuilding period. It shows the progress we’ve made. We’ve been extremely competitive in all our games.”
Missing leading scorer Abi Persson was not a problem for the Lady Bears on Tuesday, as sophomore forward Calyn Fulton stepped up in her absence with two goals, while freshman midfielder Shelby Brown added the final goal.
North Pulaski struck first with an early goal to take the initial lead before Sylvan Hills went on a 3-0 unanswered run through the remainder of the contest.
The league championship is a first in program history for the Lady Bears soccer program, and resulted in six players being named to the all-conference team.
Sophomore forwards Abi Persson and Calyn Fulton, junior goalkeeper Naomi Gregory, senior defender Kashima Wright, senior Dori Franco and sophomore Rachel Franco all made the exclusive list of standout players for the 5A Southeast Conference.
Persson was held out of the North Pulaski game after suffering a concussion during a 1-1 tie to Sheridan in non-conference play last Thursday, but she was instrumental in a 5-1 league victory over Mills University Studies earlier in the week when she scored two goals against the Lady Comets. Rachel Franco scored one goal, as did Fulton and Wright.
The Lady Bears will wrap up the regular season with a match against the Mount St. Mary junior-varsity team on Monday, and will face East No. 4 seed Nettleton in the first round of the 5A state tournament at Burns Park Thursday at 2 p.m.
The Sylvan Hills boys let their hair down in a 7-0 blowout over the Falcons on Tuesday. The Bears (9-12, 4-3) took control early on, and finished the game with players in positions they normally would not find themselves in, including a second-half goalkeeping performance by senior forward Jeremiah Persson.
Persson spent the first half setting up teammates for shots on goal before fronting the defensive net in the second half, while a host of Bears got a rare chance to play offense.
Scoring went by committee, as sophomore David Johnson was the only player to score multiple goals with two. Alec Nance, senior Daylon Jones, Kylan Wade and Terrance Allen all scored one goal each.
“It was a fun game,” Bears coach Sam Persson said. “It was senior night, and we had some guys who were really hungry to score. We shuffled the lineup around some and actually had Jeremiah Persson playing goalkeeper in the second half. That let our freshman goalkeeper James Waller get out there and play in an offensive capacity in a game that was already in control.”
The victory marks three straight wins in the 5A Southeast Conference for Sylvan Hills, which had a chance to secure the No. 2 state tournament seed with a victory at Monticello last night. The Bears and Billies will settle the dispute for the two and three seeds while White Hall has clinched the league title outright.
“I hope we’re peaking at the right time,” Persson said. “When we play Monticello, we will have a good idea where we’re at, kind of a final test for us. I’m looking forward to it; I feel like we’re playing our best soccer of the year right now.”
SPORTS STORY >> Cabot has top trap shooters
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Five Cabot High School trap shooting teams finished in the top sixteen of their respective divisions and qualified for state at the Arkansas Youth Shooting Sports Program’s East Regional on Saturday at Remington Gun Club in Lonoke.
Three senior teams and two junior teams scored high enough to move into the state competition that begins June 1 at Remington Gun Club.
Cabot junior team Virginia City Marksmen won their division with a score of 109 of 125 targets. Junior teams consist of players in eighth grade and lower. The Virginia City Marksmen team beat out Five Rivers Trap Club’s Current River team, and the Corning Junior Squad 1 by three targets to earn the regional championship.
Not far behind in eighth place was Cabot’s Dodge City Destroyers with 99 points. The Durango Destroyers also slipped into state, finishing tied for 13th with a score of 90.
In the senior high division, the Harrisburg Trap Club Triple A team won with a score of 232 of 250.
Cabot’s Tombstone Terrors finished fifth by hitting 219 targets and the Cheyenne Clay Killers hit 208 to finish tied for 14th.
Another Cabot team, the Wolfpack’s Red Wolves squad, unaffiliated with the high-school teams, hit 214 targets to finish tied for 8th place.
Carlisle also put a team in state. It’s No. 1 squad finished 12th with 209 targets hit.
Jacksonville, North Pulaski and Lonoke also entered teams.
But by far the most successful team in the event was the Cabot High School team, which qualified half of its competitors for the state event.
“We had 50 kids compete and 25 of them are going to state,” Cabot assistant coach Kim Hill said. “We’re very proud of that. The kids work hard at it and the parents are very dedicated.”
Cabot head coach Jerry Hill said all the competitors that qualified for state have been at every practice this year.
“They’re a very dedicated bunch,” Jerry Hill said. “We practice three days a week and the ones who qualified have been at every one of them. Some of them even come out on Sunday too and practice on their own.”
Leader sports editor
Five Cabot High School trap shooting teams finished in the top sixteen of their respective divisions and qualified for state at the Arkansas Youth Shooting Sports Program’s East Regional on Saturday at Remington Gun Club in Lonoke.
Three senior teams and two junior teams scored high enough to move into the state competition that begins June 1 at Remington Gun Club.
Cabot junior team Virginia City Marksmen won their division with a score of 109 of 125 targets. Junior teams consist of players in eighth grade and lower. The Virginia City Marksmen team beat out Five Rivers Trap Club’s Current River team, and the Corning Junior Squad 1 by three targets to earn the regional championship.
Not far behind in eighth place was Cabot’s Dodge City Destroyers with 99 points. The Durango Destroyers also slipped into state, finishing tied for 13th with a score of 90.
In the senior high division, the Harrisburg Trap Club Triple A team won with a score of 232 of 250.
Cabot’s Tombstone Terrors finished fifth by hitting 219 targets and the Cheyenne Clay Killers hit 208 to finish tied for 14th.
Another Cabot team, the Wolfpack’s Red Wolves squad, unaffiliated with the high-school teams, hit 214 targets to finish tied for 8th place.
Carlisle also put a team in state. It’s No. 1 squad finished 12th with 209 targets hit.
Jacksonville, North Pulaski and Lonoke also entered teams.
But by far the most successful team in the event was the Cabot High School team, which qualified half of its competitors for the state event.
“We had 50 kids compete and 25 of them are going to state,” Cabot assistant coach Kim Hill said. “We’re very proud of that. The kids work hard at it and the parents are very dedicated.”
Cabot head coach Jerry Hill said all the competitors that qualified for state have been at every practice this year.
