By DEBORAH HORN
Leader staff writer
Kids and cars don’t mix, so over the weekend, the Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District put the word out that they need volunteers to don a vest and grab a sign.
Phyllis Stewart, Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District chief of staff, said, “We do need crossing guards for the morning and afternoon shifts.”
Former Jacksonville Mayor James Reid heard the call and decided to sign up.
Besides, his pride in the city and the new school district, Reid said he has personal reasons for volunteering. His wife, Mary Reid, now deceased, taught at Jacksonville Elementary School, then under the Pulaski County Special School District, for years.
“I saw the newspaper ad and wanted to help,” he said.
Stewart said, “Anyone can volunteer. A retired person, a parent, anyone who wants to make a difference.”
“Crossing guards don’t receive special training but need to be brave enough to stop traffic and direct kids for about 30 minutes each shift…Crossing guards need to genuinely care about the kids,” Stewart said.
In addition, she said, “It gives our students a connection to the community,” and it plants the seeds of the importance of volunteerism at a young age.
Crossing guards are sorely needed at the district’s six elementary schools, especially at nearby busy intersections, Stewart said.
The elementary schools include Bayou Meto, Dupree, Pinewood, Taylor and Tolleson elementary schools. At Arnold Drive Elementary, the Air Force base handles crossing guard duties, Stewart said.
Ideally, she said they would like to have about 20 crossing guards. At least, two for each school, as well as a couple extra people so that principals could rotate shifts.
She said volunteers can choose the time and school where they want to work.
“The kids are our No. 1 priority,” and currently, most of the guard positions are being handled by school staff, Stewart said.
Stewart said in past years, Jacksonville police officers served as crossing guards and if they don’t get enough volunteers this school year, then the district will have to hire off-duty police officers.
“People have been willing to step up and help the district. We have had overwhelming support from the community,” and that’s making a difference as the new district tries to get on its feet, Stewart said.
Reid said his volunteering as a crossing guard makes him feel good and helps ensure the school district’s long-term success.
The job doesn’t pay but Stewart said, “Volunteers get a big thank you from the district.”
For more information, or to volunteer for a crossing guard position, call the Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District at 501-241-2080.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
TOP STORY >> Lonoke looks to bond issue for upgrades
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
The Lonoke City Council may ask for some type of tax increase in the future to support a bond issue.
City Treasurer Phillip Howell floated the idea at last week’s council meeting after the city had paid $160,000 to repair Palm Street, agreed to spend another $170,000 to replace water lines along Barnes Street and for the second year in a row the city’s water and sewer system finished slightly in the red.
He said the council talked about a bond issue a year ago to help with needed water and sewer maintenance and repairs and other needs in the city.
Alderman Pat Howell reminded council members that most of the sewer system is more than 50 years old and that raising water rates only was not going to allow the city to keep up with repairs.
“We need to define it (the bond issue) and let the people know what exactly it would be used for and we need to have it a special election even though that will cost us some money,” Howell said.
Howell suggested a tax with a sunset clause for most of it but keeping a portion of it permanent for water and sewer maintenance.
No formal action was taken on the idea of a bond, but there are plans to discuss it further as Alderman Michael Florence said, “Let’s get it down on paper and take a look at it.”
In other council action:
Jim Ed Ransom with Public Works said the city was becoming a lawn mowing service because it was charging just $50 to mow lawns that had been cited for high grass. “Residents can’t beat that and are taking advantage of us,” he said.
City Attorney Ginger Stuart said the ordinance actually calls for fines of $50 a day up to $350 for properties out of compliance with the grass ordinance. Council members quickly suggested that the city start fining people.
“We do that a few times, and they’ll start taking care of their own yards,” Florence said.
Ray Don Lewis, with the parks department, told the council, “This had been the worst year for mosquitoes in a long time.”
He explained that excessive summer rains are part of the problem. “We’ve laid down ‘larva-cide’ twice and the rains have washed away. We are going to try again, but it needs eight to 10 dry days to be really effective.”
The council approved the fire department’s plan to pay off the recent $220,000 purchase of a fire truck.
Leader staff writer
The Lonoke City Council may ask for some type of tax increase in the future to support a bond issue.
City Treasurer Phillip Howell floated the idea at last week’s council meeting after the city had paid $160,000 to repair Palm Street, agreed to spend another $170,000 to replace water lines along Barnes Street and for the second year in a row the city’s water and sewer system finished slightly in the red.
He said the council talked about a bond issue a year ago to help with needed water and sewer maintenance and repairs and other needs in the city.
Alderman Pat Howell reminded council members that most of the sewer system is more than 50 years old and that raising water rates only was not going to allow the city to keep up with repairs.
“We need to define it (the bond issue) and let the people know what exactly it would be used for and we need to have it a special election even though that will cost us some money,” Howell said.
Howell suggested a tax with a sunset clause for most of it but keeping a portion of it permanent for water and sewer maintenance.
No formal action was taken on the idea of a bond, but there are plans to discuss it further as Alderman Michael Florence said, “Let’s get it down on paper and take a look at it.”
In other council action:
Jim Ed Ransom with Public Works said the city was becoming a lawn mowing service because it was charging just $50 to mow lawns that had been cited for high grass. “Residents can’t beat that and are taking advantage of us,” he said.
City Attorney Ginger Stuart said the ordinance actually calls for fines of $50 a day up to $350 for properties out of compliance with the grass ordinance. Council members quickly suggested that the city start fining people.
“We do that a few times, and they’ll start taking care of their own yards,” Florence said.
Ray Don Lewis, with the parks department, told the council, “This had been the worst year for mosquitoes in a long time.”
He explained that excessive summer rains are part of the problem. “We’ve laid down ‘larva-cide’ twice and the rains have washed away. We are going to try again, but it needs eight to 10 dry days to be really effective.”
The council approved the fire department’s plan to pay off the recent $220,000 purchase of a fire truck.
TOP STORY >> Hot checks focus of suit in Sherwood
The Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Sherwood, challenging its decades-long hot-check collections program that often sends debtors to jail if they don’t pay up.
The suit accuses Sher-wood’s district court of stacking the deck against defendants, who must not only make good on their bad checks but also pay thousands of dollars in hefty fines above the original checks.
Defendants in addition to Sherwood include District Court Judge Milas (Butch) Hale III and Pulaski County, which uses the Sherwood court to collect hot checks.
The plaintiffs include four people who were jailed “for their inability to pay court fines and fees in violation of longstanding law forbidding the incarceration of people for failure to pay debts. Fees collected in addition to hot checks make up 12 percent of Sherwood’s budget,”the suit alleges.
The hot check court generates about $2 million a year in revenue for the city. Judge Hale’s father, Milas Hale II, had presided over the court for several years before he retired.
Sherwood officials were unavailable for comment.
The lawsuit alleges that “through a labyrinthine and lucrative system, a single check for $15 returned for in-sufficient funds can be leveraged into many thousands of dollars in court costs, fines, and fees owed to Sherwood and Pulaski County.”
“Upon entering a conviction for a hot check misdemeanor,” the lawsuit alleges, “Judge Hale typically sentences the individual to probation and to pay the following amounts: restitution in at least the amount of the unpaid check, a $165 fine, $100 in court costs, a $25 Prosecuting Attorney Hot Check Fee, a $30 Restitution Fee, a $50 Warrant Fee, a $20 City Jail Fee and a $20 County Jail Fee. Thus the court costs, fines, and fees associated with a hot check conviction, regardless of the amount of the unpaid check, exceed $400.”
Air Force veteran Phillip Axelroth, 68, of Sherwood is among the plaintiffs who claim the court is using “illegal exaction” under Arkansas law.
“The unconscionable things happening in the Sherwood Hot Check Court have no place in our community,” said Axelroth. “We stand with our neighbors in saying these predatory practices must stop.”
In September 2011, Nikki Rachelle Petree, 40, who lives in White County, wrote a check for $28.93 that was returned for insufficient funds.
According to the lawsuit, “Over the next six years, Ms. Petree was arrested at least seven times as a result of this returned check, paid Sherwood at least $640 she could not afford to pay to cover court costs, fines and fees, and has been jailed for over 25 days.
“Ms. Petree is currently incarcerated in the Pulaski County Jail because she was unable to pay $2,656.93 in court costs, fines, and fees imposed by the Hot Check Division of the Sherwood District Court. Despite Ms. Petree’s inability to pay, she still faces thousands of dollars in unpaid costs, fines, and fees and the likelihood that she will be incarcerated again in the future.”
“The resurgence of debtors prisons across our country has entrapped poor people, too many of whom are African American or minority, in a cycle of escalating debt and unnecessary incarceration,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
“The Sherwood District Court epitomizes the criminalization of poverty and the corrupting effect of financial incentives on our local courts. Not only does this ‘Hot Check’ court completely ignore the long-standing principle that a person cannot be punished because they are poor, but by using coercive practices to collect money from the poorest Arkansans, this debtors’ prison scheme generates huge revenues for the city. Revenue from the district court constitutes nearly 12 percent of the city’s budget, second only to city and county sales tax, ” the suit says.
Arkansas Times Blog contributed to this report.
The suit accuses Sher-wood’s district court of stacking the deck against defendants, who must not only make good on their bad checks but also pay thousands of dollars in hefty fines above the original checks.
Defendants in addition to Sherwood include District Court Judge Milas (Butch) Hale III and Pulaski County, which uses the Sherwood court to collect hot checks.
The plaintiffs include four people who were jailed “for their inability to pay court fines and fees in violation of longstanding law forbidding the incarceration of people for failure to pay debts. Fees collected in addition to hot checks make up 12 percent of Sherwood’s budget,”the suit alleges.
The hot check court generates about $2 million a year in revenue for the city. Judge Hale’s father, Milas Hale II, had presided over the court for several years before he retired.
Sherwood officials were unavailable for comment.
The lawsuit alleges that “through a labyrinthine and lucrative system, a single check for $15 returned for in-sufficient funds can be leveraged into many thousands of dollars in court costs, fines, and fees owed to Sherwood and Pulaski County.”
“Upon entering a conviction for a hot check misdemeanor,” the lawsuit alleges, “Judge Hale typically sentences the individual to probation and to pay the following amounts: restitution in at least the amount of the unpaid check, a $165 fine, $100 in court costs, a $25 Prosecuting Attorney Hot Check Fee, a $30 Restitution Fee, a $50 Warrant Fee, a $20 City Jail Fee and a $20 County Jail Fee. Thus the court costs, fines, and fees associated with a hot check conviction, regardless of the amount of the unpaid check, exceed $400.”
