By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
The Lonoke City Council on Monday night authorized Mayor Wayne McGee to initiate any action against or with the state Highway Department and/or the contractor, the Rogers Group, to fix a quarter-mile of Palm Street, rendered impassible since shortly after it was resurfaced.
“Let’s give the mayor permission to follow our attorney’s advice,” said council member Pat Howell.
It’s been there 65 years and never been closed, according to Howell, “but it failed three months after Rogers repaired it.”
“That’s Rogers, R-O-G-E-R-S,” said council member Janie Derning, spelling it out during the meeting for the press.
Neither the state nor the Rogers Group seems inclined to help remediate the problem, and, if the city has to do it, the project will likely require a bond issue, according to the mayor.
“Rainy season’s about to start up, and we’ll be in real trouble,” said Alderman Wen-dell Walker.
The state is claiming sovereign immunity, said McGee, but he said the city can’t afford the $200,000 repair, and he asked City Attorney Ginger Stewart to talk with state Rep. Camille Bennett (D-Lonoke) — the former city attorney — about the way forward.
The whole project, several city blocks, was done for $275,000, according to Howell, and now contractors want $200,000 to repair a fraction of that.
The mayor said the city going in and tearing out four blocks of asphalt to do it right would cost between $180,000 and $200,000. “That would be our paving budget for the next two to three years,” he said.
Something needs to be done, as portions of the city have been closed because it is so spongy that vehicles are bottoming out, he noted.
“It started falling apart two days after it was finished,” the mayor said.
He said the state, through a highway tax, had about $250,000 for milling and asphalting streets in Lonoke.
“The Highway Department came out, looked at our suggested street list, made the decision, hired the contractor and had inspectors out. Once they picked the streets, we had no say in the matter,” McGee explained.
Most of the overlay work the Rogers Group did in the city is fine, but, on Palm Street, the company had to mill down the road, build it back up and then asphalt it. “I’m not a paving guy, but I think it would be common sense to take a core sample before starting that kind of work to see how far into the base you have to go,” McGee said.
They cut the asphalt too low, to the gravel, the mayor said.
The Rogers Group operates in nine states throughout the Midwest and Southeast, offering crushed stone, sand and gravel, asphalt paving and road and bridge construction. It is headquartered in Nashville but has branches in Conway and Cabot.
In other business, the Lonoke Water Department, which lost as much as 40 percent of the water running through its pipes earlier this year, has made a lot of repairs and cut losses last month to about 19 percent, or 4 million gallons, according to Jim Kelley, water and waste water supervisor.
Typically, between 12 percent and 30 percent of water is lost through leaks and bad tracking caused by old or inefficient metering, Kelly said on Tuesday night after the meeting.
Lonoke lost 27.8 million gallons of water through the first quarter of 2015, according to former Public Works Director, the late Ron Gosnell.
“Some of those pipes are 100 years old,” Kelly said. And, during times of drought, the ground gets really hard and pipes can break.
His department repaired 34 leaks in September. “You can’t schedule leaks,” Kelly said.
He said a two-inch line near Dismukes broke earlier this year, and, before it was repaired, may have lost a million gallons. Kelley said his crew has run a continuous line there now, with no joints.
He said he was also working out a schedule for replacing water meters at residences and businesses. He said many are getting old and they have only about a 10- or 15-year life. Buying and replacing meters is expensive, he said, and will have to be done over a period of years.
He also reported that the Valero Pump Station repair was complete.
The council authorized him to contract with L and R to patch 24 cracks at the water department’s clarifier for $7,900, with a one-year warrantee. The whole clarifier could have been sealed for about $47,000, but that would have required advertising for bids. The city will consider that next year, the council said.
Ransom was authorized to spend $1,200 to overhaul the engine of the city’s leaf truck and to buy new tracks for the track hoe.
Also at the meeting, Randy Phillips reported that he expected to be finished tearing down the old Pet Quarters building on city property by the first of the year. He reminded those who said he was working too slow that he was doing the job for $100 and materials and that he was saving the city $180,000.
“I work seven days a week,” he said, “and I have to make a living.”
Jim Douglass, the city’s garbage pickup contractor, said he had intended to end his contract for solid waste disposal, but — on his way to the meeting — his wife talked him out of it, and he agreed to sign a new contract.
The city accepted an offer from the state’s Correction Department to bring 27 inmates in to clean ditches for the cost of a lunch each, for as long as needed, beginning after Nov. 1.
Acting Police Chief Randy Mauk asked for and received permission for the current K-9 officer to take his patrol car home — nine miles out of town — so he can take a dog directly where it’s needed during off-duty hours instead of driving in to the police department, moving the dog into a patrol car and then proceeding to the scene.
A prohibition still stands against officers out of town taking a squad car home.
Details still need to be worked out, but council members seemed interested in allowing residents to keep up to six chickens in their back yard, as long as they are far enough from neighboring houses, in a secure chicken coop with 3 square feet per chicken and the owner has a fenced yard.
Stewart, the city attorney, will prepare several ordinances for aldermen to choose from at the November meeting. There will also be some sort of provisions for city schools to raise chickens. No commercial ventures will be allowed, nor roosters, guinea chickens, ducks or geese.
Parks Supervisor Roy Lewis reported that the fourth City Park ballfield was pretty much complete, with drainage issues around the edges yet to be resolved.
In the city’s ongoing effort to get property owners to clean up, repair or demolish derelict houses, a house at 214 E. 11 was condemned and the city will demolish an already condemned house at 120 Sharon St., where repeated efforts to locate the owner have failed.
The council accepted the gift of an old Craftsman-style house from which Dr. B.E. Holmes ran his medical clinic at 305 W. Front St.
The city agreed to certain conditions and the house was sold as is.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
TOP STORY >> Main St. mission backed by state
By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff write
Mark Miller of Main Street Arkansas encouraged the Downtown Jacksonville Business Association at its Monday meeting to join the state agency’s network, which offers free consultations and quarterly training sessions.
The only requirement is that the organization in charge must have a $5,000 annual budget and a liaison, possibly someone with the local chamber of commerce, to attend required workshops.
Free services Jacksonville businesses would receive through the network include advice from an exterior designer, an interior designer and Miller, who is Main Street Arkansas’ small business consultant.
Becoming an Arkansas Downtown Network community could be just the first step for Jacksonville, too, association members learned.
The next-level designation, which Miller said would probably take three or four years for the community to attain, is “Main Street City.” Main Street Cities receive $15,000 a year from the state agency to spend on revitalization efforts and must hire a director who implements Main Street Arkansas’ four-point approach.
The agency will likely accept new Downtown Network communities in 2016, and the association should fill out an application then, he continued.
When asked if there was a limit on how many communities would be accepted into the network, Miller said they varied. Passionate, trainable individuals with people skills are what Main Street Arkansas looks for because those qualities lead to success, he noted.
He continued, “To me, one of the most important things of being in the Main Street network is, during those quarterly trainings, you get to work with your peers throughout the state. So, you basically, never have to recreate the wheel.
“I almost guarantee you, whatever problem you’re having here in Jacksonville, someone else has encountered that somewhere else in the state and, if not in the state, you have access to the national Main Street Center list serve, too.”
That list includes contacts from 43 state programs.
He added that a former director told him, “Don’t strain your eyes, plagiarize.” Miller told the association that business owners should go outside their own shops, find an idea elsewhere in the state or country and make it their own.
Main Street Arkansas is part of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, which falls under the state’s Department of Arkansas Heritage, Miller explained at the beginning of his presentation.
He touted that, since its formation in 1984, Main Street Arkansas has seen over $145 million in investments finance 3,272 facade renovations, rehabilitations and new construction projects.
Miller said Main Street Arkansas also receives guidance from the National Main Street Center, which provides the four-point approach. The approach includes having an organization working toward the same goal and focuses on promotion, economic restructuring and design.
The services offered through the network cater to that approach.
As the small business consultant, Miller explained, he goes into stores when requested and tells them what can be done differently.
He evaluates store operations, branding, conducts a market and sales analysis and teaches workshops on a variety of topics.
Miller explained how owners and employees of a store can lose sight of little things because they become complacent from being there every day.
But those little things, such as the layout that directs customers’ foot traffic, can develop into big things that affect a business, he warned.
Miller also said he “preaches” about having exceptional customer service because it’s the one thing owners have 100 percent control over.
He remarked, too, on the “billboard principal” with a PowerPoint slide stating that 53 percent of shoppers base their initial perception of a store and decision to shop there on the storefront.
That’s where Main Street Arkansas’ exterior designer can help.
This staffer offers exterior rehabilitation advice for facades, reviews streetscapes, signs and planning; gives written recommendations and resources; and draws facade renderings.
Miller explained, “He has that capability that he can see a storefront, and he can tell you what it should look like, especially if you give him a certain budget.”
But a business also has to look good when customers walk into it, hence the agency’s interior designer, who offers advice on rehabbing the inside of a store, holds window/merchandise display workshops, provides conceptual design plans and hands out design research from building projects.
Miller noted that window displays don’t cost a lot, and owners “really get a lot of bang for the buck” with them.
Retailers can work together on window displays by using items from another store to complement their merchandise while advertising for their downtown neighbor, he said.
Miller also suggested having big items rather than a lot of small things in a window because a storefront has just three seconds to catch a driver’s attention and 7.5 seconds to attract someone who is walking by it.
About first part of the four-point approach, he explained that Main Street Arkansas prefers to work with a nonprofit organization because it is easier to fill out IRS paperwork and administer grants to a nonprofit group.
About the promotion point, he said that includes looking at a community’s image, retail market and special events.
Miller suggested, “You always want to have at least one good (big event), but you want to be careful that you don’t have too many because it can consume your organization.”
Economic restructuring he described as “making the cash registers ring” by filling vacant commercial and retail spaces.
Mayor Gary Fletcher pointed out that many of the network cities have historical two- or three-story brick buildings. Jacksonville doesn’t have those because it grew in the shopping center era when disposable buildings were popular, he said.
Miller responded, “You just have to find out what your amenities are here and what you can do to build upon them...Or create.”
He elaborated on that later, saying, “The key is, because people are looking for experiences anywhere, when they shop, so what you need to find are those unique, niche-type businesses that you’re not going to find in a shopping mall or big box retailer to make people want to spend the day here shopping and learning what your community is about.”
One piece of advice he had was getting some niche stores to sell merchandise related to the shooting range, as that is unique to Jacksonville.
Miller also said Jacksonville should take advantage of the “captive audience” it has in Little Rock Air Force Base personnel, a demographic that is often well-paid, by hosting smaller events that appeal to military families.
Asked about how Main Street Arkansas helps communities with funding, he lamented that it used to have a larger program with a competitive revitalization grant and a matching slipcover grant. But those were ended by budget cuts many state entities have suffered from.
There are many similar grants out there though, Miller noted.
Association member Roberta McGrath mentioned to him that a nonprofit is working to restore the historical part of the city — old buildings by the railroad tracks — and turn that district into a draw for tourists who would have to drive through downtown to get there. He voiced support for that idea.
Miller’s advice also included having — once Jacksonville becomes a Main Street City — the director’s salary come from a variety of sources and having shops open non-traditional hours, such as 9:30 or 10 a.m. to 6 or 7 p.m.
Association member Patrick Thomas asked him whether flea markets could be a draw. Miller responded those can be good or bad, but the most successful ones have been more selective in the merchandise they sell.
He said flea markets that choose to be “upscale” could attract visitors to a community.
Leader staff write
Mark Miller of Main Street Arkansas encouraged the Downtown Jacksonville Business Association at its Monday meeting to join the state agency’s network, which offers free consultations and quarterly training sessions.
The only requirement is that the organization in charge must have a $5,000 annual budget and a liaison, possibly someone with the local chamber of commerce, to attend required workshops.
Free services Jacksonville businesses would receive through the network include advice from an exterior designer, an interior designer and Miller, who is Main Street Arkansas’ small business consultant.
Becoming an Arkansas Downtown Network community could be just the first step for Jacksonville, too, association members learned.
The next-level designation, which Miller said would probably take three or four years for the community to attain, is “Main Street City.” Main Street Cities receive $15,000 a year from the state agency to spend on revitalization efforts and must hire a director who implements Main Street Arkansas’ four-point approach.
The agency will likely accept new Downtown Network communities in 2016, and the association should fill out an application then, he continued.
When asked if there was a limit on how many communities would be accepted into the network, Miller said they varied. Passionate, trainable individuals with people skills are what Main Street Arkansas looks for because those qualities lead to success, he noted.
He continued, “To me, one of the most important things of being in the Main Street network is, during those quarterly trainings, you get to work with your peers throughout the state. So, you basically, never have to recreate the wheel.
“I almost guarantee you, whatever problem you’re having here in Jacksonville, someone else has encountered that somewhere else in the state and, if not in the state, you have access to the national Main Street Center list serve, too.”
That list includes contacts from 43 state programs.
He added that a former director told him, “Don’t strain your eyes, plagiarize.” Miller told the association that business owners should go outside their own shops, find an idea elsewhere in the state or country and make it their own.
Main Street Arkansas is part of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, which falls under the state’s Department of Arkansas Heritage, Miller explained at the beginning of his presentation.
He touted that, since its formation in 1984, Main Street Arkansas has seen over $145 million in investments finance 3,272 facade renovations, rehabilitations and new construction projects.
Miller said Main Street Arkansas also receives guidance from the National Main Street Center, which provides the four-point approach. The approach includes having an organization working toward the same goal and focuses on promotion, economic restructuring and design.
The services offered through the network cater to that approach.
As the small business consultant, Miller explained, he goes into stores when requested and tells them what can be done differently.
He evaluates store operations, branding, conducts a market and sales analysis and teaches workshops on a variety of topics.
Miller explained how owners and employees of a store can lose sight of little things because they become complacent from being there every day.
But those little things, such as the layout that directs customers’ foot traffic, can develop into big things that affect a business, he warned.
Miller also said he “preaches” about having exceptional customer service because it’s the one thing owners have 100 percent control over.
He remarked, too, on the “billboard principal” with a PowerPoint slide stating that 53 percent of shoppers base their initial perception of a store and decision to shop there on the storefront.
That’s where Main Street Arkansas’ exterior designer can help.
This staffer offers exterior rehabilitation advice for facades, reviews streetscapes, signs and planning; gives written recommendations and resources; and draws facade renderings.
Miller explained, “He has that capability that he can see a storefront, and he can tell you what it should look like, especially if you give him a certain budget.”
But a business also has to look good when customers walk into it, hence the agency’s interior designer, who offers advice on rehabbing the inside of a store, holds window/merchandise display workshops, provides conceptual design plans and hands out design research from building projects.
Miller noted that window displays don’t cost a lot, and owners “really get a lot of bang for the buck” with them.
Retailers can work together on window displays by using items from another store to complement their merchandise while advertising for their downtown neighbor, he said.
Miller also suggested having big items rather than a lot of small things in a window because a storefront has just three seconds to catch a driver’s attention and 7.5 seconds to attract someone who is walking by it.
About first part of the four-point approach, he explained that Main Street Arkansas prefers to work with a nonprofit organization because it is easier to fill out IRS paperwork and administer grants to a nonprofit group.
About the promotion point, he said that includes looking at a community’s image, retail market and special events.
Miller suggested, “You always want to have at least one good (big event), but you want to be careful that you don’t have too many because it can consume your organization.”
Economic restructuring he described as “making the cash registers ring” by filling vacant commercial and retail spaces.
Mayor Gary Fletcher pointed out that many of the network cities have historical two- or three-story brick buildings. Jacksonville doesn’t have those because it grew in the shopping center era when disposable buildings were popular, he said.
Miller responded, “You just have to find out what your amenities are here and what you can do to build upon them...Or create.”
He elaborated on that later, saying, “The key is, because people are looking for experiences anywhere, when they shop, so what you need to find are those unique, niche-type businesses that you’re not going to find in a shopping mall or big box retailer to make people want to spend the day here shopping and learning what your community is about.”
One piece of advice he had was getting some niche stores to sell merchandise related to the shooting range, as that is unique to Jacksonville.
Miller also said Jacksonville should take advantage of the “captive audience” it has in Little Rock Air Force Base personnel, a demographic that is often well-paid, by hosting smaller events that appeal to military families.
Asked about how Main Street Arkansas helps communities with funding, he lamented that it used to have a larger program with a competitive revitalization grant and a matching slipcover grant. But those were ended by budget cuts many state entities have suffered from.
There are many similar grants out there though, Miller noted.
Association member Roberta McGrath mentioned to him that a nonprofit is working to restore the historical part of the city — old buildings by the railroad tracks — and turn that district into a draw for tourists who would have to drive through downtown to get there. He voiced support for that idea.
Miller’s advice also included having — once Jacksonville becomes a Main Street City — the director’s salary come from a variety of sources and having shops open non-traditional hours, such as 9:30 or 10 a.m. to 6 or 7 p.m.
Association member Patrick Thomas asked him whether flea markets could be a draw. Miller responded those can be good or bad, but the most successful ones have been more selective in the merchandise they sell.
He said flea markets that choose to be “upscale” could attract visitors to a community.
SPORTS STORY >> Panthers battle Tigers, injuries
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panthers continue to find ways to overcome the mistakes that don’t seem to be clearing up as the season progresses. The Panthers were on the verge of a blowout win last Friday at West Memphis. Fullback Alex Roberts broke a 76-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half to give the Panthers a 28-7 lead. But their next two drives were thwarted by penalties that negated first downs, and the Blue Devils scored each subsequent drive to make it 28-21.
The two teams traded touchdowns again before Cabot closed the game out with two touchdowns to set the final margin at 49-28.
Cabot lost a fumble on its first possession of the game, and was called for 11 penalties totaling 90 yards. Even with the turnover and several drive-stopping penalties, the Panthers still gained more than 500 yards rushing, and nearly 600 total yards. They completed four passes, which tripled the season total to six, and is just one win away from locking up a one seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs through the quarterfinals.
“There are definitely some things I wish we would do better,” said Cabot coach Mike Malham. “But it’s hard to complain about 500 yards and 49 points. It’s nice having those big plays because you have a lot more opportunity to screw things up in one of those 15-play drives. We’ve managed to make the big plays and have some success.”
West Memphis quarterback Kylin Whiting did most of the damage to Cabot’s defense. He only completed 11 of 29 pass attempts, but his mobility kept drives alive. He ran for several first downs when called pass plays broke down.
