By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Little Rock) reflected on the importance of Memorial Day during the Cabot American Legion Post 71’s ceremony Monday at the National Guard Armory.
Griffin said many elected officials who speak at Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies try to say things new and differently.
“The point is not to break new ground. It is to say the same thing over and over again. There is a power in repetition and repeated acknowledgement of the sacrifice of those who served and paid the ultimate price,” Griffin said.
Griffin said his dad is a pastor and he had to sit through sermons when he was growing up. Griffin would tell his dad he didn’t hear anything new. Griffin said, looking back on that, the point was not to hear something new, but the same gospel repeatedly until the pieces are taken to heart.
“The point is not to do a new ceremony. It is to do the same thing we always do. The reason is to thank those who paid the ultimate price — to honor them. We must expand that to those parts of the team who went to fight. That team is the family,” Griffin said.
Griffin said he served in Iraq in 2006 and left his wife behind during that time. He said everyone knows individual stories of hardships that families go through when the families are down range or out to sea.
“Just think how much harder it is to deal with when they never see their loved ones return. That’s what Memorial Day is all about,” Griffin said.
Griffin also talked about the differences between Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
Veterans Day honors all veterans, he said. Memorial Day is special because it is about the veterans who gave their lives for our freedoms.
“When you think about the impact on families, you have to include them in the reminder. They bear so much of the burden. They are the ones we are faced with when we see them after they’ve lost a loved one, at church or a store. We have an obligation to them to make sure we do whatever we can to help them through that.
“Not just after it occurs, or six months, but year after year. We cannot know what they personally are going through. We must always on Memorial Day include the family and loved ones who are left behind and that sacrifice that they have endured,” Griffin said.
Griffin brought his 4-year-old son, John, to the ceremony. The boy sat next to him on the dais and stood with him during his speech.
“If I don’t tell him what Memorial Day is, how is he going to know? Is he going to be taught at school? Maybe, maybe not. Is he going to get it from pop culture, from the songs he listens to when he gets older? Probably not. TV, probably not,” the congressman said.
Griffin said it is up to the veterans to teach the young folks and teenagers. Most are not going to choose to serve in the military, he noted.
“If we leave it to some magic force to teach them, they may never find out, never know, fully understand. I would encourage folks to take the risks of whether (their children) will behave or not and bring them. I believe it is important to see the reverence given to the flag, the missing and the service of those who serve in uniform and their families. It is important for the families to know that some people care so much about this country that they were willing to give their lives,” Griffin continued.
“If we don’t teach them, no one else will. We can’t always count on the veteran service organizations. I’m not the one they are trying to reach. A lot of these organizations do not have a lot of young people in them,” Griffin said.
He worries about his American Legion Post in Little Rock not existing in 20 years.
“I’m one of the old guys now. When I look around for the 20-somethings, there may be one,” Griffin said.
He said the (service organizations) are obligated to be the ambassadors to those who do not understand. Griffin said they can start with their own families and then the community. “If we don’t pass it on, no one will,” he said.
The Memorial Day ceremony, “is a poignant reminder that this has to be done every year, every day, all the time, lest we take it for granted,” he said.
Friday, May 30, 2014
TOP STORY >> Anniversary of D-Day remembered
Story by RICK KRON
Photos by SARAH CAMPBELL
More than 200 people enjoyed a pleasant Saturday at Jacksonville’s Military Museum.
Some came for the free hot dogs, hamburgers and drinks provided by area banks, others because they were related to the bluegrass band providing entertainment and some to see the museum’s new D-Day exhibit.
But most – young and old -- came to visit, recall, remember and honor veterans as an early salute to Memorial Day.
The museum offered free admission and one visitor stopped and eyed the large Arkansas map on the wall that listed all the Arkansans who died in that conflict.
Hanging from the ceiling were their dog tags.
“I dated a boy from Texarkana that died in Vietnam,” a woman told one of the museum guides. “His name was Larry Pool.”
The guide found the name and the dog tag for the teary-eyed visitor.
But the highlight of the event was the official opening of the D-Day exhibit, which included biographies, pictures and personal items of area soldiers who fought in World War II. Many of those soldiers had died in the war.
One of those was Army Pvt. Edsel A. Malone. His sister, Frances Malone, came up from Georgia to add sand from the beaches of Normandy to the exhibit.
Jacksonville resident Robert Houston, who put the display together, provided the sand. He got it on a recent trip to Normandy while doing research for the exhibit.
Francis remembers the day her older brother died.
“I was just 10 years old when the man with the telegram came to our house in Hope. The crying started right then,” she said.
Private Malone, who grew up in Clark County playing baseball, hunting and fishing, landed in the area of Etienville, Normandy. Heavy anti-aircraft fire scattered the allied troops. Slowly, the soldiers found each other in the dark and Malone and his fellow “Red Devils” (50th Parachute Infantry Regiment) fought through D-Day holding down the enemy and allowing other units to advance.
On June 7, 1944, Malone and his friend “Buddy” Webster volunteered to go and retrieve vital supply bundles that contained much-needed ammunition and medical supplies.
In search of those supplies, the two came upon a German machine gun position and didn’t have a chance of surviving the barrage of bullets.
Malone was awarded the Purple Heart and was initially buried in a temporary cemetery in the area. In 1948, his body was properly buried, with full military honors, at the American cemetery in Normandy.
But for the younger ones like Robert Trimble, 13, of Cabot, and Hunter Johannes, 13, of Beebe, attending the all-day event, it was an opportunity to try on uniforms, helmets, sit in an aircraft simulator and check out the replica guns.
“Awesome,” Johannes said.
Trimble echoed those thoughts, “It’s really cool.”
Warren Dupree, collections manager for the museum, called it a very nice alternative event for the Memorial weekend.
“It’s very informal. People are drifting in and out, and they don’t have to fight the holiday crowds,” he said.
Photos by SARAH CAMPBELL
Some came for the free hot dogs, hamburgers and drinks provided by area banks, others because they were related to the bluegrass band providing entertainment and some to see the museum’s new D-Day exhibit.
But most – young and old -- came to visit, recall, remember and honor veterans as an early salute to Memorial Day.
The museum offered free admission and one visitor stopped and eyed the large Arkansas map on the wall that listed all the Arkansans who died in that conflict.
Hanging from the ceiling were their dog tags.
“I dated a boy from Texarkana that died in Vietnam,” a woman told one of the museum guides. “His name was Larry Pool.”
The guide found the name and the dog tag for the teary-eyed visitor.
But the highlight of the event was the official opening of the D-Day exhibit, which included biographies, pictures and personal items of area soldiers who fought in World War II. Many of those soldiers had died in the war.
One of those was Army Pvt. Edsel A. Malone. His sister, Frances Malone, came up from Georgia to add sand from the beaches of Normandy to the exhibit.
Jacksonville resident Robert Houston, who put the display together, provided the sand. He got it on a recent trip to Normandy while doing research for the exhibit.
Francis remembers the day her older brother died.
“I was just 10 years old when the man with the telegram came to our house in Hope. The crying started right then,” she said.
Private Malone, who grew up in Clark County playing baseball, hunting and fishing, landed in the area of Etienville, Normandy. Heavy anti-aircraft fire scattered the allied troops. Slowly, the soldiers found each other in the dark and Malone and his fellow “Red Devils” (50th Parachute Infantry Regiment) fought through D-Day holding down the enemy and allowing other units to advance.
On June 7, 1944, Malone and his friend “Buddy” Webster volunteered to go and retrieve vital supply bundles that contained much-needed ammunition and medical supplies.
In search of those supplies, the two came upon a German machine gun position and didn’t have a chance of surviving the barrage of bullets.
Malone was awarded the Purple Heart and was initially buried in a temporary cemetery in the area. In 1948, his body was properly buried, with full military honors, at the American cemetery in Normandy.
But for the younger ones like Robert Trimble, 13, of Cabot, and Hunter Johannes, 13, of Beebe, attending the all-day event, it was an opportunity to try on uniforms, helmets, sit in an aircraft simulator and check out the replica guns.
“Awesome,” Johannes said.
Trimble echoed those thoughts, “It’s really cool.”
Warren Dupree, collections manager for the museum, called it a very nice alternative event for the Memorial weekend.
“It’s very informal. People are drifting in and out, and they don’t have to fight the holiday crowds,” he said.
TOP STORY >> Beebe chamber honors Goffs
By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
The Beebe Chamber of Commerce recognized three community leaders during its annual banquet on Thursday.
• Leroy Goff, 70, received the Lifetime Service Award. He was introduced by his son, Clay. Both were instrumental in the construction of Beebe’s new public library that was named in their honor.
This past year, when the new library was becoming a reality, Leroy Goff donated his time, labor and expertise to design and construct the building.
He was born in 1943 in Antioch, Calif., where his family was living in a labor camp and picking fruit. Leroy Goff, his mother and sister moved back to McRae when he was 45 days old. His father and brother stayed for the remainder of the harvest.
Leroy Goff went to first and second grade in McRae and started attending Beebe Public School in the third grade. As a fourth grader, Goff brought his dog, Old Puppy — a black water spaniel — to school. The dog stayed in the classroom, going out when class went out. Old Puppy became its mascot.
When Leroy Goff was 11 years old, he bought a lawn mower on credit from Powell and Company. By the end of the summer, he had the mower completely paid for, but it was completely worn out.
“Leroy soon realized he had worked all summer for absolutely nothing,” Clay Goff said.
Leroy Goff received a $100 inheritance from his aunt when he was 13. He bought a 1947 Plymouth for $90 and started a paper route in town.
Leroy Goff was rolling the Arkansas Gazette at 4 a.m. He started his route at 5:15 a.m. and was back home by 6:30 a.m.
“If Parrish and Mildred Robbins did not receive their newspaper by 5:30 each morning, Mildred would be calling,” Clay Goff said. The Robbins house was so close to the street that, when Leroy Goff threw the paper over the car, it would land on the porch roof.
He also had to collect the monthly subscription money from customers.“He once went to the Robbins’ home, collecting the monthly dues. He explained why he was there. Mildred Robbins told Leroy his money was up on the roof, right where the newspaper had been six times that month. She then slammed the door,” Clay Goff said.
His dad also worked at Adams Grocery on Center Street. He sacked groceries for $5 each Saturday for 13 hours a day.
Leroy Goff later began working at Dean Billingsley’s Gulf gas station on Dewitt Henry Drive, where Jordan’s Kwik Stop is now located. He worked from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week for $40 a week.
Billingsley decided to sell the gas station for $1,500. Leroy Goff, who was 16 and a junior in high school, convinced his brother to go into a partnership. They bought the business and hired their dad to work for them.
Leroy Goff bought out his brother’s share a year later. His dad worked at the store from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Leroy Goff worked there after school and until closing time.
Leroy Goff and his friend, Donnie Bolding, then bought the closed Palace Theater on East Center Street and re-opened the cinema. They rented the building from R.V. Powell for $50 a month and the equipment for $50. They rented movies at $25 for a three-day rental. The two had fliers printed and hired a projectionist for $2 a night.
Leroy Goff graduated from Beebe High School in 1961. He went to Arkansas State University in Beebe and later transferred to the University of Central Arkansas, earning a degree in history and English while working at the gas station at night and on weekends.
Leroy Goff began his teaching career at age 20. He taught at Jacksonville’s Northside Junior High School. He continued his education by earning a master’s degree in history and political science and returning to school again for a master’s degree in school administration.