Air Force veteran Phillip Axelroth, 68, of Sherwood is among the plaintiffs who claim the court is using “illegal exaction” under Arkansas law.
“The unconscionable things happening in the Sherwood Hot Check Court have no place in our community,” said Axelroth. “We stand with our neighbors in saying these predatory practices must stop.”
In September 2011, Nikki Rachelle Petree, 40, who lives in White County, wrote a check for $28.93 that was returned for insufficient funds.
According to the lawsuit, “Over the next six years, Ms. Petree was arrested at least seven times as a result of this returned check, paid Sherwood at least $640 she could not afford to pay to cover court costs, fines and fees, and has been jailed for over 25 days.
“Ms. Petree is currently incarcerated in the Pulaski County Jail because she was unable to pay $2,656.93 in court costs, fines, and fees imposed by the Hot Check Division of the Sherwood District Court. Despite Ms. Petree’s inability to pay, she still faces thousands of dollars in unpaid costs, fines, and fees and the likelihood that she will be incarcerated again in the future.”
“The resurgence of debtors prisons across our country has entrapped poor people, too many of whom are African American or minority, in a cycle of escalating debt and unnecessary incarceration,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
“The Sherwood District Court epitomizes the criminalization of poverty and the corrupting effect of financial incentives on our local courts. Not only does this ‘Hot Check’ court completely ignore the long-standing principle that a person cannot be punished because they are poor, but by using coercive practices to collect money from the poorest Arkansans, this debtors’ prison scheme generates huge revenues for the city. Revenue from the district court constitutes nearly 12 percent of the city’s budget, second only to city and county sales tax, ” the suit says.
Arkansas Times Blog contributed to this report.
SPORTS STORY >> Former walk-on a versatile defender
By NATE ALLEN
Special to The Leader
FAYETTEVILLE – Can’t recall Arkansas’ annual football media day ever evoking Razorbacks past to become sentimental.
One Razorback does now, though. Arkansas junior defensive back Kevin Richardson of Jacksonville marked the Razorbacks’ Aug. 8 media day like an anniversary, which for him it is.
Before media met with coach Bret Bielema on last year’s media day, Bielema used a team meeting to announce that then third-year sophomore walk-on Richardson had just earned a full football scholarship.
“It was this time last year,” Richardson recalled on this preseason media day. “Actually, it was today last year. I was telling everybody before this started that this time last year was the day I was put on scholarship. It’s something I’ll be reminded about every media day. I’ll be thinking about that.”
So will his parents.
“They loved it,” Richardson said. “I have another sibling coming up here. My baby sister is coming up here, which will make five of us up here total. I have got an older brother who is starting his Ph.d. I’ll be a senior. My younger sister will be a junior. My little brother is an equipment manager on the football team and my baby sister will be a freshman. The U of A is the place to be for us.”
Bielema, a former walk-on himself earning a scholarship as a University of Iowa nose guard, and former Arkansas defensive backfield coach now Texas defensive backfield coach Clay Jennings may never have been happier to reward a scholarship than when rewarding Richardson. Nor have they seen an entire team happier to see one rewarded.
“We announced K-Rich was on scholarship about a half hour ago and the place went up for grabs,” Bielema said at the time. Jennings likened it to more joyous hallelujahs than a Sunday revival.
“I have never seen so many guys jump up and down,” Jennings said. “You would thought they were in church today when coach announced it. All those guys are excited for Kevin. I am excited for Kevin. This guy comes to work every day with his lunch bucket. Anything anybody else does he wants to do 10 times more. He is what being an Arkansas Razorback is all about.”
New Arkansas defensive backfield coach Paul Rhoads already agrees.
Rhoads says Richardson’s effort is the best and his brain the brightest.
“He is arguably the smartest player on the defense if not smarter than half the coaches on the defense, too, in terms of what we are doing,” Rhoads said. “He is extremely intelligent. But you get that way by studying it. He is into his playbook. He is into the film and it shows on a daily basis.”
Richardson must have the biggest playbook on the defense to contain all he’s asked to do.
Last year Richardson was asked to do plenty. At several positions, he played every game for last year’s 8-5 Hogs, and started the last five, making 33 of his 44 tackles, including 10 each against Ole Miss and Mississippi State. He intercepted one pass and broke up three.
“Kevin is a very versatile player and certainly will be active on most if not all special teams,” Rhoads said. “He is a cornerback for us. He is a nickel back for us. He is a dime for us and those are all three different positions. The nickel and dime are similar yet different. And he also could play some safety if we need him to. A guy that’s that marketable is very valuable to your football team.”
Richardson is the starting nickel back in the five-defensive back packages the Razorbacks increasingly use with so many opponents relying on Spread offenses. And he’s right in the corner mix with D.J. Dean and Ryan Pulley behind starters Jared Collins and Henre Toliver.
And since he’s gradually gained from the 6-foot, 157-pounder walking on as a freshman in 2013 to a current 178, Richardson even has filled in with strong run-support at free and strong safety. Other than the defensive line and middle linebacker, there doesn’t seem a spot that defensive coordinator Robb Smith won’t play him.
“Yeah, he’s been our slot corner, “Smith said. “He’s also played out on the edge as a corner in some base defense. Paul has been able to use him as a safety as well at times.
“We have got some really good players rotating through at that corner and K-Rich really has that niche at the nickel and then can do some other things to help us.”
Special to The Leader
FAYETTEVILLE – Can’t recall Arkansas’ annual football media day ever evoking Razorbacks past to become sentimental.
One Razorback does now, though. Arkansas junior defensive back Kevin Richardson of Jacksonville marked the Razorbacks’ Aug. 8 media day like an anniversary, which for him it is.
Before media met with coach Bret Bielema on last year’s media day, Bielema used a team meeting to announce that then third-year sophomore walk-on Richardson had just earned a full football scholarship.
“It was this time last year,” Richardson recalled on this preseason media day. “Actually, it was today last year. I was telling everybody before this started that this time last year was the day I was put on scholarship. It’s something I’ll be reminded about every media day. I’ll be thinking about that.”
So will his parents.
“They loved it,” Richardson said. “I have another sibling coming up here. My baby sister is coming up here, which will make five of us up here total. I have got an older brother who is starting his Ph.d. I’ll be a senior. My younger sister will be a junior. My little brother is an equipment manager on the football team and my baby sister will be a freshman. The U of A is the place to be for us.”
Bielema, a former walk-on himself earning a scholarship as a University of Iowa nose guard, and former Arkansas defensive backfield coach now Texas defensive backfield coach Clay Jennings may never have been happier to reward a scholarship than when rewarding Richardson. Nor have they seen an entire team happier to see one rewarded.
“We announced K-Rich was on scholarship about a half hour ago and the place went up for grabs,” Bielema said at the time. Jennings likened it to more joyous hallelujahs than a Sunday revival.
“I have never seen so many guys jump up and down,” Jennings said. “You would thought they were in church today when coach announced it. All those guys are excited for Kevin. I am excited for Kevin. This guy comes to work every day with his lunch bucket. Anything anybody else does he wants to do 10 times more. He is what being an Arkansas Razorback is all about.”
New Arkansas defensive backfield coach Paul Rhoads already agrees.
Rhoads says Richardson’s effort is the best and his brain the brightest.
“He is arguably the smartest player on the defense if not smarter than half the coaches on the defense, too, in terms of what we are doing,” Rhoads said. “He is extremely intelligent. But you get that way by studying it. He is into his playbook. He is into the film and it shows on a daily basis.”
Richardson must have the biggest playbook on the defense to contain all he’s asked to do.
Last year Richardson was asked to do plenty. At several positions, he played every game for last year’s 8-5 Hogs, and started the last five, making 33 of his 44 tackles, including 10 each against Ole Miss and Mississippi State. He intercepted one pass and broke up three.
“Kevin is a very versatile player and certainly will be active on most if not all special teams,” Rhoads said. “He is a cornerback for us. He is a nickel back for us. He is a dime for us and those are all three different positions. The nickel and dime are similar yet different. And he also could play some safety if we need him to. A guy that’s that marketable is very valuable to your football team.”
Richardson is the starting nickel back in the five-defensive back packages the Razorbacks increasingly use with so many opponents relying on Spread offenses. And he’s right in the corner mix with D.J. Dean and Ryan Pulley behind starters Jared Collins and Henre Toliver.
And since he’s gradually gained from the 6-foot, 157-pounder walking on as a freshman in 2013 to a current 178, Richardson even has filled in with strong run-support at free and strong safety. Other than the defensive line and middle linebacker, there doesn’t seem a spot that defensive coordinator Robb Smith won’t play him.
“Yeah, he’s been our slot corner, “Smith said. “He’s also played out on the edge as a corner in some base defense. Paul has been able to use him as a safety as well at times.
“We have got some really good players rotating through at that corner and K-Rich really has that niche at the nickel and then can do some other things to help us.”
SPORTS STORY >> Can't turn Hogs down twice
By NATE ALLEN
Special to the Leader
FAYETTEVILLE – Thanks to his unofficial amateur agent, Jacksonville’s D’Vone McClure couldn’t twice say, “No,” to his home state Arkansas Razorbacks.
An All-State receiver in football and a baseball All-American outfielder upon graduating Jacksonville High School in 2012, McClure first signed with coach Dave Van Horn’s baseball Razorbacks before the Cleveland Indians drafted him in the fourth round and offered $765,000.
“I signed with Van Horn for sure, but Cleveland definitely gave me too good an offer to refuse,” McClure recalled. “I don’t regret anything. It was definitely an awesome experience. I learned a lot and matured a lot.”
And learned to take a lot of bad with the good. He was released by the Indians last March 28. He played four seasons of minor league ball with a .219 career batting average and two stints on the 2015 disabled list, but suddenly became a college football commodity with his Jacksonville autumns not forgotten.
“Last year I ended up getting hurt and didn’t play the rest of the season,” McClure said. “This year I played in spring training and stopped playing the last day of spring training. Two weeks later I was on a (football) visit here. A week later I was on a visit to Arizona and a week later I came here to enroll in school.”
Arkansas had at least two aspects for McClure that Arizona didn’t. The Razorbacks had McClure’s home state and they had a hometown pal and Jacksonville teammate, fourth-year junior Razorbacks defensive back Kevin Richardson.
“That’s my guy,” McClure said. “He kind of initiated the process. He mentioned it to me when I stopped playing baseball and I was all the way with it. I signed here out of high school and went on another visit to Arizona, but I couldn’t leave my city twice. I ended up coming here.”
And though the Razorbacks are so deep in receivers that he might redshirt, McClure plunges whole Hog into football.
