BY GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader publisher
A couple of local women wept during a meeting of the Joint Senate and House Judiciary Committees at the Capitol Thursday as they talked about their nightmarish experiences with so-called payday lenders in Jacksonville.
These are the storefront lenders who take your personal check for $500, give you a little more than $400 in cash, but if that check isn’t good in two weeks, you could wind up paying more than $3,000.
That’s pretty much what happened to Hazel Lavern Lynch and Glenda Malone, who found themselves short of money and went to their neighborhood check cashers to borrow a few hundred dollars.
When they couldn’t pay, they were threatened and harassed, their lives made miserable by goons who work at these storefront businesses, until help came along from consumer groups that called off the dogs.
The women tearfully told lawmakers it was the worst experience of their lives.
They would have been better off going to a mob-connected loan shark, who wouldn’t have had the heart to charge 3,600 percent interest as some of these check cashers do.
That may explain why the mob, as far as we know, isn’t in the business of payday advances. “It would make them look bad,” a consumer advocate told us before the meeting.
Glenda Malone, who works in Jacksonville and used to have a sunny personality, looked distraught when she gave her testimony at the committee hearing. She explained that her husband had suffered an injury on the job and retired with a small disability check. They weren’t making enough money, so she decided to go to a payday lender.
She might as well have walked through the gates of hell.
“Payday lenders have practices that weren’t very pleasant,” she said, holding back tears. “They’re abusive. They’ll harass you. They’ll harass you at your job. They threaten to call your boss. They go to the bank and try to cash the check.”
There was an overdraft charge every time they presented the check to the bank, as well as a service charge by the payday lenders.
Desperate for money, she went to another check casher to pay the first lender.
When the nightmare ended, she said, “I paid over $1,400 for a $500 check.”
Hazel Lavern Lynch, an elderly black woman, was another witness. Mark Johnson, a lobbyist for AARP, which supports legislation that would chase payday lenders out of Arkansas, helped her get seated behind a microphone and seemed to help her get comfortable, which was a moving scene, since many people think of his father, Jim, as an old segregationist.
She lives on Social Security and had a part-time job in Jacksonville, but when she found herself out of work, she needed $500 to visit her family and go to a class reunion.
“I hoped to get back to work and hoped to repay the loan,” she told lawmakers.
She was eligible for a $300 loan and wrote a check for $350.
“I didn’t get the job back, so I couldn’t pay. They began to call me at home. They called my 84-year-old mother. They came to my home and went to my neighbors. They were asking them a lot of questions. They continued to call. I told them I’d pay them when I got the money. All I had were Social Security payments. They went to my bank. They knew they were direct deposited.”
They cashed her check when the Social Security money was deposited, so the old woman didn’t have her Social Security money that month and had to borrow from another check casher so she could pay the rent.
The old woman was a poignant witness, but she didn’t get much sympathy from legislators. While Johnson’s acts of kindness must have impressed others in the room, a black representative named Booker T. Clemons, a term-limited legislator from Pine Bluff, heaped mostly abuse on her.
He wanted to know why she didn’t repay the first loan. She told him she didn’t have a job. With these payday lenders, you can’t make a partial payment. They want it all, or nothing.
Even some of the money changers in the hearing room seemed moved by the women’s plight, and these lenders are seldom moved by anything except at the sight of money.
But they don’t have to worry about the Legislature ending their abusive practices anytime soon: They’ve bought enough legislators that it will be tough to pass meaningful reforms in Little Rock. What’s really amazing is not so much the sight of legislators who are bought, but how Arkansas has allowed these check cashers to make usurious loans in violation of the state Constitution.
Next: How the check cashers were allowed into Arkansas and how to get rid of them.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
SATURDAY EDITORIAL >> Bill Harmon: A class act
Sherwood Mayor Bill Harmon will not seek re-election this November after nearly a quarter century in public service. He made the announcement at last week’s Sherwood City Council meeting, following a “good news” state of the city address.
In an interview with The Leader, Harmon admitted to some of his accomplishments, spreading the credit around and saying his job was done.
He will now let a new generation take over a community that has been called one of the finest suburbs in the nation. Under his leadership, Sher-wood has grown dramatically, but it has avoided many of the problems associated with suburban sprawl: Clogged roads, overburdened city services, outdated infrastructure, inadequate law-enforcement and more.
Sherwood has thrived through Bill Harmon’s leadership. He has stood up for the interests of ordinary residents rather than special interests. When, for example, the North Belt extension threatened to disrupt too many neighborhoods, the mayor came out against the proposed route and has supported a less destructive route.
Harmon has been a great ambassador for his city, building a reputation as a straight-talking mayor whose ever-present Stetson symbolizes small-town values. You always knew where Bill Harmon stood, and he has always kept his word.
He didn’t suffer fools lightly, and when he made up his mind, he was hard to move.
Always quick to safeguard Sherwood’s interests, the mayor appointed a committee to watch over the consultants doing a study of the feasibility of dissolving the Pulaski County Special School District and reconfiguring all districts in Pulaski County.
Always an advocate for the young and old, he oversaw construction of new parks, a recreation center and a senior center as well.
Bill Harmon also showed class when he announced his retirement in plenty of time for prospective mayoral candidates to jump in the race before the May filing deadline. Sherwood has a deep bench with good leadership ready to go to bat: Alderman Denny Stedman has announced that he will run for mayor, signifying the passing of the torch to a younger generation that is ready to take Sherwood forward, thanks to Bill Harmon’s stewardship that will make the town better that it has ever been.
In an interview with The Leader, Harmon admitted to some of his accomplishments, spreading the credit around and saying his job was done.
He will now let a new generation take over a community that has been called one of the finest suburbs in the nation. Under his leadership, Sher-wood has grown dramatically, but it has avoided many of the problems associated with suburban sprawl: Clogged roads, overburdened city services, outdated infrastructure, inadequate law-enforcement and more.
Sherwood has thrived through Bill Harmon’s leadership. He has stood up for the interests of ordinary residents rather than special interests. When, for example, the North Belt extension threatened to disrupt too many neighborhoods, the mayor came out against the proposed route and has supported a less destructive route.
Harmon has been a great ambassador for his city, building a reputation as a straight-talking mayor whose ever-present Stetson symbolizes small-town values. You always knew where Bill Harmon stood, and he has always kept his word.
He didn’t suffer fools lightly, and when he made up his mind, he was hard to move.
Always quick to safeguard Sherwood’s interests, the mayor appointed a committee to watch over the consultants doing a study of the feasibility of dissolving the Pulaski County Special School District and reconfiguring all districts in Pulaski County.
Always an advocate for the young and old, he oversaw construction of new parks, a recreation center and a senior center as well.
Bill Harmon also showed class when he announced his retirement in plenty of time for prospective mayoral candidates to jump in the race before the May filing deadline. Sherwood has a deep bench with good leadership ready to go to bat: Alderman Denny Stedman has announced that he will run for mayor, signifying the passing of the torch to a younger generation that is ready to take Sherwood forward, thanks to Bill Harmon’s stewardship that will make the town better that it has ever been.
SPORTS >> Beebe ladies win two, lose one at MSM tournament
BY RAY BENTON
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: The Beebe Lady Badgers came away with wins over Malvern and North Little Rock during last weekend’s Mount St. Mary’s tourney in Sherwood, but lost to Benton.
The Lady Badgers softball team added two more wins to their season total over the weekend in the Mount St. Mary’s tournament in Sherwood, but they also added their first loss.
Beebe beat Malvern 6-2 in the first round, then knocked off North Little Rock 1-0 Saturday afternoon.
The loss came in the following game in the quarterfinals of the 35-team tournament against Benton. The Lady Panthers handed Beebe its first loss with a 1-0 decision.
“Our defense and pitching was really good that second day, but we just were a little off at the plate,” Beebe coach Terry Flenor said. “Our timing was just a little off and we just weren’t getting it done. We were going against good quality pitching, but hopefully as the season goes on, we’ll still do better than that.”
Beebe’s defense wasn’t so great against Malvern, but the bats were hot as the Lady Badgers scored six earned runs on nine hits.
The Lady Leopards took the lead in the top of the first inning. The first two batters to step to the plate got a single and a double for the first run of the game.
Beebe pitcher Callie Mahoney settled down after the rough first inning, and allowed just one bunt single over the next five.
Meanwhile, Beebe scored at least one run in every inning, and scored twice in the second.
Brandi Burkhalter got things started in the first with an infield single.
A stolen base and a sacrifice moved her to third, where Chelsea Sanders singled to drive in the run.
Burkhalter did some damage in the second inning as well, but instead of scoring the runs, she drove them in.
Mykia Cox and Laura Foreman singled to get on base, and moved up a base on a sacrifice grounder by Laura Tucker. That brought Burkhalter back to the plate, who singled for two RBIs and a 3-1 Beebe lead it would not relinquish.
The Lady Badgers had a chance to put together a huge inning in the fifth when they got the two leadoff hitters on base, but bad luck struck.
Mahoney and Sara Flenor each hit hard line drives to left field, but the Malvern outfielder made outstanding plays to get both batters out.
She made an overhead stab of Flenor’s shot that would have cleared the bases if the play wasn’t made.
Coach Terry Flenor said more of that same kind of luck struck on Saturday.
“We didn’t hit very well overall, but we did a hit a few really hard, they were just right at somebody,” Flenor said.
Beebe, 4-1, opened conference play last night at home against Marion, and will play a doubleheader on the road Thursday at Nettleton.
Look for details of those games in Saturday’s edition of the Leader.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: The Beebe Lady Badgers came away with wins over Malvern and North Little Rock during last weekend’s Mount St. Mary’s tourney in Sherwood, but lost to Benton.
The Lady Badgers softball team added two more wins to their season total over the weekend in the Mount St. Mary’s tournament in Sherwood, but they also added their first loss.
Beebe beat Malvern 6-2 in the first round, then knocked off North Little Rock 1-0 Saturday afternoon.
The loss came in the following game in the quarterfinals of the 35-team tournament against Benton. The Lady Panthers handed Beebe its first loss with a 1-0 decision.
“Our defense and pitching was really good that second day, but we just were a little off at the plate,” Beebe coach Terry Flenor said. “Our timing was just a little off and we just weren’t getting it done. We were going against good quality pitching, but hopefully as the season goes on, we’ll still do better than that.”
Beebe’s defense wasn’t so great against Malvern, but the bats were hot as the Lady Badgers scored six earned runs on nine hits.
The Lady Leopards took the lead in the top of the first inning. The first two batters to step to the plate got a single and a double for the first run of the game.
Beebe pitcher Callie Mahoney settled down after the rough first inning, and allowed just one bunt single over the next five.
Meanwhile, Beebe scored at least one run in every inning, and scored twice in the second.
Brandi Burkhalter got things started in the first with an infield single.
A stolen base and a sacrifice moved her to third, where Chelsea Sanders singled to drive in the run.
Burkhalter did some damage in the second inning as well, but instead of scoring the runs, she drove them in.
Mykia Cox and Laura Foreman singled to get on base, and moved up a base on a sacrifice grounder by Laura Tucker. That brought Burkhalter back to the plate, who singled for two RBIs and a 3-1 Beebe lead it would not relinquish.
The Lady Badgers had a chance to put together a huge inning in the fifth when they got the two leadoff hitters on base, but bad luck struck.
Mahoney and Sara Flenor each hit hard line drives to left field, but the Malvern outfielder made outstanding plays to get both batters out.
She made an overhead stab of Flenor’s shot that would have cleared the bases if the play wasn’t made.
Coach Terry Flenor said more of that same kind of luck struck on Saturday.
“We didn’t hit very well overall, but we did a hit a few really hard, they were just right at somebody,” Flenor said.
Beebe, 4-1, opened conference play last night at home against Marion, and will play a doubleheader on the road Thursday at Nettleton.
Look for details of those games in Saturday’s edition of the Leader.
SPORTS >> ALL STARS: Several local players named to All-State/Conference
BY RAY BENTON
Leader sports writer
Basketball season is over, but the honors and accolades are just starting to roll in. Several players from local-coverage teams made their respective leagues’ all-conference teams, while a select few were named to the All-State squad.
Leading the list of local players is Jacksonville senior Lavar Neely. Neely, a 5-11 guard, has been the team’s leading scorer for two years, and was the second-leading scorer in the AAAAA-East. His 24 points per game was second behind West Memphis’ Jason Henry.
Neely was also nominated for the All-Star team. Henry got the league’s automatic bid, but Neely made the list of top-five league players to be considered for invitations to the summer classic.
The Cabot girls, who won the AAAAA-East with a perfect 14-0 record, put three players on the All-State team, led by senior Kim Sitzmann. Sitzmann, who signed an NCAA letter of intent early with UALR, is also up for All-Star consideration.
Sitzmann was joined by junior guards Maddie Helms and Jamie Sterrenberg on the All-State list.
Jacksonville senior post player Tarneshia Scott also made the AAAAA-East All-State team.
Lonoke senior guard Meaghan Kelleybrew is also up for All-Star consideration. She made the All-State team after averaging 13 points, four rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 blocks, 1.4 steals and shooting 70 percent from the free-throw line.
Her point and block averages, as well as her free-throw percentage, led the Lady Jackrabbits, who finished second behind state champion CAC in the 6AAA.
North Pulaski senior guard Tish Howell also made All-State. She averaged 18 points per game for the Lady Falcons, who finished fourth and advanced to the state playoffs from the AAAA-Southeast conference. She had a season-high 27 points against Stuttgart in a game that locked up NP’s playoff bid.
Riverview post player Cory Cooperwood is the 2AAA’s No. 1 selection for the All-Star team. Cooperwood dominated the league, averaging 25 points and 15 rebounds per game.
Twice this season Cooperwood scored 30-plus while pulling down 20-plus rebounds.
His most remarkable effort of the season came in the regional tournament against Gosnell. The 6-foot-6 post scored 35 points, grabbed 23 rebounds, blocked 10 shots and dished out 10 assists for a quadruple-double.
Across town, Searcy senior and Wichita State signee Chris Brown made the All-State team for the Lions. Brown averaged 22 points and eight rebounds this season.
Harding Academy put one boy and one girl on the All-State team. Senior post player Jessica Stevens made All-State, as well as Wildcat junior guard Alex Beene.
In an odd twist, Lady Wildcat guard Sara Montgomery was not named to the All-State team, but was nominated as the league’s top consideration for the All-Star game. She was also named to the All-State tournament team for her performance in the class AA tournament, leading the Lady Wildcats to the quarterfinal round.
Beene averaged 19 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists per game for the Wildcats, and knocked 101 three pointers this season.
Stevens scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds per game, while Montgomery averaged 10 points and seven assists.
The list of All-conference players is even more prolific. Dozens of local players made the list.
The Jacksonville boys put Kelsey Credit and Kajuan Watson on the first-team, while Will Christian, Airic Hughes and Bryan Owens made second-team.
Lady Devil Frankie Brown made the girls All-Conference team.
Cabot junior Lindsey Watts joined the three Lady Panther All-Staters on the All-Conference first team, while senior Lauren Walker and sophomores Rachel Glover and Leah Watts made the second team.
Chad Glover, Mike Lowery and Matt Shinn were the Cabot boys All-Conference selections.
Sylvan Hills seniors Mike Gross and Ulysses Robinson made first-team All-Conference from the Bears’ state semifinal team.
Gross was also named to the All-State tournament team after averaging nearly 20 points per game in the Bears’ three tournament matchups.
Lady Jackrabbits Jenny Evans, Libby Gay and Calisha Kirk joined Kelleybrew on the 6AAA All-Conference first team, while Christy Shinn made the second-team.
Eligha Gooden and Kylon Boyd made the 6AAA first team for the Jackrabbits. Chris Moragne and Brentley Spencer made second-team. The 6AAA also makes an academic All-Conference team, and Walter Ellis and Lady Rabbit Nikki McCoy made that list.
North Pulaski’s Quinn Cooper was the Falcons’ All-Conference selection. Lady Falcons Jalecia Bateman and Lakeyshia Ridgeway joined Howell on the All-Conference team.
Riverview’s junior guard Tony Hall made the 2AAA’s first-team All-Con-ference list. He and Cooperwood were both named to the class AAA All-State tournament te-am. Harding Academy’s Nick Beene made All-Conference and was selected as one of the league’s All-Star nominees. Joining the Beene brothers on the 2-AA South All-Conference team by teammates Luke Tribble, Lance Carr and James Kee. Lady Wildcats Jennifer Kee, Rebekah Keese, Liz Ashley, Katie Cook and Taylor Pryor made the All-Conference team from the 2AA-South.
