By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
Jacksonville schools east of Hwy. 67/167 would be in school board Zone 7, those west of the highway in Zone 6, and Sylvan Hills/Sherwood schools in Zone 4, according to Pulaski County Special School District Superintendent Jerry Guess’ preferred alternative for redrawing board zones to balance the number of patrons in each.
Federal law requires that after the census, every school board zone should have a starting population within 5 percent of the mean average zone in that district by Aug. 1.
With a population of 152,855 divided by seven zones, that would be 21,836 people per zone, plus or minus 5 percent.
The current preferred alternative — which Guess described as the result of an evolution of proposals — will have 21,082 population in Zone 1, in southeast Pulaski County, to 22,768 residents in Zone 7 in the Jacksonville area.
That’s within legal guidelines and a great improvement over the current boundaries in which 9,927 residents shared a board member in southeast Pulaski County, but 34,361 residents shared a single board member in western Pulaski County. Rapid growth in the western part of the county accounts for most of the disparity, Guess said.
Currently in fiscal distress, PCSSD has been taken over by the state. Education commissioner Tom Kimbrell dissolved the district’s board and serves as a one-man board in its place.
Guess said the redrawn zones are mandated by the results of the 2010 census and are unrelated to the state takeover of the district.
The possibility of an eventual Jacksonville school district did not factor into the way in which boundaries for the proposed new zones were drawn, he said.
Guess said he had three priorities in developing new board zones:
An absolute one-man, one-vote mandate — that is each board member would represent about the same number of constituents.
It must preserve minority representation on the board, which was a challenge since the minority population of the entire district is only about 21 percent.
It must be a reasonable configuration reflecting common sense if possible.
Working with Metroplan public policy analyst and GIS planner Jeff Runder, Guess and his staff worked through four different map proposals before coming up with one that put each of the six high schools in a separate zone, accompanied by the schools that eventually feed students into that high school. Because they have seven zones, the sparsely populated northern Pulaski County — Zone 5 — has no schools within its boundaries, Guess explained.
Preferred alternative 4(a) would anchor Zone 4 with Sylvan Hills High School with the feeder schools of Sylvan Hills Middle, Sylvan Hills Elementary, Oakbrooke, Clinton and Sherwood elementary schools all in the zone.
Zone 6 would be anchored by North Pulaski High School with feeder schools Northwood Middle School and Cato, Arnold Drive, Tolleson and Bayou Meto elementary schools.
Zone 7 would be anchored by Jacksonville High School and fed by Jacksonville Middle School and Dupree, Pinewood, Taylor, Adkins and Harris elementary schools.
Other than staff, reporters and Runder, only about four people attended the Monday night meeting, the first of three.
Anyone familiar with the current zones will find that the old zone numbers and boundaries and those of the proposed new boundaries differ greatly.
After the last of the three public hearings, Guess and his staff will make a recommendation Kimbrell and he’ll approve or disapprove it.
A second meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at Maumelle High School and a third at 6 p.m. May 29 at Jacksonville High School.
The final piece of the puzzle was placed by Brenda Bowles, director of equity services for the district, when Harris Elementary was moved into Zone 7, Guess said.
Other alternatives split up schools in a district, had problems with an increase of minority concentrations, created five larger zones instead of seven smaller and had problems with dilution or concentration of minority populations or the likelihood of minority representation on the board.
Other alternatives split up schools in a zone, had problems with over dilution or over concentration of minority populations, or with the likelihood of minority representation on the board.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
TOP STORY >> Batton in tight re-election battle
By JOAN McCOY and RICK KRON
Leader staff writers
Longtime Jacksonville District Judge Robert Batton apparently survived a strong push by local attorney Marshall Nash on Tuesday, tentatively winning his position for another four years by just five votes.
Batton garnered 50.5 percent of the ballots, or 1,107 votes, compared to Nash’s 49.5 percent, or 1,085 votes.
In another too-close-to-call race, Lonoke County Tax Assessor Jack McNally apparently edged out Jim Bailey in the Republican primary by four votes, 2,071 to 2,067.
Another tight race in Lonoke County was between Republican Charles Evans and party mate Tate House for justice of the peace in Dist. 8. Evans clipped House by seven votes, 189 to 182.
Also in Lonoke County, the crowded Republican field for sheriff dropped to two as none of the four candidates got more than 50 percent of the vote.
Top Republican voter-getters were Austin Police Chief John Staley with 1,360 votes and accountant Jason Wilkinson with 1,216 votes. They will face each other in a runoff in three weeks for the chance to face Chief Deputy Dean White, a Democrat, who bested Steve Rich, a former deputy, by 79 votes. White received 997 votes, or 53 percent, while White received 918 votes, or 47 percent.
In Jacksonville, Justice of the Peace Bob Johnson survived a close challenge from fellow Republican James Stanley. Johnson got 575 votes, or 52 percent, while Stanley got 530 votes, or 48 percent.
In Sherwood, Republican Karilyn Brown beat back a challenge from party mate Jeff Rollins, 768 votes to 646.
In a Pulaski County Republican primary, Former Hill Township Constable Dennis Sobba of Jacksonville lost his bid to regain his position from current Constable Frederick “Rick” Scott of Maumelle. Scott received 3,969 votes, or 65 percent, compared to Sobba’s 2,100 votes, or 35 percent.
Former Lonoke County Circuit Clerk Deborah Oglesby got her job back by defeating first-term incumbent Denise Brown. Oglesby collected 2,143 votes, or 51 percent to Brown’s 2,024, or 49 percent. Oglesby, formerly a Democrat, ran as Republican this time.
Dawn Porterfield, the Democratic county clerk, will be on the ballot in November against Republican William “Larry” Clarke, who defeated Lisa Goodman, 2,535 votes to 1,481.
In the Lonoke County Quorum Court races, Republicans Brent Cannon and Toby Troutman squared off in Dist. 1 with Cannon winning, 125 to 66. Republican Barry “BJ” Weathers beat fellow Republican Larry Ridgeway in Dist. 2, by 205 votes to 143. Joshua McCann and Dr. Henry L. Lang, both Republicans, battled in the Dist. 3 race with Lang coming out on top by 13 votes, 171 to 158.
In Dist. 4, it was Republicans B.L. “Ernie” Ernst and Darrin Waymack with the vote advantage going to Waymack, 243 to 142.
In the all-Republican race for Dist. 8, Tate House lost to Charles D. Evans by seven votes. Republicans Larry Odom and Tim Yarboro were the only candidates in Dist. 13 and Odom defeated Yarboro, 207 to 156.
In Lonoke city, three city council members have competition for their seats, but only the race for Position 5 was decided Tuesday, when incumbent Efrem Z. Jones beat Lloyd Whitaker in the Democratic primary by three votes, 30 to 27.
In the race for Position 3, incumbent Pat Howell beat Bob Butler on the Democratic side, 25 votes to 20, and will face Republican Stacey Pennington Moore in November.
WHITE COUNTY
In White County, the county judge, Michael Lincoln, defeated challenger Bill Haynie in the Republican primary, 3,123 to 2,552.
But there will be a runoff for county clerk between Republicans Britney Sellers-Hawkins and Cheryl Evans. In that race, Evans received the most votes at 2,290, while Sellers-Hawkins received 1,947 and Randall Young received 1,161.
Mark Derrick was the winner in the race for Division 2 district judge, which includes Beebe and other small White County towns. Derrick defeated Heath Ramsey, 4,325 to 2,863.
In quorum court races, Ed Land, the Republican incumbent in Dist. 8, beat David C. Schoenberger, 474 to 151. Democrat Layne “Boss” Vaughn, a longtime member of the quorum court, regained his position from incumbent Waylon D. Heathscott, 317 to 289.
Leader staff writers
Longtime Jacksonville District Judge Robert Batton apparently survived a strong push by local attorney Marshall Nash on Tuesday, tentatively winning his position for another four years by just five votes.
Batton garnered 50.5 percent of the ballots, or 1,107 votes, compared to Nash’s 49.5 percent, or 1,085 votes.
In another too-close-to-call race, Lonoke County Tax Assessor Jack McNally apparently edged out Jim Bailey in the Republican primary by four votes, 2,071 to 2,067.
Another tight race in Lonoke County was between Republican Charles Evans and party mate Tate House for justice of the peace in Dist. 8. Evans clipped House by seven votes, 189 to 182.
Also in Lonoke County, the crowded Republican field for sheriff dropped to two as none of the four candidates got more than 50 percent of the vote.
Top Republican voter-getters were Austin Police Chief John Staley with 1,360 votes and accountant Jason Wilkinson with 1,216 votes. They will face each other in a runoff in three weeks for the chance to face Chief Deputy Dean White, a Democrat, who bested Steve Rich, a former deputy, by 79 votes. White received 997 votes, or 53 percent, while White received 918 votes, or 47 percent.
In Jacksonville, Justice of the Peace Bob Johnson survived a close challenge from fellow Republican James Stanley. Johnson got 575 votes, or 52 percent, while Stanley got 530 votes, or 48 percent.
In Sherwood, Republican Karilyn Brown beat back a challenge from party mate Jeff Rollins, 768 votes to 646.
In a Pulaski County Republican primary, Former Hill Township Constable Dennis Sobba of Jacksonville lost his bid to regain his position from current Constable Frederick “Rick” Scott of Maumelle. Scott received 3,969 votes, or 65 percent, compared to Sobba’s 2,100 votes, or 35 percent.
Former Lonoke County Circuit Clerk Deborah Oglesby got her job back by defeating first-term incumbent Denise Brown. Oglesby collected 2,143 votes, or 51 percent to Brown’s 2,024, or 49 percent. Oglesby, formerly a Democrat, ran as Republican this time.
Dawn Porterfield, the Democratic county clerk, will be on the ballot in November against Republican William “Larry” Clarke, who defeated Lisa Goodman, 2,535 votes to 1,481.
In the Lonoke County Quorum Court races, Republicans Brent Cannon and Toby Troutman squared off in Dist. 1 with Cannon winning, 125 to 66. Republican Barry “BJ” Weathers beat fellow Republican Larry Ridgeway in Dist. 2, by 205 votes to 143. Joshua McCann and Dr. Henry L. Lang, both Republicans, battled in the Dist. 3 race with Lang coming out on top by 13 votes, 171 to 158.
In Dist. 4, it was Republicans B.L. “Ernie” Ernst and Darrin Waymack with the vote advantage going to Waymack, 243 to 142.
In the all-Republican race for Dist. 8, Tate House lost to Charles D. Evans by seven votes. Republicans Larry Odom and Tim Yarboro were the only candidates in Dist. 13 and Odom defeated Yarboro, 207 to 156.
In Lonoke city, three city council members have competition for their seats, but only the race for Position 5 was decided Tuesday, when incumbent Efrem Z. Jones beat Lloyd Whitaker in the Democratic primary by three votes, 30 to 27.
In the race for Position 3, incumbent Pat Howell beat Bob Butler on the Democratic side, 25 votes to 20, and will face Republican Stacey Pennington Moore in November.
WHITE COUNTY
In White County, the county judge, Michael Lincoln, defeated challenger Bill Haynie in the Republican primary, 3,123 to 2,552.
But there will be a runoff for county clerk between Republicans Britney Sellers-Hawkins and Cheryl Evans. In that race, Evans received the most votes at 2,290, while Sellers-Hawkins received 1,947 and Randall Young received 1,161.
Mark Derrick was the winner in the race for Division 2 district judge, which includes Beebe and other small White County towns. Derrick defeated Heath Ramsey, 4,325 to 2,863.
In quorum court races, Ed Land, the Republican incumbent in Dist. 8, beat David C. Schoenberger, 474 to 151. Democrat Layne “Boss” Vaughn, a longtime member of the quorum court, regained his position from incumbent Waylon D. Heathscott, 317 to 289.
EDITORIAL >> More airmen return home
More than 100 airmen returned to another emotional reunion with their loved ones Friday at Little Rock Air Force Base after serving several months in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Col. Brian Robinson, the commander of the 19th Airlift Wing, and other top leaders at the base welcomed home the jubilant airmen before their families rushed onto the flightline to greet the heroes. They were eager to get back home, some of them having deployed overseas numerous times.
For the last decade, the tempo has been virtually nonstop for the men and women of Little Rock Air Force Base. Ever since 9/11, the base has deployed airmen overseas almost constantly, flying thousands of missions in Southwest Asia and the Persian Gulf. They have saved thousands of lives by replacing road convoys that run the risk of getting blown up by roadside bombs. Airdrops are fast and efficient and have made deliveries on roads almost passé.
Robinson, like many others at the base, has served in northern Iraq. At the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, Robinson was the chief of the air mobility strategy and tactics team that organized the largest airdrop since the Second World War.
Robinson and other commanders on base would rather we put the spotlight on the airmen who fly into harm’s way when they deploy overseas. Today’s young airmen are part of an efficient Air Force that sends us its best airmen and officers. Many of them move on to challenging new responsibilities.
Col. Mark Czelusta, commander of the 314th Airlift Wing, which trains this country’s C-130 crews and those of 40 allied nations, also played a key role in Iraq when he led a team of approximately 190 airmen who provided combat airlift, airborne electronic attack and operations support during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
Czelusta is going to the Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., where he will be the commandant of the Squadron Officer College and Squadron Officers School. The campus is called “the intellectual and leadership center of the Air Force” and is part of Air Education and Training Command at San Antonio.
His predecessor, Col. Charles K. Hyde, has been promoted to brigadier general and is the commander at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
Col. Robinson’s predecessor at LRAFB, Col. Mike Minihan, is now the commander at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, where he commands the presidential and VIP air fleet.
Meanwhile, Minihan’s predecessor, Col. Gregory Otey, has been promoted to brigadier general and will be the chief military liaison at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Credit goes to all the airmen at the base, including the host 19th Airlift Wing, 314th Airlift Wing, Guard and Reserves units. The mission overseas is winding down with hardly any casualties, for which we are grateful.
This community has supported the base for almost 60 years and hopes to see our airmen return home safely for least another 60 years. We salute you.
Col. Brian Robinson, the commander of the 19th Airlift Wing, and other top leaders at the base welcomed home the jubilant airmen before their families rushed onto the flightline to greet the heroes. They were eager to get back home, some of them having deployed overseas numerous times.
For the last decade, the tempo has been virtually nonstop for the men and women of Little Rock Air Force Base. Ever since 9/11, the base has deployed airmen overseas almost constantly, flying thousands of missions in Southwest Asia and the Persian Gulf. They have saved thousands of lives by replacing road convoys that run the risk of getting blown up by roadside bombs. Airdrops are fast and efficient and have made deliveries on roads almost passé.
Robinson, like many others at the base, has served in northern Iraq. At the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, Robinson was the chief of the air mobility strategy and tactics team that organized the largest airdrop since the Second World War.
Robinson and other commanders on base would rather we put the spotlight on the airmen who fly into harm’s way when they deploy overseas. Today’s young airmen are part of an efficient Air Force that sends us its best airmen and officers. Many of them move on to challenging new responsibilities.