Leroy Goff was Northside Junior High vice principal when he became interested in real estate after reading a book. In 1969, he took a correspondence course from the University of Arkansas. Then he passed the state broker’s exam.
Leroy Goff built his first office that summer on Dewitt Henry Drive. He partnered with Lois Famer to form Goff and Famer Real Estate and Insurance Agency. They had different ideas for the business and soon split. Leroy Goff then became the owner of Goff Real Estate and Insurance Agency.
He continued to work at the school, run the real estate office, the service station and was owner of Goff’s Tire and Battery Supply on Main Street.
Goff left his education career in 1974 and devoted his time to the real estate business.
• Clay Goff was honored as the citizen of the year. He was presented the award by his sister, Tessa.
Clay Goff serves on the White County Regional Library Board, where his knowledge in finances helped make funding the new library possible.
“He is compassionate. He has wisdom, dedication, strength, knowledge and willingness. He has a vision for the growth of Beebe. He is ready to devote those traits to fulfill that vision,” Tessa Ashley said.
“One thing you might not know about Clay. He picks up hitchhikers weekly,” she added.
Ashley said Clay Goff has a desire to help people. He sees each opportunity as a chance to witness the Lord, she noted.
Clay Goff is a Beebe High School and Ouachita Baptist University graduate. He has studied stocks since high school.
Clay Goff has a real estate license and has worked for First Security Bank for the past 15 years.
He is a member of the Beebe School Board.
Clay Goff has also served on the Beebe Chamber of Commerce and committees within First Baptist Church.
“His love is serving the public. He displays his service, through countless hours of volunteering,” Ashley noted.
• Beebe Elementary third- grade teacher Kim Cox was recognized with the Educator of the Year Award. Cox is retiring at the end of the school. She has 25 years of experience in education, 16 of those at Beebe.
“Her students truly know how much she cares. She loves all children,” Superintendent Belinda Shook said.
Shook said she never received a single complaint regarding Mrs. Cox. Parents even tried to request that their children be in Cox’s class, she noted.
“She is the ray of sunshine. You always enter the elementary and receive a hug and smile from her,” Shook said.
• Beebe High graduate Caleb Gentry was awarded with the chamber’s $500 FBLA college scholarship.
Gentry plans to attend Drury University in Springfield, Mo., major in accounting and minor in theater.
The incoming Beebe chamber president is Karen Zaremba.
• Steve Jones, building and sites coordinator for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, spoke on the importance of businesses and communities having Southern charm.
Leader staff writer
The Beebe Chamber of Commerce recognized three community leaders during its annual banquet on Thursday.
• Leroy Goff, 70, received the Lifetime Service Award. He was introduced by his son, Clay. Both were instrumental in the construction of Beebe’s new public library that was named in their honor.
This past year, when the new library was becoming a reality, Leroy Goff donated his time, labor and expertise to design and construct the building.
He was born in 1943 in Antioch, Calif., where his family was living in a labor camp and picking fruit. Leroy Goff, his mother and sister moved back to McRae when he was 45 days old. His father and brother stayed for the remainder of the harvest.
Leroy Goff went to first and second grade in McRae and started attending Beebe Public School in the third grade. As a fourth grader, Goff brought his dog, Old Puppy — a black water spaniel — to school. The dog stayed in the classroom, going out when class went out. Old Puppy became its mascot.
When Leroy Goff was 11 years old, he bought a lawn mower on credit from Powell and Company. By the end of the summer, he had the mower completely paid for, but it was completely worn out.
“Leroy soon realized he had worked all summer for absolutely nothing,” Clay Goff said.
Leroy Goff received a $100 inheritance from his aunt when he was 13. He bought a 1947 Plymouth for $90 and started a paper route in town.
Leroy Goff was rolling the Arkansas Gazette at 4 a.m. He started his route at 5:15 a.m. and was back home by 6:30 a.m.
“If Parrish and Mildred Robbins did not receive their newspaper by 5:30 each morning, Mildred would be calling,” Clay Goff said. The Robbins house was so close to the street that, when Leroy Goff threw the paper over the car, it would land on the porch roof.
He also had to collect the monthly subscription money from customers.“He once went to the Robbins’ home, collecting the monthly dues. He explained why he was there. Mildred Robbins told Leroy his money was up on the roof, right where the newspaper had been six times that month. She then slammed the door,” Clay Goff said.
His dad also worked at Adams Grocery on Center Street. He sacked groceries for $5 each Saturday for 13 hours a day.
Leroy Goff later began working at Dean Billingsley’s Gulf gas station on Dewitt Henry Drive, where Jordan’s Kwik Stop is now located. He worked from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week for $40 a week.
Billingsley decided to sell the gas station for $1,500. Leroy Goff, who was 16 and a junior in high school, convinced his brother to go into a partnership. They bought the business and hired their dad to work for them.
Leroy Goff bought out his brother’s share a year later. His dad worked at the store from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Leroy Goff worked there after school and until closing time.
Leroy Goff and his friend, Donnie Bolding, then bought the closed Palace Theater on East Center Street and re-opened the cinema. They rented the building from R.V. Powell for $50 a month and the equipment for $50. They rented movies at $25 for a three-day rental. The two had fliers printed and hired a projectionist for $2 a night.
Leroy Goff graduated from Beebe High School in 1961. He went to Arkansas State University in Beebe and later transferred to the University of Central Arkansas, earning a degree in history and English while working at the gas station at night and on weekends.
Leroy Goff began his teaching career at age 20. He taught at Jacksonville’s Northside Junior High School. He continued his education by earning a master’s degree in history and political science and returning to school again for a master’s degree in school administration.
Leroy Goff was Northside Junior High vice principal when he became interested in real estate after reading a book. In 1969, he took a correspondence course from the University of Arkansas. Then he passed the state broker’s exam.
Leroy Goff built his first office that summer on Dewitt Henry Drive. He partnered with Lois Famer to form Goff and Famer Real Estate and Insurance Agency. They had different ideas for the business and soon split. Leroy Goff then became the owner of Goff Real Estate and Insurance Agency.
He continued to work at the school, run the real estate office, the service station and was owner of Goff’s Tire and Battery Supply on Main Street.
Goff left his education career in 1974 and devoted his time to the real estate business.
• Clay Goff was honored as the citizen of the year. He was presented the award by his sister, Tessa.
Clay Goff serves on the White County Regional Library Board, where his knowledge in finances helped make funding the new library possible.
“He is compassionate. He has wisdom, dedication, strength, knowledge and willingness. He has a vision for the growth of Beebe. He is ready to devote those traits to fulfill that vision,” Tessa Ashley said.
“One thing you might not know about Clay. He picks up hitchhikers weekly,” she added.
Ashley said Clay Goff has a desire to help people. He sees each opportunity as a chance to witness the Lord, she noted.
Clay Goff is a Beebe High School and Ouachita Baptist University graduate. He has studied stocks since high school.
Clay Goff has a real estate license and has worked for First Security Bank for the past 15 years.
He is a member of the Beebe School Board.
Clay Goff has also served on the Beebe Chamber of Commerce and committees within First Baptist Church.
“His love is serving the public. He displays his service, through countless hours of volunteering,” Ashley noted.
• Beebe Elementary third- grade teacher Kim Cox was recognized with the Educator of the Year Award. Cox is retiring at the end of the school. She has 25 years of experience in education, 16 of those at Beebe.
“Her students truly know how much she cares. She loves all children,” Superintendent Belinda Shook said.
Shook said she never received a single complaint regarding Mrs. Cox. Parents even tried to request that their children be in Cox’s class, she noted.
“She is the ray of sunshine. You always enter the elementary and receive a hug and smile from her,” Shook said.
• Beebe High graduate Caleb Gentry was awarded with the chamber’s $500 FBLA college scholarship.
Gentry plans to attend Drury University in Springfield, Mo., major in accounting and minor in theater.
The incoming Beebe chamber president is Karen Zaremba.
• Steve Jones, building and sites coordinator for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, spoke on the importance of businesses and communities having Southern charm.
SPORTS STORY >> Jr. Gwatney wins final two at NLR
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville junior American Legion team played one game as a complete unit at the North Little Rock Optimist Club’s annual Memorial Day Tournament at Burns Park over the weekend. After falling short in a comeback bid and losing 7-5 to Benton, the Jacksonville team, which features 25 players this year, split in two and took the place of a no-show the rest of the tournament.
In all, it meant Jacksonville teams played six games in three days, and none will likely count towards the official record.
“They had a team that didn’t have enough players so they came to me and asked if we’d split,” said Gwatney coach Bob Hickingbotham. “I tried to split them up pretty evenly – put some pitchers and some kids that could swing the bat on both teams. We didn’t look very good for the most part, but I didn’t expect us to with all that going on.”
Jacksonville lost its next three after losing to Benton, including losses to Little Rock Christian, Arkadelphia and Texarkana, before closing the tournament with wins over Cabot and Little Rock Central.
“We almost came back and beat Texarkana,” Hickingbotham said. “We lost 7-6, but we were down 7-0.”
The tournament results are less of a concern for the head coach as what he’s going to do with enough players for two junior teams.
“It would be great to split them up and just have two teams, but there’s not enough coaches,” Hickingbotham said. “I’ve got 14 or so on the senior team, too, that I’m going to coach. That group is primarily made up of the Jacksonville High School team, with a couple of others added to it. But with this junior team, I’ve got 13 players that are 15-years-old, eight 16-year olds and the rest are 17. Usually I’m crying and whining this time of year wanting players. This year I’ve got more than I know what to do with. I’ve never cut a kid my entire time coaching this team. I really hate to think about doing it now.”
American Legion baseball has seen statewide growth this year, even though a few longstanding programs won’t be fielding teams this year, including Sylvan Hills and Pine Bluff.
There are six teams in Jacksonville’s Zone 3 Senior Conference, and 12 in the junior conference.
The Gwatney senior team didn’t begin practice until Monday, and will begin the summer season with a trip to Morrilton tonight. The junior team plays at Bryant on Thursday.
Find details of those games in Saturday’s edition of The Leader.
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville junior American Legion team played one game as a complete unit at the North Little Rock Optimist Club’s annual Memorial Day Tournament at Burns Park over the weekend. After falling short in a comeback bid and losing 7-5 to Benton, the Jacksonville team, which features 25 players this year, split in two and took the place of a no-show the rest of the tournament.
In all, it meant Jacksonville teams played six games in three days, and none will likely count towards the official record.
“They had a team that didn’t have enough players so they came to me and asked if we’d split,” said Gwatney coach Bob Hickingbotham. “I tried to split them up pretty evenly – put some pitchers and some kids that could swing the bat on both teams. We didn’t look very good for the most part, but I didn’t expect us to with all that going on.”
Jacksonville lost its next three after losing to Benton, including losses to Little Rock Christian, Arkadelphia and Texarkana, before closing the tournament with wins over Cabot and Little Rock Central.
“We almost came back and beat Texarkana,” Hickingbotham said. “We lost 7-6, but we were down 7-0.”
The tournament results are less of a concern for the head coach as what he’s going to do with enough players for two junior teams.
