IN SHORT: Jacksonville sweeps cross-town rivals North Pulaski Falcons in Friday night play.
By JASON KING
Leader sports writer
For the second time this season, Jacksonville swept its cross-town rival North Pulaski in a pair of non-conference games Friday night at NPHS. The Lady Red Devils controlled the majority of the girls contest to take a 57-41 win, but the Jacksonville boys needed a strong rally in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 53-39 win after trailing the Falcons for most of the second and third quarters of the game.
It may have ended up as a win, but Red Devils coach Vic Joyner was livid with his team’s performance in a game that very easily could have gone the other way.
“To be honest with you, we have a long way to go,” Joyner said. “We have to get better on our decision making. We weren’t even pressing them when we needed to be. This was a statement game for North Pulaski, and (NP coach Raymond) Cooper had those boys ready to play.”
Jacksonville did dominate most of the opening quarter, rushing out to a 7-1 lead with a three pointer from Damien Akins, followed by another goal for Akins and an inside basket from post Gerron Riddles.
Tommy Medler finally got NP’s first shot from the floor at the 4:29 mark of the first quarter to make it 7-3, Kaiuan Watson answered for Jacksonville to put the Red Devils’ advantage back at six points.
North Pulaski pulled a bit of the unexpected in the final two minutes of the opening frame, completely reversing the game’s momentum and erasing a 12-5 deficit with 2:03 left in the first down to a slim 12-11 lead for the Devils by the end of the period.
A three from Antonio Washington gave the Red Devils their biggest lead early at 12-5, but the Falcons kicked their game into a higher gear to control the rest of the first half.
Cliff Harrison started things out for North Pulaski with a basket and free throw, followed by a steal from Ridge Williams that he converted for two points. Stanley Appleby followed Williams’ example with a steal of his own. The sophomore picked Jacksonville’s LaMark Trask clean and took it in for a layup in the final 10 seconds of the quarter to make it 12-11 heading into the next frame.
The Falcons got their biggest lead of the game with 4:56 left in the third quarter when a three pointer from Appleby put NP out front 32-26.
North Pulaski led until the final 30 seconds of the third quarter. Watson cut the lead to one with a jumper, and Terrell Eskridge gave the Red Devils the lead with a layup at the buzzer for a 34-33 Jacksonville lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was the least competitive period of the game.
The Red Devils began to smell blood, and the Falcons appeared to run out of gas after out-hustling Jacksonville for over half the contest.
Sophomore Norvel Gabriel would be one of the biggest difference makers for Jacksonville, especially down the stretch. Gabriel pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for the Red Devils, seven of them defensive.
Three of his boards came in the decisive final frame, denying the Falcons a second-shot opportunity. Gabriel would end up fouling out with 3:30 left in the game, but Jacksonville had already pulled out to a 44-35 lead by that point, and would only extend that lead in the final moments.
Watson led Jacksonville with 17 points and seven rebounds. Riddles added 11 points and four rebounds for the Red Devils. For North Pulaski, Williams had 12 points and five rebounds. NP was led in rebounding by DaQuen Bryant with six boards.
The win gives Jacksonville a record of 5-4. North Pulaski now has a record of 2-5.
The Lady Red Devils controlled all but the first four minutes of the third quarter in the girls game.
The Lady Falcons cut a 33-17 halftime deficit down to a much closer 33-25 Jacksonville lead by the 4:03 mark of the third quarter.
Six Jacksonville fouls in the first half of the frame allowed the Lady Falcons to play catch-up. Lecreishia Cash scored all five of her second half points in that time, including 3 of 4 free throw attempts to cut the deficit to single digits, albeit for a short time.
The Lady Red Devils pulled back out to a 45-29 lead by the end of the third.
Tarneisha Scott hit two straight jumpers in the final minute of the frame to extend the Lady Devils’ lead back to a more comfortable interval.
Marie Livings led Jacksonville with 17 points. Scott added 13, and Chunky Billingsly finished with 10 points for the Lady Red Devils. For North Pulaski, Cash finished with nine points and Neshia Ridgeway added eight for the Lady Falcons.
Both teams will now take the holidays off until the start of the Red Devil Classic at JHS starting on December 27.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Sunday, December 17, 2006
EDITORIALS>>No way to run youth center
Having not learned one bitter lesson, the government is going to hire another private corporation to treat and house neglected and wayward Arkansas children. The neglect and abuse of children under the last private contractor were so bad that the state finally fired the company.
The state Department of Health and Human Services, which dismissed Cornell Companies of Pennsylvania as the operator of the Alexander Youth Services Center, is about to hire Group 4 Securitor of Great Britain to run the place. The last straw for Cornell was the discovery that its employees were administering psychotropic drugs to youngsters to keep them docile. Since Cornell Companies took over the center for the state in 2001, it has been plagued by scandal after scandal. A 17-year-old girl died last year from a blood clot in her lungs after the staff ignored her gasping pleas for help for two days. They thought she was a malingerer.
The director of the department said the state should give private business the work and the chance to make a profit when it can. He said the British security company came with a great reputation for running juvenile detention centers. So did Cornell.
Arkansas hired Cornell and now will contract with the British company so that the workers there will belong to the company and not be state employees. As state employees, they would be entitled to decent pay, medical insurance and retirement. The idea is that the state can save money by having a private company work the employees for whatever it can. But as it should have learned with Cornell, the state doesn’t save money that way, or if it does it is at a dear price.
The legislature appropriates a sum of money to operate the youth center each year. The private business earns a profit from that appropriation — that is why it contracts with the state — by squeezing what it can from the employees. That is the only way it stays in business. Could that translate into poorer employees?
State Rep. Jay Bradford of Pine Bluff, chair of the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor, was troubled. Why, he asked, can’t the state at least contract with a nonprofit to do it? Or better still, run the agency itself so that it can see that the center is run safely and humanely.
The state Department of Health and Human Services, which dismissed Cornell Companies of Pennsylvania as the operator of the Alexander Youth Services Center, is about to hire Group 4 Securitor of Great Britain to run the place. The last straw for Cornell was the discovery that its employees were administering psychotropic drugs to youngsters to keep them docile. Since Cornell Companies took over the center for the state in 2001, it has been plagued by scandal after scandal. A 17-year-old girl died last year from a blood clot in her lungs after the staff ignored her gasping pleas for help for two days. They thought she was a malingerer.
The director of the department said the state should give private business the work and the chance to make a profit when it can. He said the British security company came with a great reputation for running juvenile detention centers. So did Cornell.
Arkansas hired Cornell and now will contract with the British company so that the workers there will belong to the company and not be state employees. As state employees, they would be entitled to decent pay, medical insurance and retirement. The idea is that the state can save money by having a private company work the employees for whatever it can. But as it should have learned with Cornell, the state doesn’t save money that way, or if it does it is at a dear price.
The legislature appropriates a sum of money to operate the youth center each year. The private business earns a profit from that appropriation — that is why it contracts with the state — by squeezing what it can from the employees. That is the only way it stays in business. Could that translate into poorer employees?
State Rep. Jay Bradford of Pine Bluff, chair of the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor, was troubled. Why, he asked, can’t the state at least contract with a nonprofit to do it? Or better still, run the agency itself so that it can see that the center is run safely and humanely.
EDITORIALS>>The Supremes say no to pork
Do we have a great state Supreme Court or what? Just back from telling the legislature once again that the state Constitution meant what it said about providing a suitable and equal education to all kids, the justices Thursday declared that a local act was, well, just that, a local act, and thus unconstitutional.
The hope is that the decision, though not quite unanimous, will spell a merciful end to the logrolling pork barrel that soaks up tens of millions of dollars — likely hundreds of millions next spring — of taxpayers’ money for political backscratching projects every two years. It will not be quite that easy, but the promise of another lawsuit may deter some of the grab. The legislature may return to a thoughtful analysis of the state’s capital needs but don’t count on it.
Legislators the past four years have begun to carve up the state’s cash balances among themselves — 135 strong — for local projects. Often the only justification is that a project — street improvements, a clubhouse, a local museum — will cement political support.
Mike Wilson, the churlish former representative from Jacksonville, sued the state last year over a bunch of appropriations for community projects in his area, several awfully popular in his own neighborhood and authored by his friend, Rep. Will Bond. Bond was not one of the brotherhood that built the system, but as every constituent should expect he got his share like everyone. Wilson, at any rate, won no friends for his trouble.
Technical issues knocked several of the questionable appropriations out of the suit, but the justices dealt with one, a $400,000 appropriation for street lights and other improvements in the hamlet of Bigelow (Perry County), the home of Sen. Bob Johnson, the head of a group called The Brotherhood, which perfected the fiscal spoils system.
The Arkansas Constitution says flatly that the legislature may not enact local or special legislation. Previous courts have been generous in interpreting what local or special legislation means, but they said an act had to have a statewide, not merely a local, purpose and that there had to be a rational basis for judging it so.
Bigelow and the attorney general, who had to defend all the legislation, said the town was close to some tourist attractions and that improving its streets and sewers facilitated tourism across the state.
Six of the justices did not buy it and they were unequivocal. Wilson argued that every hamlet in Arkansas could make the same claim of statewide import for any sort of project, and the justices agreed.
Wilson v. Weiss is at least an encouraging precedent. It is a shot across the bow of the General Assembly. With nearly $1 billion in balances in the treasury, we can hope that nearly all of it now can be spent on the pressing needs of the state — schools, colleges, prisons and health facilities — and little on political capital for the politicians.
The hope is that the decision, though not quite unanimous, will spell a merciful end to the logrolling pork barrel that soaks up tens of millions of dollars — likely hundreds of millions next spring — of taxpayers’ money for political backscratching projects every two years. It will not be quite that easy, but the promise of another lawsuit may deter some of the grab. The legislature may return to a thoughtful analysis of the state’s capital needs but don’t count on it.
Legislators the past four years have begun to carve up the state’s cash balances among themselves — 135 strong — for local projects. Often the only justification is that a project — street improvements, a clubhouse, a local museum — will cement political support.
Mike Wilson, the churlish former representative from Jacksonville, sued the state last year over a bunch of appropriations for community projects in his area, several awfully popular in his own neighborhood and authored by his friend, Rep. Will Bond. Bond was not one of the brotherhood that built the system, but as every constituent should expect he got his share like everyone. Wilson, at any rate, won no friends for his trouble.
Technical issues knocked several of the questionable appropriations out of the suit, but the justices dealt with one, a $400,000 appropriation for street lights and other improvements in the hamlet of Bigelow (Perry County), the home of Sen. Bob Johnson, the head of a group called The Brotherhood, which perfected the fiscal spoils system.
The Arkansas Constitution says flatly that the legislature may not enact local or special legislation. Previous courts have been generous in interpreting what local or special legislation means, but they said an act had to have a statewide, not merely a local, purpose and that there had to be a rational basis for judging it so.
Bigelow and the attorney general, who had to defend all the legislation, said the town was close to some tourist attractions and that improving its streets and sewers facilitated tourism across the state.
Six of the justices did not buy it and they were unequivocal. Wilson argued that every hamlet in Arkansas could make the same claim of statewide import for any sort of project, and the justices agreed.
Wilson v. Weiss is at least an encouraging precedent. It is a shot across the bow of the General Assembly. With nearly $1 billion in balances in the treasury, we can hope that nearly all of it now can be spent on the pressing needs of the state — schools, colleges, prisons and health facilities — and little on political capital for the politicians.
TOP STORY >>Our airmen will be home for holidays
By HEATHER HARTSELL
Leader staff writer
More than 130 airmen will return home Sunday from deployment in support of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Returning airmen are from the 463rd Airlift Group and the 314th Airlift Wing. About 700 Little Rock airmen are deployed around the world. In January, 600 more airmen will deploy.
“We’re excited to have more than 130 airmen return home safely from deployment for the holiday season,” said Brig. Gen. Kip Self, 314 Airlift Wing commander.
“They’ve completed their mission with distinction and provided an invaluable service for their country. They are a reminder that Little Rock airmen are still serving in harm’s way over the holidays in support of the global war on terror and we ask the public to keep those airmen and their families in their thoughts and prayers,” Gen. Self added.
Many of the deployed airmen from the 463rd Airlift Group were involved in the C-130 mission, keeping dangerous convoys off the roads in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As of Tuesday, 4,455 trucks and buses were kept off the roads by Little Rock C-130 airlifters.
“The 463rd AG is extremely pleased to have our airmen return home and be able to spend the holiday season with their families,” said Col. John Gomez, 463rd Airlift Group commander.
“We also remember the thousands of men and women from every branch of service who remain in harm’s way,” Gomez added.
Leader staff writer
More than 130 airmen will return home Sunday from deployment in support of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Returning airmen are from the 463rd Airlift Group and the 314th Airlift Wing. About 700 Little Rock airmen are deployed around the world. In January, 600 more airmen will deploy.
“We’re excited to have more than 130 airmen return home safely from deployment for the holiday season,” said Brig. Gen. Kip Self, 314 Airlift Wing commander.
“They’ve completed their mission with distinction and provided an invaluable service for their country. They are a reminder that Little Rock airmen are still serving in harm’s way over the holidays in support of the global war on terror and we ask the public to keep those airmen and their families in their thoughts and prayers,” Gen. Self added.
Many of the deployed airmen from the 463rd Airlift Group were involved in the C-130 mission, keeping dangerous convoys off the roads in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As of Tuesday, 4,455 trucks and buses were kept off the roads by Little Rock C-130 airlifters.
“The 463rd AG is extremely pleased to have our airmen return home and be able to spend the holiday season with their families,” said Col. John Gomez, 463rd Airlift Group commander.
“We also remember the thousands of men and women from every branch of service who remain in harm’s way,” Gomez added.
TOP STORY >>Reins put on subdivisions next to lake
IN SHORT: Developers are told to cooperate or no construction in critical area of Lake Maumelle.
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
Hurry up and agree to a five-condition plan for limited development of the most critical part of the Lake Maumelle drinking-water reservoir or there will be no construction there, the Central Arkansas Water board unanimously told Deltic Timber and other developers Wednesday.
Deltic, Ferguson Developers and Weyerhauser own most of the developable land on the watershed and want to develop close to the lake, while CAW staff, environmentalists and others say preserving the pristine nature of the area’s best drinking-water source should trump development.
The lake was built by the forward-looking water utility in the 1950s exclusively as a drinking water utility.
The CAW Commission Wed-nesday unanimously agreed to stick with its original decision—no development in Critical Area A unless the developers abide by a five-condition plan. Critical Area A is the environmentally sensitive portion of the lake closest to the drinking water intake that serves nearly 400,000 central Arkansans.
The courts have agreed that CAW can condemn the land, which it has done, and must now decide in jury trials the cost of that land. It’s likely to be expensive.