Col. Mark Czelusta, commander of the 314th Airlift Wing, which trains this country’s C-130 crews and those of 40 allied nations, also played a key role in Iraq when he led a team of approximately 190 airmen who provided combat airlift, airborne electronic attack and operations support during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
Czelusta is going to the Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., where he will be the commandant of the Squadron Officer College and Squadron Officers School. The campus is called “the intellectual and leadership center of the Air Force” and is part of Air Education and Training Command at San Antonio.
His predecessor, Col. Charles K. Hyde, has been promoted to brigadier general and is the commander at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
Col. Robinson’s predecessor at LRAFB, Col. Mike Minihan, is now the commander at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, where he commands the presidential and VIP air fleet.
Meanwhile, Minihan’s predecessor, Col. Gregory Otey, has been promoted to brigadier general and will be the chief military liaison at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Credit goes to all the airmen at the base, including the host 19th Airlift Wing, 314th Airlift Wing, Guard and Reserves units. The mission overseas is winding down with hardly any casualties, for which we are grateful.
This community has supported the base for almost 60 years and hopes to see our airmen return home safely for least another 60 years. We salute you.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
SPORTS STORY >> Cabot has two junior teams for legion ball
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Cabot Centennial Bank American Legion teams are getting geared up for the start of summer baseball with two junior teams this season. There are plenty of familiar faces on the senior team from the high school Panthers team, with a sizeable crop of younger players creating an enhanced feeder system.
Craig Nyborg takes over as head coach of the senior team after several seasons on the staff as an assistant while former player Chris Gross returns to head up the junior team. Greg Frantal will coach the second junior group, which was just added on Monday. Both teams are set to open the season in the North Little Rock Memorial Day tournament to be held at Burns Park this weekend.
The seniors will open their season on the road Friday at Batesville and will open up at home Monday against Bryant.
“It’s going to be a fun year,” Nyborg said. “They are all a little bit down about how things went during the high-school season, but they are looking forward to a fun, exciting year, and I think we can win a lot of games. They gel well together; they’re all friends and they enjoy playing with each other. I really feel like we can do well this year.”
Brandon Surdam returns from his freshman year of college to headup a deep pitching staff for the Centennial Bank team. Surdam will play outfield when not on the mound, but his 91 miles-per-hour fastball is what has Nyborg excited to have the former Panther standout back on the roster.
Haydon Vinson and Ryan Logan will also see plenty of time on the mound this season, as will Bryson Morris.
A name that is new to the senior team but not in the city of Cabot is graduated Panther T.C. Carter, who will play summer baseball for the first time since his days on the junior team. Carter will play catcher and fill in at first base when needed.
“He’s been hurt every summer from football, so this is the first time he’s been able to come out,” Nyborg said. “That will be nice to have him.”
The team has good depth across the board with Kyle Kaufman, Dustin Morris, Casey Vaughn, Scott Burnett, Cole Thomas, 15-year-old standout Tristan Bulice, Grant Bell, Tyler Wilkie and Justin Goff. The Centennial Bank team hopes to improve on a strong 2011 season in which it made the state tournament before falling out in the opening round with back-to-back losses.
The junior teams are formally known as Cabot 1 and Cabot 2, although the teams are listed in the NLR tourney bracket as Cabot Gross and Cabot Frantal.
The Gross team will open tournament play in Pool B along with Benton, Jacksonville and Beebe, with their first game against Benton on Friday evening.
The Frantal team will be in Pool C along with Sheridan, Lake Hamilton and the Texarkana Tigers. Their first game will be against the Tigers on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on Field 2, and at the conclusion of that game, the down time will be minimal as they have to make their way over to Field 1 for a 5:30 p.m. game against Lake Hamilton.
Cabot 1 will also play at 5:30 p.m. Saturday against Beebe.
Both teams will play the late games on Sunday, with Cabot 1 Gross taking on Jacksonville at 8 p.m. on Field 1 while the Frantal team takes on Sheridan on Field 2.
If Cabot 1 wins Pool B, it will advance them to championship day on Monday with a noon game against the winner of Pool A. If Cabot 2 wins its pool, they will play the winner of Pool D at 2:30 p.m., with the championship game at 5:30 p.m.
Leader sportswriter
Cabot Centennial Bank American Legion teams are getting geared up for the start of summer baseball with two junior teams this season. There are plenty of familiar faces on the senior team from the high school Panthers team, with a sizeable crop of younger players creating an enhanced feeder system.
Craig Nyborg takes over as head coach of the senior team after several seasons on the staff as an assistant while former player Chris Gross returns to head up the junior team. Greg Frantal will coach the second junior group, which was just added on Monday. Both teams are set to open the season in the North Little Rock Memorial Day tournament to be held at Burns Park this weekend.
The seniors will open their season on the road Friday at Batesville and will open up at home Monday against Bryant.
“It’s going to be a fun year,” Nyborg said. “They are all a little bit down about how things went during the high-school season, but they are looking forward to a fun, exciting year, and I think we can win a lot of games. They gel well together; they’re all friends and they enjoy playing with each other. I really feel like we can do well this year.”
Brandon Surdam returns from his freshman year of college to headup a deep pitching staff for the Centennial Bank team. Surdam will play outfield when not on the mound, but his 91 miles-per-hour fastball is what has Nyborg excited to have the former Panther standout back on the roster.
Haydon Vinson and Ryan Logan will also see plenty of time on the mound this season, as will Bryson Morris.
A name that is new to the senior team but not in the city of Cabot is graduated Panther T.C. Carter, who will play summer baseball for the first time since his days on the junior team. Carter will play catcher and fill in at first base when needed.
“He’s been hurt every summer from football, so this is the first time he’s been able to come out,” Nyborg said. “That will be nice to have him.”
The team has good depth across the board with Kyle Kaufman, Dustin Morris, Casey Vaughn, Scott Burnett, Cole Thomas, 15-year-old standout Tristan Bulice, Grant Bell, Tyler Wilkie and Justin Goff. The Centennial Bank team hopes to improve on a strong 2011 season in which it made the state tournament before falling out in the opening round with back-to-back losses.
The junior teams are formally known as Cabot 1 and Cabot 2, although the teams are listed in the NLR tourney bracket as Cabot Gross and Cabot Frantal.
The Gross team will open tournament play in Pool B along with Benton, Jacksonville and Beebe, with their first game against Benton on Friday evening.
The Frantal team will be in Pool C along with Sheridan, Lake Hamilton and the Texarkana Tigers. Their first game will be against the Tigers on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on Field 2, and at the conclusion of that game, the down time will be minimal as they have to make their way over to Field 1 for a 5:30 p.m. game against Lake Hamilton.
Cabot 1 will also play at 5:30 p.m. Saturday against Beebe.
Both teams will play the late games on Sunday, with Cabot 1 Gross taking on Jacksonville at 8 p.m. on Field 1 while the Frantal team takes on Sheridan on Field 2.
If Cabot 1 wins Pool B, it will advance them to championship day on Monday with a noon game against the winner of Pool A. If Cabot 2 wins its pool, they will play the winner of Pool D at 2:30 p.m., with the championship game at 5:30 p.m.
SPORTS STORY >> Gwatney baseball has more players than in recent years
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Gwatney Chevrolet American Legion baseball organization will enjoy more players this year than in many recent ones. Over 35 players are signed up and will make up a junior and a senior team. Team manager and coach of the senior team Bob Hickingbotham is excited about the upcoming season.
“We have more than we’ve had in a long time,” Hickingbotham said. “It’s good to see numbers up like they are. It’s been a struggle the last few years but kids are coming back out for baseball. That’s a good thing.”
Hickingbotham’s senior team will feature several players from last year’s squad that easily won the district regular-season title, but flamed out in the zone tournament. Four players will return from college ball to play, including Jacob Abrahamson, Xavier Brown, Kenny Cummings and Alex Tucker.
Just graduated Jacksonville senior Jesse Harbin will likely be the No. 1 pitcher in the rotation.
Despite last season’s success, including winning the Sheridan Wood Bat Classic and the Jacksonville Fourth of July Classic, as well as going 16-1 in the regular season, Gwatney struggled to field a senior team last year.
Only seven players of the right age group and from Jacksonville were on the team. Hickingbotham had to rely on players from as far away as Greenbrier and Magnolia, as well as moving up some younger players. That shouldn’t be the case this season.
“We’re going to have a good core group with the older team,” Hickingbotham said. “We’ve got some good college players back and some good high school players. A lot of the high school players got a lot better in the last year.”
Gwatney will also have five players from Cabot of different age groups who asked for and were granted releases to play for Gwatney. Also joining the team will be Magnolia first baseman Arvie Crudup. Crudup, who spends his summers in Jacksonville, played mostly for the junior team last season but was one of the players asked to move up to the senior team in the postseason just to have a big enough roster to qualify for postseason play.
The junior team will have plenty of depth and should be stronger than last year.
“We had some really young guys pitching for that junior team last year,” Hickingbotham said. “We’ll have some of those same guys, but they’ve gotten a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger.”
Derek St. Clair and James Tucker saw a lot of time on the mound as 14-year-olds last year. Both pitched frequently for the high-school team this year and both did well.
“We’re going to have six or seven junior kids playing for both the senior and junior teams,” Hickingbotham said. “They’re going to play a lot. When it’s all said and done, if we can get these kids in the right place and get them playing well, we could end up having a pretty doggone good junior team this year. The senior team should be good because they were good last year. The junior team is where you should see a lot of improvement.”
Leader sports editor
The Gwatney Chevrolet American Legion baseball organization will enjoy more players this year than in many recent ones. Over 35 players are signed up and will make up a junior and a senior team. Team manager and coach of the senior team Bob Hickingbotham is excited about the upcoming season.
“We have more than we’ve had in a long time,” Hickingbotham said. “It’s good to see numbers up like they are. It’s been a struggle the last few years but kids are coming back out for baseball. That’s a good thing.”
Hickingbotham’s senior team will feature several players from last year’s squad that easily won the district regular-season title, but flamed out in the zone tournament. Four players will return from college ball to play, including Jacob Abrahamson, Xavier Brown, Kenny Cummings and Alex Tucker.
Just graduated Jacksonville senior Jesse Harbin will likely be the No. 1 pitcher in the rotation.
Despite last season’s success, including winning the Sheridan Wood Bat Classic and the Jacksonville Fourth of July Classic, as well as going 16-1 in the regular season, Gwatney struggled to field a senior team last year.
Only seven players of the right age group and from Jacksonville were on the team. Hickingbotham had to rely on players from as far away as Greenbrier and Magnolia, as well as moving up some younger players. That shouldn’t be the case this season.
“We’re going to have a good core group with the older team,” Hickingbotham said. “We’ve got some good college players back and some good high school players. A lot of the high school players got a lot better in the last year.”
Gwatney will also have five players from Cabot of different age groups who asked for and were granted releases to play for Gwatney. Also joining the team will be Magnolia first baseman Arvie Crudup. Crudup, who spends his summers in Jacksonville, played mostly for the junior team last season but was one of the players asked to move up to the senior team in the postseason just to have a big enough roster to qualify for postseason play.
The junior team will have plenty of depth and should be stronger than last year.
“We had some really young guys pitching for that junior team last year,” Hickingbotham said. “We’ll have some of those same guys, but they’ve gotten a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger.”
Derek St. Clair and James Tucker saw a lot of time on the mound as 14-year-olds last year. Both pitched frequently for the high-school team this year and both did well.
“We’re going to have six or seven junior kids playing for both the senior and junior teams,” Hickingbotham said. “They’re going to play a lot. When it’s all said and done, if we can get these kids in the right place and get them playing well, we could end up having a pretty doggone good junior team this year. The senior team should be good because they were good last year. The junior team is where you should see a lot of improvement.”
SPORTS STORY >> Woodlawn dominates Bison for 2A title
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
FAYETTEVILLE – Shaky pitching, inconsistent batting and a complete meltdown on the part of senior left fielder Haydon Hoover all led to a painful 14-2 loss for Carlisle to Woodlawn in the 2A state championship game at Baum Stadium on Saturday.
The Bison (29-7) started the evening with a brief ceremony for six Carlisle senior players to receive their diplomas shortly before the start of the game in light of missing graduation, but things turned decidedly unceremonial in the bottom of the fourth inning when Hoover went on a tirade for being called out after stepping out of the batter’s box on a shot to centerfield.
The Bears (33-5) had just blown the game wide open in the top of the fourth inning with seven runs off six hits and two walks to take a 12-2 lead. Hoover’s smack down the middle advanced walk recipient Dylan Brazeal to third before home plate umpire Steve Powell called Hoover out for an illegally batted ball and ordered Brazeal back to second base.
That’s when things turned ugly.
On his way back to the home dugout, Hoover began to shout at Powell and gestured toward him after throwing his helmet against the dugout, prompting Powell to eject him from the game. Carlisle coach B.J. Greene approached Hoover in the dugout in an attempt to calm him down. Hoover was calm for a moment, but then suddenly charged out of the dugout to the front of home plate, where he motioned to the ground and began kicking dirt at Powell and onto the plate.
Hoover then crossed the line further by spitting at Powell’s feet and giving him a shove in the chest. A female fan made things worse with more unsportsmanlike behavior as she stood on top of the Carlisle dugout cheering the player’s tirade.
Police eventually escorted Hoover and his parents out, with Hoover saving his most offensive gesture for last as he was guided up the steps of Baum Stadium to collective boos from the Woodlawn side.
“Embarrassed,” Greene said. “My seniors are embarrassed, I’m embarrassed – I’ve never been more embarrassed by anybody I’ve ever coached. It’s not him, I don’t know why he did it, but I’m embarrassed, and that’s all I can say. I think it was a cheap call to give at this time of the game, it was already out of control, but yeah, he was out of the box.”
Things were already tough for the Bison as Woodlawn jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning against starting pitcher Trey Wilson, who also got in a bind in the top of the second before being replaced by Josh Mathis.
None of the three Bison pitchers that took the mound had their best stuff. They combined to walk nine Woodlawn batters to go with their 14 base hits.
With bases loaded, Mathis walked Colton Williams to score Jacob Richardson. Mathis recovered, however, by striking out Bret Boyd and Ryan Dorsett swinging to retire the side, holding the Bears to a 5-2 lead.
Mathis gave up one hit in the top of the third but forced a pop-up and two groundouts before the onslaught began in the top of the fourth.
Gavin Johnston doubled to right field and Daniel Rissinger hit a bunt single before a triple smash to deep left field by Boyd scored both of them to give Woodlawn a 7-2 advantage. Dorsett then reached on a walk, and Blake Brown hit a double to left to score Rissinger, making it 8-2. Senior Tommy Inman moved from centerfield in relief of Mathis and walked Trey Hankins to load the bases.
The Bears drove in four more runs, and scored two more runs in the top of the fifth on an infield error and a passed ball against a Carlisle defense that appeared hapless in light of Hoover’s exhibition moments earlier.
“I’m not going to sit there and say it let us down, because it got us to where we were at,” Greene said of the pitching. “But was it as good as it’s been all year? No. And that’s where we’ve won games all year is pitching, and it wasn’t there today.”