“It’s just been awesome,” McClure said. “These guys have been taking me in and showing me around and treating me like a brother. It’s been fun so far.”
Not just a brother, but a big brother and not just because he’s big for a receiver at a well-muscled 6-2, 219. For while a football freshman, McClure is 22 years old with four pro years on the road behind him.
“D’Vone McClure is having another mature guy around,” receivers coach Michael Smith said. “Although he’s a freshman, he’s a guy that has played professional sports and understands the rigors of being a professional athlete. To be able to co-sign with me after I make a statement about being a professional, he understands it. And when they are away from me he talks about it.”
The lessons and advice McClure imparts, “they’ve all been good,” Smith said.
Same for Richardson’s advice to Smith.
“I talked to coach Smith and he said, ‘Talk to him and get him up here,’” Richardson said. “As soon as I got him up here, they loved him. He’s built, he’s big. That’s what they want in the SEC. I feel like he’ll fit in.”
Richardson said growing up he has seen McClure fit in as an opponent and as a teammate at Jacksonville where McClure starred at receiver while Richardson was Jacksonville’s wild card as a quarterback, running back, safety, kickoff returner and punt returner.
“He was one year ahead of me,” Richardson said. “I’ve been playing against him in Pee-Wee football since I was about six.”
Then they starred together at Jacksonville.
“I threw him some touchdowns in high school and he blocked for me some in high school,” Richardson said. “So to be able to reunite with him is really fun.”
McClure was asked about his baseball to football adjustment.
“It’s different between football and baseball,” McClure said. “Different things you do out here, you have to get acclimated. Just getting acclimated to a different sport is going to take some time and I have to adjust to the process and embrace it.”
They say hitting a great curve ball with a round bat is among sport’s greatest challenge, but so must be getting open to catch a pass with your back turned to a defender bent on breaking you in half.
“Definitely the physical ability takes a bigger role in football, but hitting a curve ball definitely is challenging, too,” McClure said. “I feel pretty good. First day in pads after four years was a little different for me. The pads were a little heavy, but so far the guys tell me I have been doing pretty well and taking it in pretty good. I am just looking forward to helping the team any way I can and having a good year with these guys.”
Special to the Leader
FAYETTEVILLE – Thanks to his unofficial amateur agent, Jacksonville’s D’Vone McClure couldn’t twice say, “No,” to his home state Arkansas Razorbacks.
An All-State receiver in football and a baseball All-American outfielder upon graduating Jacksonville High School in 2012, McClure first signed with coach Dave Van Horn’s baseball Razorbacks before the Cleveland Indians drafted him in the fourth round and offered $765,000.
“I signed with Van Horn for sure, but Cleveland definitely gave me too good an offer to refuse,” McClure recalled. “I don’t regret anything. It was definitely an awesome experience. I learned a lot and matured a lot.”
And learned to take a lot of bad with the good. He was released by the Indians last March 28. He played four seasons of minor league ball with a .219 career batting average and two stints on the 2015 disabled list, but suddenly became a college football commodity with his Jacksonville autumns not forgotten.
“Last year I ended up getting hurt and didn’t play the rest of the season,” McClure said. “This year I played in spring training and stopped playing the last day of spring training. Two weeks later I was on a (football) visit here. A week later I was on a visit to Arizona and a week later I came here to enroll in school.”
Arkansas had at least two aspects for McClure that Arizona didn’t. The Razorbacks had McClure’s home state and they had a hometown pal and Jacksonville teammate, fourth-year junior Razorbacks defensive back Kevin Richardson.
“That’s my guy,” McClure said. “He kind of initiated the process. He mentioned it to me when I stopped playing baseball and I was all the way with it. I signed here out of high school and went on another visit to Arizona, but I couldn’t leave my city twice. I ended up coming here.”
And though the Razorbacks are so deep in receivers that he might redshirt, McClure plunges whole Hog into football.
“It’s just been awesome,” McClure said. “These guys have been taking me in and showing me around and treating me like a brother. It’s been fun so far.”
Not just a brother, but a big brother and not just because he’s big for a receiver at a well-muscled 6-2, 219. For while a football freshman, McClure is 22 years old with four pro years on the road behind him.
“D’Vone McClure is having another mature guy around,” receivers coach Michael Smith said. “Although he’s a freshman, he’s a guy that has played professional sports and understands the rigors of being a professional athlete. To be able to co-sign with me after I make a statement about being a professional, he understands it. And when they are away from me he talks about it.”
The lessons and advice McClure imparts, “they’ve all been good,” Smith said.
Same for Richardson’s advice to Smith.
“I talked to coach Smith and he said, ‘Talk to him and get him up here,’” Richardson said. “As soon as I got him up here, they loved him. He’s built, he’s big. That’s what they want in the SEC. I feel like he’ll fit in.”
Richardson said growing up he has seen McClure fit in as an opponent and as a teammate at Jacksonville where McClure starred at receiver while Richardson was Jacksonville’s wild card as a quarterback, running back, safety, kickoff returner and punt returner.
“He was one year ahead of me,” Richardson said. “I’ve been playing against him in Pee-Wee football since I was about six.”
Then they starred together at Jacksonville.
“I threw him some touchdowns in high school and he blocked for me some in high school,” Richardson said. “So to be able to reunite with him is really fun.”
McClure was asked about his baseball to football adjustment.
“It’s different between football and baseball,” McClure said. “Different things you do out here, you have to get acclimated. Just getting acclimated to a different sport is going to take some time and I have to adjust to the process and embrace it.”
They say hitting a great curve ball with a round bat is among sport’s greatest challenge, but so must be getting open to catch a pass with your back turned to a defender bent on breaking you in half.
“Definitely the physical ability takes a bigger role in football, but hitting a curve ball definitely is challenging, too,” McClure said. “I feel pretty good. First day in pads after four years was a little different for me. The pads were a little heavy, but so far the guys tell me I have been doing pretty well and taking it in pretty good. I am just looking forward to helping the team any way I can and having a good year with these guys.”
Friday, August 19, 2016
SPORTS STORY >> Rare birds spotted at Lonoke hatchery
By RANDY ZELLERS
AGFC
LONOKE – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Joe Hogan State Fish Hatchery has been buzzing in the last week from a few sightings of rare shorebirds finding their way to The Natural State. The latest sighting is of the sharp-tailed sandpiper, an Asian species that is rarely seen in the U.S., spotted Monday evening.
According to JJ Gladden, AGFC hatchery biologist, people have been coming in to view an interior least tern and piping plover in the last week, both of which are endangered species. But the real gem has been a rare glimpse at the Asian traveler.
“We had about 15 people come in from all over the state within an hour of the first sighting, and people came out Tuesday morning in the pouring rain with giant cameras to try and get a picture of the bird.”
If accepted, this will be the first recorded sighting of the sharp-tailed sandpiper in Arkansas. According to Karen Rowe, ornithologist for the AGFC, it’s unclear how the bird found its way from its normal migration route.
“This species usually travels from Siberia to Australia,” Rowe said. “Since the 1960s there are approximately 30 reports on the West Coast, maybe an additional 20 on the East Coast and a dozen or so sightings in the interior states of the U.S., so this is very exciting for Arkansas birders.”
Arkansans aren’t the only ones traveling to get a chance at witnessing the bird. According to Gladden, an ornithologist from Georgia and a couple of avid birders from Arizona have stopped at the hatchery to look for the lineup of rare species.
Dick Baxter, AGFC assistant chief of wildlife management, says the sighting is even more special because the bird found at Lonoke is an adult.
“Most sightings of this species in the U.S. have been juveniles,” Baxter said. “You just don’t see that very often anywhere.”
Kenny and LaDonna Nichols of Cabot were the first to identify the bird Monday evening while scanning the mudflats left after a hatchery pond had been lowered.
“I’ve been birdwatching for probably 25 years or more,” Nichols said. “It’s really hard to describe, but for me this is just like a hunter getting that 12-point he’s been after or a fisherman catching a big bass.”
While Nichols says he never thought he’d see one in Arkansas, a friend’s experience 30 years ago did give him enough hope to file away the species in the back of his mind.
“One of my friends spotted one in Memphis before I ever started birdwatching,” Nichols said. “So it’s always been a species I’d hoped to see one day.”
Rowe says shorebirds generally are not as prevalent in Arkansas as in decades past, largely because different land use patterns no longer provide the mudflats the birds use to feed.
Mudflats provide crustaceans, insects and other macroinvertebrates these species depend upon for energy and protein during their migration, which can be the longest of any bird species.
“Some may even travel all the way from the Arctic Circle to the southern tip of South America in late summer and early fall, and fly back in spring,” Rowe said. “Habitat in Arkansas is critical to providing a refueling stop for the birds during their travel route.”
The AGFC has tried to improve habitat conditions for migrating shorebirds on many waterfowl-oriented wildlife management areas. Rowe says some waterfowl impoundments which are flooded for early teal season also hold promise for these birds during their journey.
Most shorebirds begin their southern migration to wintering grounds in late July and early August, well before most waterfowl hunters pursue on Arkansas WMAs, so these open impoundments can be temporarily flooded and drained to offer some habitat without impacting hunting activities on the WMA.
Hatcheries, such as Joe Hogan and the Charlie “C.B.”Craig Fish Hatchery in Centerton, offer excellent mudflats when the ponds begin to be drawn down in late summer and fall. All AGFC hatcheries are open to the public for bird-watching activities, but people should be aware that fish-rearing activities occur throughout the day.
“We welcome anyone to come out and enjoy the wildlife-watching that occurs as a side benefit to our work,” Gladden said. “We get to see some great wildlife out here when we drain the ponds and the animals take advantage of the exposed mud flats. Just be sure to park at the visitor center of the hatcheries and walk from there on a self-guided hike.”
AGFC
LONOKE – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Joe Hogan State Fish Hatchery has been buzzing in the last week from a few sightings of rare shorebirds finding their way to The Natural State. The latest sighting is of the sharp-tailed sandpiper, an Asian species that is rarely seen in the U.S., spotted Monday evening.
According to JJ Gladden, AGFC hatchery biologist, people have been coming in to view an interior least tern and piping plover in the last week, both of which are endangered species. But the real gem has been a rare glimpse at the Asian traveler.
“We had about 15 people come in from all over the state within an hour of the first sighting, and people came out Tuesday morning in the pouring rain with giant cameras to try and get a picture of the bird.”
If accepted, this will be the first recorded sighting of the sharp-tailed sandpiper in Arkansas. According to Karen Rowe, ornithologist for the AGFC, it’s unclear how the bird found its way from its normal migration route.