Leader sports writer
Basketball season is over, but the honors and accolades are just starting to roll in. Several players from local-coverage teams made their respective leagues’ all-conference teams, while a select few were named to the All-State squad.
Leading the list of local players is Jacksonville senior Lavar Neely. Neely, a 5-11 guard, has been the team’s leading scorer for two years, and was the second-leading scorer in the AAAAA-East. His 24 points per game was second behind West Memphis’ Jason Henry.
Neely was also nominated for the All-Star team. Henry got the league’s automatic bid, but Neely made the list of top-five league players to be considered for invitations to the summer classic.
The Cabot girls, who won the AAAAA-East with a perfect 14-0 record, put three players on the All-State team, led by senior Kim Sitzmann. Sitzmann, who signed an NCAA letter of intent early with UALR, is also up for All-Star consideration.
Sitzmann was joined by junior guards Maddie Helms and Jamie Sterrenberg on the All-State list.
Jacksonville senior post player Tarneshia Scott also made the AAAAA-East All-State team.
Lonoke senior guard Meaghan Kelleybrew is also up for All-Star consideration. She made the All-State team after averaging 13 points, four rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 blocks, 1.4 steals and shooting 70 percent from the free-throw line.
Her point and block averages, as well as her free-throw percentage, led the Lady Jackrabbits, who finished second behind state champion CAC in the 6AAA.
North Pulaski senior guard Tish Howell also made All-State. She averaged 18 points per game for the Lady Falcons, who finished fourth and advanced to the state playoffs from the AAAA-Southeast conference. She had a season-high 27 points against Stuttgart in a game that locked up NP’s playoff bid.
Riverview post player Cory Cooperwood is the 2AAA’s No. 1 selection for the All-Star team. Cooperwood dominated the league, averaging 25 points and 15 rebounds per game.
Twice this season Cooperwood scored 30-plus while pulling down 20-plus rebounds.
His most remarkable effort of the season came in the regional tournament against Gosnell. The 6-foot-6 post scored 35 points, grabbed 23 rebounds, blocked 10 shots and dished out 10 assists for a quadruple-double.
Across town, Searcy senior and Wichita State signee Chris Brown made the All-State team for the Lions. Brown averaged 22 points and eight rebounds this season.
Harding Academy put one boy and one girl on the All-State team. Senior post player Jessica Stevens made All-State, as well as Wildcat junior guard Alex Beene.
In an odd twist, Lady Wildcat guard Sara Montgomery was not named to the All-State team, but was nominated as the league’s top consideration for the All-Star game. She was also named to the All-State tournament team for her performance in the class AA tournament, leading the Lady Wildcats to the quarterfinal round.
Beene averaged 19 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists per game for the Wildcats, and knocked 101 three pointers this season.
Stevens scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds per game, while Montgomery averaged 10 points and seven assists.
The list of All-conference players is even more prolific. Dozens of local players made the list.
The Jacksonville boys put Kelsey Credit and Kajuan Watson on the first-team, while Will Christian, Airic Hughes and Bryan Owens made second-team.
Lady Devil Frankie Brown made the girls All-Conference team.
Cabot junior Lindsey Watts joined the three Lady Panther All-Staters on the All-Conference first team, while senior Lauren Walker and sophomores Rachel Glover and Leah Watts made the second team.
Chad Glover, Mike Lowery and Matt Shinn were the Cabot boys All-Conference selections.
Sylvan Hills seniors Mike Gross and Ulysses Robinson made first-team All-Conference from the Bears’ state semifinal team.
Gross was also named to the All-State tournament team after averaging nearly 20 points per game in the Bears’ three tournament matchups.
Lady Jackrabbits Jenny Evans, Libby Gay and Calisha Kirk joined Kelleybrew on the 6AAA All-Conference first team, while Christy Shinn made the second-team.
Eligha Gooden and Kylon Boyd made the 6AAA first team for the Jackrabbits. Chris Moragne and Brentley Spencer made second-team. The 6AAA also makes an academic All-Conference team, and Walter Ellis and Lady Rabbit Nikki McCoy made that list.
North Pulaski’s Quinn Cooper was the Falcons’ All-Conference selection. Lady Falcons Jalecia Bateman and Lakeyshia Ridgeway joined Howell on the All-Conference team.
Riverview’s junior guard Tony Hall made the 2AAA’s first-team All-Con-ference list. He and Cooperwood were both named to the class AAA All-State tournament te-am. Harding Academy’s Nick Beene made All-Conference and was selected as one of the league’s All-Star nominees. Joining the Beene brothers on the 2-AA South All-Conference team by teammates Luke Tribble, Lance Carr and James Kee. Lady Wildcats Jennifer Kee, Rebekah Keese, Liz Ashley, Katie Cook and Taylor Pryor made the All-Conference team from the 2AA-South.
NEIGHBORS >> Chat 'N' Chew
BY SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: School reading program involves students, community leaders and lunch
Fourth grade students at Magness Creek Elementary are becoming excited about reading through the Chat ‘N’ Chew book clubs started by literacy teacher Joni Coats.
“Of my 41 students, 21 had been identified at some risk in the area of reading comprehension,” Coats said. “With that many Academic Improvement Plans I knew the school would never be able to supply me with the tutoring assistance I needed to accommodate all these children.” Inspired by Oprah Winfrey’s book clubs, Coats suggested fourth-grade book clubs during lunch led not by teachers, but rather by community members who could become mentors to the children. Magness Creek principal Blaine Alexander volunteered to lead one of the book clubs and sent an e-mail to the administration office and out to the community.
Now seven Chat ‘N’ Chew book clubs, four for girls, three for boys, with six students in each, meet throughout the week. Book club students take their lunches and books into conference rooms where community volunteers lead the Chat ‘N’ Chew discussions.
Other community volunteers beside Alexander include Pam Carter and Robert Martin both of the Cabot School Central Office; Angela Kuntzman of Cebridge Communications in Cabot; Jeff Hardage of Whit Davis Lumber Plus in Cabot; Charlotte Ramsey and Kylie McGinty, both teacher interns from the University of Central Arkansas. “It’s over lunch so it’s casual and fun and not like a classroom atmosphere,” Coats said. In addition to building literacy skills in a relaxed environment the clubs are helping with student behavior problems in the classroom.
“The students are seeing that reading is a wonderful thing, not from a teacher but from ordinary grown-ups. Children love the clubs. They like having a special place to eat and talk to someone other than a teacher about books,” Coats said.
During the first meeting the students decide how many chapters they’re going to read for each Chat ‘N’ Chew, usually two to three chapters a week. It takes about six to eight Chat ‘N’ Chew meetings to complete a book.
In Martin’s book club, the boys are reading “Snow Treasure” by Marie McSwigan, a 156-page historical mystery about Nazis invading Norway.
“We’re learning about context clues and predicting what’s going to happen next,” Martin said. A self-described history buff, Martin used the Internet to show the students where Norway is and what a fjord looks like to aid them in understanding the setting of the novel.
Down the hall in Jeff Hardage’s book club, the group is discussing the 96-page “The X-ed Out X-Ray” an A to Z Mystery by Ron Roy. “At home I read more managerial books and hunting magazines,” says Hardage. “I think it’s important to show the young students that reading is enjoyable and adults are interested in it.”
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: School reading program involves students, community leaders and lunch
Fourth grade students at Magness Creek Elementary are becoming excited about reading through the Chat ‘N’ Chew book clubs started by literacy teacher Joni Coats.
“Of my 41 students, 21 had been identified at some risk in the area of reading comprehension,” Coats said. “With that many Academic Improvement Plans I knew the school would never be able to supply me with the tutoring assistance I needed to accommodate all these children.” Inspired by Oprah Winfrey’s book clubs, Coats suggested fourth-grade book clubs during lunch led not by teachers, but rather by community members who could become mentors to the children. Magness Creek principal Blaine Alexander volunteered to lead one of the book clubs and sent an e-mail to the administration office and out to the community.
Now seven Chat ‘N’ Chew book clubs, four for girls, three for boys, with six students in each, meet throughout the week. Book club students take their lunches and books into conference rooms where community volunteers lead the Chat ‘N’ Chew discussions.
Other community volunteers beside Alexander include Pam Carter and Robert Martin both of the Cabot School Central Office; Angela Kuntzman of Cebridge Communications in Cabot; Jeff Hardage of Whit Davis Lumber Plus in Cabot; Charlotte Ramsey and Kylie McGinty, both teacher interns from the University of Central Arkansas. “It’s over lunch so it’s casual and fun and not like a classroom atmosphere,” Coats said. In addition to building literacy skills in a relaxed environment the clubs are helping with student behavior problems in the classroom.
“The students are seeing that reading is a wonderful thing, not from a teacher but from ordinary grown-ups. Children love the clubs. They like having a special place to eat and talk to someone other than a teacher about books,” Coats said.
During the first meeting the students decide how many chapters they’re going to read for each Chat ‘N’ Chew, usually two to three chapters a week. It takes about six to eight Chat ‘N’ Chew meetings to complete a book.
In Martin’s book club, the boys are reading “Snow Treasure” by Marie McSwigan, a 156-page historical mystery about Nazis invading Norway.
“We’re learning about context clues and predicting what’s going to happen next,” Martin said. A self-described history buff, Martin used the Internet to show the students where Norway is and what a fjord looks like to aid them in understanding the setting of the novel.
Down the hall in Jeff Hardage’s book club, the group is discussing the 96-page “The X-ed Out X-Ray” an A to Z Mystery by Ron Roy. “At home I read more managerial books and hunting magazines,” says Hardage. “I think it’s important to show the young students that reading is enjoyable and adults are interested in it.”
SATURDAY EDITORIAL >>Halter is no Bumpers
Bill Halter got out of the Arkansas governor’s race Thursday, reflecting greater wisdom than the young Rhodes scholar had demonstrated in his brief political career. Halter said he was persuaded that he would have to savage Mike Beebe to have any chance of winning the Democratic nomination and he was loathe to run that kind of campaign. In that manner alone did he remind anyone of young Dale Bumpers, who was unknown outside the mountain hamlet of Charleston where he practiced law and ran a hardware store when he came out of a large pack of candidates to defeat the giants of Arkansas politics in one five-month span 35 years ago. Bumpers refused to attack his opponents, a stance he would keep for 28 remarkable years. Halter had not restrained himself since announcing last fall that he might run for governor, but at least he did not have the stomach for the mudslinging that Republicans hoped he would undertake.
At least as likely, he concluded he could not win at any cost. Attorney General Beebe has too many powers-that-be, too much of the party, too much money, too much caution, too much savvy to be sidetracked by an unknown in a primary only a little more than two months away. Halter’s campaign of ideas, which he had promised and which his superb education led us to expect, was an immediate bust. His big idea was a lottery.
Now Halter joins the innumerable caravan that wants to be Arkansas lieutenant governor. He joins four Democrats and three Republicans running for a job that requires less heavy lifting than any public position in these parts except constable of Big Rock Township. The lieutenant governor has a single duty under the Arkansas Constitution, which is to preside over the state Senate a few hours a week for three months in off-numbered years — if he wants to. If the lieutenant governor wants to knock off, the Senate president pro tempore or another senator will slide into the Senate president’s chair and government runs just as smoothly. Until a few years ago, the lieutenant governor rarely set foot in the Capitol except when the legislature was in session.
But neither the joy of presiding over the somnolent upper chamber or the lassitude of doing next to nothing and drawing a regular paycheck is what impels Halter and all the others. It is the knowledge that lightning struck for the last two lieutenant governors. They fell into the governor’s office without first having to run for it. Jim Guy Tucker became governor when Bill Clinton resigned to become president, and Mike Huckabee became governor when Tucker resigned after his conviction for misdeeds in his business affairs in the 1980s. The only other lieutenant governor who climbed out of the obscurity of the office was the first one, Harvey Parnell, who got to be governor.
From what we have gleaned from Halter, unless we misjudge him, this may be the perfect job.
At least as likely, he concluded he could not win at any cost. Attorney General Beebe has too many powers-that-be, too much of the party, too much money, too much caution, too much savvy to be sidetracked by an unknown in a primary only a little more than two months away. Halter’s campaign of ideas, which he had promised and which his superb education led us to expect, was an immediate bust. His big idea was a lottery.
Now Halter joins the innumerable caravan that wants to be Arkansas lieutenant governor. He joins four Democrats and three Republicans running for a job that requires less heavy lifting than any public position in these parts except constable of Big Rock Township. The lieutenant governor has a single duty under the Arkansas Constitution, which is to preside over the state Senate a few hours a week for three months in off-numbered years — if he wants to. If the lieutenant governor wants to knock off, the Senate president pro tempore or another senator will slide into the Senate president’s chair and government runs just as smoothly. Until a few years ago, the lieutenant governor rarely set foot in the Capitol except when the legislature was in session.
But neither the joy of presiding over the somnolent upper chamber or the lassitude of doing next to nothing and drawing a regular paycheck is what impels Halter and all the others. It is the knowledge that lightning struck for the last two lieutenant governors. They fell into the governor’s office without first having to run for it. Jim Guy Tucker became governor when Bill Clinton resigned to become president, and Mike Huckabee became governor when Tucker resigned after his conviction for misdeeds in his business affairs in the 1980s. The only other lieutenant governor who climbed out of the obscurity of the office was the first one, Harvey Parnell, who got to be governor.
From what we have gleaned from Halter, unless we misjudge him, this may be the perfect job.
WEDNESDAY EDITORIAL >> Huckabee train slows
After nearly a year of circuit riding in the early presidential precincts of New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina, our former preacher turned politician got his chance on the big stage Saturday. Gov. Huckabee’s speech to the Republican midterm convention at Memphis, an early cattle show for presidential aspirants, earned him some offhand notice in the public prints, blogs and TV shows. It didn’t make him, but it didn’t break him either. He barely registered in the straw poll of preferences, but Sen. Bill Frist, the native son, had that stacked anyway.
We would guess that Huckabee got enough encouragement to keep him going, but then that threshold did not need to be high. He makes a pretty good speech, tells a good yarn, effects an agreeable rhythm, and your attention is called to that skinny though slightly hunched frame. Everyone is reminded that this is the politician who shed more than a hundred pounds.
Mike Huckabee is a distant candidate for the Grand Old Party in ’08, and we suspect that he will be nothing more than that a year from now or even two years from now, if he remains until the primaries begin. He has a single chance to emerge as a major candidate and that rests on his ability to make a fetching speech. Regardless of his rhetoric at Memphis and elsewhere in his travels, his record as a tax-and-spend, big-government politician won’t help in a party that is now captive of the far right. His personal story, unlike the prisoner-of-war John McCain’s, is not compelling: a Baptist preacher who goes into politics and melts off a hundred pounds of baby fat under medical-school supervision.
Compared with George W. Bush, Huckabee is Pericles incarnate, and his oratorical skill stacks up well also against Frist, Sen. John McCain and the other potential candidates. But we are reminded that the best speechmakers in Republican primaries going back to 1988 got nowhere. The absolute worst won the nomination every time: George H. W. Bush in ’88 and ’92, Bob Dole in ’96 and the Bush son in 2000 and 2004. Without a script neither Bush could talk his way out of a jaywalking ticket, and people were known to have fallen asleep exchanging hellos with Dole.
But making the other candidates seem inarticulate is Huckabee’s only ticket. May the muses inspire him or else we will not soon have another governor rise to the highest office in the land.
Accounts of the governor’s brief oration at Memphis do not encourage us. His big applause line, that “I’d still rather fight the terrorists in Baghdad than Boston any day of the week,” is a tired variation of the most popular refrain in Republican politics. The Bush administration pushes that line as a rhetorical justification for the war in Iraq. The conservative Washington journal, the Weekly Standard, had a lengthy piece about all the variations uttered by members of the administration and Republican supporters and pundits: “I’d rather meet the terrorists in Tikrit than in Tahoe,” etc. Besides, while it sounds good it is meaningless. Terrorism in Baghdad is a product of the war, not cause of it. So the governor needs to find fresh material, not mine the Republican talking points.
As part of our encyclopedic political counsel, we suggest that he try to distinguish himself from the propaganda mill. Like the other speakers, Huckabee picked up all the refrains: defense of Bush’s war and warmaking tactics, attacks on abortion and gays, cheers for tax cuts, spending restraints and fiscal conservatism in general.
Here was a chance to abandon the official hypocrisy. Fiscal conservatism? Not many Republican conservatives really believe that this administration and the national party invoke those values. Not when Congress this week is taking up a resolution to expand the nation’s debt ceiling to $9 trillion so that the government does not have to renege on its obligations for the first time in history.
Huckabee could call on the party to return to its fundamental principles but he hasn’t, so far. He has been pointing out that he has balanced the budgets in Arkansas for 10 years, but of course in Arkansas the Constitution requires it and he would risk jail if he didn’t.