“It would be great to split them up and just have two teams, but there’s not enough coaches,” Hickingbotham said. “I’ve got 14 or so on the senior team, too, that I’m going to coach. That group is primarily made up of the Jacksonville High School team, with a couple of others added to it. But with this junior team, I’ve got 13 players that are 15-years-old, eight 16-year olds and the rest are 17. Usually I’m crying and whining this time of year wanting players. This year I’ve got more than I know what to do with. I’ve never cut a kid my entire time coaching this team. I really hate to think about doing it now.”
American Legion baseball has seen statewide growth this year, even though a few longstanding programs won’t be fielding teams this year, including Sylvan Hills and Pine Bluff.
There are six teams in Jacksonville’s Zone 3 Senior Conference, and 12 in the junior conference.
The Gwatney senior team didn’t begin practice until Monday, and will begin the summer season with a trip to Morrilton tonight. The junior team plays at Bryant on Thursday.
Find details of those games in Saturday’s edition of The Leader.
SPORTS STORY >> Beebe big in size, numbers
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Beebe football team is enjoying its highest number of participants in spring football practice in coach John Shannon’s tenure as head Badger. There were 72 players reporting on day one and that number has held above 70 for most of spring session, when teams are given three weeks to get in two weeks worth of practice.
Beebe will continue spring drills through this week to complete its allotment of practices before the mandated dead period begins the second week of June.
“I feel like we’re a little ahead of the game from where we were last year because we’re getting a lot of kids some reps,” said Shannon.
The Badgers have 14 starters returning from last year, including eight on offense and six on defense. That’s meant a lot of extra snaps for players with less experience this spring. Coaches are taking the philosophy that having more players than ever isn’t an advantage ifit doesn’t produce quality depth.
“We’ve got so many returning from last year we’re trying to get a lot of reps for our younger players and build up some depth,” Shannon said. “I’m comfortable with the ones we have coming back and we have a few guys that weren’t regular starters that we already know are going to play a much bigger role for us this year. But we’ve also got some younger guys that are going to be pretty good football players. We’re trying to get them up to speed on what we’re doing so we can plug them where we do have gaps to fill and need some more depth.”
The Badgers aren’t just larger in numbers, but will also be larger in stature than most of the teams Shannon has coached. Beebe has a trio of three-year starters returning on the offensive line that go about 300, 280 and 275 pounds. Those three will be joined in the starting rotation by four players Shannon says are all between 245 and 300 pounds.
The offensive line is not the only place Beebe is bigger.
“We’ve got bigger kids than we’ve ever had at inside linebacker right now,” Shannon said. “Reece Anders, Andy Hurt, Quinton Shears and a transfer from Conway, Bo Smith, all four have looked really good at inside linebacker.”
Aaron Nunez returns as the starting quarterback after missing much of last season with an injury. Shannon says he’s the clear-cut starter, with Justin Burleson, a transfer from Mississippi, filling the role of backup.
“He throws the ball exceptionally well but he doesn’t fully grasp the offense yet,” Shannon said. Stephen Hammill is a sophomore who is also trying to learn the position for the first time. He threw a touchdown pass on his only attempt during a short scrimmage on Friday.
The extra snaps for new players doesn’t mean the starters haven’t had their opportunity, and they have been impressive. Fullback Tripp Smith, one of only three 2,000-yard backs in the state last season, has added 15 pounds to his frame, but doesn’t seem to have lost any speed.
“He’s obviously bigger than he was last year and I was a little worried about it,” Shannon said. “But he still ran a 4.55 on our automatic timer so I’m pretty excited about it now. He juked a couple of kids, broke a lot of tackles. He actually carried a kid several yards on one play. I’ve said from the start he has a chance to be pretty special around here and I still believe that.”
The Badgers will be busy over the summer. They will be at the Conway team camp on June 9-10, and at 7-on-7 meets at Cabot on June 11 and 18. Starting on July 9, they will go to Conway team camps every Wednesday of that month.
Leader sports editor
The Beebe football team is enjoying its highest number of participants in spring football practice in coach John Shannon’s tenure as head Badger. There were 72 players reporting on day one and that number has held above 70 for most of spring session, when teams are given three weeks to get in two weeks worth of practice.
Beebe will continue spring drills through this week to complete its allotment of practices before the mandated dead period begins the second week of June.
“I feel like we’re a little ahead of the game from where we were last year because we’re getting a lot of kids some reps,” said Shannon.
The Badgers have 14 starters returning from last year, including eight on offense and six on defense. That’s meant a lot of extra snaps for players with less experience this spring. Coaches are taking the philosophy that having more players than ever isn’t an advantage ifit doesn’t produce quality depth.
“We’ve got so many returning from last year we’re trying to get a lot of reps for our younger players and build up some depth,” Shannon said. “I’m comfortable with the ones we have coming back and we have a few guys that weren’t regular starters that we already know are going to play a much bigger role for us this year. But we’ve also got some younger guys that are going to be pretty good football players. We’re trying to get them up to speed on what we’re doing so we can plug them where we do have gaps to fill and need some more depth.”
The Badgers aren’t just larger in numbers, but will also be larger in stature than most of the teams Shannon has coached. Beebe has a trio of three-year starters returning on the offensive line that go about 300, 280 and 275 pounds. Those three will be joined in the starting rotation by four players Shannon says are all between 245 and 300 pounds.
The offensive line is not the only place Beebe is bigger.
“We’ve got bigger kids than we’ve ever had at inside linebacker right now,” Shannon said. “Reece Anders, Andy Hurt, Quinton Shears and a transfer from Conway, Bo Smith, all four have looked really good at inside linebacker.”
Aaron Nunez returns as the starting quarterback after missing much of last season with an injury. Shannon says he’s the clear-cut starter, with Justin Burleson, a transfer from Mississippi, filling the role of backup.
“He throws the ball exceptionally well but he doesn’t fully grasp the offense yet,” Shannon said. Stephen Hammill is a sophomore who is also trying to learn the position for the first time. He threw a touchdown pass on his only attempt during a short scrimmage on Friday.
The extra snaps for new players doesn’t mean the starters haven’t had their opportunity, and they have been impressive. Fullback Tripp Smith, one of only three 2,000-yard backs in the state last season, has added 15 pounds to his frame, but doesn’t seem to have lost any speed.
“He’s obviously bigger than he was last year and I was a little worried about it,” Shannon said. “But he still ran a 4.55 on our automatic timer so I’m pretty excited about it now. He juked a couple of kids, broke a lot of tackles. He actually carried a kid several yards on one play. I’ve said from the start he has a chance to be pretty special around here and I still believe that.”
The Badgers will be busy over the summer. They will be at the Conway team camp on June 9-10, and at 7-on-7 meets at Cabot on June 11 and 18. Starting on July 9, they will go to Conway team camps every Wednesday of that month.
SPORTS STORY >> Cabot girls collapse in round two
By ANN THARP
Special to The Leader
Conway – When the Cabot softball team took the field for their first game of the 7A state softball tournament at City of Colleges Park in Conway, the Lady Panthers (15-11) ran upon a Springdale Har-Ber (21-8) team that outhit them 17-9 and outscored them 15-4 to put an end to their season.
The Lady Panthers left nine runners on base, and twice left the bases loaded. Cabot had earned a first round bye as the Central No. 2 seed, and weather delays made for a 5 p.m. Saturday game time. The Har-Ber Lady Wildcats had played Friday and defeated the Mount St. Mary Lady Belles 3-0.
“It was a tough loss,” said Cabot head coach Chris Cope. “Our girls came out and fought every inning. We had every opportunity. We had two innings where we had the bases loaded and didn’t come up with runs, and we had some errors early that hurt us. Give it to Har-Ber, they put the ball in play and made things happen, and we just didn’t. But our girls played hard all the way through, and I can’t fault them for that.”
Har-Ber batted first as the visitors and went down in order. Cabot, on the other hand, got a leadoff double by Brandyn Vines, and a two-out line drive single into right by Hannah Montgomery scored her to give the Lady Panthers the early 1-0 lead. The Lady Wildcats answered back in the top of the second with one run of their own on two hits and an error to tie the game at 1-1.
Cabot did not score in the bottom of the frame, and Har-Ber added two runs in the top of the third as they loaded the bases with no outs, then had two sacrifice flies to score two runners from third.
The Lady Panthers went in order in the bottom of the inning, and the lead was 3-1 for the Lady Wildcats.
The lead increased in the top of inning number four as Har-Ber got five hits after the first two batters were out, and five runs crossed the plate. Montgomery took over the pitching duties from starting pitcher Lauren McCluskey, and got a groundout to end the inning.
Cabot responded with three runs in its half of the inning to narrow the gap to 8-4.
Montgomery led off with a single. Payton Stedman came on to run in her place and was on base as Macee Abbott hit the ball over the fence in left-center field for a two-run home run.
Molly Wood followed with a single. Parker Steadman entered to pinch run, reached second on a grounder to the shortstop, and scored on a dropped throw by the first baseman. Vines and Rachel Allgood walked to load the bases, but after a pitching change, Heather Hill went down on strikes to end the inning.
Neither team scored in the fifth, although Abbott picked up her second hit of the game for Cabot, a double to right-center field.
Har-Ber had its biggest inning in the top of the sixth, adding seven runs on seven hits, one walk, and one hit by pitch to push the lead to the final 15-4 margin.
The Lady Panthers had to score twice in the bottom of the frame for the game to continue. Cabot loaded the bases as Erin Eckert reached on an error, Vines singled, and Hill reached on an infield hit, but with two outs, Montgomery grounded out to the shortstop for the final out.
Abbott led the team in hitting with a home run, a double and a walk, Vines was 2 for 3 and a walk, and Montgomery was 2 for 4.
Special to The Leader
Conway – When the Cabot softball team took the field for their first game of the 7A state softball tournament at City of Colleges Park in Conway, the Lady Panthers (15-11) ran upon a Springdale Har-Ber (21-8) team that outhit them 17-9 and outscored them 15-4 to put an end to their season.
The Lady Panthers left nine runners on base, and twice left the bases loaded. Cabot had earned a first round bye as the Central No. 2 seed, and weather delays made for a 5 p.m. Saturday game time. The Har-Ber Lady Wildcats had played Friday and defeated the Mount St. Mary Lady Belles 3-0.
“It was a tough loss,” said Cabot head coach Chris Cope. “Our girls came out and fought every inning. We had every opportunity. We had two innings where we had the bases loaded and didn’t come up with runs, and we had some errors early that hurt us. Give it to Har-Ber, they put the ball in play and made things happen, and we just didn’t. But our girls played hard all the way through, and I can’t fault them for that.”
Har-Ber batted first as the visitors and went down in order. Cabot, on the other hand, got a leadoff double by Brandyn Vines, and a two-out line drive single into right by Hannah Montgomery scored her to give the Lady Panthers the early 1-0 lead. The Lady Wildcats answered back in the top of the second with one run of their own on two hits and an error to tie the game at 1-1.
Cabot did not score in the bottom of the frame, and Har-Ber added two runs in the top of the third as they loaded the bases with no outs, then had two sacrifice flies to score two runners from third.
The Lady Panthers went in order in the bottom of the inning, and the lead was 3-1 for the Lady Wildcats.
The lead increased in the top of inning number four as Har-Ber got five hits after the first two batters were out, and five runs crossed the plate. Montgomery took over the pitching duties from starting pitcher Lauren McCluskey, and got a groundout to end the inning.
Cabot responded with three runs in its half of the inning to narrow the gap to 8-4.