“He was pretty good,” Malham said. “We couldn’t get him down when he’d take off. He hit one over the top on us on their first drive and they jumped ahead. And then he kept them in it getting away from the rush.”
Cabot hosts Little Rock Central this Friday for homecoming. It’s the last game of the season that has any bearing on the playoffs. A Cabot win means getting that one seed as a result of beating all the other 7A teams in the 7A/6A-East Conference.
The Panthers will have to do it with several banged up players. There are no major injuries, but the defensive line could have as many as three starters out for Friday’s game, as well as linebacker Cody Nabors.
“Depth is a problem for us,” Malham said. “We lose too many and we’ll be hurting, and too many isn’t very many at all. Right now nobody has any serious injuries, we just don’t know yet who’s going to be ready on Friday.”
Defensive end/fullback Kolton Eads missed last week’s game. His speed on the edge could have made a difference in containing Whiting. He remains questionable for Friday, as does Lino Garcia and nose guard Dayonte Roberts.
Eads’ absence did provide Alex Roberts with an opportunity to shine, and he did. He rushed 16 times for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Malham has been high on Roberts’ speed and quickness since he arrived as a transfer from Alaska over the summer, but he struggled early in the season.
“It’s just taken him a while to figure things out,” Malham said. “We do things a little different around here than most people. But he’s got some speed and some shiftiness to him, and he can be tough to bring down. He picked a good time to break out because we needed him with Kolton out.”
Central’s defense has been suspect at times this season. The Tigers are 2-4 with conference wins over Searcy, 24-14, and Mountain Home, 41-7. But they’ve given up an average of 39 points per game in their four losses.
“With everybody banged up on defense, hopefully we can keep scoring and keep everybody healthy,” Malham said. “If nobody else gets hurt, we’ll have everybody back in a couple of weeks anyway.”
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panthers continue to find ways to overcome the mistakes that don’t seem to be clearing up as the season progresses. The Panthers were on the verge of a blowout win last Friday at West Memphis. Fullback Alex Roberts broke a 76-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half to give the Panthers a 28-7 lead. But their next two drives were thwarted by penalties that negated first downs, and the Blue Devils scored each subsequent drive to make it 28-21.
The two teams traded touchdowns again before Cabot closed the game out with two touchdowns to set the final margin at 49-28.
Cabot lost a fumble on its first possession of the game, and was called for 11 penalties totaling 90 yards. Even with the turnover and several drive-stopping penalties, the Panthers still gained more than 500 yards rushing, and nearly 600 total yards. They completed four passes, which tripled the season total to six, and is just one win away from locking up a one seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs through the quarterfinals.
“There are definitely some things I wish we would do better,” said Cabot coach Mike Malham. “But it’s hard to complain about 500 yards and 49 points. It’s nice having those big plays because you have a lot more opportunity to screw things up in one of those 15-play drives. We’ve managed to make the big plays and have some success.”
West Memphis quarterback Kylin Whiting did most of the damage to Cabot’s defense. He only completed 11 of 29 pass attempts, but his mobility kept drives alive. He ran for several first downs when called pass plays broke down.
“He was pretty good,” Malham said. “We couldn’t get him down when he’d take off. He hit one over the top on us on their first drive and they jumped ahead. And then he kept them in it getting away from the rush.”
Cabot hosts Little Rock Central this Friday for homecoming. It’s the last game of the season that has any bearing on the playoffs. A Cabot win means getting that one seed as a result of beating all the other 7A teams in the 7A/6A-East Conference.
The Panthers will have to do it with several banged up players. There are no major injuries, but the defensive line could have as many as three starters out for Friday’s game, as well as linebacker Cody Nabors.
“Depth is a problem for us,” Malham said. “We lose too many and we’ll be hurting, and too many isn’t very many at all. Right now nobody has any serious injuries, we just don’t know yet who’s going to be ready on Friday.”
Defensive end/fullback Kolton Eads missed last week’s game. His speed on the edge could have made a difference in containing Whiting. He remains questionable for Friday, as does Lino Garcia and nose guard Dayonte Roberts.
Eads’ absence did provide Alex Roberts with an opportunity to shine, and he did. He rushed 16 times for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Malham has been high on Roberts’ speed and quickness since he arrived as a transfer from Alaska over the summer, but he struggled early in the season.
“It’s just taken him a while to figure things out,” Malham said. “We do things a little different around here than most people. But he’s got some speed and some shiftiness to him, and he can be tough to bring down. He picked a good time to break out because we needed him with Kolton out.”
Central’s defense has been suspect at times this season. The Tigers are 2-4 with conference wins over Searcy, 24-14, and Mountain Home, 41-7. But they’ve given up an average of 39 points per game in their four losses.
“With everybody banged up on defense, hopefully we can keep scoring and keep everybody healthy,” Malham said. “If nobody else gets hurt, we’ll have everybody back in a couple of weeks anyway.”
SPORTS STORY >> Playoff picture taking its form
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Four games remain in the football regular season and the playoff picture is coming into focus, though nothing is settled. Beebe has a very important matchup with Mills on Friday that could end up determining the four seed from the 5A-Central. Jacksonville is also still in the race for a playoff spot, and will be after this Friday’s home game against Pulaski Academy despite the outcome of that game.
Pulaski Academy and Sylvan Hills remain unbeaten in league play while McClellan is 2-1. Beebe and Jacksonville are each 1-2, but the Badgers have the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of their 13-12 victory at Jan Crow Stadium.
Mills and J.A. Fair are winless, but the four seed will likely only need to win three games to make the playoffs this year because of the absence of North Pulaski.
The Badgers have the clearest road ahead of the one-win teams for securing a playoff spot. A Beebe win this week would almost assure the Badgers a spot in the playoffs. Beebe’s last two games are against J.A. Fair and Sylvan Hills. Fair has not won a game on the field since 2013, and a Beebe win over the War Eagles would give the Badgers that third league victory.
If Jacksonville loses to PA, it will need Mills to beat Beebe, and will need to beat Mills and McClellan in its final two games.
Among the conference leaders, the picture is even less clear because most of those teams have not faced each other. McClellan’s loss was 41-30 to Pulaski Academy. Sylvan Hills is off this week because of its scheduled game with North Pulaski. When they return to action, they will face the toughest three-game stretch of its schedule in McClellan, Beebe and PA.
McClellan hosts Fair this week and appears to have gotten past the offensive struggles it endured against Beebe (a 14-13 win) and in the first half against the Bruins. The Lions hammered Mills 66-16 last week, and will almost certainly win this Friday, making them 3-1 in league play with road games at Sylvan Hills and Jacksonville remaining.
4A-2
In the 4A-2, Lonoke’s stellar 2-0 start to the season has taken a sharp downward turn as injuries pile up for the Jackrabbits. They have lost four-straight and this week must travel to one of the most notoriously difficult places to play in the state. Helena-West Helena Central shares one common opponent with Lonoke, and that comparison favors the Cougars. HWHC won 25-14 at Newport a week before the Greyhounds beat Lonoke 36-18 for their first and only win so far.
Five teams earn playoff bids from the 4A-2 instead of the four most leagues get. That keeps Lonoke’s playoff hopes somewhat alive even if it loses this week, but just barely. The Jackrabbits are in a near must-win situation as they prepare to take the field on the west bank of the Mississippi River.
What follows for Lonoke in its last three games are two conference unbeaten teams in CAC and Stuttgart, before closing the season against Riverview.
2A-6
Carlisle also plays a game with major playoff implications on Friday. The Bison host Palestine-Wheatley in a battle of two-win 2A-6 teams.
The Bison and Patriots share two common opponents. Carlisle beat Marvell 62-14 while PW won 34-14. Carlisle also beat Augusta 28-22 while the Patriots lost to the Red Devils 39-38. Since the 2A-6 has nine teams, it also gets five playoff spots. A Carlisle win would almost guarantee the Bison, who are 2-2 in league play, one of those spots, though seeding won’t be determined. The Patriots have already played five league games and still has Des Arc and Hazen remaining as their last two after this week. That places the Patriots’ backs squarely against the wall on Friday, needing a win to help their playoff hopes.
7A/6A-EAST
Cabot (6-0, 3-0) has a No. 1 seed in its grasp if it beats Little Rock Central this week. The Tigers are just 2-4 overall and has yet to play a 7A team in conference. Since 7A and 6A play combined conferences, and only games against teams from like classifications count towards the playoffs, Cabot is in the driver’s seat. The Panthers have already beaten North Little Rock and West Memphis and a win this week would give them a perfect league mark as far as playoff considerations go, regardless of what happens the rest of the season.
It could be a taller order than one might expect. The Tigers have not suffered from a lack of scoring, but have struggled to stop other teams. Meanwhile, Cabot could have as many as four defensive starters out this week, including three linemen and a linebacker. That could play into the hands of Central’s power-running game.
But it could be an even taller order for the somewhat porous Tiger defense to stop a Cabot offense that is averaging slightly more than 40 points per game.
Leader sports editor
Four games remain in the football regular season and the playoff picture is coming into focus, though nothing is settled. Beebe has a very important matchup with Mills on Friday that could end up determining the four seed from the 5A-Central. Jacksonville is also still in the race for a playoff spot, and will be after this Friday’s home game against Pulaski Academy despite the outcome of that game.
Pulaski Academy and Sylvan Hills remain unbeaten in league play while McClellan is 2-1. Beebe and Jacksonville are each 1-2, but the Badgers have the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of their 13-12 victory at Jan Crow Stadium.
Mills and J.A. Fair are winless, but the four seed will likely only need to win three games to make the playoffs this year because of the absence of North Pulaski.
The Badgers have the clearest road ahead of the one-win teams for securing a playoff spot. A Beebe win this week would almost assure the Badgers a spot in the playoffs. Beebe’s last two games are against J.A. Fair and Sylvan Hills. Fair has not won a game on the field since 2013, and a Beebe win over the War Eagles would give the Badgers that third league victory.
If Jacksonville loses to PA, it will need Mills to beat Beebe, and will need to beat Mills and McClellan in its final two games.
Among the conference leaders, the picture is even less clear because most of those teams have not faced each other. McClellan’s loss was 41-30 to Pulaski Academy. Sylvan Hills is off this week because of its scheduled game with North Pulaski. When they return to action, they will face the toughest three-game stretch of its schedule in McClellan, Beebe and PA.
McClellan hosts Fair this week and appears to have gotten past the offensive struggles it endured against Beebe (a 14-13 win) and in the first half against the Bruins. The Lions hammered Mills 66-16 last week, and will almost certainly win this Friday, making them 3-1 in league play with road games at Sylvan Hills and Jacksonville remaining.
4A-2
In the 4A-2, Lonoke’s stellar 2-0 start to the season has taken a sharp downward turn as injuries pile up for the Jackrabbits. They have lost four-straight and this week must travel to one of the most notoriously difficult places to play in the state. Helena-West Helena Central shares one common opponent with Lonoke, and that comparison favors the Cougars. HWHC won 25-14 at Newport a week before the Greyhounds beat Lonoke 36-18 for their first and only win so far.
Five teams earn playoff bids from the 4A-2 instead of the four most leagues get. That keeps Lonoke’s playoff hopes somewhat alive even if it loses this week, but just barely. The Jackrabbits are in a near must-win situation as they prepare to take the field on the west bank of the Mississippi River.
What follows for Lonoke in its last three games are two conference unbeaten teams in CAC and Stuttgart, before closing the season against Riverview.
2A-6
Carlisle also plays a game with major playoff implications on Friday. The Bison host Palestine-Wheatley in a battle of two-win 2A-6 teams.
The Bison and Patriots share two common opponents. Carlisle beat Marvell 62-14 while PW won 34-14. Carlisle also beat Augusta 28-22 while the Patriots lost to the Red Devils 39-38. Since the 2A-6 has nine teams, it also gets five playoff spots. A Carlisle win would almost guarantee the Bison, who are 2-2 in league play, one of those spots, though seeding won’t be determined. The Patriots have already played five league games and still has Des Arc and Hazen remaining as their last two after this week. That places the Patriots’ backs squarely against the wall on Friday, needing a win to help their playoff hopes.
7A/6A-EAST
Cabot (6-0, 3-0) has a No. 1 seed in its grasp if it beats Little Rock Central this week. The Tigers are just 2-4 overall and has yet to play a 7A team in conference. Since 7A and 6A play combined conferences, and only games against teams from like classifications count towards the playoffs, Cabot is in the driver’s seat. The Panthers have already beaten North Little Rock and West Memphis and a win this week would give them a perfect league mark as far as playoff considerations go, regardless of what happens the rest of the season.
It could be a taller order than one might expect. The Tigers have not suffered from a lack of scoring, but have struggled to stop other teams. Meanwhile, Cabot could have as many as four defensive starters out this week, including three linemen and a linebacker. That could play into the hands of Central’s power-running game.
But it could be an even taller order for the somewhat porous Tiger defense to stop a Cabot offense that is averaging slightly more than 40 points per game.
SPORTS STORY >> Racing as host works for CHS
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Only three teams competed in the Cabot Panther Cross Country Invitational last Tuesday, but the Lady Panthers dominated the action, taking four of the top five spots at the Austin Activities Center cross country course.
After struggling through a series of races in which health issues surfaced, Cabot senior Samantha Nickell won her first race of the season, finishing with a time of 20:51.55 to beat out Hot Springs Lakeside’s Emily Milboun by 12 seconds.
Three Cabot sophomores rounded out the top five, including Casey Gore, who finished third with a time of 21:10.60. Bailey Lebow, who had been the team’s fastest runner at two previous meets, was fourth with a time of 21:39.28, and Brayden Giesler was fifth at 22:04.54.
Searcy’s Jessica Mitchell finished sixth. Cabot’s Chloe Thompson and Erin Bowie were seventh and eighth. Searcy’s Lauren Ramey finished ninth and Lakeside’s Carley Geraci rounded out the top-10.
The Cabot boys dominated the top-10 of their race as well, but it was Lakeside’s Nikolai Whelpley who won the race with a time of 17:24.12. Only one other non-Cabot runner finished in the top-10.
Cabot’s Jordan Woodson was second with a time of 17:33.86. Sophomore Greyson Kaufman finished third for the Panthers while sophomore Blake Scott was fourth. Gardner Howze, another sophomore, had a better outing as he works back from hip problems that have hampered his performances recently. He finished fifth with a time of 18:56.83.
Stuart Nickell took sixth. Cabot’s Guyor Wells was seventh while Lakeside’s Nathan Hugentobler was eighth. Cabot’s Alex Robinson and Tyler Thompson were ninth and 10th.
Three Lakeside runners swept the top-three in the junior boys’ 3,200-meter race. Gideon Drake won by a wide margin with a time of 11:26.14. Nathan Reynolds was second at 12:00.70. Jonathan Lockhart was the top Cabot finisher at fourth place. Collin Hines and Thomas Jasmin were fifth and sixth for Cabot.
In the junior girls’ 3,200, Lakeside’s Claire Evans won with a time of 12:12.96 and Searcy’s Mia Maples was second at 13:47.08. Cabot’s Katelynn Burnett took third place with a time of 14:06.20.
After two more HSL runners, the Cabot trio of Ashlynn Ball, Ashley Killingsworth and Stephanie Thomas finished sixth through eighth, respectively.
AT BRYANT
In other cross country races, the Beebe and Sylvan Hills teams took part in the Bryant Hornet Invitational on Saturday. That meet featured 15 teams from around the state. Beebe’s Taylor McGraw finished 13th out of 185 competitors in the varsity girls’ competition. Elizabeth Gillette won the race and was one of three Trinity Christian runners to finish in the top-10.
Natalie Childress finished 26th for Beebe while Gabriella Marquez was Sylvan Hills’ top finisher at 29th.
Gus McCoy finished 22nd for Beebe out of 232 runners. He was 1:27 behind winner Auggue Morgan of Sheridan, who finished in 16:50.96.
Leader sports editor
Only three teams competed in the Cabot Panther Cross Country Invitational last Tuesday, but the Lady Panthers dominated the action, taking four of the top five spots at the Austin Activities Center cross country course.
After struggling through a series of races in which health issues surfaced, Cabot senior Samantha Nickell won her first race of the season, finishing with a time of 20:51.55 to beat out Hot Springs Lakeside’s Emily Milboun by 12 seconds.
Three Cabot sophomores rounded out the top five, including Casey Gore, who finished third with a time of 21:10.60. Bailey Lebow, who had been the team’s fastest runner at two previous meets, was fourth with a time of 21:39.28, and Brayden Giesler was fifth at 22:04.54.
Searcy’s Jessica Mitchell finished sixth. Cabot’s Chloe Thompson and Erin Bowie were seventh and eighth. Searcy’s Lauren Ramey finished ninth and Lakeside’s Carley Geraci rounded out the top-10.
The Cabot boys dominated the top-10 of their race as well, but it was Lakeside’s Nikolai Whelpley who won the race with a time of 17:24.12. Only one other non-Cabot runner finished in the top-10.
Cabot’s Jordan Woodson was second with a time of 17:33.86. Sophomore Greyson Kaufman finished third for the Panthers while sophomore Blake Scott was fourth. Gardner Howze, another sophomore, had a better outing as he works back from hip problems that have hampered his performances recently. He finished fifth with a time of 18:56.83.
Stuart Nickell took sixth. Cabot’s Guyor Wells was seventh while Lakeside’s Nathan Hugentobler was eighth. Cabot’s Alex Robinson and Tyler Thompson were ninth and 10th.
Three Lakeside runners swept the top-three in the junior boys’ 3,200-meter race. Gideon Drake won by a wide margin with a time of 11:26.14. Nathan Reynolds was second at 12:00.70. Jonathan Lockhart was the top Cabot finisher at fourth place. Collin Hines and Thomas Jasmin were fifth and sixth for Cabot.
In the junior girls’ 3,200, Lakeside’s Claire Evans won with a time of 12:12.96 and Searcy’s Mia Maples was second at 13:47.08. Cabot’s Katelynn Burnett took third place with a time of 14:06.20.
After two more HSL runners, the Cabot trio of Ashlynn Ball, Ashley Killingsworth and Stephanie Thomas finished sixth through eighth, respectively.