But his embrace of the principle of limited government was hollow, even if it got polite applause. He said that he had rammed through the only tax cut in Arkansas in decades over the objections of critics who said he would be wrecking the budget. The crowd, except for a few Arkies, could not have known that the tax cut of 1997 was written by Democratic lawmakers, sponsored by the Democratic leader and passed 96-0 in the House of Representatives. Unlike the Bush tax cuts, its rewards went to working families and not the super-rich. Huckabee said “good job” and signed it.
Few of them knew as well that the tax cut of 1997 was followed by a string of tax increases largely on Arkansas working families that far offset the little income tax cut: three sales tax increases, expansion of the sales tax to many services, an income tax surcharge, gasoline taxes, diesel taxes, cigarette and tobacco taxes and a drivers license increase. The delegates may not have known that he helped arrange the largest expansions of government-paid medical care in Arkansas history (largely paid by U.S. taxpayers), compiled a larger general-obligation debt than all previous governors combined, increased the number of government employees by 20 percent (to 52,440 in January) in only nine and a half years and conducted a liberal policy of criminal pardons and commutations.
That is not limited government. It happens that we think the governor might want to brag about a few of those things that he accomplished with the overwhelmingly Democratic legislature because they made our society better, but they are not what you tell a very conservative constituency like a gathering of current Republican faithful. We understand the governor’s predicament, but we hate to see him mislead. Our final advice: Be the John McCain of 2008. Tell it like it is. They will respect you for it tomorrow.
We would guess that Huckabee got enough encouragement to keep him going, but then that threshold did not need to be high. He makes a pretty good speech, tells a good yarn, effects an agreeable rhythm, and your attention is called to that skinny though slightly hunched frame. Everyone is reminded that this is the politician who shed more than a hundred pounds.
Mike Huckabee is a distant candidate for the Grand Old Party in ’08, and we suspect that he will be nothing more than that a year from now or even two years from now, if he remains until the primaries begin. He has a single chance to emerge as a major candidate and that rests on his ability to make a fetching speech. Regardless of his rhetoric at Memphis and elsewhere in his travels, his record as a tax-and-spend, big-government politician won’t help in a party that is now captive of the far right. His personal story, unlike the prisoner-of-war John McCain’s, is not compelling: a Baptist preacher who goes into politics and melts off a hundred pounds of baby fat under medical-school supervision.
Compared with George W. Bush, Huckabee is Pericles incarnate, and his oratorical skill stacks up well also against Frist, Sen. John McCain and the other potential candidates. But we are reminded that the best speechmakers in Republican primaries going back to 1988 got nowhere. The absolute worst won the nomination every time: George H. W. Bush in ’88 and ’92, Bob Dole in ’96 and the Bush son in 2000 and 2004. Without a script neither Bush could talk his way out of a jaywalking ticket, and people were known to have fallen asleep exchanging hellos with Dole.
But making the other candidates seem inarticulate is Huckabee’s only ticket. May the muses inspire him or else we will not soon have another governor rise to the highest office in the land.
Accounts of the governor’s brief oration at Memphis do not encourage us. His big applause line, that “I’d still rather fight the terrorists in Baghdad than Boston any day of the week,” is a tired variation of the most popular refrain in Republican politics. The Bush administration pushes that line as a rhetorical justification for the war in Iraq. The conservative Washington journal, the Weekly Standard, had a lengthy piece about all the variations uttered by members of the administration and Republican supporters and pundits: “I’d rather meet the terrorists in Tikrit than in Tahoe,” etc. Besides, while it sounds good it is meaningless. Terrorism in Baghdad is a product of the war, not cause of it. So the governor needs to find fresh material, not mine the Republican talking points.
As part of our encyclopedic political counsel, we suggest that he try to distinguish himself from the propaganda mill. Like the other speakers, Huckabee picked up all the refrains: defense of Bush’s war and warmaking tactics, attacks on abortion and gays, cheers for tax cuts, spending restraints and fiscal conservatism in general.
Here was a chance to abandon the official hypocrisy. Fiscal conservatism? Not many Republican conservatives really believe that this administration and the national party invoke those values. Not when Congress this week is taking up a resolution to expand the nation’s debt ceiling to $9 trillion so that the government does not have to renege on its obligations for the first time in history.
Huckabee could call on the party to return to its fundamental principles but he hasn’t, so far. He has been pointing out that he has balanced the budgets in Arkansas for 10 years, but of course in Arkansas the Constitution requires it and he would risk jail if he didn’t.
But his embrace of the principle of limited government was hollow, even if it got polite applause. He said that he had rammed through the only tax cut in Arkansas in decades over the objections of critics who said he would be wrecking the budget. The crowd, except for a few Arkies, could not have known that the tax cut of 1997 was written by Democratic lawmakers, sponsored by the Democratic leader and passed 96-0 in the House of Representatives. Unlike the Bush tax cuts, its rewards went to working families and not the super-rich. Huckabee said “good job” and signed it.
Few of them knew as well that the tax cut of 1997 was followed by a string of tax increases largely on Arkansas working families that far offset the little income tax cut: three sales tax increases, expansion of the sales tax to many services, an income tax surcharge, gasoline taxes, diesel taxes, cigarette and tobacco taxes and a drivers license increase. The delegates may not have known that he helped arrange the largest expansions of government-paid medical care in Arkansas history (largely paid by U.S. taxpayers), compiled a larger general-obligation debt than all previous governors combined, increased the number of government employees by 20 percent (to 52,440 in January) in only nine and a half years and conducted a liberal policy of criminal pardons and commutations.
That is not limited government. It happens that we think the governor might want to brag about a few of those things that he accomplished with the overwhelmingly Democratic legislature because they made our society better, but they are not what you tell a very conservative constituency like a gathering of current Republican faithful. We understand the governor’s predicament, but we hate to see him mislead. Our final advice: Be the John McCain of 2008. Tell it like it is. They will respect you for it tomorrow.
OBITUARIES >> 03-15-06
VAV ANN ATEN
Vav Ann Aten, 43, of Lonoke passed away suddenly on March 12. She was born Jan. 19, 1963, to the late Walt and Christine Baxter. She is survived by her husband of 15 years, Jack Aten Jr., and two children Kailee and Autumn Partington, all of the home; two brothers Riley Partington and Douglas Baxter, mother and father-in-law Jack and Joetta Aten of Cabot and a host of other family and friends.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church with interment to follow at Mt. Carmel Cemetery. Arrangements are by Thomas Funeral Service of Cabot.
LYNDA WILKINSON
Lynda J. Wilkinson, 61, of Jacksonville, passed away March 3 in Beckville, Texas.
She was born Nov. 28, 1944, the daughter of Odus and Velma Pack. She was the owner of Party Bazaar in Jacksonville. She enjoyed going on cruises and being with her family. She is preceded in death by her parents, Odus Pack, Sr., and Velma (Meeks) Pack; her sister, Janette Miller and her brother, Bobby Pack.
She is survived by her husband of 42 years, Farrell Wilkinson of Beckville, Tex.; her children, Jack Wilkinson of Biscoe, Mary Atkin-son, and her husband, Bo, of Houston, Texas; three sisters, Laverne Miller of Century, Fla., Dorothy Easter of Jacksonville and Virginia Yawn and her husband, James, of Selma, Ala.; one brother, Odus Pack, Jr., and his wife, Patsy, of North Little Rock, and three grandchildren, Farrann Wilkinson, Chase Atkinson and Bailey Atkinson.
Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Griffin Leggett Rest Hills. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday in the chapel of Rest Hill Funeral Home, 7724 Landers Road, North Little Rock.
HORACE BURLISON
Horace Edward “Pat” Burlison, formerly of Cabot, passed away March 10 at North Little Rock.
He was born to Augustus M. and Laura Hattie Clark Burlison on Dec. 15, 1916, at Rose Bud. He was a Baptist, a World War II veteran and served in the Northern France and Rhineland campaigns.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Pauline Fry Burlison, a son, Michael E. Burlison and a brother, Ronald Burlison.
Survivors include a son, Robert Burlison of Gainesville, Ga.; a daughter, Beth Williams of Little Rock; a brother, Winfred Burlison of Rose Bud; grandchildren, David and Tim Odom, Paula Luffman, Steven, Adam, Melissa, Melanie, Nathaniel, Jon, Jacob, Justin, Jaila and Jessica Burlison; great-grandchildren, Scott and Jared Luffman, Bridget Odom, Stevie Burlison and Aimee Odom, and numerous nieces and nephews. Graveside services were held March 13 at Martin Cemetery, Rose Bud.
Arrangements were by Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe.'
JOHN CLARK
John Allen Clark, 77, of Beebe, died Saturday, March, 11.
He is survived by two daughters, Katrina Simpson of Cabot, and Brenda; a brother, Bill Clark of Beebe; five grandchildren, and his sister Betty Stitler of Beebe.
A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe.
Doris Clark
Doris P. Clark, 75, of Jacksonville passed away March 9 at St. Joseph’s Mercy Health Center in Hot Springs. She was born July 31, 1930, in Newark, N.J., to Mark and Helen Peneau Sullivan. On Sept. 1, 1951, she married Philip Clark Jr. in Roselle Park, N.J. In 1969, they moved to Jacksonville where they raised their family. She was a member of St. Jude’s Catholic Church in Jack-sonville. She was preceded in death by her husband in 1998 and a son, Philip James Clark III.
She is survived by three children, Kathleen Tucker of Jacksonville, James and DeAnn Clark of Hot Springs, Karen and Jeff Reynolds of Jacksonville; 16 grandchildren; eight great grandchildren; sister and brother-in-law, Eilene and Michael Stains of Lincoln Hill, Calif.
Mass of the Christian burial will be 11 a.m. Monday at St. Jude’s Catholic Church with Father Les Farley officiating. Interment will follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. A rosary will follow after the visitation.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
CLOIS LANGLEY
Clois Rudolph Langley, 85, of Kensett, was born Sept. 11, 1920, in Joy, to Marvin and Emma Sullivan Langley, and died March 8.
A devoted father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather, he was preceded in death by his wife, Ozella; a daughter, Patricia Johnson; his parents and a brother and sister. He is survived by his grandchildren, Randy Johnson and his wife Kelly of Kensett, Lisa Brown of Kensett and Melissa Rogers of Searcy; nine great-grandchildren and nine great-great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Westbrook Funeral Home with burial in Mt. Hebron Cemetery at Joy in White County.
VICKIE SIMBORSKI
Vickie Marie Simborski, 55, of Columbus, Ohio, died March 5 at Mt. Carmel West Hospital in Columbus. She was born Oct.5, 1950, in Little Rock to Milton and Avijean Sisk Riddle.
She was preceded in death by her father and grandparents, Mae and Albert Sisk. She worked with Nationwide Insurance as a computer programmer. She was a Baptist and an Air Force veteran.
Survivors include her mother, Avijean Riddle of Jacksonville, three daughters; Maria Utting and husband Ian of Jacksonville, Shiloh Motley and husband John of Columbus and Glenda Olscwa of Jacksonville; a son, Matthew Riddle and wife Alise of Dallas, and the father of her children, Joe Penner; grandchildren, Joshua Olscwa, Nina Furrow, Victoria Hinkle, Dylan Olscwa, Brittany, Kortney and Jonielle Motley, Brittney and Brianna Mason, as well as three great-grandchildren, Marcus Hinkle, Makayla Hinkle and Gabrielle Olscwa.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Moore’s Funeral Home Chapel in Jacksonville.
Interment will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Park with funeral arrangements by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
AMANDA KIESLING
Amanda “Mandi” Gilkerson Kiesling, 19, of Cabot, was born Dec. 14, 1986, in North Little Rock, to Michael and Grace Roberts Gilkerson.
She died March 7 as a result of an automobile accident.
She was a student at Arkansas State University at Beebe and at Pulaski Tech and worked at Jacksonville Neurology Clinic.
Mandi is survived by her husband Will Kiesling and daughter Darby Kiesling of Cabot.
Other survivors include her parents, Mike and Gigi Gilkerson of Cabot; her sister, Lindsay Gilk-erson of Cabot; her grandparents, Harry and Myrtie Gilkerson of Cabot; her mother-in-law Katy Kiesling of Jacksonville; her aunts and uncles Bill and Dana Herring of Tulsa, Okla., and Bobby and Ann Weeks of North Little Rock.
Funeral services were held Friday at Living Waters Assembly of God Church in Cabot with burial in Hicks Cemetery.
Vav Ann Aten, 43, of Lonoke passed away suddenly on March 12. She was born Jan. 19, 1963, to the late Walt and Christine Baxter. She is survived by her husband of 15 years, Jack Aten Jr., and two children Kailee and Autumn Partington, all of the home; two brothers Riley Partington and Douglas Baxter, mother and father-in-law Jack and Joetta Aten of Cabot and a host of other family and friends.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church with interment to follow at Mt. Carmel Cemetery. Arrangements are by Thomas Funeral Service of Cabot.
LYNDA WILKINSON
Lynda J. Wilkinson, 61, of Jacksonville, passed away March 3 in Beckville, Texas.
She was born Nov. 28, 1944, the daughter of Odus and Velma Pack. She was the owner of Party Bazaar in Jacksonville. She enjoyed going on cruises and being with her family. She is preceded in death by her parents, Odus Pack, Sr., and Velma (Meeks) Pack; her sister, Janette Miller and her brother, Bobby Pack.
She is survived by her husband of 42 years, Farrell Wilkinson of Beckville, Tex.; her children, Jack Wilkinson of Biscoe, Mary Atkin-son, and her husband, Bo, of Houston, Texas; three sisters, Laverne Miller of Century, Fla., Dorothy Easter of Jacksonville and Virginia Yawn and her husband, James, of Selma, Ala.; one brother, Odus Pack, Jr., and his wife, Patsy, of North Little Rock, and three grandchildren, Farrann Wilkinson, Chase Atkinson and Bailey Atkinson.
Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Griffin Leggett Rest Hills. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday in the chapel of Rest Hill Funeral Home, 7724 Landers Road, North Little Rock.
HORACE BURLISON
Horace Edward “Pat” Burlison, formerly of Cabot, passed away March 10 at North Little Rock.
He was born to Augustus M. and Laura Hattie Clark Burlison on Dec. 15, 1916, at Rose Bud. He was a Baptist, a World War II veteran and served in the Northern France and Rhineland campaigns.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Pauline Fry Burlison, a son, Michael E. Burlison and a brother, Ronald Burlison.
Survivors include a son, Robert Burlison of Gainesville, Ga.; a daughter, Beth Williams of Little Rock; a brother, Winfred Burlison of Rose Bud; grandchildren, David and Tim Odom, Paula Luffman, Steven, Adam, Melissa, Melanie, Nathaniel, Jon, Jacob, Justin, Jaila and Jessica Burlison; great-grandchildren, Scott and Jared Luffman, Bridget Odom, Stevie Burlison and Aimee Odom, and numerous nieces and nephews. Graveside services were held March 13 at Martin Cemetery, Rose Bud.
Arrangements were by Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe.'
JOHN CLARK
John Allen Clark, 77, of Beebe, died Saturday, March, 11.
He is survived by two daughters, Katrina Simpson of Cabot, and Brenda; a brother, Bill Clark of Beebe; five grandchildren, and his sister Betty Stitler of Beebe.
A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe.
Doris Clark
Doris P. Clark, 75, of Jacksonville passed away March 9 at St. Joseph’s Mercy Health Center in Hot Springs. She was born July 31, 1930, in Newark, N.J., to Mark and Helen Peneau Sullivan. On Sept. 1, 1951, she married Philip Clark Jr. in Roselle Park, N.J. In 1969, they moved to Jacksonville where they raised their family. She was a member of St. Jude’s Catholic Church in Jack-sonville. She was preceded in death by her husband in 1998 and a son, Philip James Clark III.
She is survived by three children, Kathleen Tucker of Jacksonville, James and DeAnn Clark of Hot Springs, Karen and Jeff Reynolds of Jacksonville; 16 grandchildren; eight great grandchildren; sister and brother-in-law, Eilene and Michael Stains of Lincoln Hill, Calif.
Mass of the Christian burial will be 11 a.m. Monday at St. Jude’s Catholic Church with Father Les Farley officiating. Interment will follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. A rosary will follow after the visitation.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
CLOIS LANGLEY
Clois Rudolph Langley, 85, of Kensett, was born Sept. 11, 1920, in Joy, to Marvin and Emma Sullivan Langley, and died March 8.