“They’re a very dedicated bunch,” Jerry Hill said. “We practice three days a week and the ones who qualified have been at every one of them. Some of them even come out on Sunday too and practice on their own.”
SPORTS STORY >> Bears earn conference title
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Sylvan Hills won a share of the 5A Southeast Conference championship with a doubleheader sweep at Monticello on Tuesday, but the Bears needed some help they didn’t get in order to earn the league’s top seed in the state tournament.
Sylvan Hills and Watson Chapel each finished 13-1 in league play, splitting their doubleheader in Sherwood three weeks ago, but the Wildcats held the tiebreaker and will get the top seed.
Conner Eller, Sylvan Hills top pitcher, threw well and won game one 13-6, but it was No. 2 pitcher Dylan Boone’s night to shine on Tuesday. In the nightcap, Boone faced the minimum of 21 batters in his seven-inning 5-0 shutout of the Billies.
He gave up two hits, but got infield grounders and the defense turned double plays on both runners. Boone also walked two, but both were thrown out attempting to steal second by catcher Lance Hunter.
“Dylan threw an unbelievable game,” Sylvan Hills coach Denny Tipton said. “He was hitting his spots and they just couldn’t do anything with him.”
One caught-stealing by Hunter came in unorthodox fashion. Hunter thought a called ball four had been tipped, and was waiting for the umpire to hand him a new ball when the Monticello runner got to first base. Seeing Hunter had not retrieved the ball, the runner decided to sneak into second, but didn’t make it.
“It was kind of a little brain lapse by Hunter there, but he got the out,” Tipton said.
It was the offense, particularly the long ball that did the damage for the Bears in the first game. Sylvan Hills scored six runs in the top of the first inning. The highlight of the inning was a three-run home run by freshman designated hitter Hunter Heslep. Monticello got three in the bottom of the same frame, but that’s as close as the host team would get the rest of the way.
“We jumped out on them and then sort of held them at bay,” Tipton said. “They hit Conner a little bit. He’s had a week’s rest between starts all season, but then he threw 138 pitches last Thursday, so I think he wasn’t fully rested. But he still did a pretty good job.”
Hunter hit a two-run home run in the third inning to extend the Bears’ lead to 8-3.
Sylvan Hills committed no errors in either game, which has been a mantra of Tipton’s all season.
“When we don’t make mistakes we win ball games,” Tipton said. “That’s the key for us.”
The Southeast is matched up with the East in the first round of the playoffs. The Bears will be back in Monticello at 2:30 p.m. Thursday to face the East’s three seed, which could be Nettleton, Greene County Tech or Batesville.
The 5A classification has no clear frontrunner this year, and Tipton believes his 22-7 team has as good a shot as any team.
“We’re right there,” Tipton said. “We have some depth in the pitching rotation. If we can hit the ball like we’re capable of and not make mistakes, I like our chances. I’ll take this bunch over any out there.”
Leader sports editor
Sylvan Hills won a share of the 5A Southeast Conference championship with a doubleheader sweep at Monticello on Tuesday, but the Bears needed some help they didn’t get in order to earn the league’s top seed in the state tournament.
Sylvan Hills and Watson Chapel each finished 13-1 in league play, splitting their doubleheader in Sherwood three weeks ago, but the Wildcats held the tiebreaker and will get the top seed.
Conner Eller, Sylvan Hills top pitcher, threw well and won game one 13-6, but it was No. 2 pitcher Dylan Boone’s night to shine on Tuesday. In the nightcap, Boone faced the minimum of 21 batters in his seven-inning 5-0 shutout of the Billies.
He gave up two hits, but got infield grounders and the defense turned double plays on both runners. Boone also walked two, but both were thrown out attempting to steal second by catcher Lance Hunter.
“Dylan threw an unbelievable game,” Sylvan Hills coach Denny Tipton said. “He was hitting his spots and they just couldn’t do anything with him.”
One caught-stealing by Hunter came in unorthodox fashion. Hunter thought a called ball four had been tipped, and was waiting for the umpire to hand him a new ball when the Monticello runner got to first base. Seeing Hunter had not retrieved the ball, the runner decided to sneak into second, but didn’t make it.
“It was kind of a little brain lapse by Hunter there, but he got the out,” Tipton said.
It was the offense, particularly the long ball that did the damage for the Bears in the first game. Sylvan Hills scored six runs in the top of the first inning. The highlight of the inning was a three-run home run by freshman designated hitter Hunter Heslep. Monticello got three in the bottom of the same frame, but that’s as close as the host team would get the rest of the way.
“We jumped out on them and then sort of held them at bay,” Tipton said. “They hit Conner a little bit. He’s had a week’s rest between starts all season, but then he threw 138 pitches last Thursday, so I think he wasn’t fully rested. But he still did a pretty good job.”
Hunter hit a two-run home run in the third inning to extend the Bears’ lead to 8-3.
Sylvan Hills committed no errors in either game, which has been a mantra of Tipton’s all season.
“When we don’t make mistakes we win ball games,” Tipton said. “That’s the key for us.”
The Southeast is matched up with the East in the first round of the playoffs. The Bears will be back in Monticello at 2:30 p.m. Thursday to face the East’s three seed, which could be Nettleton, Greene County Tech or Batesville.
The 5A classification has no clear frontrunner this year, and Tipton believes his 22-7 team has as good a shot as any team.
“We’re right there,” Tipton said. “We have some depth in the pitching rotation. If we can hit the ball like we’re capable of and not make mistakes, I like our chances. I’ll take this bunch over any out there.”
SPORTS STORY >> Devil shines on the diamond
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
For the love of the game. That’s a phrase tossed about in sports to describe why an athlete does what he does. But there’s a reason that phrase was used as a title for a novel and movie about baseball, instead of some other sport. Unlike most other sports, natural ability is never enough to be one of the best in baseball. It takes a dedication that can only come if the player has that love for the game.
Jacksonville High School is currently home to one of the most gifted ball players in Arkansas. Just get Major League draft prospect D’Vone McClure talking about baseball, and you’ll quickly get a sense for his love of the game.
Drop by the Dupree Park batting cages or the JHS field house during after school hours, and you’ll see it for yourself.
McClure, the youngest of six brothers with one younger sister, will be there swinging away or working on some other aspect of his game. Jacksonville coach Larry Burrows said the signs of McClure’s love of baseball showed early, even before he could play for the Red Devils.