“This species usually travels from Siberia to Australia,” Rowe said. “Since the 1960s there are approximately 30 reports on the West Coast, maybe an additional 20 on the East Coast and a dozen or so sightings in the interior states of the U.S., so this is very exciting for Arkansas birders.”
Arkansans aren’t the only ones traveling to get a chance at witnessing the bird. According to Gladden, an ornithologist from Georgia and a couple of avid birders from Arizona have stopped at the hatchery to look for the lineup of rare species.
Dick Baxter, AGFC assistant chief of wildlife management, says the sighting is even more special because the bird found at Lonoke is an adult.
“Most sightings of this species in the U.S. have been juveniles,” Baxter said. “You just don’t see that very often anywhere.”
Kenny and LaDonna Nichols of Cabot were the first to identify the bird Monday evening while scanning the mudflats left after a hatchery pond had been lowered.
“I’ve been birdwatching for probably 25 years or more,” Nichols said. “It’s really hard to describe, but for me this is just like a hunter getting that 12-point he’s been after or a fisherman catching a big bass.”
While Nichols says he never thought he’d see one in Arkansas, a friend’s experience 30 years ago did give him enough hope to file away the species in the back of his mind.
“One of my friends spotted one in Memphis before I ever started birdwatching,” Nichols said. “So it’s always been a species I’d hoped to see one day.”
Rowe says shorebirds generally are not as prevalent in Arkansas as in decades past, largely because different land use patterns no longer provide the mudflats the birds use to feed.
Mudflats provide crustaceans, insects and other macroinvertebrates these species depend upon for energy and protein during their migration, which can be the longest of any bird species.
“Some may even travel all the way from the Arctic Circle to the southern tip of South America in late summer and early fall, and fly back in spring,” Rowe said. “Habitat in Arkansas is critical to providing a refueling stop for the birds during their travel route.”
The AGFC has tried to improve habitat conditions for migrating shorebirds on many waterfowl-oriented wildlife management areas. Rowe says some waterfowl impoundments which are flooded for early teal season also hold promise for these birds during their journey.
Most shorebirds begin their southern migration to wintering grounds in late July and early August, well before most waterfowl hunters pursue on Arkansas WMAs, so these open impoundments can be temporarily flooded and drained to offer some habitat without impacting hunting activities on the WMA.
Hatcheries, such as Joe Hogan and the Charlie “C.B.”Craig Fish Hatchery in Centerton, offer excellent mudflats when the ponds begin to be drawn down in late summer and fall. All AGFC hatcheries are open to the public for bird-watching activities, but people should be aware that fish-rearing activities occur throughout the day.
“We welcome anyone to come out and enjoy the wildlife-watching that occurs as a side benefit to our work,” Gladden said. “We get to see some great wildlife out here when we drain the ponds and the animals take advantage of the exposed mud flats. Just be sure to park at the visitor center of the hatcheries and walk from there on a self-guided hike.”
SPORTS STORY >> Razorbacks establish O-line
By NATE ALLEN
Special to The Leader
Tuesday’s latest Arkansas Razorbacks offensive line alignment vaulted redshirt freshman Jalen Merrick from pressing Jake Raulerson at first-team right tackle to first-team right guard, with center Frank Ragnow, left guard Hjalte Froholdt, left tackle Dan Skipper and Raulerson staying put.
Tuesday’s second offensive line had sophomore Zach Rogers, the first-team right guard in last Saturday’s scrimmage, at center with junior college transfer Deion Malone at right guard and Johnny Gibson of Dumas at left guard, Brian Wallace at right tackle and redshirt freshman Colton Jackson of Conway at left tackle.
Senior Skipper, a 4-year starter was asked after Tuesday’s practice about Merrick’s promotion from Coach Bret Bielema and line coach Kurt Anderson.
“Jalen played really well in the scrimmage at tackle,” Skipper said. “We thought that moving him inside to play guard would be a really good move for him. He’s so big (6-4, 322) and strong, any time you can get a guy like that in the middle, it’s a huge asset for our line. The biggest thing with him is just making sure he knows where he’s going at guard and the footwork. Guard is actually a lot more technical for us than tackle.”
Skipper knows. He started at guard as a 2013 freshman then left tackle as a sophomore and right tackle last year.
Merrick says he’s practiced at every offensive line position since redshirting last year out of Oak Hill, Fla.
“Just wherever they put me, that’s where I’m going to play,” Merrick said. “Just come out to practice and do whatever I am told to do.”
How does he like right guard?
“ I like it,” Merrick said. “Pretty much anything on the right side is my cup of tea.”
Tea now with no sugar.
“I was pretty heavy pushing about 350 when I first reported here (last year),” Merrick said. “Slimming down a lot has really helped me move and get lighter on my feet. When I was heavy I would just get tired and out of energy and never really looked good after the first couple of plays.”
Fourth-year junior quarterback Austin Allen noticed Merrick’s weight loss and performance gain.
“He’s probably in the best shape that I have ever seen him in,” Allen said. “I really feel like he can help us.”
Allen approves through all the offensively personnel shifting that junior Frank Ragnow, the starting right guard last year and backup center in 2014, had just a day or two at guard this August and otherwise has been first-team center.
“Frank has pretty well been at center the whole fall camp and we have great chemistry,” Allen said. “He’s kind of the point guard out there for the offensive line getting all the calls right.”
Despite all the offensive personnel switching at guard and tackle and the acknowledged prowess of Arkansas’ defensive line, the makeshift O-line in last Saturday’s scrimmage sprung running backs Rawleigh Williams, the sophomore proving healed from last fall’s broken neck, for 67 yards and 14 carries and a touchdown against the first-defense. Freshman Devwah Whaley netted 97 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries behind both the first and second lines against the first and second defense.
The shifting line’s steady blocking didn’t surprise Williams.
“The reason they are shifting is because we have so many athletes at the O-line,”
Williams said. “All those guys can play and we are trying to find the best group. I have confidence in all of them. Every day I look at the lineup and kind of laugh because it’s always something different. But they always have a good day and always open holes.”
Certainly with senior Kody Walker, 4 carries for 27 yards before re-injuring his foot, Williams and Whaley excelling, Allen acknowledged all the running backs questions seem answered despite thousand-yard rushers Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams both turning pro after last season.
“We have got a stable of backs back there,” Allen said. “You saw Devwah on Saturday. He’s the real deal. Rawleigh ran hard. He’s the real deal also. All those guys really. They all have got something special and they are all capable.”
Senior receiver Keon Hatcher was rested Tuesday with what he called a minor shoulder injury while the Hogs likely will be minus senior receiver Dominique Reed of Camden for two weeks off after spraining an ankle last Saturday.
The receiving corps, with freshman Jordan Jones of Smackover back since Monday after missing two practices and the scrimmage with illness last week, pressed on Tuesday, Allen said.
“It kind of gives other guys opportunities,” Allen said. “Cody Hollister has been a beast all camp running great routes and catching everything that’s thrown to him. And Jordan Jones has flashed all camp long also. He is making one-handed catches and looks like an older vet guy out there running great routes. He came back Monday and hasn’t missed a beat.”
Special to The Leader
Tuesday’s latest Arkansas Razorbacks offensive line alignment vaulted redshirt freshman Jalen Merrick from pressing Jake Raulerson at first-team right tackle to first-team right guard, with center Frank Ragnow, left guard Hjalte Froholdt, left tackle Dan Skipper and Raulerson staying put.
Tuesday’s second offensive line had sophomore Zach Rogers, the first-team right guard in last Saturday’s scrimmage, at center with junior college transfer Deion Malone at right guard and Johnny Gibson of Dumas at left guard, Brian Wallace at right tackle and redshirt freshman Colton Jackson of Conway at left tackle.
Senior Skipper, a 4-year starter was asked after Tuesday’s practice about Merrick’s promotion from Coach Bret Bielema and line coach Kurt Anderson.
“Jalen played really well in the scrimmage at tackle,” Skipper said. “We thought that moving him inside to play guard would be a really good move for him. He’s so big (6-4, 322) and strong, any time you can get a guy like that in the middle, it’s a huge asset for our line. The biggest thing with him is just making sure he knows where he’s going at guard and the footwork. Guard is actually a lot more technical for us than tackle.”
Skipper knows. He started at guard as a 2013 freshman then left tackle as a sophomore and right tackle last year.
Merrick says he’s practiced at every offensive line position since redshirting last year out of Oak Hill, Fla.
“Just wherever they put me, that’s where I’m going to play,” Merrick said. “Just come out to practice and do whatever I am told to do.”
How does he like right guard?
“ I like it,” Merrick said. “Pretty much anything on the right side is my cup of tea.”
Tea now with no sugar.
“I was pretty heavy pushing about 350 when I first reported here (last year),” Merrick said. “Slimming down a lot has really helped me move and get lighter on my feet. When I was heavy I would just get tired and out of energy and never really looked good after the first couple of plays.”
Fourth-year junior quarterback Austin Allen noticed Merrick’s weight loss and performance gain.
“He’s probably in the best shape that I have ever seen him in,” Allen said. “I really feel like he can help us.”
Allen approves through all the offensively personnel shifting that junior Frank Ragnow, the starting right guard last year and backup center in 2014, had just a day or two at guard this August and otherwise has been first-team center.
“Frank has pretty well been at center the whole fall camp and we have great chemistry,” Allen said. “He’s kind of the point guard out there for the offensive line getting all the calls right.”
Despite all the offensive personnel switching at guard and tackle and the acknowledged prowess of Arkansas’ defensive line, the makeshift O-line in last Saturday’s scrimmage sprung running backs Rawleigh Williams, the sophomore proving healed from last fall’s broken neck, for 67 yards and 14 carries and a touchdown against the first-defense. Freshman Devwah Whaley netted 97 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries behind both the first and second lines against the first and second defense.
The shifting line’s steady blocking didn’t surprise Williams.
“The reason they are shifting is because we have so many athletes at the O-line,”
Williams said. “All those guys can play and we are trying to find the best group. I have confidence in all of them. Every day I look at the lineup and kind of laugh because it’s always something different. But they always have a good day and always open holes.”
Certainly with senior Kody Walker, 4 carries for 27 yards before re-injuring his foot, Williams and Whaley excelling, Allen acknowledged all the running backs questions seem answered despite thousand-yard rushers Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams both turning pro after last season.
“We have got a stable of backs back there,” Allen said. “You saw Devwah on Saturday. He’s the real deal. Rawleigh ran hard. He’s the real deal also. All those guys really. They all have got something special and they are all capable.”