A devoted father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather, he was preceded in death by his wife, Ozella; a daughter, Patricia Johnson; his parents and a brother and sister. He is survived by his grandchildren, Randy Johnson and his wife Kelly of Kensett, Lisa Brown of Kensett and Melissa Rogers of Searcy; nine great-grandchildren and nine great-great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Westbrook Funeral Home with burial in Mt. Hebron Cemetery at Joy in White County.
VICKIE SIMBORSKI
Vickie Marie Simborski, 55, of Columbus, Ohio, died March 5 at Mt. Carmel West Hospital in Columbus. She was born Oct.5, 1950, in Little Rock to Milton and Avijean Sisk Riddle.
She was preceded in death by her father and grandparents, Mae and Albert Sisk. She worked with Nationwide Insurance as a computer programmer. She was a Baptist and an Air Force veteran.
Survivors include her mother, Avijean Riddle of Jacksonville, three daughters; Maria Utting and husband Ian of Jacksonville, Shiloh Motley and husband John of Columbus and Glenda Olscwa of Jacksonville; a son, Matthew Riddle and wife Alise of Dallas, and the father of her children, Joe Penner; grandchildren, Joshua Olscwa, Nina Furrow, Victoria Hinkle, Dylan Olscwa, Brittany, Kortney and Jonielle Motley, Brittney and Brianna Mason, as well as three great-grandchildren, Marcus Hinkle, Makayla Hinkle and Gabrielle Olscwa.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Moore’s Funeral Home Chapel in Jacksonville.
Interment will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Park with funeral arrangements by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
AMANDA KIESLING
Amanda “Mandi” Gilkerson Kiesling, 19, of Cabot, was born Dec. 14, 1986, in North Little Rock, to Michael and Grace Roberts Gilkerson.
She died March 7 as a result of an automobile accident.
She was a student at Arkansas State University at Beebe and at Pulaski Tech and worked at Jacksonville Neurology Clinic.
Mandi is survived by her husband Will Kiesling and daughter Darby Kiesling of Cabot.
Other survivors include her parents, Mike and Gigi Gilkerson of Cabot; her sister, Lindsay Gilk-erson of Cabot; her grandparents, Harry and Myrtie Gilkerson of Cabot; her mother-in-law Katy Kiesling of Jacksonville; her aunts and uncles Bill and Dana Herring of Tulsa, Okla., and Bobby and Ann Weeks of North Little Rock.
Funeral services were held Friday at Living Waters Assembly of God Church in Cabot with burial in Hicks Cemetery.
TOP STORY >> Council shaken by more charges
BY JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Stunned by lurid tales of sex and drugs involving its former police chief, the Lonoke City Council grilled the acting chief over alleged irregularities Monday.
Still shaken over the felony arrest of their former police chief and his wife on drug, theft and sex-related charges and their mayor for using inmate labor at his home, a former dispatcher for having sex with an inmate and now a legislative audit report pointing to irregularities in the jail commissary fund, some members of the Lonoke City Council asked acting Police Chief Sean O’Nale pointed questions about missing ticket and receipt books and those irregularities Monday night.
The town recently has been the butt of jokes on late- night television, and this week is featured in a National En-quirer article titled “Scandalville—Top cop and wife busted in sex and drug shame.” The article—mug shots and all—lumped Mayor Thomas Privett, accused of having inmate labor hang his Christmas lights and fix his air conditioner, with former Police Chief Jay Campbell and his wife Kelly on multiple felony charges.
But Monday night, the council was most concerned with the audit report that accused O’Nale with improperly withdrawing $1,760 from the commissary fund, and with missing ticket and receipt books.
O’Nale said that in order to maintain his integrity and confidence in the police department, he was giving the city deputy clerk a check for that amount until questions are answered.
“This is not a repayment,” he said, indicating that he didn’t owe the money. Because the irregularities are under investigation by the State Police, O’Nale said he couldn’t answer questions about that.
He did say the department had “nothing to hide. These are accounting issues.”
Councilman Pat Howell asked the chief hard questions about the missing police ticket books and receipts, which could have been the result of carelessness and bad procedures, or of someone skimming unrecorded money.
O’Nale said most of the problems in accountability had been corrected and others would be soon.
Abruptly in the middle of questioning, Howell moved that the council go into executive session to consider a personnel matter, which some speculated had to do with disciplining O’Nale, but when the public meeting reconvened about 30 minutes later, no action was taken and no further explanation was given about the purpose of the session. Pretrial motions will be heard Thursday in Lonoke Circuit Court on charges against former chief Jay Campbell, his wife Kelly and two-bail bondsmen.
No charges are currently pending regarding irregularities in the commissary funds or tickets or fine collection.
Alderman Dick Bransford read a statement answering those who have asked how the city council let things get so far out of hand.
“We had nothing but rumors and coffee-shop talk,” said Bransford of the allegations that eventually be-came charges against the police chief.
“We can’t act on this kind of in-formation, we’d be sued and in all kind of trouble. We have to get our ducks in a row (before acting.)”
He said councilmen first discovered that charges had been filed against the chief and the mayor from the news media—that no one in authority would tell them anything and that even state Rep. Lenville Evans (D-Lonoke) had been unable to learn anything from the State Police.
As for the funds missing from the jail commissary fund, Bransford said that he had served on the council for 20 years, through seven mayors and “I’ve never heard of a commissary account. How can we be held responsible?”
The council may be sensitive to all the alleged official wrongdoing, but it nonetheless approved the meetings of the newly formed Advertising and Promotion Com-mission and the selection of Shirlene Jones of Perry Motel as chairman.
In other action, the council approved spending $1,900 to fix each of two wells, and the purchase of a water-level recorder for $1,360.
The council approved the purchase of a tractor/loader for the parks department, and also money for a taller ladder for the ladder truck so it could evacuate the third floor if necessary of the new Holiday Inn Express. It also authorized the repair of a fire department pump truck, or else the installation of a new pump if necessary.
The council approved spending as much as $17,000 for new computers and a server for the community center, if purchased on state contract.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: Stunned by lurid tales of sex and drugs involving its former police chief, the Lonoke City Council grilled the acting chief over alleged irregularities Monday.
Still shaken over the felony arrest of their former police chief and his wife on drug, theft and sex-related charges and their mayor for using inmate labor at his home, a former dispatcher for having sex with an inmate and now a legislative audit report pointing to irregularities in the jail commissary fund, some members of the Lonoke City Council asked acting Police Chief Sean O’Nale pointed questions about missing ticket and receipt books and those irregularities Monday night.
The town recently has been the butt of jokes on late- night television, and this week is featured in a National En-quirer article titled “Scandalville—Top cop and wife busted in sex and drug shame.” The article—mug shots and all—lumped Mayor Thomas Privett, accused of having inmate labor hang his Christmas lights and fix his air conditioner, with former Police Chief Jay Campbell and his wife Kelly on multiple felony charges.
But Monday night, the council was most concerned with the audit report that accused O’Nale with improperly withdrawing $1,760 from the commissary fund, and with missing ticket and receipt books.
O’Nale said that in order to maintain his integrity and confidence in the police department, he was giving the city deputy clerk a check for that amount until questions are answered.
“This is not a repayment,” he said, indicating that he didn’t owe the money. Because the irregularities are under investigation by the State Police, O’Nale said he couldn’t answer questions about that.
He did say the department had “nothing to hide. These are accounting issues.”
Councilman Pat Howell asked the chief hard questions about the missing police ticket books and receipts, which could have been the result of carelessness and bad procedures, or of someone skimming unrecorded money.
O’Nale said most of the problems in accountability had been corrected and others would be soon.
Abruptly in the middle of questioning, Howell moved that the council go into executive session to consider a personnel matter, which some speculated had to do with disciplining O’Nale, but when the public meeting reconvened about 30 minutes later, no action was taken and no further explanation was given about the purpose of the session. Pretrial motions will be heard Thursday in Lonoke Circuit Court on charges against former chief Jay Campbell, his wife Kelly and two-bail bondsmen.
No charges are currently pending regarding irregularities in the commissary funds or tickets or fine collection.
Alderman Dick Bransford read a statement answering those who have asked how the city council let things get so far out of hand.
“We had nothing but rumors and coffee-shop talk,” said Bransford of the allegations that eventually be-came charges against the police chief.
“We can’t act on this kind of in-formation, we’d be sued and in all kind of trouble. We have to get our ducks in a row (before acting.)”
He said councilmen first discovered that charges had been filed against the chief and the mayor from the news media—that no one in authority would tell them anything and that even state Rep. Lenville Evans (D-Lonoke) had been unable to learn anything from the State Police.
As for the funds missing from the jail commissary fund, Bransford said that he had served on the council for 20 years, through seven mayors and “I’ve never heard of a commissary account. How can we be held responsible?”
The council may be sensitive to all the alleged official wrongdoing, but it nonetheless approved the meetings of the newly formed Advertising and Promotion Com-mission and the selection of Shirlene Jones of Perry Motel as chairman.
In other action, the council approved spending $1,900 to fix each of two wells, and the purchase of a water-level recorder for $1,360.
The council approved the purchase of a tractor/loader for the parks department, and also money for a taller ladder for the ladder truck so it could evacuate the third floor if necessary of the new Holiday Inn Express. It also authorized the repair of a fire department pump truck, or else the installation of a new pump if necessary.
The council approved spending as much as $17,000 for new computers and a server for the community center, if purchased on state contract.
TOP STORY >> C-130 repair costs rise
BY SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: The Air Force will have to pay $9 million for each plane to fix microscopic cracks on the wings of its aging cargo fleet, or about $297 million on aircraft assigned to LRAFB alone.
It will cost the Air Force nearly $700 million — $9 million per plane — to repair microscopic cracks in the wings of its 82 aging C-130 cargo aircraft, including 33 assigned to Little Rock Air Force Base. But the repairs would cost much less than what it would cost to replace all the defective cargo aircraft with the new C-130J model, which has a price tag of between $66.5 million and $90 million each.
Little Rock Air Force Base is waiting to hear when Air Mobility Command will budget the time and $297 million to repair the 33 grounded and restricted aircraft stationed at the base, which account for more than a third of the Air Force’s C-130s needing wing repairs are scattered among the units at the base. Of the 314th Airlift Wing’s 42 C-130s, 12 are restricted and eight are grounded. Of the 463rd Airlift Group’s 30 C-130s, two are restricted and five are grounded.
“It’s a very big job,” said Capt. David Faggard, chief of the 314th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office. “It’s not like taking the car to the garage. It takes at least six months to replace the wing-boxes.”
It is not yet known when the planes from Little Rock Air Force Base will be repaired.
Once a timetable is announced, the C-130s that get the repair will be flown to Warner Robins Air Logistics Center at Robins Air Force Base near Macon, Ga.
In 2005, Air Force engineers found microscopic cracking where the wings meet the fuselage, an area called the wing-box, on the 40-year-old C-130E and 20-year-old H models. After maintainers evaluated the 450 C-130s in the fleet, the Air Force grounded nearly 100 aircraft with the cracks. Of those, 18 were permanently retired, leaving 82 C-130s needing the expensive wing repair.
The Air Force put weight, altitude and flight time restrictions on aircraft that might develop the cracks based on wear and tear, such as the number of hours flown, maintenance issues and the more demanding tactical flying of wartime maneuvers.
A wing-box repair plan recently released from the 330th Tactical Air Support Command at Warner Robins Air Force Base details 75 wing-box replacements over the next five years, including one wing-box replacement in 2007, four in 2008, 17 in 2009, 18 in 2010, 18 in 2011 and 17 in 2012, leaving seven C-130s needing the repair.
Warner Robins Air Logistics Center is one of the Air Force’s five air logistics centers that has worldwide management and engineering responsibility for the repair, modification and overhaul of the F-15 Eagle, C-130 Hercules, the C-141 Starlifter, all Air Force helicopters as well as all special operations aircraft and their avionics systems.
Just how long the wing-box repair will extend the life of the C-130s is still in question.
Four years ago, a U. S. Forest Service C-130A that had undergone repairs for wing cracks crashed when its wings snapped off as it flew over a wildfire in Walker, Calif.
While Little Rock Air Force Base awaits the fate of its C-130s, it isn’t letting groundings and restrictions slow down the mission of training C-130 flight, maintenance and ground crews for all branches of the military. “The aircraft being restricted and grounded affects us because we’re doing more missions with less aircraft, but we’re still meeting our mission requirements,” Faggard said. “We’re just doing it in different ways, like borrowing aircraft from other bases, such as Keesler Air Force Base. It’s a pretty common practice,” he said.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: The Air Force will have to pay $9 million for each plane to fix microscopic cracks on the wings of its aging cargo fleet, or about $297 million on aircraft assigned to LRAFB alone.
It will cost the Air Force nearly $700 million — $9 million per plane — to repair microscopic cracks in the wings of its 82 aging C-130 cargo aircraft, including 33 assigned to Little Rock Air Force Base. But the repairs would cost much less than what it would cost to replace all the defective cargo aircraft with the new C-130J model, which has a price tag of between $66.5 million and $90 million each.
Little Rock Air Force Base is waiting to hear when Air Mobility Command will budget the time and $297 million to repair the 33 grounded and restricted aircraft stationed at the base, which account for more than a third of the Air Force’s C-130s needing wing repairs are scattered among the units at the base. Of the 314th Airlift Wing’s 42 C-130s, 12 are restricted and eight are grounded. Of the 463rd Airlift Group’s 30 C-130s, two are restricted and five are grounded.
“It’s a very big job,” said Capt. David Faggard, chief of the 314th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office. “It’s not like taking the car to the garage. It takes at least six months to replace the wing-boxes.”
It is not yet known when the planes from Little Rock Air Force Base will be repaired.
Once a timetable is announced, the C-130s that get the repair will be flown to Warner Robins Air Logistics Center at Robins Air Force Base near Macon, Ga.
In 2005, Air Force engineers found microscopic cracking where the wings meet the fuselage, an area called the wing-box, on the 40-year-old C-130E and 20-year-old H models. After maintainers evaluated the 450 C-130s in the fleet, the Air Force grounded nearly 100 aircraft with the cracks. Of those, 18 were permanently retired, leaving 82 C-130s needing the expensive wing repair.
The Air Force put weight, altitude and flight time restrictions on aircraft that might develop the cracks based on wear and tear, such as the number of hours flown, maintenance issues and the more demanding tactical flying of wartime maneuvers.
A wing-box repair plan recently released from the 330th Tactical Air Support Command at Warner Robins Air Force Base details 75 wing-box replacements over the next five years, including one wing-box replacement in 2007, four in 2008, 17 in 2009, 18 in 2010, 18 in 2011 and 17 in 2012, leaving seven C-130s needing the repair.
Warner Robins Air Logistics Center is one of the Air Force’s five air logistics centers that has worldwide management and engineering responsibility for the repair, modification and overhaul of the F-15 Eagle, C-130 Hercules, the C-141 Starlifter, all Air Force helicopters as well as all special operations aircraft and their avionics systems.
Just how long the wing-box repair will extend the life of the C-130s is still in question.
Four years ago, a U. S. Forest Service C-130A that had undergone repairs for wing cracks crashed when its wings snapped off as it flew over a wildfire in Walker, Calif.
While Little Rock Air Force Base awaits the fate of its C-130s, it isn’t letting groundings and restrictions slow down the mission of training C-130 flight, maintenance and ground crews for all branches of the military. “The aircraft being restricted and grounded affects us because we’re doing more missions with less aircraft, but we’re still meeting our mission requirements,” Faggard said. “We’re just doing it in different ways, like borrowing aircraft from other bases, such as Keesler Air Force Base. It’s a pretty common practice,” he said.
TOP STORY >> Defendants in scandals spend time at hearings
BY JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: In a sex and drugs case that has rocked the Lonoke community, the Campbells and two bail bondsmen plead not guilty and are slated to appear for pretrial motions on Thursday.
Pretrial motions are set for Thursday in the various drug and/or theft trials of former Lonoke Police Chief Jay Campbell, his wife Kelly and bail bondsmen Bobby Cox Jr. and Larry Norwood in Lonoke County Circuit Court at Lonoke.
All four defendants pled not guilty before Circuit Judge David Reynolds Monday morning to an array of felony charges brought in February, and the Campbells each also pleaded not guilty to 10 new drug or theft charges filed Friday.
Reynolds tentatively set at July 2 trial date.
Substituting for ailing Circuit Judge Lance Hanshaw at the plea and arraignment Monday, Reynolds deferred ruling on Lonoke County Prosecutor Lona McCastlain’s motion to revoke Kelly Campbell’s bond and lock her up. McCastlain argued that the defendant had improperly talked with witnesses and victims in her case.
Kelly Campbell’s attorney, Mark Hampton, said his client hadn’t intentionally violated the no-contact order, adding that in one instance, a victim who is also a neighbor had approached the Campbells with vacation gifts for their children.