“He started showing up around here as an eighth grader,” Burrows said. “He showed up after school on game day one day and asked if could he ride the bus to the game with us. I told him to get his mom on the phone and if she tells me you can, you can ride the bus with us. I knew who he was back then, but I didn’t know he was going to turn out like he did. He was just a kid who loved baseball and loved to be around it. He’d ride the bus to games. He’d sit in the dugout and not say a word, just watch us play.”
That childlike love of just being around the ballpark, being around the game, has never subsided in McClure. In fact it’s developed into an insatiable appetite for it.
“I love this game, everything about it,”McClure said. “Batting, defense, batting practice, all of it. I can see myself doing this every day really.”
Last summer McClure got a taste of what offseason is like for a pro ball player. He tried out and made it into program for prospects that had them in Florida, training every day just like they would in major league spring training.
It was baseball 24/7. Batting practice first thing in the morning, games and other workouts the rest of the day, complete with regimented meals three times daily.
McClure loved it.
“It was great,” McClure said. “The every day grind of it to me was exciting. It is a grind. It is a lot of work. But ultimately you’re still playing baseball, and that’s what I love to do more than anything.”
McClure’s natural ability and dedication to work has already garnered him a scholarship to play for Dave Van Horn and the University of Arkansas.
In about a month, it will get him drafted early in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.
At least two baseball websites with mock drafts have him going in the third round. Seedlingstostars.com has McClure as high as the 98th pick to the Baltimore Orioles, but only as low as the 110th pick to the Washington Nationals. It also says if both of those teams pass on him, the Toronto Blue Jays will greedily scoop him up with the 111th overall pick.
If he goes that high on June 4, day one of the MLB draft, it would mean a signing bonus well into six figures and that could mean he’ll bypass college altogether and begin immediately pursuing his dream of becoming a major leaguer.
Baseballamerica.com said of McClure’s performance at the mock spring training last summer, “D’vone McClure (Jacksonville, Ark., HS) has shown off some good tools. McClure stood out on Monday, but carried things over to the second day. His arm is just okay from the outfield, but his bat really whips through the zone and he continues to make solid contact.”
Seedlingstostars.com was even more glowing in their analysis of McClure.
“McClure is teeming with upside. A projectable bat at 6’3, 190, McClure is raw in his approach at the plate, but shows big-time tools. He swings with tremendous bat speed and solid lift, and when he connects on a swing, he hits the ball with authority, although he hasn’t been able to tap into too much of his power yet. His pitch recognition is questionable at this point and he’s too aggressive at the plate, but if a pitcher makes a mistake against him, he can destroy it. Defensively, McClure has above-average speed that gives him nice range in centerfield in addition to making him a stolen base threat, but his arm is noticeably below average. If he can put it all together, McClure is a four-tool prospect.
“McClure is a raw athlete but one with impressive bat speed and above-average power who adds into the equation speed and excellent range in centerfield. In the third round, he’s definitely a worthwhile risk, and the type of gamble that could pay off big-time for whichever team drafts him. The Blue Jays (who hold the next pick) will be dismayed if the Nationals draft McClure.”
McClure made himself known to scouts last summer in Florida, but raised his draft stock considerably during a high-school game on his home field in late March.
Mountain Home’s Trey Killian, a 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher and also an early-round draft prospect, took the mound against the Red Devils on March 27. No less than 50 major league scouts were on hand to watch the hard-throwing Bomber, but McClure stole the show.
He went 2 for 3 with two doubles. The two hits were line drives. One hit the wall in centerfield on the fly, the other did the same in left.
Scouts took notice, and have been at every Jacksonville game since, and most practices. One person that wasn’t surprised was Burrows.
“He’s the best I’ve ever had at hitting good pitching,” Burrows said. “He did it down in Florida too. When you can take wood (wood bats were used at the camp) and turn around 93-94 miles per hour, you’re going to get noticed. There are only so many fast-twitch muscles a person has, and he has plenty of them.
Whether McClure plays for the Hogs or accepts a professional contract depends on what’s offered by the organization that drafts him. So it likely depends on just how highly he’s drafted.
He is truly in a win-win situation though. He’s fully qualified to step right into the Razorback lineup if the professional offers aren’t enticing enough, and that’s something he’s always dreamed about too.
“I didn’t even take any other visits,” McClure said of his college recruitment. “I knew I wanted to be a Razorback. I’ve known all along, but when I went up there I fell in love with it even more. Coach Van Horn and coach (Todd Butler) were great. The team accepted me immediately and started treating me like one of them, like a teammate. So I’ll be very happy no matter what happens.”
This is part one of a two-part series.
Leader sports editor
For the love of the game. That’s a phrase tossed about in sports to describe why an athlete does what he does. But there’s a reason that phrase was used as a title for a novel and movie about baseball, instead of some other sport. Unlike most other sports, natural ability is never enough to be one of the best in baseball. It takes a dedication that can only come if the player has that love for the game.
Jacksonville High School is currently home to one of the most gifted ball players in Arkansas. Just get Major League draft prospect D’Vone McClure talking about baseball, and you’ll quickly get a sense for his love of the game.
Drop by the Dupree Park batting cages or the JHS field house during after school hours, and you’ll see it for yourself.
McClure, the youngest of six brothers with one younger sister, will be there swinging away or working on some other aspect of his game. Jacksonville coach Larry Burrows said the signs of McClure’s love of baseball showed early, even before he could play for the Red Devils.
“He started showing up around here as an eighth grader,” Burrows said. “He showed up after school on game day one day and asked if could he ride the bus to the game with us. I told him to get his mom on the phone and if she tells me you can, you can ride the bus with us. I knew who he was back then, but I didn’t know he was going to turn out like he did. He was just a kid who loved baseball and loved to be around it. He’d ride the bus to games. He’d sit in the dugout and not say a word, just watch us play.”
That childlike love of just being around the ballpark, being around the game, has never subsided in McClure. In fact it’s developed into an insatiable appetite for it.
“I love this game, everything about it,”McClure said. “Batting, defense, batting practice, all of it. I can see myself doing this every day really.”
Last summer McClure got a taste of what offseason is like for a pro ball player. He tried out and made it into program for prospects that had them in Florida, training every day just like they would in major league spring training.