Montgomery led off with a single. Payton Stedman came on to run in her place and was on base as Macee Abbott hit the ball over the fence in left-center field for a two-run home run.
Molly Wood followed with a single. Parker Steadman entered to pinch run, reached second on a grounder to the shortstop, and scored on a dropped throw by the first baseman. Vines and Rachel Allgood walked to load the bases, but after a pitching change, Heather Hill went down on strikes to end the inning.
Neither team scored in the fifth, although Abbott picked up her second hit of the game for Cabot, a double to right-center field.
Har-Ber had its biggest inning in the top of the sixth, adding seven runs on seven hits, one walk, and one hit by pitch to push the lead to the final 15-4 margin.
The Lady Panthers had to score twice in the bottom of the frame for the game to continue. Cabot loaded the bases as Erin Eckert reached on an error, Vines singled, and Hill reached on an infield hit, but with two outs, Montgomery grounded out to the shortstop for the final out.
Abbott led the team in hitting with a home run, a double and a walk, Vines was 2 for 3 and a walk, and Montgomery was 2 for 4.
SPORTS STORY >> Football coaching search should be quick
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
In just one week after posting the opening for the Jacksonville head football coaching position, JHS athletic director Jerry Wilson has received dozens of applications that he began sifting through on Tuesday. The position has to remain posted for at least two weeks, which ends on Friday.
Wilson plans to stop the application process after the minimum required time elapses, and get to work on the hiring process as soon as possible.
“Next week is June,” said Wilson. “I really need someone in place by the end of next week because that’s when school lets out. I want to be able to give these kids a name and a face to identify with before the dead period. So I’m hoping, I’m hoping, by the end of next week we’ll have a football coach.”
Wilson wasn’t able to be specific about the names of applicants so far because of their current positions at other schools. He did say that most of the applicants are currently assistant coaches with a couple of current head coaches in the mix. He also said the geographic range of applicants is broad.
“We’ve got applicants from northwest Arkansas to southeast Texas,” Wilson said. “Right now there are about 20 resumes that have been turned in. And I’ve gotten some phone calls from several other people that are seriously interested. It’s going to be a task. That’s why I want to start on this as soon as possible. We got through state tournaments. We’ve had graduation. We’ve got all that stuff out of the way. Now it’s time to hire a football coach.”
One problem Wilson faces is the lack of teaching positions for the future coach to fill, but he says that will just have to be dealt with.
“That’s a little bit of a snag, but that’s really water under the bridge at this point,” Wilson said. “We’re needing to move forward. Maybe just the right person will rise to the top. If not we’ll have to work something out the best we can.”
Wilson is also working on getting the Red Devils into some summer activities like 7-on-7 meets and team camps before they fill up.
“That’s just something I’m trying to throw together to keep them active and I’ll just hand off what I came up with to the new coach,” Wilson said. “He can tweak it or do what he wants with it at that point.”
Wilson wants to start the interview process early next week.
“I’m trying to get some interviews set up but we can’t do any until the two weeks is up,” Wilson said. “If it all goes well, hopefully next week we’ll make an announcement.”
Leader sports editor
In just one week after posting the opening for the Jacksonville head football coaching position, JHS athletic director Jerry Wilson has received dozens of applications that he began sifting through on Tuesday. The position has to remain posted for at least two weeks, which ends on Friday.
Wilson plans to stop the application process after the minimum required time elapses, and get to work on the hiring process as soon as possible.
“Next week is June,” said Wilson. “I really need someone in place by the end of next week because that’s when school lets out. I want to be able to give these kids a name and a face to identify with before the dead period. So I’m hoping, I’m hoping, by the end of next week we’ll have a football coach.”
Wilson wasn’t able to be specific about the names of applicants so far because of their current positions at other schools. He did say that most of the applicants are currently assistant coaches with a couple of current head coaches in the mix. He also said the geographic range of applicants is broad.
“We’ve got applicants from northwest Arkansas to southeast Texas,” Wilson said. “Right now there are about 20 resumes that have been turned in. And I’ve gotten some phone calls from several other people that are seriously interested. It’s going to be a task. That’s why I want to start on this as soon as possible. We got through state tournaments. We’ve had graduation. We’ve got all that stuff out of the way. Now it’s time to hire a football coach.”
One problem Wilson faces is the lack of teaching positions for the future coach to fill, but he says that will just have to be dealt with.
“That’s a little bit of a snag, but that’s really water under the bridge at this point,” Wilson said. “We’re needing to move forward. Maybe just the right person will rise to the top. If not we’ll have to work something out the best we can.”
Wilson is also working on getting the Red Devils into some summer activities like 7-on-7 meets and team camps before they fill up.
“That’s just something I’m trying to throw together to keep them active and I’ll just hand off what I came up with to the new coach,” Wilson said. “He can tweak it or do what he wants with it at that point.”
Wilson wants to start the interview process early next week.
“I’m trying to get some interviews set up but we can’t do any until the two weeks is up,” Wilson said. “If it all goes well, hopefully next week we’ll make an announcement.”
SPORTS STORY >> Panthers starting to rebuild
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The Cabot Panthers had their final spring football practice Friday at Panther Stadium, and even though coach Mike Malham said his team has a long way to go to get to where he wants it to be, he added that they’re better than they were at the start of the spring football period.
Cabot is coming off a season that saw great success, as the Panthers won their first 12 games of 2013 and finished the season as the class 7A state runner-up.
Even though some key returning starters are back from last year’s 12-1 team, the Panthers lost 16 starters from a year ago, and Malham and his staff are in the process of finding players to fill the open spots on both sides of the ball.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” said Malham. “When you lose 16 starters, you know, you’re rebuilding with a lot of inexperience. We’re better than we were, or I hope we are, but we’ve got a long way to go. But we’ve got some potential.”
Some of the potential Malham spoke of is at quarterback. Sophomore Jarrod Barnes took the majority of the snaps at quarterback this spring, and is expected to be the starter this fall. Barnes brings a level of athleticism to the position that Malham looks forward to seeing the next three years.
“We’re working a sophomore at quarterback that I think’s going to be pretty special,” Malham said of Barnes. “He’s got a lot to learn, but he’s got some natural talent that you can’t coach.
“Sometimes he wants to try to do too much, but I’m looking forward to working with him for the next three years. I think he’s going to be pretty darn good.”
Cabot lost eight starters on offense, and has been working a lot of kids at various positions, according to the head Panther. Left guard Wyatt Talik and left tackle Curtis Crowder return up front for the Panthers, but those are the only returning starters on the offensive line.
Senior Jake Ferguson returns at split end, where he led the Panthers with 354 receiving yards and six touchdown catches last fall. Cabot will have to replace graduated fullback Zach Launius, who led the team with 2,009 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns last season.
Jack Whisker and Colton Eads took the majority of the reps at fullback in the spring, but both are expected to have defensive duties as well. Sophomore Easton Seidl also got some reps at fullback, but like Whisker and Eads, he could be seeing a lot of time on the defensive side of the ball as well.
Jess Reed, Jason Shrunk and Jalen Hemphill took reps at halfback this spring in Malham’s Dead-T offense.
Defensively, the Panthers return six starters, including Ferguson, a two-time All-State safety who was named Arkansas High School Defensive Player of the Year last season, and fellow senior Tristan Bulice, who Malham said might be the best nose guard he’s ever had in his 33 years at Cabot.
“Defensively, we’ve got a very good nucleus back there,” Malham said. “We’ve got three d-backs back, including Jake Ferguson, who of course was Defensive Player of the Year last year in the state of Arkansas and was the Sophomore Defensive Player of the Year.”
Holdyn Barnes and Logan Melder return at corner, and Dylan Smith is expected to see some time at the position as well. Brian Marshall returns at defensive end, and Whisker returns at strong-side linebacker in Malham’s 5-2 formation.
“We’ve got Whisker back at linebacker and three d-backs back, including Jarrod’s brother Holdyn, who played last year as a sophomore, and Logan Melder. Bulice is as good a nose guard as there is in the state. He can play.
“With six back on defense, if we can fill a couple of holes there, I think we’re going to be pretty strong. But we’re not there yet.”
Leader sportswriter
The Cabot Panthers had their final spring football practice Friday at Panther Stadium, and even though coach Mike Malham said his team has a long way to go to get to where he wants it to be, he added that they’re better than they were at the start of the spring football period.
Cabot is coming off a season that saw great success, as the Panthers won their first 12 games of 2013 and finished the season as the class 7A state runner-up.
Even though some key returning starters are back from last year’s 12-1 team, the Panthers lost 16 starters from a year ago, and Malham and his staff are in the process of finding players to fill the open spots on both sides of the ball.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” said Malham. “When you lose 16 starters, you know, you’re rebuilding with a lot of inexperience. We’re better than we were, or I hope we are, but we’ve got a long way to go. But we’ve got some potential.”
Some of the potential Malham spoke of is at quarterback. Sophomore Jarrod Barnes took the majority of the snaps at quarterback this spring, and is expected to be the starter this fall. Barnes brings a level of athleticism to the position that Malham looks forward to seeing the next three years.
“We’re working a sophomore at quarterback that I think’s going to be pretty special,” Malham said of Barnes. “He’s got a lot to learn, but he’s got some natural talent that you can’t coach.
“Sometimes he wants to try to do too much, but I’m looking forward to working with him for the next three years. I think he’s going to be pretty darn good.”
Cabot lost eight starters on offense, and has been working a lot of kids at various positions, according to the head Panther. Left guard Wyatt Talik and left tackle Curtis Crowder return up front for the Panthers, but those are the only returning starters on the offensive line.
Senior Jake Ferguson returns at split end, where he led the Panthers with 354 receiving yards and six touchdown catches last fall. Cabot will have to replace graduated fullback Zach Launius, who led the team with 2,009 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns last season.
Jack Whisker and Colton Eads took the majority of the reps at fullback in the spring, but both are expected to have defensive duties as well. Sophomore Easton Seidl also got some reps at fullback, but like Whisker and Eads, he could be seeing a lot of time on the defensive side of the ball as well.
Jess Reed, Jason Shrunk and Jalen Hemphill took reps at halfback this spring in Malham’s Dead-T offense.
Defensively, the Panthers return six starters, including Ferguson, a two-time All-State safety who was named Arkansas High School Defensive Player of the Year last season, and fellow senior Tristan Bulice, who Malham said might be the best nose guard he’s ever had in his 33 years at Cabot.
“Defensively, we’ve got a very good nucleus back there,” Malham said. “We’ve got three d-backs back, including Jake Ferguson, who of course was Defensive Player of the Year last year in the state of Arkansas and was the Sophomore Defensive Player of the Year.”
Holdyn Barnes and Logan Melder return at corner, and Dylan Smith is expected to see some time at the position as well. Brian Marshall returns at defensive end, and Whisker returns at strong-side linebacker in Malham’s 5-2 formation.
“We’ve got Whisker back at linebacker and three d-backs back, including Jarrod’s brother Holdyn, who played last year as a sophomore, and Logan Melder. Bulice is as good a nose guard as there is in the state. He can play.
“With six back on defense, if we can fill a couple of holes there, I think we’re going to be pretty strong. But we’re not there yet.”
Friday, May 23, 2014
EDITORIAL >> When you’re in a tight jelly
While I was having breakfast the other day at one of our local eateries, the server brought individual packets of both jam and jelly with my toast and it got me thinking: Why are we always in a jam and never in a jelly?