“No contact means no contact,” said Reynolds, but he said retired Circuit Judge John Cole could hold a hearing on the matter Thursday, when the pretrial motions are heard, leaving her free on her $15,000 bond.
“I can control my client,” said Hampton.
Cole has been assigned to hear the charges against Jay Campbell, represented by Patrick Benca, and also has been assigned to hear whatever comes before the court in Hanshaw’s absence on Thursday.
That’s the date set for pretrial motions for all four defendants, according to Donna Gay, staff attorney for the Administrative Office of the Court.
No judge has been assigned yet to hear the cases of Kelly Campbell, Cox and Norwood, Gay said.
McCastlain told Reynolds Monday that the state would like all four cases joined.
Waiting to be called for arraignment, Jay Campbell look-ed relaxed, sitting with his arm around his wife in the front row of the courtroom.
Later they walked hand-in-hand to the sheriff’s office to be booked on the new charges.
Friday, McCastlain also filed sexual abuse charges against former Lonoke Police Department dispatcher Amy Staley, alleged to have had sex with an inmate. Staley is slated for arraignment April 3.
New charges against the Campbells include four counts of residential burglary, five counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud and a count of theft by receiving.
Kelly Campbell is also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.
A Department of Corrections investigation begun about seven months ago into whether or not some Lonoke city officials improperly used Act 309 inmate labor was later handed off to the State Police and subsequently resulted in charges that Jay Campbell conspired with the two bail bondsmen to manufacture methamphetamine, that his wife had sex with prisoners about two dozen times, and that the Campbells had stolen prescription drugs and jewelry from Lonoke residents.
These latest charges grew out of the same investigation, according to State Police Investigator Charles McLemore.
Jay Campbell’s February charges included not only the conspiracy to manufacture meth-amphetamine charge, but also two counts of hindering apprehension or prosecution, conspiracy to commit burglary, theft by receiving, theft of services and one misdemeanor, theft of property.
His wife was charged with five counts of furnishing prohibited articles, one count of second-degree escape, one count of residential burglary, four counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit residential burglary, one count of theft of property and one misdemeanor charge, tampering.
Cox was charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, in-timidating a juror, a witness or an informant, and terroristic threatening.
Norwood was charged with a single count of criminal conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
At that time, Cox, Norwood and Chief Campbell each were released on $50,000 bond and Kelly Campbell posted a $15,000 bond.
Lonoke Mayor Thomas Pri-vett, arrested in February, is free on $500 bond for his misdemeanor theft of services charge.
He will be arraigned April 3.
Leader staff writer
IN SHORT: In a sex and drugs case that has rocked the Lonoke community, the Campbells and two bail bondsmen plead not guilty and are slated to appear for pretrial motions on Thursday.
Pretrial motions are set for Thursday in the various drug and/or theft trials of former Lonoke Police Chief Jay Campbell, his wife Kelly and bail bondsmen Bobby Cox Jr. and Larry Norwood in Lonoke County Circuit Court at Lonoke.
All four defendants pled not guilty before Circuit Judge David Reynolds Monday morning to an array of felony charges brought in February, and the Campbells each also pleaded not guilty to 10 new drug or theft charges filed Friday.
Reynolds tentatively set at July 2 trial date.
Substituting for ailing Circuit Judge Lance Hanshaw at the plea and arraignment Monday, Reynolds deferred ruling on Lonoke County Prosecutor Lona McCastlain’s motion to revoke Kelly Campbell’s bond and lock her up. McCastlain argued that the defendant had improperly talked with witnesses and victims in her case.
Kelly Campbell’s attorney, Mark Hampton, said his client hadn’t intentionally violated the no-contact order, adding that in one instance, a victim who is also a neighbor had approached the Campbells with vacation gifts for their children.
“No contact means no contact,” said Reynolds, but he said retired Circuit Judge John Cole could hold a hearing on the matter Thursday, when the pretrial motions are heard, leaving her free on her $15,000 bond.
“I can control my client,” said Hampton.
Cole has been assigned to hear the charges against Jay Campbell, represented by Patrick Benca, and also has been assigned to hear whatever comes before the court in Hanshaw’s absence on Thursday.
That’s the date set for pretrial motions for all four defendants, according to Donna Gay, staff attorney for the Administrative Office of the Court.
No judge has been assigned yet to hear the cases of Kelly Campbell, Cox and Norwood, Gay said.
McCastlain told Reynolds Monday that the state would like all four cases joined.
Waiting to be called for arraignment, Jay Campbell look-ed relaxed, sitting with his arm around his wife in the front row of the courtroom.
Later they walked hand-in-hand to the sheriff’s office to be booked on the new charges.
Friday, McCastlain also filed sexual abuse charges against former Lonoke Police Department dispatcher Amy Staley, alleged to have had sex with an inmate. Staley is slated for arraignment April 3.
New charges against the Campbells include four counts of residential burglary, five counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud and a count of theft by receiving.
Kelly Campbell is also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.
A Department of Corrections investigation begun about seven months ago into whether or not some Lonoke city officials improperly used Act 309 inmate labor was later handed off to the State Police and subsequently resulted in charges that Jay Campbell conspired with the two bail bondsmen to manufacture methamphetamine, that his wife had sex with prisoners about two dozen times, and that the Campbells had stolen prescription drugs and jewelry from Lonoke residents.
These latest charges grew out of the same investigation, according to State Police Investigator Charles McLemore.
Jay Campbell’s February charges included not only the conspiracy to manufacture meth-amphetamine charge, but also two counts of hindering apprehension or prosecution, conspiracy to commit burglary, theft by receiving, theft of services and one misdemeanor, theft of property.
His wife was charged with five counts of furnishing prohibited articles, one count of second-degree escape, one count of residential burglary, four counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit residential burglary, one count of theft of property and one misdemeanor charge, tampering.
Cox was charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, in-timidating a juror, a witness or an informant, and terroristic threatening.
Norwood was charged with a single count of criminal conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
At that time, Cox, Norwood and Chief Campbell each were released on $50,000 bond and Kelly Campbell posted a $15,000 bond.
Lonoke Mayor Thomas Pri-vett, arrested in February, is free on $500 bond for his misdemeanor theft of services charge.
He will be arraigned April 3.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
OBITUARIES >> 3-8-06
JOHN WILEY, 61
John F. Wiley, 61, of Jacksonville died March 3. He was a retired mechanic from Smurfit Stone.
Wiley is survived by two sons and daughters-in-law Chris and Jackie Wiley of Jacksonville and Travis and Bertha Wiley of Houston, Ark., one brother, Walter Van New of California; one sister, Phyllis Kimbell of Collinsville, Ill.; three grandchildren, Joanna Wiley and Elizabeth and Dona Sumler; two great-grandchildren, Johnathan Norman and Brandon Wiley.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Cabot Funeral Home Chapel with interment at Johnson Chapel Cemetery in Des Arc.
JERRY MARSHALL, 75
Jerry Jean Wells Marshall, 75, of Ward, died March 4.
She was born March 9, 1930, in El Paso to the late Roy W. and Clarice Boardman Wells.
She was a member of Mars Hill Church of Christ.
In addition to being a homemaker, she was a rural mail carrier and during World War II, she worked at the arsenal in Jacksonville. She served the city of Ward as an alderman on the city council for many years. She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Robert Harold Marshall of Ward, and five children, Paula Henderson and her husband, Steve, who preceded her in death, of England, Vicky Hendrix and her husband John of Cabot, Robbie Marshall and his wife, Lori of Sixteenth Section, Alesia Roberts and her husband, Darrell of Ward and Renee Shepard and her husband, Jerry of Harrison.
She is also survived by one sister, Betty Ridgeway of Ward, and two brothers, Carl Wells of Vilonia and Dennis Wells of Conway as well as eight grandchildren, Torey, Paula, Jesse, Marshall, Faith, Darla, Kaitlan and Sarah. She was always a loving wife, mother and grandmother.
The funeral service will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. in the Cabot Funeral Home Chapel officiated by Brother David Riley and Brother Joe Johnson.
Burial will follow in Sixteenth Section Cemetery.
Memorials in honor of Jerry Marshall may be made to Arkansas Hospice.
ILA SULLIVAN, 80
Ila Fay Sullivan, 80, of North Little Rock died March 6.
She was born May 4, 1925, in Cabot to the late Horace Lee and Grace Evelyn Bailey Mulkey. She graduated high school and attended Draughn’s School of Business before her career in computer services for the Arkansas Highway Department. She was also an avid reader.
She is survived by three children; Roy Lee Sullivan of North Little Rock, Carol Jean Wawerna of Prescott, Ariz., and Hosea Dan Sullivan of Little Rock. She is also survived by one grandson, Brandon Seagroves of Atlanta, Ga., and one brother, Ronald Lewis Mulkey of Cabot. The family will receive friends from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday at Cabot Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be sent to the Humane Society of Pulaski County at 14600 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock, Ark., 72210.
Services are under the direction of Cabot Funeral Home.
BARBARA BALDING, 55
Barbara Balding, 55, of Austin, died March 4.
She was a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and a retired truck driver. She is survived by her husband, Mack A. Balding of Austin.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Westbrook Funeral Home, Beebe.
COY HODGES, 95
Coy Homer Hodges, 95, of Austin, passed away March 3.
He was born Jan. 5, 1911, to Mr. and Mrs. Luther Hodges in Beebe.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Illamae Dover and one daughter, Cynthia Baucum. He is survived by one son, Loyd and wife Deborah Hodges of Cabot; two grandchildren, Dawn Lewis and Holly Hodges. Graveside services were held Tuesday at Sumner Cemetery in Cabot. Arrangements were by Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home.
ALMA FORD, 79
Alma Jean Ford, 79, of Jacksonville, passed away March 5. She was born Dec. 23, 1926, in Morrilton to the late Abner and Thelma Chandler Fitzgerald.
She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Vernon Ford of Jack-sonville; two daughters, Benita Crook of Jacksonville and Belinda McNew of Cabot; two sisters, Jan Moore of Fayetteville and Betty Bolling of Oklahoma; brother, Jackie Fitzgerald of Alma; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Graveside services were held Tuesday at Arkansas State Veteran’s Cemetery with arrangements by Thomas Funeral Service of Cabot.
JOEY MAHONEY, 8
Joey Mahoney, 8, of Cabot died March 2. He was born March 22, 1997, in Little Rock. Joey and his family attended Faith Christian Center. He was an honor student with straight A’s at Southside Elem-entary School in Cabot.
He en-joyed playing video games, working on the computer, riding his bike FAST, and playing with his brothers. Joey is the oldest of three children.
He is survived by his parents; Seath and Jammie Mahoney of Cabot; two brothers, Blain and Colton Mahoney of Cabot.
He is also survived by his maternal grandparents; Kevin and Tina Colton of Cabot, who he called Nana and Papa; paternal grandparents, Janice Mahoney and John Stanley of Houston, Texas, who he called Memaw and Papa; his great-grandparents, Mary and Jessie Martindale of Jacksonville, Dale and Louise Crabtree of Austin and Connie and George Mahoney of Cabot. To Joey, Mary and Connie were known as “Granny” and George was known as “Pop.” Joey is also survived by two great-great grandmothers; Selma Thornton, “Granny T,” of Cabot and Auda Martindale of Little Rock as well as a host of aunts, uncles and cousins.
Funeral services were held Tuesday at Faith Christian Center with Pastor Gene Gilliam officiating. Burial followed in King Cemetery in Cabot.
Arrangements were by Cabot Funeral Home.
MARY ROBINSON, 89
Mary S. Robinson, 89, of Hazen Nursing Center, formerly of Zimmerman Nursing Home in Carlisle, died Feb. 22. She was preceded in death by her husband Frank Robinson.
Survivors include her daughter, Reola Blackwell of Michigan.
Arrangements are incomplete and under the direction of Boyd Funeral Home in Lonoke.
L.C. DRENNAN, 88
L.C. ‘’Pete’’ Drennan, 88, of El Paso passed away March 4 after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Rosabelle; one son, Wendall and wife Ninette of El Paso; two grandchildren, Cheryl and husband John Reaves and Mark and wife Misty Drennan of El Paso; four great-grandchildren, Cody, Ellie, and Will Reaves, Pete Drennan and one special niece, Alice Nipper, of Beebe.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Martha and Christopher and wife Kit Drennan; five brothers, Lois, Otha, Charlie, Boone, and Buddy; three sisters, Carrie Ander-son, Valrie Price and Velma Harston.
He was an excellent farmer and an avid outdoorsman.
He loved fishing, hunting, and all types of sports. As a young man, he was a very good baseball and basketball player. He was also a member of the White County ASCS Committee for 35 years.
The family wishes to thank all of his friends and neighbors for their loving support.
A special thanks to the nurses and aides from Hospice Home Care of Searcy which allowed him to stay at home with his family and on the farm which he loved.
Funeral services were held Tuesday at Westbrook Funeral Home with burial in Grissard Cemetery.
GENE BAKER, 79
Gene Baker, 79, of Antioch, died March 4. He was a retired constable for Antioch Township.
He is survived by his son, Billy and wife Teresa Baker of Beebe; his daughter, Jamie and husband Bobby Brown of Antioch; five grandchildren, Joshua Hackler, Christopher Hackler, Madison Brown, Sean Henderson and Sarah Baker; one great-grandchild, Nathan Lovell; four brothers, Doug Baker and Wayne Baker, both of Cabot, J. D. Baker and W. C. Baker, both of Beebe; two sisters, Anne Schultz of Ohio and Evelyn Blake Hodges of Kensett.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty, and a sister, Lois Baker.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at West-brook Funeral Home in Beebe. Funeral is at 2 p.m. Thursday at Westbrook Funeral Home, with burial in Antioch Cemetery.
VERNIE MCEUEN, 92
Vernie Haynie McEuen, 92, of Beebe, was born Nov. 26, 1913, at McRae, (16th Section) to Samuel and Susie Evans Haynie, and she died March 6, 2006.
She was Past Worthy Matron of Forrest Park Chapter of Eastern Star in Little Rock, and a delegate to Delaware in 1960.
She was a 50 member of Eastern Star in 2004, was active in Railroad Engineers Wives Club for many years, and was a member of Union Valley Baptist Church in Beebe.
She was always a very loving mother, an excellent cook, and was known for the wonderful pies that she baked. She loved to fish, and not too many years ago raised a huge garden.
She is survived by two sons, Ray McEuen, Jr. and wife Sue, and James M. McEuen and wife Donna, all of Beebe; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; one sister, Helen Powell of Escon-dido, Calif.; and many nephews and nieces.
She was preceded in death by her husband Ray McEuen, Sr. who was a retired engineer for Missouri Pacific Railroad, after almost 70 years of marriage; also, her parents, one brother, two sisters and one grandson.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at West-brook Funeral Home in Beebe. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at Westbrook Fune-ral Home. Burial will be in Weir Cemetery. Rev. Tommy Miller will officiate.
Memorials may be made to Union Valley Baptist Church, 932 Hwy. 64 West, Beebe, Ark., 72012.
JAMES REAVES, 76
James W. “J.W.” Reaves, 76, of Beebe, was born Nov. 3, 1929, to Issac E. and Mary Ethel Island Reaves. He went home to be with the Lord on March 6.
He retired from Arkansas Best Freight System after 38 years of service.
He served four years in the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Auxiliary and then worked as the animal control officer for the city of Beebe for seven years.
He was a member of Harrison Chapel Church at Beebe.
He is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Syble Reaves; two sons, Randy Reaves and wife Sandy of Cabot and David Reaves and wife Nancy of Beebe; two daughters, Vicky Reed of Cabot and Holly Reaves Dugger of Searcy; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; one sister, Naomi Jen-kins of Beebe and many other loving relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his beloved pets and best friends, Teddy and Charlie.
J.W. sincerely loved his family as well as dogs and all animals. He enjoyed jigsaw puzzles, woodworking, gardening and decorating for Christmas.
He will be missed by all who knew and loved him.
His family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Westbrook Fune-ral Home with burial in Meadow-brook Memorial Gardens at Beebe.
John F. Wiley, 61, of Jacksonville died March 3. He was a retired mechanic from Smurfit Stone.
Wiley is survived by two sons and daughters-in-law Chris and Jackie Wiley of Jacksonville and Travis and Bertha Wiley of Houston, Ark., one brother, Walter Van New of California; one sister, Phyllis Kimbell of Collinsville, Ill.; three grandchildren, Joanna Wiley and Elizabeth and Dona Sumler; two great-grandchildren, Johnathan Norman and Brandon Wiley.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Cabot Funeral Home Chapel with interment at Johnson Chapel Cemetery in Des Arc.