Meanwhile, CAW hired Tetra Tech for about $1.2 million to formulate a Watershed Management Plan with lots of local and scientific input. Tetra Tech has said that the lake’s purity might be best protected by trading limited development under strict conditions in the most critical area in exchange for the big developers voluntarily agreeing to follow watershed rules and implement best management practices on the rest of their watershed land.
Anticipating a major presentation and vote on the results of a year-long Watershed Management Plan shepherded by Tetra Tech Inc., the regular December CAW meeting began 30 minutes early and labored slowly toward a conclusion, parsing phrases of the comprehensive plan. That’s when CAW’s attorney, James Bruce McMath, asked to speak, changing the tone of the meeting.
McMath said Deltic and the others needed to be reminded that no construction in Critical Area A was the default position and that the Deltic-CAW case was set for trial in mid-March.
Unless they could agree on the five development conditions, the developers can give up dreams of expensive lakeside estates.
He objected to the notion that no development was the “fall-back position,” when actually, it is CAW’s option of choice and it is up to the developers to convince them to allow limited building under strict guidelines.
“You have three options,” McMath said. “One, no development; two, don’t do anything and let the lawyers work it out, and three, layout blueprints for negotiated development.”
“I’m still ready to say no development in Critical Area A,” said Commissioner Jane Dickey, “but we have authorized staff to proceed with negotiations.”
Dickey’s motion that there be no development unless the commission received an agreement on the five conditions by sometime in February was unanimously approved.
The negotiated plan, currently known as the McKenzie option for Metroplan Executive Director Jim McKenzie, who has been using it as a framework for negotiations, is essentially the same as Tetra Tech’s “Five Conditions for Development in Critical Area A.”
The five conditions include:
- Reduce overall risk to the lake by getting agreement from major landowners to follow plan requirement in Critical Area A and elsewhere.
- Major landowners must work with CAW to obtain and place off bounds for building other developable land in the watershed.
- If they want to build cluster developments, landowners must conduct successful pilot studies for building with best management practices for at least four years.
- Agree that land costs won’t increase should the pilot studies not prove building in zone A is possible without degrading the lake.
- Administrative, regulatory and enforcement capacity must be in place.
One large problem with management of the 87,000-acre watershed is that it is in three different counties, plus Little Rock’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.
If there is no interlocal agreement or establishment of a Lake Maumelle Watershed Authority, requirements such as best management practices, limits on the number of dwellings that could be built and other problems could only be enforced in court as violation of a contract agreement, and that is a slow and expensive process compared to some sort of authority issuing a citation and a fine.
Also to make any of this work, Tetra Tech has suggested that CAW would have to create at least two new positions, one for administration, the other for enforcement.
If developers agree to the five conditions, then the number of homes that could be built in Critical Area A ranges between 68 and 240 houses.
Commissioner Thomas Rimmer asked Tetra Tech representatives to come back after the first of the year with a more succinct action plan.
The overall Tetra Tech management plan would, at build out, leave about 65 percent of the watershed undeveloped, allowing about 6,590 houses on the 87,000 acres.
Several of the local activists who have worked to keep construction off of Lake Maumelle said after the meeting that they were pleased to see CAW remember its no-build resolution.
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
Hurry up and agree to a five-condition plan for limited development of the most critical part of the Lake Maumelle drinking-water reservoir or there will be no construction there, the Central Arkansas Water board unanimously told Deltic Timber and other developers Wednesday.
Deltic, Ferguson Developers and Weyerhauser own most of the developable land on the watershed and want to develop close to the lake, while CAW staff, environmentalists and others say preserving the pristine nature of the area’s best drinking-water source should trump development.
The lake was built by the forward-looking water utility in the 1950s exclusively as a drinking water utility.
The CAW Commission Wed-nesday unanimously agreed to stick with its original decision—no development in Critical Area A unless the developers abide by a five-condition plan. Critical Area A is the environmentally sensitive portion of the lake closest to the drinking water intake that serves nearly 400,000 central Arkansans.
The courts have agreed that CAW can condemn the land, which it has done, and must now decide in jury trials the cost of that land. It’s likely to be expensive.
Meanwhile, CAW hired Tetra Tech for about $1.2 million to formulate a Watershed Management Plan with lots of local and scientific input. Tetra Tech has said that the lake’s purity might be best protected by trading limited development under strict conditions in the most critical area in exchange for the big developers voluntarily agreeing to follow watershed rules and implement best management practices on the rest of their watershed land.
Anticipating a major presentation and vote on the results of a year-long Watershed Management Plan shepherded by Tetra Tech Inc., the regular December CAW meeting began 30 minutes early and labored slowly toward a conclusion, parsing phrases of the comprehensive plan. That’s when CAW’s attorney, James Bruce McMath, asked to speak, changing the tone of the meeting.
McMath said Deltic and the others needed to be reminded that no construction in Critical Area A was the default position and that the Deltic-CAW case was set for trial in mid-March.
Unless they could agree on the five development conditions, the developers can give up dreams of expensive lakeside estates.
He objected to the notion that no development was the “fall-back position,” when actually, it is CAW’s option of choice and it is up to the developers to convince them to allow limited building under strict guidelines.
“You have three options,” McMath said. “One, no development; two, don’t do anything and let the lawyers work it out, and three, layout blueprints for negotiated development.”
“I’m still ready to say no development in Critical Area A,” said Commissioner Jane Dickey, “but we have authorized staff to proceed with negotiations.”
Dickey’s motion that there be no development unless the commission received an agreement on the five conditions by sometime in February was unanimously approved.
The negotiated plan, currently known as the McKenzie option for Metroplan Executive Director Jim McKenzie, who has been using it as a framework for negotiations, is essentially the same as Tetra Tech’s “Five Conditions for Development in Critical Area A.”
The five conditions include:
- Reduce overall risk to the lake by getting agreement from major landowners to follow plan requirement in Critical Area A and elsewhere.
- Major landowners must work with CAW to obtain and place off bounds for building other developable land in the watershed.
- If they want to build cluster developments, landowners must conduct successful pilot studies for building with best management practices for at least four years.
- Agree that land costs won’t increase should the pilot studies not prove building in zone A is possible without degrading the lake.
- Administrative, regulatory and enforcement capacity must be in place.
One large problem with management of the 87,000-acre watershed is that it is in three different counties, plus Little Rock’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.
If there is no interlocal agreement or establishment of a Lake Maumelle Watershed Authority, requirements such as best management practices, limits on the number of dwellings that could be built and other problems could only be enforced in court as violation of a contract agreement, and that is a slow and expensive process compared to some sort of authority issuing a citation and a fine.
Also to make any of this work, Tetra Tech has suggested that CAW would have to create at least two new positions, one for administration, the other for enforcement.
If developers agree to the five conditions, then the number of homes that could be built in Critical Area A ranges between 68 and 240 houses.
Commissioner Thomas Rimmer asked Tetra Tech representatives to come back after the first of the year with a more succinct action plan.
The overall Tetra Tech management plan would, at build out, leave about 65 percent of the watershed undeveloped, allowing about 6,590 houses on the 87,000 acres.
Several of the local activists who have worked to keep construction off of Lake Maumelle said after the meeting that they were pleased to see CAW remember its no-build resolution.
TOP STORY >>Community center now open to public
IN SHORT: Ribbon cutting in Cabot will usher in a healthy New Year for local residents.
By SARA GREENE
Leader deputy managing editor
The $4.1 million Veterans Park Community Center, 508 N. Lincoln St. in Cabot has more than 300 memberships and more are expected after yesterday’s ribbon cutting to officially open the facility, which includes a 25-meter pool, a therapy pool, a walking track, meeting rooms and two basketball courts.
“We hope to sell 600 memberships and we could top out at 1,100,” said Carroll Astin, director of Cabot Parks and Recreation.
During the ribbon cutting, Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh said preliminary special-census numbers show more than 22,000 residents in Cabot, the Veterans Park Community Center will help the community continue growing.
“It’s a blessing for our seniors and for children enrolled in Camp Cabot who will no longer have to spend the hot summers in an un-airconditioned facility,” Stumbaugh said.
Camp Cabot, a recreation program for school-aged children, is typically held in the summer at the former Cabot Parks and Recreation facilities on Richie Road.
A winter version of Camp Cabot will be held from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 21, Friday, Dec. 22 and Tuesday, Dec. 26 through Friday, Dec. 29 and Tuesday, Jan. 2.
The facility is enormously popular with older children from Cabot High School and Cabot Junior High North. After school Tuesday afternoon, more than 60 students swarmed the facility to play basketball.
Mayor-elect Eddie Joe Williams said he plans to launch a community-wide fitness program in January. Citizens will be awarded points for hours spent exercising.
Each month there will be a meeting at Veterans Park Community Center with guest speakers covering a variety of health-related topics. Participants with the most points will be entered into a monthly drawing for a free membership to Veterans Park Community Center.
The 34,388-square-foot facility has a full-sized basketball court, a concession stand, a 25-meter pool and a 320-square-foot, heated therapy pool with dressing rooms and showers on the first floor.
On the second floor is the walking track balcony overlooking the basketball court, an observation area for the pool and a carpeted 1,750-square-foot meeting room.
Members of American Legion Post 71 said they’re excited about having a nice place to meet each month.
“Cabot has a shortage of meeting rooms so as a group, we’ll get a lot of use out of it. Personally, I’ll probably use the walking track and maybe try the pool,” said Jim Mathis, commander of American Legion Post 71. Billyee Everett, director of the Cabot Chamber of Commerce, says in addition to the positive comments she’s heard from individuals, many other groups have expressed interest in meeting at the center.
“I think it is an awesome structure for our community and it’s a wonderful place to have a meeting,” Everett said.
Across from the meeting room is an exercise room equipped with two treadmills, two cross-training machines, a stair-climbing machine and a recumbent bike. Earlier this week Cabot Parks and Recreation Commission approved $9,000 for a four-station weight machine to be installed in the room.
“I don’t think this will put us in competition with the for-profit facilities in town, but we’ve had a lot of seniors request it to improve their flexibility,” said Mark Stocks, chairman of the commission.
Located on Hwy. 38 across from Cabot High School on eight acres that used to be the American Legion ball field, the community center has been a long time in coming.
Former Mayor Joe Allman was in his second term in office when Astin first presented to the city council pencil drawings of the building he wanted the city to build. Talk about the need for a facility with a heated swimming pool started almost a decade ago with the first parks commission.
The city purchased land for the center six years ago when American Legion Post 71 offered to sell the property to the city for $50,000.
With council approval, Allman bought the property, but it wasn’t until Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh took office that city voters were asked to reroute existing city revenue (a portion of the city’s 1.5 percent hamburger tax and a portion of the city millage) to pay for the facility.
When late in 2004, the construction bids came in at almost $1 million more than the 20-year bonds for $3 million the city had sold to local banks to pay for the center, the project stalled for several months while city leaders worked with architects to get the price down.
Eventually the extra money for building was included in a second bond issue funded in 2005 by extending an existing one-cent sales tax.
The center will be open seven days a week. From Monday through Thursday it will be open from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m. On Friday, the hours are 5 a.m. until 10 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday, the hours are 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.
At www.cabotparks.net community members can register and pay for programs such as basketball, aerobics, fitness and swimming.
After registering and paying, users will receive an e-mail immediately to confirm their enrollment.
Daily use passes are $3. A 20-day, punch-card pass is $50 for adults and $35 people 18 and under.
Monthly passes are available for $45 per month for a family, $35 per month for couples, $30 per month for adults and $25 per month for children.
Annual passes are $360 for a family, $270 for married adults, $240 for senior couples and single adults and $200 for children.
A 10 percent corporate discount for businesses with five or more employees is available. Walking passes are available for $10 per month.
For more information, call 605-1506.
By SARA GREENE
Leader deputy managing editor
The $4.1 million Veterans Park Community Center, 508 N. Lincoln St. in Cabot has more than 300 memberships and more are expected after yesterday’s ribbon cutting to officially open the facility, which includes a 25-meter pool, a therapy pool, a walking track, meeting rooms and two basketball courts.
“We hope to sell 600 memberships and we could top out at 1,100,” said Carroll Astin, director of Cabot Parks and Recreation.
During the ribbon cutting, Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh said preliminary special-census numbers show more than 22,000 residents in Cabot, the Veterans Park Community Center will help the community continue growing.
“It’s a blessing for our seniors and for children enrolled in Camp Cabot who will no longer have to spend the hot summers in an un-airconditioned facility,” Stumbaugh said.
Camp Cabot, a recreation program for school-aged children, is typically held in the summer at the former Cabot Parks and Recreation facilities on Richie Road.
A winter version of Camp Cabot will be held from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 21, Friday, Dec. 22 and Tuesday, Dec. 26 through Friday, Dec. 29 and Tuesday, Jan. 2.
The facility is enormously popular with older children from Cabot High School and Cabot Junior High North. After school Tuesday afternoon, more than 60 students swarmed the facility to play basketball.
Mayor-elect Eddie Joe Williams said he plans to launch a community-wide fitness program in January. Citizens will be awarded points for hours spent exercising.
Each month there will be a meeting at Veterans Park Community Center with guest speakers covering a variety of health-related topics. Participants with the most points will be entered into a monthly drawing for a free membership to Veterans Park Community Center.
The 34,388-square-foot facility has a full-sized basketball court, a concession stand, a 25-meter pool and a 320-square-foot, heated therapy pool with dressing rooms and showers on the first floor.
On the second floor is the walking track balcony overlooking the basketball court, an observation area for the pool and a carpeted 1,750-square-foot meeting room.
Members of American Legion Post 71 said they’re excited about having a nice place to meet each month.
“Cabot has a shortage of meeting rooms so as a group, we’ll get a lot of use out of it. Personally, I’ll probably use the walking track and maybe try the pool,” said Jim Mathis, commander of American Legion Post 71. Billyee Everett, director of the Cabot Chamber of Commerce, says in addition to the positive comments she’s heard from individuals, many other groups have expressed interest in meeting at the center.
“I think it is an awesome structure for our community and it’s a wonderful place to have a meeting,” Everett said.
Across from the meeting room is an exercise room equipped with two treadmills, two cross-training machines, a stair-climbing machine and a recumbent bike. Earlier this week Cabot Parks and Recreation Commission approved $9,000 for a four-station weight machine to be installed in the room.
“I don’t think this will put us in competition with the for-profit facilities in town, but we’ve had a lot of seniors request it to improve their flexibility,” said Mark Stocks, chairman of the commission.
Located on Hwy. 38 across from Cabot High School on eight acres that used to be the American Legion ball field, the community center has been a long time in coming.
Former Mayor Joe Allman was in his second term in office when Astin first presented to the city council pencil drawings of the building he wanted the city to build. Talk about the need for a facility with a heated swimming pool started almost a decade ago with the first parks commission.
The city purchased land for the center six years ago when American Legion Post 71 offered to sell the property to the city for $50,000.
With council approval, Allman bought the property, but it wasn’t until Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh took office that city voters were asked to reroute existing city revenue (a portion of the city’s 1.5 percent hamburger tax and a portion of the city millage) to pay for the facility.