It was baseball 24/7. Batting practice first thing in the morning, games and other workouts the rest of the day, complete with regimented meals three times daily.
McClure loved it.
“It was great,” McClure said. “The every day grind of it to me was exciting. It is a grind. It is a lot of work. But ultimately you’re still playing baseball, and that’s what I love to do more than anything.”
McClure’s natural ability and dedication to work has already garnered him a scholarship to play for Dave Van Horn and the University of Arkansas.
In about a month, it will get him drafted early in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.
At least two baseball websites with mock drafts have him going in the third round. Seedlingstostars.com has McClure as high as the 98th pick to the Baltimore Orioles, but only as low as the 110th pick to the Washington Nationals. It also says if both of those teams pass on him, the Toronto Blue Jays will greedily scoop him up with the 111th overall pick.
If he goes that high on June 4, day one of the MLB draft, it would mean a signing bonus well into six figures and that could mean he’ll bypass college altogether and begin immediately pursuing his dream of becoming a major leaguer.
Baseballamerica.com said of McClure’s performance at the mock spring training last summer, “D’vone McClure (Jacksonville, Ark., HS) has shown off some good tools. McClure stood out on Monday, but carried things over to the second day. His arm is just okay from the outfield, but his bat really whips through the zone and he continues to make solid contact.”
Seedlingstostars.com was even more glowing in their analysis of McClure.
“McClure is teeming with upside. A projectable bat at 6’3, 190, McClure is raw in his approach at the plate, but shows big-time tools. He swings with tremendous bat speed and solid lift, and when he connects on a swing, he hits the ball with authority, although he hasn’t been able to tap into too much of his power yet. His pitch recognition is questionable at this point and he’s too aggressive at the plate, but if a pitcher makes a mistake against him, he can destroy it. Defensively, McClure has above-average speed that gives him nice range in centerfield in addition to making him a stolen base threat, but his arm is noticeably below average. If he can put it all together, McClure is a four-tool prospect.
“McClure is a raw athlete but one with impressive bat speed and above-average power who adds into the equation speed and excellent range in centerfield. In the third round, he’s definitely a worthwhile risk, and the type of gamble that could pay off big-time for whichever team drafts him. The Blue Jays (who hold the next pick) will be dismayed if the Nationals draft McClure.”
McClure made himself known to scouts last summer in Florida, but raised his draft stock considerably during a high-school game on his home field in late March.
Mountain Home’s Trey Killian, a 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher and also an early-round draft prospect, took the mound against the Red Devils on March 27. No less than 50 major league scouts were on hand to watch the hard-throwing Bomber, but McClure stole the show.
He went 2 for 3 with two doubles. The two hits were line drives. One hit the wall in centerfield on the fly, the other did the same in left.
Scouts took notice, and have been at every Jacksonville game since, and most practices. One person that wasn’t surprised was Burrows.
“He’s the best I’ve ever had at hitting good pitching,” Burrows said. “He did it down in Florida too. When you can take wood (wood bats were used at the camp) and turn around 93-94 miles per hour, you’re going to get noticed. There are only so many fast-twitch muscles a person has, and he has plenty of them.
Whether McClure plays for the Hogs or accepts a professional contract depends on what’s offered by the organization that drafts him. So it likely depends on just how highly he’s drafted.
He is truly in a win-win situation though. He’s fully qualified to step right into the Razorback lineup if the professional offers aren’t enticing enough, and that’s something he’s always dreamed about too.
“I didn’t even take any other visits,” McClure said of his college recruitment. “I knew I wanted to be a Razorback. I’ve known all along, but when I went up there I fell in love with it even more. Coach Van Horn and coach (Todd Butler) were great. The team accepted me immediately and started treating me like one of them, like a teammate. So I’ll be very happy no matter what happens.”
This is part one of a two-part series.
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
EDITORIAL >> Breaking up failed disrict
A year after a tornado struck the auditorium at North Pulaski High School and nearby Little Rock Air Force Base, the auditorium is still torn up while rebuilding on the base started almost immediately after the twister struck on April 25, 2011, destroying homes and buildings.
The sorry state of that North Pulaski auditorium proves again that Jacksonville is the stepchild of the Pulaski County Special School District, which is under state supervision for failing to educate its students and for failing to provide adequate facilities to those students.
The good news is that PCSSD officials this week again reaffirmed their desire to carve Jacksonville out of the district and let local residents establish their own school district — and not a moment too soon.
In a motion filed Monday in federal court requesting continued state desegregation funds for at least a few more years, PCSSD officials promised that Jacksonville could then go it alone. Prolonged state and federal supervision of the sprawling district could delay that separation for several more years, but local supporters of a new district are confident that it will happen sooner than later. Sherwood, too, is expected to seek its independence from PCSSD, which could lead to more lawsuits and appeals.
But after more than a decade of legal maneuvers, including special legislation that allows Jacksonville to break away from PCSSD, the promise of a Jacksonville district appears within reach.
The Jacksonville area would have a much smaller district than Cabot — 4,500 compared to Cabot’s 10,000 or so students. But the state could give Jacksonville up to 60 percent of its funding for new school building construction, several times more than the current formula, which has meant letting Jacksonville schools deteriorate for the past 30 years.
The new formula would be more in line with Cabot, which has built new schools every two or three years because of generous funding from the state.
Jacksonville is looking for a new start. The city’s two new Lighthouse Academy charter schools, one on North First Street, the other on LRAFB, have shown the way with their new facilities and construction of a new high school set to open next year.
The Jacksonville-area district should get state funding for new elementary and middle schools and for repairs at its crumbling campuses. That rebuilding should have started a generation ago, but putting up new schools is like planting trees: Someone said the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now. Start planting.
The sorry state of that North Pulaski auditorium proves again that Jacksonville is the stepchild of the Pulaski County Special School District, which is under state supervision for failing to educate its students and for failing to provide adequate facilities to those students.
The good news is that PCSSD officials this week again reaffirmed their desire to carve Jacksonville out of the district and let local residents establish their own school district — and not a moment too soon.
In a motion filed Monday in federal court requesting continued state desegregation funds for at least a few more years, PCSSD officials promised that Jacksonville could then go it alone. Prolonged state and federal supervision of the sprawling district could delay that separation for several more years, but local supporters of a new district are confident that it will happen sooner than later. Sherwood, too, is expected to seek its independence from PCSSD, which could lead to more lawsuits and appeals.