AT BRYANT
In other cross country races, the Beebe and Sylvan Hills teams took part in the Bryant Hornet Invitational on Saturday. That meet featured 15 teams from around the state. Beebe’s Taylor McGraw finished 13th out of 185 competitors in the varsity girls’ competition. Elizabeth Gillette won the race and was one of three Trinity Christian runners to finish in the top-10.
Natalie Childress finished 26th for Beebe while Gabriella Marquez was Sylvan Hills’ top finisher at 29th.
Gus McCoy finished 22nd for Beebe out of 232 runners. He was 1:27 behind winner Auggue Morgan of Sheridan, who finished in 16:50.96.
SPORTS STORY >> Cabot girls second at Conway
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Lady Panthers played some of their best volleyball of the season Saturday at the Lady Cat Invitational at Conway High School. Cabot won its pool and advanced to the Gold bracket for the eight pool winners. In bracket play, the Lady Panthers advanced all the way to the tournament championship game where they fell 25-16 twice to defending Class 6A champion Russellville 2-0.
“We played really well,” said Cabot coach Kham Chanthaphasouk. “There was a lot of good passing, good digs, good ball control, aggressive hits, smart placement of the ball. It was a good day.”
The 24-team field was broken up into eight, three-team pools consisting of some of the top teams from 4A through 7A. Each match was best two out of three games. Cabot, playing in Pool E with Jonesboro Westside and Sheridan, beat Westside at 9 a.m. 25-19 twice, then beat Sheridan 25-14, 25-19 to advance to the Gold bracket.
Cabot’s first match of bracket play pitted it against conference foe Mountain Home. The Lady Bombers have beaten Cabot twice this year in league play by scores of 3-0 and 3-1. But Cabot opened bracket play on Saturday with an easy 25-15 win before dropping game two 25-16. Tiebreaker sets but it took Cabot a little longer. Needing to win by two, Cabot won game three 16-14 to advance.
The Lady Panthers faced Nettleton in the semifinals. The Lady Raiders blew out Morrilton and beat Shiloh Christian 25-20, 25-22 in Pool C. In the quarterfinals, they knocked off tournament host Conway 24-26, 25-14 and 15-11.
But Cabot put together another strong start to win game one 25-16 over the Lady Raiders.
Nettleton bounced back to win game two 25-17, but Cabot won the tiebreaker set 15-11 to move into the championship game against Russellville.
The Lady Cyclones smashed Beebe and Jonesboro in Pool H. They beat Bryant 26-24 twice in the first round of bracket play and played a possible precursor to this year’s 6A championship against Marion in the semifinals, winning that match 25-18, 15-25 and 15-12.
Cabot (13-12, 6-7) was mired in a four-game losing streak, its worst of the season, entering the tournament.
Chanthaphasouk hopes going 5-1 and beating a series of quality of opponents will be a big confidence boost as the team finishes league play and prepares for the Class 7A state tournament.
“As I’ve said all along, this team has the talent to be among the top teams,” Chanthaphasouk said. “We just weren’t playing like it. Now that we’ve beaten some of those teams, hopefully we’ll continue to play at that level.
“I’m really proud of them. I knew they had the talent, so I’m very proud that they finally showed it on the court.”
Cabot closes league play Thursday at West Memphis. It will close out the final week of the regular season with a pair of home nonconference games Tuesday and Thursday of next week against Batesville and Mount St. Mary.
The Beebe volleyball team struggled in its matches Saturday. The Lady Badgers played without three-year starting setter Sarah Clark, but coach Ashley Camp didn’t think that was a good enough reason for the 1-3 performance, saying only, “It was a very disappointing weekend to say the least.”
Beebe lost in straight sets to Russellville and Jonesboro, though game one against Jonesboro went to 28-26.
The Lady Badgers beat Lake Hamilton 25-13 and 25-20 in the quarterfinals of the bronze bracket, then lost 25-22 twice to Brookland.
The Lady Badgers (18-7, 10-0) play at Sylvan Hills on Thursday and hopes to complete an undefeated and outright conference championship at home against North Pulaski next Tuesday.
Leader sports editor
The Lady Panthers played some of their best volleyball of the season Saturday at the Lady Cat Invitational at Conway High School. Cabot won its pool and advanced to the Gold bracket for the eight pool winners. In bracket play, the Lady Panthers advanced all the way to the tournament championship game where they fell 25-16 twice to defending Class 6A champion Russellville 2-0.
“We played really well,” said Cabot coach Kham Chanthaphasouk. “There was a lot of good passing, good digs, good ball control, aggressive hits, smart placement of the ball. It was a good day.”
The 24-team field was broken up into eight, three-team pools consisting of some of the top teams from 4A through 7A. Each match was best two out of three games. Cabot, playing in Pool E with Jonesboro Westside and Sheridan, beat Westside at 9 a.m. 25-19 twice, then beat Sheridan 25-14, 25-19 to advance to the Gold bracket.
Cabot’s first match of bracket play pitted it against conference foe Mountain Home. The Lady Bombers have beaten Cabot twice this year in league play by scores of 3-0 and 3-1. But Cabot opened bracket play on Saturday with an easy 25-15 win before dropping game two 25-16. Tiebreaker sets but it took Cabot a little longer. Needing to win by two, Cabot won game three 16-14 to advance.
The Lady Panthers faced Nettleton in the semifinals. The Lady Raiders blew out Morrilton and beat Shiloh Christian 25-20, 25-22 in Pool C. In the quarterfinals, they knocked off tournament host Conway 24-26, 25-14 and 15-11.
But Cabot put together another strong start to win game one 25-16 over the Lady Raiders.
Nettleton bounced back to win game two 25-17, but Cabot won the tiebreaker set 15-11 to move into the championship game against Russellville.
The Lady Cyclones smashed Beebe and Jonesboro in Pool H. They beat Bryant 26-24 twice in the first round of bracket play and played a possible precursor to this year’s 6A championship against Marion in the semifinals, winning that match 25-18, 15-25 and 15-12.
Cabot (13-12, 6-7) was mired in a four-game losing streak, its worst of the season, entering the tournament.
Chanthaphasouk hopes going 5-1 and beating a series of quality of opponents will be a big confidence boost as the team finishes league play and prepares for the Class 7A state tournament.
“As I’ve said all along, this team has the talent to be among the top teams,” Chanthaphasouk said. “We just weren’t playing like it. Now that we’ve beaten some of those teams, hopefully we’ll continue to play at that level.
“I’m really proud of them. I knew they had the talent, so I’m very proud that they finally showed it on the court.”
Cabot closes league play Thursday at West Memphis. It will close out the final week of the regular season with a pair of home nonconference games Tuesday and Thursday of next week against Batesville and Mount St. Mary.
The Beebe volleyball team struggled in its matches Saturday. The Lady Badgers played without three-year starting setter Sarah Clark, but coach Ashley Camp didn’t think that was a good enough reason for the 1-3 performance, saying only, “It was a very disappointing weekend to say the least.”
Beebe lost in straight sets to Russellville and Jonesboro, though game one against Jonesboro went to 28-26.
The Lady Badgers beat Lake Hamilton 25-13 and 25-20 in the quarterfinals of the bronze bracket, then lost 25-22 twice to Brookland.
The Lady Badgers (18-7, 10-0) play at Sylvan Hills on Thursday and hopes to complete an undefeated and outright conference championship at home against North Pulaski next Tuesday.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
SPORTS STORY >> Lady Badgers sweep up Pulaski Academy
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
There were moments of uncertainty in games two and three, but in both cases, the Beebe volleyball team pulled out the wins and kept intact its perfect season.
The Lady Badgers have still not lost a single set in 5A-Central Conference play after beating Pulaski Academy 25-11 and 25-21 twice Tuesday at Badger Sports Arena.
Beebe and PA shared the league title last year, and the Lady Bruins needed to win Tuesday’s match to have a shot this year, but Beebe all but assured itself an outright conference championship, even though there are two games remaining on the schedule. PA will have to win out and Beebe will have to lose both of its games next week against Sylvan Hills and North Pulaski in order for the Lady Bruins to earn a piece of this year’s crown.
Sylvan Hills and North Pulaski are also almost certainly going to be the other two playoff teams from the Central, so Beebe coach Ashley Camp is not declaring a championship yet.
“It’s there in front of us, but we still have to play North Pulaski and Sylvan Hills, so we’re not talking about it,” said Camp. “But we knew this was a big one.”
Camp’s team came out like it was a big one. The Lady Badgers scored the match’s first four points, including two aces by senior Sarah Clark. Senior Jerra Malone added two kills and the Lady Bruins called a quick timeout.
The margin in game one stayed between four and six points until Paige Smith took serve at 15-10. Abby Smith got a huge kill to start Paige Smith’s service game. After an unforced error, Abby Smith got another kill and Paige Smith aced the Lady Bruins to make it 19-10 and force another PA timeout.
Paige Smith added three more points after the timeout before the Lady Bruins finally broke serve at 22-11, but it was the last point they would score in the opening game.
Beebe quickly broke back, and Abby Smith served out the game, acing the Lady Bruins with a topspin jump-serve for point 25.
Game two went back and forth for a long while, with neither team keeping serve for more than two points until Beebe got just enough of a run near the midway point to hold on for the win. Leading 14-13, Malone served four-consecutive points for a five-point lead.
The Lady Bruins pulled to within two at 18-17, and the two teams traded side outs until 22-21 when Beebe went on a three-point run to seal game two. Abby Smith again ended the game with a huge kill to the middle of the Bruin defense that caromed hard off the defender’s hands and out of bounds.
Sensing that PA was down, the Lady Badgers jumped out to a big lead in game three. Shalen Devore’s serve took Beebe’s lead from 7-3 to 13-3 with the help of two big kills by Malone, who had missed several hits in game two.
Beebe led 19-10 when Paige Smith took serve, but after scoring one point, the Lady Bruins began a furious comeback.
Camp called her first timeout of the match when PA pulled to within 20-16, but the Lady Bruins added two more points before serving long to make the score 21-18. The two teams again began to trade side outs until, on libero Kayla Green’s serve, Clark fooled PA by shooting an apparent set over the net and into a hole in the Bruin defense for match point.
After the match, Camp was pleased with her team’s overall performance, but thought it should have been a little less exciting after taking the big lead in game three.
“We came out ready,” Camp said. “The girls were, really, chomping at the bit for this one. I told them from the very beginning, set the tone, set the tone, set the tone. And we did that. But we’ve done the back and forth all year, especially with them.
“We’ll start off and then we’ll have a lull. Urgency is the key for us sometimes. I was preaching do not get comfortable. You do not have a big enough lead. I think we had a couple lose focus a little bit and that hurts the whole team, but we managed to get it back together. And the crowd like we had tonight helps that.”
Malone had a match-high 11 kills, including six in game three. Abby Smith had nine kills and three blocks for Beebe’s point total. Gracie Rymel had four kills for the Lady Badgers.
Green finished with 23 digs while Paige Smith had 17 and a match-high 10 points on serve.
The Lady Badgers remain perfect on the season in full match play at 15-0. Their only losses this year were in two-set tournament matches to North Little Rock, Conway and Bryant. They are 9-0 in league play and will travel to Conway on Saturday for a nonconference match.
Leader sports editor
There were moments of uncertainty in games two and three, but in both cases, the Beebe volleyball team pulled out the wins and kept intact its perfect season.
The Lady Badgers have still not lost a single set in 5A-Central Conference play after beating Pulaski Academy 25-11 and 25-21 twice Tuesday at Badger Sports Arena.
Beebe and PA shared the league title last year, and the Lady Bruins needed to win Tuesday’s match to have a shot this year, but Beebe all but assured itself an outright conference championship, even though there are two games remaining on the schedule. PA will have to win out and Beebe will have to lose both of its games next week against Sylvan Hills and North Pulaski in order for the Lady Bruins to earn a piece of this year’s crown.
Sylvan Hills and North Pulaski are also almost certainly going to be the other two playoff teams from the Central, so Beebe coach Ashley Camp is not declaring a championship yet.
“It’s there in front of us, but we still have to play North Pulaski and Sylvan Hills, so we’re not talking about it,” said Camp. “But we knew this was a big one.”
Camp’s team came out like it was a big one. The Lady Badgers scored the match’s first four points, including two aces by senior Sarah Clark. Senior Jerra Malone added two kills and the Lady Bruins called a quick timeout.
The margin in game one stayed between four and six points until Paige Smith took serve at 15-10. Abby Smith got a huge kill to start Paige Smith’s service game. After an unforced error, Abby Smith got another kill and Paige Smith aced the Lady Bruins to make it 19-10 and force another PA timeout.
Paige Smith added three more points after the timeout before the Lady Bruins finally broke serve at 22-11, but it was the last point they would score in the opening game.
Beebe quickly broke back, and Abby Smith served out the game, acing the Lady Bruins with a topspin jump-serve for point 25.
Game two went back and forth for a long while, with neither team keeping serve for more than two points until Beebe got just enough of a run near the midway point to hold on for the win. Leading 14-13, Malone served four-consecutive points for a five-point lead.
The Lady Bruins pulled to within two at 18-17, and the two teams traded side outs until 22-21 when Beebe went on a three-point run to seal game two. Abby Smith again ended the game with a huge kill to the middle of the Bruin defense that caromed hard off the defender’s hands and out of bounds.
Sensing that PA was down, the Lady Badgers jumped out to a big lead in game three. Shalen Devore’s serve took Beebe’s lead from 7-3 to 13-3 with the help of two big kills by Malone, who had missed several hits in game two.
Beebe led 19-10 when Paige Smith took serve, but after scoring one point, the Lady Bruins began a furious comeback.
Camp called her first timeout of the match when PA pulled to within 20-16, but the Lady Bruins added two more points before serving long to make the score 21-18. The two teams again began to trade side outs until, on libero Kayla Green’s serve, Clark fooled PA by shooting an apparent set over the net and into a hole in the Bruin defense for match point.
After the match, Camp was pleased with her team’s overall performance, but thought it should have been a little less exciting after taking the big lead in game three.
“We came out ready,” Camp said. “The girls were, really, chomping at the bit for this one. I told them from the very beginning, set the tone, set the tone, set the tone. And we did that. But we’ve done the back and forth all year, especially with them.
“We’ll start off and then we’ll have a lull. Urgency is the key for us sometimes. I was preaching do not get comfortable. You do not have a big enough lead. I think we had a couple lose focus a little bit and that hurts the whole team, but we managed to get it back together. And the crowd like we had tonight helps that.”
Malone had a match-high 11 kills, including six in game three. Abby Smith had nine kills and three blocks for Beebe’s point total. Gracie Rymel had four kills for the Lady Badgers.
Green finished with 23 digs while Paige Smith had 17 and a match-high 10 points on serve.
The Lady Badgers remain perfect on the season in full match play at 15-0. Their only losses this year were in two-set tournament matches to North Little Rock, Conway and Bryant. They are 9-0 in league play and will travel to Conway on Saturday for a nonconference match.
SPORTS STORY >> Cabot finally puts away Blue Devils
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panthers went on their longest road trip of the season and picked up a win in a high-scoring matchup at West Memphis on Friday. The Panthers featured two players to rush for 200 yards in a 49-28 win over the Blue Devils.
Panther quarterback Jarrod Barnes carried 19 times for 229 yards and three touchdowns, while junior fullback Alex Roberts had his best game ever as a Panther, carrying 16 times for 200 yards and two scores.
West Memphis entered the game 3-2 overall and was coming off a 28-27 loss at Searcy last week. The Blue Devils also had lost to Class 5A Blytheville, and narrowly beaten 5A Wynne in nonconference play. In their other 7A/6A-East Conference game, they beat Marion 34-21, a team Cabot trounced a week ago at home.
But the Panthers couldn’t put the home team away easily. Cabot led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter, and added a touchdown to take a 21-7 lead into halftime.
Barnes scored on a 30-yard run and halfback Austin Morse scored on a 7-yard dive play in the first half. The Panthers’ other touchdown was an 82-yard kickoff return by senior Holdyn Barnes.
Both teams scored twice in the third quarter. Roberts scampered 75 yards for a touchdown on his first carry of the second half, but West Memphis quarterback Kylan Whiting plunged 1 yard to answer the Cabot touchdown.
Jarrod Barnes then scored on a 75-yard option keep, but Blue Devil Devontae Dean III capped another good drive with a 2-yard run to make the score 35-21.
Roberts added a 28-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the Panthers.
Cabot was called for 10 penalties for a loss of 90 yards while West Memphis was flagged only five times for 20 yards.
The Panthers finished with 504 yards of offense, with 476 coming on the ground. The Blue Devils piled up 321 total yards with 140 on the ground and 181 through the air.
Whiting led West Memphis with 17 carries for 94 yards rushing, and was 11 of 29 passing for 181 yards, one touchdown and one interception by Easton Seidl.
Cabot, 6-0, 3-0, will host Little Rock Central for homecoming next Friday at Panther Stadium. The Tigers got their second win of the season on Friday, beating Mountain Home 41-7.
West Memphis is at Jonesboro, a 70-64 loser Friday to North Little Rock.
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panthers went on their longest road trip of the season and picked up a win in a high-scoring matchup at West Memphis on Friday. The Panthers featured two players to rush for 200 yards in a 49-28 win over the Blue Devils.
Panther quarterback Jarrod Barnes carried 19 times for 229 yards and three touchdowns, while junior fullback Alex Roberts had his best game ever as a Panther, carrying 16 times for 200 yards and two scores.
West Memphis entered the game 3-2 overall and was coming off a 28-27 loss at Searcy last week. The Blue Devils also had lost to Class 5A Blytheville, and narrowly beaten 5A Wynne in nonconference play. In their other 7A/6A-East Conference game, they beat Marion 34-21, a team Cabot trounced a week ago at home.
But the Panthers couldn’t put the home team away easily. Cabot led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter, and added a touchdown to take a 21-7 lead into halftime.
Barnes scored on a 30-yard run and halfback Austin Morse scored on a 7-yard dive play in the first half. The Panthers’ other touchdown was an 82-yard kickoff return by senior Holdyn Barnes.
Both teams scored twice in the third quarter. Roberts scampered 75 yards for a touchdown on his first carry of the second half, but West Memphis quarterback Kylan Whiting plunged 1 yard to answer the Cabot touchdown.
Jarrod Barnes then scored on a 75-yard option keep, but Blue Devil Devontae Dean III capped another good drive with a 2-yard run to make the score 35-21.