When late in 2004, the construction bids came in at almost $1 million more than the 20-year bonds for $3 million the city had sold to local banks to pay for the center, the project stalled for several months while city leaders worked with architects to get the price down.
Eventually the extra money for building was included in a second bond issue funded in 2005 by extending an existing one-cent sales tax.
The center will be open seven days a week. From Monday through Thursday it will be open from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m. On Friday, the hours are 5 a.m. until 10 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday, the hours are 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.
At www.cabotparks.net community members can register and pay for programs such as basketball, aerobics, fitness and swimming.
After registering and paying, users will receive an e-mail immediately to confirm their enrollment.
Daily use passes are $3. A 20-day, punch-card pass is $50 for adults and $35 people 18 and under.
Monthly passes are available for $45 per month for a family, $35 per month for couples, $30 per month for adults and $25 per month for children.
Annual passes are $360 for a family, $270 for married adults, $240 for senior couples and single adults and $200 for children.
A 10 percent corporate discount for businesses with five or more employees is available. Walking passes are available for $10 per month.
For more information, call 605-1506.
TOP STORY >>Cabot population at 22,000
IN SHORT: The city will receive an additional $55.30 for each of the estimated 8,000 residents who have moved in since 2000 census.
BY JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
The census workers who have been making their rounds all over Cabot for more than a month have almost completed their work.
“We’re finishing up. Two or three days next week, and it’s going to be over,” Viola Richard, a census clerk told The Leader on Friday.
Although the tally will not be known for two or three months after the counting is completed, the number of people now living in Cabot has been estimated at 22,000.
After all the data has been processed and the results turned over to the state, Cabot should begin receiving, in late winter or early spring, additional state turnback money for each of the 8,000 or so residents who has moved in since the 2000 census. At $55.30 for each, the increase in state turnback could be almost $373,000.
Of that amount, $297,000 would be earmarked by state law for the street fund to be used in the street department. The balance, about $75,000 a year, would go to the general fund which pays such expenses as salaries for city hall staff and to help run police, fire and parks.
The city council approved paying for the special census during the July council meeting. Alderman Eddie Cook was concerned that the cost might be more than the $276,546 they approved because the cost is based on the number of people counted.
The Census Bureau based its price to the city on a population estimate of 19,600.
If the 22,000 estimate is correct, the city will have to pay an additional $33,600 because the cost is based on the count at about $14 per person.
So far the census has cost the city $165,550 which was paid to the U.S. Census Bureau in July plus the salaries of the census workers, which are paid weekly from the city’s general fund. The city had to set aside $110,996 to pay the workers.
City Clerk Marva Verkler and Finance Director Dale Walker discussed the census briefly during a budget meeting in late November.
They said the general fund would not realize much of a gain because at only $75,000 a year, it would take four years to repay the general fund money that was spent to conduct the census.
The real gain would go to the street fund which can’t be used for expenses not related to streets.
BY JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
The census workers who have been making their rounds all over Cabot for more than a month have almost completed their work.
“We’re finishing up. Two or three days next week, and it’s going to be over,” Viola Richard, a census clerk told The Leader on Friday.
Although the tally will not be known for two or three months after the counting is completed, the number of people now living in Cabot has been estimated at 22,000.
After all the data has been processed and the results turned over to the state, Cabot should begin receiving, in late winter or early spring, additional state turnback money for each of the 8,000 or so residents who has moved in since the 2000 census. At $55.30 for each, the increase in state turnback could be almost $373,000.
Of that amount, $297,000 would be earmarked by state law for the street fund to be used in the street department. The balance, about $75,000 a year, would go to the general fund which pays such expenses as salaries for city hall staff and to help run police, fire and parks.
The city council approved paying for the special census during the July council meeting. Alderman Eddie Cook was concerned that the cost might be more than the $276,546 they approved because the cost is based on the number of people counted.
The Census Bureau based its price to the city on a population estimate of 19,600.
If the 22,000 estimate is correct, the city will have to pay an additional $33,600 because the cost is based on the count at about $14 per person.
So far the census has cost the city $165,550 which was paid to the U.S. Census Bureau in July plus the salaries of the census workers, which are paid weekly from the city’s general fund. The city had to set aside $110,996 to pay the workers.
City Clerk Marva Verkler and Finance Director Dale Walker discussed the census briefly during a budget meeting in late November.
They said the general fund would not realize much of a gain because at only $75,000 a year, it would take four years to repay the general fund money that was spent to conduct the census.
The real gain would go to the street fund which can’t be used for expenses not related to streets.
TOP STORY >>Honoring POW/MIAs
IN SHORT: Retired Chief MSgt. Silas B. LaGrow of Jacksonville, who is a surviving POW of the Bataan Death March during the Second World War, participates in ceremony honoring POW/MIAs.
By HEATHER HARSTELL
Leader staff writer
During a ceremony honoring veterans at the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in North Little Rock on Thursday, retired Chief MSgt. Silas B. LaGrow of Jacksonville, a survivor of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines during the Second World War, placed a wreath in memory of the 93,852 servicemen and women whose last known whereabouts were missing in action or prisoners of war.
Part of a nationwide program to honor veterans, the Civil Air Patrol and the Patriot Guard Riders placed wreaths representing the five branches of military service and POW/MIAs. The ceremonies, held simultaneously at more than 230 national and state veteran cemeteries and monuments across the country, were inspired by the 15-year tradition of placing wreaths donated by Worcester Wreath Company at graves at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Civil Air Patrol expanded the ceremonies this year as the Wreaths Across America campaign, marking the first year that remembrance wreaths were placed on sites nationwide. Wreaths Across America’s mission is to remember the fallen, honor those who serve and teach future generations that our freedoms come from great sacrifice.
Ceremonies within Arkansas were also held at the Little Rock National Cemetery, the Fayetteville National Cemetery, and the Fort Smith National Cemetery.
Nate Polk, a master sergeant at Little Rock Air Force Base, was the master of ceremonies on behalf of his other title, central Arkansas permanent ride captain in the Patriot Guard Riders, a national group of motorcycle riders formed in 2005 to show their respect to members of the Armed Forces by attending their funerals as invited guests of the families.
After observing a moment of silence, Polk told those in attendance to “remember the fallen, the POW’s, the MIA’s, those who served and those who are currently serving this great nation of ours today.”
Gathered to honor those who “have given their lives so we can live in freedom without fear,” Polk added a thank you to those that had given their lives to keep our freedom.
“Take a moment to say thank you,” Polk said. “That moment of your time will be well spent with a simple ‘thank you’ to a veteran or service man.”
A united front across the United States to honor those who had fallen, members of each branch of service, assisted by a retired service member or Patriot Guard Rider, laid wreaths at each branch’s memorial.
Before placing the wreath for those missing and killed, Polk introduced LaGrow and read a short biography of his military career.
“He’s truly a hero,” Polk said of LaGrow, “you could write books on what he did and his history.”
LaGrow, a cook in C Company of the 192nd Tank Battalion in the National Guard, was stationed at Clark Field on Luzon Island in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked it on Dec. 8, 1941.
He recounted that all he could do when it happened was stand there and look. “It seemed like a false alarm, no one ever thought they would attack the U.S.,” LaGrow said.
Now 88 years old, LaGrow became a prisoner of war April 9, 1942. At the start of the Bataan Death March, LaGrow weighed 175 pounds; two weeks later, he was down to 110 pounds.
He suffered from malaria and had to be helped by others during the journey.
“We all had to help each other,” LaGrow said.
On Oct. 8, 1942, he arrived at Camp O’Donnell. From there he was shipped to Manchuria, spending two days on the docks in Manila waiting for the ships to be ready. Two others from C Company were with him. They spent five days in the ship’s hold before sailing 31 days to dock in Korea.
“All we had to eat was fish and wormy rice, and you couldn’t pick out all of the worms,” LaGrow said. He added that at times, they were so hungry they ate the rice, worms and all.
From the docks of Korea, they were shipped by train to Manchuria and once there, received only one set of clothes and an over-coat to combat the cold. The wooden barracks they were housed in were so small “we slept on our side so we would all squeeze in.”
LaGrow’s journey ended in 1945 when the Russians liberated the area.
“It is a great honor to be able to place the wreath, it is hard to say what an honor it is,” LaGrow said. “I know the POW’s that are no longer with us are looking down at us on this ceremony.
“This is something I’ll remember the rest of my days. I’ve been looking forward to this since I heard it was coming here,” LaGrow said.
Polk said the ceremony was only possible through the efforts of many motivated people, having been planned out nationwide in only two weeks time.
“It was totally my honor to participate in this event,” Polk said. “It’s an absolute perfect cause and the Guard Riders’ purpose is to help those who’ve served. It was my privilege to do so.”
By HEATHER HARSTELL
Leader staff writer
During a ceremony honoring veterans at the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in North Little Rock on Thursday, retired Chief MSgt. Silas B. LaGrow of Jacksonville, a survivor of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines during the Second World War, placed a wreath in memory of the 93,852 servicemen and women whose last known whereabouts were missing in action or prisoners of war.
Part of a nationwide program to honor veterans, the Civil Air Patrol and the Patriot Guard Riders placed wreaths representing the five branches of military service and POW/MIAs. The ceremonies, held simultaneously at more than 230 national and state veteran cemeteries and monuments across the country, were inspired by the 15-year tradition of placing wreaths donated by Worcester Wreath Company at graves at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Civil Air Patrol expanded the ceremonies this year as the Wreaths Across America campaign, marking the first year that remembrance wreaths were placed on sites nationwide. Wreaths Across America’s mission is to remember the fallen, honor those who serve and teach future generations that our freedoms come from great sacrifice.
Ceremonies within Arkansas were also held at the Little Rock National Cemetery, the Fayetteville National Cemetery, and the Fort Smith National Cemetery.
Nate Polk, a master sergeant at Little Rock Air Force Base, was the master of ceremonies on behalf of his other title, central Arkansas permanent ride captain in the Patriot Guard Riders, a national group of motorcycle riders formed in 2005 to show their respect to members of the Armed Forces by attending their funerals as invited guests of the families.
After observing a moment of silence, Polk told those in attendance to “remember the fallen, the POW’s, the MIA’s, those who served and those who are currently serving this great nation of ours today.”
Gathered to honor those who “have given their lives so we can live in freedom without fear,” Polk added a thank you to those that had given their lives to keep our freedom.
“Take a moment to say thank you,” Polk said. “That moment of your time will be well spent with a simple ‘thank you’ to a veteran or service man.”
A united front across the United States to honor those who had fallen, members of each branch of service, assisted by a retired service member or Patriot Guard Rider, laid wreaths at each branch’s memorial.
Before placing the wreath for those missing and killed, Polk introduced LaGrow and read a short biography of his military career.
“He’s truly a hero,” Polk said of LaGrow, “you could write books on what he did and his history.”
LaGrow, a cook in C Company of the 192nd Tank Battalion in the National Guard, was stationed at Clark Field on Luzon Island in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked it on Dec. 8, 1941.
He recounted that all he could do when it happened was stand there and look. “It seemed like a false alarm, no one ever thought they would attack the U.S.,” LaGrow said.
Now 88 years old, LaGrow became a prisoner of war April 9, 1942. At the start of the Bataan Death March, LaGrow weighed 175 pounds; two weeks later, he was down to 110 pounds.
He suffered from malaria and had to be helped by others during the journey.
“We all had to help each other,” LaGrow said.
On Oct. 8, 1942, he arrived at Camp O’Donnell. From there he was shipped to Manchuria, spending two days on the docks in Manila waiting for the ships to be ready. Two others from C Company were with him. They spent five days in the ship’s hold before sailing 31 days to dock in Korea.
“All we had to eat was fish and wormy rice, and you couldn’t pick out all of the worms,” LaGrow said. He added that at times, they were so hungry they ate the rice, worms and all.
From the docks of Korea, they were shipped by train to Manchuria and once there, received only one set of clothes and an over-coat to combat the cold. The wooden barracks they were housed in were so small “we slept on our side so we would all squeeze in.”
LaGrow’s journey ended in 1945 when the Russians liberated the area.
“It is a great honor to be able to place the wreath, it is hard to say what an honor it is,” LaGrow said. “I know the POW’s that are no longer with us are looking down at us on this ceremony.
“This is something I’ll remember the rest of my days. I’ve been looking forward to this since I heard it was coming here,” LaGrow said.
Polk said the ceremony was only possible through the efforts of many motivated people, having been planned out nationwide in only two weeks time.
“It was totally my honor to participate in this event,” Polk said. “It’s an absolute perfect cause and the Guard Riders’ purpose is to help those who’ve served. It was my privilege to do so.”
TOP STORY >>Projects in peril in wake of ruling
IN SHORT: High Court agrees with Wilson against General Improvement Funds, but others say “not so fast.”
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
Jacksonville attorney and former state Rep. Mike Wilson says a state Supreme Court ruling Thursday puts an end to the practice of state legislators divvying up General Improvement Fund money for pork projects back in their home districts.
While the ruling found unconstitutional an act appropriating $400,000 for road improvements for the city of Bigelow, Wilson thinks it has state-wide implications. No more volunteer fire departments, libraries, community centers or jails singled out for money—at least not from the General Improvement Fund, according to Wilson, who filed the suit to stop the Bigelow appropriation and several in the Jacksonville area.
Circuit Judge Willard Proctor ruled over the summer that money for the Bigelow streets and for Jacksonville’s Museum of Military History, the senior center, the Reed’s Bridge Preservation Society and toward a new Jackson-ville public library were constitutional.
Wilson appealed each of those, but the Supreme Court ruled only on the Bigelow case, noting that Proctor had not entered a final order on the others and that it refrains from considering appeals before such an order has been entered.
The Supreme Court upheld Wilson’s contention that the Bigelow appropriation constituted “special and local legislation,” a violation of Amendment 14 of the state Constitution.
Asked if the Bigelow ruling indicated how the Supreme Court would rule on the other cases, Wilson said, “Absolutely. I can’t make a distinction.
“It should stop once and for all the raids on slush fund, pork barrel type acts and legislation,” Wilson added.
“I thought it was important to get this decided before it gets very far into the (January legislative) session,” Wilson said.
That’s why he waived oral arguments, fearing that would delay a decision until late January.
Wilson says General Improve-ment Funds are not appropriate for projects unless they benefit the entire state and he would like the matter settled before members of the new state Legislature begin dividing up a new surplus pie at the end of the new session.
Not everyone, including the attorney general’s office, thinks that the decision spells doom for GIF projects. State Rep. Will Bond, D-Jacksonville, disagrees with Wil-son’s assessment.
He said the court limited its reversal to the Bigelow money, finding it local in nature, but used the lack of a final order on the other cases as a procedural way to avoid ruling on the other projects.
Bond, who was Wilson’s law partner until they split over the GIF lawsuits, says Wilson is naive if he believes lawmakers wouldn’t find other ways to channel money to volunteer fire departments, libraries, jails, community centers and other projects.