But after more than a decade of legal maneuvers, including special legislation that allows Jacksonville to break away from PCSSD, the promise of a Jacksonville district appears within reach.
The Jacksonville area would have a much smaller district than Cabot — 4,500 compared to Cabot’s 10,000 or so students. But the state could give Jacksonville up to 60 percent of its funding for new school building construction, several times more than the current formula, which has meant letting Jacksonville schools deteriorate for the past 30 years.
The new formula would be more in line with Cabot, which has built new schools every two or three years because of generous funding from the state.
Jacksonville is looking for a new start. The city’s two new Lighthouse Academy charter schools, one on North First Street, the other on LRAFB, have shown the way with their new facilities and construction of a new high school set to open next year.
The Jacksonville-area district should get state funding for new elementary and middle schools and for repairs at its crumbling campuses. That rebuilding should have started a generation ago, but putting up new schools is like planting trees: Someone said the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now. Start planting.
TOP STORY >> Boy killed riding on his bicycle
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
Detectives with the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Department are still investigating the death of a 13-year-old boy from the Woodlawn area who was killed Saturday evening when he was struck by a car while riding his bike, but they say it appears to have been an accident.
Detective Matt Edwards said the name of the driver of the car will not be released until the investigation is completed.
“We know alcohol wasn’t a factor. Right now, we’re trying to determine if speed was a factor,” Edwards said.
Jacob Mathew Allen was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:46 p.m., about 45 minutes after he was hit.
Sheriff Jim Roberson said Tuesday morning that he has not yet seen the report of the accident, but his investigators have told him that the boy didn’t stop when he rode out from Joyner Loop onto Mt. Tabor Road.
“The lady was coming down the road, and he scooted right through the stop sign,” the sheriff said.
It’s very sad, the sheriff said, but not surprising. Mt. Tabor Road, a high-traffic road, is home to a lot of families with young children who use the road to ride bikes, scooters and skateboards.
“It’s a fast road,” the sheriff said.
“I’ve talked to kids out there before and told them that’s not a playground,” he said. “There’s just a lot of young children out there unsupervised. A lot of the time they’ll be walking right in the middle of the road.
“You’ve got to supervise your kids,” he said.
The sheriff said speeding is a problem all over the county. And when high speed is combined with the distraction caused by cell phones, accidents are inevitable.
Asked if the driver of the car was using a phone at the time of the accident, the sheriff said he didn’t believe she was.
Leader staff writer
Detectives with the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Department are still investigating the death of a 13-year-old boy from the Woodlawn area who was killed Saturday evening when he was struck by a car while riding his bike, but they say it appears to have been an accident.
Detective Matt Edwards said the name of the driver of the car will not be released until the investigation is completed.
“We know alcohol wasn’t a factor. Right now, we’re trying to determine if speed was a factor,” Edwards said.
Jacob Mathew Allen was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:46 p.m., about 45 minutes after he was hit.
Sheriff Jim Roberson said Tuesday morning that he has not yet seen the report of the accident, but his investigators have told him that the boy didn’t stop when he rode out from Joyner Loop onto Mt. Tabor Road.
“The lady was coming down the road, and he scooted right through the stop sign,” the sheriff said.
It’s very sad, the sheriff said, but not surprising. Mt. Tabor Road, a high-traffic road, is home to a lot of families with young children who use the road to ride bikes, scooters and skateboards.
“It’s a fast road,” the sheriff said.
“I’ve talked to kids out there before and told them that’s not a playground,” he said. “There’s just a lot of young children out there unsupervised. A lot of the time they’ll be walking right in the middle of the road.
“You’ve got to supervise your kids,” he said.
The sheriff said speeding is a problem all over the county. And when high speed is combined with the distraction caused by cell phones, accidents are inevitable.
Asked if the driver of the car was using a phone at the time of the accident, the sheriff said he didn’t believe she was.
TOP STORY >> Farmers markets ready for crowds
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
The Jacksonville Farmers’ Market near the community center had a disappointing first two years because it was essentially boycotted by local farmers.
But new rules that ban wholesalers and require all produce be grown in Arkansas are expected to turn it around.
The market will be open from 6 a.m. to noon Saturdays and Wednesdays beginning this weekend and continuing until the end of October.
Jacksonville Parks Director Kristen Kennon, who oversees the market, said the lack of local involvement was very troublesome.
“The farmers weren’t coming out because the wholesalers were there,” Kennon said. “They said they wouldn’t participate in a market where wholesalers were allowed. So after two years of it not working, we reached out to them to see what we could do to change that.”
Kennon is so convinced that this year will be better than the first two years that a grand reopening of the farmers’ market has been scheduled for May 12, a week after the actual opening.
A press release about the reopening says North Pulaski Farms, Barnhill Farms, Laughing Stock Farms, Hardin Farms and Friends of the Earth are among the growers who have committed to bringing their produce to the market.
Shoppers can expect to find seven different types of potatoes, flowers, grape tomatoes, cabbage, onions, hanging basket, cucumbers, lettuce, strawberries and grains.
Kennon said artists and crafters are also welcome. Homemade baked goods, cheeses, marinades, honey and jams and jellies may also be available, she said.
When the market first opened, growers also objected to the fact that they couldn’t get their trucks into the pavilion. That problem has been solved, Kennon said. But sellers may also set up tents and sell from their trucks beside the pavilion.
“We’re hoping this will be our best year,” she said.
The cost to sell at the market is $25 for the whole season. Sellers may pick up a complete list of rules and regulations at the Jacksonville Community Center, the Martin Street Youth Center or get it online at www.cityofjacksonville.net/parks.
The Cabot Farmers Market will start its fifth season in the First Security Bank parking lot downtown and organizers say because of the early growing season they expect this year’s market to be a good one.
The market will be open from 8 a.m. until noon every Saturday until Oct. 27.
Leader staff writer
The Jacksonville Farmers’ Market near the community center had a disappointing first two years because it was essentially boycotted by local farmers.
But new rules that ban wholesalers and require all produce be grown in Arkansas are expected to turn it around.
The market will be open from 6 a.m. to noon Saturdays and Wednesdays beginning this weekend and continuing until the end of October.
Jacksonville Parks Director Kristen Kennon, who oversees the market, said the lack of local involvement was very troublesome.