Roberts added a 28-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the Panthers.
Cabot was called for 10 penalties for a loss of 90 yards while West Memphis was flagged only five times for 20 yards.
The Panthers finished with 504 yards of offense, with 476 coming on the ground. The Blue Devils piled up 321 total yards with 140 on the ground and 181 through the air.
Whiting led West Memphis with 17 carries for 94 yards rushing, and was 11 of 29 passing for 181 yards, one touchdown and one interception by Easton Seidl.
Cabot, 6-0, 3-0, will host Little Rock Central for homecoming next Friday at Panther Stadium. The Tigers got their second win of the season on Friday, beating Mountain Home 41-7.
West Memphis is at Jonesboro, a 70-64 loser Friday to North Little Rock.
SPORTS STORY >> Hornets earn big win over Carlisle
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
Carlisle’s annual rivalry game with archrival Hazen was tough on the Bison from the start Friday night at Fred C. Hardke Field, as the visiting Hornets scored early and often on their way to a convincing 51-20 win over the Bison.
The 2A-6 Conference matchup looked to be quite competitive on paper, as each team entered Friday night’s game with a 2-3 overall record and 2-1 record in conference play. But once the ball was kicked off, it was all Hazen.
The Hornets (3-3, 3-1) scored the game’s first 22 points before the Bison (2-4, 2-2) could get on the board. After the Bison scored their first touchdown, though, Hazen responded by scoring 29 unanswered points to take its largest lead of the night at 51-6, putting the game well out of Carlisle’s reach.
“It just never materialized for us,” said Carlisle coach Jack Keith.
“They’re a heck of a ballclub. They’ve got some backs that can really go. They’ve got some good-sized linemen. They were able to win the battle up front and they have good, quick backs, and we just couldn’t catch them.”
Hazen’s first 22 points were scored on three of its first four possessions. Quarterback Drake Ingle put the Hornets on the board for the first time with a 29-yard run off the left side with 10:46 to go in the opening quarter. He also ran in the two-point conversion to make it 8-0.
Running back Logan Penn scored the next two touchdowns. The first came on a 34-yard run with 4:54 to play in the first quarter and the second was a 76-yard run on the first play of the second quarter. The Hornets converted 1 of 2 two-point conversions on those two scores, making it 22-0.
Carlisle’s first score came less than a minute later on a 59-yard run by quarterback Ty Golleher. The PAT was unsuccessful, leaving the score 22-6. Hazen returned the ensuing kickoff to its own 45-yard line, and on the next snap, Ingle took a read-option keep 55 yards for another Hornet touchdown.
Penn added the two-point conversion to push Hazen’s lead to 30-6 with 10:49 left in the half, but that was the score at halftime. Carlisle received the second-half kickoff and gained a couple of first downs, but fumbled on the fourth play of the drive and Ingle returned the fumble to the Bison 20.
Dakota Aycock found the end zone three plays later on an 8-yard run up the middle of the field. Penn added the two-point conversion to make the score 38-6 with 9:25 remaining in the third quarter.
Hazen scored its final two touchdowns on its next two possessions. The Hornets led 44-6 on a 33-yard run by Penn and pushed their lead to 51-6 with a 3-yard run by Aycock and successful extra point with 2:14 to go in the third.
The clock ran continuously after Penn’s last touchdown, which invoked the 35-point sportsmanship rule, and though the game was well out of the Bison’s reach, they didn’t quit.
Carlisle got on the board with 3:15 to play on an 11-yard run by Devon Kendrick. Carlisle’s onside kick that followed was covered by Bison sophomore Tristan Seidenschwarz.
Golleher scored the game’s final touchdown on a 10-yard run with 14 seconds remaining. Kendrick added the two-point conversion to set the final score.
“We definitely didn’t play our best game,” Keith said, “but you’ve got to be able to overcome it. We were able to keep fighting for four full quarters and we never gave up. The kids showed a lot of heart and they keep battling no matter what. I couldn’t ask for much more than that from them.”
Hazen finished the night with 388 yards of offense, with all but 13 of those yards coming on the ground. Penn had 12 carries for 175 yards and three touchdowns. Ingle had 10 carries for 117 yards and two scores and Aycock had nine carries for 86 yards and two touchdowns.
Carlisle had 257 yards Friday. Golleher finished with eight carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Fullback Tyler Teel had 19 carries for 90 yards and Kendrick had 13 carries for 61 yards and one score.
Carlisle will try and rebound next week at Palestine-Wheatley (3-3, 2-3). The Patriots beat winless Marvell 34-14 last night. Kickoff for next Friday’s conference game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Leader sportswriter
Carlisle’s annual rivalry game with archrival Hazen was tough on the Bison from the start Friday night at Fred C. Hardke Field, as the visiting Hornets scored early and often on their way to a convincing 51-20 win over the Bison.
The 2A-6 Conference matchup looked to be quite competitive on paper, as each team entered Friday night’s game with a 2-3 overall record and 2-1 record in conference play. But once the ball was kicked off, it was all Hazen.
The Hornets (3-3, 3-1) scored the game’s first 22 points before the Bison (2-4, 2-2) could get on the board. After the Bison scored their first touchdown, though, Hazen responded by scoring 29 unanswered points to take its largest lead of the night at 51-6, putting the game well out of Carlisle’s reach.
“It just never materialized for us,” said Carlisle coach Jack Keith.
“They’re a heck of a ballclub. They’ve got some backs that can really go. They’ve got some good-sized linemen. They were able to win the battle up front and they have good, quick backs, and we just couldn’t catch them.”
Hazen’s first 22 points were scored on three of its first four possessions. Quarterback Drake Ingle put the Hornets on the board for the first time with a 29-yard run off the left side with 10:46 to go in the opening quarter. He also ran in the two-point conversion to make it 8-0.
Running back Logan Penn scored the next two touchdowns. The first came on a 34-yard run with 4:54 to play in the first quarter and the second was a 76-yard run on the first play of the second quarter. The Hornets converted 1 of 2 two-point conversions on those two scores, making it 22-0.
Carlisle’s first score came less than a minute later on a 59-yard run by quarterback Ty Golleher. The PAT was unsuccessful, leaving the score 22-6. Hazen returned the ensuing kickoff to its own 45-yard line, and on the next snap, Ingle took a read-option keep 55 yards for another Hornet touchdown.
Penn added the two-point conversion to push Hazen’s lead to 30-6 with 10:49 left in the half, but that was the score at halftime. Carlisle received the second-half kickoff and gained a couple of first downs, but fumbled on the fourth play of the drive and Ingle returned the fumble to the Bison 20.
Dakota Aycock found the end zone three plays later on an 8-yard run up the middle of the field. Penn added the two-point conversion to make the score 38-6 with 9:25 remaining in the third quarter.
Hazen scored its final two touchdowns on its next two possessions. The Hornets led 44-6 on a 33-yard run by Penn and pushed their lead to 51-6 with a 3-yard run by Aycock and successful extra point with 2:14 to go in the third.
The clock ran continuously after Penn’s last touchdown, which invoked the 35-point sportsmanship rule, and though the game was well out of the Bison’s reach, they didn’t quit.
Carlisle got on the board with 3:15 to play on an 11-yard run by Devon Kendrick. Carlisle’s onside kick that followed was covered by Bison sophomore Tristan Seidenschwarz.
Golleher scored the game’s final touchdown on a 10-yard run with 14 seconds remaining. Kendrick added the two-point conversion to set the final score.
“We definitely didn’t play our best game,” Keith said, “but you’ve got to be able to overcome it. We were able to keep fighting for four full quarters and we never gave up. The kids showed a lot of heart and they keep battling no matter what. I couldn’t ask for much more than that from them.”
Hazen finished the night with 388 yards of offense, with all but 13 of those yards coming on the ground. Penn had 12 carries for 175 yards and three touchdowns. Ingle had 10 carries for 117 yards and two scores and Aycock had nine carries for 86 yards and two touchdowns.
Carlisle had 257 yards Friday. Golleher finished with eight carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Fullback Tyler Teel had 19 carries for 90 yards and Kendrick had 13 carries for 61 yards and one score.
Carlisle will try and rebound next week at Palestine-Wheatley (3-3, 2-3). The Patriots beat winless Marvell 34-14 last night. Kickoff for next Friday’s conference game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
SPORTS STORY >> Bears beat Red Devils in a junker
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The officials for Friday night’s football game in Sherwood between Jacksonville and Sylvan Hills were donning pink penalty flags in recognition of breast cancer awareness month.
If anyone arrived at Black-wood Field not knowing that, they could not have left with the same lack of knowledge. Pink polyester littered the field constantly in the Bears’ 29-14 victory over the Red Devils. The officials called 37 penalties.
Sylvan Hills coach Jim Withrow likely spoke for everyone in attendance with his opening post-game statement.
“If I’d have paid $5 to get in here tonight, I’d want my money back,” said Withrow. “What did we have, five, six turnovers? The turnovers, the penalties, it was just bad. It was just bad.”
Sylvan Hills was flagged 17 times for 130 yards and committed six turnovers. Jacksonville was called for 20 penalties totaling 191 lost yards and had two turnovers.
With 10:34 left in the game, Jacksonville quarterback Rowdy Weathers connected with Stevie Eskridge for a 69-yard scoring strike, and Tyler Hooper’s extra point set the final margin.
On Sylvan Hills’ first play of the next drive, Eskridge intercepted a Jordan Washington pass at the Jacksonville 45 and returned it 25 yards to the Sylvan Hills 30. But two Jacksonville penalties, a flagrant and unnecessary illegal block by Avery Wells, and a personal foul after the play, pinned the Red Devils on their own 14-yard line instead of near the red zone.
Sylvan Hills was called for four 15-yard penalties that kept the drive alive for Jacksonville, but the Red Devils also had a 60-yard pass play called back for holding.
Weathers, who entered the game on the third snap of the second half after starting quarterback Brandon Hickingbotham left with a shoulder injury, was also knocked out of the game on the drive.
That left sophomore Har’Derrious Martin to step in. He ran for a pair of first downs, but fumbled on his third carry and Sylvan Hills’ Jonathan Hicks covered it at the Bears’ 36.
Sylvan Hills gave it right back when Brandon Bracely fumbled on the fourth play and Jacksonville’s Kendrick Rhynes covered it at the Red Devil 46.
But Sylvan Hills’ defensive line frequently found itself in the Red Devil backfield. Weathers came back into the game and hit Martin for a 21-yard gain on third and 15. An intentional grounding penalty made it second and 15. Jacksonville was then called for holding for a 15-yard loss.
Eskridge made a 15-yard catch on second and 30, but Jacksonville was called for an illegal block during the play, and Sylvan Hills was called for a personal foul after the play. It all left Jacksonville with second and 14, but back-to-back sacks set up fourth and 25. Weathers threw incomplete with 55 seconds left, leaving Sylvan Hills to kneel two times to seal the victory.
“I think the defense played pretty well tonight,” Withrow said. “If I’m looking for a positive I could say the defense played well.”
Sylvan Hills led 15-7 at halftime, and the defense came up big early in the third quarter. Jacksonville’s Robert Knowlin fumbled on the first play of the third quarter; his only carry of the game. Hicks picked it up and ran 20 yards for the score. Tito Mandoza’s extra point made it 22-7 with 11:44 left in the third quarter.
Three Red Devil drives ended in punts. The third drive included a 60-yard screen pass to Martin that went 40 yards, but was called back for holding. The two remaining Bear drives ended in turnovers to finish the third period.
On Sylvan Hills’ first play of the fourth, Bracely broke loose up the middle for a 52-yard touchdown run that made it 29-7 with 11:29 remaining in the game.
The first drive of the game set the tone for the rest of the night. The Bears and Red Devils were each called for three penalties on a drive that consisted of eight plays. It ended when Bracely was stopped after a 3-yard gain on fourth and 5, and Jacksonville took over on its own 33.
The Red Devils went backwards 8 yards and punted, setting up the first scoring drive of the game. Jacksonville again had the Bears stopped for a 1-yard loss on third and 1, but was called for a facemask that kept the drive alive. It set up first down at the Red Devil 21, and Washington hit Cameron Sharp on a seam route on the next play for a touchdown with 4:44 left in the first quarter.
Jacksonville turned it over on downs on its next drive when coach Barry Hickingbotham declined a penalty on third and 19 and accepting the result of a 12-yard scramble by Weathers. That left Jacksonville with fourth and 7 instead of third and 14, and the Devils lost 2 yards to give it over to the Bears on the 39.
During the drive, Jacksonville was called for defensive holding on an incomplete pass on fourth and 5, giving Sylvan Hills a first down at the Jacksonville 29. After three carries by Ty Compton, Washington kept up the middle for a 16-yard touchdown run with 9:57 remaining in the second quarter.
Rhynes blocked the first extra point try, but the officials reset the ball with no explanation. On the second try, holder Ryan Lumpkin kept it and ran to the left corner of the end zone for a two-point conversion that made it 15-0.
A Jacksonville punt followed and a Sylvan Hills turnover followed that.
The Red Devils then put together a 59-yard scoring drive, most of which was picked up on a 38-yard pass from Hickingbotham to Martin that set up first and goal on the 3.
Shawn Ellis did the rest on the next play and Hooper added the PAT to make the score 15-7 with 2:40 left until halftime.
Sylvan Hills (6-0, 3-0) finished with 365 total yards of offense and 235 net yards after penalties. Jacksonville (1-5, 1-2) had 249 total yards, and 58 net yards.
Leader sports editor
The officials for Friday night’s football game in Sherwood between Jacksonville and Sylvan Hills were donning pink penalty flags in recognition of breast cancer awareness month.
If anyone arrived at Black-wood Field not knowing that, they could not have left with the same lack of knowledge. Pink polyester littered the field constantly in the Bears’ 29-14 victory over the Red Devils. The officials called 37 penalties.
Sylvan Hills coach Jim Withrow likely spoke for everyone in attendance with his opening post-game statement.
“If I’d have paid $5 to get in here tonight, I’d want my money back,” said Withrow. “What did we have, five, six turnovers? The turnovers, the penalties, it was just bad. It was just bad.”
Sylvan Hills was flagged 17 times for 130 yards and committed six turnovers. Jacksonville was called for 20 penalties totaling 191 lost yards and had two turnovers.
With 10:34 left in the game, Jacksonville quarterback Rowdy Weathers connected with Stevie Eskridge for a 69-yard scoring strike, and Tyler Hooper’s extra point set the final margin.
On Sylvan Hills’ first play of the next drive, Eskridge intercepted a Jordan Washington pass at the Jacksonville 45 and returned it 25 yards to the Sylvan Hills 30. But two Jacksonville penalties, a flagrant and unnecessary illegal block by Avery Wells, and a personal foul after the play, pinned the Red Devils on their own 14-yard line instead of near the red zone.
Sylvan Hills was called for four 15-yard penalties that kept the drive alive for Jacksonville, but the Red Devils also had a 60-yard pass play called back for holding.
Weathers, who entered the game on the third snap of the second half after starting quarterback Brandon Hickingbotham left with a shoulder injury, was also knocked out of the game on the drive.
That left sophomore Har’Derrious Martin to step in. He ran for a pair of first downs, but fumbled on his third carry and Sylvan Hills’ Jonathan Hicks covered it at the Bears’ 36.
Sylvan Hills gave it right back when Brandon Bracely fumbled on the fourth play and Jacksonville’s Kendrick Rhynes covered it at the Red Devil 46.
But Sylvan Hills’ defensive line frequently found itself in the Red Devil backfield. Weathers came back into the game and hit Martin for a 21-yard gain on third and 15. An intentional grounding penalty made it second and 15. Jacksonville was then called for holding for a 15-yard loss.
Eskridge made a 15-yard catch on second and 30, but Jacksonville was called for an illegal block during the play, and Sylvan Hills was called for a personal foul after the play. It all left Jacksonville with second and 14, but back-to-back sacks set up fourth and 25. Weathers threw incomplete with 55 seconds left, leaving Sylvan Hills to kneel two times to seal the victory.
“I think the defense played pretty well tonight,” Withrow said. “If I’m looking for a positive I could say the defense played well.”
Sylvan Hills led 15-7 at halftime, and the defense came up big early in the third quarter. Jacksonville’s Robert Knowlin fumbled on the first play of the third quarter; his only carry of the game. Hicks picked it up and ran 20 yards for the score. Tito Mandoza’s extra point made it 22-7 with 11:44 left in the third quarter.
Three Red Devil drives ended in punts. The third drive included a 60-yard screen pass to Martin that went 40 yards, but was called back for holding. The two remaining Bear drives ended in turnovers to finish the third period.
On Sylvan Hills’ first play of the fourth, Bracely broke loose up the middle for a 52-yard touchdown run that made it 29-7 with 11:29 remaining in the game.
The first drive of the game set the tone for the rest of the night. The Bears and Red Devils were each called for three penalties on a drive that consisted of eight plays. It ended when Bracely was stopped after a 3-yard gain on fourth and 5, and Jacksonville took over on its own 33.
The Red Devils went backwards 8 yards and punted, setting up the first scoring drive of the game. Jacksonville again had the Bears stopped for a 1-yard loss on third and 1, but was called for a facemask that kept the drive alive. It set up first down at the Red Devil 21, and Washington hit Cameron Sharp on a seam route on the next play for a touchdown with 4:44 left in the first quarter.
Jacksonville turned it over on downs on its next drive when coach Barry Hickingbotham declined a penalty on third and 19 and accepting the result of a 12-yard scramble by Weathers. That left Jacksonville with fourth and 7 instead of third and 14, and the Devils lost 2 yards to give it over to the Bears on the 39.
During the drive, Jacksonville was called for defensive holding on an incomplete pass on fourth and 5, giving Sylvan Hills a first down at the Jacksonville 29. After three carries by Ty Compton, Washington kept up the middle for a 16-yard touchdown run with 9:57 remaining in the second quarter.
Rhynes blocked the first extra point try, but the officials reset the ball with no explanation. On the second try, holder Ryan Lumpkin kept it and ran to the left corner of the end zone for a two-point conversion that made it 15-0.
A Jacksonville punt followed and a Sylvan Hills turnover followed that.
The Red Devils then put together a 59-yard scoring drive, most of which was picked up on a 38-yard pass from Hickingbotham to Martin that set up first and goal on the 3.