The Bison answered Wood-lawn for the most part early with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Leadoff batter Chris Hart grounded out to third before Inman reached on an infield error and Wilson reached on a walk. Deric Herring then hit a sacrifice fly to center to advance Inman to third, and Deron Ricks doubled down the third base line to score him and advance Wilson to third. Mathis followed Ricks with the only other hit for Carlisle against winning Woodlawn pitcher Johnston with an infield single to third that scored Wilson.
Ricks was then in position to score, but Brazeal hit into a fielder’s choice that forced Mathis out at second to retire the side.
“I hate being the freaking home team in a big game,” Greene said. “The nerves are so bad – that’s what it is. If you come in and you’re the visiting team, at least you get to get the nerves out at the plate. Even if you go one, two, three, you still get the nerves out. Instead, you have to go out there with the nerves in the first inning on defense. I think that was the big difference in the game.”
For Woodlawn, the victory marked its third-consecutive 2A state title through five championship game appearances in the last six years for the storied program. Johnston was awarded the Most Valuable Player award for his complete-game victory on the mound with five strikeouts against four walks, two hits and two earned runs.
“We were ready to hit,” Bears coach Tommy Richardson said. “We had a good week of practice, and I knew we were going to hit the ball. That’s a tribute to our conference. You’ve got Parker’s Chapel and Junction City, and then you have regionals where it doesn’t get any easier. When you get through all of that and get to play other people, it’s kind of nice.”
Leader sportswriter
FAYETTEVILLE – Shaky pitching, inconsistent batting and a complete meltdown on the part of senior left fielder Haydon Hoover all led to a painful 14-2 loss for Carlisle to Woodlawn in the 2A state championship game at Baum Stadium on Saturday.
The Bison (29-7) started the evening with a brief ceremony for six Carlisle senior players to receive their diplomas shortly before the start of the game in light of missing graduation, but things turned decidedly unceremonial in the bottom of the fourth inning when Hoover went on a tirade for being called out after stepping out of the batter’s box on a shot to centerfield.
The Bears (33-5) had just blown the game wide open in the top of the fourth inning with seven runs off six hits and two walks to take a 12-2 lead. Hoover’s smack down the middle advanced walk recipient Dylan Brazeal to third before home plate umpire Steve Powell called Hoover out for an illegally batted ball and ordered Brazeal back to second base.
That’s when things turned ugly.
On his way back to the home dugout, Hoover began to shout at Powell and gestured toward him after throwing his helmet against the dugout, prompting Powell to eject him from the game. Carlisle coach B.J. Greene approached Hoover in the dugout in an attempt to calm him down. Hoover was calm for a moment, but then suddenly charged out of the dugout to the front of home plate, where he motioned to the ground and began kicking dirt at Powell and onto the plate.
Hoover then crossed the line further by spitting at Powell’s feet and giving him a shove in the chest. A female fan made things worse with more unsportsmanlike behavior as she stood on top of the Carlisle dugout cheering the player’s tirade.
Police eventually escorted Hoover and his parents out, with Hoover saving his most offensive gesture for last as he was guided up the steps of Baum Stadium to collective boos from the Woodlawn side.
“Embarrassed,” Greene said. “My seniors are embarrassed, I’m embarrassed – I’ve never been more embarrassed by anybody I’ve ever coached. It’s not him, I don’t know why he did it, but I’m embarrassed, and that’s all I can say. I think it was a cheap call to give at this time of the game, it was already out of control, but yeah, he was out of the box.”
Things were already tough for the Bison as Woodlawn jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning against starting pitcher Trey Wilson, who also got in a bind in the top of the second before being replaced by Josh Mathis.
None of the three Bison pitchers that took the mound had their best stuff. They combined to walk nine Woodlawn batters to go with their 14 base hits.
With bases loaded, Mathis walked Colton Williams to score Jacob Richardson. Mathis recovered, however, by striking out Bret Boyd and Ryan Dorsett swinging to retire the side, holding the Bears to a 5-2 lead.
Mathis gave up one hit in the top of the third but forced a pop-up and two groundouts before the onslaught began in the top of the fourth.
Gavin Johnston doubled to right field and Daniel Rissinger hit a bunt single before a triple smash to deep left field by Boyd scored both of them to give Woodlawn a 7-2 advantage. Dorsett then reached on a walk, and Blake Brown hit a double to left to score Rissinger, making it 8-2. Senior Tommy Inman moved from centerfield in relief of Mathis and walked Trey Hankins to load the bases.
The Bears drove in four more runs, and scored two more runs in the top of the fifth on an infield error and a passed ball against a Carlisle defense that appeared hapless in light of Hoover’s exhibition moments earlier.
“I’m not going to sit there and say it let us down, because it got us to where we were at,” Greene said of the pitching. “But was it as good as it’s been all year? No. And that’s where we’ve won games all year is pitching, and it wasn’t there today.”
The Bison answered Wood-lawn for the most part early with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Leadoff batter Chris Hart grounded out to third before Inman reached on an infield error and Wilson reached on a walk. Deric Herring then hit a sacrifice fly to center to advance Inman to third, and Deron Ricks doubled down the third base line to score him and advance Wilson to third. Mathis followed Ricks with the only other hit for Carlisle against winning Woodlawn pitcher Johnston with an infield single to third that scored Wilson.
Ricks was then in position to score, but Brazeal hit into a fielder’s choice that forced Mathis out at second to retire the side.
“I hate being the freaking home team in a big game,” Greene said. “The nerves are so bad – that’s what it is. If you come in and you’re the visiting team, at least you get to get the nerves out at the plate. Even if you go one, two, three, you still get the nerves out. Instead, you have to go out there with the nerves in the first inning on defense. I think that was the big difference in the game.”
For Woodlawn, the victory marked its third-consecutive 2A state title through five championship game appearances in the last six years for the storied program. Johnston was awarded the Most Valuable Player award for his complete-game victory on the mound with five strikeouts against four walks, two hits and two earned runs.
“We were ready to hit,” Bears coach Tommy Richardson said. “We had a good week of practice, and I knew we were going to hit the ball. That’s a tribute to our conference. You’ve got Parker’s Chapel and Junction City, and then you have regionals where it doesn’t get any easier. When you get through all of that and get to play other people, it’s kind of nice.”
SPORTS STORY >> Lonoke bats quiet, Saints win 4A
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Lonoke’s No. 1 pitcher got hurt in the state tournament, but the bats made up for it and got the Jackrabbits to the state championship game. Once there, the pitching held a powerful Shiloh Christian lineup in check, but the bats went away as the Saints beat Lonoke 4-0 Saturday at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville for the third-straight class 4A state championship.
Lonoke rarely struck out against hard-throwing Shiloh pitcher David Petrino, but rarely made solid contact and couldn’t find the gaps the entire game.
“We just didn’t hit the ball today,” Lonoke starting pitcher Lane Moore said. “We put it in play we just didn’t hit it hard, not like you need to if you want to win a championship.”
Lonoke also committed four errors in the field and gave up three unearned runs. Making things even more difficult was a mobile strike zone that seemed to move farther and farther into the lefties’ batters’ box for the first several innings, then began to drift back to the right side late in the game.
“The strike zone was a little inconsistent and that makes things difficult,” Lonoke coach Darrick Lowery said. “But that’s something that both teams have to deal with.”
Moore also refused to use the drifting strike zone as an excuse.
“It is hard to adjust and figure out what’s going to be a strike,” said Moore, who left the mound in the third inning. “But that’s not the reason we lost. Those four errors and not hitting like we’re capable of is what cost us this game.”
Moore and early reliever Zachary Riesner held Shiloh to just one run for five innings. Shiloh finally extended its one-run lead in the sixth inning with three runs without an out. Petrino started it off when he reached on an error at third base. He then scored on an E2 when he attempted to steal second and the throw from home sailed into centerfield. Tyler Harris then singled and Joseph Paulino technically got a base hit when he popped up to second base. It should have been a routine out, but went down as a base hit when Lonoke second baseman James Christian slipped and fell while backing up to make the catch. After an out, Ryne McDonald singled to centerfield to score both base runners, setting the final margin with an inning left to play.
“They made us pay for some of our mistakes,” Lowery said. “And they did a great job defensively. They were very solid.”
The Saints committed no errors in the game.
Though they got three hits and walked twice, the Jackrabbits left just one on base the entire game. Three Lonoke players were thrown out trying to steal while another was thrown out on the base paths after a base hit.
Lonoke junior shortstop Blake Gooden, who entered the game with an .833 batting average in the state tournament, kept the hot bat alive on the first inning when he ripped a single to centerfield off Shiloh starting pitcher Jacob Rhodes.
He went hitless over his three at bats, walking once and striking out once. He still finished the tournament with an impressive .733 average, going 11 for 15 in the tournament.
Moore and left fielder Shane Pepper got Lonoke’s other two hits in the game.
Moore, Reisner and Garrett Spears combined to give up just five hits to Shiloh, but the errors and other mistakes allowed the final three runs to cross the plate.
Shiloh finishes the season 26-6 while Lonoke finished 21-10.
The Jackrabbits return all but three players next season.
Leader sports editor
Lonoke’s No. 1 pitcher got hurt in the state tournament, but the bats made up for it and got the Jackrabbits to the state championship game. Once there, the pitching held a powerful Shiloh Christian lineup in check, but the bats went away as the Saints beat Lonoke 4-0 Saturday at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville for the third-straight class 4A state championship.
Lonoke rarely struck out against hard-throwing Shiloh pitcher David Petrino, but rarely made solid contact and couldn’t find the gaps the entire game.
“We just didn’t hit the ball today,” Lonoke starting pitcher Lane Moore said. “We put it in play we just didn’t hit it hard, not like you need to if you want to win a championship.”
Lonoke also committed four errors in the field and gave up three unearned runs. Making things even more difficult was a mobile strike zone that seemed to move farther and farther into the lefties’ batters’ box for the first several innings, then began to drift back to the right side late in the game.
“The strike zone was a little inconsistent and that makes things difficult,” Lonoke coach Darrick Lowery said. “But that’s something that both teams have to deal with.”
Moore also refused to use the drifting strike zone as an excuse.
“It is hard to adjust and figure out what’s going to be a strike,” said Moore, who left the mound in the third inning. “But that’s not the reason we lost. Those four errors and not hitting like we’re capable of is what cost us this game.”
Moore and early reliever Zachary Riesner held Shiloh to just one run for five innings. Shiloh finally extended its one-run lead in the sixth inning with three runs without an out. Petrino started it off when he reached on an error at third base. He then scored on an E2 when he attempted to steal second and the throw from home sailed into centerfield. Tyler Harris then singled and Joseph Paulino technically got a base hit when he popped up to second base. It should have been a routine out, but went down as a base hit when Lonoke second baseman James Christian slipped and fell while backing up to make the catch. After an out, Ryne McDonald singled to centerfield to score both base runners, setting the final margin with an inning left to play.
“They made us pay for some of our mistakes,” Lowery said. “And they did a great job defensively. They were very solid.”
The Saints committed no errors in the game.
Though they got three hits and walked twice, the Jackrabbits left just one on base the entire game. Three Lonoke players were thrown out trying to steal while another was thrown out on the base paths after a base hit.
Lonoke junior shortstop Blake Gooden, who entered the game with an .833 batting average in the state tournament, kept the hot bat alive on the first inning when he ripped a single to centerfield off Shiloh starting pitcher Jacob Rhodes.
He went hitless over his three at bats, walking once and striking out once. He still finished the tournament with an impressive .733 average, going 11 for 15 in the tournament.
Moore and left fielder Shane Pepper got Lonoke’s other two hits in the game.
Moore, Reisner and Garrett Spears combined to give up just five hits to Shiloh, but the errors and other mistakes allowed the final three runs to cross the plate.
Shiloh finishes the season 26-6 while Lonoke finished 21-10.
The Jackrabbits return all but three players next season.
Friday, May 18, 2012
TOP STORY >> At 80, still roofing and tough as nails
By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
Tough as nails best describes 80-year-old Jacksonville roofer Richard Moore.
Moore could be seen atop First Assembly of God Church on North Elm Street for several weeks nailing new shingles on a portion of the church. Moore’s been roofing since the late 1940s, helping his father who was also a roofing contractor.
“I haven’t had a bad accident at all. I never fell off a roof.Jumped off, but not fell off,” Moore said.
Moore was born in 1931 in Inglewood, Calif. His family moved to Jacksonville in 1947 when his father was contracted to roof houses in Sunnyside.
Moore was 18 years old, attending Jacksonville High School when he was drafted into the Army during the Korean War in 1953. He entered the war as a bridge builder and ended up a baker. He earned his diploma through an ROTC training program.
When his father passed away in 1955, Richard and his late brothers, Cappy and Jim, continued the roofing business.
“Both were pretty good roofers,” Moore said.
Today, Moore has help from Lemuel Smith and Joe Champagne. Still caring about safety, Moore points out to the guys where to step and how to walk on pitched roofs.
He often asks his co-workers if they are getting overheated or need a water break from the blistering sun.
“We work till about noon, till it gets too hot,” Moore said.
“Shoveling the shingles is a pretty good job, and carrying them up the ladder is a job,” Moore said.
Moore works at a steady pace, making sure the shingles are aligned and aren’t bowed up so the wind doesn’t catch them.
“If I hit a crack in the wood, I try to nail higher,” he said.
“I might have been fast at one time, but not anymore,” Moore said.
Moore is planning to retire this year. He tried to last year, but the Yellow Pages didn’t take his business number out so customers kept calling.
Moore will still climb a ladder and check on the roofs he’s installed, a number he’s lost count of.
Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher, a second-generation home builder, who worked 25 years in the industry before being elected, said Moore still does roofing the old-fashioned way: By hand with a hammer.
“Richard is a true craftsman. He is an active, hard-working man,” Fletcher said .
The mayor said roofers have the toughest job in construction. They need stamina and strength to work often under intense heat and wind.
“I highly respect him. He’s salt of the earth great,” Fletcher said.
Whit Davis Lumber general manager Dan Davis said it is remarkable for Moore to be able to continue to roof at his age.
“He does a phenomenal job. He does it old-school, the right way. He’s dependable as you can be. I refer him to do repair jobs. He can find a leak. I think the world of him,” Davis said.
Davis said Moore’s hammer’s wood handle has conformed to his hand after decades of hard work.
With amazement, Davis described Moore’s hammer’s face that is worn so much from driving nails and grinding against the shingles.
Moore and his wife, Norma will be married 53 years this month. They have two sons, Richard and Don and three grandchildren, Jordan, Jared and Beth.
Leader staff writer
Tough as nails best describes 80-year-old Jacksonville roofer Richard Moore.
Moore could be seen atop First Assembly of God Church on North Elm Street for several weeks nailing new shingles on a portion of the church. Moore’s been roofing since the late 1940s, helping his father who was also a roofing contractor.
“I haven’t had a bad accident at all. I never fell off a roof.Jumped off, but not fell off,” Moore said.
Moore was born in 1931 in Inglewood, Calif. His family moved to Jacksonville in 1947 when his father was contracted to roof houses in Sunnyside.