“The farmers weren’t coming out because the wholesalers were there,” Kennon said. “They said they wouldn’t participate in a market where wholesalers were allowed. So after two years of it not working, we reached out to them to see what we could do to change that.”
Kennon is so convinced that this year will be better than the first two years that a grand reopening of the farmers’ market has been scheduled for May 12, a week after the actual opening.
A press release about the reopening says North Pulaski Farms, Barnhill Farms, Laughing Stock Farms, Hardin Farms and Friends of the Earth are among the growers who have committed to bringing their produce to the market.
Shoppers can expect to find seven different types of potatoes, flowers, grape tomatoes, cabbage, onions, hanging basket, cucumbers, lettuce, strawberries and grains.
Kennon said artists and crafters are also welcome. Homemade baked goods, cheeses, marinades, honey and jams and jellies may also be available, she said.
When the market first opened, growers also objected to the fact that they couldn’t get their trucks into the pavilion. That problem has been solved, Kennon said. But sellers may also set up tents and sell from their trucks beside the pavilion.
“We’re hoping this will be our best year,” she said.
The cost to sell at the market is $25 for the whole season. Sellers may pick up a complete list of rules and regulations at the Jacksonville Community Center, the Martin Street Youth Center or get it online at www.cityofjacksonville.net/parks.
The Cabot Farmers Market will start its fifth season in the First Security Bank parking lot downtown and organizers say because of the early growing season they expect this year’s market to be a good one.
The market will be open from 8 a.m. until noon every Saturday until Oct. 27.
TOP STORY >> Jacksonville closer to its own district
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
and SARAH CAMPBELL
Proponents of a stand-alone Jacksonville school district received an unexpected boost Monday when lawyers for the Pulaski County Special School District asked the presiding judge in the decades-old school desegregation case to create a separate Jacksonville district.
The district’s motion was in response to the state attorney general’s March petition to U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. asking for the state to be relieved of its obligation to provide about $70 million a year in desegregation funding.
“I’ve been hoping and praying that (the district’s response) would inject the Jacksonville scenario in,” said Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher. “I’m tickled that they did.
“It brings us to the table, which is what we’ve wanted all along, for our voices to be heard. We can show that we can take care of our situation.”
“It’s exciting,” according to Daniel Gray, who is active in efforts to detach a Jacksonville district from the PCSSD.
“It’s not the Jacksonville people asking for it (this time), it’s the school district saying that’s what is best for them,” Gray said. “Hopefully, this will be part of the end of desegregation case.”
Bishop James Bolden said, “I think it’s a great thing, long overdue. We need our own district to help us grow. Personally, I’m tired of seeing people move to Cabot and other places.
“We’re excited about it. A brand new district would be perfect (as a solution that would end the desegregation case and fiscal distress).”
The PCSSD lawyers argued that dividing the huge district in two would help the district achieve unitary status as well as to emerge from fiscal distress.
The desegregation money, which now totals about $1 billion since 1989, is split among the Pulaski County Special, Little Rock and North Little Rock School Districts. While it is not limited to direct desegregation uses, the intent is to fund magnet schools M-to-M transfers and provide transportation, all to help achieve racial balance.
“Unless everybody’s willing to sit down and talk realistically at the table about a settlement of this, we have no choice but to be opposed in the short term to the termination (of the state desegregation revenues),” said PCSSD attorney Sam Jones. “We still have the expense side.”
PCSSD also asked that the state phase out desegregation funding over eight years instead of immediately and also asked Marshall to order the state to work with the district to “come up with a facilities plan that would gain unitary status,” Superintendent Jerry Guess said Tuesday.
“We are asking him to consider our proposal, phase down services over eight years, separate Jacksonville and regain unitary status within the first three years,” Guess said.
Jones said the Jacksonville aspect of the case had been evolving under Guess’ administration, which is looking at every financial aspect of the district’s operation in light of its fiscal distress designation.
“They revisited the Jackson-ville studies and decided the area embraced was probably better off to attain its own school district because of financial issues,” Jones said.
He said the plan wouldn’t provide direct financial aid to the PCSSD, but that it would eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars in construction costs associated with Jacksonville’s old and decrepit school buildings.
Guess said the two districts could run much more efficiently than one. Currently, the 17,000-student district is spread across about 760 square miles in Pulaski County.
Guess said a Jacksonville district would have about 4,500 students, while the PCSSD would be left with about 12,500.
One advantage of splitting off Jacksonville from Pulaski County is the amount of money the state would contribute toward building and repairing facilities. Using the wealth-index formula, the state would contribute 3 percent of the cost of PCSSD buildings because it’s in an affluent part of the state. That’s a $3 million match on a $100 million project. But the wealth index in the poorer Jacksonville area is about 55 percent or 60 percent, according to Guess, meaning the state would contribute $55 million on a $100 million building project.
The boundaries for the proposed Jacksonville district are those that the PCSSD school board approved in about 2009, Jones said.
According to Guess, 10 schools would comprise the new district: North Pulaski High School, Jacksonville High School, Jacksonville Middle School, and Bayou Meto, Arnold Drive, Tolleson, Adkins, Taylor, Pinewood and Dupree elementary schools.
The district is currently in fiscal distress for bad policies and management and also for having a declining fund balance.
As a result, state Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell last year dissolved the school board and fired first-year Superintendent Charles Hopson. Kimbrell be-came a one-man school board.
But because Kimbrell is a party to the desegregation proceedings, Guess did not consult with nor inform him of his decision to include the Jacksonville detachment as part of the district’s response to the state’s motion to cut off desegregation funding.
When Guess agreed to take the job as superintendent, he told Kimbrell that he had two goals — to bring the district out of fiscal distress and to extricate it from the desegregation agreement and court encumbrances.
Guess said he arrived at the conclusion that everyone involved would be better off by splitting the district into two. Others involved in the discussion were the district’s attorneys, Jones of Mitchell Williams and Allan Roberts of Camden, financial consultant Don Stewart and Bill Goff, the district’s chief financial officer.
Guess said he also referred to reports prepared several years ago, one by Stewart, and the other by William Gordon and Associates, in arriving at his conclusion.
and SARAH CAMPBELL
Proponents of a stand-alone Jacksonville school district received an unexpected boost Monday when lawyers for the Pulaski County Special School District asked the presiding judge in the decades-old school desegregation case to create a separate Jacksonville district.