Shawn Ellis did the rest on the next play and Hooper added the PAT to make the score 15-7 with 2:40 left until halftime.
Sylvan Hills (6-0, 3-0) finished with 365 total yards of offense and 235 net yards after penalties. Jacksonville (1-5, 1-2) had 249 total yards, and 58 net yards.
Friday, October 09, 2015
EDITORIAL >> Supporting new district
We share your excitement — the opportunity to grow Jacksonville by transforming Jacksonville-North Pulaski into a world-class, destination school district.
We’re tired of people moving away from Jacksonville and the mishmash, bottom-of-the pile, second-class-citizenship status thrust upon its schools by decades of neglect by PCSSD school boards and administrations.
Instead, we envision a district that provides not only new, safe, comfortable state-of-the-art buildings, but excellence and opportunity in academics, great and dedicated teachers, a dynamic talented-and-gifted program, training for non-college track students and bountiful opportunities in art, music and performing arts.
When the newly elected JNP school board met Monday, president Daniel Gray looked like a kid finding a new bike under the tree on Christmas morning, and we hope this first elected school board will prove to be a vehicle that the district can ride into a shiny new future.
Some goals require hard, smart work; some require money, and some — like this — require both.
Coaches like to tell their teams that luck equals preparation plus opportunity. Heaven knows, folks here prepared — for decades — and finally helped create their own opportunity. Now they need to add money to the mix.
Superintendent Tony Wood is expected to recommend at the Nov. 2 meeting that the school board put a 7.6-mill property tax increase before district patrons, payable over 25 years, to raise $45 million toward construction. That would help pay for a new Jacksonville-North Pulaski High School and a new elementary school that would replace both Arnold Drive and Tolleson elementaries.
The state is expected to pay about 45 percent of the cost of a new high school. The Defense Department appears ready to pay 80 percent of the cost of the new elementary school, with the state picking up about 45 percent of the balance.
Wood and state facilities and partnership consultant Charles Stein have suggested a special millage election Feb. 2 to vote on the additional 7.6-mill increase.
The millage would cost property owners about $152 a year more on a home valued at $100,000.
Residents in the Jacksonville area have been steadfast over the years in taxing themselves to support children, higher education and public safety and, while we are not taking anything for granted, it seems likely that the same voters and the same enthusiasm that approved a standalone Jacksonville district to be carved from PCSSD by nearly 95 percent will tax themselves to support the new district and new and renovated buildings.
We’d like to see the district strike while the iron is hot. We’d like to see a special meeting called in the next few days to commission a poll among patrons to gauge support for an even higher millage increase. In rough numbers, each additional mill would raise almost $6 million while costing the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $20 a year.
Three more mills — a total of a 10.6-mill increase — would raise another $18 million for a total of $63 million.
That’s enough to add a performing arts center instead of an auditorium. Or to better renovate other elementary schools.
If there was sufficient support in the poll, the board could consider the current recommendation versus a larger increase at the Nov. 2 board meeting and still adhere to the timeline for a Feb. 2 special millage election.
Let’s not be greedy, but perhaps the district can take advantage of the deep reservoir of need and goodwill.
We’re tired of people moving away from Jacksonville and the mishmash, bottom-of-the pile, second-class-citizenship status thrust upon its schools by decades of neglect by PCSSD school boards and administrations.
Instead, we envision a district that provides not only new, safe, comfortable state-of-the-art buildings, but excellence and opportunity in academics, great and dedicated teachers, a dynamic talented-and-gifted program, training for non-college track students and bountiful opportunities in art, music and performing arts.
When the newly elected JNP school board met Monday, president Daniel Gray looked like a kid finding a new bike under the tree on Christmas morning, and we hope this first elected school board will prove to be a vehicle that the district can ride into a shiny new future.
Some goals require hard, smart work; some require money, and some — like this — require both.
Coaches like to tell their teams that luck equals preparation plus opportunity. Heaven knows, folks here prepared — for decades — and finally helped create their own opportunity. Now they need to add money to the mix.
Superintendent Tony Wood is expected to recommend at the Nov. 2 meeting that the school board put a 7.6-mill property tax increase before district patrons, payable over 25 years, to raise $45 million toward construction. That would help pay for a new Jacksonville-North Pulaski High School and a new elementary school that would replace both Arnold Drive and Tolleson elementaries.
The state is expected to pay about 45 percent of the cost of a new high school. The Defense Department appears ready to pay 80 percent of the cost of the new elementary school, with the state picking up about 45 percent of the balance.
Wood and state facilities and partnership consultant Charles Stein have suggested a special millage election Feb. 2 to vote on the additional 7.6-mill increase.
The millage would cost property owners about $152 a year more on a home valued at $100,000.
Residents in the Jacksonville area have been steadfast over the years in taxing themselves to support children, higher education and public safety and, while we are not taking anything for granted, it seems likely that the same voters and the same enthusiasm that approved a standalone Jacksonville district to be carved from PCSSD by nearly 95 percent will tax themselves to support the new district and new and renovated buildings.
We’d like to see the district strike while the iron is hot. We’d like to see a special meeting called in the next few days to commission a poll among patrons to gauge support for an even higher millage increase. In rough numbers, each additional mill would raise almost $6 million while costing the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $20 a year.
Three more mills — a total of a 10.6-mill increase — would raise another $18 million for a total of $63 million.
That’s enough to add a performing arts center instead of an auditorium. Or to better renovate other elementary schools.
If there was sufficient support in the poll, the board could consider the current recommendation versus a larger increase at the Nov. 2 board meeting and still adhere to the timeline for a Feb. 2 special millage election.
Let’s not be greedy, but perhaps the district can take advantage of the deep reservoir of need and goodwill.
TOP STORY >> Paralyzed Mason returns home
By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
A local Mason and 24-year Air Force veteran recently returned home and says a positive attitude is his key to walking again after being paralyzed in a freak accident last year.
Harold (Hutch) Hutchison and three friends were cutting a tree down Oct. 23 on Sugarloaf Mountain for someone in need, when tragedy struck. The tree fell on Hutch.
One of the friends, a retired doctor, kept him alive until a helicopter arrived.
Hutch’s saw was brand new, and the doctor’s was dull. The tree flipped within a few seconds and threw him 10 feet, Hutch and his wife, Gail, said.
When Hutch’s heart rate slowed, Gail continued, the retired doctor thought to give it a boost with the epi pen her husband had brought in case he was stung by a wasp.
Later, the couple discovered the retired doctor’s daughter was head surgical nurse at a hospital he was sent to. She assisted with one of his procedures.
Six hospitals, about five surgeries and 11 months later, Hutch was welcomed home by family and friends at the couple’s house in the Toneyville area of Jacksonville.
He even surprised his wife that day with a vow renewal ceremony conducted by their son, who is an ordained minister.
While Hutch was away, volunteers built a ramp for him during the hottest part of the summer.
Hutch wanted to thank all who have supported him, including this newspaper, which published a feature article and editorial in August about his sister-in-law setting up a Centennial Bank account for those who want to help.
It is called the Harold Hutchison Donation Account, and the account number is 501505255.
Hutch and Gail, who is also disabled from back and neck fusion issues, said the money in that fund has kept them from financial trouble so far.
Hutch told The Leader he wanted to thank the Home Depot store in Cabot, Austin Ready Mix, George Barton Auto Repair and the Jacksonville chapter of Disabled American Veterans for the ramp and helping in other ways.
He added, “A big thank you to my family and friends for your prayers and support during this most difficult time.”
But he and his wife still need a van that could cost up to $29,000 and must meet extensive VA requirements. The VA will install a wheelchair lift at no cost to the Hutchisons.
The van would mean Hutch seeing his granddaughter play volleyball and getting back to everyday activities, like shopping at Walmart.
One of the most difficult things they’ve had to do since Hutch’s accident, the couple agreed, has been asking for help because they were taught to take care of their own problems and be on the other side of charity — giving unto others.
The Mason was known for purchasing, on sale, everything for his lodge’s holiday food box giveaway, with the exception of perishables. Both he and Gail have worked in grocery stores before, so they knew how to save money on such things.
Friends even brought sales papers to Hutch in the hospital so that he could point out the good deals. “I told him that chair’s not going to stop him this year,” Gail quipped.
He has also bought equipment for coaches in Jacksonville and Cabot and backpacks for local schoolchildren, she added.
Their son delivered boxes this year while his dad was in the hospital. His mom said he saw that the fridge of one battered woman who received a box was barren.
The son bought her groceries and told Gail he cried like a baby all the way home afterward, knowing why his father participated in the charitable program every year. “At least I know, if nothing else, that he has taught our son, you know,” Gail said. “People that don’t believe that there’s a higher power, if they had been down this journey with us this last 11 months, I think they’d be a totally different person.”
Hutch and his wife shared with The Leader how they reacted to his misfortune, and they offered advice for those in similar situations.
As for Hutch’s first thoughts, he said, “It was a shock and I just, to be honest, after the accident I really didn’t know what happened.”
Gail said, “When we first found out, we didn’t know nil for awhile, if he was going to live or not, so all we were worried about was keeping him...Everything was just going so fast, and they turned, they had to roll him. And he was in so much pain. He was just praying aloud for God to take him. And, every time he’d pray for God to take him, I think I was praying for God to keep him (here).”
With tears in her eyes, she told The Leader, prayers being said in the waiting room outnumbered Hutch’s pleas.
Gail added that she told her husband later, “It may be my fault that you’re in that chair...My prayer when you went into surgery was, if God would just please spare your life and bring you back, I’d take you any way I could have you, I said, because I can’t imagine my life without him.”
The first surgeon didn’t think Hutch would make it, but he prayed with his patient’s loved ones, the wife continued.
The doctor said after that it “looked like a bomb went off in his back,” but the spinal cord was nicked in three places, not severed. Gail said they were told he had a 50/50 chance of walking, but that it wouldn’t happen within a year.
The VA said Hutch wouldn’t get better, but the couple pointed out that the people who told them that aren’t physicians.
Hutch said, “My attitude is you can’t tell nobody that they’re not going to do anything because, sooner or later, if you’ve got a high enough attitude...They told me 20 years ago that I’d never walk. I had an aneurysm and a blood clot.”
Back then, his right side was paralyzed and he couldn’t do anything, not even feed himself. “I’ve got the attitude. I get depressed every now and then about things that can’t happen. But now I know what to do and how to do it,” Hutch continued.
Gail noted that there was brain bleeding and swelling at the beginning to worry about, which affected his memory. The first person Hutch recognized was his granddaughter.
Then tragedy struck for a second time while he was hospitalized. Hutch’s roommate passed away overnight, and he heard the other man cry out before hospital personnel rushed into the room.
Hutch has CPR training and tried to leave his bed to assist the roommate. “That was really hard on me. To see somebody that you’d been talking to...And he had a wound like I did.”
Hutch explained, “I was blaming myself because I might could’ve saved him if I could’ve got up.”
The couple’s advice for people in a situation like his is to not give up, set a simple goal everyday, have a positive attitude, never lose faith in God and to not be afraid of asking or accepting help when it’s needed.
Gail said, “You have your bad days and your bad moments, and you’ve just got to get through them. And we’re still going through them.” She continued, “For every bad, I think we’ve had a good to come out of it. And I know there’s going to be more, and I know we’ve got a lot more bad coming, but we’ve weathered this storm. We’ll weather another one.”
Leader staff writer
A local Mason and 24-year Air Force veteran recently returned home and says a positive attitude is his key to walking again after being paralyzed in a freak accident last year.
Harold (Hutch) Hutchison and three friends were cutting a tree down Oct. 23 on Sugarloaf Mountain for someone in need, when tragedy struck. The tree fell on Hutch.
One of the friends, a retired doctor, kept him alive until a helicopter arrived.
Hutch’s saw was brand new, and the doctor’s was dull. The tree flipped within a few seconds and threw him 10 feet, Hutch and his wife, Gail, said.
When Hutch’s heart rate slowed, Gail continued, the retired doctor thought to give it a boost with the epi pen her husband had brought in case he was stung by a wasp.
Later, the couple discovered the retired doctor’s daughter was head surgical nurse at a hospital he was sent to. She assisted with one of his procedures.
Six hospitals, about five surgeries and 11 months later, Hutch was welcomed home by family and friends at the couple’s house in the Toneyville area of Jacksonville.
He even surprised his wife that day with a vow renewal ceremony conducted by their son, who is an ordained minister.
While Hutch was away, volunteers built a ramp for him during the hottest part of the summer.
Hutch wanted to thank all who have supported him, including this newspaper, which published a feature article and editorial in August about his sister-in-law setting up a Centennial Bank account for those who want to help.
It is called the Harold Hutchison Donation Account, and the account number is 501505255.
Hutch and Gail, who is also disabled from back and neck fusion issues, said the money in that fund has kept them from financial trouble so far.
Hutch told The Leader he wanted to thank the Home Depot store in Cabot, Austin Ready Mix, George Barton Auto Repair and the Jacksonville chapter of Disabled American Veterans for the ramp and helping in other ways.
He added, “A big thank you to my family and friends for your prayers and support during this most difficult time.”
But he and his wife still need a van that could cost up to $29,000 and must meet extensive VA requirements. The VA will install a wheelchair lift at no cost to the Hutchisons.
The van would mean Hutch seeing his granddaughter play volleyball and getting back to everyday activities, like shopping at Walmart.
One of the most difficult things they’ve had to do since Hutch’s accident, the couple agreed, has been asking for help because they were taught to take care of their own problems and be on the other side of charity — giving unto others.
The Mason was known for purchasing, on sale, everything for his lodge’s holiday food box giveaway, with the exception of perishables. Both he and Gail have worked in grocery stores before, so they knew how to save money on such things.
Friends even brought sales papers to Hutch in the hospital so that he could point out the good deals. “I told him that chair’s not going to stop him this year,” Gail quipped.
He has also bought equipment for coaches in Jacksonville and Cabot and backpacks for local schoolchildren, she added.
Their son delivered boxes this year while his dad was in the hospital. His mom said he saw that the fridge of one battered woman who received a box was barren.
The son bought her groceries and told Gail he cried like a baby all the way home afterward, knowing why his father participated in the charitable program every year. “At least I know, if nothing else, that he has taught our son, you know,” Gail said. “People that don’t believe that there’s a higher power, if they had been down this journey with us this last 11 months, I think they’d be a totally different person.”
Hutch and his wife shared with The Leader how they reacted to his misfortune, and they offered advice for those in similar situations.
As for Hutch’s first thoughts, he said, “It was a shock and I just, to be honest, after the accident I really didn’t know what happened.”
Gail said, “When we first found out, we didn’t know nil for awhile, if he was going to live or not, so all we were worried about was keeping him...Everything was just going so fast, and they turned, they had to roll him. And he was in so much pain. He was just praying aloud for God to take him. And, every time he’d pray for God to take him, I think I was praying for God to keep him (here).”
With tears in her eyes, she told The Leader, prayers being said in the waiting room outnumbered Hutch’s pleas.
Gail added that she told her husband later, “It may be my fault that you’re in that chair...My prayer when you went into surgery was, if God would just please spare your life and bring you back, I’d take you any way I could have you, I said, because I can’t imagine my life without him.”
The first surgeon didn’t think Hutch would make it, but he prayed with his patient’s loved ones, the wife continued.
The doctor said after that it “looked like a bomb went off in his back,” but the spinal cord was nicked in three places, not severed. Gail said they were told he had a 50/50 chance of walking, but that it wouldn’t happen within a year.
The VA said Hutch wouldn’t get better, but the couple pointed out that the people who told them that aren’t physicians.
Hutch said, “My attitude is you can’t tell nobody that they’re not going to do anything because, sooner or later, if you’ve got a high enough attitude...They told me 20 years ago that I’d never walk. I had an aneurysm and a blood clot.”
Back then, his right side was paralyzed and he couldn’t do anything, not even feed himself. “I’ve got the attitude. I get depressed every now and then about things that can’t happen. But now I know what to do and how to do it,” Hutch continued.
Gail noted that there was brain bleeding and swelling at the beginning to worry about, which affected his memory. The first person Hutch recognized was his granddaughter.
Then tragedy struck for a second time while he was hospitalized. Hutch’s roommate passed away overnight, and he heard the other man cry out before hospital personnel rushed into the room.
Hutch has CPR training and tried to leave his bed to assist the roommate. “That was really hard on me. To see somebody that you’d been talking to...And he had a wound like I did.”
Hutch explained, “I was blaming myself because I might could’ve saved him if I could’ve got up.”
The couple’s advice for people in a situation like his is to not give up, set a simple goal everyday, have a positive attitude, never lose faith in God and to not be afraid of asking or accepting help when it’s needed.
Gail said, “You have your bad days and your bad moments, and you’ve just got to get through them. And we’re still going through them.” She continued, “For every bad, I think we’ve had a good to come out of it. And I know there’s going to be more, and I know we’ve got a lot more bad coming, but we’ve weathered this storm. We’ll weather another one.”
TOP STORY >> Historic Austin cemetery dates to 1831
By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
A small group of local historians is working to preserve a cemetery and Union encampment in Old Austin off Hwy. 38.
Nestled between the Old Austin Baptist Church and a new housing development under construction is the nearly forgotten Austin Pioneer Cemetery reclaimed by nature.
Local historians R.D. Keever and Rusty Eisenhower are trying to preserve the cemetery time has nearly buried. Headstones have disappeared into the soft soil. Sunken depressions in the ground mark where bodies eternally rest. Trees and vegetation had hidden any signs of a gravesite. So far, 60 headstones have been discovered.
The oldest engraved stone marker dates back 184 years ago, to 1831, five years before Arkansas became a state and 30 years before the Civil War.
Saturday, a cleanup of the cemetery was held. Youth and church groups removed fallen tree limbs, brush and dead trees from the site.
Then, from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, historic tours will be given at the cemetery and Civil War re-enactors will present a living history of a Union artillery camp.
Plans are to install a gazebo, a decorative wrought-iron fence and security cameras to protect the cemetery grounds.
To help pay for a historical marker and restoration of the Austin Pioneer Cemetery, a brick fundraising program is underway. Personalized engraved bricks will be placed on the grounds of the cemetery as the floor of the gazebo. Red bricks are $50, and white bricks are $100.
Checks can be sent to the Austin Pioneer Cemetery Fund, 1616 W. Cleland Road, Cabot, Ark. 72023.