JERRY MARSHALL, 75
Jerry Jean Wells Marshall, 75, of Ward, died March 4.
She was born March 9, 1930, in El Paso to the late Roy W. and Clarice Boardman Wells.
She was a member of Mars Hill Church of Christ.
In addition to being a homemaker, she was a rural mail carrier and during World War II, she worked at the arsenal in Jacksonville. She served the city of Ward as an alderman on the city council for many years. She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Robert Harold Marshall of Ward, and five children, Paula Henderson and her husband, Steve, who preceded her in death, of England, Vicky Hendrix and her husband John of Cabot, Robbie Marshall and his wife, Lori of Sixteenth Section, Alesia Roberts and her husband, Darrell of Ward and Renee Shepard and her husband, Jerry of Harrison.
She is also survived by one sister, Betty Ridgeway of Ward, and two brothers, Carl Wells of Vilonia and Dennis Wells of Conway as well as eight grandchildren, Torey, Paula, Jesse, Marshall, Faith, Darla, Kaitlan and Sarah. She was always a loving wife, mother and grandmother.
The funeral service will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. in the Cabot Funeral Home Chapel officiated by Brother David Riley and Brother Joe Johnson.
Burial will follow in Sixteenth Section Cemetery.
Memorials in honor of Jerry Marshall may be made to Arkansas Hospice.
ILA SULLIVAN, 80
Ila Fay Sullivan, 80, of North Little Rock died March 6.
She was born May 4, 1925, in Cabot to the late Horace Lee and Grace Evelyn Bailey Mulkey. She graduated high school and attended Draughn’s School of Business before her career in computer services for the Arkansas Highway Department. She was also an avid reader.
She is survived by three children; Roy Lee Sullivan of North Little Rock, Carol Jean Wawerna of Prescott, Ariz., and Hosea Dan Sullivan of Little Rock. She is also survived by one grandson, Brandon Seagroves of Atlanta, Ga., and one brother, Ronald Lewis Mulkey of Cabot. The family will receive friends from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday at Cabot Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be sent to the Humane Society of Pulaski County at 14600 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock, Ark., 72210.
Services are under the direction of Cabot Funeral Home.
BARBARA BALDING, 55
Barbara Balding, 55, of Austin, died March 4.
She was a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and a retired truck driver. She is survived by her husband, Mack A. Balding of Austin.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Westbrook Funeral Home, Beebe.
COY HODGES, 95
Coy Homer Hodges, 95, of Austin, passed away March 3.
He was born Jan. 5, 1911, to Mr. and Mrs. Luther Hodges in Beebe.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Illamae Dover and one daughter, Cynthia Baucum. He is survived by one son, Loyd and wife Deborah Hodges of Cabot; two grandchildren, Dawn Lewis and Holly Hodges. Graveside services were held Tuesday at Sumner Cemetery in Cabot. Arrangements were by Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home.
ALMA FORD, 79
Alma Jean Ford, 79, of Jacksonville, passed away March 5. She was born Dec. 23, 1926, in Morrilton to the late Abner and Thelma Chandler Fitzgerald.
She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Vernon Ford of Jack-sonville; two daughters, Benita Crook of Jacksonville and Belinda McNew of Cabot; two sisters, Jan Moore of Fayetteville and Betty Bolling of Oklahoma; brother, Jackie Fitzgerald of Alma; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Graveside services were held Tuesday at Arkansas State Veteran’s Cemetery with arrangements by Thomas Funeral Service of Cabot.
JOEY MAHONEY, 8
Joey Mahoney, 8, of Cabot died March 2. He was born March 22, 1997, in Little Rock. Joey and his family attended Faith Christian Center. He was an honor student with straight A’s at Southside Elem-entary School in Cabot.
He en-joyed playing video games, working on the computer, riding his bike FAST, and playing with his brothers. Joey is the oldest of three children.
He is survived by his parents; Seath and Jammie Mahoney of Cabot; two brothers, Blain and Colton Mahoney of Cabot.
He is also survived by his maternal grandparents; Kevin and Tina Colton of Cabot, who he called Nana and Papa; paternal grandparents, Janice Mahoney and John Stanley of Houston, Texas, who he called Memaw and Papa; his great-grandparents, Mary and Jessie Martindale of Jacksonville, Dale and Louise Crabtree of Austin and Connie and George Mahoney of Cabot. To Joey, Mary and Connie were known as “Granny” and George was known as “Pop.” Joey is also survived by two great-great grandmothers; Selma Thornton, “Granny T,” of Cabot and Auda Martindale of Little Rock as well as a host of aunts, uncles and cousins.
Funeral services were held Tuesday at Faith Christian Center with Pastor Gene Gilliam officiating. Burial followed in King Cemetery in Cabot.
Arrangements were by Cabot Funeral Home.
MARY ROBINSON, 89
Mary S. Robinson, 89, of Hazen Nursing Center, formerly of Zimmerman Nursing Home in Carlisle, died Feb. 22. She was preceded in death by her husband Frank Robinson.
Survivors include her daughter, Reola Blackwell of Michigan.
Arrangements are incomplete and under the direction of Boyd Funeral Home in Lonoke.
L.C. DRENNAN, 88
L.C. ‘’Pete’’ Drennan, 88, of El Paso passed away March 4 after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Rosabelle; one son, Wendall and wife Ninette of El Paso; two grandchildren, Cheryl and husband John Reaves and Mark and wife Misty Drennan of El Paso; four great-grandchildren, Cody, Ellie, and Will Reaves, Pete Drennan and one special niece, Alice Nipper, of Beebe.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Martha and Christopher and wife Kit Drennan; five brothers, Lois, Otha, Charlie, Boone, and Buddy; three sisters, Carrie Ander-son, Valrie Price and Velma Harston.
He was an excellent farmer and an avid outdoorsman.
He loved fishing, hunting, and all types of sports. As a young man, he was a very good baseball and basketball player. He was also a member of the White County ASCS Committee for 35 years.
The family wishes to thank all of his friends and neighbors for their loving support.
A special thanks to the nurses and aides from Hospice Home Care of Searcy which allowed him to stay at home with his family and on the farm which he loved.
Funeral services were held Tuesday at Westbrook Funeral Home with burial in Grissard Cemetery.
GENE BAKER, 79
Gene Baker, 79, of Antioch, died March 4. He was a retired constable for Antioch Township.
He is survived by his son, Billy and wife Teresa Baker of Beebe; his daughter, Jamie and husband Bobby Brown of Antioch; five grandchildren, Joshua Hackler, Christopher Hackler, Madison Brown, Sean Henderson and Sarah Baker; one great-grandchild, Nathan Lovell; four brothers, Doug Baker and Wayne Baker, both of Cabot, J. D. Baker and W. C. Baker, both of Beebe; two sisters, Anne Schultz of Ohio and Evelyn Blake Hodges of Kensett.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty, and a sister, Lois Baker.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at West-brook Funeral Home in Beebe. Funeral is at 2 p.m. Thursday at Westbrook Funeral Home, with burial in Antioch Cemetery.
VERNIE MCEUEN, 92
Vernie Haynie McEuen, 92, of Beebe, was born Nov. 26, 1913, at McRae, (16th Section) to Samuel and Susie Evans Haynie, and she died March 6, 2006.
She was Past Worthy Matron of Forrest Park Chapter of Eastern Star in Little Rock, and a delegate to Delaware in 1960.
She was a 50 member of Eastern Star in 2004, was active in Railroad Engineers Wives Club for many years, and was a member of Union Valley Baptist Church in Beebe.
She was always a very loving mother, an excellent cook, and was known for the wonderful pies that she baked. She loved to fish, and not too many years ago raised a huge garden.
She is survived by two sons, Ray McEuen, Jr. and wife Sue, and James M. McEuen and wife Donna, all of Beebe; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; one sister, Helen Powell of Escon-dido, Calif.; and many nephews and nieces.
She was preceded in death by her husband Ray McEuen, Sr. who was a retired engineer for Missouri Pacific Railroad, after almost 70 years of marriage; also, her parents, one brother, two sisters and one grandson.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at West-brook Funeral Home in Beebe. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at Westbrook Fune-ral Home. Burial will be in Weir Cemetery. Rev. Tommy Miller will officiate.
Memorials may be made to Union Valley Baptist Church, 932 Hwy. 64 West, Beebe, Ark., 72012.
JAMES REAVES, 76
James W. “J.W.” Reaves, 76, of Beebe, was born Nov. 3, 1929, to Issac E. and Mary Ethel Island Reaves. He went home to be with the Lord on March 6.
He retired from Arkansas Best Freight System after 38 years of service.
He served four years in the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Auxiliary and then worked as the animal control officer for the city of Beebe for seven years.
He was a member of Harrison Chapel Church at Beebe.
He is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Syble Reaves; two sons, Randy Reaves and wife Sandy of Cabot and David Reaves and wife Nancy of Beebe; two daughters, Vicky Reed of Cabot and Holly Reaves Dugger of Searcy; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; one sister, Naomi Jen-kins of Beebe and many other loving relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his beloved pets and best friends, Teddy and Charlie.
J.W. sincerely loved his family as well as dogs and all animals. He enjoyed jigsaw puzzles, woodworking, gardening and decorating for Christmas.
He will be missed by all who knew and loved him.
His family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Westbrook Fune-ral Home with burial in Meadow-brook Memorial Gardens at Beebe.
SAT 3-8-6 EDITORIAL >> Beebe sues payday lenders
Hats off to Attorney General Mike Beebe, who asked a circuit court this week to close a hybrid check-cashing business at Jonesboro that is charging up to 520 percent interest. Money in a Flash.net is a particularly blatant scam so the attorney general and Democratic candidate for governor feels secure in going after one of its outlets.
Money in a Flash.net does make loans, you see, so it claims that the law limiting interest rate charges does not apply to it. So 520 percent interest does not mean anything. Money in a Flash.net contracts with consumers for internet service and charges an annual fee. It “rebates” money to the consumers up front and they pay it back all year. For example, it may “rebate” someone $300 and then over the next year they pay the company biweekly, up to $1,500 over a year. Beebe’s suit maintains that the rebate is a ruse. It’s really a loan to a desperate person, who winds up paying it back five times over in a year.
Of course it is a loan and of course it is illegal.
But Money in a Flash.net is worse only by degrees than scores of other check-cashing companies that charge interest rates many times the lawful limit by disguising interest as something else. Beebe and his predecessor, Mark Pryor, never went after them.
For 50 years, lenders, including big banks and merchants, could not get by with such schemes. They couldn’t fudge even slightly.
The Arkansas Supreme Court interpreted the usury provision in the Constitution to mean what it said and tolerated no nonsense. The law was weakened a bit and the courts have become a trifle more pliant. But in the end, this year perhaps, we trust that the justices will give consumers some justice and hold these payday-lending schemes, all of them, to be beyond the pale.
Meantime, please extend medium-sized congratulations to General Beebe.
Money in a Flash.net does make loans, you see, so it claims that the law limiting interest rate charges does not apply to it. So 520 percent interest does not mean anything. Money in a Flash.net contracts with consumers for internet service and charges an annual fee. It “rebates” money to the consumers up front and they pay it back all year. For example, it may “rebate” someone $300 and then over the next year they pay the company biweekly, up to $1,500 over a year. Beebe’s suit maintains that the rebate is a ruse. It’s really a loan to a desperate person, who winds up paying it back five times over in a year.
Of course it is a loan and of course it is illegal.
But Money in a Flash.net is worse only by degrees than scores of other check-cashing companies that charge interest rates many times the lawful limit by disguising interest as something else. Beebe and his predecessor, Mark Pryor, never went after them.
For 50 years, lenders, including big banks and merchants, could not get by with such schemes. They couldn’t fudge even slightly.
The Arkansas Supreme Court interpreted the usury provision in the Constitution to mean what it said and tolerated no nonsense. The law was weakened a bit and the courts have become a trifle more pliant. But in the end, this year perhaps, we trust that the justices will give consumers some justice and hold these payday-lending schemes, all of them, to be beyond the pale.
Meantime, please extend medium-sized congratulations to General Beebe.
SAT 3-8-6 EDITORIAL >> Ruling goes against TIF
Circuit Judge Kim Smith deserves the state’s thanks for striking down a scheme to divert school taxes for downtown business development in Fayetteville. Judge Smith ruled in the only way that the law really permitted but that big development interests refuse to acknowledge.
He said that 25 mills of state-levied property taxes for the schools could not be used to fund a tax-increment-finance district.
But the judge’s ruling was so narrow that it does not afford Arkansas school children the protection they deserve. Let us hope that the Arkansas Supreme Court gives them that protection.
A constitutional amendment permitting the creation of tax-increment districts would allow local governments to take away the growth from school millage and other local ad-valorem taxes and turn it over to commercial development projects. Few voters in Arkansas understood the implications of the amendment, which was characterized in wholly different ways during the election.
Everyone should understand that neither the Fayetteville project or any other, whether it is at Rogers, Jonesboro or North Little Rock, is simply a local concern. The taxes come from every school district in Arkansas. Some of your school taxes would go to the Fayetteville project, although you would have no say about it.
Judge Smith ruled that the growth in tax receipts from the schools’ 25 mills could not be used in the Fayetteville project, but the legislature amended the law after that project was proposed. Developers can argue that the judge’s reasoning does not apply to projects proposed since the 2005 changes in the law.
We think they are mistaken about the law. Taxes that were levied by the voters for school purposes should never be diverted to other purposes. The prevailing law at the time all local school taxes were levied said the receipts could never be used for any other purpose. We believe the Supreme Court will so rule when the proper case reaches it. If we’re wrong, the schools and children are in far greater jeopardy than any of us imagined.
He said that 25 mills of state-levied property taxes for the schools could not be used to fund a tax-increment-finance district.
But the judge’s ruling was so narrow that it does not afford Arkansas school children the protection they deserve. Let us hope that the Arkansas Supreme Court gives them that protection.
A constitutional amendment permitting the creation of tax-increment districts would allow local governments to take away the growth from school millage and other local ad-valorem taxes and turn it over to commercial development projects. Few voters in Arkansas understood the implications of the amendment, which was characterized in wholly different ways during the election.
Everyone should understand that neither the Fayetteville project or any other, whether it is at Rogers, Jonesboro or North Little Rock, is simply a local concern. The taxes come from every school district in Arkansas. Some of your school taxes would go to the Fayetteville project, although you would have no say about it.
Judge Smith ruled that the growth in tax receipts from the schools’ 25 mills could not be used in the Fayetteville project, but the legislature amended the law after that project was proposed. Developers can argue that the judge’s reasoning does not apply to projects proposed since the 2005 changes in the law.
We think they are mistaken about the law. Taxes that were levied by the voters for school purposes should never be diverted to other purposes. The prevailing law at the time all local school taxes were levied said the receipts could never be used for any other purpose. We believe the Supreme Court will so rule when the proper case reaches it. If we’re wrong, the schools and children are in far greater jeopardy than any of us imagined.
WED 3-8-6 EDITORIAL >> Health plan first in nation
We knew Mike Huckabee pretty well. When he is not in out-of-state Republican precincts bashing gays, abortion and Democrats, Gov. Huckabee is a big-government liberal working to preserve and expand the welfare state. But we frankly were surprised this week by the news that the Bush administration had signed off on a big expansion of government health care, even if it is to be undertaken exclusively in our little state. We thought we knew Bush, too. He has been trying in other ways to slash government health insurance for the poor, not enlarge it.
Let us be the first to congratulate both men on the pilot project announced yesterday to extend Medicaid health benefits to low-wage Arkansas workers and their families. It is a slight enlargement of the employer-based, single-payer system that one day will afford health security to every American. It is not a system that President Bush admires, but whatever the reason he approved Gov. Huckabee’s initiative, he deserves our thanks. Well, we assume the president was aware that his health and human services secretary was approving it.
The governor was allowed to announce Washing-ton’s consent to the project, which will burnish his credentials as the good-health candidate for president. Now, he has more than his weight loss to crow about. Actually, he could already boast that he had beaten most other states in expanding Medicaid to cover tens of thousands of children whose families were above the federal poverty line. This little bit of socialized medicine may not endear him to conservative Republican audiences, but there are still a few Republicans who believe that government is supposed to solve problems and act as a tribune for the neediest. Huckabee will go near the top of their list.
We have an idea that far fewer Arkansans will get the coverage than the 80,000 workers and their families that Huckabee predicts. The conditions that small businesses will have to meet to get the government insurance for their low-wage workers will be too daunting for many (they will have to go into the commercial market and insure every higher-income workers as well). Our pessimism notwithstanding, it is a salutary effort.