The district’s motion was in response to the state attorney general’s March petition to U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. asking for the state to be relieved of its obligation to provide about $70 million a year in desegregation funding.
“I’ve been hoping and praying that (the district’s response) would inject the Jacksonville scenario in,” said Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher. “I’m tickled that they did.
“It brings us to the table, which is what we’ve wanted all along, for our voices to be heard. We can show that we can take care of our situation.”
“It’s exciting,” according to Daniel Gray, who is active in efforts to detach a Jacksonville district from the PCSSD.
“It’s not the Jacksonville people asking for it (this time), it’s the school district saying that’s what is best for them,” Gray said. “Hopefully, this will be part of the end of desegregation case.”
Bishop James Bolden said, “I think it’s a great thing, long overdue. We need our own district to help us grow. Personally, I’m tired of seeing people move to Cabot and other places.
“We’re excited about it. A brand new district would be perfect (as a solution that would end the desegregation case and fiscal distress).”
The PCSSD lawyers argued that dividing the huge district in two would help the district achieve unitary status as well as to emerge from fiscal distress.
The desegregation money, which now totals about $1 billion since 1989, is split among the Pulaski County Special, Little Rock and North Little Rock School Districts. While it is not limited to direct desegregation uses, the intent is to fund magnet schools M-to-M transfers and provide transportation, all to help achieve racial balance.
“Unless everybody’s willing to sit down and talk realistically at the table about a settlement of this, we have no choice but to be opposed in the short term to the termination (of the state desegregation revenues),” said PCSSD attorney Sam Jones. “We still have the expense side.”
PCSSD also asked that the state phase out desegregation funding over eight years instead of immediately and also asked Marshall to order the state to work with the district to “come up with a facilities plan that would gain unitary status,” Superintendent Jerry Guess said Tuesday.
“We are asking him to consider our proposal, phase down services over eight years, separate Jacksonville and regain unitary status within the first three years,” Guess said.
Jones said the Jacksonville aspect of the case had been evolving under Guess’ administration, which is looking at every financial aspect of the district’s operation in light of its fiscal distress designation.
“They revisited the Jackson-ville studies and decided the area embraced was probably better off to attain its own school district because of financial issues,” Jones said.
He said the plan wouldn’t provide direct financial aid to the PCSSD, but that it would eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars in construction costs associated with Jacksonville’s old and decrepit school buildings.
Guess said the two districts could run much more efficiently than one. Currently, the 17,000-student district is spread across about 760 square miles in Pulaski County.
Guess said a Jacksonville district would have about 4,500 students, while the PCSSD would be left with about 12,500.
One advantage of splitting off Jacksonville from Pulaski County is the amount of money the state would contribute toward building and repairing facilities. Using the wealth-index formula, the state would contribute 3 percent of the cost of PCSSD buildings because it’s in an affluent part of the state. That’s a $3 million match on a $100 million project. But the wealth index in the poorer Jacksonville area is about 55 percent or 60 percent, according to Guess, meaning the state would contribute $55 million on a $100 million building project.
The boundaries for the proposed Jacksonville district are those that the PCSSD school board approved in about 2009, Jones said.
According to Guess, 10 schools would comprise the new district: North Pulaski High School, Jacksonville High School, Jacksonville Middle School, and Bayou Meto, Arnold Drive, Tolleson, Adkins, Taylor, Pinewood and Dupree elementary schools.
The district is currently in fiscal distress for bad policies and management and also for having a declining fund balance.
As a result, state Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell last year dissolved the school board and fired first-year Superintendent Charles Hopson. Kimbrell be-came a one-man school board.
But because Kimbrell is a party to the desegregation proceedings, Guess did not consult with nor inform him of his decision to include the Jacksonville detachment as part of the district’s response to the state’s motion to cut off desegregation funding.
When Guess agreed to take the job as superintendent, he told Kimbrell that he had two goals — to bring the district out of fiscal distress and to extricate it from the desegregation agreement and court encumbrances.
Guess said he arrived at the conclusion that everyone involved would be better off by splitting the district into two. Others involved in the discussion were the district’s attorneys, Jones of Mitchell Williams and Allan Roberts of Camden, financial consultant Don Stewart and Bill Goff, the district’s chief financial officer.
Guess said he also referred to reports prepared several years ago, one by Stewart, and the other by William Gordon and Associates, in arriving at his conclusion.
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
SPORTS STORY >> Jackrabbits, Badgers are runners up
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Local track teams finished up their conference schedules with their respective district meets last week, qualifying participants for this week’s round of state track meets.
The Lonoke Jackrabbits finished second in the 4A Region 2 meet at Heber Springs while a small Lady ’Rabbits group finished seventh and qualified one for the 4A state meet at Nashville tomorrow.
In 5A, Beebe took second place on the boys side of the 5A East district meet while the Lady Badgers brought home fourth place. Sylvan Hills finished seventh in both the girls and boys standings at the 5A Southeast meet in Monticello, while the North Pulaski Lady Falcons finished fifth and the Falcon boys team took eighth.
Lonoke senior Derrika Mays finished second in the shot put with a distance of 33-0.25, making her the only Lady Jackrabbit to qualify for state. Junior Regan Hart came within one spot of qualifying for the state meet when she finished third in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 55.72.
Four Jackrabbits qualified for the state meet on the boys side, including triple-jump winner Blake Mack. The standout sophomore edged Clint Ligon of Heber Springs with a distance of 40-11.5. Eric Williams finished third in the 100-meter dash, which would have been one spot short of qualifying at district, but his fastest time at a conference meet earlier in the season gave him an automatic trip to the state meet.
Mack and Williams also teamed with Brent Sims and Kenny Johnson in the 4x100 relay, and won the event with a time of 45.25, just edging the Newport team for the victory.
“They had their best performances in conference,” Lonoke coach Tim Scarborough said. “As a coach, one of the things you look for is who is going to step up to the challenge. As a whole, the team stepped up, and I’m proud of them.”
The Badgers needed 10 more points to take top team honors at Paragould last week, finishing with 141 points to winner Nettleton’s 150 points.
Senior K.J. Maples won three events, including the 400-meter dash, winning with a time of 51.49. Maples also took the victory in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:37.85, and won a close contest to Sebastian Brown of Greene County Tech in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:46.22.