Moore was 18 years old, attending Jacksonville High School when he was drafted into the Army during the Korean War in 1953. He entered the war as a bridge builder and ended up a baker. He earned his diploma through an ROTC training program.
When his father passed away in 1955, Richard and his late brothers, Cappy and Jim, continued the roofing business.
“Both were pretty good roofers,” Moore said.
Today, Moore has help from Lemuel Smith and Joe Champagne. Still caring about safety, Moore points out to the guys where to step and how to walk on pitched roofs.
He often asks his co-workers if they are getting overheated or need a water break from the blistering sun.
“We work till about noon, till it gets too hot,” Moore said.
“Shoveling the shingles is a pretty good job, and carrying them up the ladder is a job,” Moore said.
Moore works at a steady pace, making sure the shingles are aligned and aren’t bowed up so the wind doesn’t catch them.
“If I hit a crack in the wood, I try to nail higher,” he said.
“I might have been fast at one time, but not anymore,” Moore said.
Moore is planning to retire this year. He tried to last year, but the Yellow Pages didn’t take his business number out so customers kept calling.
Moore will still climb a ladder and check on the roofs he’s installed, a number he’s lost count of.
Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher, a second-generation home builder, who worked 25 years in the industry before being elected, said Moore still does roofing the old-fashioned way: By hand with a hammer.
“Richard is a true craftsman. He is an active, hard-working man,” Fletcher said .
The mayor said roofers have the toughest job in construction. They need stamina and strength to work often under intense heat and wind.
“I highly respect him. He’s salt of the earth great,” Fletcher said.
Whit Davis Lumber general manager Dan Davis said it is remarkable for Moore to be able to continue to roof at his age.
“He does a phenomenal job. He does it old-school, the right way. He’s dependable as you can be. I refer him to do repair jobs. He can find a leak. I think the world of him,” Davis said.
Davis said Moore’s hammer’s wood handle has conformed to his hand after decades of hard work.
With amazement, Davis described Moore’s hammer’s face that is worn so much from driving nails and grinding against the shingles.
Moore and his wife, Norma will be married 53 years this month. They have two sons, Richard and Don and three grandchildren, Jordan, Jared and Beth.
TOP STORY >> Fire rating upgraded, insurance fees to fall
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Residential and business fire insurance rates in Jacksonville could go down since the city’s fire department has been upgraded to a Class 2 rating.
The ranking, which comes from the Insurance Service Organization, puts the city in unique company as only 13 other cities in Arkansas have a Class 2 rating.
The ISO graded the city’s fire department rating last year and recently released the 85.29 score, less than five points from a Class 1 rating. Only two cities in Arkansas have a Class 1 rating.
“This is an outstanding achievement for us,” said Fire Chief John Vanderhoof, who emphasized that it was a total city effort. He added that the department’s dispatch unit received a Class 1 rating with a score of 10 out of 10.
“We’ll analyze the ISO information to make sure we at least maintain our new rating and possible move up when they grade us again in about three years.”
Mayor Gary Fletcher told the city council Thursday this goes beyond just the insurance savings. “It is a strong recruiting tool to help bring in businesses and industry.”
The ISO measures major elements of a community’s fire suppression system, such as personnel training, manning levels of engine and ladder companies, water supply and distribution systems, receiving and dispatching fire alarms, fire fighting equipment, needed fire flow, and fire company locations.
By analyzing the data and using criteria outlined in a rating schedule, a field analyst will produce a final classification number for a community. Each of the 46,000 plus communities are graded from one to 10, with one being the best. This also would mean lower or higher insurance rates depending on the classification number.
The grade is broken down into three sections with 40 percent of the rating coming from the condition of the city’s water system, 50 percent from the condition, manpower and response time of the fire department and 10 percent from the ability of communications centers to receive and handle alarms.
Most cities in Arkansas are a Class 9.
In other council business:
The council approved the sanitation department plans to swap an unused truck with a dealer for one the city can use. The department wants to swap a 2006 Mack hybrid refuse truck it bought as federal surplus several years ago for a 2003 Peterbilt sideloader truck to be a backup to the city’s automated fleet.
Director of Administration Jim Durham said it was a win-win. “We are trading a truck that we don’t and can’t use for one that will get used often,” he said.
Durham said the city original bought the surplus truck as part of a plan to place dumpsters around the city and use the truck to pick up the refuse. But the plan was trashed and the city soon discovered it was too expensive to maintain the hybrid portion of the vehicle. “I think we only ran it once. But it has lots of good parts on it and the dealer will salvage it out,” Durham explained.
The council approved spending $18,499 from an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission grant on two Bayou Meto canoe ramps as the city continues its effort to turn Bayou Meto into a tourist stop for canoeists and kayakers. Harris Construction will construct the ramps.
In his monthly report, Police Chief Gary Sipes said his department responded to 3,584 complaint calls during April and made 351 arrests.
Reviewing major crime categories for the month, Sipes said Jacksonville had no homicides, three sexual assaults, one robbery, 21 felony assaults, 109 thefts, one vehicle theft and one case of arson.
Code enforcement officers, now under the police chief, had 511 self-initiated calls and 95 assigned calls during April. The officers issued 148 letters and nine notices for city code violations, tagged 17 vehicles and 55 trash cans for noncompliance and removed 187 signs.
Fire Chief John Vanderhoof said his department responded to 223 rescue calls, 48 still alarms, 27 general alarms and had 279 ambulance runs in April. Estimated fire loss for the month was $104,000, while fire savings was placed at $46,000.
The monthly animal shelter report stated the shelter had received 74 dogs and 61 cats during April. Shelter officials were able to return 31 dogs and three cats to their owners while adopting out 32 dogs and 46 cats. The shelter euthanized 19 dogs and 31 cats.
One animal bite was reported during April and that was a stray cat which bit a shelter official while they were trying to transfer it to a cage. The cat was euthanized.
City Engineer Jay Whisker reported that his department issued 20 building permits and 18 business licenses in April as well as performed 111 inspections.
Leader staff writer
Residential and business fire insurance rates in Jacksonville could go down since the city’s fire department has been upgraded to a Class 2 rating.
The ranking, which comes from the Insurance Service Organization, puts the city in unique company as only 13 other cities in Arkansas have a Class 2 rating.
The ISO graded the city’s fire department rating last year and recently released the 85.29 score, less than five points from a Class 1 rating. Only two cities in Arkansas have a Class 1 rating.
“This is an outstanding achievement for us,” said Fire Chief John Vanderhoof, who emphasized that it was a total city effort. He added that the department’s dispatch unit received a Class 1 rating with a score of 10 out of 10.
“We’ll analyze the ISO information to make sure we at least maintain our new rating and possible move up when they grade us again in about three years.”
Mayor Gary Fletcher told the city council Thursday this goes beyond just the insurance savings. “It is a strong recruiting tool to help bring in businesses and industry.”
The ISO measures major elements of a community’s fire suppression system, such as personnel training, manning levels of engine and ladder companies, water supply and distribution systems, receiving and dispatching fire alarms, fire fighting equipment, needed fire flow, and fire company locations.
By analyzing the data and using criteria outlined in a rating schedule, a field analyst will produce a final classification number for a community. Each of the 46,000 plus communities are graded from one to 10, with one being the best. This also would mean lower or higher insurance rates depending on the classification number.
The grade is broken down into three sections with 40 percent of the rating coming from the condition of the city’s water system, 50 percent from the condition, manpower and response time of the fire department and 10 percent from the ability of communications centers to receive and handle alarms.
Most cities in Arkansas are a Class 9.
In other council business:
The council approved the sanitation department plans to swap an unused truck with a dealer for one the city can use. The department wants to swap a 2006 Mack hybrid refuse truck it bought as federal surplus several years ago for a 2003 Peterbilt sideloader truck to be a backup to the city’s automated fleet.
Director of Administration Jim Durham said it was a win-win. “We are trading a truck that we don’t and can’t use for one that will get used often,” he said.
Durham said the city original bought the surplus truck as part of a plan to place dumpsters around the city and use the truck to pick up the refuse. But the plan was trashed and the city soon discovered it was too expensive to maintain the hybrid portion of the vehicle. “I think we only ran it once. But it has lots of good parts on it and the dealer will salvage it out,” Durham explained.
The council approved spending $18,499 from an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission grant on two Bayou Meto canoe ramps as the city continues its effort to turn Bayou Meto into a tourist stop for canoeists and kayakers. Harris Construction will construct the ramps.
In his monthly report, Police Chief Gary Sipes said his department responded to 3,584 complaint calls during April and made 351 arrests.
Reviewing major crime categories for the month, Sipes said Jacksonville had no homicides, three sexual assaults, one robbery, 21 felony assaults, 109 thefts, one vehicle theft and one case of arson.
Code enforcement officers, now under the police chief, had 511 self-initiated calls and 95 assigned calls during April. The officers issued 148 letters and nine notices for city code violations, tagged 17 vehicles and 55 trash cans for noncompliance and removed 187 signs.
Fire Chief John Vanderhoof said his department responded to 223 rescue calls, 48 still alarms, 27 general alarms and had 279 ambulance runs in April. Estimated fire loss for the month was $104,000, while fire savings was placed at $46,000.
The monthly animal shelter report stated the shelter had received 74 dogs and 61 cats during April. Shelter officials were able to return 31 dogs and three cats to their owners while adopting out 32 dogs and 46 cats. The shelter euthanized 19 dogs and 31 cats.
One animal bite was reported during April and that was a stray cat which bit a shelter official while they were trying to transfer it to a cage. The cat was euthanized.
City Engineer Jay Whisker reported that his department issued 20 building permits and 18 business licenses in April as well as performed 111 inspections.
TOP STROY >> Primaries to decide key races Tuesday
By JOAN McCOY
Leader staff writer
The polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday for the primary election that will determine which candidates win now and which candidates will be on the ballot in November.
Arkansas has an open primary. Voters of any party may vote for the candidate of whatever party they choose, but voters in one primary are prohibited from participating in another primary or runoff, although this prohibition is difficult to enforce.
In Lonoke County, the Republican county judge is running unopposed for a second term. Two Democrats and four Republicans are running for sheriff. The winners of those primaries will face each other in November.
But in the races for county assessor, circuit clerk and several seats on the quorum court, the winners will be decided in the Republican primary.
Steve Finch and Dean White are the Democrats in the race for sheriff. John Staley, Jason Wilkinson, Steve Finch and James Kulesa are the Republicans.
In the race for assessor, incumbent Jack McNally faces Jim Bailey in the Republican primary.
Incumbent Denise Brown hopes to keep her position as circuit clerk when she faces Deborah Oglesby in the Republican primary. Brown is in her first term. Oglesby was her predecessor.
County Clerk Dawn Porterfield, a Democrat, will be on the ballot in November against either William “Larry” Clarke or Lisa Goodman, both Republicans.
In Lonoke County Quorum Court races, Republicans Brent Cannon and Toby Troutman are the only candidates running in Dist. 1; Republicans Barry “BJ” Weathers and Larry Ridgeway are the only candidates in Dist. 2; Republicans Joshua McCann and Dr. Henry L. Lang, the incumbent, are the only candidates in Dist. 3; Republicans B.L. “Ernie” Ernst and Darrin Waymack are the only candidates in Dist. 4; Republicans Tate House and Charles D. Evans are the only candidates in Dist. 8; and Republicans Larry Odom, the incumbent, and Tim Yarboro are the only candidates in Dist. 13.
Like County Judge Doug Erwin, the county collector and the other seats on the quorum court are unopposed.
The race for county treasurer will be decided in November when Democrat Karol Depriest, the incumbent, will face Republican Patti Weathers.
Three members of the quorum court have competition for their seats but only the race for Pos. 5 will be decided Tuesday when incumbent Efrem Z. Jones faces Lloyd Whitaker in the Democratic primary.
In the race for Pos. 2, incumbent Pat Howell faces Danny Whitehurst in the Democratic primary. The winner will face Republican Stacey Pennington Moore in November. The winner of Pos. 1 also will be decided in November when Jane Derning, the Democratic incumbent faces Republican challenger John D. Robinson.
Circuit Judge Philip Whiteaker is running for Arkansas Court of Appeals, Dist. 1, Pos. 2 against Jeanette Robinson and Richard Lusby.
PULASKI COUNTY
In Pulaski County, Dist. 11 JP Bob Johnson (R-Jacksonville) is being challenged by Republican James “Jim” Stanley of rural Jacksonville.
Dist. 12 JP Jeff Rollins of (R-Sherwood) is running against Republican Karilyn Brown of Sherwood.
Jacksonville District Judge Robert Batton is challenged by Jacksonville attorney Marshall Nash. Hill Township Constable Dennis Sobba (R-Jacksonville) is facing Republican Frederick “Rick” Scott of Maumelle.
Tjuana Byrd is facing John Hout and Patti James for circuit judge, sixth judicial district, 11th Division.
WHITE COUNTY
White County Judge Michael Lincoln is challenged by Bill Haynie in the Republican primary. But except for the county clerk, which has a three-way race among Republicans, all other statutory offices are unopposed.
Britney Sellers-Hawkins, Randall Young and Cheryl Evans are the Republicans running for the position of county clerk, which became open last year when Tanya Burleson stepped down last year for health reasons.
Of the five races in White County’s 13 justice of the peace Districts for the quorum court, only the race for Dist. 11 will be decided by the primary.
In that race, incumbent Ed Land faces David C. Schoenberger in the Republican primary.
Waylon D. Heathscott, the Democratic incumbent in Dist. 8 will face Layne “Boss” Vaughan in the Democratic primary.
The winner will face Greg Niblock in November.
The race in Dist. 1 (Beebe) is between Horace Taylor, the Democratic incumbent and Nathan Ray, a Republican.
In Dist. 5, Jimmy L. House, the Democratic incumbent, faces Republican Sam Hailey in November.
In Dist. 7, incumbent Kenneth Horton, an independent, faces challenges from David W. Freppon, a Democrat and Lesli S. “Spencer” Chestnut, a Republican.
Leader staff writer
The polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday for the primary election that will determine which candidates win now and which candidates will be on the ballot in November.
Arkansas has an open primary. Voters of any party may vote for the candidate of whatever party they choose, but voters in one primary are prohibited from participating in another primary or runoff, although this prohibition is difficult to enforce.
In Lonoke County, the Republican county judge is running unopposed for a second term. Two Democrats and four Republicans are running for sheriff. The winners of those primaries will face each other in November.
But in the races for county assessor, circuit clerk and several seats on the quorum court, the winners will be decided in the Republican primary.
Steve Finch and Dean White are the Democrats in the race for sheriff. John Staley, Jason Wilkinson, Steve Finch and James Kulesa are the Republicans.
In the race for assessor, incumbent Jack McNally faces Jim Bailey in the Republican primary.
Incumbent Denise Brown hopes to keep her position as circuit clerk when she faces Deborah Oglesby in the Republican primary. Brown is in her first term. Oglesby was her predecessor.
County Clerk Dawn Porterfield, a Democrat, will be on the ballot in November against either William “Larry” Clarke or Lisa Goodman, both Republicans.