Bond was responsible for much of the $190,000 in GIF funds earmarked for the Jacksonville library.
He says he believes the library would meet the test of not being local legislation.
He said it was important, however, for lawmakers to take care of funding state business, such as adequacy of school facilities, before they start trying to break off chunks of GIF money for projects back home.
Reversing Proctor’s Bigelow ruling, Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert L. Brown wrote that the state had no compelling interest in the appropriation to improve Bigelow roads in the name of tourism and safety.
Wilson asserted in his challenge that “there is absolutely no legitimate reason for selecting the city of Bigelow for special treatment in the form of $400,000 in taxpayer funds for these purposes.”
Wilson also sued to prohibit GIF funds from being used for the new Jacksonville library and several other projects, including the Jacksonville Senior Center, the Museum of Military History and the Reed’s Bridge Preservation Society.
He said they also amounted to special and local legislation, and he filed suit in September 2005 to prohibit Richard Weiss, director of the state Department of Finance and Administration, from writing the checks.
The state attorney general’s office has defended Weiss and DF&A in this suit. Spokesman Matt DeCample said it was too early to know if the Bigelow decision spelled doom for the Jacksonville-area projects or the entire GIF funding of local projects throughout the state.
Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim said Friday that the Bigelow ruling won’t necessarily affect $190,000 earmarked toward construction of the new Jacksonville library.
But even if the city library loses the $190,000, the $2 million-plus library—funded by a voter-approved bond issue—will be built regardless. he said.
“One significant difference (from Bigelow), our library is part of a system involving more than just a single city. Central Arkansas Library System is in at least two counties. It’s a big system, not just local,” the mayor pointed out.
Swaim said if the city doesn’t get the GIF money, it may reduce the size of the library or reduce the cost in some other fashion.
Statewide, legislators appropriated $52 million in General Improvement Funds last year.
Lonoke County, for instance, got $300,000 in GIF funds from state Sen. Bobby Glover, D-Carlisle, state Rep. Lenville Evans, D-Lonoke and state Rep. Susan Prater, R-Cabot, for a new jail, and County Judge Charlie Troutman has said he is hoping for a similar amount this year to complete that and other projects.
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
Jacksonville attorney and former state Rep. Mike Wilson says a state Supreme Court ruling Thursday puts an end to the practice of state legislators divvying up General Improvement Fund money for pork projects back in their home districts.
While the ruling found unconstitutional an act appropriating $400,000 for road improvements for the city of Bigelow, Wilson thinks it has state-wide implications. No more volunteer fire departments, libraries, community centers or jails singled out for money—at least not from the General Improvement Fund, according to Wilson, who filed the suit to stop the Bigelow appropriation and several in the Jacksonville area.
Circuit Judge Willard Proctor ruled over the summer that money for the Bigelow streets and for Jacksonville’s Museum of Military History, the senior center, the Reed’s Bridge Preservation Society and toward a new Jackson-ville public library were constitutional.
Wilson appealed each of those, but the Supreme Court ruled only on the Bigelow case, noting that Proctor had not entered a final order on the others and that it refrains from considering appeals before such an order has been entered.
The Supreme Court upheld Wilson’s contention that the Bigelow appropriation constituted “special and local legislation,” a violation of Amendment 14 of the state Constitution.
Asked if the Bigelow ruling indicated how the Supreme Court would rule on the other cases, Wilson said, “Absolutely. I can’t make a distinction.
“It should stop once and for all the raids on slush fund, pork barrel type acts and legislation,” Wilson added.
“I thought it was important to get this decided before it gets very far into the (January legislative) session,” Wilson said.
That’s why he waived oral arguments, fearing that would delay a decision until late January.
Wilson says General Improve-ment Funds are not appropriate for projects unless they benefit the entire state and he would like the matter settled before members of the new state Legislature begin dividing up a new surplus pie at the end of the new session.
Not everyone, including the attorney general’s office, thinks that the decision spells doom for GIF projects. State Rep. Will Bond, D-Jacksonville, disagrees with Wil-son’s assessment.
He said the court limited its reversal to the Bigelow money, finding it local in nature, but used the lack of a final order on the other cases as a procedural way to avoid ruling on the other projects.
Bond, who was Wilson’s law partner until they split over the GIF lawsuits, says Wilson is naive if he believes lawmakers wouldn’t find other ways to channel money to volunteer fire departments, libraries, jails, community centers and other projects.
Bond was responsible for much of the $190,000 in GIF funds earmarked for the Jacksonville library.
He says he believes the library would meet the test of not being local legislation.
He said it was important, however, for lawmakers to take care of funding state business, such as adequacy of school facilities, before they start trying to break off chunks of GIF money for projects back home.
Reversing Proctor’s Bigelow ruling, Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert L. Brown wrote that the state had no compelling interest in the appropriation to improve Bigelow roads in the name of tourism and safety.
Wilson asserted in his challenge that “there is absolutely no legitimate reason for selecting the city of Bigelow for special treatment in the form of $400,000 in taxpayer funds for these purposes.”
Wilson also sued to prohibit GIF funds from being used for the new Jacksonville library and several other projects, including the Jacksonville Senior Center, the Museum of Military History and the Reed’s Bridge Preservation Society.
He said they also amounted to special and local legislation, and he filed suit in September 2005 to prohibit Richard Weiss, director of the state Department of Finance and Administration, from writing the checks.
The state attorney general’s office has defended Weiss and DF&A in this suit. Spokesman Matt DeCample said it was too early to know if the Bigelow decision spelled doom for the Jacksonville-area projects or the entire GIF funding of local projects throughout the state.
Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim said Friday that the Bigelow ruling won’t necessarily affect $190,000 earmarked toward construction of the new Jacksonville library.
But even if the city library loses the $190,000, the $2 million-plus library—funded by a voter-approved bond issue—will be built regardless. he said.
“One significant difference (from Bigelow), our library is part of a system involving more than just a single city. Central Arkansas Library System is in at least two counties. It’s a big system, not just local,” the mayor pointed out.
Swaim said if the city doesn’t get the GIF money, it may reduce the size of the library or reduce the cost in some other fashion.
Statewide, legislators appropriated $52 million in General Improvement Funds last year.
Lonoke County, for instance, got $300,000 in GIF funds from state Sen. Bobby Glover, D-Carlisle, state Rep. Lenville Evans, D-Lonoke and state Rep. Susan Prater, R-Cabot, for a new jail, and County Judge Charlie Troutman has said he is hoping for a similar amount this year to complete that and other projects.
Friday, December 15, 2006
SPORTS >>Owls top Harding Academy, Lady Wildcats stay perfect
IN SHORT: Abundant Life beat the Wildcats by a surprisingly wide margin Tuesday, while the HA girls remained perfect in league play.
By JASON KING
Leader sports writer
Harding Academy and Abundant Life faced off Tuesday to begin the second week of 2-3A Conference play. The Lady Wildcats stayed perfect in league play with a 56-41 win over the Lady Owls, keeping Abundant Life winless through the first three division games. The Owls picked up their first conference win with a dominating 59-37 victory over the Wildcats.
The common theme with both losing teams on the night was the absence of some of their biggest playmakers.
Abundant Life senior shooting guard Sierra Durham went down with a knee injury early on, and did not return.
Durham did not see a full quarter of action in the contest, and retired with only three points.
James Kee was the missing man for the Wildcats on Tuesday. The senior post sat out the game after being disciplined by officials at last Friday’s game against Riverview. That combined with fellow senior Luke Tribble running at about 80 percent during the game made the Wildcats officially outgunned by Abundant Life.
Two straight losses are usually not enough for a coach to declare a losing streak, but for Abundant Life coach Tim Ballard, two losses to start the conference season were enough. The head Owl changed his normal procedure for prepping his team against Harding Academy, a move that most definitely payed off.
“I normally tell my guys every- thing they need to know about an opponent,” Ballard said. “What every player’s name is, his position, and what is his weapon. But after we lost those first two, though, I decided that we needed to worry about ourselves more than someone else. We didn’t talk about any of that, we just emphasized on learning to share the ball better.”
The players took Ballard’s advice to heart. Three Owls finished with double-digit scoring in the game. Senior John Michael Fowler led with 17 points, including the first nine points in the game to help the Owls rush out to a blistering 9-0 lead by the 4:11 mark.
Senior post Thomas Cheney scored 10 second half points to bump his game total to 14 points on the night, but the biggest surprise from the Owls’ offense was junior shooting guard Colby Woolverton.
Woolverton finished with a respectable 12 points, but he had several more looks. The youngster fought his instinct to launch a three-pointer on several occasions and kicked the ball back out.
He also came away with some very impressive assists, including a perfect alley-oop pass to Cheney that went for a slam, and two well-executed back-door assists to Fowler, both of which went for easy, wide open layups in the fourth quarter.
The first quarter was the John Michael Fowler show. Fowler put away four free throws, hit a three pointer and an inside basket to put the Owls out front 9-0 early. Nick Beene finally answered for the Wildcats with a three-point shot at the 3:42 mark of the first quarter.
Beene felt pressured by the Owls the entire night. The senior was double-teamed by Woolverton and Fowler for much of the game, and responded with rushed shots that fell short for the most part. Beene did finish with 20 points to lead Harding Academy, but was held to only two points for much of the second half until he scored a basket and a three inside the final 1:38 of the game.
Abundant Life took a 31-17 lead at the half, and the second half would be much of the same. The Owls led by 15 points heading into the final frame, and broke the 20-point barrier with a free throw from Cheney with 1:51 remaining.
“I needed that one, that’s all I can say” Ballard said. “I was going to jump off a bridge or something if we didn’t get a conference win before Christmas. I’m pleased with the effort, and it’s always good to get a win. I’m happy right now, but I will probably be depressed tomorrow when I look at the film.”
The win gave Abundant Life a 14-4 overall and 1-2 conference record. The loss puts Harding Academy’s record at 3-3 and 0-3.
The Lady Wildcats had an equally easy time in the girls contest.
Harding Academy got out to an early lead with two three-point shots from Katie Koch. By the end of the first eight minutes, the Lady Wildcats had jumped out front 18-9, but the Lady Owls were able to trim off a couple of those points in the next frame.
Liz Ashley continued the assault for the Lady ’Cats in the second quarter scoring eight of her total 16 points in the frame.
The Lady Wildcats led 29-21 at the intermission, but took advantage of Durham’s absence in the second half to pull away. Sophomores Hannah Pastor and Brittany Sharp took up a good deal of Durham’s slack in the final two quarters, but the Lady Owls field goal percentage sank without their best shooter on the floor.
Koch led Harding Academy with 22 points, with 16 points added from Ashley. Pastor led Abundant Life with 15 points, and Sharp added 10 points for the Lady Owls.
The Lady Wildcats are now 8-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play.
Harding Academy played at Brinkley last night, and will host Shirley today at 6 p.m. Abundant Life traveled to Pine Bluff to take on Drew Central last night, and will begin the Lutheran tournament starting Wednesday.
By JASON KING
Leader sports writer
Harding Academy and Abundant Life faced off Tuesday to begin the second week of 2-3A Conference play. The Lady Wildcats stayed perfect in league play with a 56-41 win over the Lady Owls, keeping Abundant Life winless through the first three division games. The Owls picked up their first conference win with a dominating 59-37 victory over the Wildcats.
The common theme with both losing teams on the night was the absence of some of their biggest playmakers.
Abundant Life senior shooting guard Sierra Durham went down with a knee injury early on, and did not return.
Durham did not see a full quarter of action in the contest, and retired with only three points.
James Kee was the missing man for the Wildcats on Tuesday. The senior post sat out the game after being disciplined by officials at last Friday’s game against Riverview. That combined with fellow senior Luke Tribble running at about 80 percent during the game made the Wildcats officially outgunned by Abundant Life.
Two straight losses are usually not enough for a coach to declare a losing streak, but for Abundant Life coach Tim Ballard, two losses to start the conference season were enough. The head Owl changed his normal procedure for prepping his team against Harding Academy, a move that most definitely payed off.
“I normally tell my guys every- thing they need to know about an opponent,” Ballard said. “What every player’s name is, his position, and what is his weapon. But after we lost those first two, though, I decided that we needed to worry about ourselves more than someone else. We didn’t talk about any of that, we just emphasized on learning to share the ball better.”
The players took Ballard’s advice to heart. Three Owls finished with double-digit scoring in the game. Senior John Michael Fowler led with 17 points, including the first nine points in the game to help the Owls rush out to a blistering 9-0 lead by the 4:11 mark.
Senior post Thomas Cheney scored 10 second half points to bump his game total to 14 points on the night, but the biggest surprise from the Owls’ offense was junior shooting guard Colby Woolverton.
Woolverton finished with a respectable 12 points, but he had several more looks. The youngster fought his instinct to launch a three-pointer on several occasions and kicked the ball back out.
He also came away with some very impressive assists, including a perfect alley-oop pass to Cheney that went for a slam, and two well-executed back-door assists to Fowler, both of which went for easy, wide open layups in the fourth quarter.
The first quarter was the John Michael Fowler show. Fowler put away four free throws, hit a three pointer and an inside basket to put the Owls out front 9-0 early. Nick Beene finally answered for the Wildcats with a three-point shot at the 3:42 mark of the first quarter.
Beene felt pressured by the Owls the entire night. The senior was double-teamed by Woolverton and Fowler for much of the game, and responded with rushed shots that fell short for the most part. Beene did finish with 20 points to lead Harding Academy, but was held to only two points for much of the second half until he scored a basket and a three inside the final 1:38 of the game.
Abundant Life took a 31-17 lead at the half, and the second half would be much of the same. The Owls led by 15 points heading into the final frame, and broke the 20-point barrier with a free throw from Cheney with 1:51 remaining.
“I needed that one, that’s all I can say” Ballard said. “I was going to jump off a bridge or something if we didn’t get a conference win before Christmas. I’m pleased with the effort, and it’s always good to get a win. I’m happy right now, but I will probably be depressed tomorrow when I look at the film.”
The win gave Abundant Life a 14-4 overall and 1-2 conference record. The loss puts Harding Academy’s record at 3-3 and 0-3.
The Lady Wildcats had an equally easy time in the girls contest.
Harding Academy got out to an early lead with two three-point shots from Katie Koch. By the end of the first eight minutes, the Lady Wildcats had jumped out front 18-9, but the Lady Owls were able to trim off a couple of those points in the next frame.
Liz Ashley continued the assault for the Lady ’Cats in the second quarter scoring eight of her total 16 points in the frame.
The Lady Wildcats led 29-21 at the intermission, but took advantage of Durham’s absence in the second half to pull away. Sophomores Hannah Pastor and Brittany Sharp took up a good deal of Durham’s slack in the final two quarters, but the Lady Owls field goal percentage sank without their best shooter on the floor.