I think crime would drop tremendously and the world would be a happier place if the worst that happened to us were to get in a jelly.
Getting into a jam just sounds so much more ominous. Being a single-syllable word it sounds harsh and curt and implies drastic measures need to be taken to get out of the jam.
But imagine being in a jelly — it would be hard to stay mad. You just can’t yelly at each other when in a jelly; it would be a bellyful of laughs.
The only time jelly every got in a jam was in the Tommy Roe song, “Jam up and Jelly Tight.”
Tight jelly? Isn’t that an oxymoron?
Ever tried to get jelly to doing anything tight?
And how in the world did the world decide to pick on poor jam anyway. I mean both jam and jelly serve the same purpose, to add sweetness to the world of food. But take jam out of that world and it becomes mean, hard and backs us into a corner.
Historians, who have time to ponder such idioms, have determined that the origin of the phrase “in a jam” is unclear, but date the word “jam” back to the 1700s.
These experts have figured out that being in a traffic jam has increased the use of “in a jam” (along with excessive middle finger flexing) to talk about a problem or dilemma.
In addition to functioning as a negative noun in the context of “traffic jam” or other phrases, “jam” can also be a verb. In describing something that is excessively packed and unable to move, might say that is “jammed up.” Someone might also describe their own efforts to pack more things into a tight space as “jamming in.”
But jam is not the only food item to have an alter-ominous side. Look at the pickle.
Shakespeare himself wrote about being in a pickle. Why can’t we be in a cucumber?
A pickle is old, wrinkly, shriveled up from being thrown into the briny deep. It implies that we are knee deep in the brine ourselves. We lash out, claw out, fight back hard to get out of that pickle.
But a cucumber — that’s a different story. Solid, vibrant green, meaty — a vegetable at the top of its game. If we were in a cucumber we wouldn’t fight our way out, we’d be saying, “Wow, this stuff is pretty good.” Liken it to living in a mansion. Who would give it up for a one-bedroom 8-foot wide trailer?
So who do we call to get us in a jelly or in a cucumber and make the world a better place? Does it require a letter to Daniel Webster’s great-great-grandson or do we have to get the federal agriculture department involved? Maybe it’s time to start a letter writing campaign to one of our senators.
In the meantime, when it looks like you are about to get into a jam — think jelly and smile. — Rick Kron
I think crime would drop tremendously and the world would be a happier place if the worst that happened to us were to get in a jelly.
Getting into a jam just sounds so much more ominous. Being a single-syllable word it sounds harsh and curt and implies drastic measures need to be taken to get out of the jam.
But imagine being in a jelly — it would be hard to stay mad. You just can’t yelly at each other when in a jelly; it would be a bellyful of laughs.
The only time jelly every got in a jam was in the Tommy Roe song, “Jam up and Jelly Tight.”
Tight jelly? Isn’t that an oxymoron?
Ever tried to get jelly to doing anything tight?
And how in the world did the world decide to pick on poor jam anyway. I mean both jam and jelly serve the same purpose, to add sweetness to the world of food. But take jam out of that world and it becomes mean, hard and backs us into a corner.
Historians, who have time to ponder such idioms, have determined that the origin of the phrase “in a jam” is unclear, but date the word “jam” back to the 1700s.
These experts have figured out that being in a traffic jam has increased the use of “in a jam” (along with excessive middle finger flexing) to talk about a problem or dilemma.
In addition to functioning as a negative noun in the context of “traffic jam” or other phrases, “jam” can also be a verb. In describing something that is excessively packed and unable to move, might say that is “jammed up.” Someone might also describe their own efforts to pack more things into a tight space as “jamming in.”
But jam is not the only food item to have an alter-ominous side. Look at the pickle.
Shakespeare himself wrote about being in a pickle. Why can’t we be in a cucumber?
A pickle is old, wrinkly, shriveled up from being thrown into the briny deep. It implies that we are knee deep in the brine ourselves. We lash out, claw out, fight back hard to get out of that pickle.
But a cucumber — that’s a different story. Solid, vibrant green, meaty — a vegetable at the top of its game. If we were in a cucumber we wouldn’t fight our way out, we’d be saying, “Wow, this stuff is pretty good.” Liken it to living in a mansion. Who would give it up for a one-bedroom 8-foot wide trailer?
So who do we call to get us in a jelly or in a cucumber and make the world a better place? Does it require a letter to Daniel Webster’s great-great-grandson or do we have to get the federal agriculture department involved? Maybe it’s time to start a letter writing campaign to one of our senators.
In the meantime, when it looks like you are about to get into a jam — think jelly and smile. — Rick Kron
EDITORIAL>>How voters did Tuesday
Back when Arkansas was a one-party state, Democratic primaries were tantamount to election because no Republican would challenge Democrats in the fall. In Lonoke County and many parts of the state, it’s the Republicans who are in the catbird seat as they face no Democrats in November.
Several local Republicans were elected in Tuesday’s primary, including Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley, who avoided a runoff after coasting to victory against former Sheriff Jim Roberson and deputy Steve Finch. Staley, 34, is still in his first term, but his focus on fighting crime and reaching out to inmates to turn their lives around has impressed voters.
A recent series in The Leader showed Staley understands the job. He’s tough but fair and about the same age as the inmates. They speak the same language: The sheriff tells them to straighten out their lives and hopes he’ll never see them again.
Many of Staley’s arrests will likely be judged by Ashley Parker of Carlisle, who defeated attorney Larry Cook of Cabot for circuit judge in Dist. 23, Division 3.
Republican Tim Lemons, who serves on the Lonoke County Quorum Court, won more votes than Darlene Byrd for the state representative Dist. 43 position held by outgoing House Speaker Davy Carter. Lemons garnered 1,728 votes to Byrd’s 1,091. Byrd had received former Gov. Mike Huckabee’s endorsement, but it didn’t do her much good.
For the Dist. 14 state representative seat, Republican Buddy Fisher nearly doubled up on Trent Eilts, 1413 to 777. Fisher will face Lonoke City Attorney Camille Bennett, a Democrat, in November.
A bigger surprise was Lonoke County Clerk Larry Clarke, a Republican losing to former Democrat-turned-Republican County Clerk Dawn Porterfield, 3,253-3,001. Clarke, who has denied all charges, was arrested the week before the primary for cyberbullying an online critic who had posted some harsh comments about the county clerk on her blog. Clarke’s legal troubles may have influenced at least some of those 252 voters who helped Porterfield win this time.
There will be a runoff for Assessor Jack McNally, who finished second in a three-way race with Jerrel Maxwell, who finished first, and Marsha Beck, who came in third. It will be her supporters who could decide who the next assessor will be.
Several local Republicans were elected in Tuesday’s primary, including Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley, who avoided a runoff after coasting to victory against former Sheriff Jim Roberson and deputy Steve Finch. Staley, 34, is still in his first term, but his focus on fighting crime and reaching out to inmates to turn their lives around has impressed voters.
A recent series in The Leader showed Staley understands the job. He’s tough but fair and about the same age as the inmates. They speak the same language: The sheriff tells them to straighten out their lives and hopes he’ll never see them again.
Many of Staley’s arrests will likely be judged by Ashley Parker of Carlisle, who defeated attorney Larry Cook of Cabot for circuit judge in Dist. 23, Division 3.
Republican Tim Lemons, who serves on the Lonoke County Quorum Court, won more votes than Darlene Byrd for the state representative Dist. 43 position held by outgoing House Speaker Davy Carter. Lemons garnered 1,728 votes to Byrd’s 1,091. Byrd had received former Gov. Mike Huckabee’s endorsement, but it didn’t do her much good.
For the Dist. 14 state representative seat, Republican Buddy Fisher nearly doubled up on Trent Eilts, 1413 to 777. Fisher will face Lonoke City Attorney Camille Bennett, a Democrat, in November.
A bigger surprise was Lonoke County Clerk Larry Clarke, a Republican losing to former Democrat-turned-Republican County Clerk Dawn Porterfield, 3,253-3,001. Clarke, who has denied all charges, was arrested the week before the primary for cyberbullying an online critic who had posted some harsh comments about the county clerk on her blog. Clarke’s legal troubles may have influenced at least some of those 252 voters who helped Porterfield win this time.
There will be a runoff for Assessor Jack McNally, who finished second in a three-way race with Jerrel Maxwell, who finished first, and Marsha Beck, who came in third. It will be her supporters who could decide who the next assessor will be.
TOP STORY>>Sherwood residents shoot down firing range
By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
Sherwood officials have buried their plan to build an outdoor shooting range for the police department after residents near the proposed site circulated a petition opposing the project.
Those residents plan to speak at the Sherwood City Council meeting on Tuesday.
Mayor Virginia Hillman said a long-term goal for the site at 834 Trammel Road is to build an indoor training facility.
Police Chief Jim Bedwell said that would save at least half of the $6,500 spent per year on officers traveling to and from ranges outside Sherwood.
But, Hillman said, “I just don’t think (the outdoor range is) going to be a good move right now.”
She added, “We’re trying to get something that would give (police) the opportunity to train in our hometown.”
The uproar over the outdoor range began when city equipment was used this week to move donated dirt to the 5.13-acre lot that is zoned for single-family homes. The dirt came from the construction site for the new Mapco Express gas station being built at the intersection of Kiehl Avenue and Brockington Road.
Bedwell said the city bought the Trammel Road property for $18,500 using seized drug money. The entrance is a one-lane gravel road.
Virginia Jones is purchasing the house at 828 Trammel Road. The range would have been behind that property.
She called The Leader on Wednesday to say the city’s plan to build an outdoor range was “just not right.” Jones opposes it for the same reason some Jacksonville residents are complaining about the shooting sports complex there — noise.
On Thursday morning, she insisted that an indoor range wasn’t mentioned to her before then. “So I think that the idea of an indoor range somewhere in the future, which is what they’re saying because they don’t have the money now, was supposed to jolly us along,” Jones said.
She asked if an engineering study had been done and was told that one wasn’t needed until the building is constructed there, Jones continued.
About an indoor facility, she said, “I hope they don’t do it. I hope they don’t. If they do, they’re going to have to deal with this community again. I mean I might be OK with that if they really contained it…I’d rather it not happen.”
The outdoor range would have had six lanes and 12-foot berms on three sides with trees planted outside the berms.
The property it would have been on is just west of the Roundtop Filling Station, which is being restored and will be used as a police substation.
Bedwell said, “I think the impact would have been a lot less than (the opposition) thought.”
Jones said, “So many times that man has told me ‘you won’t even know we’re out there.’ Liar! Of course I’m going to know they’re out there.” She was frustrated that the chief and mayor were “blowing smoke” like that.
Jones added that officials agreed to work around her disabled daughter’s schedule so officers would only practice shooting once a month and not while her daughter was home.
She also complained about the city not hosting a comment period and seemingly bypassing the permitting process.
Bedwell at first believed the land was in the county, but later learned it is inside city limits. The chief explained that the permitting process would have been different if the lot wasn’t in Sherwood.
Since it is in the city, the Sherwood Planning Commission would have received a rezoning request, Bedwell said. Public hearings are part of that, he explained.
Bedwell added that he talked to several neighbors about putting in an outdoor range and they weren’t opposed to it.