Civil War era bullets, saber tips, spurs and buttons have been recovered from the grounds. Keever has determined the cemetery was used as an encampment by Union soldiers.
“The whole town of Austin is a Civil War site. The Confederates had it until the fall of Little Rock in 1863. Then the Union Army occupied it. We think the Old Austin Baptist Church was used as a hospital during the war,” he said.
Keever said Austin was a star-shaped hub for mail, merchants and stagecoach routes. To the north, merchants used the route to Searcy and the White River to ship goods. To the west was Conway, to the east was Dec Arc, to the southwest was Little Rock and to the southeast was Brownsville.
Austin was in the Carolina Township. All of its early pioneers came from the state of Carolina. The first mercantile store in Austin opened in 1848.
The town had three different names; Saundersville, Oakland Grove and Atlanta.
“It is so rare to come across an abandoned historic cemetery that dates before Arkansas statehood and then what it says about the local history of that time frame and the mass migration from South Carolina to Arkansas and Texas,” Keever said.
He thinks the cemetery may have begun as a family plot.
Mary Patience Ferguson, who died in Jan. 1831, was the grandmother of Steven Saunders and Anna Dunaway.
Steven Saunders died in July 1843. Anna Dunaway was buried in the Austin Pioneer Cemetery in 1853.
“John Dunaway was a son of Isaac and Anna Dunaway. He was born and raised at Austin. He joined the Austin Rifles-Fifth Arkansas Infantry when the war broke out and fought out East,” Keever said,
He continued, “Back at Austin during the war, the Union forces tore down most of the buildings and used the materials to construct winter quarters for the troops and stables for the horses.
“When John Dunaway returned to Austin after the war, he is quoted as saying, ‘the little town of Austin had been destroyed and there was no business of any kind. Gloom was depicted in every face,’” Keever said.
“Isaac Dunaway, John’s father died before 1860 and is probably one of the lost graves in the cemetery,” he added.
Leader staff writer
A small group of local historians is working to preserve a cemetery and Union encampment in Old Austin off Hwy. 38.
Nestled between the Old Austin Baptist Church and a new housing development under construction is the nearly forgotten Austin Pioneer Cemetery reclaimed by nature.
Local historians R.D. Keever and Rusty Eisenhower are trying to preserve the cemetery time has nearly buried. Headstones have disappeared into the soft soil. Sunken depressions in the ground mark where bodies eternally rest. Trees and vegetation had hidden any signs of a gravesite. So far, 60 headstones have been discovered.
The oldest engraved stone marker dates back 184 years ago, to 1831, five years before Arkansas became a state and 30 years before the Civil War.
Saturday, a cleanup of the cemetery was held. Youth and church groups removed fallen tree limbs, brush and dead trees from the site.
Then, from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, historic tours will be given at the cemetery and Civil War re-enactors will present a living history of a Union artillery camp.
Plans are to install a gazebo, a decorative wrought-iron fence and security cameras to protect the cemetery grounds.
To help pay for a historical marker and restoration of the Austin Pioneer Cemetery, a brick fundraising program is underway. Personalized engraved bricks will be placed on the grounds of the cemetery as the floor of the gazebo. Red bricks are $50, and white bricks are $100.
Checks can be sent to the Austin Pioneer Cemetery Fund, 1616 W. Cleland Road, Cabot, Ark. 72023.
Civil War era bullets, saber tips, spurs and buttons have been recovered from the grounds. Keever has determined the cemetery was used as an encampment by Union soldiers.
“The whole town of Austin is a Civil War site. The Confederates had it until the fall of Little Rock in 1863. Then the Union Army occupied it. We think the Old Austin Baptist Church was used as a hospital during the war,” he said.
Keever said Austin was a star-shaped hub for mail, merchants and stagecoach routes. To the north, merchants used the route to Searcy and the White River to ship goods. To the west was Conway, to the east was Dec Arc, to the southwest was Little Rock and to the southeast was Brownsville.
Austin was in the Carolina Township. All of its early pioneers came from the state of Carolina. The first mercantile store in Austin opened in 1848.
The town had three different names; Saundersville, Oakland Grove and Atlanta.
“It is so rare to come across an abandoned historic cemetery that dates before Arkansas statehood and then what it says about the local history of that time frame and the mass migration from South Carolina to Arkansas and Texas,” Keever said.
He thinks the cemetery may have begun as a family plot.
Mary Patience Ferguson, who died in Jan. 1831, was the grandmother of Steven Saunders and Anna Dunaway.
Steven Saunders died in July 1843. Anna Dunaway was buried in the Austin Pioneer Cemetery in 1853.
“John Dunaway was a son of Isaac and Anna Dunaway. He was born and raised at Austin. He joined the Austin Rifles-Fifth Arkansas Infantry when the war broke out and fought out East,” Keever said,
He continued, “Back at Austin during the war, the Union forces tore down most of the buildings and used the materials to construct winter quarters for the troops and stables for the horses.
“When John Dunaway returned to Austin after the war, he is quoted as saying, ‘the little town of Austin had been destroyed and there was no business of any kind. Gloom was depicted in every face,’” Keever said.
“Isaac Dunaway, John’s father died before 1860 and is probably one of the lost graves in the cemetery,” he added.
TOP STORY >> Executions on hold for killers here
Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen of Little Rock has halted the execution of eight men on death row, including Ledell Lee of Jacksonville, a serial killer who, in the 1990s, raped and murdered several victims, including an alderman’s daughter.
Marcel Wayne Williams, convicted in the 1994 killing of a woman in Jacksonville, is another inmate who was scheduled to be executed.
Griffen halted the executions because he said the state had not provided information about the drugs used in the executions.
Williams, 45, was found guilty in the capital murder, kidnapping, rape and aggravated robbery of Stacey Errickson after she stopped at the Jacksonville Shellstop for gas around 6:45 a.m. Nov. 20, 1994.
Williams approached Errickson’s vehicle, pulled a gun and had her move from the driver’s seat to the passenger’s side.
He drove the vehicle away from the gas station, taking the victim to several ATMs, where she withdrew $360 in 18 transactions that were recorded on security cameras. The last transaction was made at 7:37 p.m.
Williams was tried in January 1997 in Pulaski County Circuit Court, and appealed the convictions to the Arkansas Supreme Court, which affirmed the jury’s death sentence in 1999.
According to that ruling, evidence showed Errickson died from strangulation. Her neck and face were deeply bruised, and her hands were tied behind her back.
Lee, 50, was sentenced to die for the Feb. 9, 1993, beating and strangling death of Debra Reese, 26, in the Sunnyside addition, where he had attacked several other women.
He was also convicted of raping two Jacksonville women and was tried for the murder of Christine Lewis, the daughter of the late Alderman Robert Lewis.
Lee was also suspected of killing a Jacksonville prostitute and dumping her body in a shed near the railroad tracks.
Lewis, 22, was abducted from her Sunnyside home in November 1989 as her 3-year-old child watched. She was raped and strangled, and her body dumped in the closet of an abandoned home.
The jury could not agree on a verdict in that trial, but prosecutors decided not to retry him when he received the death sentence in the Reese case and was convicted for raping two women.
DNA evidence tied Lee to the murders and rapes.
Marcel Wayne Williams, convicted in the 1994 killing of a woman in Jacksonville, is another inmate who was scheduled to be executed.
Griffen halted the executions because he said the state had not provided information about the drugs used in the executions.
Williams, 45, was found guilty in the capital murder, kidnapping, rape and aggravated robbery of Stacey Errickson after she stopped at the Jacksonville Shellstop for gas around 6:45 a.m. Nov. 20, 1994.
Williams approached Errickson’s vehicle, pulled a gun and had her move from the driver’s seat to the passenger’s side.
He drove the vehicle away from the gas station, taking the victim to several ATMs, where she withdrew $360 in 18 transactions that were recorded on security cameras. The last transaction was made at 7:37 p.m.
Williams was tried in January 1997 in Pulaski County Circuit Court, and appealed the convictions to the Arkansas Supreme Court, which affirmed the jury’s death sentence in 1999.
According to that ruling, evidence showed Errickson died from strangulation. Her neck and face were deeply bruised, and her hands were tied behind her back.
Lee, 50, was sentenced to die for the Feb. 9, 1993, beating and strangling death of Debra Reese, 26, in the Sunnyside addition, where he had attacked several other women.
He was also convicted of raping two Jacksonville women and was tried for the murder of Christine Lewis, the daughter of the late Alderman Robert Lewis.
Lee was also suspected of killing a Jacksonville prostitute and dumping her body in a shed near the railroad tracks.
Lewis, 22, was abducted from her Sunnyside home in November 1989 as her 3-year-old child watched. She was raped and strangled, and her body dumped in the closet of an abandoned home.
The jury could not agree on a verdict in that trial, but prosecutors decided not to retry him when he received the death sentence in the Reese case and was convicted for raping two women.
DNA evidence tied Lee to the murders and rapes.
Wednesday, October 07, 2015
TOP STORY >> Hospital overdue on taxes
By RICK KRON
Leader staffwriter
North Metro Medical Center owes the IRS more than $1.8 million and state of Arkansas almost $350,000 in unpaid withholding taxes. If a payment is not made to the state by Oct. 15 — according to an agreement — the hospital will be in default and the state could close its doors.
When state Rep. Joe Farrer (R-Austin) was the CEO, he made arrangements with the state on the tax issue. Farrer, who resigned last month, said he worked out a deal where the state waived about $175,000 in penalties and late fees and set the hospital up on a payment plan.
“But, if one payment is missed, the plan is over with,” Farrer said.
Also last week, another top official resigned. Scott Prothy, the vice president of acute care for Allegiance, gave his 30-day notice to pursue other options. His job had been to act as a liaison between the hospital leadership and Allegiance.
The hospital is owned by Rock Bordelon and Don Cameron, both of Shreveport, and a silent partner in Dallas. Bordelon and Cameron are also the top two officials in the company that manages the hospital.
Attorney Will Keadle with the state department of finance and administration said there were strict laws preventing him from discussing any individual or corporate tax situation, including the amount owed or specifics of a payment plan. But he did say that, when the DFA is involved, it is usually related to sales tax, withholding taxes or corporation taxes.
“All payment plans are very strict and being late a day could mean default, but each case is different,” he said.
Late payments and nonpayment seem to be an issue with Allegiance.
The company has been sued in Pulaski County courts about 50 times since it entered the central Arkansas market in 2007. Most of those suits had to do with not paying taxes it collected or not paying vendors.
A number of the suits against Allegiance were filed by the state’s Department of Workforce Services because the hospital management firm didn’t pay its workers compensation billings. Most of the time, the amount owed was less than $1,000, yet the state had to take Allegiance to court at least 30 times to get paid.
Many of the suits were against Allegiance and its operation of their specialty hospital in the old Southwest Regional Medical Center, off I-30 near the Saline County line.
The claims date back to 2007, and the most current was filed just four months ago.
On July 13, the Department of Workforce Services filed a suit over a “certificate of assessment,” which showed Allegiance owed $103,459. The amount was collected a little over a month later, on Aug. 26.
The DFA sued for $597.65 on March 12 and that court bill was paid by Allegiance on April 2.
Other suits filed against Allegiance this year include Dunk Fire and Security’s claim that
Allegiance failed to pay almost $40,000 for construction work and alarm work the firm did in 2013 and 2014.
The case has been assigned to Judge Tim Fox with the Sixth Division Pulaski County Court.
Philips Healthcare also sued Allegiance for breach of contract for failure to completely pay off a service contract of about $350,000. According to the suit, Allegiance still owes Philips $160,000 at 18 percent interest accrued since August 2013.
The case has been assigned to Judge Wendell Griffin with the Fifth Division Pulaski County Court.
POCAHONTAS
Allegiance’s legal troubles aren’t restricted to central Arkansas.
In August 2007, Allegiance took over the management of the Five Rivers Medical Center in Pocahontas (Randolph County).
Within a year, the city wanted to terminate Allegiance’s services because of an improper payment. Mayor Gary Crocker sent a letter to Allegiance in mid-June 2008, informing the company that it had breached the contract and telling Allegiance of the city’s decision.
The breach supposedly involved an improper and unauthorized payment from the medical center to Allegiance. All such payments were to be approved by the local hospital oversight committee and the city council.
“We gave them every chance,” said committee member Terry Dickinson.
Allegiance sued the city over the termination, and it is costing Pocahontas $300,000 to have Allegiance pushed out of the hospital.
It took almost five years for the two parties to reach an agreement in the lawsuit.
According to the terms of the settlement agreement, the city must make $10,000 payments monthly to Allegiance through April 5, 2016. The first payment was made on Nov. 5, 2013.
EUREKA SPRINGS
Eureka Springs Hospital commissioner Mary Jean Sells said in a 2013 meeting, “We had a solemn promise from Allegiance seven years ago to build a hospital. As of today, there has been no plan locked in.”
One of the reasons Eureka Springs hired Allegiance to run its hospital was the firm’s promise to build a new facility. Now residents are worried that the current hospital will fall into disarray before Allegiance follows through.
In an April 2013 meeting, Bordelon, the head of Allegiance, told the Eureka Springs commission that he was “ready to start now” and would be at the next meeting with more details, but the commission didn’t hear from Bordelon for more than a year after that, according to commission minutes.
It wasn’t until November 2014 that Allegiance produced an initial draft of an agreement between Allegiance and Eureka Springs for moving along the hospital project. That draft proposed erecting a new facility on a rocky bluff at the western edge of town.
But not much more has been done since.
Leader staffwriter
North Metro Medical Center owes the IRS more than $1.8 million and state of Arkansas almost $350,000 in unpaid withholding taxes. If a payment is not made to the state by Oct. 15 — according to an agreement — the hospital will be in default and the state could close its doors.
When state Rep. Joe Farrer (R-Austin) was the CEO, he made arrangements with the state on the tax issue. Farrer, who resigned last month, said he worked out a deal where the state waived about $175,000 in penalties and late fees and set the hospital up on a payment plan.
“But, if one payment is missed, the plan is over with,” Farrer said.
Also last week, another top official resigned. Scott Prothy, the vice president of acute care for Allegiance, gave his 30-day notice to pursue other options. His job had been to act as a liaison between the hospital leadership and Allegiance.
The hospital is owned by Rock Bordelon and Don Cameron, both of Shreveport, and a silent partner in Dallas. Bordelon and Cameron are also the top two officials in the company that manages the hospital.
Attorney Will Keadle with the state department of finance and administration said there were strict laws preventing him from discussing any individual or corporate tax situation, including the amount owed or specifics of a payment plan. But he did say that, when the DFA is involved, it is usually related to sales tax, withholding taxes or corporation taxes.
“All payment plans are very strict and being late a day could mean default, but each case is different,” he said.
Late payments and nonpayment seem to be an issue with Allegiance.
The company has been sued in Pulaski County courts about 50 times since it entered the central Arkansas market in 2007. Most of those suits had to do with not paying taxes it collected or not paying vendors.
A number of the suits against Allegiance were filed by the state’s Department of Workforce Services because the hospital management firm didn’t pay its workers compensation billings. Most of the time, the amount owed was less than $1,000, yet the state had to take Allegiance to court at least 30 times to get paid.
Many of the suits were against Allegiance and its operation of their specialty hospital in the old Southwest Regional Medical Center, off I-30 near the Saline County line.
The claims date back to 2007, and the most current was filed just four months ago.
On July 13, the Department of Workforce Services filed a suit over a “certificate of assessment,” which showed Allegiance owed $103,459. The amount was collected a little over a month later, on Aug. 26.
The DFA sued for $597.65 on March 12 and that court bill was paid by Allegiance on April 2.
Other suits filed against Allegiance this year include Dunk Fire and Security’s claim that
Allegiance failed to pay almost $40,000 for construction work and alarm work the firm did in 2013 and 2014.
The case has been assigned to Judge Tim Fox with the Sixth Division Pulaski County Court.
Philips Healthcare also sued Allegiance for breach of contract for failure to completely pay off a service contract of about $350,000. According to the suit, Allegiance still owes Philips $160,000 at 18 percent interest accrued since August 2013.
The case has been assigned to Judge Wendell Griffin with the Fifth Division Pulaski County Court.
POCAHONTAS
Allegiance’s legal troubles aren’t restricted to central Arkansas.
In August 2007, Allegiance took over the management of the Five Rivers Medical Center in Pocahontas (Randolph County).
Within a year, the city wanted to terminate Allegiance’s services because of an improper payment. Mayor Gary Crocker sent a letter to Allegiance in mid-June 2008, informing the company that it had breached the contract and telling Allegiance of the city’s decision.
The breach supposedly involved an improper and unauthorized payment from the medical center to Allegiance. All such payments were to be approved by the local hospital oversight committee and the city council.
“We gave them every chance,” said committee member Terry Dickinson.
Allegiance sued the city over the termination, and it is costing Pocahontas $300,000 to have Allegiance pushed out of the hospital.
It took almost five years for the two parties to reach an agreement in the lawsuit.
According to the terms of the settlement agreement, the city must make $10,000 payments monthly to Allegiance through April 5, 2016. The first payment was made on Nov. 5, 2013.
EUREKA SPRINGS
Eureka Springs Hospital commissioner Mary Jean Sells said in a 2013 meeting, “We had a solemn promise from Allegiance seven years ago to build a hospital. As of today, there has been no plan locked in.”
One of the reasons Eureka Springs hired Allegiance to run its hospital was the firm’s promise to build a new facility. Now residents are worried that the current hospital will fall into disarray before Allegiance follows through.
In an April 2013 meeting, Bordelon, the head of Allegiance, told the Eureka Springs commission that he was “ready to start now” and would be at the next meeting with more details, but the commission didn’t hear from Bordelon for more than a year after that, according to commission minutes.
It wasn’t until November 2014 that Allegiance produced an initial draft of an agreement between Allegiance and Eureka Springs for moving along the hospital project. That draft proposed erecting a new facility on a rocky bluff at the western edge of town.
But not much more has been done since.
SPORTS STORY >> Razorbacks achieve a lot of firsts
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Saturday night, Arkansas finished. The Razorbacks overcame struggles on special teams and the defense held Tennessee to just three points in the second half en route to a 24-20 win over the SEC-East Volunteers in front of a crowd of 101,265 at Neyland Stadium.