Koch led Harding Academy with 22 points, with 16 points added from Ashley. Pastor led Abundant Life with 15 points, and Sharp added 10 points for the Lady Owls.
The Lady Wildcats are now 8-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play.
Harding Academy played at Brinkley last night, and will host Shirley today at 6 p.m. Abundant Life traveled to Pine Bluff to take on Drew Central last night, and will begin the Lutheran tournament starting Wednesday.
SPORTS >>Badgers fall to Eagles for second time
By JASON KING
Leader sports writer
The Beebe Badgers suffered their fifth loss of the season at the hands of the Vilonia Eagles Tuesday night 56-42. The Badgers stayed close through the first half, trailing 27-21 at the intermission.
Vilonia was able to pull away in the second half, due mostly to the struggles of Beebe’s shooting game. There were only 12 turnovers in the entire game by the Badgers, but a dismal 15 of 54 from the floor meant several missed scoring opportunities.
The battle on the boards was a tight one, but missed second and third shot attempts for Beebe allowed the Eagles to hold a steady advantage throughout the final two frames.
The margin stayed at six points for most of the game, but Beebe was forced to foul in the closing moments in an attempt to close the deficit. A number of three-point attempts from the Badgers in the last two minutes fell short, and Vilonia took advantage. The Eagles were strong at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, and padded their advantage going away.
Beebe head coach Chris Ellis did not make any excuses for his team’s performance against Vilonia. He says an increase in shooting accuracy is badly needed in order for the Badgers to be competitive in the tough 5A-East Conference.
“We just have to shoot better, that’s the bottom line,” Ellis said. “When you have 66 possessions in a game and only score 42 points, that’s just not going to cut it.” Ellis says he hopes that his football-player-heavy squad will improve from the floor as the season continues, but also knows that the competition will most likely do the same.
“I hope it would improve with more time that they spend in the gym,” Ellis said. “But the quality of competition will also improve as the season goes on.”
Sophomore Zack Kersey led the Badgers with 12 points. Charlie Spakes added 10 points for Beebe.
The loss gives the Badgers a 1-5 record. Beebe played Cabot last night after Leader deadlines, and will begin hosting the First Security White County Medical Classic on Dec. 28.
Leader sports writer
The Beebe Badgers suffered their fifth loss of the season at the hands of the Vilonia Eagles Tuesday night 56-42. The Badgers stayed close through the first half, trailing 27-21 at the intermission.
Vilonia was able to pull away in the second half, due mostly to the struggles of Beebe’s shooting game. There were only 12 turnovers in the entire game by the Badgers, but a dismal 15 of 54 from the floor meant several missed scoring opportunities.
The battle on the boards was a tight one, but missed second and third shot attempts for Beebe allowed the Eagles to hold a steady advantage throughout the final two frames.
The margin stayed at six points for most of the game, but Beebe was forced to foul in the closing moments in an attempt to close the deficit. A number of three-point attempts from the Badgers in the last two minutes fell short, and Vilonia took advantage. The Eagles were strong at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, and padded their advantage going away.
Beebe head coach Chris Ellis did not make any excuses for his team’s performance against Vilonia. He says an increase in shooting accuracy is badly needed in order for the Badgers to be competitive in the tough 5A-East Conference.
“We just have to shoot better, that’s the bottom line,” Ellis said. “When you have 66 possessions in a game and only score 42 points, that’s just not going to cut it.” Ellis says he hopes that his football-player-heavy squad will improve from the floor as the season continues, but also knows that the competition will most likely do the same.
“I hope it would improve with more time that they spend in the gym,” Ellis said. “But the quality of competition will also improve as the season goes on.”
Sophomore Zack Kersey led the Badgers with 12 points. Charlie Spakes added 10 points for Beebe.
The loss gives the Badgers a 1-5 record. Beebe played Cabot last night after Leader deadlines, and will begin hosting the First Security White County Medical Classic on Dec. 28.
SPORTS >>Tigers rally, beat Red Devils
IN SHORT: Little Rock Central’s boys and girls teams went away with a pair of wins over Jacksonville Tuesday night.
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Jacksonville dropped a pair of games at home to Little Rock Central Tuesday night in the Devils’ Den. The Red Devils fell for the second time to the Tigers.
They lost 60-59 earlier in the year at Central; Tuesday they lost 64-58 despite dominating the early going and jumping out to a 13-3 lead.
Jacksonville’s inside game did much of the damage early on. Post players Gerron Riddles and Norvel Gabriel each got buckets out of the offense, while forward Kajaun Watson scored in almost every way. He once drove the baseline for a bucket, hit a three and got a layup out of transition.
Trailing by 10 just three minutes into the game, Central called timeout. The comeback wasn’t immediate as both teams traded several turnovers for the next couple of minutes. Then Arthur King checked into the game for the Tigers, and got them right back into it.
King hit two quick three pointers, one from about 28 feet, to turn a 10-point margin into four in about 55 seconds.
Joyner commended King for the hot shooting, but thought his team should have been much farther ahead by that point.
“We had six possessions where we could have gone up 20, or more,” Joyner said. “Instead, we get crazy and start dribbling around and not running the offense. We stopped them on defense several times, but never could capitalize because we weren’t running our sets.”
By the end of the quarter, Jacksonville’s lead had shrunk to 15-11. It was a back-and-forth game for most of the quarter, and Central finally tied it up at 26-26 with 30 seconds left in the half. That score remained until halftime, but the Tigers came out hot in the third.
Central scored just a few seconds into the third quarter to take its first lead of the game. Jacksonville tied a few seconds later, but the Tiger guards harassed Jacksonville into two straight turnovers, which Central turned into two layups and a free throw for a 33-28 lead.
Jacksonville called timeout, and afterwards cut the margin to 35-33, but Central put together another run to move ahead 43-35, its biggest lead of the game, with 2:39 left in the third.
From that point, Jacksonville answered with a 9-0 salvo to reclaim the lead at 44-43 by the end of the quarter.
Again it was Watson that put the team on his back, scoring seven points during the run, but he disappeared in the fourth quarter.
Central clamped down on Watson, and the game turned into a free-throw shooting contest early in the fourth.
After all the free throws were traded, Jacksonville’s Damien Akins hit a three pointer that put the Red Devils up 56-54 with four minutes left in the game.
Central then scored the next five points, all by Eric Brooks, to take a 59-56 lead. Gabriel hit a bucket to make it 61-58 with 2:05 remaining, but it would be the last points Jacksonville would score.
Brooks made it seven straight to put the margin back at three points with 1:21 left.
Watson missed a jumper and Jacksonville fouled Keith Free-man with 31 seconds to go. He made one of two, but Watson missed again and Brooks got the rebound. Akins was then called for an intentional foul with 16 seconds left that effectively ended any hopes for a Red Devil win.
“I’m not mad at ‘em,” Joyner said. “There’s no reason to get mad at ‘em. If we can just learn to take care of the ball, we’re going to have a chance to win some games. We’re averaging 25 turn-overs a game and have had a chance to win all of ‘em but one. We always lose games in the last two or three minutes. They got to learn quick though, because time is getting short.”
Watson led all scorers with 18 points while Akins came off the bench to score 12 for Jacksonville.
Anthony Hurvey led the Tigers with 17 while Freeman scored 14. Brooks added 13 and King came off the bench to chip in 10 points.
Jacksonville dropped to 4-4 on the year while Central improved to 10-2.
The Lady Devils fell behind big early before mounting a comeback in the second quarter. Eventually the Lady Tigers were able to pull away for good and won the game 59-42.
Central ran out to a 9-0 lead, making it very difficult for the Jacksonville guards to get the ball up the court and the offense into the sets.
Jacksonville called timeout, and was able to get on track afterward.
The Jacksonville post players took over, and got the Lady Red Devils back into the game. Jacksonville dwindled Central’s lead to 17-13 by quarter’s end, with senior post Marie Livings doing the bulk of the scoring.
Livings proved a problem for Central throughout the game, but the Lady Tigers guards found the answer, to score without taking the ball inside.
Central did that by creating transition buckets off steals, beating Jacksonville back after missed shots, and shooting from the outside.
Jacksonville committed 25 turnovers while Central made four of their five threes in the second half.
Central again led by nine, 29-20, by halftime, and slowly extended that lead the rest of the game.
Livings led all scorers and rebounders with 17 and 11 respectively. Fellow post player Tarneshia Scott added 12 points.
Only two other Lady Devils scored in the game. Chunky Billingslea scored seven while Markela Bell added six.
Jacksonvilled dropped to 2-7 while Central improved to 6-4.
Jacksonville played North Pulaski last night after Leader deadlines.
Look for details of those games in Wednesday’s edition of The Leader.
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Jacksonville dropped a pair of games at home to Little Rock Central Tuesday night in the Devils’ Den. The Red Devils fell for the second time to the Tigers.
They lost 60-59 earlier in the year at Central; Tuesday they lost 64-58 despite dominating the early going and jumping out to a 13-3 lead.
Jacksonville’s inside game did much of the damage early on. Post players Gerron Riddles and Norvel Gabriel each got buckets out of the offense, while forward Kajaun Watson scored in almost every way. He once drove the baseline for a bucket, hit a three and got a layup out of transition.
Trailing by 10 just three minutes into the game, Central called timeout. The comeback wasn’t immediate as both teams traded several turnovers for the next couple of minutes. Then Arthur King checked into the game for the Tigers, and got them right back into it.
King hit two quick three pointers, one from about 28 feet, to turn a 10-point margin into four in about 55 seconds.
Joyner commended King for the hot shooting, but thought his team should have been much farther ahead by that point.
“We had six possessions where we could have gone up 20, or more,” Joyner said. “Instead, we get crazy and start dribbling around and not running the offense. We stopped them on defense several times, but never could capitalize because we weren’t running our sets.”
By the end of the quarter, Jacksonville’s lead had shrunk to 15-11. It was a back-and-forth game for most of the quarter, and Central finally tied it up at 26-26 with 30 seconds left in the half. That score remained until halftime, but the Tigers came out hot in the third.
Central scored just a few seconds into the third quarter to take its first lead of the game. Jacksonville tied a few seconds later, but the Tiger guards harassed Jacksonville into two straight turnovers, which Central turned into two layups and a free throw for a 33-28 lead.
Jacksonville called timeout, and afterwards cut the margin to 35-33, but Central put together another run to move ahead 43-35, its biggest lead of the game, with 2:39 left in the third.
From that point, Jacksonville answered with a 9-0 salvo to reclaim the lead at 44-43 by the end of the quarter.
Again it was Watson that put the team on his back, scoring seven points during the run, but he disappeared in the fourth quarter.
Central clamped down on Watson, and the game turned into a free-throw shooting contest early in the fourth.
After all the free throws were traded, Jacksonville’s Damien Akins hit a three pointer that put the Red Devils up 56-54 with four minutes left in the game.
Central then scored the next five points, all by Eric Brooks, to take a 59-56 lead. Gabriel hit a bucket to make it 61-58 with 2:05 remaining, but it would be the last points Jacksonville would score.
Brooks made it seven straight to put the margin back at three points with 1:21 left.
Watson missed a jumper and Jacksonville fouled Keith Free-man with 31 seconds to go. He made one of two, but Watson missed again and Brooks got the rebound. Akins was then called for an intentional foul with 16 seconds left that effectively ended any hopes for a Red Devil win.
“I’m not mad at ‘em,” Joyner said. “There’s no reason to get mad at ‘em. If we can just learn to take care of the ball, we’re going to have a chance to win some games. We’re averaging 25 turn-overs a game and have had a chance to win all of ‘em but one. We always lose games in the last two or three minutes. They got to learn quick though, because time is getting short.”
Watson led all scorers with 18 points while Akins came off the bench to score 12 for Jacksonville.
Anthony Hurvey led the Tigers with 17 while Freeman scored 14. Brooks added 13 and King came off the bench to chip in 10 points.
Jacksonville dropped to 4-4 on the year while Central improved to 10-2.
The Lady Devils fell behind big early before mounting a comeback in the second quarter. Eventually the Lady Tigers were able to pull away for good and won the game 59-42.
Central ran out to a 9-0 lead, making it very difficult for the Jacksonville guards to get the ball up the court and the offense into the sets.
Jacksonville called timeout, and was able to get on track afterward.
The Jacksonville post players took over, and got the Lady Red Devils back into the game. Jacksonville dwindled Central’s lead to 17-13 by quarter’s end, with senior post Marie Livings doing the bulk of the scoring.
Livings proved a problem for Central throughout the game, but the Lady Tigers guards found the answer, to score without taking the ball inside.
Central did that by creating transition buckets off steals, beating Jacksonville back after missed shots, and shooting from the outside.
Jacksonville committed 25 turnovers while Central made four of their five threes in the second half.
Central again led by nine, 29-20, by halftime, and slowly extended that lead the rest of the game.
Livings led all scorers and rebounders with 17 and 11 respectively. Fellow post player Tarneshia Scott added 12 points.
Only two other Lady Devils scored in the game. Chunky Billingslea scored seven while Markela Bell added six.
Jacksonvilled dropped to 2-7 while Central improved to 6-4.
Jacksonville played North Pulaski last night after Leader deadlines.
Look for details of those games in Wednesday’s edition of The Leader.
SPORTS >>Lonoke ladies hammer Marianna
IN SHORT: The Lady Jackrabbits had no trouble at all against the Lady Trojans, but the boys faltered in the third quarter to drop what was a close game to that point.
By JASON KING
Leader sports writer
It was a conference split for Lonoke Tuesday night in Marianna. The Lady Jackrabbits kept their league record perfect with a dominant 68-14 win over the Lady Trojans. The Jackrabbits suffered one bad quarter against the Trojans, and payed for the slip with a 57-47 loss, their first conference loss of the year.
The Lady Jackrabbits scored more points in the first quarter than Marianna scored in the entire contest. Junior guard Haley O’Cain had a career night, especially from behind the arc. Cain scored 16 of her total 18 points in the opening quarter, including four out of four three-point shots. She also hit 3 of 4 goals during her brief time on the floor. After a lead of over 30 points at the half, the clock ran continuously during the second half, and the Lady ‘Rabbit starters sat out the final two periods.
“It wasn’t real close, it was pretty much over before it started,” Lady Jackrabbits coach Nathan Morris said. “Haley had one of those shooting nights where you really feel like you can’t miss. We pressed them on their first couple of possessions, and they struggled to get shots off.” The Lady Trojans would continue to struggle from the field throughout the game, only managing 5 of 27 from the field.
Cain led with 18 points, and freshman Asiah Scribner added 13 for Lonoke. Senior post Calisha Kirk had 10 points, Kristy Shinn added nine points and Lauren Harper rounded out high scorers with eight points.
The win improves the Lady ‘Rabbits’ record to 6-5 overall and 3-0 in 2-4A Conference play.
The Jackrabbits outplayed Marianna by one point through the first half, but no field goals in the third quarter for Lonoke allowed the Trojans to pull away. The difference in the game would be fought out on the boards, as Marianna took advantage of second and third shot opportunities, while denying the ‘Rabbits the same luxury on the other end.