His goals were to save the city money and keep officers in Sherwood rather than 20 to 30 minutes away so they could respond to an emergency in the city more quickly.
Bedwell said that, over the last four years, officers have spent 866 hours driving to and from the Cabot, Camp Robinson and Jacksonville ranges.
The ranges are free to use, but Jacksonville requires that one of their officers be with shooters from other agencies, Bedwell noted.
Bedwell said traveling to and from ranges put 29,400 miles on patrol cars, an average of 7,350 miles per year.
Having a range in the city would cut the associated costs in half, Bedwell noted.
The department uses the Bill Harmon Recreation Center or Sherwood Forest to hold training classes when rooms are available at those facilities.
Jones said she was told the city owned some property near Sherwood Forest and suggested that land be used for the outdoor range.
He also said the department has outgrown its current building at the municipal complex on Kiehl Avenue and there is no room on that property to build anything.
Bedwell added that five or six people are sharing an office designed for two occupants.
The chief said he hopes appropriated funds from legislators might help construct the indoor facility. “I think it looks better and is something we really need,” Bedwell noted.
Jones said she is still waiting to see how Tuesday’s meeting will go before she finalizes purchasing the house on Trammel.She doesn’t trust the mayor’s word that a range won’t be built.
Jones explained that she has spoke to several people, including mayoral candidate Doris Anderson, about the outdoor range and other issues. Anderson and others have told her Hillman is involved in a lot of “shenanigans” like building the outdoor range, Jones said.
Jones also contacted Alderman Mary Jo Heye. She and the mayor have butted heads on several issues, and some residents have told The Leader they expected her to run for mayor.
The area where the range would have been is in the ward she represents. Heye is up for re-election in November and is facing off against former Alderman Butch Davis for the seat.
Heye said this was the first she’d heard of police officers needing a range.
She was also concerned about residents not being informed of the range plans via signs and permitting.
Heye is not opposed to building a range if police need it. “I do have an issue with the city going out without due diligence and buying a property in a residential area that could affect these people’s property values,” she said.
“The whole thing was very odd,” she said. Heye asked, if the site had been in the county, “Does that make it OK?” Her answer was no.
Leader staff writer
Sherwood officials have buried their plan to build an outdoor shooting range for the police department after residents near the proposed site circulated a petition opposing the project.
Those residents plan to speak at the Sherwood City Council meeting on Tuesday.
Mayor Virginia Hillman said a long-term goal for the site at 834 Trammel Road is to build an indoor training facility.
Police Chief Jim Bedwell said that would save at least half of the $6,500 spent per year on officers traveling to and from ranges outside Sherwood.
But, Hillman said, “I just don’t think (the outdoor range is) going to be a good move right now.”
She added, “We’re trying to get something that would give (police) the opportunity to train in our hometown.”
The uproar over the outdoor range began when city equipment was used this week to move donated dirt to the 5.13-acre lot that is zoned for single-family homes. The dirt came from the construction site for the new Mapco Express gas station being built at the intersection of Kiehl Avenue and Brockington Road.
Bedwell said the city bought the Trammel Road property for $18,500 using seized drug money. The entrance is a one-lane gravel road.
Virginia Jones is purchasing the house at 828 Trammel Road. The range would have been behind that property.
She called The Leader on Wednesday to say the city’s plan to build an outdoor range was “just not right.” Jones opposes it for the same reason some Jacksonville residents are complaining about the shooting sports complex there — noise.
On Thursday morning, she insisted that an indoor range wasn’t mentioned to her before then. “So I think that the idea of an indoor range somewhere in the future, which is what they’re saying because they don’t have the money now, was supposed to jolly us along,” Jones said.
She asked if an engineering study had been done and was told that one wasn’t needed until the building is constructed there, Jones continued.
About an indoor facility, she said, “I hope they don’t do it. I hope they don’t. If they do, they’re going to have to deal with this community again. I mean I might be OK with that if they really contained it…I’d rather it not happen.”
The outdoor range would have had six lanes and 12-foot berms on three sides with trees planted outside the berms.
The property it would have been on is just west of the Roundtop Filling Station, which is being restored and will be used as a police substation.
Bedwell said, “I think the impact would have been a lot less than (the opposition) thought.”
Jones said, “So many times that man has told me ‘you won’t even know we’re out there.’ Liar! Of course I’m going to know they’re out there.” She was frustrated that the chief and mayor were “blowing smoke” like that.
Jones added that officials agreed to work around her disabled daughter’s schedule so officers would only practice shooting once a month and not while her daughter was home.
She also complained about the city not hosting a comment period and seemingly bypassing the permitting process.
Bedwell at first believed the land was in the county, but later learned it is inside city limits. The chief explained that the permitting process would have been different if the lot wasn’t in Sherwood.
Since it is in the city, the Sherwood Planning Commission would have received a rezoning request, Bedwell said. Public hearings are part of that, he explained.
Bedwell added that he talked to several neighbors about putting in an outdoor range and they weren’t opposed to it.
His goals were to save the city money and keep officers in Sherwood rather than 20 to 30 minutes away so they could respond to an emergency in the city more quickly.
Bedwell said that, over the last four years, officers have spent 866 hours driving to and from the Cabot, Camp Robinson and Jacksonville ranges.
The ranges are free to use, but Jacksonville requires that one of their officers be with shooters from other agencies, Bedwell noted.
Bedwell said traveling to and from ranges put 29,400 miles on patrol cars, an average of 7,350 miles per year.
Having a range in the city would cut the associated costs in half, Bedwell noted.
The department uses the Bill Harmon Recreation Center or Sherwood Forest to hold training classes when rooms are available at those facilities.
Jones said she was told the city owned some property near Sherwood Forest and suggested that land be used for the outdoor range.
He also said the department has outgrown its current building at the municipal complex on Kiehl Avenue and there is no room on that property to build anything.
Bedwell added that five or six people are sharing an office designed for two occupants.
The chief said he hopes appropriated funds from legislators might help construct the indoor facility. “I think it looks better and is something we really need,” Bedwell noted.
Jones said she is still waiting to see how Tuesday’s meeting will go before she finalizes purchasing the house on Trammel.She doesn’t trust the mayor’s word that a range won’t be built.
Jones explained that she has spoke to several people, including mayoral candidate Doris Anderson, about the outdoor range and other issues. Anderson and others have told her Hillman is involved in a lot of “shenanigans” like building the outdoor range, Jones said.
Jones also contacted Alderman Mary Jo Heye. She and the mayor have butted heads on several issues, and some residents have told The Leader they expected her to run for mayor.
The area where the range would have been is in the ward she represents. Heye is up for re-election in November and is facing off against former Alderman Butch Davis for the seat.
Heye said this was the first she’d heard of police officers needing a range.
She was also concerned about residents not being informed of the range plans via signs and permitting.
Heye is not opposed to building a range if police need it. “I do have an issue with the city going out without due diligence and buying a property in a residential area that could affect these people’s property values,” she said.
“The whole thing was very odd,” she said. Heye asked, if the site had been in the county, “Does that make it OK?” Her answer was no.
TOP STORY>>Funding minority students
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
An innovative, $10 million plan would track, tutor and guide at-risk Pulaski County Special School District students from ninth grade, sending them to college on some Saturdays and, upon graduation, to a three-week, on-campus, summer immersion, then on to college with scholarships.
That’s if U.S. District Judge Price Marshall approves the motion filed Friday morning by the Joshua Intervenors and PCSSD.
Oversight and guidance would continue in college, particularly for students with remedial needs.
The Joshua Intervenors and PCSSD agreed upon the Dr. Charles Donaldson Scholars Academy, intended to address disparity in the academic achievement of minority and economically disadvantaged students, but at the immediate expense of some existing elementary programs, instructors and support staff not specifically required by state law.
The plan would help 250 to 500 PCSSD seniors immediately and prepare 8,000 to 10,000 PCSSD students over the next four years for college at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Philander Smith College, Joshua attorney John Walker and PCSSD Superintendent Jerry Guess said at a hastily called press conference.
MOMENTOUS DAYS
“There have been a lot of momentous days at PCSSD,” Guess said in opening, “but none more significant than today.” He called this the launch of “a new venture that we hope will have a dramatic effect on the children who need a dramatic effect.”
Walker said, “I hope it is momentous. But I have a history of entering into agreements with the three districts (including Little Rock and North Little Rock) and seldom did any reach true fruition. It didn’t reach the students.”
As far as unitary obligations, “This doesn’t release them from anything,” Walker said of PCSSD. “It obliges them to do more and different.”
“It combines the collegiate approach to K-12 education and commits the colleges to help in some way they have not in the past,” he said.
NEVER RETREATED
“I have never retreated from the idea that there must be integrated education,” Walker said.
That may be so, but people familiar with the long-standing adversarial relationship between Walker and PCSSD believe it has morphed into one of cooperation and collegiality in the past year or so.
Regarding the new initiative, it was begun when Walker read of the success Donaldson’s program had with other students and asked him to create a similar plan for PCSSD, Donaldson said after the press conference. He said it took eight or nine months to adapt his existing program to fit the district.
Donaldson, who is technically retired, hasn’t been paid for his efforts, but Walker said Donaldson and Amber Smith, the Donaldson Scholars Academy’s summer bridge program coordinator, would likely have salaries written into the final agreement.
PREPARED FROM 9TH GRADE
Styled as a supplement, amendment and modification to desegregation Plan 2000 for student achievement, the plan would help prepare students from the time they enter ninth grade for college and college life, including a component called Summer Bridge when students would spend three intensive weeks living in college dorms, taking classes and leaving behind their car keys and cell phones, according to Donaldson.
Donaldson, vice chairman emeritus of UALR, nodded out the window in Guess’ Central Office, saying, “I taught next door at Fuller.”
“Hold us accountable,” Donaldson said. “We will achieve something not previously achieved.”
“We genuinely believe every student can achieve, if we help create a vision including college graduation,” said Smith. “We utilize relationships and pair high school students with current college students. We are academically rigorous, hands on and with cultural activities. And fun should be incorporated with learning.”
Smith said 100 percent of the students in the program last year achieved proficiency in at least one area.
THE PROGRAM
Students enter the program in ninth grade. They must complete a student and parent/guardian contract, and they will be assessed from entry in the program through grade 12. Assessment will include monitoring grade-point average, diagnostic exams for deficiencies, ACT scores and progress toward high school completion.
During fall and spring semesters, students attend Saturday Academy some weeks to work on identified deficiencies and to strengthen motivation to learn and continue to college.
Each summer, after graduation, students will attend Philander Smith or UALR to better prepare for college. Those sessions will be three weeks—that’s the Senior Summer Bridge Academy. Underclassmen will attend four-day sessions each summer.
Completion may lead to a scholarship, and successful college work—a 2.27 grade point average with 27 credits earned a year—will lead to scholarship renewal.
Student-specific learning styles will determine the best approach for each, helping curriculum development which “will blend traditional and contemporary teaching methods, including peer-to-peer, group learning, technology assisted, videos, songs, games and motivation,” Smith said.
Students can graduate from a PCSSD high school with as many as 12 college credits in some circumstances by taking on-line courses and concurrent or enrollment.
The $10 million to fund the program will come from cutting programs, and the state’s desegregation payments for the next three school years, $3.33 million per year.
While largely for the benefit of the black students championed by the Joshua Intervenors, the program will also be available to other low-income students regardless of race.