In Lonoke County Quorum Court races, Republicans Brent Cannon and Toby Troutman are the only candidates running in Dist. 1; Republicans Barry “BJ” Weathers and Larry Ridgeway are the only candidates in Dist. 2; Republicans Joshua McCann and Dr. Henry L. Lang, the incumbent, are the only candidates in Dist. 3; Republicans B.L. “Ernie” Ernst and Darrin Waymack are the only candidates in Dist. 4; Republicans Tate House and Charles D. Evans are the only candidates in Dist. 8; and Republicans Larry Odom, the incumbent, and Tim Yarboro are the only candidates in Dist. 13.
Like County Judge Doug Erwin, the county collector and the other seats on the quorum court are unopposed.
The race for county treasurer will be decided in November when Democrat Karol Depriest, the incumbent, will face Republican Patti Weathers.
Three members of the quorum court have competition for their seats but only the race for Pos. 5 will be decided Tuesday when incumbent Efrem Z. Jones faces Lloyd Whitaker in the Democratic primary.
In the race for Pos. 2, incumbent Pat Howell faces Danny Whitehurst in the Democratic primary. The winner will face Republican Stacey Pennington Moore in November. The winner of Pos. 1 also will be decided in November when Jane Derning, the Democratic incumbent faces Republican challenger John D. Robinson.
Circuit Judge Philip Whiteaker is running for Arkansas Court of Appeals, Dist. 1, Pos. 2 against Jeanette Robinson and Richard Lusby.
PULASKI COUNTY
In Pulaski County, Dist. 11 JP Bob Johnson (R-Jacksonville) is being challenged by Republican James “Jim” Stanley of rural Jacksonville.
Dist. 12 JP Jeff Rollins of (R-Sherwood) is running against Republican Karilyn Brown of Sherwood.
Jacksonville District Judge Robert Batton is challenged by Jacksonville attorney Marshall Nash. Hill Township Constable Dennis Sobba (R-Jacksonville) is facing Republican Frederick “Rick” Scott of Maumelle.
Tjuana Byrd is facing John Hout and Patti James for circuit judge, sixth judicial district, 11th Division.
WHITE COUNTY
White County Judge Michael Lincoln is challenged by Bill Haynie in the Republican primary. But except for the county clerk, which has a three-way race among Republicans, all other statutory offices are unopposed.
Britney Sellers-Hawkins, Randall Young and Cheryl Evans are the Republicans running for the position of county clerk, which became open last year when Tanya Burleson stepped down last year for health reasons.
Of the five races in White County’s 13 justice of the peace Districts for the quorum court, only the race for Dist. 11 will be decided by the primary.
In that race, incumbent Ed Land faces David C. Schoenberger in the Republican primary.
Waylon D. Heathscott, the Democratic incumbent in Dist. 8 will face Layne “Boss” Vaughan in the Democratic primary.
The winner will face Greg Niblock in November.
The race in Dist. 1 (Beebe) is between Horace Taylor, the Democratic incumbent and Nathan Ray, a Republican.
In Dist. 5, Jimmy L. House, the Democratic incumbent, faces Republican Sam Hailey in November.
In Dist. 7, incumbent Kenneth Horton, an independent, faces challenges from David W. Freppon, a Democrat and Lesli S. “Spencer” Chestnut, a Republican.
TOP STORY >> Commander of 314th gets a key role at Maxwell AFB
By GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader executive editor
Col. Mark Czelusta, commander of the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, is going to the Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., where he will be the commandant of the Squadron Officer College and Squadron Officers School.
He will succeed Col. Terrance (Marco) McCaffrey as commandant.
Col. Edward Scott Brewer, director of staff at Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base. Ill., will take over the 314th Airlift Wing in a change-of-command ceremony next month.
Brewer trained here as a C-130 pilot and has led humanitarian and combat operations in Afghanistan, Africa, Iraq, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, South America and the Philippines. He also helped evacuate people from Hurricanes Gustave and Ike in the U.S. He has flown in five different versions of the C-130.
Czelusta is moving on to a sprawling air base with 45,000 people. The base is also home to Air Command and Staff College, Air War College, International Officer School and the 42nd Air Base Wing.
The campus is called “the intellectual and leadership center of the Air Force” and is part of Air Education and Training Command at San Antonio.
The 314th Airlift Wing, which trains all C-130 crews in the U.S. military and more than 40 allied nations, is also part of AETC.
“It’s never easy to leave a base that has meant so much to you,” Czelusta said in an interview on Tuesday. But he was pleased with his new assignment.
“It’s a chance for me to continue on the command level,” he said.
The schools in Montgomery, Ala., train 16,000 company-grade officers a year, “preparing them to fly, fight in air, space, and cyberspace and motivating these airmen to value their role in the profession of arms,” according to the school’s website.
“Students are treated to a graduate-level executive leadership seminar that helps them to identify their leadership strengths and weaknesses, provides them tools for improvement and empowers them with opportunities to apply what they have learned,” according to the website.
Czelusta took over the 314th AW in August 2010. He had two previous tours at LRAFB.
“I’m a three-time returnee,” he said.
His predecessor here, Col. Charles K. Hyde, has been promoted to brigadier general and is commander at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
Czelusta’s new assignment will mean overseeing a broad curriculum for young Air Force officers, while with the 314th he focused on training C-130 crews that fly around the globe after they complete their training here.
“Every C-130 crew has flown with the 314th,” Czelusta said. “They have carried out airdrop missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. They’re in South and Central America. They were put in the air by the 314th. We’re very proud of that. We’re the only wing in the Air Force that can say that.”
He said a sense of partnership has made the 314th successful, working along with the 19th Airlift Wing, the 189th Airlift Wing and the Reserves at the base.
“It’s been humbling, rewarding and energizing to lead them,” he said of the 314th AW.
“I can’t figure out what I did to deserve to lead them,” said the self-effacing Czelusta, whose wing last year brought home the Gen. Joe W. Kelly Trophy for best C-130 team at the Air Mobility Command rodeo at McChord Airfield on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. It brought home five other trophies.
He waves off that accomplishment by saying the credit belongs to all airmen at the base, including the host 19th Airlift Wing, the Guard and Reserves and the community.
“The success of the 314th is not measured just by the success at the rodeo but its daily missions and maintenance performance,” he continued.
The wing carries out 20-24 missions daily.
“We measure our success by the quality of our graduates,” the colonel said.
The wing includes 1,200 people — 900 in uniform and 300 civilians, who continually train 500 C-130 crew members.
The wing graduates 1,800 airmen a year — about half of them pilots.
The mission and its people make the 314th special, he said, along with the community support the base enjoys.
Besides training C-130 crews, the 314th AW has participated in combat airlift operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere.
The 314th recently retired its oldest C-130E, which was made in 1962. The wing has 27 planes — nine new C-130Js and 18 older C-130H2, which were made in the late 1970s until 1992. The wing will soon get another C-130J and will eventually transition to all Js, as will the host 19th Airlift Wing. The Guard and Reserve units will fly with older C-130s.
From 2005-2007, Czelusta was the 463rd Operations Sup-port Squadron commander at LRAFB.
He was also the commander of the 386th Expeditionary Operations Group in 2006. He led a team of approximately 190 airmen providing combat airlift, airborne electronic attack and operations support capabilities for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
He received the Bronze Star for his performance commanding the only hub-and-spoke airlift squadron in Iraq.
The squadron delivered more than 19,000 passengers and 10,800 tons of cargo to numerous forward-operating bases. The deliveries eliminated more than 1,675 convoy vehicles and saved countless lives from the dangerous roads in Iraq.
Leader executive editor
Col. Mark Czelusta, commander of the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, is going to the Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., where he will be the commandant of the Squadron Officer College and Squadron Officers School.
He will succeed Col. Terrance (Marco) McCaffrey as commandant.
Col. Edward Scott Brewer, director of staff at Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base. Ill., will take over the 314th Airlift Wing in a change-of-command ceremony next month.
Brewer trained here as a C-130 pilot and has led humanitarian and combat operations in Afghanistan, Africa, Iraq, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, South America and the Philippines. He also helped evacuate people from Hurricanes Gustave and Ike in the U.S. He has flown in five different versions of the C-130.
Czelusta is moving on to a sprawling air base with 45,000 people. The base is also home to Air Command and Staff College, Air War College, International Officer School and the 42nd Air Base Wing.
The campus is called “the intellectual and leadership center of the Air Force” and is part of Air Education and Training Command at San Antonio.
The 314th Airlift Wing, which trains all C-130 crews in the U.S. military and more than 40 allied nations, is also part of AETC.
“It’s never easy to leave a base that has meant so much to you,” Czelusta said in an interview on Tuesday. But he was pleased with his new assignment.
“It’s a chance for me to continue on the command level,” he said.
The schools in Montgomery, Ala., train 16,000 company-grade officers a year, “preparing them to fly, fight in air, space, and cyberspace and motivating these airmen to value their role in the profession of arms,” according to the school’s website.
“Students are treated to a graduate-level executive leadership seminar that helps them to identify their leadership strengths and weaknesses, provides them tools for improvement and empowers them with opportunities to apply what they have learned,” according to the website.
Czelusta took over the 314th AW in August 2010. He had two previous tours at LRAFB.
“I’m a three-time returnee,” he said.
His predecessor here, Col. Charles K. Hyde, has been promoted to brigadier general and is commander at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
Czelusta’s new assignment will mean overseeing a broad curriculum for young Air Force officers, while with the 314th he focused on training C-130 crews that fly around the globe after they complete their training here.
“Every C-130 crew has flown with the 314th,” Czelusta said. “They have carried out airdrop missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. They’re in South and Central America. They were put in the air by the 314th. We’re very proud of that. We’re the only wing in the Air Force that can say that.”
He said a sense of partnership has made the 314th successful, working along with the 19th Airlift Wing, the 189th Airlift Wing and the Reserves at the base.
“It’s been humbling, rewarding and energizing to lead them,” he said of the 314th AW.
“I can’t figure out what I did to deserve to lead them,” said the self-effacing Czelusta, whose wing last year brought home the Gen. Joe W. Kelly Trophy for best C-130 team at the Air Mobility Command rodeo at McChord Airfield on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. It brought home five other trophies.
He waves off that accomplishment by saying the credit belongs to all airmen at the base, including the host 19th Airlift Wing, the Guard and Reserves and the community.
“The success of the 314th is not measured just by the success at the rodeo but its daily missions and maintenance performance,” he continued.
The wing carries out 20-24 missions daily.
“We measure our success by the quality of our graduates,” the colonel said.
The wing includes 1,200 people — 900 in uniform and 300 civilians, who continually train 500 C-130 crew members.
The wing graduates 1,800 airmen a year — about half of them pilots.
The mission and its people make the 314th special, he said, along with the community support the base enjoys.
Besides training C-130 crews, the 314th AW has participated in combat airlift operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere.
The 314th recently retired its oldest C-130E, which was made in 1962. The wing has 27 planes — nine new C-130Js and 18 older C-130H2, which were made in the late 1970s until 1992. The wing will soon get another C-130J and will eventually transition to all Js, as will the host 19th Airlift Wing. The Guard and Reserve units will fly with older C-130s.
From 2005-2007, Czelusta was the 463rd Operations Sup-port Squadron commander at LRAFB.
He was also the commander of the 386th Expeditionary Operations Group in 2006. He led a team of approximately 190 airmen providing combat airlift, airborne electronic attack and operations support capabilities for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
He received the Bronze Star for his performance commanding the only hub-and-spoke airlift squadron in Iraq.
The squadron delivered more than 19,000 passengers and 10,800 tons of cargo to numerous forward-operating bases. The deliveries eliminated more than 1,675 convoy vehicles and saved countless lives from the dangerous roads in Iraq.
SPORTS STORY >> Badgers trying to fill gaps on inside
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Rebuilding on the offensive line was one of the top priorities for Beebe as the Badgers wrapped up two weeks of spring football practice on Friday. Four starters return to the O line, leaving three gaps for head coach John Shannon and staff to fill in.
The offensive line takes increased priority under Shannon’s Dead-T style offensive attack in which running holes are paramount. A solid anchor was in place to start with in returning starters Race Payne, Scotty Limbaugh, Jared Pressley and Brody Welcher.
“The kids worked really hard and carried over from the offseason,” Shannon said. “We had a good offseason, but we still have a few holes to fill. We have four starters on our O line back, and we needed three more to step up. We had some sophomores do a good job out there.”
Defensively, the Badgers are looking to fill vacancies at defensive end, one linebacker position and at safety. There were few players who played on both offense and defense in 2011, and Shannon said he is hoping to have a similar situation for this season.
“That’s what we would like to get into,” Shannon said. “But, if it ends up being a situation where we have to have someone play both ways, we will.”
While rebuilding is taking place in some areas, others return with plenty of experience, including three-year returning starter Michael Kirby at halfback, junior Eric Thorn at fullback and Division I college prospect Dusty Skinner at nose guard.
“No one on our team can block him,” Shannon said of Skinner. “So, we’re hoping there’s no one anywhere who can block him. I also thought Eric Thorn had a good spring. It seems like the light bulb went off for him, so we’re hoping he will develop into the premier back we thought he would be all along.”
With most high-school teams functioning year round on average, the role of spring practice has changed in recent years, but Shannon said the two weeks in May are no less important.
“I like spring ball,” Shannon said. “It gives you a chance to get a look at the young kids coming in a little earlier. You can get a good idea of who’s coming up.
The Badgers got to spend some time off the practice field on Tuesday afternoon with a field trip across Center Street in Beebe to see new Arkansas State coach Gus Malzahn speak at the ASU-Beebe Student Center. Malzahn spoke during what was essentially a meet and greet, referencing his past affiliation with Shannon, as the two graduated from Henderson State University together in 1990.
“Anybody on that level has achieved celebrity status,” Shannon said. “The kids got to see him after seeing him on ESPN and things like that, so they were excited about it.”
Leader sportswriter
Rebuilding on the offensive line was one of the top priorities for Beebe as the Badgers wrapped up two weeks of spring football practice on Friday. Four starters return to the O line, leaving three gaps for head coach John Shannon and staff to fill in.
The offensive line takes increased priority under Shannon’s Dead-T style offensive attack in which running holes are paramount. A solid anchor was in place to start with in returning starters Race Payne, Scotty Limbaugh, Jared Pressley and Brody Welcher.
“The kids worked really hard and carried over from the offseason,” Shannon said. “We had a good offseason, but we still have a few holes to fill. We have four starters on our O line back, and we needed three more to step up. We had some sophomores do a good job out there.”
Defensively, the Badgers are looking to fill vacancies at defensive end, one linebacker position and at safety. There were few players who played on both offense and defense in 2011, and Shannon said he is hoping to have a similar situation for this season.
“That’s what we would like to get into,” Shannon said. “But, if it ends up being a situation where we have to have someone play both ways, we will.”
While rebuilding is taking place in some areas, others return with plenty of experience, including three-year returning starter Michael Kirby at halfback, junior Eric Thorn at fullback and Division I college prospect Dusty Skinner at nose guard.