Dr. Joe Thompson, now the worthy state health director, developed the program. He was searching for a way to insure the state’s largest uninsured group: the families of low-wage workers in small businesses, very few of whom can afford health insurance. Their employers can’t either.
So now the employers can get the federal government to pick up roughly three-fourths of the tab. That is the rate at which Washington matches Arkansas’ Medicaid coverage for the poor. But instead of the state government putting up the other 25 percent, which Arkansas does for other Medicaid beneficiaries, the employer would in effect do it. The business would pay $15 a month for each worker whose earnings are below twice the federal poverty line, which is about $26,400 for a family of two.
The coverage would be much skimpier than that of other Medicaid beneficiaries — a sizable deductible, limited hospital and physician visits each year and only two prescriptions a month. But barebones is better than they have and it will provide some security for families who have none.
But a condition of an employer’s participation is that every single employee would have to have insurance coverage of some kind, including higher-salaried workers who do not qualify for the Medicaid plan. Our hunch is that will keep hundreds of employers away from the plan and tens of thousands of workers and their families uninsured.
The Arkansas Legislature enacted the plan three years ago and Huckabee submitted it to the Department of Health and Human Services seeking a waiver from the usual rules for Medicaid coverage. The Bush administration rejected it, reportedly because the state government was putting up not a dime for a program that was supposed to involve states sharing the burden of public services. State Rep. David Johnson of Little Rock had the law amended last year to offer the Washington gods a little money from Arkansas’ annual cash bonanza from its settlement of claims against the big tobacco companies. Apparently, that was enough.
We suspect that the state will have to find still further inducements for businesses to participate, but meantime let us hope for their optimum participation. The good health of tens of thousands of children and adults depend upon it. Now what can we do about the uninsured at the megabusinesses, like Wal-Mart?
Let us be the first to congratulate both men on the pilot project announced yesterday to extend Medicaid health benefits to low-wage Arkansas workers and their families. It is a slight enlargement of the employer-based, single-payer system that one day will afford health security to every American. It is not a system that President Bush admires, but whatever the reason he approved Gov. Huckabee’s initiative, he deserves our thanks. Well, we assume the president was aware that his health and human services secretary was approving it.
The governor was allowed to announce Washing-ton’s consent to the project, which will burnish his credentials as the good-health candidate for president. Now, he has more than his weight loss to crow about. Actually, he could already boast that he had beaten most other states in expanding Medicaid to cover tens of thousands of children whose families were above the federal poverty line. This little bit of socialized medicine may not endear him to conservative Republican audiences, but there are still a few Republicans who believe that government is supposed to solve problems and act as a tribune for the neediest. Huckabee will go near the top of their list.
We have an idea that far fewer Arkansans will get the coverage than the 80,000 workers and their families that Huckabee predicts. The conditions that small businesses will have to meet to get the government insurance for their low-wage workers will be too daunting for many (they will have to go into the commercial market and insure every higher-income workers as well). Our pessimism notwithstanding, it is a salutary effort.
Dr. Joe Thompson, now the worthy state health director, developed the program. He was searching for a way to insure the state’s largest uninsured group: the families of low-wage workers in small businesses, very few of whom can afford health insurance. Their employers can’t either.
So now the employers can get the federal government to pick up roughly three-fourths of the tab. That is the rate at which Washington matches Arkansas’ Medicaid coverage for the poor. But instead of the state government putting up the other 25 percent, which Arkansas does for other Medicaid beneficiaries, the employer would in effect do it. The business would pay $15 a month for each worker whose earnings are below twice the federal poverty line, which is about $26,400 for a family of two.
The coverage would be much skimpier than that of other Medicaid beneficiaries — a sizable deductible, limited hospital and physician visits each year and only two prescriptions a month. But barebones is better than they have and it will provide some security for families who have none.
But a condition of an employer’s participation is that every single employee would have to have insurance coverage of some kind, including higher-salaried workers who do not qualify for the Medicaid plan. Our hunch is that will keep hundreds of employers away from the plan and tens of thousands of workers and their families uninsured.
The Arkansas Legislature enacted the plan three years ago and Huckabee submitted it to the Department of Health and Human Services seeking a waiver from the usual rules for Medicaid coverage. The Bush administration rejected it, reportedly because the state government was putting up not a dime for a program that was supposed to involve states sharing the burden of public services. State Rep. David Johnson of Little Rock had the law amended last year to offer the Washington gods a little money from Arkansas’ annual cash bonanza from its settlement of claims against the big tobacco companies. Apparently, that was enough.
We suspect that the state will have to find still further inducements for businesses to participate, but meantime let us hope for their optimum participation. The good health of tens of thousands of children and adults depend upon it. Now what can we do about the uninsured at the megabusinesses, like Wal-Mart?
SPORTS >> Mentor gone, but won’t be forgotten
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Jacksonville lost one of its most dedicated supporters last week when Jacksonville Softball Association director Sam Ashabranner died at the age of 61.
Ashabranner ran the JYSA for the last 12 years and was instrumental in making Dupree Park one of the busiest ballparks in the state. He also played a major role in putting on some of the most well-run tournaments anywhere.
Dupree Park has grown in leaps and bounds since Ashabranner took over the reins. There are better facilities with more and bigger youth tournaments here now than ever before.
Last year, he played a pivotal role in giving Jacksonville its first-ever world series softball tournaments. Ashabranner was key in convincing International Baseball-Softball Association official Greg Belcher that Jacksonville was a great place for his organization to hold its 12-under fastpitch world series.
That tournament brought in state champions from several states, such as Texas, Georgia and Michigan.
While he worked hard to bring the best competition to the area, he wasn’t just about the good players. He was all about the children of Jacksonville, regardless of their skill level.
In an interview with The Leader in July 2002, he explained what he felt was most important for kids to learn about youth sports.
“We’ve got three rules for them (the players) to follow,” Ashabranner said. “The first one is make good grades. Second one is be good to momma and daddy so they don’t get grounded and can’t come play. And third one is to have fun, have as much fun as you can.”
He not only ran the organization as a director, on many occasions he stepped in and coached teams when not enough coaches enlisted to help for a particular league.
Ashabranner did the grunt work too, the physical labor like hanging signs, preparing fields for play and whatever other chores needed to be done.
He even began helping the local high school team for a few seasons when it came up short an assistant coach.
He was the first one at the park to get things started for the day, and he was usually the last one to leave, staying until 3 or 4 a.m. the next day getting everything in order for the coming evening’s activities.
He’s even been known to start sing-alongs of gospel or country and western songs among his patrons that were still there at the park in the wee hours of the morning.
But more than his tireless works for Dupree Park and the young ladies in Jacksonville, what people will miss most about Ashabranner this season, and seasons to come, will be his toothpick smile and belly laugh.
The wide-brimmed straw hat gliding effortlessly through the thick crowd on Saturday afternoons was most assuredly Sam on his golf cart, off to take care of something, or maybe just to get to the field on the other side of the park because a local team was playing an important game.
He frequently joked about how bad he had it, but his almost constant grin willingly gave the truth away.
He loved being at the park around friends and the kids, and would just as frequently say so.
He had many, many friends. People gravitated towards him, as people often do towards those as friendly, funny and generous as Sam Ashabranner.
His longtime friend and co-worker at the park, Sissy Colvert, described her pal well.
“He was just great,” Colvert said.
“He was generous. If he had a dollar, you had a dollar. He was funny and you couldn’t help but like being around him.
He was the kind of person that if you had the worst of days, Sam would walk into the park and things would just get better.”
His tireless effort, his jolly countenance and his unparalleled dedication is irreplaceable and will be missed.
And “Poor Ole Sam” will never be forgotten.
Leader sports editor
Jacksonville lost one of its most dedicated supporters last week when Jacksonville Softball Association director Sam Ashabranner died at the age of 61.
Ashabranner ran the JYSA for the last 12 years and was instrumental in making Dupree Park one of the busiest ballparks in the state. He also played a major role in putting on some of the most well-run tournaments anywhere.
Dupree Park has grown in leaps and bounds since Ashabranner took over the reins. There are better facilities with more and bigger youth tournaments here now than ever before.
Last year, he played a pivotal role in giving Jacksonville its first-ever world series softball tournaments. Ashabranner was key in convincing International Baseball-Softball Association official Greg Belcher that Jacksonville was a great place for his organization to hold its 12-under fastpitch world series.
That tournament brought in state champions from several states, such as Texas, Georgia and Michigan.
While he worked hard to bring the best competition to the area, he wasn’t just about the good players. He was all about the children of Jacksonville, regardless of their skill level.
In an interview with The Leader in July 2002, he explained what he felt was most important for kids to learn about youth sports.
“We’ve got three rules for them (the players) to follow,” Ashabranner said. “The first one is make good grades. Second one is be good to momma and daddy so they don’t get grounded and can’t come play. And third one is to have fun, have as much fun as you can.”
He not only ran the organization as a director, on many occasions he stepped in and coached teams when not enough coaches enlisted to help for a particular league.
Ashabranner did the grunt work too, the physical labor like hanging signs, preparing fields for play and whatever other chores needed to be done.
He even began helping the local high school team for a few seasons when it came up short an assistant coach.
He was the first one at the park to get things started for the day, and he was usually the last one to leave, staying until 3 or 4 a.m. the next day getting everything in order for the coming evening’s activities.
He’s even been known to start sing-alongs of gospel or country and western songs among his patrons that were still there at the park in the wee hours of the morning.
But more than his tireless works for Dupree Park and the young ladies in Jacksonville, what people will miss most about Ashabranner this season, and seasons to come, will be his toothpick smile and belly laugh.
The wide-brimmed straw hat gliding effortlessly through the thick crowd on Saturday afternoons was most assuredly Sam on his golf cart, off to take care of something, or maybe just to get to the field on the other side of the park because a local team was playing an important game.
He frequently joked about how bad he had it, but his almost constant grin willingly gave the truth away.
He loved being at the park around friends and the kids, and would just as frequently say so.
He had many, many friends. People gravitated towards him, as people often do towards those as friendly, funny and generous as Sam Ashabranner.
His longtime friend and co-worker at the park, Sissy Colvert, described her pal well.
“He was just great,” Colvert said.
“He was generous. If he had a dollar, you had a dollar. He was funny and you couldn’t help but like being around him.
He was the kind of person that if you had the worst of days, Sam would walk into the park and things would just get better.”
His tireless effort, his jolly countenance and his unparalleled dedication is irreplaceable and will be missed.
And “Poor Ole Sam” will never be forgotten.
SPORTS >> Lady Panthers beaten in semis
By JASON KING
Leader sports writer
An amazing run came to an end on Saturday afternoon at the UALR Stephens Center when the Cabot Lady Panthers lost their AAAAA semifinal game to North Little Rock 50-39. Cabot led from the tip-off until 2:57 left in the first half, when the Lady Wildcats took their first lead of the game. Unfortunately for the Lady Panthers, it would be the only lead change in the entire contest.
Senior forward Kim Sitzmann averaged 24 points in Cabot’s first two tourney appearances against Conway and Rogers. The trend looked like it might continue when Sitzmann took the opening tip from Lauren Daniels all the way in for the easy lay up to give the Lady Panthers the first points of the game. Few would have guessed that the lay up would make for one-third of Sitzmann’s total points by game’s end. Foul trouble kept the senior off the court for much of the second quarter, and less effective in the third and fourth quarters.
“When Kim got in foul trouble in the first quarter, it got us off sync,” Lady Panthers coach Carla Crowder said.
“Whenever we put her back in, she was afraid of drawing the foul. They are very talented and athletic, and huge. We are disappointed, but there are a lot worse things that can happen to you in this world than losing a basketball game.”
The Lady Panthers only trailed by a point heading into the final quarter, but six failed three-point attempts in the fourth prevented Cabot from overtaking the Lady Wildcats. North Little Rock kept control in the final minutes with an MVP performance from junior Gabby Coleman. Coleman scored 10 of her total 13 points in the last frame, including 6 of 6 shots at the foul line.
Cabot’s only success from the outside in the game was a three pointer from Daniels in the third quarter, and a three from Lindsey Watts with 5:46 left. In all, the Lady Panthers were 2 of 13 from behind the arc, easily their lowest percentage of the season.
“We just couldn’t get it to fall,” Cabot junior Maddie Helms said after the game. “We had the shots, they just wouldn’t go in. We’ve worked very hard as a team this year. God has allowed us to get as far as we have.”
The Lady Panthers got out to the early lead with Sitzmann’s opening move followed by two baskets from Rachel Glover. Brittany Rochelle got North Little Rock on the board first with a jumper at the 4:52 mark to make the score 6-2 Cabot. Jamie Sterrenberg then drove in the paint for Cabot’s next two, followed by a home-run pass from Sitzmann to Helms, who was all alone under the goal to put the Lady Panthers up 10-3.
Things looked good for Cabot after one, as the Lady Panthers held a 15-8 lead, and went 5 for 11 from the floor, including two missed three-point attempts. North Little Rock missed their first eight shot attempts, but would come back much stronger in the second quarter.
NLR quickly cut it to 15-12 with two buckets from Sophia Piggie and Sherina Scott in the first 1:15 of the frame. Cabot’s shooting fell way off in the second, with three of its first four shots resulting in air balls. There were very few second-shot attempts for Cabot in the game with the Lady Wildcats’ tremendous size advantage inside. Rochelle and sophomore Maylaya Leggs measured up at 6’3” and 6’0” respectively, compared to Daniels, who at 5’11” was the tallest Lady Panther.
A jumper from Rochelle inside at the 2:57 mark gave North Little Rock the lead at 18-17. The Lady Panthers didn’t help their cause any, turning the ball over four straight times after relinquishing the lead.
The Lady Wildcats made their lead as much as six, but a driving basket for Helms before the buzzer cut it 23-19 at the half.
It was anyone’s game until 2:19 left in the game, when a Coleman jumper made it 42-38 NLR. Helms, Sterrenberg, Sitzmann and Watts all tried for three pointers in the final two minutes, but every attempt fell short, and the Lady Wildcats grabbed the easy rebounds. Coleman took the game in her hands at that point, sending Cabot home for the season after a 19-game winning streak. The last loss for Cabot was in mid-December in a non-conference game against Lonoke which took two overtimes to decide.
Helms led Cabot with nine points, with Sitzmann and Glover finishing with six. Coleman had 13 points to lead North Little Rock. Scott added 11 for the Lady Wildcats. The loss makes Cabot’s final record 26-4. North Little Rock will play Fort Smith Northside Saturday afternoon in the AAAAA finals.
Leader sports writer
An amazing run came to an end on Saturday afternoon at the UALR Stephens Center when the Cabot Lady Panthers lost their AAAAA semifinal game to North Little Rock 50-39. Cabot led from the tip-off until 2:57 left in the first half, when the Lady Wildcats took their first lead of the game. Unfortunately for the Lady Panthers, it would be the only lead change in the entire contest.
Senior forward Kim Sitzmann averaged 24 points in Cabot’s first two tourney appearances against Conway and Rogers. The trend looked like it might continue when Sitzmann took the opening tip from Lauren Daniels all the way in for the easy lay up to give the Lady Panthers the first points of the game. Few would have guessed that the lay up would make for one-third of Sitzmann’s total points by game’s end. Foul trouble kept the senior off the court for much of the second quarter, and less effective in the third and fourth quarters.
“When Kim got in foul trouble in the first quarter, it got us off sync,” Lady Panthers coach Carla Crowder said.
“Whenever we put her back in, she was afraid of drawing the foul. They are very talented and athletic, and huge. We are disappointed, but there are a lot worse things that can happen to you in this world than losing a basketball game.”
The Lady Panthers only trailed by a point heading into the final quarter, but six failed three-point attempts in the fourth prevented Cabot from overtaking the Lady Wildcats. North Little Rock kept control in the final minutes with an MVP performance from junior Gabby Coleman. Coleman scored 10 of her total 13 points in the last frame, including 6 of 6 shots at the foul line.
Cabot’s only success from the outside in the game was a three pointer from Daniels in the third quarter, and a three from Lindsey Watts with 5:46 left. In all, the Lady Panthers were 2 of 13 from behind the arc, easily their lowest percentage of the season.
“We just couldn’t get it to fall,” Cabot junior Maddie Helms said after the game. “We had the shots, they just wouldn’t go in. We’ve worked very hard as a team this year. God has allowed us to get as far as we have.”
The Lady Panthers got out to the early lead with Sitzmann’s opening move followed by two baskets from Rachel Glover. Brittany Rochelle got North Little Rock on the board first with a jumper at the 4:52 mark to make the score 6-2 Cabot. Jamie Sterrenberg then drove in the paint for Cabot’s next two, followed by a home-run pass from Sitzmann to Helms, who was all alone under the goal to put the Lady Panthers up 10-3.