“We’re going to repurpose some of the (state) desegregation money to create a new focus,” Guess said. “A new direction aimed at achievement and how to serve these students.”
Walker said the new program does not satisfy the requirement for equitable academic achievement, one of the remaining impediments to the district’s achieving unitary status, but that it was a step in that direction.
Guess submitted $1.5 million worth of cuts to the 2014-2015 PCSSD budget, the largest being to Alternative learning education administrator, who earns $105.671 a year.
A home-school consultant will be cut from each of nine elementary schools and home- school counselor from each of three secondary schools. Fourteen certified Saturday teachers will be cut, two high school classified employees and four middle school teachers are among the positions expected to be cut, according to Guess’ proposals.
He said some programs being cut could be absorbed into others.
ACADEMY BUDGET
The proposed budget for the Donaldson Scholars Academy for the 2014-15 school year is $1.8 million, leaving a balance of $1.533 million from the $3.33 million desegregation funding.
The lion’s share of those expenses is $806,250 for scholarships and technology — three-quarters of it for scholarships, the rest for computers.
Another $300,000 is for three-weeks room and board on those two campuses for the Summer Bridge program.
Then $238,000 goes toward salaries and benefits for program coordinators at each college, a counselor, consultant, advisory board, research analyst and administrative assistant.
Although the preliminary funding of $3.33 million a year is for three years, that money is expected to run the program for five years or longer, and Donaldson said they hope for a share of the $75 million President Obama is making available for education of at- risk students and another $20 million for historically black state universities.
The current Donaldson Scholars Academy also receives money from corporations such as the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and the Bank of America.
Among those at the press conference, throwing their prestige and support to the program that lacks only approval by the district judge were Donaldson, Smith, UALR Chancellor Joel Anderson, Dr. Janice Warren, PCSSD’s vice superintendent for equity and pupil services; Dr. Lloyd Hervey, interim president of Philander Smith, and Dr. Logan Hampton, UALR vice provost for student affairs.
Warren said the program is like nothing she’d read about, and that “Failure is not an option. Student achievement is what we’ll experience.”
Hampton called it “an historic opportunity,’ and said he expected “great results from a new population.”
Hervey called it an opportunity for culturally significant education. “We are elated, looking forward to a long partnership.”
Anderson said he had admired Walker for many years and gave credit to Donaldson, Hampton and Smith. “It gives a boost to some children who need a boost,” he said of the Donaldson Scholars Academy. “It’s awfully important that we make education opportunity real for all students at the college level.”
Leader senior staff writer
An innovative, $10 million plan would track, tutor and guide at-risk Pulaski County Special School District students from ninth grade, sending them to college on some Saturdays and, upon graduation, to a three-week, on-campus, summer immersion, then on to college with scholarships.
That’s if U.S. District Judge Price Marshall approves the motion filed Friday morning by the Joshua Intervenors and PCSSD.
Oversight and guidance would continue in college, particularly for students with remedial needs.
The Joshua Intervenors and PCSSD agreed upon the Dr. Charles Donaldson Scholars Academy, intended to address disparity in the academic achievement of minority and economically disadvantaged students, but at the immediate expense of some existing elementary programs, instructors and support staff not specifically required by state law.
The plan would help 250 to 500 PCSSD seniors immediately and prepare 8,000 to 10,000 PCSSD students over the next four years for college at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Philander Smith College, Joshua attorney John Walker and PCSSD Superintendent Jerry Guess said at a hastily called press conference.
MOMENTOUS DAYS
“There have been a lot of momentous days at PCSSD,” Guess said in opening, “but none more significant than today.” He called this the launch of “a new venture that we hope will have a dramatic effect on the children who need a dramatic effect.”
Walker said, “I hope it is momentous. But I have a history of entering into agreements with the three districts (including Little Rock and North Little Rock) and seldom did any reach true fruition. It didn’t reach the students.”
As far as unitary obligations, “This doesn’t release them from anything,” Walker said of PCSSD. “It obliges them to do more and different.”
“It combines the collegiate approach to K-12 education and commits the colleges to help in some way they have not in the past,” he said.
NEVER RETREATED
“I have never retreated from the idea that there must be integrated education,” Walker said.
That may be so, but people familiar with the long-standing adversarial relationship between Walker and PCSSD believe it has morphed into one of cooperation and collegiality in the past year or so.
Regarding the new initiative, it was begun when Walker read of the success Donaldson’s program had with other students and asked him to create a similar plan for PCSSD, Donaldson said after the press conference. He said it took eight or nine months to adapt his existing program to fit the district.
Donaldson, who is technically retired, hasn’t been paid for his efforts, but Walker said Donaldson and Amber Smith, the Donaldson Scholars Academy’s summer bridge program coordinator, would likely have salaries written into the final agreement.
PREPARED FROM 9TH GRADE
Styled as a supplement, amendment and modification to desegregation Plan 2000 for student achievement, the plan would help prepare students from the time they enter ninth grade for college and college life, including a component called Summer Bridge when students would spend three intensive weeks living in college dorms, taking classes and leaving behind their car keys and cell phones, according to Donaldson.
Donaldson, vice chairman emeritus of UALR, nodded out the window in Guess’ Central Office, saying, “I taught next door at Fuller.”
“Hold us accountable,” Donaldson said. “We will achieve something not previously achieved.”
“We genuinely believe every student can achieve, if we help create a vision including college graduation,” said Smith. “We utilize relationships and pair high school students with current college students. We are academically rigorous, hands on and with cultural activities. And fun should be incorporated with learning.”
Smith said 100 percent of the students in the program last year achieved proficiency in at least one area.
THE PROGRAM
Students enter the program in ninth grade. They must complete a student and parent/guardian contract, and they will be assessed from entry in the program through grade 12. Assessment will include monitoring grade-point average, diagnostic exams for deficiencies, ACT scores and progress toward high school completion.
During fall and spring semesters, students attend Saturday Academy some weeks to work on identified deficiencies and to strengthen motivation to learn and continue to college.
Each summer, after graduation, students will attend Philander Smith or UALR to better prepare for college. Those sessions will be three weeks—that’s the Senior Summer Bridge Academy. Underclassmen will attend four-day sessions each summer.
Completion may lead to a scholarship, and successful college work—a 2.27 grade point average with 27 credits earned a year—will lead to scholarship renewal.
Student-specific learning styles will determine the best approach for each, helping curriculum development which “will blend traditional and contemporary teaching methods, including peer-to-peer, group learning, technology assisted, videos, songs, games and motivation,” Smith said.
Students can graduate from a PCSSD high school with as many as 12 college credits in some circumstances by taking on-line courses and concurrent or enrollment.
The $10 million to fund the program will come from cutting programs, and the state’s desegregation payments for the next three school years, $3.33 million per year.
While largely for the benefit of the black students championed by the Joshua Intervenors, the program will also be available to other low-income students regardless of race.
“We’re going to repurpose some of the (state) desegregation money to create a new focus,” Guess said. “A new direction aimed at achievement and how to serve these students.”
Walker said the new program does not satisfy the requirement for equitable academic achievement, one of the remaining impediments to the district’s achieving unitary status, but that it was a step in that direction.
Guess submitted $1.5 million worth of cuts to the 2014-2015 PCSSD budget, the largest being to Alternative learning education administrator, who earns $105.671 a year.
A home-school consultant will be cut from each of nine elementary schools and home- school counselor from each of three secondary schools. Fourteen certified Saturday teachers will be cut, two high school classified employees and four middle school teachers are among the positions expected to be cut, according to Guess’ proposals.
He said some programs being cut could be absorbed into others.
ACADEMY BUDGET
The proposed budget for the Donaldson Scholars Academy for the 2014-15 school year is $1.8 million, leaving a balance of $1.533 million from the $3.33 million desegregation funding.
The lion’s share of those expenses is $806,250 for scholarships and technology — three-quarters of it for scholarships, the rest for computers.
Another $300,000 is for three-weeks room and board on those two campuses for the Summer Bridge program.
Then $238,000 goes toward salaries and benefits for program coordinators at each college, a counselor, consultant, advisory board, research analyst and administrative assistant.
Although the preliminary funding of $3.33 million a year is for three years, that money is expected to run the program for five years or longer, and Donaldson said they hope for a share of the $75 million President Obama is making available for education of at- risk students and another $20 million for historically black state universities.
The current Donaldson Scholars Academy also receives money from corporations such as the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and the Bank of America.
Among those at the press conference, throwing their prestige and support to the program that lacks only approval by the district judge were Donaldson, Smith, UALR Chancellor Joel Anderson, Dr. Janice Warren, PCSSD’s vice superintendent for equity and pupil services; Dr. Lloyd Hervey, interim president of Philander Smith, and Dr. Logan Hampton, UALR vice provost for student affairs.
Warren said the program is like nothing she’d read about, and that “Failure is not an option. Student achievement is what we’ll experience.”
Hampton called it “an historic opportunity,’ and said he expected “great results from a new population.”
Hervey called it an opportunity for culturally significant education. “We are elated, looking forward to a long partnership.”
Anderson said he had admired Walker for many years and gave credit to Donaldson, Hampton and Smith. “It gives a boost to some children who need a boost,” he said of the Donaldson Scholars Academy. “It’s awfully important that we make education opportunity real for all students at the college level.”
TOP STORY>>Bus driver glad hijacker’s plea will avoid trial
By SARAH CAMPELL
Leader staff writer
Shelia Hart is relieved that the man who held her and 11 children at knifepoint during the Oct. 17 hijacking of a Pinewood Elementary bus has been sentenced to 55 years with the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
“I was satisfied with it. I’m just glad it’s finally over,” the heroic bus driver told The Leader on Friday. Hart has been praised for keeping the man and the children calm during the incident.
The hijacker, 22-year-old Nicholas John Miller, pleaded guilty on Thursday to 11 counts of kidnapping. He will be eligible for parole in 13 years and nine months.
Hart was glad that she, and especially the kids, didn’t have to go through the ordeal of testifying.
The bus driver added that she has been doing well since the hijacking and hasn’t needed counseling, although it was offered to her and the kids.
Hart said, “I’ve had a lot of days that I’ve thought about it, but it’s getting better.”
During the hijacking, Miller had “psychotic symptoms” like hallucinations and delusions because he had taken “four shots” of methamphetamine, according to a report submitted to the court by the Arkansas State Hospital.
He was also abusing marijuana at that time.
Miller has smoked marijuana since age “12, as much as I could everyday” and methamphetamine since age “14, about two-three times a week up to everyday,” the report continues.
The morning of the incident, Miller allegedly told his father, “People are after me…They are trying to kill me.”
He told doctors at the State Hospital that he had taken four shots of meth before realizing that it wasn’t meth. There was “something wrong” because “my heart started pounding and I got very paranoid,” Miller said, according to the report. The report also states, “He was remorseful of what he did.”
Miller did not “have the capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct” or “the capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law,” according to the report.
On the day of the hijacking, he allegedly ran from relatives and tried to steal a car from a woman he saw at 1010 N. First St. in Jacksonville.
That woman, Karlena Lipari, told Miller she didn’t have a car. He said it would be in her “best interest” to give him her car, according to a police report. She repeated that she didn’t have one.
Lipari then saw four children about to get on the school bus at a regularly scheduled stop nearby. She kept them from boarding it, but Miller got on the bus.