Saturday’s game was one of many firsts for the Razorbacks (2-3, 1-1 SEC). It was their first SEC win of the year, their first win at Tennessee since their first season in the SEC (1992).
Under third-year head coach Bret Bielema, it was the Razorbacks’ first SEC road win and also the first time in the Bielema era that the Hogs won a game decided by seven points or less. Before Saturday, the Razorbacks were 0-9 in those one-possession games.
Junior tailback Alex Collins is well on his way to a third-straight season of rushing for more than 1,000 yards. On Saturday, Collins recorded his third-consecutive game of rushing for more than 150 yards. He finished the road win with 27 carries for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
The Hog feature back’s biggest run Saturday was a 19-yard burst around the left end on a misdirection pitch on third and 2 from the Tennessee 35-yard line late in the game. Arkansas was able to run out the clock three plays later.
“We’ve focused a lot in practice on finish,” said Collins, “finish, finish, finish. To see it finally work out, now everyone’s got it in their minds that we’re capable of finishing games, even when they’re close. Now that we know how to do it, we can keep doing it.”
“We kind of talked about it all week, that enough was enough,” said Bielema. “At some point in your life as a man, you’ve just got to kind of finally take what the world wants to give you. You can’t keep giving it away.”
Arkansas almost gave Saturday’s game away on a couple of different occasions in the second half. Even when Tennessee kicker Aaron Medley brought the Volunteers (2-3, 0-2 SEC) within 24-20 of Arkansas’ lead with a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter, the Razorbacks had several chances to build on their lead, but never took advantage of those opportunities.
After Medley’s field goal, Arkansas’ offense answered with a 10-play drive that went deep into Tennessee territory, with the big play being a 51-yard reception by tight end Hunter Henry.
True freshman Rawleigh Williams’ 12-yard run set up first and goal at the Volunteer 7, but the Vols’ defense held and Cole Hedlund’s low-trajectory kick from 22 yards out was blocked. The other error was also on special teams, but the head Hog gets the blame for that one.
Arkansas had a chance to take a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter with another field goal. The Razorbacks faced fourth and 4 at the Tennessee 10, and instead of taking the field goal that would’ve given Arkansas a 27-20 lead, Bielema called for a fake field goal instead.
The play gained positive yardage, but kicker Adam McFain was stopped a yard shy of the first down and Tennessee’s offense took the field and the momentum. It’s one of those play calls that if it works, the head coach looks like a genius and if it doesn’t, quite the opposite.
Hindsight is always 20/20, and yes, if the play had worked and McFain scored it would’ve all but sealed the game in Arkansas’ favor. But it didn’t, and it allowed Tennessee a prime opportunity to get back in the game and even take the lead.
Regardless, you have to take the points in that situation, which would’ve put your team up seven points. In other words, next time kick the field goal.
That silly play call ultimately didn’t matter, though, as the Razorbacks’ defense, who had struggled mightily at times this season and had to play the second half without linebacker Josh Williams (broken leg), held Tennessee scoreless the rest of the way and Arkansas’ offense made enough plays down the stretch to get the hard-fought win, and it’s one the Hogs needed and earned.
The Razorbacks could’ve easily gotten down on themselves when the Vols jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead when Evan Berry returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and UT quarterback Josh Dobbs capped an 89-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run shortly after.
Tennessee, though, has made a habit this season of jumping out to early leads only to falter and lose those leads down the stretch. Arkansas stayed the course, stuck to its game plan, and slowly but surely made the Vols play its game.
The Razorbacks battled back to tie the game at 17-17 by halftime and took control in the second half, outgaining Tennessee 236-90, while also controlling the time of possession. Arkansas held the ball for 21:57 in the second half and limited UT to 8:03 in that time.
Controlling the clock kept Tennessee’s offense on the sideline while keeping the Razorbacks’ defense fresh. That showed down the stretch, and that helped the Hogs’ defense play its best game of the season Saturday.
Offensively, the Razorbacks’ statistics weren’t much different than in previous weeks. The offense was again pretty well-balanced with 219 yards passing and 275 rushing, but establishing the run is what moved the chains and made the Razorback offense successful Saturday.
Collins made play after play throughout the game, and Rawleigh Williams, like the defense, had his best game of the season. He had his first 100-yard game rushing as a Hog, finishing the night with 14 carries for 100 yards.
Another big difference in Saturday’s game, compared to previous weeks, is Arkansas’ offense cut down on its penalties. Penalties have plagued the team this season, none more than last week’s loss to Texas A&M (5-0, 2-0 SEC), when the Razorbacks racked up 11 penalties for 93 yards – many of which were very costly.
Arkansas had just three penalties for 20 yards against the Volunteers, while Tennessee had four for 39 yards, one of which was a block in the back that negated a long punt return for a touchdown.
It’s a lot easier said than done, but if Arkansas can continue to establish and be strong in the run game, control the time of possession, not give up big plays on defense and limit its penalties, the Razorbacks will continue to give themselves chances to win games week in and week out.
Saturday’s win was a good one and one Arkansas desperately needed, but it was a winnable game and that was known going in. The Razorbacks will face a significantly tougher test this Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
For the first time in 73 games, Alabama entered last week’s SEC showdown at Georgia as an underdog. The Crimson Tide (4-1, 1-1 SEC) responded with a 38-10 win over the previously unbeaten Bulldogs (4-1, 2-1 SEC).
By no means will Arkansas be given a chance to win this Saturday in Tuscaloosa, but if the Hogs can do the things they need to do in order to be successful and not aid the No. 8-ranked Crimson Tide in any way, and catch a break here and there, they’ll at least give themselves a chance, and that’s all you can ask of this group.
Leader sportswriter
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Saturday night, Arkansas finished. The Razorbacks overcame struggles on special teams and the defense held Tennessee to just three points in the second half en route to a 24-20 win over the SEC-East Volunteers in front of a crowd of 101,265 at Neyland Stadium.
Saturday’s game was one of many firsts for the Razorbacks (2-3, 1-1 SEC). It was their first SEC win of the year, their first win at Tennessee since their first season in the SEC (1992).
Under third-year head coach Bret Bielema, it was the Razorbacks’ first SEC road win and also the first time in the Bielema era that the Hogs won a game decided by seven points or less. Before Saturday, the Razorbacks were 0-9 in those one-possession games.
Junior tailback Alex Collins is well on his way to a third-straight season of rushing for more than 1,000 yards. On Saturday, Collins recorded his third-consecutive game of rushing for more than 150 yards. He finished the road win with 27 carries for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
The Hog feature back’s biggest run Saturday was a 19-yard burst around the left end on a misdirection pitch on third and 2 from the Tennessee 35-yard line late in the game. Arkansas was able to run out the clock three plays later.
“We’ve focused a lot in practice on finish,” said Collins, “finish, finish, finish. To see it finally work out, now everyone’s got it in their minds that we’re capable of finishing games, even when they’re close. Now that we know how to do it, we can keep doing it.”
“We kind of talked about it all week, that enough was enough,” said Bielema. “At some point in your life as a man, you’ve just got to kind of finally take what the world wants to give you. You can’t keep giving it away.”
Arkansas almost gave Saturday’s game away on a couple of different occasions in the second half. Even when Tennessee kicker Aaron Medley brought the Volunteers (2-3, 0-2 SEC) within 24-20 of Arkansas’ lead with a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter, the Razorbacks had several chances to build on their lead, but never took advantage of those opportunities.
After Medley’s field goal, Arkansas’ offense answered with a 10-play drive that went deep into Tennessee territory, with the big play being a 51-yard reception by tight end Hunter Henry.
True freshman Rawleigh Williams’ 12-yard run set up first and goal at the Volunteer 7, but the Vols’ defense held and Cole Hedlund’s low-trajectory kick from 22 yards out was blocked. The other error was also on special teams, but the head Hog gets the blame for that one.
Arkansas had a chance to take a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter with another field goal. The Razorbacks faced fourth and 4 at the Tennessee 10, and instead of taking the field goal that would’ve given Arkansas a 27-20 lead, Bielema called for a fake field goal instead.
The play gained positive yardage, but kicker Adam McFain was stopped a yard shy of the first down and Tennessee’s offense took the field and the momentum. It’s one of those play calls that if it works, the head coach looks like a genius and if it doesn’t, quite the opposite.
Hindsight is always 20/20, and yes, if the play had worked and McFain scored it would’ve all but sealed the game in Arkansas’ favor. But it didn’t, and it allowed Tennessee a prime opportunity to get back in the game and even take the lead.
Regardless, you have to take the points in that situation, which would’ve put your team up seven points. In other words, next time kick the field goal.
That silly play call ultimately didn’t matter, though, as the Razorbacks’ defense, who had struggled mightily at times this season and had to play the second half without linebacker Josh Williams (broken leg), held Tennessee scoreless the rest of the way and Arkansas’ offense made enough plays down the stretch to get the hard-fought win, and it’s one the Hogs needed and earned.
The Razorbacks could’ve easily gotten down on themselves when the Vols jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead when Evan Berry returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and UT quarterback Josh Dobbs capped an 89-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run shortly after.
Tennessee, though, has made a habit this season of jumping out to early leads only to falter and lose those leads down the stretch. Arkansas stayed the course, stuck to its game plan, and slowly but surely made the Vols play its game.
The Razorbacks battled back to tie the game at 17-17 by halftime and took control in the second half, outgaining Tennessee 236-90, while also controlling the time of possession. Arkansas held the ball for 21:57 in the second half and limited UT to 8:03 in that time.
Controlling the clock kept Tennessee’s offense on the sideline while keeping the Razorbacks’ defense fresh. That showed down the stretch, and that helped the Hogs’ defense play its best game of the season Saturday.
Offensively, the Razorbacks’ statistics weren’t much different than in previous weeks. The offense was again pretty well-balanced with 219 yards passing and 275 rushing, but establishing the run is what moved the chains and made the Razorback offense successful Saturday.
Collins made play after play throughout the game, and Rawleigh Williams, like the defense, had his best game of the season. He had his first 100-yard game rushing as a Hog, finishing the night with 14 carries for 100 yards.
Another big difference in Saturday’s game, compared to previous weeks, is Arkansas’ offense cut down on its penalties. Penalties have plagued the team this season, none more than last week’s loss to Texas A&M (5-0, 2-0 SEC), when the Razorbacks racked up 11 penalties for 93 yards – many of which were very costly.
Arkansas had just three penalties for 20 yards against the Volunteers, while Tennessee had four for 39 yards, one of which was a block in the back that negated a long punt return for a touchdown.
It’s a lot easier said than done, but if Arkansas can continue to establish and be strong in the run game, control the time of possession, not give up big plays on defense and limit its penalties, the Razorbacks will continue to give themselves chances to win games week in and week out.
Saturday’s win was a good one and one Arkansas desperately needed, but it was a winnable game and that was known going in. The Razorbacks will face a significantly tougher test this Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
For the first time in 73 games, Alabama entered last week’s SEC showdown at Georgia as an underdog. The Crimson Tide (4-1, 1-1 SEC) responded with a 38-10 win over the previously unbeaten Bulldogs (4-1, 2-1 SEC).
By no means will Arkansas be given a chance to win this Saturday in Tuscaloosa, but if the Hogs can do the things they need to do in order to be successful and not aid the No. 8-ranked Crimson Tide in any way, and catch a break here and there, they’ll at least give themselves a chance, and that’s all you can ask of this group.
SPORTS STORY >> Cabot XC runners set several PRs
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Lady Panthers finished second out of 48 schools in the Chili Pepper High School Open cross country race Saturday in Fayetteville. Four Lady Panthers finished in the top 30 out of a massive field of 485 competitors.
Sophomore Bailey Lebow finished seventh to lead Cabot with a time of 20:22.07. Cabot coach Leon White hoped a few of his runners would break the 20-minute mark for the first time. That didn’t happen, but four of the top five all turned in personal records.
“We ran the open this year instead of the varsity race, but we did well for what we were trying to do,” said White. “We were trying to get kids to run their best times, and most all the girls had a PR.”
Senior Samantha Nickell continues to battle stomach problems, and was the only Lady Panther that didn’t turn in a PR.
“She’s not one to quit, so she keeps going even through all the discomfort she’s having,” White said. “At Russellville she was crying by the time she finished the race, but she keeps going. She was a little better this week, I think, but she’s not yet anywhere near 100 percent. Hopefully by conference and state, she’ll come through. She was our best one coming into the season and she’s capable of running much better times. She’s just having a tough time of it so far.”
Sophomore Casey Gore finished 12th with a time of 20:35.88, and Nickell was 23rd, finishing in 21:25.27. Rounding out the top five for Cabot was junior Brayden Giesler, who finished 29th and sophomore Chloe Thompson who placed 43rd.
“That was the first race Chloe ran for us,” White said. “She ran for us in junior high and then didn’t run in ninth grade. She said she’d come back out and give it a try, and she did pretty well for it to be her first race in about two years.”
Jordan Woodson was the top finisher for the Cabot boys. He finished in 20th place out of 828 runners with a time of 17:34.33. Wells Guyor was 37th and newcomer Landon Vaught finished 51st. Blake Scott took 53rd and Stuart Nickell was 70th for the Panthers.
The Cabot boys finished seventh in the team competition out of 60 schools competing.
“Three boys ran a PR for us, too,” White said. “Jordan has been our top runner the last two meets and he ran a PR. He says he’s run faster than that in road races and things like that, but as far as a high school meet, that was his PR. Landon is a basketball kid that came out and finished in our top five. So we’re excited about that. He’s going to get better.
“Like I’ve been saying, we’re a young team and we’re not running championship level times this year. But if all these kids will stay with it, in a couple years they could be right there near the top.”
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Lady Panthers finished second out of 48 schools in the Chili Pepper High School Open cross country race Saturday in Fayetteville. Four Lady Panthers finished in the top 30 out of a massive field of 485 competitors.
Sophomore Bailey Lebow finished seventh to lead Cabot with a time of 20:22.07. Cabot coach Leon White hoped a few of his runners would break the 20-minute mark for the first time. That didn’t happen, but four of the top five all turned in personal records.
“We ran the open this year instead of the varsity race, but we did well for what we were trying to do,” said White. “We were trying to get kids to run their best times, and most all the girls had a PR.”
Senior Samantha Nickell continues to battle stomach problems, and was the only Lady Panther that didn’t turn in a PR.
“She’s not one to quit, so she keeps going even through all the discomfort she’s having,” White said. “At Russellville she was crying by the time she finished the race, but she keeps going. She was a little better this week, I think, but she’s not yet anywhere near 100 percent. Hopefully by conference and state, she’ll come through. She was our best one coming into the season and she’s capable of running much better times. She’s just having a tough time of it so far.”
Sophomore Casey Gore finished 12th with a time of 20:35.88, and Nickell was 23rd, finishing in 21:25.27. Rounding out the top five for Cabot was junior Brayden Giesler, who finished 29th and sophomore Chloe Thompson who placed 43rd.
“That was the first race Chloe ran for us,” White said. “She ran for us in junior high and then didn’t run in ninth grade. She said she’d come back out and give it a try, and she did pretty well for it to be her first race in about two years.”
Jordan Woodson was the top finisher for the Cabot boys. He finished in 20th place out of 828 runners with a time of 17:34.33. Wells Guyor was 37th and newcomer Landon Vaught finished 51st. Blake Scott took 53rd and Stuart Nickell was 70th for the Panthers.
The Cabot boys finished seventh in the team competition out of 60 schools competing.
“Three boys ran a PR for us, too,” White said. “Jordan has been our top runner the last two meets and he ran a PR. He says he’s run faster than that in road races and things like that, but as far as a high school meet, that was his PR. Landon is a basketball kid that came out and finished in our top five. So we’re excited about that. He’s going to get better.
“Like I’ve been saying, we’re a young team and we’re not running championship level times this year. But if all these kids will stay with it, in a couple years they could be right there near the top.”
SPORTS STORY >> AHSAA decides JNPSD to be 6A
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Jacksonville athletic teams are slated to compete in the 6A Classification for the next two-year classification cycle. That is despite a current enrollment that is hundreds of students short of the smallest 6A school, according to the numbers released by the Arkansas High School Activities Association for the 2016-18 cycle.
A contingent of representatives for Jacksonville appealed the ruling in July after the new numbers were released. That appeal was denied.
The issue surrounds the upcoming break of the new Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District from the Pulaski County Special School District. When the numbers were released in April and schools were placed in their classifications, the AHSAA counted 100 percent of the then current North Pulaski student count as part of the new JNPSD.
However, only about half of the former North Pulaski area, as zoned by PCSSD, will be in the new JNPSD. The rest will be in PCSSD’s zone for Sylvan Hills.
The process for determining each school’s classification is taking a three-year average of each school’s population in grades 9-11, as reported by the Arkansas Department of Education.
The largest school in Class 6A for the next cycle will be West Memphis with 1,303 students, based on the three-year average of ADE reports. The smallest will be Greenwood with 837.
Jacksonville’s and North Pulaski’s combined student population average used to determine the next cycle’s classification was 1,185, which would make it the 21st largest district in the state and place Jacksonville in Class 6A as the fifth-largest school in that 16-school classification.
The PCSSD’s eight-day student count shows Jacksonville with only 618 students in grades 9-11, and North Pulaski with 217.
Meanwhile, Sylvan Hills’ average three-year count used by the Arkansas Activities Association was 712, making it a 5A school, but itseight-day enrollment this year was 1,070, which would make it 6A with the 22nd largest enrollment in the state.
Jacksonville’s appeal was before the school year began and those numbers were not available, but AHSAA executive director Lance Taylor said the deadline is past for any further appeals.
“We have to go by the laws the member schools have voted on, and we have to do it the way the schools have told us,” said Taylor. “The perception is out there that the board can make by laws or change our constitution. But if you read our book, we really don’t have the power to do that.”
Taylor cited a note under Rule 7 of the handbook concerning classification of schools that deals with consolidation.
The note reads: “When schools consolidate, enrollment numbers from each school will be combined for classification purposes.”
Jacksonville’s appeal was based largely on its interpretation that the new JNPSD was not a consolidation of Jacksonville and North Pulaski, but a dissolving of North Pulaski into two schools, Jacksonville and Sylvan Hills.
The eight-day enrollment numbers bear that out. There has already been a large exodus of students from North Pulaski High School, and Jacksonville appears to have received very few of them.