“No one on our team can block him,” Shannon said of Skinner. “So, we’re hoping there’s no one anywhere who can block him. I also thought Eric Thorn had a good spring. It seems like the light bulb went off for him, so we’re hoping he will develop into the premier back we thought he would be all along.”
With most high-school teams functioning year round on average, the role of spring practice has changed in recent years, but Shannon said the two weeks in May are no less important.
“I like spring ball,” Shannon said. “It gives you a chance to get a look at the young kids coming in a little earlier. You can get a good idea of who’s coming up.
The Badgers got to spend some time off the practice field on Tuesday afternoon with a field trip across Center Street in Beebe to see new Arkansas State coach Gus Malzahn speak at the ASU-Beebe Student Center. Malzahn spoke during what was essentially a meet and greet, referencing his past affiliation with Shannon, as the two graduated from Henderson State University together in 1990.
“Anybody on that level has achieved celebrity status,” Shannon said. “The kids got to see him after seeing him on ESPN and things like that, so they were excited about it.”
SPORTS STORY >> Bison sacrifice walking for title
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
There was never any doubt where the six seniors on Carlisle’s baseball team would be today.
With graduation taking place at Carlisle High School and the Bison set to take on Woodlawn for the 2A state championship today at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville at 5:30 p.m., it created a conflict for the senior players, including valedictorian Tommy Inman.
Inman, as well as his teammates, did not need a lot of time in making their decision to either walk or play.
“It’s definitely a sacrifice I have to make, but it’s a good one to have to make,” Inman said. “Valedictorian and a state championship game, it doesn’t get much better than that. I always knew if we played to our potential we would be pretty good this year.”
The Bison (29-6) are technically considered the favorites as the No. 1 seed out of the East Region against a Woodlawn team which entered the state tournament as a No. 3 seed out of the South Region. The Bears’ tradition for baseball excellence, however, makes the Bison a bit of an underdog in reality.
That was the same situation a week ago against a Horatio team that had a lot more postseason experience than Carlisle, but the Bison sent them home a round early to the tune of a 13-3 blowout with a dominant performance on the mound for junior Josh Mathis.
Senior Shane Wilson will be the starting pitcher for Carlisle when the Bison take to the field against Woodlawn today for his final high school performance. Wilson said the choice between playing and walking at graduation was a no-brainer.
“A state-championship game is probably every high school player’s dream,” Wilson said. “When the conflict came about, there was no doubt in my mind I would rather play in the state championship game. I think that’s what everybody wants to do; I think that’s probably everybody’s answer to that.”
With family members coming in from around the state and country for graduation, there was no chance of adjusting the schedule for baseball, leaving seniors like catcher Derick Herring with a big choice to make.
“The superintendent came and talked to us seniors,” Herring said. “And, it basically came down to picking one over the other. We decided to play for a state championship, and just get our diplomas there at Baum.”
Herring was also a receiver on the Bison’s state runner up football team, giving him the distinction of playing for both a football and baseball state title his senior year.
“Everybody’s excited,” Her-ring said. “It’s everybody behind us – a small-town community. It feels good to come out here and do what we do. We’ve carried our mentality over from football. It’s got us to where we’re playing for another state championship on Saturday.”
When it comes to Woodlawn, the Bears have also been impressive in their postseason run under coach Tommy Richardson. Carlisle coach B.J. Greene expects to see one of two seniors on the mound for the Bears in either Trey Hankins or Gavin Johnston.
“They’re a good team,” Greene said. “What we’ve done is go out every day and do our same routine. We know they’re going to try and bunt it in some situations, we know they’re going to try to run when they get on. They’ve got a lefty and a righty; I don’t know who he’s going to throw.
“There’s a lot of Arkansas period, 2A through 7A that want to be Woodlawn. Any time you can say you’ve been in the finals five of the past six years, you’ve done something good.”
It will also mark the final game as head Bison for Greene, who will leave Carlisle to take over the baseball program at Heber Springs next season, marking the end of a five-year run over Bison baseball.
“The bottom line is, it’s because of these guys right here,” Greene said. “This was done way before the state-championship game was ever in play. The main reason I’m getting to move up is because of these kids right here. I will always be indebted to these guys.”
Leader sportswriter
There was never any doubt where the six seniors on Carlisle’s baseball team would be today.
With graduation taking place at Carlisle High School and the Bison set to take on Woodlawn for the 2A state championship today at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville at 5:30 p.m., it created a conflict for the senior players, including valedictorian Tommy Inman.
Inman, as well as his teammates, did not need a lot of time in making their decision to either walk or play.
“It’s definitely a sacrifice I have to make, but it’s a good one to have to make,” Inman said. “Valedictorian and a state championship game, it doesn’t get much better than that. I always knew if we played to our potential we would be pretty good this year.”
The Bison (29-6) are technically considered the favorites as the No. 1 seed out of the East Region against a Woodlawn team which entered the state tournament as a No. 3 seed out of the South Region. The Bears’ tradition for baseball excellence, however, makes the Bison a bit of an underdog in reality.
That was the same situation a week ago against a Horatio team that had a lot more postseason experience than Carlisle, but the Bison sent them home a round early to the tune of a 13-3 blowout with a dominant performance on the mound for junior Josh Mathis.
Senior Shane Wilson will be the starting pitcher for Carlisle when the Bison take to the field against Woodlawn today for his final high school performance. Wilson said the choice between playing and walking at graduation was a no-brainer.
“A state-championship game is probably every high school player’s dream,” Wilson said. “When the conflict came about, there was no doubt in my mind I would rather play in the state championship game. I think that’s what everybody wants to do; I think that’s probably everybody’s answer to that.”
With family members coming in from around the state and country for graduation, there was no chance of adjusting the schedule for baseball, leaving seniors like catcher Derick Herring with a big choice to make.
“The superintendent came and talked to us seniors,” Herring said. “And, it basically came down to picking one over the other. We decided to play for a state championship, and just get our diplomas there at Baum.”
Herring was also a receiver on the Bison’s state runner up football team, giving him the distinction of playing for both a football and baseball state title his senior year.
“Everybody’s excited,” Her-ring said. “It’s everybody behind us – a small-town community. It feels good to come out here and do what we do. We’ve carried our mentality over from football. It’s got us to where we’re playing for another state championship on Saturday.”
When it comes to Woodlawn, the Bears have also been impressive in their postseason run under coach Tommy Richardson. Carlisle coach B.J. Greene expects to see one of two seniors on the mound for the Bears in either Trey Hankins or Gavin Johnston.
“They’re a good team,” Greene said. “What we’ve done is go out every day and do our same routine. We know they’re going to try and bunt it in some situations, we know they’re going to try to run when they get on. They’ve got a lefty and a righty; I don’t know who he’s going to throw.
“There’s a lot of Arkansas period, 2A through 7A that want to be Woodlawn. Any time you can say you’ve been in the finals five of the past six years, you’ve done something good.”
It will also mark the final game as head Bison for Greene, who will leave Carlisle to take over the baseball program at Heber Springs next season, marking the end of a five-year run over Bison baseball.
“The bottom line is, it’s because of these guys right here,” Greene said. “This was done way before the state-championship game was ever in play. The main reason I’m getting to move up is because of these kids right here. I will always be indebted to these guys.”
SPORTS STORY >> Falcons’ coach spots progress
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The North Pulaski football team has about what most class 5A schools would expect to have out for spring practice, but about double what the Falcons themselves are used to. The Falcons have averaged between 55 and 60 players for spring drills that ended Friday. The low count was 52 and the high was 63. The team is heavy with sophomores, but that’s something second-year coach Teodis Ingram is glad to see.
“We really hit the middle school and the community hard trying to get kids interested in our whole athletic program at North Pulaski,” Ingram said. “There’s never been any doubt that this was a building process. I’m ecstatic to have so many sophomores.”
Another rarity at North Pulaski is that six players from the basketball team have taken part in football offseason and spring practice.
“We’ve got some kids in every class from the basketball that haven’t played since ninth- grade,” Ingram said. “Coach (Roy) Jackson has done a great job of working with us. We’re trying to build our whole program here at North Pulaski and all the coaches have been working really well together.”
Ingram installed a regimented and demanding off-season conditioning program. He felt the team didn’t match up well in physical strength with many opponents last season, especially towards the end of games. The off-season regiment is meant to change that, and students have taken to the program.
“The kids have responded really well,” Ingram said. “They’ve adjusted well to what we’re trying to do, even though maybe they weren’t used to putting this much work in.”
Ingram’s off-season participants have lifted three days a week, and done speed and quickness training on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Now with a couple of weeks of live practice, Ingram believes he sees marked improvement, especially from many linemen.
“There’s no doubt we’re stronger,” Ingram said. “You can just look at how much the weights on our lifting have gone up. But the thing I like is that are footwork drills seems to be helping our linemen a lot. They’re much quicker pulling and getting out front on our option.”
Ingram also hopes sticking to the regiment will increase his team’s mental toughness.
“I feel like we are stronger mentally,” Ingram said. “I really think that’s where we lost some ball games last year. Being in better shape helps that a lot.”
of course the program hasn’t been all work and no fun. Ingram has tried to keep workouts and practices fast paced, and tries to engage the new players as much as possible.
“This is game and we want kids to enjoy it,” Ingram said. “We want to make things fast paced, keep them from getting bored. We certainly want to try to engage the sophomores. Depth helps any team. If our young kids, our kids coming from basketball, all these new guys stick with it, we may only have to have one or two play both ways.”
Ingram plans to have his team play a game-situation, full-team scrimmage on Tuesday. The first team offense will face the first team defense and so on down the depth chart. Approximate start time for the scrimmage will be 5 p.m. and the public is welcome to attend.
Leader sports editor
The North Pulaski football team has about what most class 5A schools would expect to have out for spring practice, but about double what the Falcons themselves are used to. The Falcons have averaged between 55 and 60 players for spring drills that ended Friday. The low count was 52 and the high was 63. The team is heavy with sophomores, but that’s something second-year coach Teodis Ingram is glad to see.
“We really hit the middle school and the community hard trying to get kids interested in our whole athletic program at North Pulaski,” Ingram said. “There’s never been any doubt that this was a building process. I’m ecstatic to have so many sophomores.”
Another rarity at North Pulaski is that six players from the basketball team have taken part in football offseason and spring practice.
“We’ve got some kids in every class from the basketball that haven’t played since ninth- grade,” Ingram said. “Coach (Roy) Jackson has done a great job of working with us. We’re trying to build our whole program here at North Pulaski and all the coaches have been working really well together.”
Ingram installed a regimented and demanding off-season conditioning program. He felt the team didn’t match up well in physical strength with many opponents last season, especially towards the end of games. The off-season regiment is meant to change that, and students have taken to the program.
“The kids have responded really well,” Ingram said. “They’ve adjusted well to what we’re trying to do, even though maybe they weren’t used to putting this much work in.”
Ingram’s off-season participants have lifted three days a week, and done speed and quickness training on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Now with a couple of weeks of live practice, Ingram believes he sees marked improvement, especially from many linemen.
“There’s no doubt we’re stronger,” Ingram said. “You can just look at how much the weights on our lifting have gone up. But the thing I like is that are footwork drills seems to be helping our linemen a lot. They’re much quicker pulling and getting out front on our option.”
Ingram also hopes sticking to the regiment will increase his team’s mental toughness.
“I feel like we are stronger mentally,” Ingram said. “I really think that’s where we lost some ball games last year. Being in better shape helps that a lot.”
of course the program hasn’t been all work and no fun. Ingram has tried to keep workouts and practices fast paced, and tries to engage the new players as much as possible.
“This is game and we want kids to enjoy it,” Ingram said. “We want to make things fast paced, keep them from getting bored. We certainly want to try to engage the sophomores. Depth helps any team. If our young kids, our kids coming from basketball, all these new guys stick with it, we may only have to have one or two play both ways.”
Ingram plans to have his team play a game-situation, full-team scrimmage on Tuesday. The first team offense will face the first team defense and so on down the depth chart. Approximate start time for the scrimmage will be 5 p.m. and the public is welcome to attend.
SPORTS STORY >> Jackrabbits face Saints
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Lonoke Jackrabbits flew under the radar into today’s class 4A state baseball championship game against Shiloh Christian, but they believe it’s about time they began to get a little respect around the state. They’ll try to earn that respect at about 12:30 p.m. today at Baum Stadium on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville when they take the field with the heavily favored Saints.
Senior Lane Moore will take the mound for Lonoke. Like the rest of the Jackrabbit team, the team’s perseverance throughout the season has given him reason to believe it will complete the dream season and win the state title.
“From the beginning of the season we all knew we had the talent and tools to get here,” Moore said. “It was just a matter of putting things together. We learned over the course of the season where to play people, how to get runs and win. That was the main thing, just getting runs across the plate and getting the win. ”Lonoke sputtered at the beginning of the season but almost every player felt like things were turning around after the first conference series.
“When we swept Heber Springs in our first conference games we knew we were strong,” said senior Guy Halbert, who had the game-tying RBI and the game-winning home run against Pulaski Academy in last Saturday’s 12-inning semifinal victory. “We hadn’t swept Heber Springs in forever and when we pulled that off, we knew we had something here.”
Still, after the sweep at Heber Springs, there times when things didn’t look so bright. The Jackrabbits lost 1-0 in eight innings against Newport, bringing back to the forefront the troubles eluded to by Moore, manufacturing runs.
While the first conference series is when the team realized it had state-championship potential it was the last conference series that proved to the team it may reach that potential.
“When we played Clinton for our conference title, we had to beat them twice to win the conference and we did it,” Moore said.
Pitcher and third baseman Hayden Hambrick also points to Clinton as a step towards state glory.
“The Clinton game is when I felt like our bats came alive,” Hambrick said. “In regionals too when we beat them, we were really hitting the ball well.”
The offensive surge is what Lonoke coach Darrick Lowery believes lifted his team’s confidence enough to make it believe it could overcome bad odds.
Lonoke had to rally from six runs down in the final two innings to beat Gentry in the first round of the state tournament last Thursday. Then had to overcome a three run deficit to beat Pulaski Academy in its last game.
“Just knowing that at any one point we could score three or four runs to come back and tie or win a ballgame was huge,” Lowery said. “Getting the bats going like we did towards the end was a tremendous confidence boost for us. This has been one of the best teams I’ve ever had as far as teamwork. Team chemistry has been great all year, so getting the bats going like we did at the end of the year gave us the confidence to keep battling and pull those games out when we got behind.”
Perhaps no one on the team is as confident as junior shortstop Blake Gooden. Gooden so far has an astounding .833 batting average in the state tournament on 10 for 12 hitting. He also pitched the last five innings of the semifinal win against Pulaski Academy, giving up just one hit. He points to the huge first-round comeback as a sign of better things to come.
“After that Gentry game, I just feel like it’s our destiny to win,” Gooden said. “It hasn’t really hit me yet that we’re here. It feels pretty great. It’s pretty exciting to playing for the championship.”
Gooden understands his team is the underdog, but doesn’t believe the Jackrabbits championship opponent is any better than they are.
“We’re tit-for-tat with this team,” Gooden said. “We’ve already made it this far when no one though we would. It’s about time for us to get a little credit.”