Senior receiver Keon Hatcher was rested Tuesday with what he called a minor shoulder injury while the Hogs likely will be minus senior receiver Dominique Reed of Camden for two weeks off after spraining an ankle last Saturday.
The receiving corps, with freshman Jordan Jones of Smackover back since Monday after missing two practices and the scrimmage with illness last week, pressed on Tuesday, Allen said.
“It kind of gives other guys opportunities,” Allen said. “Cody Hollister has been a beast all camp running great routes and catching everything that’s thrown to him. And Jordan Jones has flashed all camp long also. He is making one-handed catches and looks like an older vet guy out there running great routes. He came back Monday and hasn’t missed a beat.”
SPORTS STORY >> Cabot off in preseason outing
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot volleyball team got its first taste of competition this season with a preseason benefit jamboree at Conway High School on Thursday. The matches didn’t count, but it gave Lady Panther coach Kham Chanthaphasouk a chance to spot some trouble areas going into the first official game next Tuesday.
“We were missing one of our outside hitters, so that was one thing that wasn’t quite right,” said Chanthaphasouk. “But really, it kind of seemed like everything was a little off. Even without Taylor Bell, though, the hitting was fine when we were able to get a good pass and set, but we made a lot of errors in those two areas.”
The jamboree featured a unique structure in which teams played one full set and one partial set against two different teams. Cabot lost both of its full sets, falling 25-17 to Conway and 25-23 to Vilonia.
It was the full set against Vilonia that had the head coach the most perplexed.
“We had a lot of unforced errors, missed serves,” Chanthaphasouk said. “We just gave them a lot of points. I think that if we had eliminated the unforced errors, we would’ve been just fine.”
When preseason officially began at the beginning of August, Chanthaphasouk was excited about the team’s play in camps over the summer. Despite the off night on Thursday, he’s still optimistic about the season.
“We know the potential is there and we know they can do a lot better,” the coach said. They’re a much better team than they showed last night. The focus wasn’t there for some reason. The key thing was a lack of communication. It just wasn’t them. There’s no doubt they’re a much better team than they showed in the jamboree.”
The Lady Panthers will have a few days to practice before they host 6A power Benton on Tuesday. The focus in those practices will likely be on the teamwork aspect of the game, rather than individual skills.
“We have a lot of individual talent, there’s no doubt about that,” Chanthaphasouk said. “It’s just getting them together. We have to learn to battle together. We’re going to fine tune those things in practice, work on being more vocal and communicating more.
“That’s what these jamborees are for, so you can spot things you need to work on that maybe you haven’t seen because you’ve only been going against each other for so long. We have a good core group of seniors. I think last night was just kind of an off night, and they’ll pick up from here and move forward.”
Cabot will also host Batesville at 6 p.m. Thursday at Panther Arena.
Leader sports editor
The Cabot volleyball team got its first taste of competition this season with a preseason benefit jamboree at Conway High School on Thursday. The matches didn’t count, but it gave Lady Panther coach Kham Chanthaphasouk a chance to spot some trouble areas going into the first official game next Tuesday.
“We were missing one of our outside hitters, so that was one thing that wasn’t quite right,” said Chanthaphasouk. “But really, it kind of seemed like everything was a little off. Even without Taylor Bell, though, the hitting was fine when we were able to get a good pass and set, but we made a lot of errors in those two areas.”
The jamboree featured a unique structure in which teams played one full set and one partial set against two different teams. Cabot lost both of its full sets, falling 25-17 to Conway and 25-23 to Vilonia.
It was the full set against Vilonia that had the head coach the most perplexed.
“We had a lot of unforced errors, missed serves,” Chanthaphasouk said. “We just gave them a lot of points. I think that if we had eliminated the unforced errors, we would’ve been just fine.”
When preseason officially began at the beginning of August, Chanthaphasouk was excited about the team’s play in camps over the summer. Despite the off night on Thursday, he’s still optimistic about the season.
“We know the potential is there and we know they can do a lot better,” the coach said. They’re a much better team than they showed last night. The focus wasn’t there for some reason. The key thing was a lack of communication. It just wasn’t them. There’s no doubt they’re a much better team than they showed in the jamboree.”
The Lady Panthers will have a few days to practice before they host 6A power Benton on Tuesday. The focus in those practices will likely be on the teamwork aspect of the game, rather than individual skills.
“We have a lot of individual talent, there’s no doubt about that,” Chanthaphasouk said. “It’s just getting them together. We have to learn to battle together. We’re going to fine tune those things in practice, work on being more vocal and communicating more.
“That’s what these jamborees are for, so you can spot things you need to work on that maybe you haven’t seen because you’ve only been going against each other for so long. We have a good core group of seniors. I think last night was just kind of an off night, and they’ll pick up from here and move forward.”
Cabot will also host Batesville at 6 p.m. Thursday at Panther Arena.
EDITORIAL >> Remarkable school year
We wish a successful new school year to all area students, teachers and the school administrators who support them. May they focus their efforts on education, not politics, and be ready to tackle the challenges ahead.
Classes began Monday, so enrollment numbers are preliminary, but they provide a clear indication of where area school districts rank in quantity and may hint at quality issues as well.
The Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District reports that 3,800 to 4,000 students attended classes this week. It’s the first school year the new district is completely in control of its affairs after breaking away from the troubled Pulaski County Special School District.
Growth is possible even if Jacksonville’s enrollment is comparable to Beebe and Lonoke rather than Cabot’s whopping 10,257 enrollment. Beebe has 3,256 students, and Lonoke has 1,755.
Many parents want small, but high-quality schools. It could be a way to lure young families to Jacksonville.
Believing its student body will double, the JNPSD administration is moving quickly to build three new campuses. Symbolically, on the first day of classes, district officials began demolition on the old middle school site near Main Street, where a new $60 million high school will open in August 2019.
It will be a modern building with first-rate athletics facilities that will attract students. Drivers on Hwy. 67/167 will see it on their daily commute, making a powerful declaration that Jacksonville is determined to compete educationally and economically with the best communities in central Arkansas.
JNPSD is preparing to build two elementary schools. One will be near the air base to replace Arnold Drive and Tolleson. Another, for which a location hasn’t been chosen yet, will probably consolidate Pinewood and Warren Dupree.
The old North Pulaski High campus has been converted to the district’s only middle school.
The new schools will be paid for with a property-tax increase that was narrowly approved by voters in February. We know the district and students will prove their critics wrong by working hard to show that the money will be well spent.
Improved test scores and good grades will quiet all the critics.
It’s not just the schools that have a tough haul ahead. The long-closed Jacksonville Elementary by East Main Street between Spring and Oak streets needs to be razed. It’s an unsightly, abandoned campus that can never be salvaged. The city should bulldoze it fast because there will be more empty schools left behind as new ones are built.
Jacksonville officials need to find a way to develop the sites of the old schools that will be shuttered soon.
When the new high school opens, its old campus could be a golden opportunity for redevelopment, which could incorporate the adjacent old-Walmart shopping center.
Jacksonville should relish this new beginning. There’s a lot of work to be done, but the city can enjoy setting goals and uniting as a community to achieve them.
That wasn’t possible under PCSSD.
Several churches have already given away school supplies and backpacks to hundreds of pupils to get the new school year off to a new start.
One such back-to-school event is going on now: Free backpacks and school supplies will be given away from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce parking lot, 200 Dupree Drive. The event is sponsored by Vision Ministry and Beyond-4-Church-Walls Ministry.
Cabot United Methodist Church recently held its annual community back-to-school fair, where more than 300 students received free clothing, shoes, toiletries, backpacks and school supplies, haircuts, eye exams and eyeglasses and a pancake breakfast. More than 70 volunteers pitched in.
Several others, including Jacksonville’s First Baptist and Second Baptist churches, gave away hundreds of backpacks and other school supplies, as did Victory Praise and Worship Church in Jacksonville during its annual Back to School Bash.
Jacksonville Alderman Tara Smith is encouraging people to volunteer by reading to kids in the new Jacksonville school district by joining the AR Kids Read program. This will be the third year Smith has mentored two students for half an hour a week. She and the pupils will take turns reading, and sometimes she’ll help them with spelling and math.
“I love to do this…When they see me coming, their little eyes light up and it’s so rewarding,” Smith told The Leader this week.
We look forward to highlighting more volunteer work throughout the school year.
Classes began Monday, so enrollment numbers are preliminary, but they provide a clear indication of where area school districts rank in quantity and may hint at quality issues as well.
The Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District reports that 3,800 to 4,000 students attended classes this week. It’s the first school year the new district is completely in control of its affairs after breaking away from the troubled Pulaski County Special School District.
Growth is possible even if Jacksonville’s enrollment is comparable to Beebe and Lonoke rather than Cabot’s whopping 10,257 enrollment. Beebe has 3,256 students, and Lonoke has 1,755.
Many parents want small, but high-quality schools. It could be a way to lure young families to Jacksonville.
Believing its student body will double, the JNPSD administration is moving quickly to build three new campuses. Symbolically, on the first day of classes, district officials began demolition on the old middle school site near Main Street, where a new $60 million high school will open in August 2019.
It will be a modern building with first-rate athletics facilities that will attract students. Drivers on Hwy. 67/167 will see it on their daily commute, making a powerful declaration that Jacksonville is determined to compete educationally and economically with the best communities in central Arkansas.
JNPSD is preparing to build two elementary schools. One will be near the air base to replace Arnold Drive and Tolleson. Another, for which a location hasn’t been chosen yet, will probably consolidate Pinewood and Warren Dupree.
The old North Pulaski High campus has been converted to the district’s only middle school.
The new schools will be paid for with a property-tax increase that was narrowly approved by voters in February. We know the district and students will prove their critics wrong by working hard to show that the money will be well spent.
Improved test scores and good grades will quiet all the critics.
It’s not just the schools that have a tough haul ahead. The long-closed Jacksonville Elementary by East Main Street between Spring and Oak streets needs to be razed. It’s an unsightly, abandoned campus that can never be salvaged. The city should bulldoze it fast because there will be more empty schools left behind as new ones are built.
Jacksonville officials need to find a way to develop the sites of the old schools that will be shuttered soon.
When the new high school opens, its old campus could be a golden opportunity for redevelopment, which could incorporate the adjacent old-Walmart shopping center.
Jacksonville should relish this new beginning. There’s a lot of work to be done, but the city can enjoy setting goals and uniting as a community to achieve them.
That wasn’t possible under PCSSD.
Several churches have already given away school supplies and backpacks to hundreds of pupils to get the new school year off to a new start.