Things looked good for Cabot after one, as the Lady Panthers held a 15-8 lead, and went 5 for 11 from the floor, including two missed three-point attempts. North Little Rock missed their first eight shot attempts, but would come back much stronger in the second quarter.
NLR quickly cut it to 15-12 with two buckets from Sophia Piggie and Sherina Scott in the first 1:15 of the frame. Cabot’s shooting fell way off in the second, with three of its first four shots resulting in air balls. There were very few second-shot attempts for Cabot in the game with the Lady Wildcats’ tremendous size advantage inside. Rochelle and sophomore Maylaya Leggs measured up at 6’3” and 6’0” respectively, compared to Daniels, who at 5’11” was the tallest Lady Panther.
A jumper from Rochelle inside at the 2:57 mark gave North Little Rock the lead at 18-17. The Lady Panthers didn’t help their cause any, turning the ball over four straight times after relinquishing the lead.
The Lady Wildcats made their lead as much as six, but a driving basket for Helms before the buzzer cut it 23-19 at the half.
It was anyone’s game until 2:19 left in the game, when a Coleman jumper made it 42-38 NLR. Helms, Sterrenberg, Sitzmann and Watts all tried for three pointers in the final two minutes, but every attempt fell short, and the Lady Wildcats grabbed the easy rebounds. Coleman took the game in her hands at that point, sending Cabot home for the season after a 19-game winning streak. The last loss for Cabot was in mid-December in a non-conference game against Lonoke which took two overtimes to decide.
Helms led Cabot with nine points, with Sitzmann and Glover finishing with six. Coleman had 13 points to lead North Little Rock. Scott added 11 for the Lady Wildcats. The loss makes Cabot’s final record 26-4. North Little Rock will play Fort Smith Northside Saturday afternoon in the AAAAA finals.
NEIGHBORS >> Remembering Dakota
By SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
Those left behind will never forget him
Hundreds attended celebration services for Henry Dakota Hawkins Sunday afternoon at First Baptist Church in Cabot, a testimony to the many lives he touched. After beating acute myeloid leukemia last spring, Dakota passed away at his home last Thursday morning.
Services started with videotaped presentations of Dakota’s grandfathers, Frank Hawkins of Cabot and Barden Lamb of Delight, sharing some of their favorite memories of Dakota.
Hymns included “I Can Only Imagine” performed by Brent Tullos, “If You Could See Me Now,” by Jerry Miller and “For the Glory of the Cross” written in Dakota’s honor and performed by Lis Geoghegan. Rob Leonard led congregational singing of “Trust and Obey” and “When We All Get To Heaven.”
Laura Crocker, Dakota’s cousin, played “Ashokan Farewell” on the violin.
Eulogies were given by Jimmie Taylor, a family friend and youth minister from Katy, Texas, and by Dr. David Becton, Dakota’s oncologist at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
Mitch Tapson delivered the message, reminding the audience of how Dakota’s battle against leukemia was like the Biblical battle of David versus Goliath. Jim Coy read a proclamation from Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh declaring March 6 “A Day of Remembrance and Tribute to Dakota Hawkins.”
Services concluded with a slideshow of photographs of the Hawkins family.
Dakota was interred at the old Austin Cemetery. Pallbearers were Zach Coy, John Michael Crocker, Dr. Craig Johnston, Nathan Lamb, Dr. Jeff Hernandez and T. J. Richards.
Dakota was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia on Dec. 26 2002 at age 11.After several bone marrow transplants, community fundraising collected $127,000 in two weeks in February 2004 for the entire Hawkins family; Dakota, his brother Reily, and parents Sharon and Henry, to live in Israel for nearly four months in order for Dakota to undergo innovative leukemia treatment from Dr. Shimon Slavin at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.
After receiving a stem cell transplant from his mother Sharon and his brother Riley, Dakota and his family returned to Cabot leukemia free in May. Leukemia free, Dakota developed graft versus host disease, an autoimmune condition where new cells fight against the host body.
Leader staff writer
Those left behind will never forget him
Hundreds attended celebration services for Henry Dakota Hawkins Sunday afternoon at First Baptist Church in Cabot, a testimony to the many lives he touched. After beating acute myeloid leukemia last spring, Dakota passed away at his home last Thursday morning.
Services started with videotaped presentations of Dakota’s grandfathers, Frank Hawkins of Cabot and Barden Lamb of Delight, sharing some of their favorite memories of Dakota.
Hymns included “I Can Only Imagine” performed by Brent Tullos, “If You Could See Me Now,” by Jerry Miller and “For the Glory of the Cross” written in Dakota’s honor and performed by Lis Geoghegan. Rob Leonard led congregational singing of “Trust and Obey” and “When We All Get To Heaven.”
Laura Crocker, Dakota’s cousin, played “Ashokan Farewell” on the violin.
Eulogies were given by Jimmie Taylor, a family friend and youth minister from Katy, Texas, and by Dr. David Becton, Dakota’s oncologist at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
Mitch Tapson delivered the message, reminding the audience of how Dakota’s battle against leukemia was like the Biblical battle of David versus Goliath. Jim Coy read a proclamation from Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh declaring March 6 “A Day of Remembrance and Tribute to Dakota Hawkins.”
Services concluded with a slideshow of photographs of the Hawkins family.
Dakota was interred at the old Austin Cemetery. Pallbearers were Zach Coy, John Michael Crocker, Dr. Craig Johnston, Nathan Lamb, Dr. Jeff Hernandez and T. J. Richards.
Dakota was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia on Dec. 26 2002 at age 11.After several bone marrow transplants, community fundraising collected $127,000 in two weeks in February 2004 for the entire Hawkins family; Dakota, his brother Reily, and parents Sharon and Henry, to live in Israel for nearly four months in order for Dakota to undergo innovative leukemia treatment from Dr. Shimon Slavin at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.
After receiving a stem cell transplant from his mother Sharon and his brother Riley, Dakota and his family returned to Cabot leukemia free in May. Leukemia free, Dakota developed graft versus host disease, an autoimmune condition where new cells fight against the host body.
FROM THE PUBLISHER >> Author says ivory bill is alive here!
GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader Publisher
Last weekend’s Call of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Festival drew hundreds of birdwatchers to Brink-ley, where ornithologists remained upbeat about the bird’s existence after several reported sightings over the past two years.
“The ivory bill lives!”
That was the inscription Tim Gallagher wrote in my copy of his wonderful book, “The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker” (Houghton Mifflin, $25).
Gallagher is a fine writer with an ebullient personality who can hardly contain his excitement over the bird’s discovery in the Big Woods outside Brinkley.
He’s convinced the ivory bill can thrive in the Big Woods as its habitat keeps growing with better conservation. The federal government has announced a $2.1 million grant to help with the search.
What is worrying many birdwatchers is the paucity of sightings in recent weeks, although one Arkansan insists he has seen the rare bird — until recently believed to have been extinct — in the Bayou DeView off Hwy. 17 near Brinkley.
What’s more, a young Dutch scientist who is helping search for the ivory-billed woodpecker has taken photographs of a mostly white pileated woodpecker, which has a red head, like its cousin. That photograph has created some excitement among bird watchers, although a picture of the ivory bill is what everybody’s waiting for.
David Luneau of the University of Arkansas of Little Rock has taken a fuzzy video of what many people believe is the ivory-bill, so a sharp picture would convince the skeptics that bird does exist.
Gene Sparling, who first reported seeing the ivory-bill in the Bayou DeView more than two years ago, spoke at the woodpecker festival at the Brinkley Convention Center, along with Bobby Harrison, Luneau and Gallagher, who have reported seeing the bird not long after Sparling’s sighting.
There have been several credible sightings, but the bird may have moved on. The Cache River and White River Wildlife Refuge areas, the bird’s habitat, contain some 500,000 acres, so seeing an elusive bird in that huge area is like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack, but searchers are using sophisticated sound and video equipment that should help them find their bird.
The area continues to attract hundreds of visitors because they know the ivory bill’s discovery is the most important development in the birding world since the bald eagle was saved from extinction.
Peter Gilchrist, an attorney from Toronto, visited the area a few weeks ago, along with several other birders who were part of a tour group. Bird watching, he said, “is not a hobby. It’s a passion.”
He has seen more than 3,000 species, but the ivory bill’s sighting is a big deal. “I’m very impressed,” he told us.
He was heading for India to see some rare birds, but he would trade that experience for a good look at the ivory-billed woodpecker.
“It’s the most important bird in the world,” Gilchrist said.
Leader Publisher
Last weekend’s Call of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Festival drew hundreds of birdwatchers to Brink-ley, where ornithologists remained upbeat about the bird’s existence after several reported sightings over the past two years.
“The ivory bill lives!”
That was the inscription Tim Gallagher wrote in my copy of his wonderful book, “The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker” (Houghton Mifflin, $25).
Gallagher is a fine writer with an ebullient personality who can hardly contain his excitement over the bird’s discovery in the Big Woods outside Brinkley.
He’s convinced the ivory bill can thrive in the Big Woods as its habitat keeps growing with better conservation. The federal government has announced a $2.1 million grant to help with the search.
What is worrying many birdwatchers is the paucity of sightings in recent weeks, although one Arkansan insists he has seen the rare bird — until recently believed to have been extinct — in the Bayou DeView off Hwy. 17 near Brinkley.
What’s more, a young Dutch scientist who is helping search for the ivory-billed woodpecker has taken photographs of a mostly white pileated woodpecker, which has a red head, like its cousin. That photograph has created some excitement among bird watchers, although a picture of the ivory bill is what everybody’s waiting for.
David Luneau of the University of Arkansas of Little Rock has taken a fuzzy video of what many people believe is the ivory-bill, so a sharp picture would convince the skeptics that bird does exist.
Gene Sparling, who first reported seeing the ivory-bill in the Bayou DeView more than two years ago, spoke at the woodpecker festival at the Brinkley Convention Center, along with Bobby Harrison, Luneau and Gallagher, who have reported seeing the bird not long after Sparling’s sighting.
There have been several credible sightings, but the bird may have moved on. The Cache River and White River Wildlife Refuge areas, the bird’s habitat, contain some 500,000 acres, so seeing an elusive bird in that huge area is like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack, but searchers are using sophisticated sound and video equipment that should help them find their bird.
The area continues to attract hundreds of visitors because they know the ivory bill’s discovery is the most important development in the birding world since the bald eagle was saved from extinction.
Peter Gilchrist, an attorney from Toronto, visited the area a few weeks ago, along with several other birders who were part of a tour group. Bird watching, he said, “is not a hobby. It’s a passion.”
He has seen more than 3,000 species, but the ivory bill’s sighting is a big deal. “I’m very impressed,” he told us.
He was heading for India to see some rare birds, but he would trade that experience for a good look at the ivory-billed woodpecker.
“It’s the most important bird in the world,” Gilchrist said.
FROM THE PUBLISHER >> Dubai buys off Bill, but not Hillary
GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader Publisher
Sen. Hillary Clinton and her husband, the former president, should get their heads together and decide where their family stands on handing over control of our ports to an Arab company.
She is against it, but he’s for it, and they both have their reasons.
Mrs. Clinton thinks the port take-over is a terrible idea because she’s running for president in 2008.
But the former president has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars for his library and speaking fees from Dubai, which owns the company that could take over many of our ports unless Congress kills the idea, as it should.
You’ve read plenty about the Bush administration’s much-criticized plan to turn many of our nation’s ports over to Dubai World Ports owned by the United Arab Emirates, but the former president’s close ties to that desert kingdom have received less coverage than Sen. Clinton’s criticism of that misbegotten deal.
What’s going on? Do the Clintons know what the other is doing?
If you read Robert Novak’s column in the Saturday Leader, Bill Clinton has deep ties to the UAE (and has even tried to get it to hire Joe Lockhart, his former press secretary, to lobby for the port sale), while Mrs. Clinton is making political hay out of the administration’s faux pas.
Don’t the Clintons consult each other about the affairs of state, or are they pretty much going their separate way on issues that could affect the outcome of the next election and the presidential race in 2008?
Although Mrs. Clinton says she didn’t know her husband was getting money from Dubai, her senatorial financial disclosure forms reveal that he received $450,000 for making speeches there in 2002.
The UAE also donated between $500,000 and $1 million for the presidential library in Little Rock.
Like many “moderate” Arab nations, the emirates have spent a lot of money in this country to buy influence with former presidents, including George Walker Bush and Jimmy Carter.
Carter has come out in favor of the Dubai Ports deal, which has made many Republi-cans even more upset over the deal, although George W. Bush has been more reticent about his son’s decision to OK the port sale.
You know the Bush administration is in trouble when fellow Repub-licans jump ship on the issue of port security: Most Republicans in Congress find it sickening that the administration saw nothing wrong with handing over operations at some of our major ports to a company based in the United Arab Emirates.
The deal could still fizzle out, but the damage has been done: The Republicans, previously seen as strong on national security, have allowed the Democrats to run with the issue, which has not only upset Republicans up for re-election this year, but has also alienated many of the nation’s pundits that had been Bush supporters.
Many of the contributors to our editorial page, apart from John Brummett and Molly Ivins, are staunch Republicans, including David Sanders (like Brummett, another Arkansan, but quite different politically), as well as such nationally syndicated columnists as Robert Novak, Stephen Chap-man and Paul Craig Roberts (a distinguished economist and former Wall Street Journal editorial writer).
What these Repub-licans have in common is their profound disappointment in the Bush administration, from the ill-fated ports deal to the inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina, not to mention rising de-ficits and the quagmire in Iraq.
As Republican opinion makers lose their enthusiasm for this administration, it’s no wonder President Bush’s approval rating hovers around 35 percent.
That leaves an opening for the Clintons and the Democrats.
It looks like 1992 all over again, only a lot different.
Leader Publisher
Sen. Hillary Clinton and her husband, the former president, should get their heads together and decide where their family stands on handing over control of our ports to an Arab company.
She is against it, but he’s for it, and they both have their reasons.
Mrs. Clinton thinks the port take-over is a terrible idea because she’s running for president in 2008.
But the former president has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars for his library and speaking fees from Dubai, which owns the company that could take over many of our ports unless Congress kills the idea, as it should.
You’ve read plenty about the Bush administration’s much-criticized plan to turn many of our nation’s ports over to Dubai World Ports owned by the United Arab Emirates, but the former president’s close ties to that desert kingdom have received less coverage than Sen. Clinton’s criticism of that misbegotten deal.
What’s going on? Do the Clintons know what the other is doing?
If you read Robert Novak’s column in the Saturday Leader, Bill Clinton has deep ties to the UAE (and has even tried to get it to hire Joe Lockhart, his former press secretary, to lobby for the port sale), while Mrs. Clinton is making political hay out of the administration’s faux pas.
Don’t the Clintons consult each other about the affairs of state, or are they pretty much going their separate way on issues that could affect the outcome of the next election and the presidential race in 2008?
Although Mrs. Clinton says she didn’t know her husband was getting money from Dubai, her senatorial financial disclosure forms reveal that he received $450,000 for making speeches there in 2002.
The UAE also donated between $500,000 and $1 million for the presidential library in Little Rock.
Like many “moderate” Arab nations, the emirates have spent a lot of money in this country to buy influence with former presidents, including George Walker Bush and Jimmy Carter.
Carter has come out in favor of the Dubai Ports deal, which has made many Republi-cans even more upset over the deal, although George W. Bush has been more reticent about his son’s decision to OK the port sale.
You know the Bush administration is in trouble when fellow Repub-licans jump ship on the issue of port security: Most Republicans in Congress find it sickening that the administration saw nothing wrong with handing over operations at some of our major ports to a company based in the United Arab Emirates.
The deal could still fizzle out, but the damage has been done: The Republicans, previously seen as strong on national security, have allowed the Democrats to run with the issue, which has not only upset Republicans up for re-election this year, but has also alienated many of the nation’s pundits that had been Bush supporters.
Many of the contributors to our editorial page, apart from John Brummett and Molly Ivins, are staunch Republicans, including David Sanders (like Brummett, another Arkansan, but quite different politically), as well as such nationally syndicated columnists as Robert Novak, Stephen Chap-man and Paul Craig Roberts (a distinguished economist and former Wall Street Journal editorial writer).
What these Repub-licans have in common is their profound disappointment in the Bush administration, from the ill-fated ports deal to the inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina, not to mention rising de-ficits and the quagmire in Iraq.
As Republican opinion makers lose their enthusiasm for this administration, it’s no wonder President Bush’s approval rating hovers around 35 percent.
That leaves an opening for the Clintons and the Democrats.
It looks like 1992 all over again, only a lot different.
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