“They really pounded us on the boards,” Jackrabbits coach Wes Swift said. “We shot pretty well in the first half, but when the shots started to not fall for us, we were not getting second chance shots, where they were.”
The two teams were in a dead heat at 17 all after the first quarter. It was more of the same in the second frame, but Lonoke managed one more point to take a 32-31 lead at the half.
It all came unraveled in the third quarter, however. All of Lonoke’s five points in the period came from free-throw shots, as Marianna tacked on 15 points to take control of the game. The ‘Rabbits regained their composure for the final quarter, but Marianna would not allow any kind of comeback, outscoring Lonoke 11-10 in the fourth to secure the win.
Stanley Staggers was the only double-figure scorer with 12 points in the game. Bradley Spencer and Clarence Harris each added seven points for Lonoke.
Lonoke hosted Mountain View last night after Leader deadlines for two very important conference games. Look for details of those games in the Wednesday edition of The Leader.
By JASON KING
Leader sports writer
It was a conference split for Lonoke Tuesday night in Marianna. The Lady Jackrabbits kept their league record perfect with a dominant 68-14 win over the Lady Trojans. The Jackrabbits suffered one bad quarter against the Trojans, and payed for the slip with a 57-47 loss, their first conference loss of the year.
The Lady Jackrabbits scored more points in the first quarter than Marianna scored in the entire contest. Junior guard Haley O’Cain had a career night, especially from behind the arc. Cain scored 16 of her total 18 points in the opening quarter, including four out of four three-point shots. She also hit 3 of 4 goals during her brief time on the floor. After a lead of over 30 points at the half, the clock ran continuously during the second half, and the Lady ‘Rabbit starters sat out the final two periods.
“It wasn’t real close, it was pretty much over before it started,” Lady Jackrabbits coach Nathan Morris said. “Haley had one of those shooting nights where you really feel like you can’t miss. We pressed them on their first couple of possessions, and they struggled to get shots off.” The Lady Trojans would continue to struggle from the field throughout the game, only managing 5 of 27 from the field.
Cain led with 18 points, and freshman Asiah Scribner added 13 for Lonoke. Senior post Calisha Kirk had 10 points, Kristy Shinn added nine points and Lauren Harper rounded out high scorers with eight points.
The win improves the Lady ‘Rabbits’ record to 6-5 overall and 3-0 in 2-4A Conference play.
The Jackrabbits outplayed Marianna by one point through the first half, but no field goals in the third quarter for Lonoke allowed the Trojans to pull away. The difference in the game would be fought out on the boards, as Marianna took advantage of second and third shot opportunities, while denying the ‘Rabbits the same luxury on the other end.
“They really pounded us on the boards,” Jackrabbits coach Wes Swift said. “We shot pretty well in the first half, but when the shots started to not fall for us, we were not getting second chance shots, where they were.”
The two teams were in a dead heat at 17 all after the first quarter. It was more of the same in the second frame, but Lonoke managed one more point to take a 32-31 lead at the half.
It all came unraveled in the third quarter, however. All of Lonoke’s five points in the period came from free-throw shots, as Marianna tacked on 15 points to take control of the game. The ‘Rabbits regained their composure for the final quarter, but Marianna would not allow any kind of comeback, outscoring Lonoke 11-10 in the fourth to secure the win.
Stanley Staggers was the only double-figure scorer with 12 points in the game. Bradley Spencer and Clarence Harris each added seven points for Lonoke.
Lonoke hosted Mountain View last night after Leader deadlines for two very important conference games. Look for details of those games in the Wednesday edition of The Leader.
SPORTS >>Raiders sputter, still beat Brinkley
IN SHORT: The Riverview boys and girls started slowly, but still got good league wins Tuesday night over Brinkley in the conference home opener for both teams.
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Riverview got a pair of easy wins Tuesday night at home against Brinkley. It was the first home game for the Raiders and Lady Raiders, and both teams came out flat against what was supposed to be an easy opponent.
Still, both teams came together to pull off relatively easy wins.
The boys won it in a rout, 63-23, while the girls pulled away late for a 50-35 victory.
The boys team led just 11-9 at the end of the first quarter, and drew the ire of head coach Danny Starkey.
“I just thought we were really sloppy,” Starkey said. “We didn’t come out focused and just played bad basketball. It wasn’t pretty for sure.”
Things turned around when Starkey called for full-court pressure. The Tigers couldn’t handle it. The two-point margin was 17 in just a few minutes, and Riverview went into intermission leading 31-14.
The third quarter finished it off. The Raiders outscored their overmatched visitors 26-4 in the third frame, and led 57-18 to invoke the mercy rule throughout the fourth quarter.
“There wasn’t much to comment on once we got rolling,” Starkey said. “Brinkley is very young and inexperienced. They-’re not very big either so they just didn’t have much of an answer.
“I thought we played well once we got our heads in the game, but we sure didn’t show up ready to play. That’s not all bad I guess. You know me, I don’t want us to be peaking right now.”
Senior Tony Hall led the team with 16 points. LaMarcus Banks added 12 while Thatcher Coop-erwood scored 10. Bo Banks and Ben Jones scored six each.
Banks, a senior and returning starter, had not played as well as Starkey wanted in the first several games, but he has come on strong since conference play began.
“He has put two really good games together now and that helps us a great deal,” Starkey said.
“It’s going to help us down the road too if he keeps it up. We’ve been waiting on him to start playing like we need him to.
The Lady Raiders actually trailed 11-8 at the end of the first quarter, and were still in a scrap at halftime. They led 22-17 at the break, but didn’t create any breathing room until the fourth quarter.
Brinkley stayed in the game through most of the third, but a late mini rally by Riverview made it 37-27, and the Lady Raiders were able to extend the lead to as much as 19 in the final frame.
Jasmine James led the team with 11 points while Kori Meachum and Courtney Webster ad-ded 10 apiece.
Jasmin Washington scored seven and Tara Holiday six for the Lady Raiders, who improved to 9-6 overall and 2-1 in league play. The Riverview boys are now 9-4 and 3-0 in the 3A-2 conference.
Last night they played Rose Bud in an already huge battle between the only two teams still undefeated in conference.
Look for details of that big game in Wednesday’s edition of The Leader.
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Riverview got a pair of easy wins Tuesday night at home against Brinkley. It was the first home game for the Raiders and Lady Raiders, and both teams came out flat against what was supposed to be an easy opponent.
Still, both teams came together to pull off relatively easy wins.
The boys won it in a rout, 63-23, while the girls pulled away late for a 50-35 victory.
The boys team led just 11-9 at the end of the first quarter, and drew the ire of head coach Danny Starkey.
“I just thought we were really sloppy,” Starkey said. “We didn’t come out focused and just played bad basketball. It wasn’t pretty for sure.”
Things turned around when Starkey called for full-court pressure. The Tigers couldn’t handle it. The two-point margin was 17 in just a few minutes, and Riverview went into intermission leading 31-14.
The third quarter finished it off. The Raiders outscored their overmatched visitors 26-4 in the third frame, and led 57-18 to invoke the mercy rule throughout the fourth quarter.
“There wasn’t much to comment on once we got rolling,” Starkey said. “Brinkley is very young and inexperienced. They-’re not very big either so they just didn’t have much of an answer.
“I thought we played well once we got our heads in the game, but we sure didn’t show up ready to play. That’s not all bad I guess. You know me, I don’t want us to be peaking right now.”
Senior Tony Hall led the team with 16 points. LaMarcus Banks added 12 while Thatcher Coop-erwood scored 10. Bo Banks and Ben Jones scored six each.
Banks, a senior and returning starter, had not played as well as Starkey wanted in the first several games, but he has come on strong since conference play began.
“He has put two really good games together now and that helps us a great deal,” Starkey said.
“It’s going to help us down the road too if he keeps it up. We’ve been waiting on him to start playing like we need him to.
The Lady Raiders actually trailed 11-8 at the end of the first quarter, and were still in a scrap at halftime. They led 22-17 at the break, but didn’t create any breathing room until the fourth quarter.
Brinkley stayed in the game through most of the third, but a late mini rally by Riverview made it 37-27, and the Lady Raiders were able to extend the lead to as much as 19 in the final frame.
Jasmine James led the team with 11 points while Kori Meachum and Courtney Webster ad-ded 10 apiece.
Jasmin Washington scored seven and Tara Holiday six for the Lady Raiders, who improved to 9-6 overall and 2-1 in league play. The Riverview boys are now 9-4 and 3-0 in the 3A-2 conference.
Last night they played Rose Bud in an already huge battle between the only two teams still undefeated in conference.
Look for details of that big game in Wednesday’s edition of The Leader.
OBITUARIES >> 12-16-06
Don Ray
Don Keith Ray, 43, of Cabot passed away Dec. 13.
He was born April 28, 1963 in Fairbanks, Alaska, to Bill Ray and Mildred Lucille Hopper Ray.
Preceding him in death were two brothers, Gregory Bruce Ray in 1961 and Barry Lynn Ray in 2004.
He leaves behind his parents, Bill and Mildred Ray; one brother, Timothy Ray; one son, Keith Ray; one daughter, Lena Ray; one niece, Amy Ray; and one nephew, Joshua Robertson, all of Cabot.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at Mt. Springs Baptist Church. Burial will follow at Mt. Springs Cemetery. Arrangements are by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
Thomas King
Rev. Thomas B. King, 73, of Carlisle went on to be with the Lord Dec. 13.
He was born in 1933 at Simpson County, Kentucky, to the late Jesse A. and Pearlie Smalling King.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Maxine Park King; brother, J.A. King, and nephew, John Ronald King.
Rev. King is survived by three sons, Timothy King and wife Carol of Carlisle, Rick King and wife Christy of Washington, D.C. and Chris King of Carlisle; 11 grandchildren; two brothers, Joe W. King and wife Sylvia of Washington and Eddie King of Carlisle.
He is also survivied by two sisters, Dixie King Winn and husband Wayne of California and Mary King Gruenke and husband Dave of Carlisle.
Bro. Tommy started his ministry in his twenties and was one of the founders of Country Chapel Church where he was blessed to minister to many, many people over the years. He served there until his illness. He was loved and will be missed by many other family and friends.
Tommy also worked for Lowman Hardware at Cabot for several years and also owned his own hardware and paint store at Conway.
Funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at Country Chapel Church at Sylvania with burial in New Hope Cemetery at Carlisle. Funeral arrangements are by Westbrook Funeral Home of Beebe.
Andrew Parker
Andrew Martin Parker, 45, departed this world on Dec. 14, to join our Lord in heaven.
Andrew was born Sept. 10, 1961 at Great Falls, Montana.
He resided in Jacksonville since 1975. He was a Christian and a member of Hope Lutheran Church. Andrew was a 1980 honor graduate of Jacksonville High School. He received an associate degree in business and management at Arkansas State University at Beebe, and continued his education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Being the gentle, caring soul that he was, he donated funds to many wildlife and animal-welfare organizations, and children’s charities.
Andrew is survived by his father, Davis Parker of Gillett; his mother, Erika Parker of Jacksonville; two brothers, David and Walter Parker of Jacksonville; a sister, Sonya and husband Jim Dunn and their chidren, Connor and Rebecca of Alpharetta, Georgia.
Andrew was dearly loved by his family. The family would like to thank Andrew’s doctors at UAMS, Dr. Adada and Dr. Hutchins and his nurses at Arkansas Hospice for their care.
Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 19 at Hope Lutheran Church, 1904 McArthur Dr., Jacksonville, with the Rev. Kevin Conger officiating.
Arrangements are under the direction of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
Teresa Simpson
Teresa Gail Simpson, 40, of Jacksonville passed away Dec. 8, in Jacksonville.
She was born Dec 17, 1965 to the late Charles L. Sr. and Reva Cosby Simpson in Virginia.
She is survived by Danny Lacy; three sons, Timothy, Danny and John Simpson; one daughter, Crystal Simpson, as well as a brother, Charles L. Simpson.
Private service will be at a later date.
Madison and Landon Howard
Newborn twins Madison Faye and Landon Michael Howard of Beebe died Dec. 9.
They are survived by their parents, Shannon and Christie Howard of Beebe; grandparents, Leanna and Michael Howard of Cabot, Lisa Johnson of Terrell, Texas, John and Eva Fisher of Austin; great-grandparents, Bes-sie Burnett, Barbara and Dick Johnson, Val and Galen Poe.
They were preceded in death by their grandfather, Charles Eugene Kinney.
Graveside service was Dec. 15 at Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens in Beebe.
Don Keith Ray, 43, of Cabot passed away Dec. 13.
He was born April 28, 1963 in Fairbanks, Alaska, to Bill Ray and Mildred Lucille Hopper Ray.
Preceding him in death were two brothers, Gregory Bruce Ray in 1961 and Barry Lynn Ray in 2004.
He leaves behind his parents, Bill and Mildred Ray; one brother, Timothy Ray; one son, Keith Ray; one daughter, Lena Ray; one niece, Amy Ray; and one nephew, Joshua Robertson, all of Cabot.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at Mt. Springs Baptist Church. Burial will follow at Mt. Springs Cemetery. Arrangements are by Thomas Funeral Service in Cabot.
Thomas King
Rev. Thomas B. King, 73, of Carlisle went on to be with the Lord Dec. 13.
He was born in 1933 at Simpson County, Kentucky, to the late Jesse A. and Pearlie Smalling King.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Maxine Park King; brother, J.A. King, and nephew, John Ronald King.
Rev. King is survived by three sons, Timothy King and wife Carol of Carlisle, Rick King and wife Christy of Washington, D.C. and Chris King of Carlisle; 11 grandchildren; two brothers, Joe W. King and wife Sylvia of Washington and Eddie King of Carlisle.
He is also survivied by two sisters, Dixie King Winn and husband Wayne of California and Mary King Gruenke and husband Dave of Carlisle.
Bro. Tommy started his ministry in his twenties and was one of the founders of Country Chapel Church where he was blessed to minister to many, many people over the years. He served there until his illness. He was loved and will be missed by many other family and friends.
Tommy also worked for Lowman Hardware at Cabot for several years and also owned his own hardware and paint store at Conway.
Funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at Country Chapel Church at Sylvania with burial in New Hope Cemetery at Carlisle. Funeral arrangements are by Westbrook Funeral Home of Beebe.
Andrew Parker
Andrew Martin Parker, 45, departed this world on Dec. 14, to join our Lord in heaven.
Andrew was born Sept. 10, 1961 at Great Falls, Montana.
He resided in Jacksonville since 1975. He was a Christian and a member of Hope Lutheran Church. Andrew was a 1980 honor graduate of Jacksonville High School. He received an associate degree in business and management at Arkansas State University at Beebe, and continued his education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Being the gentle, caring soul that he was, he donated funds to many wildlife and animal-welfare organizations, and children’s charities.