One such back-to-school event is going on now: Free backpacks and school supplies will be given away from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce parking lot, 200 Dupree Drive. The event is sponsored by Vision Ministry and Beyond-4-Church-Walls Ministry.
Cabot United Methodist Church recently held its annual community back-to-school fair, where more than 300 students received free clothing, shoes, toiletries, backpacks and school supplies, haircuts, eye exams and eyeglasses and a pancake breakfast. More than 70 volunteers pitched in.
Several others, including Jacksonville’s First Baptist and Second Baptist churches, gave away hundreds of backpacks and other school supplies, as did Victory Praise and Worship Church in Jacksonville during its annual Back to School Bash.
Jacksonville Alderman Tara Smith is encouraging people to volunteer by reading to kids in the new Jacksonville school district by joining the AR Kids Read program. This will be the third year Smith has mentored two students for half an hour a week. She and the pupils will take turns reading, and sometimes she’ll help them with spelling and math.
“I love to do this…When they see me coming, their little eyes light up and it’s so rewarding,” Smith told The Leader this week.
We look forward to highlighting more volunteer work throughout the school year.
TOP STORY >> One man, three wars, four services
 |
| Retired Air Force Master Sgt. Robert Earl “Sam” Puckett served in three wars. After the Second World War, Puckett took part in the Berlin Airlift conducted by aircraft similar to the C-47 pictured above on base. |
By SENIOR AIRMAN HARRY BREXEL
9th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Few Americans can say they served in three major wars. Fewer still can say they were a member of four different branches of the military. Retired Air Force Master Sgt. Robert Earl “Sam” Puckett, 89, of Bono (Craighead County) has achieved both.
His journey began in 1943, as a 17-year-old Arkansan who enlisted in the Navy. Little did Puckett know, Uncle Sam had different plans for him. Before he could begin training at naval boot camp, he was chosen as a volunteer to enlist into the Marines instead.
“I remember leaving for the (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) Parris Island in South Carolina,” Puckett said. “I don’t think I heard a kind word my entire time there.”
Upon graduating, Puckett made the journey across the U.S. and Pacific Ocean to Saipan, Japan. Within a year of enlisting, Puckett fought in World War II as a member of the 2nd Marine Division.
Fighting became brutal and prolonged. Japanese soldiers launched a massive banzai infantry charge and routine tasks made the difference between life and death.
“I first fought in Saipan as a beach bastion,” Puckett said. “We had to get to the beach by jumping off our main vessel into a smaller boat. I carried a bazooka, a clip, two canteens and two days’ rations. If you didn’t make it onto the boat, you didn’t make it at all.”
Following Saipan, Puckett fought on Iwo Jima and then Okinawa.
After his extensive tour in Japan, Puckett’s enlistment with the Marine Corps came to an end. But he returned home as a different person.
“I didn’t want to be around people,” Puckett said. “I was only comfortable around other military folks.”
After only five months as a civilian, Puckett decided to join the military again. This time, he enlisted into the Army and was assigned to the 759th Military Police Battalion in Berlin.
“In 1948, the Russians blocked the roads and railways into parts of Berlin,” Puckett said. “But the U.S. Air Force provided rations to the Germans in need. There’s no telling how many missions U.S. troops flew to help the citizens of Berlin.”
On the first day of the Berlin Airlift, or Operation Vittles, approximately 100 Air Force C-47s made 32 flights into Berlin with 80 tons of cargo, mainly powdered milk, flour and medicine.
Soon after his tour in Germany, Puckett returned home and left the Army. He then joined the Air Force, which became a separate military service branch from the Army in 1947.
In the Air Force, Puckett returned to Germany and briefly fought in Korea on combat search-and-rescue helicopters, such as the Sikorsky H-19 “Chickasaw.”
Upon returning home and working at several bases, Puckett soon left for Asia. This time, he arrived to fight in the Vietnam War.
“Throughout the early 1960s, I fought in the Vietnam War, but I spent the majority of my time in Laos and Cambodia,” Puckett said.
Puckett worked in communications during the Vietnam War. As American involvement in the conflict increased, so did the support for information transmission systems, such as radar.
“I was lucky to make it home,” Puckett said. “I’ll never forget how awful the weather was and the friends I lost.”
After serving more than 27 years, Puckett retired as a master sergeant at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Soon after retiring, Puckett obtained a bachelor’s degree in education and became a history teacher.
Puckett now works as a substitute teacher and spends his time with his two children and wife of more than 60 years.
“If I had the option of doing it all over again, I would,” Puckett said.
An inspiration for current and future generations, Puckett’s story still inspires others today. His grand-nephew serves at Little Rock Air Force Base, and his great- grandchildren listen to his recollections in awe.
“Opportunities to hear stories from the Greatest Generation are fleeting,” said his great-nephew, Air Force Lt. Col. Matthew Puckett, 714th Training Squadron commander at Little Rock Air Force Base. “Some of my greatest moments are listening to my grandpa and great uncle talk about why they served and their willingness to serve.”
TOP STORY >> New director of CALS talks library futures, construction
By DEBORAH HORN
Leader staff writer
Nate Coulter uses words like “lawyering” in an engaging Southern drawl and in jest and talks about growing up in Nashville in Howard County. His words are punctuated with a smile. He’s disarming in a country boy kind of way, tall, lanky and perhaps those around him are fooled, but not for long — Coulter is Harvard educated, twice, and he’s a quick study.
Despite success as an attorney, he took down his shingle to take a job as Arkansas’ top librarian.
The Central Arkansas Library System, the state’s largest, is headquartered at the Main Library in downtown Little Rock. The system has an annual operating budget of about $17.5 million and more than 300 employees.
CALS is a public corporation created by inter-local agreement among Pulaski and Perry counties, and it has libraries in Jacksonville, Sherwood, Little Rock, Wrightsville, Maumelle and Perryville. It serves about 403,000, but through its Gateway Project, CALS serves another million patrons.
In 2015, there were more than 2 million visits to CALS libraries, and users checked out more than 2.7 million items.
Last December, the CALS Board of Directors named Coulter executive director. He succeeded the beloved and respected Bobby Roberts, who retired in March.
DOWNTOWN RESURGENCE
Coulter has one of the best views in all of downtown Little Rock, from his west and south facing, third-story windows a portion of the River Market is visible, the Historic Arkansas Museum’s grounds and buildings, the 300 Third Tower and more.
It’s one of the best views in downtown Little Rock, and before Coulter, it belonged to Roberts.
Perhaps Roberts is best known for his decision to build the Main Library in downtown Little Rock, which during the 1990s was not at all like the bustling area it is today.
There were more vacant buildings than occupied ones and more broken windows than not.
The area was scary during the day and even more so after dark. The River Market opened in 1996 to rumors of the possibility of a Clinton Presidential Library.
It was a slow start to the resurgence of downtown; nonetheless, Roberts wanted the library there.
He had doubters.
The decision to build in downtown Little Rock would earn Roberts accolades that extended to the farthest reaches of Pulaski and Perry counties for his vision and perseverance.
In 1997, he was named Librarian of the Year by Library Journal, in part because of his efforts to repeal a statewide cap on public library tax rates and to build the Central Arkansas Library System’s main branch.
That was the same year the downtown library opened.
Under Roberts’ watch, libraries were built, computers installed, e-books readied for download and patron numbers rose. He readied the CALS libraries for the 21st Century so finding the right person to replace him was daunting.
According to CALS board member Annette Herrington, “Many central Arkansas residents do not realize that CALS is nationally ranked as one of the top library systems in America. Bobby Roberts has been a visionary and the library board realized that he was a very tough act to follow.”
BIG SHOES TO FILL
Coulter’s not new to the party. He served on the CALS Board of Trustees for six years and their Foundation Board from 2013 until 2015. In all, he’s volunteered about 15 years of his life to its success.
Last year, he served as finance chair for the library system’s millage campaign.
It was successful and raised money for expansions at the Thompson, Dee Brown and Fletcher libraries, and a partial renovation of the Main Library.
Board member Frederick S. Ursery says Coulter was chosen for the job for a number of reasons, including his education and library service.
“He had been active with CALS in the past and had served on numerous committees. Therefore, he was thoroughly familiar with the organization and its people,” Ursery says.
Herrington says, “In Nate Coulter we found a unique candidate. Nate has national credentials, and he brings a fresh perspective to the entire organization.”
The board believed because he was familiar with central Arkansas and the library system’s unique mission Coulter could lead CALS in the tradition that Roberts established.
Coulter says, “Libraries are so much more than a reference desk. It’s more than bricks and mortar or digital content, libraries are valuable to a lot of people across the community.”
“In Nate, we really got the best of both worlds,” Herrington says.
Ursery says, “In his first six months on the job he has performed well and the board looks forward to a bright future with Nate at the helm of our organization.”
Herrington says, “Nate has already introduced podcasting of Radio CALS and a new ‘Primary Sources’ program that features accomplished, interesting Arkansans.”
As CALS executive director, Coulter oversees construction projects, the entire system’s operation, budget, fundraising and programming.
He says it’s a challenge he relishes.
Before Roberts retired, he introduced Coulter to Jackson-ville Mayor Gary Fletcher.
“Bobby Roberts did a tremendous job,” but Fletcher says he has faith in Coulter’s abilities.
“I look forward to working with him,” Fletcher says.
JACKSONVILLE GETS NEW LIBRARY
Actually, Coulter was on the CALS board that approved the new Jacksonville library that was built on Main Street in 2009, and he remembers attending a number of city council meetings prior to its construction.
Prior to construction he also talked with Cindy Powell, a librarian at Esther D. Nixon Library, about what they would like to see at the new facility.
Coulter says, “I remember she said they needed more desktop computers, more meeting rooms.”
Powell, too, remembers those meetings, and she describes Coulter as having a “great sense of humor and very approachable.”
When he took over as executive director, she says she was impressed that he contacted “all the staff, telling them, ‘I’m here.’” He welcomed their input on what worked and what didn’t, she says.
The Nixon Library opened with about 12,000 books, but now has five times that number, plus DVDs and other items.
LIBRARY KEY TO DEVELOPMENT
Fletcher envisions a renaissance of downtown Jacksonville with the library and the new high school serving as Main Street anchors.
The 13,500-square-foot Esther DeWitt Nixon library, at 703 W. Main St., is only about seven years old.
“It’s nice that the high school will be so close to the library,” Fletcher says.
The area along Main Street between the two institutions could be redeveloped with more restaurants and shops. Fletcher and others hope for the same kind of impetus the main library provided downtown Little Rock.