The district lines for the new JNPSD do not cover all of the area previously zoned by PCSSD for North Pulaski. One survey indicates that about half of NPHS’ student population currently live in Pulaski County’s zone for Sylvan Hills.
Taylor said that information was not presented during Jacksonville’s appeal; and indicated that it likely wouldn’t have made a difference in the decision to deny.
“We did not hear that,” Taylor said. “We did ask them who all was coming back or who was leaving, and they could not tell us. Those students who were attending North Pulaski, but live in Sylvan Hills’ zone, could still go to the new district if they chose to. Or Jacksonville could make their students who are currently going somewhere else, come back. That’s all school choice and that’ll be a decision for that new board. And I don’t know about all the desegregation and all that, or how that will effect them.
“We just didn’t have a clear idea of how many students Jacksonville will have once this next cycle begins. But we have a process in place, and so that’s what we went by.
“These numbers can change for lots of reasons, and the line has to be drawn at some point that says this is the process, and this is the deadline for changing it.”
The new district will no longer be a part of the magnet school program. It is making many students who live in Jacksonville, but attend other schools as part of that program, return to JNP next year. That will likely increase its enrollment next year, but probably not enough to leap in classification.
Leader sports editor
Jacksonville athletic teams are slated to compete in the 6A Classification for the next two-year classification cycle. That is despite a current enrollment that is hundreds of students short of the smallest 6A school, according to the numbers released by the Arkansas High School Activities Association for the 2016-18 cycle.
A contingent of representatives for Jacksonville appealed the ruling in July after the new numbers were released. That appeal was denied.
The issue surrounds the upcoming break of the new Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District from the Pulaski County Special School District. When the numbers were released in April and schools were placed in their classifications, the AHSAA counted 100 percent of the then current North Pulaski student count as part of the new JNPSD.
However, only about half of the former North Pulaski area, as zoned by PCSSD, will be in the new JNPSD. The rest will be in PCSSD’s zone for Sylvan Hills.
The process for determining each school’s classification is taking a three-year average of each school’s population in grades 9-11, as reported by the Arkansas Department of Education.
The largest school in Class 6A for the next cycle will be West Memphis with 1,303 students, based on the three-year average of ADE reports. The smallest will be Greenwood with 837.
Jacksonville’s and North Pulaski’s combined student population average used to determine the next cycle’s classification was 1,185, which would make it the 21st largest district in the state and place Jacksonville in Class 6A as the fifth-largest school in that 16-school classification.
The PCSSD’s eight-day student count shows Jacksonville with only 618 students in grades 9-11, and North Pulaski with 217.
Meanwhile, Sylvan Hills’ average three-year count used by the Arkansas Activities Association was 712, making it a 5A school, but itseight-day enrollment this year was 1,070, which would make it 6A with the 22nd largest enrollment in the state.
Jacksonville’s appeal was before the school year began and those numbers were not available, but AHSAA executive director Lance Taylor said the deadline is past for any further appeals.
“We have to go by the laws the member schools have voted on, and we have to do it the way the schools have told us,” said Taylor. “The perception is out there that the board can make by laws or change our constitution. But if you read our book, we really don’t have the power to do that.”
Taylor cited a note under Rule 7 of the handbook concerning classification of schools that deals with consolidation.
The note reads: “When schools consolidate, enrollment numbers from each school will be combined for classification purposes.”
Jacksonville’s appeal was based largely on its interpretation that the new JNPSD was not a consolidation of Jacksonville and North Pulaski, but a dissolving of North Pulaski into two schools, Jacksonville and Sylvan Hills.
The eight-day enrollment numbers bear that out. There has already been a large exodus of students from North Pulaski High School, and Jacksonville appears to have received very few of them.
The district lines for the new JNPSD do not cover all of the area previously zoned by PCSSD for North Pulaski. One survey indicates that about half of NPHS’ student population currently live in Pulaski County’s zone for Sylvan Hills.
Taylor said that information was not presented during Jacksonville’s appeal; and indicated that it likely wouldn’t have made a difference in the decision to deny.
“We did not hear that,” Taylor said. “We did ask them who all was coming back or who was leaving, and they could not tell us. Those students who were attending North Pulaski, but live in Sylvan Hills’ zone, could still go to the new district if they chose to. Or Jacksonville could make their students who are currently going somewhere else, come back. That’s all school choice and that’ll be a decision for that new board. And I don’t know about all the desegregation and all that, or how that will effect them.
“We just didn’t have a clear idea of how many students Jacksonville will have once this next cycle begins. But we have a process in place, and so that’s what we went by.
“These numbers can change for lots of reasons, and the line has to be drawn at some point that says this is the process, and this is the deadline for changing it.”
The new district will no longer be a part of the magnet school program. It is making many students who live in Jacksonville, but attend other schools as part of that program, return to JNP next year. That will likely increase its enrollment next year, but probably not enough to leap in classification.
SPORTS STORY >> Sylvan Hills wary of 1-4 Red Devils
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
A quick glance at the season records, and one might assume this week’s 5A-Central matchup between Sylvan Hills and Jacksonville will be a one-sided affair. The Bears host the Red Devils at Blackwood Field, and have a perfect win-loss record, two new school records for yards in a single game and the state’s most prolific scoring offense awaiting the visiting Red Devils.
Jacksonville brings a 1-4 record into Sherwood and is coming off a gut-wrenching 13-12 loss last week to Beebe on homecoming night.
None of that means anything to Sylvan Hills coach Jim Withrow.
He sees Jacksonville as a very dangerous opponent.
“Sometimes you get a certain record and people think you’re something you’re not,” said Withrow. “I don’t look at 1-4, I look at Jacksonville and I see a dangerous team. You look at who they’ve played, teams like Benton, who is a dog gone good 6A team. You look at Little Rock Christian, who’s the No. 2 team in the state in 5A. And then you just consider that it’s a rivalry game. It always seems like it’s close just from that aspect. So we’re approaching this game like it’s the best team we’ve played so far this year.”
Jacksonville coach Barry Hickingbotham doesn’t have to be so analytical to see the challenge in front of his team. Through five games, Sylvan Hills is averaging 55 points and almost 600 yards of offense per game.
“They’ve just got speed, speed everywhere,” said Hickingbotham of the Bears. “I’m not so sure the quarterback they’ve got this year isn’t a lot better than the one they had last year. And he was a good one. Looks like they’ve got about a half dozen different guys that can run it. But you can’t load up on that because that quarterback can throw it, and he’s got a couple of receivers who can go up and get it. It’s going to be a tremendous, tremendous challenge for us. We’re going to have to play mistake-free football, and that’s something we’ve struggled with.”
Jacksonville had eliminated a lot of mistakes for three quarters last week, and it held a 12-0 lead with 11 minutes to play. But those mistakes came flooding back in the fourth quarter. Still leading 12-6, a punt snap sailed over Tyler Hooper’s head and resulted in a Badger touchdown that set the final margin with 6:49 to go.
The Red Devils’ next two possessions also ended in turnovers, one fumble after a long gain, and an interception in the end zone with 1:30 remaining that ruined a nice 10-play drive.
Jacksonville was also called for 10 penalties for 85 yards last week. One penalty negated a 60-yard punt return, and four of the penalties came in the fourth quarter, including a holding penalty right before the final interception that turned a first down into second and 19.
“The mistakes are something we’ve got to clean up,” Hickingbotham said. “Sylvan Hills will make you pay. And it’s not just the players. I wish now I’d have gone for it on fourth down (before the high snap).
“But I think our defense took a big step forward. Coach (Brian) McDermott and coach (Larry) Burrows and coach (Jim) Stanley did a great job getting those guys ready for that offense. This week is a whole different challenge. We were in this same situation last year and we fought our way to the playoffs. We’ve still got goals we can accomplish.”
The head Bear also noticed Jacksonville’s improvement, and doesn’t like that it coincided with what he felt was a sloppy effort by his squad last week, in spite of the fact that the Bears beat J.A. Fair 54-0.
“We made some mistakes and didn’t do some things we’d been doing on Friday,” Withrow said. “The offensive line played its worst game of the year, and coach (Denny) Tipton addressed that with them pretty firmly.
“And here’s the thing. You can’t get sloppy. I felt like we got a little sloppy this time last season, and Jacksonville almost jumped up and got us. We had the same records last year and they took us to the wire. And here’s another thing, and this is a testament to those coaches, they get better as the year goes on. They did it last year and it looks like they’re doing it again. You can’t get sloppy when you’re facing a team you know is improving. And heck it’s Jacksonville, so you know they’ve got athletes.”
The Bears and Red Devils kick off at 7 p.m.
Leader sports editor
A quick glance at the season records, and one might assume this week’s 5A-Central matchup between Sylvan Hills and Jacksonville will be a one-sided affair. The Bears host the Red Devils at Blackwood Field, and have a perfect win-loss record, two new school records for yards in a single game and the state’s most prolific scoring offense awaiting the visiting Red Devils.
Jacksonville brings a 1-4 record into Sherwood and is coming off a gut-wrenching 13-12 loss last week to Beebe on homecoming night.
None of that means anything to Sylvan Hills coach Jim Withrow.
He sees Jacksonville as a very dangerous opponent.
“Sometimes you get a certain record and people think you’re something you’re not,” said Withrow. “I don’t look at 1-4, I look at Jacksonville and I see a dangerous team. You look at who they’ve played, teams like Benton, who is a dog gone good 6A team. You look at Little Rock Christian, who’s the No. 2 team in the state in 5A. And then you just consider that it’s a rivalry game. It always seems like it’s close just from that aspect. So we’re approaching this game like it’s the best team we’ve played so far this year.”
Jacksonville coach Barry Hickingbotham doesn’t have to be so analytical to see the challenge in front of his team. Through five games, Sylvan Hills is averaging 55 points and almost 600 yards of offense per game.
“They’ve just got speed, speed everywhere,” said Hickingbotham of the Bears. “I’m not so sure the quarterback they’ve got this year isn’t a lot better than the one they had last year. And he was a good one. Looks like they’ve got about a half dozen different guys that can run it. But you can’t load up on that because that quarterback can throw it, and he’s got a couple of receivers who can go up and get it. It’s going to be a tremendous, tremendous challenge for us. We’re going to have to play mistake-free football, and that’s something we’ve struggled with.”
Jacksonville had eliminated a lot of mistakes for three quarters last week, and it held a 12-0 lead with 11 minutes to play. But those mistakes came flooding back in the fourth quarter. Still leading 12-6, a punt snap sailed over Tyler Hooper’s head and resulted in a Badger touchdown that set the final margin with 6:49 to go.
The Red Devils’ next two possessions also ended in turnovers, one fumble after a long gain, and an interception in the end zone with 1:30 remaining that ruined a nice 10-play drive.
Jacksonville was also called for 10 penalties for 85 yards last week. One penalty negated a 60-yard punt return, and four of the penalties came in the fourth quarter, including a holding penalty right before the final interception that turned a first down into second and 19.
“The mistakes are something we’ve got to clean up,” Hickingbotham said. “Sylvan Hills will make you pay. And it’s not just the players. I wish now I’d have gone for it on fourth down (before the high snap).
“But I think our defense took a big step forward. Coach (Brian) McDermott and coach (Larry) Burrows and coach (Jim) Stanley did a great job getting those guys ready for that offense. This week is a whole different challenge. We were in this same situation last year and we fought our way to the playoffs. We’ve still got goals we can accomplish.”
The head Bear also noticed Jacksonville’s improvement, and doesn’t like that it coincided with what he felt was a sloppy effort by his squad last week, in spite of the fact that the Bears beat J.A. Fair 54-0.
“We made some mistakes and didn’t do some things we’d been doing on Friday,” Withrow said. “The offensive line played its worst game of the year, and coach (Denny) Tipton addressed that with them pretty firmly.
“And here’s the thing. You can’t get sloppy. I felt like we got a little sloppy this time last season, and Jacksonville almost jumped up and got us. We had the same records last year and they took us to the wire. And here’s another thing, and this is a testament to those coaches, they get better as the year goes on. They did it last year and it looks like they’re doing it again. You can’t get sloppy when you’re facing a team you know is improving. And heck it’s Jacksonville, so you know they’ve got athletes.”
The Bears and Red Devils kick off at 7 p.m.
EDITORIAL >> Anniversary for air base
The Leader’s special section in today’s newspaper commemorating the 60th anniversary of Little Rock Air Force Base tells the history, mostly in photos, of one of the premier military installations in the country.
Back in the early 1950s, the community raised $1,180,000 ($10.5 million in today’s dollars) to buy 6,100 acres of land in Jacksonville and donated it to the military, which spent $48 million (worth $425 million today) to build the air base. Land was also donated by the Nixon, Dupree and Thompson families and others.
Missions have ranged from Strategic Air Command to missile wings, from training units to combat airlift, yet the overall mission remains the same: Protecting our nation and our allies, going back to the darkest days of the Cold War, from the Cuban missile crisis to the war on terror, while carrying out humanitarian missions throughout the world.
As Jim Peacock, a local realtor who has seen the base since its earliest days, said in our special section, the city went from a “small town to a flourishing town.”
“People were excited. It was kind of like a dream come true, getting the base...A lot of people didn’t believe it would happen,” he added.
Banker Larry Wilson pointed out that, when the base officially opened on Oct. 9, 1955, “There was not enough housing on base to provide places for the military personnel to live, and so it generated a housing boom in Jacksonville that went on for several years.”
Even after base housing was built in the late 1950s, he said, quite a few airmen chose to live off base.
Reflecting on the continued importance of our base, the Air Force has ordered three major construction projects worth $133.6 million.
They include rebuilding a 50-year-old runway and adjacent landing strip. Sundt Construction of Tempe, Ariz., is the contractor for a new 12,000-foot runway. In addition, the construction of a fifth C-130J simulator is underway as the 19th Airlift Wing transitions to an all C-130J combat unit and the wing continues its combat missions in Asia and Africa in the war against al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State.
The base has four C-130J simulators, and an annex to house a fifth one is due for completion by November. Alessi-Keyes Construction of Maumelle is the contractor, and the cost of the project is $4,218,503.
The base has several aircraft and a dozen crews deployed in Afghanistan, as well as one plane and two crews flying in support of the Combined Joint Task Force in the Horn of Africa, supporting that operation against violent extremist groups in east Africa. Two missions have been flying out of central Europe to respond to nearby trouble spots.
To keep the planes flying, they need fuel to stay in the air. The new C-130 fuel-cell building project is also being completed. The team of more than 80 enlisted airmen works three shifts around the clock to get the job done.
The original awarded amount in June 2013 was $20,869,000, but the scope of work increased. The new facility replaces Hangar 222, a 1950s-era building that was not designed for the C-130.
The missions and planes have changed, but the target remains the same: Protecting freedom wherever necessary. As Col. Charles E. Brown Jr. said recently, “We’ve shown we can work with partners and share infrastructure. We’ve spent 60 years here, and the Air Force has continued to invest in missions into this base. They’re all different, but they’ve found value, despite all the shifts in missions.”
“The C-130J,” he added, “will probably be here 30 to 40 more years, but we’ve done 60 years here. There aren’t too many bases that could say the same thing, and the Air Force has continued repeatedly to invest missions into this base.”
Here’s hoping that, 60 years from now, there will be other youngsters like Jim Peacock and Larry Wilson reminiscing about the good old days at the air base back in 2015.
Long may it continue.
Back in the early 1950s, the community raised $1,180,000 ($10.5 million in today’s dollars) to buy 6,100 acres of land in Jacksonville and donated it to the military, which spent $48 million (worth $425 million today) to build the air base. Land was also donated by the Nixon, Dupree and Thompson families and others.
Missions have ranged from Strategic Air Command to missile wings, from training units to combat airlift, yet the overall mission remains the same: Protecting our nation and our allies, going back to the darkest days of the Cold War, from the Cuban missile crisis to the war on terror, while carrying out humanitarian missions throughout the world.
As Jim Peacock, a local realtor who has seen the base since its earliest days, said in our special section, the city went from a “small town to a flourishing town.”
“People were excited. It was kind of like a dream come true, getting the base...A lot of people didn’t believe it would happen,” he added.
Banker Larry Wilson pointed out that, when the base officially opened on Oct. 9, 1955, “There was not enough housing on base to provide places for the military personnel to live, and so it generated a housing boom in Jacksonville that went on for several years.”
Even after base housing was built in the late 1950s, he said, quite a few airmen chose to live off base.
Reflecting on the continued importance of our base, the Air Force has ordered three major construction projects worth $133.6 million.
They include rebuilding a 50-year-old runway and adjacent landing strip. Sundt Construction of Tempe, Ariz., is the contractor for a new 12,000-foot runway. In addition, the construction of a fifth C-130J simulator is underway as the 19th Airlift Wing transitions to an all C-130J combat unit and the wing continues its combat missions in Asia and Africa in the war against al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State.
The base has four C-130J simulators, and an annex to house a fifth one is due for completion by November. Alessi-Keyes Construction of Maumelle is the contractor, and the cost of the project is $4,218,503.
The base has several aircraft and a dozen crews deployed in Afghanistan, as well as one plane and two crews flying in support of the Combined Joint Task Force in the Horn of Africa, supporting that operation against violent extremist groups in east Africa. Two missions have been flying out of central Europe to respond to nearby trouble spots.
To keep the planes flying, they need fuel to stay in the air. The new C-130 fuel-cell building project is also being completed. The team of more than 80 enlisted airmen works three shifts around the clock to get the job done.
The original awarded amount in June 2013 was $20,869,000, but the scope of work increased. The new facility replaces Hangar 222, a 1950s-era building that was not designed for the C-130.
The missions and planes have changed, but the target remains the same: Protecting freedom wherever necessary. As Col. Charles E. Brown Jr. said recently, “We’ve shown we can work with partners and share infrastructure. We’ve spent 60 years here, and the Air Force has continued to invest in missions into this base. They’re all different, but they’ve found value, despite all the shifts in missions.”
“The C-130J,” he added, “will probably be here 30 to 40 more years, but we’ve done 60 years here. There aren’t too many bases that could say the same thing, and the Air Force has continued repeatedly to invest missions into this base.”
Here’s hoping that, 60 years from now, there will be other youngsters like Jim Peacock and Larry Wilson reminiscing about the good old days at the air base back in 2015.
Long may it continue.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)