Andrew is survived by his father, Davis Parker of Gillett; his mother, Erika Parker of Jacksonville; two brothers, David and Walter Parker of Jacksonville; a sister, Sonya and husband Jim Dunn and their chidren, Connor and Rebecca of Alpharetta, Georgia.
Andrew was dearly loved by his family. The family would like to thank Andrew’s doctors at UAMS, Dr. Adada and Dr. Hutchins and his nurses at Arkansas Hospice for their care.
Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 19 at Hope Lutheran Church, 1904 McArthur Dr., Jacksonville, with the Rev. Kevin Conger officiating.
Arrangements are under the direction of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
Teresa Simpson
Teresa Gail Simpson, 40, of Jacksonville passed away Dec. 8, in Jacksonville.
She was born Dec 17, 1965 to the late Charles L. Sr. and Reva Cosby Simpson in Virginia.
She is survived by Danny Lacy; three sons, Timothy, Danny and John Simpson; one daughter, Crystal Simpson, as well as a brother, Charles L. Simpson.
Private service will be at a later date.
Madison and Landon Howard
Newborn twins Madison Faye and Landon Michael Howard of Beebe died Dec. 9.
They are survived by their parents, Shannon and Christie Howard of Beebe; grandparents, Leanna and Michael Howard of Cabot, Lisa Johnson of Terrell, Texas, John and Eva Fisher of Austin; great-grandparents, Bes-sie Burnett, Barbara and Dick Johnson, Val and Galen Poe.
They were preceded in death by their grandfather, Charles Eugene Kinney.
Graveside service was Dec. 15 at Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens in Beebe.
EVENTS>>Fall 2006
The Central Arkansas Library System will hold its annual Food For Fines program Saturday, Dec. 16. Patrons may turn in overdue items and satisfy their ovedue book fine by returning the item with a non-perishable food item. The Arkansas Rice Depot in Pulaski County and Partners for Progress in Perryville will distribute the food.
Donations will be accepted for fines incurred on an item being returned only and may not be used to erase outstanding fines on items already returned. It is not necessary to have an overdue item to participate. Each of CAL’s twelve branches and the Cox Creative Center are collection sites.
Comcast Cable is airing the Jacksonville and Sherwood Christmas parades back-to-back at 4 p.m. Saturday and at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
The 20th annual Christmas Road to Bethlehem will be open from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. until New Year’s Eve. Homes along a four-mile stretch of Bethlehem Road in Lonoke County will feature lighted, life-size Biblical figures along with Bible verses to tell the story of the nativity and ends with the manger scene at Bethlehem United Methodist Church. There will be open house programs with music and fellowship from 7 to 8:30 p.m. through Jan. 1.
The Jacksonville Parks and Recreation Department is offering bus tours of holiday lights from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18 through Thursday, Dec. 21. Tour cost is $2 per person. Pre-registration is required. No refunds. For more information call 982-0818.
The Central Arkansas Development Council (CADC) will have a savings account meeting at 5 p.m. Dec. 19 at 117 S. East St. in Lonoke. The program helps low-income working people who commit to saving $10 a month. When the saving goal is reached, CADC will match the savings $3 for every dollar saved up to $2,000 per individual or $4,000 per household. For more information, contact Angel Clingmon at 501-676-0019.
Any Jacksonville-area child can visit with Santa Claus and receive a toy from 8 a.m. until noon, Thursday, Dec. 21 at Fishnet Mission, 213 Marshall Road. Families can receive a bag of groceries.
Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church, 1017 Ray Road in Jacksonville will present “Magnifying the Miracle,” a Christmas concert, at 4 p.m. Sunday. Victoria Woodard will be the director of the concert. The public is invited to attend. For more information, call 501-982-6215.
Holly Grove African Methodist Episcopal Church, 7007 Hankins Road, North Little Rock will be observing its First Quarterly Conference on Sunday. The Rev. Charles M. Cleaver, Sr., will be the presiding elder. Music will be provided by the church choir during the 11 a.m. services.
Jacksonville First Assembly of God will be performing the play “The Cobbler” at 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 17.
The Adult Choir and Drama Ministries of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville will present “One King” at 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The musical depicts Christ as the one King who holds the hope of the world and asks the question, “What will we do with this King?” The church is located at 401 North First Street.
Pastor, Dr. Marck Gibson and Minister of Music Doug Moore invite everyone to come to this free presentation as we celebrate the birth of our Lord. A nursery will be provided.
For more information, call the church office at 982-1519.
The Santa Shack at the Cabot Walmart will be open from 9 to 11 a.m., noon to 2 p.m., and 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday; and from 1 to 3 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. on Sunday. From Dec. 18 through Dec. 23, the Santa Shack will be open weekdays from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m.
Donations will be accepted for fines incurred on an item being returned only and may not be used to erase outstanding fines on items already returned. It is not necessary to have an overdue item to participate. Each of CAL’s twelve branches and the Cox Creative Center are collection sites.
Comcast Cable is airing the Jacksonville and Sherwood Christmas parades back-to-back at 4 p.m. Saturday and at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
The 20th annual Christmas Road to Bethlehem will be open from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. until New Year’s Eve. Homes along a four-mile stretch of Bethlehem Road in Lonoke County will feature lighted, life-size Biblical figures along with Bible verses to tell the story of the nativity and ends with the manger scene at Bethlehem United Methodist Church. There will be open house programs with music and fellowship from 7 to 8:30 p.m. through Jan. 1.
The Jacksonville Parks and Recreation Department is offering bus tours of holiday lights from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18 through Thursday, Dec. 21. Tour cost is $2 per person. Pre-registration is required. No refunds. For more information call 982-0818.
The Central Arkansas Development Council (CADC) will have a savings account meeting at 5 p.m. Dec. 19 at 117 S. East St. in Lonoke. The program helps low-income working people who commit to saving $10 a month. When the saving goal is reached, CADC will match the savings $3 for every dollar saved up to $2,000 per individual or $4,000 per household. For more information, contact Angel Clingmon at 501-676-0019.
Any Jacksonville-area child can visit with Santa Claus and receive a toy from 8 a.m. until noon, Thursday, Dec. 21 at Fishnet Mission, 213 Marshall Road. Families can receive a bag of groceries.
Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church, 1017 Ray Road in Jacksonville will present “Magnifying the Miracle,” a Christmas concert, at 4 p.m. Sunday. Victoria Woodard will be the director of the concert. The public is invited to attend. For more information, call 501-982-6215.
Holly Grove African Methodist Episcopal Church, 7007 Hankins Road, North Little Rock will be observing its First Quarterly Conference on Sunday. The Rev. Charles M. Cleaver, Sr., will be the presiding elder. Music will be provided by the church choir during the 11 a.m. services.
Jacksonville First Assembly of God will be performing the play “The Cobbler” at 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 17.
The Adult Choir and Drama Ministries of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville will present “One King” at 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The musical depicts Christ as the one King who holds the hope of the world and asks the question, “What will we do with this King?” The church is located at 401 North First Street.
Pastor, Dr. Marck Gibson and Minister of Music Doug Moore invite everyone to come to this free presentation as we celebrate the birth of our Lord. A nursery will be provided.
For more information, call the church office at 982-1519.
The Santa Shack at the Cabot Walmart will be open from 9 to 11 a.m., noon to 2 p.m., and 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday; and from 1 to 3 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. on Sunday. From Dec. 18 through Dec. 23, the Santa Shack will be open weekdays from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
EDITORIALS>>Baker plan makes sense
Not even President Bush’s most biting partisan critics can rejoice at the terrible decision that he must make in this winter most bleak. The war that is the centerpiece of his presidency and the near totality of his legacy is reviled by some 70 percent of Americans, and nearly everyone, including his old and new secretaries of defense and his field commanders, believe that the war policies have failed miserably. He acknowledges that somehow he must change course.
Worse, no one — no one! — has a good solution, only options that have a remote chance of allowing the United States to escape with a measure of honor and the desperate people of Iraq to have a life outside the jungle. Every plan, from immediate and unconditional withdrawal to gradual pacification schemes, carries the dread of even greater slaughter and chaos in Iraq and throughout the region.
That includes the 79-point plan of the Iraq Study Group, whose leaders admit that they have only the slightest confidence that it will work. Lee Hamilton, the Democratic co-chairman, says it may already be too late, but if it is not that moment is surely near. The worst assessments are by James H. Baker, the Republican co-chair and the lead craftsman of the plan. That must be hard for Bush for he owes his presidency as much to Jim Baker as to anyone. Baker, the chief adviser to both the elder Bush and Ronald Reagan, managed the post-election judicial campaign that got Bush declared the president by a 5-4 majority of the U. S. Supreme Court exactly six years ago.
Before Bush’s tormented presidency ends, people may well conclude that the most provident course was that recommended this year by the old warrior Rep. John Murtha, who wants to pull all American combat forces to the perimeter and negotiate with Arab states and allies to help stabilize the country. The president insists that is cutting and running, and the American people are not quite there yet either. While it would end American bloodshed, we could be blamed for the greater bloodletting that some believe would follow when sectarian militias and bands turned with impunity upon those of errant faiths.
The Iraq Study Group, despite the hurrah, does not propose dramatic change on the field, except it sort of commits the country to withdrawing combat troops by the end of the Bush presidency if conditions permit. But the president immediately, but we hope tentatively, rejected the idea that United States troops will ever leave the battlefield short of outright victory.
He needs to see the Baker plan for what it is, his last best chance for political cover and a military miracle and embrace its fundamentals by the end of the year. We hope that his new defense secretary and the commanders he says that he listens to will persuade him.
The worst mistake could be for the president to ignore Baker’s insistence that the administration negotiate with unfriendly governments in the region, principally Iran and Syria. Bush says he won’t do it unless they agree in advance to surrender on all the issues he has with them. Except those already defeated in battle, no country has ever entered negotiations on those terms.
Every president from Roosevelt to Clinton has talked to enemies, frequently with good result. Eisenhower and Reagan found it productive to negotiate with communist regimes they despised and distrusted. Bush sounds brave and principled to say that he will not talk to sworn enemies, but it is schoolyard bravado. Remember, nearly 3,000 brave soldiers have died, another 20,000 suffered crippling wounds, more than 650 civilians working with military contractors have given their lives, and before Bush’s presidency ends we will have poured a trillion dollars of treasure to defeat and pacify a country already beaten and impoverished by two wars and sanctions. Our military, tied down and atrophied by the desert warfare, is no longer a credible deterrent to rascality anywhere else on the planet.
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis — no one keeps a good count of what happens to Iraqis — have died and some 1.6 million have fled to other countries, principally Jordan, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia, to escape life that has turned more primitive and savage than they had known under Saddam Hussein.
What else can be risked by talking to men we know as rogues? The dictator in Syria and the democratically elected leader of Iran have no interest in helping George Bush or the United States, but they have self-interests in a stable Iraq. All but the most deranged leaders operate from self-interest. (We might make an exception of the lunatic who runs North Korea.) Iran, a Shiite country, has been helpful from the first in Afghanistan because the Iranians hated the anti-Shiite Taliban and al Qaeda. It rejoiced at the toppling of Saddam Hussein and the emergence of a Shiite-controlled neighbor.
Neither Syria nor Iran has any interest in a sectarian war that spreads across borders and threatens their own supremacy. All the Arab governments, democratic and totalitarian, in fact, fear such a conflagration because militant sectarianism imperils their shaky holds on power. The gathering refugee crisis along the borders, which includes Syria and Jordan principally but also Iran, threatens the economic and social fabric of those countries. In the end, it will be a joint Arab resolution that pacifies Iraq and gets us out.
It will be an honorable exit. Nothing will be hurt by trying, except the president’s pride. It will be a small price to pay on the outside chance that he can pull it off.
Worse, no one — no one! — has a good solution, only options that have a remote chance of allowing the United States to escape with a measure of honor and the desperate people of Iraq to have a life outside the jungle. Every plan, from immediate and unconditional withdrawal to gradual pacification schemes, carries the dread of even greater slaughter and chaos in Iraq and throughout the region.
That includes the 79-point plan of the Iraq Study Group, whose leaders admit that they have only the slightest confidence that it will work. Lee Hamilton, the Democratic co-chairman, says it may already be too late, but if it is not that moment is surely near. The worst assessments are by James H. Baker, the Republican co-chair and the lead craftsman of the plan. That must be hard for Bush for he owes his presidency as much to Jim Baker as to anyone. Baker, the chief adviser to both the elder Bush and Ronald Reagan, managed the post-election judicial campaign that got Bush declared the president by a 5-4 majority of the U. S. Supreme Court exactly six years ago.
Before Bush’s tormented presidency ends, people may well conclude that the most provident course was that recommended this year by the old warrior Rep. John Murtha, who wants to pull all American combat forces to the perimeter and negotiate with Arab states and allies to help stabilize the country. The president insists that is cutting and running, and the American people are not quite there yet either. While it would end American bloodshed, we could be blamed for the greater bloodletting that some believe would follow when sectarian militias and bands turned with impunity upon those of errant faiths.
The Iraq Study Group, despite the hurrah, does not propose dramatic change on the field, except it sort of commits the country to withdrawing combat troops by the end of the Bush presidency if conditions permit. But the president immediately, but we hope tentatively, rejected the idea that United States troops will ever leave the battlefield short of outright victory.
He needs to see the Baker plan for what it is, his last best chance for political cover and a military miracle and embrace its fundamentals by the end of the year. We hope that his new defense secretary and the commanders he says that he listens to will persuade him.
The worst mistake could be for the president to ignore Baker’s insistence that the administration negotiate with unfriendly governments in the region, principally Iran and Syria. Bush says he won’t do it unless they agree in advance to surrender on all the issues he has with them. Except those already defeated in battle, no country has ever entered negotiations on those terms.
Every president from Roosevelt to Clinton has talked to enemies, frequently with good result. Eisenhower and Reagan found it productive to negotiate with communist regimes they despised and distrusted. Bush sounds brave and principled to say that he will not talk to sworn enemies, but it is schoolyard bravado. Remember, nearly 3,000 brave soldiers have died, another 20,000 suffered crippling wounds, more than 650 civilians working with military contractors have given their lives, and before Bush’s presidency ends we will have poured a trillion dollars of treasure to defeat and pacify a country already beaten and impoverished by two wars and sanctions. Our military, tied down and atrophied by the desert warfare, is no longer a credible deterrent to rascality anywhere else on the planet.
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis — no one keeps a good count of what happens to Iraqis — have died and some 1.6 million have fled to other countries, principally Jordan, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia, to escape life that has turned more primitive and savage than they had known under Saddam Hussein.
What else can be risked by talking to men we know as rogues? The dictator in Syria and the democratically elected leader of Iran have no interest in helping George Bush or the United States, but they have self-interests in a stable Iraq. All but the most deranged leaders operate from self-interest. (We might make an exception of the lunatic who runs North Korea.) Iran, a Shiite country, has been helpful from the first in Afghanistan because the Iranians hated the anti-Shiite Taliban and al Qaeda. It rejoiced at the toppling of Saddam Hussein and the emergence of a Shiite-controlled neighbor.