A proposed Jacksonville downtown revitalization might include more green areas like the arbor on the northeast corner of the library’s property.
“It’s inviting,” the mayor says, and helps create spaces people want to visit.
The mayor said that the library is like the town’s courthouse and a vital component of the area.
Coulter says he is pleased the Nixon Library is playing such an important role in Jacksonville, and he believes the new high school and library can be great partners.
“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Coulter says.
Powell says already the library is attracting teenagers with free WiFi and activities like an anime club, and she expects to see more teenagers in the library once the new high school opens.
She says to keep up in the fast-changing world, “Nate’s doing everything he can to spot trends and to keep CALS relevant.”
BIRTHING A LIBRARY
While studying the latest architectural drawings with excitement, Ginann Swindle, manager of the Amy Sanders Library, says she’s a big fan of Coulter’s.
She describes him as smart, focused and aware of the niches each CALS library fills in the communities they serve.
For instance, the Sherwood branch goes to great lengths to engage its patrons, through educational — and sometimes with just good old-fashioned fun — classes for kids and adults.
Computers are important to many of their patrons, Swindle says.
Coulter says individual libraries’ offerings are patron-driven and education throughout the system is big.
For instance, Sherwood has higher than expected usage because of Air Force Base personnel, and the library tries to serve their needs, he says.
Construction of a new Amy Sanders Library in Sherwood is one of the latest projects undertaken by CALS, and the construction will be overseen by Coulter.
Building a library isn’t an easy task. He describes the Sherwood library as “an outlier,” and says a new facility is long overdue.
But he believes the city supports the decision, because voters recently passed a millage increase. Funds for the new library are coming from about $6 million in bonds, which will be paid off by a 1.3-mill property tax.
Already the architectural plans are complete, the soil samples taken and the site survey is complete, and the construction manager should be on the payroll by the end of August, says Sherwood Mayor Virginia Hillman Young.
Coulter says building a library is like birthing an elephant. The gestation period for an elephant is about two years.
It has taken dozens and dozens of meetings to get the project to this point, and the mayor says the groundbreaking should happen by mid-September.
She also has high praise for Coulter and his approach and the interest he has shown during this process.
Amy Sanders, for whom the library is named, agrees and for her, it’s completion can’t come soon enough.
Herrington says, “Nate is deeply interested in budgeting CALS resources and completing current and planned construction projects. He’s set to ensure that the new Sanders Library will be the best library for the community that it can be.”
Young says moreover, the new CALS library “could set the tone for future buildings being built in Sherwood.”
Although not yet built, she adds, “We’re very proud of it.”
Coulter says, “The architect rendered a fabulous blueprint, as good as in any in our system.” It was designed by Taggart Architects of North Little Rock.
As libraries continue to evolve, Swindle says she’s optimistic about Coulter’s leadership.
“He gets it,” she says. He’s willing to listen to others, including library leaders around the country, as well the CALS staff—like the guy manning the reference desk.
“He is proactive and approachable…I see great things ahead for our library system under his leadership,” Swindle says.
ABOUT THE MAN
Coulter has two degrees from Harvard University at Cambridge, Mass., including an undergraduate degree in history and a law degree.
After clerking for U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Eisele and serving as assistant legal counsel to Bill Clinton when he was governor, Coulter practiced law in Arkansas for more than 25 years.
He was a partner with the law firms Wright, Lindsey & Jennings and with Wilson, Engstrom, Corum and Coulter, both in Little Rock.
During that time he was selected as a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and served as chairman of the Arkansas Bar Association’s Board of Governors in 2005 and 2006. In 2012, he was appointed to the faculty of the University of Arkansas School of Law for two years as the law school’s first Distinguished Practitioner in Residence.
In 1993, Coulter was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of Arkansas in a special election after Clinton was elected President.
Coulter was a charter member of Our House Shelter’s board and the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission, and now serves on the Downtown Little Rock Partnership Board and is a member of the Downtown Little Rock Rotary Club.
Coulter has three children, Caroline, Nathan and Tom, who all graduated from Little Rock Central High and have attended or are attending universities at North Carolina, Arkansas and Missouri.
Leader staff writer
Nate Coulter uses words like “lawyering” in an engaging Southern drawl and in jest and talks about growing up in Nashville in Howard County. His words are punctuated with a smile. He’s disarming in a country boy kind of way, tall, lanky and perhaps those around him are fooled, but not for long — Coulter is Harvard educated, twice, and he’s a quick study.
Despite success as an attorney, he took down his shingle to take a job as Arkansas’ top librarian.
The Central Arkansas Library System, the state’s largest, is headquartered at the Main Library in downtown Little Rock. The system has an annual operating budget of about $17.5 million and more than 300 employees.
CALS is a public corporation created by inter-local agreement among Pulaski and Perry counties, and it has libraries in Jacksonville, Sherwood, Little Rock, Wrightsville, Maumelle and Perryville. It serves about 403,000, but through its Gateway Project, CALS serves another million patrons.
In 2015, there were more than 2 million visits to CALS libraries, and users checked out more than 2.7 million items.
Last December, the CALS Board of Directors named Coulter executive director. He succeeded the beloved and respected Bobby Roberts, who retired in March.
DOWNTOWN RESURGENCE
Coulter has one of the best views in all of downtown Little Rock, from his west and south facing, third-story windows a portion of the River Market is visible, the Historic Arkansas Museum’s grounds and buildings, the 300 Third Tower and more.
It’s one of the best views in downtown Little Rock, and before Coulter, it belonged to Roberts.
Perhaps Roberts is best known for his decision to build the Main Library in downtown Little Rock, which during the 1990s was not at all like the bustling area it is today.
There were more vacant buildings than occupied ones and more broken windows than not.
The area was scary during the day and even more so after dark. The River Market opened in 1996 to rumors of the possibility of a Clinton Presidential Library.
It was a slow start to the resurgence of downtown; nonetheless, Roberts wanted the library there.
He had doubters.
The decision to build in downtown Little Rock would earn Roberts accolades that extended to the farthest reaches of Pulaski and Perry counties for his vision and perseverance.
In 1997, he was named Librarian of the Year by Library Journal, in part because of his efforts to repeal a statewide cap on public library tax rates and to build the Central Arkansas Library System’s main branch.
That was the same year the downtown library opened.
Under Roberts’ watch, libraries were built, computers installed, e-books readied for download and patron numbers rose. He readied the CALS libraries for the 21st Century so finding the right person to replace him was daunting.
According to CALS board member Annette Herrington, “Many central Arkansas residents do not realize that CALS is nationally ranked as one of the top library systems in America. Bobby Roberts has been a visionary and the library board realized that he was a very tough act to follow.”
BIG SHOES TO FILL
Coulter’s not new to the party. He served on the CALS Board of Trustees for six years and their Foundation Board from 2013 until 2015. In all, he’s volunteered about 15 years of his life to its success.
Last year, he served as finance chair for the library system’s millage campaign.
It was successful and raised money for expansions at the Thompson, Dee Brown and Fletcher libraries, and a partial renovation of the Main Library.
Board member Frederick S. Ursery says Coulter was chosen for the job for a number of reasons, including his education and library service.
“He had been active with CALS in the past and had served on numerous committees. Therefore, he was thoroughly familiar with the organization and its people,” Ursery says.
Herrington says, “In Nate Coulter we found a unique candidate. Nate has national credentials, and he brings a fresh perspective to the entire organization.”
The board believed because he was familiar with central Arkansas and the library system’s unique mission Coulter could lead CALS in the tradition that Roberts established.
Coulter says, “Libraries are so much more than a reference desk. It’s more than bricks and mortar or digital content, libraries are valuable to a lot of people across the community.”
“In Nate, we really got the best of both worlds,” Herrington says.
Ursery says, “In his first six months on the job he has performed well and the board looks forward to a bright future with Nate at the helm of our organization.”
Herrington says, “Nate has already introduced podcasting of Radio CALS and a new ‘Primary Sources’ program that features accomplished, interesting Arkansans.”
As CALS executive director, Coulter oversees construction projects, the entire system’s operation, budget, fundraising and programming.
He says it’s a challenge he relishes.
Before Roberts retired, he introduced Coulter to Jackson-ville Mayor Gary Fletcher.
“Bobby Roberts did a tremendous job,” but Fletcher says he has faith in Coulter’s abilities.
“I look forward to working with him,” Fletcher says.
JACKSONVILLE GETS NEW LIBRARY
Actually, Coulter was on the CALS board that approved the new Jacksonville library that was built on Main Street in 2009, and he remembers attending a number of city council meetings prior to its construction.
Prior to construction he also talked with Cindy Powell, a librarian at Esther D. Nixon Library, about what they would like to see at the new facility.
Coulter says, “I remember she said they needed more desktop computers, more meeting rooms.”
Powell, too, remembers those meetings, and she describes Coulter as having a “great sense of humor and very approachable.”
When he took over as executive director, she says she was impressed that he contacted “all the staff, telling them, ‘I’m here.’” He welcomed their input on what worked and what didn’t, she says.
The Nixon Library opened with about 12,000 books, but now has five times that number, plus DVDs and other items.
LIBRARY KEY TO DEVELOPMENT
Fletcher envisions a renaissance of downtown Jacksonville with the library and the new high school serving as Main Street anchors.
The 13,500-square-foot Esther DeWitt Nixon library, at 703 W. Main St., is only about seven years old.
“It’s nice that the high school will be so close to the library,” Fletcher says.
The area along Main Street between the two institutions could be redeveloped with more restaurants and shops. Fletcher and others hope for the same kind of impetus the main library provided downtown Little Rock.
A proposed Jacksonville downtown revitalization might include more green areas like the arbor on the northeast corner of the library’s property.
“It’s inviting,” the mayor says, and helps create spaces people want to visit.
The mayor said that the library is like the town’s courthouse and a vital component of the area.
Coulter says he is pleased the Nixon Library is playing such an important role in Jacksonville, and he believes the new high school and library can be great partners.
“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Coulter says.
Powell says already the library is attracting teenagers with free WiFi and activities like an anime club, and she expects to see more teenagers in the library once the new high school opens.
She says to keep up in the fast-changing world, “Nate’s doing everything he can to spot trends and to keep CALS relevant.”
BIRTHING A LIBRARY
While studying the latest architectural drawings with excitement, Ginann Swindle, manager of the Amy Sanders Library, says she’s a big fan of Coulter’s.
She describes him as smart, focused and aware of the niches each CALS library fills in the communities they serve.
For instance, the Sherwood branch goes to great lengths to engage its patrons, through educational — and sometimes with just good old-fashioned fun — classes for kids and adults.