Leader sports editor
The Lonoke Jackrabbits flew under the radar into today’s class 4A state baseball championship game against Shiloh Christian, but they believe it’s about time they began to get a little respect around the state. They’ll try to earn that respect at about 12:30 p.m. today at Baum Stadium on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville when they take the field with the heavily favored Saints.
Senior Lane Moore will take the mound for Lonoke. Like the rest of the Jackrabbit team, the team’s perseverance throughout the season has given him reason to believe it will complete the dream season and win the state title.
“From the beginning of the season we all knew we had the talent and tools to get here,” Moore said. “It was just a matter of putting things together. We learned over the course of the season where to play people, how to get runs and win. That was the main thing, just getting runs across the plate and getting the win. ”Lonoke sputtered at the beginning of the season but almost every player felt like things were turning around after the first conference series.
“When we swept Heber Springs in our first conference games we knew we were strong,” said senior Guy Halbert, who had the game-tying RBI and the game-winning home run against Pulaski Academy in last Saturday’s 12-inning semifinal victory. “We hadn’t swept Heber Springs in forever and when we pulled that off, we knew we had something here.”
Still, after the sweep at Heber Springs, there times when things didn’t look so bright. The Jackrabbits lost 1-0 in eight innings against Newport, bringing back to the forefront the troubles eluded to by Moore, manufacturing runs.
While the first conference series is when the team realized it had state-championship potential it was the last conference series that proved to the team it may reach that potential.
“When we played Clinton for our conference title, we had to beat them twice to win the conference and we did it,” Moore said.
Pitcher and third baseman Hayden Hambrick also points to Clinton as a step towards state glory.
“The Clinton game is when I felt like our bats came alive,” Hambrick said. “In regionals too when we beat them, we were really hitting the ball well.”
The offensive surge is what Lonoke coach Darrick Lowery believes lifted his team’s confidence enough to make it believe it could overcome bad odds.
Lonoke had to rally from six runs down in the final two innings to beat Gentry in the first round of the state tournament last Thursday. Then had to overcome a three run deficit to beat Pulaski Academy in its last game.
“Just knowing that at any one point we could score three or four runs to come back and tie or win a ballgame was huge,” Lowery said. “Getting the bats going like we did towards the end was a tremendous confidence boost for us. This has been one of the best teams I’ve ever had as far as teamwork. Team chemistry has been great all year, so getting the bats going like we did at the end of the year gave us the confidence to keep battling and pull those games out when we got behind.”
Perhaps no one on the team is as confident as junior shortstop Blake Gooden. Gooden so far has an astounding .833 batting average in the state tournament on 10 for 12 hitting. He also pitched the last five innings of the semifinal win against Pulaski Academy, giving up just one hit. He points to the huge first-round comeback as a sign of better things to come.
“After that Gentry game, I just feel like it’s our destiny to win,” Gooden said. “It hasn’t really hit me yet that we’re here. It feels pretty great. It’s pretty exciting to playing for the championship.”
Gooden understands his team is the underdog, but doesn’t believe the Jackrabbits championship opponent is any better than they are.
“We’re tit-for-tat with this team,” Gooden said. “We’ve already made it this far when no one though we would. It’s about time for us to get a little credit.”
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
TOP STORY >> Another benefit to help first-responders
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Another benefit concert has been scheduled to help the families of two Jacksonville firefighters and a police officer.
Two were injured and one killed while trying to help a woman who wrecked her vehicle in a ditch on Hwy. 161 on March 19.
The woman’s son, Bryce Allen, 47, drove through a police barricade striking all three first responders.
Fire Capt. Donny Jones, 56, died at the scene, while fellow firefighter Jason Bowmaster and police officer Daniel DiMatteo were critically injured.
Jill Ross, the city’s human resource director, who is helping coordinate the benefits, said Bowmaster and DiMatteo are now home from the hospital, but Bowmaster faces a number of surgeries and is not yet walking. DiMatteo is able to walk with assistance and is also facing more medical visits and therapy.
A concert at the Electric Cowboy in Little Rock, along with a silent auction, a car wash and a night where Jacksonville’s Chili’s restaurant donated a portion of its sales has already raised more than $6,000 to help the families.
“That doesn’t include the numerous generous donations that have been dropped off at city hall, the fire stations, police department or Arvest Bank,” said Ross, “but more is needed.”
This next benefit is at 7 p.m. June 1 at Vino’s in Little Rock and is sponsored by the Edge, 100.3. There will also be an on-line silent auction that ties in with the concert.
The Vino concert is open to all ages and four central Arkansas bands, two with police officers or 911 dispatchers in them.
The bands are Cinders 2 Ascension, with Jacksonville 911 dispatcher George Platt and police officer Grant Roberts, Three Sixteen, with local 911 dispatcher Eric Powell, More Than Sparrows, and Transcend.
The cost is $10 at the door and all proceeds go into the tragedy funds to continue to help Jones’s family, Bowmaster and DiMatteo.
Jones’ death was the first death in the line of duty for the Jacksonville Fire Department.
Jones had three brothers and he was the eldest.
His youngest brother, Jon, a Jacksonville engineer/firefighter, said, “He inspired me to become a fireman. It was a tragic loss of a great firefighter, a great father, a great person.”
Allen has been charged with second-degree murder and criminal attempt to commit murder.
Allen has claimed that his accelerator had stuck.
The police report said the investigation showed that Allen made no attempt to brake, accelerated before hitting the three men and appeared to be aiming toward them. Allen allegedly has a violent past and a history of mental problems, including being bipolar, delusions about the Ku Klux Klan and hallucinations.
Leader staff writer
Another benefit concert has been scheduled to help the families of two Jacksonville firefighters and a police officer.
Two were injured and one killed while trying to help a woman who wrecked her vehicle in a ditch on Hwy. 161 on March 19.
The woman’s son, Bryce Allen, 47, drove through a police barricade striking all three first responders.
Fire Capt. Donny Jones, 56, died at the scene, while fellow firefighter Jason Bowmaster and police officer Daniel DiMatteo were critically injured.
Jill Ross, the city’s human resource director, who is helping coordinate the benefits, said Bowmaster and DiMatteo are now home from the hospital, but Bowmaster faces a number of surgeries and is not yet walking. DiMatteo is able to walk with assistance and is also facing more medical visits and therapy.
A concert at the Electric Cowboy in Little Rock, along with a silent auction, a car wash and a night where Jacksonville’s Chili’s restaurant donated a portion of its sales has already raised more than $6,000 to help the families.
“That doesn’t include the numerous generous donations that have been dropped off at city hall, the fire stations, police department or Arvest Bank,” said Ross, “but more is needed.”
This next benefit is at 7 p.m. June 1 at Vino’s in Little Rock and is sponsored by the Edge, 100.3. There will also be an on-line silent auction that ties in with the concert.
The Vino concert is open to all ages and four central Arkansas bands, two with police officers or 911 dispatchers in them.
The bands are Cinders 2 Ascension, with Jacksonville 911 dispatcher George Platt and police officer Grant Roberts, Three Sixteen, with local 911 dispatcher Eric Powell, More Than Sparrows, and Transcend.
The cost is $10 at the door and all proceeds go into the tragedy funds to continue to help Jones’s family, Bowmaster and DiMatteo.
Jones’ death was the first death in the line of duty for the Jacksonville Fire Department.
Jones had three brothers and he was the eldest.
His youngest brother, Jon, a Jacksonville engineer/firefighter, said, “He inspired me to become a fireman. It was a tragic loss of a great firefighter, a great father, a great person.”
Allen has been charged with second-degree murder and criminal attempt to commit murder.
Allen has claimed that his accelerator had stuck.
The police report said the investigation showed that Allen made no attempt to brake, accelerated before hitting the three men and appeared to be aiming toward them. Allen allegedly has a violent past and a history of mental problems, including being bipolar, delusions about the Ku Klux Klan and hallucinations.
TOP STORY >> Batton wants one more term
Jacksonville District Court Judge Robert Batton is up for re-election on Tuesday. The judge has been on the bench 35 years.
He is hoping to make it an even 40 by winning Tuesday’s election and then to retire in 2016. But Batton is being challenged by Marshall Nash, an attorney who lives in Jacksonville.
Batton, 68, and his wife, Jane, have been married 38 years. They have two children, Leslie Gleason and John Batton. He has two grandsons, Grant, 3, and Gage, who is 6 months old.
“I am very proud of all of them, and they have given me much happiness and pleasure,” the judge said.
The Leader asked the candidates to answer questions in their own words. Nash’s answers were published in Saturday’s edition. Here are Batton’s responses:
How long have you lived in this area?
Batton: I moved to Arkansas in 1967 to attend law school, and I have been a proud resident of Jacksonville for 41 years.
What experiences qualify you to be judge?
Batton: I am a 1967 graduate of the University of Miami in Florida with a degree in business administration. In 1970, I received a juris doctorate from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
For five years, I was a deputy city attorney in Jacksonville. I have practiced law in all the courts in Pulaski County and have been appointed special judge in Pulaski and Lonoke counties.
As a trial lawyer, I have tried cases in most of the circuit court divisions and have argued cases in the Arkansas Court of Appeals of the U.S. District Courts.
In addition, my experience of having served the Jacksonville District Court has given me by far the most background and knowledge of the law to serve the people of our community impartially and fairly.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the judicial system, especially in Jacksonville?
Batton: I listen to litigants in court and determine with certainty the facts of a particular case by applying my knowledge of the law to the applicable law.
I have no prejudice or bias and do not succumb to external influences that would prevent me correctly applying the law to the facts of the situations.
Another strength of the court is being innovative and open to areas of improvement of its operation.
During my tenure I have guided the court by being the third court in the state to implement small-claims court and being one of the first district courts to be completely computerized in its operation.
Why should voters cast their ballots for you?
Batton: Voters should cast their ballots for me because I pledge to continue to be fair, honest, impartial and independent to all people who appear in court.
I also have an extensive knowledge of the law. I will continue to take more than the required legal education hours to better serve the people of Jacksonville.
The voters should know that I enjoy working for them and that seeing a person turn their life around is always a priority.
I have cordial relationships with the police department, code enforcement, the mayor and city council, and I look forward to being re-elected on Tuesday.
He is hoping to make it an even 40 by winning Tuesday’s election and then to retire in 2016. But Batton is being challenged by Marshall Nash, an attorney who lives in Jacksonville.
Batton, 68, and his wife, Jane, have been married 38 years. They have two children, Leslie Gleason and John Batton. He has two grandsons, Grant, 3, and Gage, who is 6 months old.
“I am very proud of all of them, and they have given me much happiness and pleasure,” the judge said.
The Leader asked the candidates to answer questions in their own words. Nash’s answers were published in Saturday’s edition. Here are Batton’s responses:
How long have you lived in this area?
Batton: I moved to Arkansas in 1967 to attend law school, and I have been a proud resident of Jacksonville for 41 years.
What experiences qualify you to be judge?
Batton: I am a 1967 graduate of the University of Miami in Florida with a degree in business administration. In 1970, I received a juris doctorate from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
For five years, I was a deputy city attorney in Jacksonville. I have practiced law in all the courts in Pulaski County and have been appointed special judge in Pulaski and Lonoke counties.
As a trial lawyer, I have tried cases in most of the circuit court divisions and have argued cases in the Arkansas Court of Appeals of the U.S. District Courts.
In addition, my experience of having served the Jacksonville District Court has given me by far the most background and knowledge of the law to serve the people of our community impartially and fairly.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the judicial system, especially in Jacksonville?
Batton: I listen to litigants in court and determine with certainty the facts of a particular case by applying my knowledge of the law to the applicable law.
I have no prejudice or bias and do not succumb to external influences that would prevent me correctly applying the law to the facts of the situations.
Another strength of the court is being innovative and open to areas of improvement of its operation.
During my tenure I have guided the court by being the third court in the state to implement small-claims court and being one of the first district courts to be completely computerized in its operation.
Why should voters cast their ballots for you?
Batton: Voters should cast their ballots for me because I pledge to continue to be fair, honest, impartial and independent to all people who appear in court.
I also have an extensive knowledge of the law. I will continue to take more than the required legal education hours to better serve the people of Jacksonville.
The voters should know that I enjoy working for them and that seeing a person turn their life around is always a priority.
I have cordial relationships with the police department, code enforcement, the mayor and city council, and I look forward to being re-elected on Tuesday.
TOP STORY >> Clerk challenger an ex-incumbent
By JOAN McCOY
Leader staff writer
Lonoke County Circuit Clerk Denise Brown is running for a second term. She is being challenged by former County Clerk Deborah Oglesby, who was defeated by Brown in 2008. Both candidates are Republicans. Oglesby, who ran as a Democrat in the past, recently changed parties. The primary is Tuesday.
The Leader asked the candidates to answer questions in their own words to give voters a better understanding of their qualifications.
Brown, 49, is married to Ralph N. Brown, who has been the Lonoke County Jail chaplain for the last five years. The couple will celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary next week.
They have four sons, Jacob, Daniel, Nathan and Matthew.
Jacob just finished his freshman year at UALR; Daniel will be a junior at Lonoke High School; Nathan is at Lonoke Middle School, and he is going into 8th-grade, and Matthew will begin kindergarten at Lonoke Primary School.
Oglesby, 36, is the proud mother of one son, Trevor, who is 17. She is the daughter of Donald Oglesby and Linda Finch of Cabot
How long in the area?
Brown: I have lived in Arkansas since 1984 (28 years), I have lived in Lonoke County for over 13 years. I have heard other candidates say how they have lived their entire lives in Lonoke, Cabot, Lonoke County etc., and I hope my children will one day be able to say that. That said, I choose to live here and in making this choice, I choose to do what I can to enrich our community.
Oglesby: I was born and raised in the Cabot area and have been a Lonoke County resident my entire life. I am a graduate of Cabot High School.
What in your work history qualifies you for the position?
Brown: I am currently the Circuit Clerk. Prior to that I was the office manager at the Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for over 10 years. I had several goals in mind when I ran in 2010 and when I took office on Jan. 1, 2011. I have been able to achieve all of my goals. I was able to restructure the office so that it is much more accessible to the public. I installed Microsoft Office on all computer stations so that the office has e-mail capability. I developed a website, www.lonokecountycircuitclerk.com, so jurors are able to access and check their next report date. Also it is now utilized to post the judicial foreclosure sales. I streamlined jury orientation, selection and the payment process. I make sure that all child-support payments are mailed out the same day they are received. Single parents depend on that money to support their families.
Oglesby: I have worked in Lonoke County government for 17 years and have held the positions of deputy county/probate clerk for one year, deputy circuit clerk for 10 years and I served as your Lonoke County Circuit Clerk for six years.
I have completed 114 hours in Arkansas Circuit Clerk’s continuing education classes through the Arkansas Public Administrative Consortium at the University of Arkansas. I have experience in every aspect of the Lonoke County Circuit Clerk’s office.
Why do you want the position?