Neither Syria nor Iran has any interest in a sectarian war that spreads across borders and threatens their own supremacy. All the Arab governments, democratic and totalitarian, in fact, fear such a conflagration because militant sectarianism imperils their shaky holds on power. The gathering refugee crisis along the borders, which includes Syria and Jordan principally but also Iran, threatens the economic and social fabric of those countries. In the end, it will be a joint Arab resolution that pacifies Iraq and gets us out.
It will be an honorable exit. Nothing will be hurt by trying, except the president’s pride. It will be a small price to pay on the outside chance that he can pull it off.
SPORTS>> Beebe gets by Clinton for first win this season
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Beebe split a pair of nonconference games with Clinton on the road Tuesday night. The Lady Badgers erased a 12-point halftime deficit down to four points late in the fourth quarter, but could not overtake the Lady Yellowjackets in the final moments of the 45-40 loss. The Badgers took off to an early lead in the boys contest, and held on to it throughout the duration of the game to take their first win of the season 59-41.
Beebe dominated the boards in the game, out rebounding the Yellowjackets on both ends of the court. Badgers coach Chris Ellis said rebounding was a key component of the decisive win, along with their strongest defensive effort of the year. “I thought the whole team did a great job on defense and with our rebounding,” Ellis said. “We protected the ball better in this game than we have before. We came out and played well in the first quarter, and we were able to maintain that through the third quarter. It was just a solid game for us.”
Jordan Geirach led all scorers for the Badgers with 20 points. Charlie Spakes added 14 points, and Colby Daly finished with 12 points. Now with a 1-3 record, Ellis says the team can stop worrying about getting that initial win, and focus on using the victory for added momentum. “Any win is a good win,” Ellis said. “Winning makes practice better, it gives you motivation. It boosts your team up and raises the level of excitement.”
The Lady Badgers also had plenty of excitement in their matchup with Clinton, but the Lady Yellowjackets held on after losing the momentum to Beebe in the second half. The Lady ‘Jackets built up a 30-18 lead by halftime, but the Lady Badgers came out determined to make up the deficit in the third quarter. They held Clinton to only five points in the period, while tacking on 12 points of their own. By the end of the third frame, Beebe cut the lead down to only 35-30.
The Lady Badgers cut it down to four in the final minutes of the game, but three straight turnovers that could have potentially gained them the lead proved devastating. A Clinton three-pointer in the final minute erased any opportunity for the Lady Badgers to post a comeback, putting their season record at 2-2.
“We didn’t play very well,” Lady Badgers coach Lora Jackson said. “We made a good run there in the third quarter, but we had a lot of breakdowns. I think our youthfulness still shows up on a lot of occasions. We have to do better with our half court offense, and spread the ball around a little better. Sophomores Neisha Upchurch and Ty O’Neil led the Lady Badgers in scoring for the game. Upchurch finished with 14 points, followed by O’Neil with 13 points. Beebe played Lonoke last night after Leader deadlines.
Leader sportswriter
Beebe split a pair of nonconference games with Clinton on the road Tuesday night. The Lady Badgers erased a 12-point halftime deficit down to four points late in the fourth quarter, but could not overtake the Lady Yellowjackets in the final moments of the 45-40 loss. The Badgers took off to an early lead in the boys contest, and held on to it throughout the duration of the game to take their first win of the season 59-41.
Beebe dominated the boards in the game, out rebounding the Yellowjackets on both ends of the court. Badgers coach Chris Ellis said rebounding was a key component of the decisive win, along with their strongest defensive effort of the year. “I thought the whole team did a great job on defense and with our rebounding,” Ellis said. “We protected the ball better in this game than we have before. We came out and played well in the first quarter, and we were able to maintain that through the third quarter. It was just a solid game for us.”
Jordan Geirach led all scorers for the Badgers with 20 points. Charlie Spakes added 14 points, and Colby Daly finished with 12 points. Now with a 1-3 record, Ellis says the team can stop worrying about getting that initial win, and focus on using the victory for added momentum. “Any win is a good win,” Ellis said. “Winning makes practice better, it gives you motivation. It boosts your team up and raises the level of excitement.”
The Lady Badgers also had plenty of excitement in their matchup with Clinton, but the Lady Yellowjackets held on after losing the momentum to Beebe in the second half. The Lady ‘Jackets built up a 30-18 lead by halftime, but the Lady Badgers came out determined to make up the deficit in the third quarter. They held Clinton to only five points in the period, while tacking on 12 points of their own. By the end of the third frame, Beebe cut the lead down to only 35-30.
The Lady Badgers cut it down to four in the final minutes of the game, but three straight turnovers that could have potentially gained them the lead proved devastating. A Clinton three-pointer in the final minute erased any opportunity for the Lady Badgers to post a comeback, putting their season record at 2-2.
“We didn’t play very well,” Lady Badgers coach Lora Jackson said. “We made a good run there in the third quarter, but we had a lot of breakdowns. I think our youthfulness still shows up on a lot of occasions. We have to do better with our half court offense, and spread the ball around a little better. Sophomores Neisha Upchurch and Ty O’Neil led the Lady Badgers in scoring for the game. Upchurch finished with 14 points, followed by O’Neil with 13 points. Beebe played Lonoke last night after Leader deadlines.
SPORTS>> Lady Panthers hammer Chapel
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
The Cabot Lady Panthers improved their season record to 7-1 with a 62-40 win over Watson Chapel Tuesday night at the Cabot gymnasium. The Lady Wildcats kept things close for one half, but could not keep up with Cabot in the decisive third quarter. The Lady Panthers scored 21 points while holding Watson Chapel to only six in the third frame, turning a smaller 27-20 lead at the half into a 48-26 runaway by the time the fourth quarter began.
“We changed our defense, and they didn’t recognize it for a couple of possessions,” Cabot assistant coach Charles Ruple said. “They took a time out to make an adjustment for it, and we switched back to our old defense. We just threw their timing off in the third quarter.”
Senior Maddie Helms pushed the Lady Panthers out into the initial lead with a pair of three-point baskets in the first quarter. Helms would also find the goal in the runaway third quarter, but fellow senior Jamie Sterrenberg would spread her scoring out evenly throughout the entire contest. Sterrenberg went on to lead all scorers in the game with 14 points. Helms got hot again in the third with four more of her total 12 points, but it was the team play of junior Rachel Glover off the bench that allowed the Cabot offense to generate maximum productivity. Glover’s eight third-quarter assists were picture perfect, helping the Lady Panthers build up a 22-point lead by the end of the third.
Sophomore Shelby Ashcraft added eight points in the third quarter. Ashcraft finished the game with 11 points as one of three Lady Panthers to finish with double-digit scoring. Ruple says the senior leadership on the team has left nothing to be desired in the early stages of the season. And while high-profile seniors Helms and Sterrenberg have received much of the accolades as team captains, Ruple says the behind the scenes leadership of the Lady Panthers third senior Kayla Cacklett?? has meant just as much.
“She’s a force in practice, and in the locker room,” Ruple said. “You have the other two who have both been All-State and started since their sophomore years, but Kayla is the only senior representative from South. She has been continuously improving, but its’ the hidden things she does that makes the biggest difference. All of our seniors have done an outstanding job.” The Lady Panthers will take most of next week off before hosting Beebe next Friday night. The postponed final game of the Ortho tournament with CAC will also be scheduled for make-up in the coming week.
Leader sportswriter
The Cabot Lady Panthers improved their season record to 7-1 with a 62-40 win over Watson Chapel Tuesday night at the Cabot gymnasium. The Lady Wildcats kept things close for one half, but could not keep up with Cabot in the decisive third quarter. The Lady Panthers scored 21 points while holding Watson Chapel to only six in the third frame, turning a smaller 27-20 lead at the half into a 48-26 runaway by the time the fourth quarter began.
“We changed our defense, and they didn’t recognize it for a couple of possessions,” Cabot assistant coach Charles Ruple said. “They took a time out to make an adjustment for it, and we switched back to our old defense. We just threw their timing off in the third quarter.”
Senior Maddie Helms pushed the Lady Panthers out into the initial lead with a pair of three-point baskets in the first quarter. Helms would also find the goal in the runaway third quarter, but fellow senior Jamie Sterrenberg would spread her scoring out evenly throughout the entire contest. Sterrenberg went on to lead all scorers in the game with 14 points. Helms got hot again in the third with four more of her total 12 points, but it was the team play of junior Rachel Glover off the bench that allowed the Cabot offense to generate maximum productivity. Glover’s eight third-quarter assists were picture perfect, helping the Lady Panthers build up a 22-point lead by the end of the third.
Sophomore Shelby Ashcraft added eight points in the third quarter. Ashcraft finished the game with 11 points as one of three Lady Panthers to finish with double-digit scoring. Ruple says the senior leadership on the team has left nothing to be desired in the early stages of the season. And while high-profile seniors Helms and Sterrenberg have received much of the accolades as team captains, Ruple says the behind the scenes leadership of the Lady Panthers third senior Kayla Cacklett?? has meant just as much.
“She’s a force in practice, and in the locker room,” Ruple said. “You have the other two who have both been All-State and started since their sophomore years, but Kayla is the only senior representative from South. She has been continuously improving, but its’ the hidden things she does that makes the biggest difference. All of our seniors have done an outstanding job.” The Lady Panthers will take most of next week off before hosting Beebe next Friday night. The postponed final game of the Ortho tournament with CAC will also be scheduled for make-up in the coming week.
SPORTS>> Devil press breaks Pointers
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Jacksonville has played two drastically different types of games so far in the Wampus Cat Invitational tournament at Conway High School. In the opening game of the tournament, Jacksonville fell 51-45 to undefeated Benton in what Red Devil coach Vic Joyner described as his team’s most uninspired performance he’s ever seen. “There was just no energy at all,” Joyner said. “I’ve never seen a team of mine play like that. Even my teams that weren’t very good at least tried. We weren’t doing anything.”
The Red Devils bounced back in game two Thursday night to hammer Van Buren 67-41. The team got a lift from the return of point guard Turrell Eskridge, who missed the Benton matchup. Eskridge is the starting point guard on a team that’s very shallow on experienced perimeter players. His absence was apparent Tuesday, and his presence was equally as apparent Thursday.
“It just gave us a big lift emotionally as much as anything to have him back,” Joyner said. “What the real difference was, we spent about two hours breaking down the tape from the Benton game, and they got to see how bad they played. After that we had a really good, spirited practice, and they brought it to the game.” Jacksonville jumped ahead by double digits right away and maintained that lead throughout the evening. Playing an aggressive pressure defense, the Red Devils were able to force the tempo and create a lot of transition baskets early on.
“They only played seven guys and we knew that, so we wanted to really apply the pressure early,” Joyner said. “They weren’t quite ready for how quick we are, and we were able to get out to a good lead.” The Pointers settled down and protected the ball much better over most of the second and third quarters. Jacksonville’s 20-10 lead after one frame had grown to just 44-32 by the start of the fourth. That’s when depth began to play a major factor.
“They (the Pointers) run some really good sets and execute it well,” Joyner said. “Once they settled down and adjusted to what we were doing, I was real pleased with how we handled that. We went out and executed our offense. We weren’t great, but we were good enough to maintain the lead. We actually got some points in the paint from our post players and that kept us ahead until the fourth quarter. We challenged our post guys before the game and they stepped up. A lot of that was the guards not getting it to them, and they did much better too. It was like a different team.”
While the scoring pace slowed in the middle periods, the effort level didn’t. Jacksonville was still forcing Van Buren to work hard for open shots, and by the fourth quarter, the Pointers were ill equipped to fend off another wave of Red Devil pressure.
Damien Akins led the Red Devils in scoring for the first time this season with 12 points. Sophomore Cortrell Eskridge added 11 while Kajuan Watson and Antwain Lockhart scored nine each. Jacksonville also got a solid game from sophomore point guard Antonio Washington.
“He played his best game,” Joyner said. “For the first time he brought the ball down the court looking to set the offense in motion instead of looking for his shot first.” The Red Devils will face tournament host Conway at 2:30 p.m. today in the final of the boys consolation bracket.
Leader sports editor
Jacksonville has played two drastically different types of games so far in the Wampus Cat Invitational tournament at Conway High School. In the opening game of the tournament, Jacksonville fell 51-45 to undefeated Benton in what Red Devil coach Vic Joyner described as his team’s most uninspired performance he’s ever seen. “There was just no energy at all,” Joyner said. “I’ve never seen a team of mine play like that. Even my teams that weren’t very good at least tried. We weren’t doing anything.”
The Red Devils bounced back in game two Thursday night to hammer Van Buren 67-41. The team got a lift from the return of point guard Turrell Eskridge, who missed the Benton matchup. Eskridge is the starting point guard on a team that’s very shallow on experienced perimeter players. His absence was apparent Tuesday, and his presence was equally as apparent Thursday.
“It just gave us a big lift emotionally as much as anything to have him back,” Joyner said. “What the real difference was, we spent about two hours breaking down the tape from the Benton game, and they got to see how bad they played. After that we had a really good, spirited practice, and they brought it to the game.” Jacksonville jumped ahead by double digits right away and maintained that lead throughout the evening. Playing an aggressive pressure defense, the Red Devils were able to force the tempo and create a lot of transition baskets early on.
“They only played seven guys and we knew that, so we wanted to really apply the pressure early,” Joyner said. “They weren’t quite ready for how quick we are, and we were able to get out to a good lead.” The Pointers settled down and protected the ball much better over most of the second and third quarters. Jacksonville’s 20-10 lead after one frame had grown to just 44-32 by the start of the fourth. That’s when depth began to play a major factor.
“They (the Pointers) run some really good sets and execute it well,” Joyner said. “Once they settled down and adjusted to what we were doing, I was real pleased with how we handled that. We went out and executed our offense. We weren’t great, but we were good enough to maintain the lead. We actually got some points in the paint from our post players and that kept us ahead until the fourth quarter. We challenged our post guys before the game and they stepped up. A lot of that was the guards not getting it to them, and they did much better too. It was like a different team.”
While the scoring pace slowed in the middle periods, the effort level didn’t. Jacksonville was still forcing Van Buren to work hard for open shots, and by the fourth quarter, the Pointers were ill equipped to fend off another wave of Red Devil pressure.
Damien Akins led the Red Devils in scoring for the first time this season with 12 points. Sophomore Cortrell Eskridge added 11 while Kajuan Watson and Antwain Lockhart scored nine each. Jacksonville also got a solid game from sophomore point guard Antonio Washington.
“He played his best game,” Joyner said. “For the first time he brought the ball down the court looking to set the offense in motion instead of looking for his shot first.” The Red Devils will face tournament host Conway at 2:30 p.m. today in the final of the boys consolation bracket.
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