Badger runners swept the top-two spots in the 800-meter run, as senior Austin Dupio won with a time of 2:04.43 in front of junior teammate Jake Schlenker, who ran a 2:05.64.
Dupio also took fourth place in the 1,600 run, and Allen Kirk finished fourth in the 3,200-meter run.
The group of Jordan Huffstickler, Hunter Plante, John Diaz and Tanner Chapman won the 4x400-meter relay run with a time of 3:32.68. The team of Schlenker, Diaz, Plante and Alex Smith finished third in the 4x800-meter relay event with a time of 8:57.97.
Senior Dayton Scott dominated the high-jump event with a height of 6-6, a solid five inches ahead of Blytheville’s Anfernee Coleman, and was a close second in the triple jump with a distance of 44-1.75.
Huffstickler was third in the pole vault with a height of 12-6, while junior Jared Gowen won the discus throw with a distance of 134-9.
On the girls side, senior Alexis Miguel won the pole vault with a comfortable height of 8-6, six inches better than Batesville’s Sarah Stalker. Sophomore Madison Richie also got an event victory and state qualifying spot with a 16-7.5 winning distance in the long jump.
Richie was also third in the triple jump with a distance of 33-11.
Sophomore Katie McGraw finished third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:39.47, while freshman Trystan Taylor took fourth in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 6:14.32. Senior Stormy Taylor ran third in the 3,200 with a time of 14:08.25, and junior Jamie Jackson finished fourth in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 50.37. The relay team of McGraw, Taylor, Rachel Treece and Cecily Brock finished third in the 4x800 with a time of 11:02.12.
Lady Falcon junior Yasmine Wilson qualified for state in the girls field with a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash. Wilson ran a time of 13.09 to grab the final transfer spot. Wilson also qualified for the 400-meter dash, finishing a close second to Crossett’s Kyelah Hodges with a time of 1:00.26. Sophomore Reagan Lear qualified for the state 800-meter run with a second-place finish at the district meet with a time of 5:58.91. Lear was also runner up in the 3,200 event with a time of 12:48.04.
Senior Jacqueline Moragne also took a second-place finish with a 16-10 leap in the long-jump competition.
For Sylvan Hills, senior Jeremiah Persson won the boys 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:14.39.
Local track teams finished up their conference schedules with their respective district meets last week, qualifying participants for this week’s round of state track meets.
The Lonoke Jackrabbits finished second in the 4A Region 2 meet at Heber Springs while a small Lady ’Rabbits group finished seventh and qualified one for the 4A state meet at Nashville tomorrow.
In 5A, Beebe took second place on the boys side of the 5A East district meet while the Lady Badgers brought home fourth place. Sylvan Hills finished seventh in both the girls and boys standings at the 5A Southeast meet in Monticello, while the North Pulaski Lady Falcons finished fifth and the Falcon boys team took eighth.
Lonoke senior Derrika Mays finished second in the shot put with a distance of 33-0.25, making her the only Lady Jackrabbit to qualify for state. Junior Regan Hart came within one spot of qualifying for the state meet when she finished third in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 55.72.
Four Jackrabbits qualified for the state meet on the boys side, including triple-jump winner Blake Mack. The standout sophomore edged Clint Ligon of Heber Springs with a distance of 40-11.5. Eric Williams finished third in the 100-meter dash, which would have been one spot short of qualifying at district, but his fastest time at a conference meet earlier in the season gave him an automatic trip to the state meet.
Mack and Williams also teamed with Brent Sims and Kenny Johnson in the 4x100 relay, and won the event with a time of 45.25, just edging the Newport team for the victory.
“They had their best performances in conference,” Lonoke coach Tim Scarborough said. “As a coach, one of the things you look for is who is going to step up to the challenge. As a whole, the team stepped up, and I’m proud of them.”
The Badgers needed 10 more points to take top team honors at Paragould last week, finishing with 141 points to winner Nettleton’s 150 points.
Senior K.J. Maples won three events, including the 400-meter dash, winning with a time of 51.49. Maples also took the victory in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:37.85, and won a close contest to Sebastian Brown of Greene County Tech in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:46.22.
Badger runners swept the top-two spots in the 800-meter run, as senior Austin Dupio won with a time of 2:04.43 in front of junior teammate Jake Schlenker, who ran a 2:05.64.
Dupio also took fourth place in the 1,600 run, and Allen Kirk finished fourth in the 3,200-meter run.
The group of Jordan Huffstickler, Hunter Plante, John Diaz and Tanner Chapman won the 4x400-meter relay run with a time of 3:32.68. The team of Schlenker, Diaz, Plante and Alex Smith finished third in the 4x800-meter relay event with a time of 8:57.97.
Senior Dayton Scott dominated the high-jump event with a height of 6-6, a solid five inches ahead of Blytheville’s Anfernee Coleman, and was a close second in the triple jump with a distance of 44-1.75.
Huffstickler was third in the pole vault with a height of 12-6, while junior Jared Gowen won the discus throw with a distance of 134-9.
On the girls side, senior Alexis Miguel won the pole vault with a comfortable height of 8-6, six inches better than Batesville’s Sarah Stalker. Sophomore Madison Richie also got an event victory and state qualifying spot with a 16-7.5 winning distance in the long jump.
Richie was also third in the triple jump with a distance of 33-11.
Sophomore Katie McGraw finished third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:39.47, while freshman Trystan Taylor took fourth in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 6:14.32. Senior Stormy Taylor ran third in the 3,200 with a time of 14:08.25, and junior Jamie Jackson finished fourth in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 50.37. The relay team of McGraw, Taylor, Rachel Treece and Cecily Brock finished third in the 4x800 with a time of 11:02.12.
Lady Falcon junior Yasmine Wilson qualified for state in the girls field with a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash. Wilson ran a time of 13.09 to grab the final transfer spot. Wilson also qualified for the 400-meter dash, finishing a close second to Crossett’s Kyelah Hodges with a time of 1:00.26. Sophomore Reagan Lear qualified for the state 800-meter run with a second-place finish at the district meet with a time of 5:58.91. Lear was also runner up in the 3,200 event with a time of 12:48.04.
Senior Jacqueline Moragne also took a second-place finish with a 16-10 leap in the long-jump competition.
For Sylvan Hills, senior Jeremiah Persson won the boys 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:14.39.
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