Brown: I want to continue to update the technology of the office, in addition to all the improvements I have made. In June, I will be meeting with a representative from the Administrative Office of the Courts. This meeting is in regards to making our court documents available to the public beginning early to mid 2013. My goal is to make this office as accessible as possible.
Oglesby: I want to be your Lonoke County Circuit Clerk again because I truly loved serving the great citizens of Lonoke County and look forward to serving them once again. I care about the people of Lonoke County and insist that the citizens deserve to be treated with respect at all times, regardless of the situation. I hope the citizens of Lonoke County will consider my 16 years proven experience and knowledge as former circuit clerk of Lonoke County at the polls on Tuesday.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of the position?
Brown: I am not sure if this would be considered a challenge, but the job of the circuit clerk is to make sure that all documents are recorded and filed within 24 hours. We are striving each day to maintain that standard.
I have the best staff and they all work 100 percent. Even though this is not a “glamorous” position, to me this office is the backbone of our court system. So in essence the challenge is to make sure we are accurate, courteous and conscientious. Serving the public is our main priority.
Oglesby: One of the biggest challenges is the pressing need for storage space for court records in the Circuit Clerk’s Office. These records consist of domestic relations, juvenile, criminal and civil court filings that are original pleadings that must be kept permanently. Storage for these records is currently inadequate in that old records are stored in various locations within the courthouse. There records are stored from the basement to the old jail located at the top of the courthouse, which makes access difficult and time consuming. The county’s population will continue to grow and the need for storage will be more necessary. A long-term solution and goal would be to find an appropriate off-site storage facility that will allow for growth. The storage of these records is not only important for the circuit clerk’s office, but to better serve the public as well.
What sets you apart from the other candidates in the race?
Brown: The other candidate in this race happens to be the previous circuit clerk. If you look at all my accomplishments in the first year I was in office, I feel that our differences are very apparent.
I have only listed a few of the things I have done since being sworn into office. You can go to my personal website, www.denisebrown.us, to view my complete list.
I am a member of the Arkansas County Circuit Clerks Association 2011/2012; committee member of the Lonoke County Republican Party since 2007; member of the Lonoke Apostolic Church since 1998; instructor for Alcohol Chemical Treatment Series and parenting classes since 2007. I was voted the 2011 Republican Woman of the Year, and I was the chairperson of the Lonoke Single Parent Scholarship Fund in 2010.
I feel that any elected position is a position of service to our citizens, not just a job. I am first and foremost a public servant.
Oglesby: My experience sets me apart from my opponent. I have 16 years proven experience in the Lonoke County Circuit Clerk’s Office and already know the duties and responsibilities of the office. I am dedicated to serve all of Lonoke County with respect and dignity.
Leader staff writer
Lonoke County Circuit Clerk Denise Brown is running for a second term. She is being challenged by former County Clerk Deborah Oglesby, who was defeated by Brown in 2008. Both candidates are Republicans. Oglesby, who ran as a Democrat in the past, recently changed parties. The primary is Tuesday.
The Leader asked the candidates to answer questions in their own words to give voters a better understanding of their qualifications.
Brown, 49, is married to Ralph N. Brown, who has been the Lonoke County Jail chaplain for the last five years. The couple will celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary next week.
They have four sons, Jacob, Daniel, Nathan and Matthew.
Jacob just finished his freshman year at UALR; Daniel will be a junior at Lonoke High School; Nathan is at Lonoke Middle School, and he is going into 8th-grade, and Matthew will begin kindergarten at Lonoke Primary School.
Oglesby, 36, is the proud mother of one son, Trevor, who is 17. She is the daughter of Donald Oglesby and Linda Finch of Cabot
How long in the area?
Brown: I have lived in Arkansas since 1984 (28 years), I have lived in Lonoke County for over 13 years. I have heard other candidates say how they have lived their entire lives in Lonoke, Cabot, Lonoke County etc., and I hope my children will one day be able to say that. That said, I choose to live here and in making this choice, I choose to do what I can to enrich our community.
Oglesby: I was born and raised in the Cabot area and have been a Lonoke County resident my entire life. I am a graduate of Cabot High School.
What in your work history qualifies you for the position?
Brown: I am currently the Circuit Clerk. Prior to that I was the office manager at the Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for over 10 years. I had several goals in mind when I ran in 2010 and when I took office on Jan. 1, 2011. I have been able to achieve all of my goals. I was able to restructure the office so that it is much more accessible to the public. I installed Microsoft Office on all computer stations so that the office has e-mail capability. I developed a website, www.lonokecountycircuitclerk.com, so jurors are able to access and check their next report date. Also it is now utilized to post the judicial foreclosure sales. I streamlined jury orientation, selection and the payment process. I make sure that all child-support payments are mailed out the same day they are received. Single parents depend on that money to support their families.
Oglesby: I have worked in Lonoke County government for 17 years and have held the positions of deputy county/probate clerk for one year, deputy circuit clerk for 10 years and I served as your Lonoke County Circuit Clerk for six years.
I have completed 114 hours in Arkansas Circuit Clerk’s continuing education classes through the Arkansas Public Administrative Consortium at the University of Arkansas. I have experience in every aspect of the Lonoke County Circuit Clerk’s office.
Why do you want the position?
Brown: I want to continue to update the technology of the office, in addition to all the improvements I have made. In June, I will be meeting with a representative from the Administrative Office of the Courts. This meeting is in regards to making our court documents available to the public beginning early to mid 2013. My goal is to make this office as accessible as possible.
Oglesby: I want to be your Lonoke County Circuit Clerk again because I truly loved serving the great citizens of Lonoke County and look forward to serving them once again. I care about the people of Lonoke County and insist that the citizens deserve to be treated with respect at all times, regardless of the situation. I hope the citizens of Lonoke County will consider my 16 years proven experience and knowledge as former circuit clerk of Lonoke County at the polls on Tuesday.
What do you see as the biggest challenge of the position?
Brown: I am not sure if this would be considered a challenge, but the job of the circuit clerk is to make sure that all documents are recorded and filed within 24 hours. We are striving each day to maintain that standard.
I have the best staff and they all work 100 percent. Even though this is not a “glamorous” position, to me this office is the backbone of our court system. So in essence the challenge is to make sure we are accurate, courteous and conscientious. Serving the public is our main priority.
Oglesby: One of the biggest challenges is the pressing need for storage space for court records in the Circuit Clerk’s Office. These records consist of domestic relations, juvenile, criminal and civil court filings that are original pleadings that must be kept permanently. Storage for these records is currently inadequate in that old records are stored in various locations within the courthouse. There records are stored from the basement to the old jail located at the top of the courthouse, which makes access difficult and time consuming. The county’s population will continue to grow and the need for storage will be more necessary. A long-term solution and goal would be to find an appropriate off-site storage facility that will allow for growth. The storage of these records is not only important for the circuit clerk’s office, but to better serve the public as well.
What sets you apart from the other candidates in the race?
Brown: The other candidate in this race happens to be the previous circuit clerk. If you look at all my accomplishments in the first year I was in office, I feel that our differences are very apparent.
I have only listed a few of the things I have done since being sworn into office. You can go to my personal website, www.denisebrown.us, to view my complete list.
I am a member of the Arkansas County Circuit Clerks Association 2011/2012; committee member of the Lonoke County Republican Party since 2007; member of the Lonoke Apostolic Church since 1998; instructor for Alcohol Chemical Treatment Series and parenting classes since 2007. I was voted the 2011 Republican Woman of the Year, and I was the chairperson of the Lonoke Single Parent Scholarship Fund in 2010.
I feel that any elected position is a position of service to our citizens, not just a job. I am first and foremost a public servant.
Oglesby: My experience sets me apart from my opponent. I have 16 years proven experience in the Lonoke County Circuit Clerk’s Office and already know the duties and responsibilities of the office. I am dedicated to serve all of Lonoke County with respect and dignity.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
SPORTS STORY >> Jacksonville numbers up for spring football
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville football team had a lively first week of spring practice, and a lot of players by Jacksonville standards. Over 60 players participated and if those numbers hold, that could mean a little more depth than the Red Devils have enjoyed the last several seasons.
One position that seems to have lots of depth is the quarterback position. Six players have taken snaps in practice, and all have played well.
“We’ve never had this many kids show real promise at quarterback,” Jacksonville coach Rick Russell said. “Of course you can’t have six quarterbacks, but it’s nice to know you’ve got some depth.”
Kevin Richardson is the frontrunner for the starting quarterback position. He showed his first real promise during summer team camp at ASU-Jonesboro last year, and had worked his way into sharing starting quarterback duties with departed Tirrell Brown by the end of last season.
Brown missed that camp for AAU basketball. Richardson ran the team well, as did his backup Aaron Smith, who is also battling for the job this year.
“Aaron has done some nice things for us so far too,” Russell said. “Kevin is the one who you’d think would be poised to step in, but the job isn’t won right now. K-Rich is working hard and doing all the right things though. His throwing mechanics are getting better and better.”
Jacksonville had a large senior class last year and played mostly seniors. Even some of the upperclassmen have limited varsity experience. That means spring practice this year again focused largely on teaching the system.
“All practice this year has been primarily focused on offense,” Russell said. “Getting these younger guys and less experienced guys to catch on to what we’re doing is priority. We had a really good practice today (Monday). They’re eager to learn. Just look out there now.”
Russell motioned to the 12 to 15 players still on the practice field running routes or getting tips from position coaches.
“That’s what this group has been like and that’s how I hope it stays. That’s the kind of group that makes you love being out here.”
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville football team had a lively first week of spring practice, and a lot of players by Jacksonville standards. Over 60 players participated and if those numbers hold, that could mean a little more depth than the Red Devils have enjoyed the last several seasons.
One position that seems to have lots of depth is the quarterback position. Six players have taken snaps in practice, and all have played well.
“We’ve never had this many kids show real promise at quarterback,” Jacksonville coach Rick Russell said. “Of course you can’t have six quarterbacks, but it’s nice to know you’ve got some depth.”
Kevin Richardson is the frontrunner for the starting quarterback position. He showed his first real promise during summer team camp at ASU-Jonesboro last year, and had worked his way into sharing starting quarterback duties with departed Tirrell Brown by the end of last season.
Brown missed that camp for AAU basketball. Richardson ran the team well, as did his backup Aaron Smith, who is also battling for the job this year.
“Aaron has done some nice things for us so far too,” Russell said. “Kevin is the one who you’d think would be poised to step in, but the job isn’t won right now. K-Rich is working hard and doing all the right things though. His throwing mechanics are getting better and better.”
Jacksonville had a large senior class last year and played mostly seniors. Even some of the upperclassmen have limited varsity experience. That means spring practice this year again focused largely on teaching the system.
“All practice this year has been primarily focused on offense,” Russell said. “Getting these younger guys and less experienced guys to catch on to what we’re doing is priority. We had a really good practice today (Monday). They’re eager to learn. Just look out there now.”
Russell motioned to the 12 to 15 players still on the practice field running routes or getting tips from position coaches.
“That’s what this group has been like and that’s how I hope it stays. That’s the kind of group that makes you love being out here.”
SPORTS STORY >> Panthers enjoying largest senior class
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panthers have about 65 players out for spring practice, and that doesn’t include most of next season’s sophomore class. Standard practice for Cabot is to go through spring drills with just the upcoming junior and senior class, but three freshmen were brought along for spring drills this season. Once summer two-a-days begin and the sophomore class joins in full, it could be one of the largest teams in Cabot’s history.
“This is the largest senior class we’ve ever had,” Cabot coach Mike Malham said. “We’ve got 65 or so out here right now so we’ll have quite a few.”
There are 35 juniors on the squad for spring practice, but it’s the sophomores that make up the majority of the offense. Six sophomores started or saw significant time on the offensive line last season. They all project to be starters next year. Zach Launius was the team’s fastest player last year as a sophomore, and will be the starting fullback in the upcoming season.
“He’s pretty quick and pretty strong,” Malham said of Launius.
Kason Kimbrell is getting the first-team repetitions at quarterback with William Bell getting the second team reps.
“Kimbrell’s working with the first team but Bell has looked pretty good,” Malham said.
Zach Thompson, who played in the offensive backfield as a junior last year, has spent most of his time this spring working at linebacker. He’s joined by about six other juniors on the starting defensive rotation, as well as several sophomores and one freshman.
“We’ve got three freshmen we brought over,” Malham said. “Jake Ferguson is one of them who’s working with the secondary and he looks pretty good.
“We played a lot of sophomores last year, especially on offense,” Malham said. “They’re all pretty set in their starting positions. The offensive starters are pretty much set for two years.”
Seniors will lead the way on defense, with seven upperclassmen holding starting positions.
“Defensively I think we’re a lot better right now than we were last year,” Malham said. “And that’s a plus because we were bad on defense last year. It got better. We were playing a lot of young guys there too and hopefully that experience will pay dividends for us this year and next year.
The Panthers have scrimmaged a lot this spring, and will finish up spring practice with scrimmages today and tomorrow. Five players have missed one or more practices due to mostly minor injuries and illnesses.
“It’s been pretty good,” Malham said. “They’ve come out and got after it. Got a few a little banged up because they’re going pretty hard.”
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panthers have about 65 players out for spring practice, and that doesn’t include most of next season’s sophomore class. Standard practice for Cabot is to go through spring drills with just the upcoming junior and senior class, but three freshmen were brought along for spring drills this season. Once summer two-a-days begin and the sophomore class joins in full, it could be one of the largest teams in Cabot’s history.
“This is the largest senior class we’ve ever had,” Cabot coach Mike Malham said. “We’ve got 65 or so out here right now so we’ll have quite a few.”
There are 35 juniors on the squad for spring practice, but it’s the sophomores that make up the majority of the offense. Six sophomores started or saw significant time on the offensive line last season. They all project to be starters next year. Zach Launius was the team’s fastest player last year as a sophomore, and will be the starting fullback in the upcoming season.
“He’s pretty quick and pretty strong,” Malham said of Launius.
Kason Kimbrell is getting the first-team repetitions at quarterback with William Bell getting the second team reps.
“Kimbrell’s working with the first team but Bell has looked pretty good,” Malham said.
Zach Thompson, who played in the offensive backfield as a junior last year, has spent most of his time this spring working at linebacker. He’s joined by about six other juniors on the starting defensive rotation, as well as several sophomores and one freshman.
“We’ve got three freshmen we brought over,” Malham said. “Jake Ferguson is one of them who’s working with the secondary and he looks pretty good.
“We played a lot of sophomores last year, especially on offense,” Malham said. “They’re all pretty set in their starting positions. The offensive starters are pretty much set for two years.”
Seniors will lead the way on defense, with seven upperclassmen holding starting positions.
“Defensively I think we’re a lot better right now than we were last year,” Malham said. “And that’s a plus because we were bad on defense last year. It got better. We were playing a lot of young guys there too and hopefully that experience will pay dividends for us this year and next year.
The Panthers have scrimmaged a lot this spring, and will finish up spring practice with scrimmages today and tomorrow. Five players have missed one or more practices due to mostly minor injuries and illnesses.
“It’s been pretty good,” Malham said. “They’ve come out and got after it. Got a few a little banged up because they’re going pretty hard.”
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