Computers are important to many of their patrons, Swindle says.
Coulter says individual libraries’ offerings are patron-driven and education throughout the system is big.
For instance, Sherwood has higher than expected usage because of Air Force Base personnel, and the library tries to serve their needs, he says.
Construction of a new Amy Sanders Library in Sherwood is one of the latest projects undertaken by CALS, and the construction will be overseen by Coulter.
Building a library isn’t an easy task. He describes the Sherwood library as “an outlier,” and says a new facility is long overdue.
But he believes the city supports the decision, because voters recently passed a millage increase. Funds for the new library are coming from about $6 million in bonds, which will be paid off by a 1.3-mill property tax.
Already the architectural plans are complete, the soil samples taken and the site survey is complete, and the construction manager should be on the payroll by the end of August, says Sherwood Mayor Virginia Hillman Young.
Coulter says building a library is like birthing an elephant. The gestation period for an elephant is about two years.
It has taken dozens and dozens of meetings to get the project to this point, and the mayor says the groundbreaking should happen by mid-September.
She also has high praise for Coulter and his approach and the interest he has shown during this process.
Amy Sanders, for whom the library is named, agrees and for her, it’s completion can’t come soon enough.
Herrington says, “Nate is deeply interested in budgeting CALS resources and completing current and planned construction projects. He’s set to ensure that the new Sanders Library will be the best library for the community that it can be.”
Young says moreover, the new CALS library “could set the tone for future buildings being built in Sherwood.”
Although not yet built, she adds, “We’re very proud of it.”
Coulter says, “The architect rendered a fabulous blueprint, as good as in any in our system.” It was designed by Taggart Architects of North Little Rock.
As libraries continue to evolve, Swindle says she’s optimistic about Coulter’s leadership.
“He gets it,” she says. He’s willing to listen to others, including library leaders around the country, as well the CALS staff—like the guy manning the reference desk.
“He is proactive and approachable…I see great things ahead for our library system under his leadership,” Swindle says.
ABOUT THE MAN
Coulter has two degrees from Harvard University at Cambridge, Mass., including an undergraduate degree in history and a law degree.
After clerking for U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Eisele and serving as assistant legal counsel to Bill Clinton when he was governor, Coulter practiced law in Arkansas for more than 25 years.
He was a partner with the law firms Wright, Lindsey & Jennings and with Wilson, Engstrom, Corum and Coulter, both in Little Rock.
During that time he was selected as a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and served as chairman of the Arkansas Bar Association’s Board of Governors in 2005 and 2006. In 2012, he was appointed to the faculty of the University of Arkansas School of Law for two years as the law school’s first Distinguished Practitioner in Residence.
In 1993, Coulter was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of Arkansas in a special election after Clinton was elected President.
Coulter was a charter member of Our House Shelter’s board and the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission, and now serves on the Downtown Little Rock Partnership Board and is a member of the Downtown Little Rock Rotary Club.
Coulter has three children, Caroline, Nathan and Tom, who all graduated from Little Rock Central High and have attended or are attending universities at North Carolina, Arkansas and Missouri.
TOP STORY >> Census shows mixed results
By DEBORAH HORN
Leader staff writer
The population news presented at the Lonoke County Quorum Court during its Thursday meeting was mixed. Lonoke County’s overall population grew less than 1 percent from 2010 to 2015, and two of its four cities saw declines.
According to an Aug. 2 Metroplan report, Austin experienced the greatest percentage in growth, up 33.9 from 2010 through 2015, while Cabot grew by 2,111 residents during the same period. Cabot was listed as one of central Arkansas’ top cities experiencing an increase.
Austin grew by 691 people.
JP Henry Lang, a lifelong Cabot resident, said he’s seen the city’s population go from less than 2,000 in 1965 to its present population of about 25,887.
He said he wasn’t surprised by the Metroplan report. In fact, he said he predicts the growth will continue because of the proximity of the Air Force base at Jacksonville, and he said many Cabot residents work in Little Rock and North Little Rock.
“It’s a nice area,” he said.
Ward came in second in percentage growth, up by 20.9 percent or by 852 residents, while Lonoke’s population rose by only .8 percent, or by 32 people.
JP Bill Ryker of Lonoke is pleased and encouraged with his city’s growth.
Although small, he said it reverses past trends. In 2009, Lonoke had about 4,677 residents, but the population dropped until 2010 when it bottomed at 4,253 residents.
It’s now at 4,277.
Carlisle’s population fell by 16 and England’s by 53.
He said he hopes the new I-40 interchange and programs like Kick Start Lonoke will foster more growth.
Overall, Lonoke County grew by .9 percent during 2010 and 2015, and at a slower rate than between 1990 and 2010. The northern portion of the county is growing at a faster pace than the southern half, which remains an agricultural area, Ryker said.
Lonoke County Treasurer Patti Weathers presented the information from Metroplan to the justices of the peace.
LIBRARY USAGE INCREASING
Deborah Swayne Moore, Lonoke County Library System director, reported that most of its numbers increased since 2015. So far this year, she said circulation is up 30 percent over the same period last year.
She said the system’s four libraries are issuing more cards and renewing old ones at record rates so far this year. That number is up 50 percent over the same period in 2015, she said.
Also, she said 12,229 patrons participated in their 2016 Summer Reading Program at the Cabot Public Library, and that overall computer usage and total library visits climbed higher with each quarter in 2015.
For example, during the first quarter of 2015, about 38,112 visited the county’s libraries, while that number rose to 46,656 during the last quarter. Computer usage by patrons during the same period went from 6,623 to 7,649 log-ons.
The system has libraries in Lonoke, Carlisle, Cabot and England.
“The role of the library is changing, and we’re trying to let people know where we are and what services we offer,” Moore said. In particular, she said they are trying to engage more elementary age children through school field trips and other programs.
Moore also requested and received $25,000 from the quorum court to develop a five-year strategic plan for the library system that will run through 2022. The current plan expires at the end of 2017.
“We just started the process last week,” she said. It will include looking at various statistics such as “population growth and population trends, and where people live versus where they work and how that influences library usage.”
“It will not be a cookie-cutter plan, but we will look at the needs of each library,” she said.
“We want it to be unbiased,” so they will hire an outside firm to oversee the research and develop a comprehensive plan, Moore said.
GOVERNOR TO FILL VACANCY
The quorum court decided to begin the process of filling the vacancy left by JP Matt Sanders, who moved out of the county earlier this summer.
Resolution 2016-10 will allow Gov. Asa Hutchinson to appoint a replacement to fill the District 12 seat through the end of the year.
In November, Lonoke County voters will decide who will fill the seat for the next two years.
In other business:
JPs unanimously approved $10,000 for ammo and weapons for the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office.
JP Tim Odom was absent from the meeting Thursday.
The next Lonoke County Quorum Court meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15 at the Lonoke County Courthouse Annex at 210 N. Center St.
Leader staff writer
The population news presented at the Lonoke County Quorum Court during its Thursday meeting was mixed. Lonoke County’s overall population grew less than 1 percent from 2010 to 2015, and two of its four cities saw declines.
According to an Aug. 2 Metroplan report, Austin experienced the greatest percentage in growth, up 33.9 from 2010 through 2015, while Cabot grew by 2,111 residents during the same period. Cabot was listed as one of central Arkansas’ top cities experiencing an increase.
Austin grew by 691 people.
JP Henry Lang, a lifelong Cabot resident, said he’s seen the city’s population go from less than 2,000 in 1965 to its present population of about 25,887.
He said he wasn’t surprised by the Metroplan report. In fact, he said he predicts the growth will continue because of the proximity of the Air Force base at Jacksonville, and he said many Cabot residents work in Little Rock and North Little Rock.
“It’s a nice area,” he said.
Ward came in second in percentage growth, up by 20.9 percent or by 852 residents, while Lonoke’s population rose by only .8 percent, or by 32 people.
JP Bill Ryker of Lonoke is pleased and encouraged with his city’s growth.
Although small, he said it reverses past trends. In 2009, Lonoke had about 4,677 residents, but the population dropped until 2010 when it bottomed at 4,253 residents.
It’s now at 4,277.
Carlisle’s population fell by 16 and England’s by 53.
He said he hopes the new I-40 interchange and programs like Kick Start Lonoke will foster more growth.
Overall, Lonoke County grew by .9 percent during 2010 and 2015, and at a slower rate than between 1990 and 2010. The northern portion of the county is growing at a faster pace than the southern half, which remains an agricultural area, Ryker said.
Lonoke County Treasurer Patti Weathers presented the information from Metroplan to the justices of the peace.
LIBRARY USAGE INCREASING
Deborah Swayne Moore, Lonoke County Library System director, reported that most of its numbers increased since 2015. So far this year, she said circulation is up 30 percent over the same period last year.
She said the system’s four libraries are issuing more cards and renewing old ones at record rates so far this year. That number is up 50 percent over the same period in 2015, she said.
Also, she said 12,229 patrons participated in their 2016 Summer Reading Program at the Cabot Public Library, and that overall computer usage and total library visits climbed higher with each quarter in 2015.
For example, during the first quarter of 2015, about 38,112 visited the county’s libraries, while that number rose to 46,656 during the last quarter. Computer usage by patrons during the same period went from 6,623 to 7,649 log-ons.
The system has libraries in Lonoke, Carlisle, Cabot and England.
“The role of the library is changing, and we’re trying to let people know where we are and what services we offer,” Moore said. In particular, she said they are trying to engage more elementary age children through school field trips and other programs.
Moore also requested and received $25,000 from the quorum court to develop a five-year strategic plan for the library system that will run through 2022. The current plan expires at the end of 2017.
“We just started the process last week,” she said. It will include looking at various statistics such as “population growth and population trends, and where people live versus where they work and how that influences library usage.”
“It will not be a cookie-cutter plan, but we will look at the needs of each library,” she said.
“We want it to be unbiased,” so they will hire an outside firm to oversee the research and develop a comprehensive plan, Moore said.
GOVERNOR TO FILL VACANCY
The quorum court decided to begin the process of filling the vacancy left by JP Matt Sanders, who moved out of the county earlier this summer.
Resolution 2016-10 will allow Gov. Asa Hutchinson to appoint a replacement to fill the District 12 seat through the end of the year.
In November, Lonoke County voters will decide who will fill the seat for the next two years.
In other business:
JPs unanimously approved $10,000 for ammo and weapons for the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office.
JP Tim Odom was absent from the meeting Thursday.
The next Lonoke County Quorum Court meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15 at the Lonoke County Courthouse Annex at 210 N. Center St.
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