He showed the knife to Hart, who has been taking kids to and from school for 20 years.
Miller told her to drive from the scene and Hart complied, according to the police report. Later, he drove it, but allowed Hart to instruct him on how to work the controls.
Lipari, the parent Miller had approached near the bus stop, called 911.
Jacksonville police caught up with the bus at the 3700 block of North First Street near Little Rock Air Force Base. At speeds around 40 mph, Miller was followed from there to Hwy. 367, John Harden Drive and Hwy. 5 in Cabot — where the 20-minute, 9-mile chase ended.
During the chase, the bus struck a guard rail support on Hwy. 367, ran a stop sign and ran a red light by turning left.
Cabot police put out a spike strip on Hwy. 5/Mountain Springs Road. Miller slowed down and veered off the road, coming to a stop, when he saw it.
The State Hospital’s report states that, when the hijacker finally stopped, investigators and witnesses said they heard Miller say, “People are trying to kill me. The only way to get away from them is to hijack the school bus…to save my life…no plans to hurt any children…not to get (expletive) up on drugs…I am going to prison…drive the bus to Arizona or until gas run out.”
The hospital’s report also offered a glimpse at Miller’s life.
He had abused cocaine, ecstasy and Xanax until 2010, it states.
Miller told doctors that he had recently started seeing “images and shadows” and experiencing insomnia for three to nine days.
The California native separated from his wife in July. She and their 2-year-old son live in Jacksonville.
Miller was living with his grandmother in Jacksonville, according to the report.
He dropped out of Jacksonville High School after completing ninth grade.
For six months, Miller had a job at a carpet warehouse in Arizona. Then he was fired for fighting with a coworker.
Miller has had several run-ins with the law.
He was arrested for the May 28 breaking and entering of a vehicle and theft of property. A Sherwood Police Department-issued $400 shotgun and $400 in cash were stolen. Fingerprints were found at the scene.
Miller wasn’t prosecuted for the theft charge but pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain to the breaking and entering charge. He was sentenced to two years of probation that would have ended on Sept. 25, 2015.
Miller was arrested on Aug. 6 for possession of drug paraphernalia. He was pulled over and a syringe with residue was found in his car.
His most recent arrest, with the exception of the hijacking, was for terroristic threatening and third-degree domestic assault. The incident occurred on Oct. 8.
Miller’s wife said she went to pick up some money from him to help pay for diapers and food their son needed, according to the police report.
He took their son out of the car seat when she arrived, went inside the residence at 1000 Richard St. and began to change the baby’s diaper, she said.
His wife told police that his behavior was odd and she believed “he was high on methamphetamine, which is his normal choice of drugs,” according to the report.
Miller’s wife said she would not let him see their son if he was going to stay on drugs. That is when they began to argue and his wife decided to leave with the baby.
She told police Miller threw a dirty diaper at her face and then pushed her into the living room. He grabbed her by the neck and threatened to choke and kill her, his wife said, according to the report.
Leader staff writer
Shelia Hart is relieved that the man who held her and 11 children at knifepoint during the Oct. 17 hijacking of a Pinewood Elementary bus has been sentenced to 55 years with the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
“I was satisfied with it. I’m just glad it’s finally over,” the heroic bus driver told The Leader on Friday. Hart has been praised for keeping the man and the children calm during the incident.
The hijacker, 22-year-old Nicholas John Miller, pleaded guilty on Thursday to 11 counts of kidnapping. He will be eligible for parole in 13 years and nine months.
Hart was glad that she, and especially the kids, didn’t have to go through the ordeal of testifying.
The bus driver added that she has been doing well since the hijacking and hasn’t needed counseling, although it was offered to her and the kids.
Hart said, “I’ve had a lot of days that I’ve thought about it, but it’s getting better.”
During the hijacking, Miller had “psychotic symptoms” like hallucinations and delusions because he had taken “four shots” of methamphetamine, according to a report submitted to the court by the Arkansas State Hospital.
He was also abusing marijuana at that time.
Miller has smoked marijuana since age “12, as much as I could everyday” and methamphetamine since age “14, about two-three times a week up to everyday,” the report continues.
The morning of the incident, Miller allegedly told his father, “People are after me…They are trying to kill me.”
He told doctors at the State Hospital that he had taken four shots of meth before realizing that it wasn’t meth. There was “something wrong” because “my heart started pounding and I got very paranoid,” Miller said, according to the report. The report also states, “He was remorseful of what he did.”
Miller did not “have the capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct” or “the capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law,” according to the report.
On the day of the hijacking, he allegedly ran from relatives and tried to steal a car from a woman he saw at 1010 N. First St. in Jacksonville.
That woman, Karlena Lipari, told Miller she didn’t have a car. He said it would be in her “best interest” to give him her car, according to a police report. She repeated that she didn’t have one.
Lipari then saw four children about to get on the school bus at a regularly scheduled stop nearby. She kept them from boarding it, but Miller got on the bus.
He showed the knife to Hart, who has been taking kids to and from school for 20 years.
Miller told her to drive from the scene and Hart complied, according to the police report. Later, he drove it, but allowed Hart to instruct him on how to work the controls.
Lipari, the parent Miller had approached near the bus stop, called 911.
Jacksonville police caught up with the bus at the 3700 block of North First Street near Little Rock Air Force Base. At speeds around 40 mph, Miller was followed from there to Hwy. 367, John Harden Drive and Hwy. 5 in Cabot — where the 20-minute, 9-mile chase ended.
During the chase, the bus struck a guard rail support on Hwy. 367, ran a stop sign and ran a red light by turning left.
Cabot police put out a spike strip on Hwy. 5/Mountain Springs Road. Miller slowed down and veered off the road, coming to a stop, when he saw it.
The State Hospital’s report states that, when the hijacker finally stopped, investigators and witnesses said they heard Miller say, “People are trying to kill me. The only way to get away from them is to hijack the school bus…to save my life…no plans to hurt any children…not to get (expletive) up on drugs…I am going to prison…drive the bus to Arizona or until gas run out.”
The hospital’s report also offered a glimpse at Miller’s life.
He had abused cocaine, ecstasy and Xanax until 2010, it states.
Miller told doctors that he had recently started seeing “images and shadows” and experiencing insomnia for three to nine days.
The California native separated from his wife in July. She and their 2-year-old son live in Jacksonville.
Miller was living with his grandmother in Jacksonville, according to the report.
He dropped out of Jacksonville High School after completing ninth grade.
For six months, Miller had a job at a carpet warehouse in Arizona. Then he was fired for fighting with a coworker.
Miller has had several run-ins with the law.
He was arrested for the May 28 breaking and entering of a vehicle and theft of property. A Sherwood Police Department-issued $400 shotgun and $400 in cash were stolen. Fingerprints were found at the scene.
Miller wasn’t prosecuted for the theft charge but pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain to the breaking and entering charge. He was sentenced to two years of probation that would have ended on Sept. 25, 2015.
Miller was arrested on Aug. 6 for possession of drug paraphernalia. He was pulled over and a syringe with residue was found in his car.
His most recent arrest, with the exception of the hijacking, was for terroristic threatening and third-degree domestic assault. The incident occurred on Oct. 8.
Miller’s wife said she went to pick up some money from him to help pay for diapers and food their son needed, according to the police report.
He took their son out of the car seat when she arrived, went inside the residence at 1000 Richard St. and began to change the baby’s diaper, she said.
His wife told police that his behavior was odd and she believed “he was high on methamphetamine, which is his normal choice of drugs,” according to the report.
Miller’s wife said she would not let him see their son if he was going to stay on drugs. That is when they began to argue and his wife decided to leave with the baby.
She told police Miller threw a dirty diaper at her face and then pushed her into the living room. He grabbed her by the neck and threatened to choke and kill her, his wife said, according to the report.
SPORTS STORY>>Lonoke’s new look ignites new energy
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The Lonoke Jackrabbits took the field for their first spring football practice on Monday with some new faces and a new look. Lonoke took to the practice field dawning purple helmets as opposed to the traditional white helmets from years past.
It’s a fresh new look that’ll go along with the Jackrabbits’ new uniforms that’ll arrive later this summer – a look Lonoke coach Doug Bost says his players are excited about.
“The kids are excited,” Bost said. “They love them. I tell you what; it’s also our year for new uniforms. We’ll get those in around July. We knew this year we were getting new uniforms, so we thought, hey, let’s just change up the helmets, too, and we showed them off to the kids about a month ago and they’re excited about it.”
Other than the new helmetsthe players were excited to try out, Bost said it was just good to get all of his players back on the football field and be in a practice setting again.
“It’s exciting,” Bost said. “This year we had a bunch of kids play baseball – about 13 – and their season ended about two weeks ago. So we’ve got the whole team out there. I think our numbers are right at 48 (players). It’s just been good to get out there.
“We feel like we’ve had three good days of practice. We’ve done an hour of defense, an hour of offense. We’ve got a lot back from last year that are very familiar with our offense and defense, so that’s been real good.”
The most noticeable returning starter on offense is junior running back Josh Coleman. Last year as a sophomore, Coleman ran for 1,400 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Jackrabbits, who finished the season 9-3 and advanced to the second round of the class 4A state playoffs.
“He’s definitely a big part of our offense,” Bost said of Coleman.
Besides Coleman, Bost said he and his staff feel good about the rest of the talent they have at the skill positions, including junior Mark Odom, who played receiver some last year, as well as the rest of the receiving corps.
“Mark Odom is a kid that moved here from Cabot last year. He didn’t get a lot of playing time, but he’s the fastest kid that we have. The receivers are going to be good for us. Justin Meadows, he started the last six games for us. We feel real good about our skill guys.”
Savonte Rountree, a junior, is expected to take the starting quarterback job, but Bost said that sophomore Logan Dozier will get plenty of reps at the position as well. Dozier quarterbacked the junior Jackrabbits to a conference championship last fall.
Bost will have to find some players to fill in on his undersized offensive line. Three starters graduated from last year’s team, but center Chance Bronson and right tackle Jacob Vandiver are returning starters up front.
That’s one area Bost will have to sure up, but he said he feels good about where they currently stand on the defensive side of the ball.
Bost said he’s got seven to nine starters already in mind for his 4-3 defense, all of whom have varsity experience, including leading tacklers Ethan Holland, a middle linebacker, and outside linebacker Chandler Elmore.
“Those were our two leading tacklers,” Bost said. “They’re both back in their linebacker spots. We feel good about defense.”
Overall, Bost added that the transition from offseason workouts to spring drills has been relatively smooth.
“It’s been pretty smooth,” Bost said. “Spring time and summer time you want to get those back-ups plenty of reps, and they need to know the plays as good as the first group does.
“You never know what can happen. You want to have somebody that can step in and know what to do. We really want to give those guys a chance to get in there and show what they can do.”
Leader sportswriter
The Lonoke Jackrabbits took the field for their first spring football practice on Monday with some new faces and a new look. Lonoke took to the practice field dawning purple helmets as opposed to the traditional white helmets from years past.
It’s a fresh new look that’ll go along with the Jackrabbits’ new uniforms that’ll arrive later this summer – a look Lonoke coach Doug Bost says his players are excited about.
“The kids are excited,” Bost said. “They love them. I tell you what; it’s also our year for new uniforms. We’ll get those in around July. We knew this year we were getting new uniforms, so we thought, hey, let’s just change up the helmets, too, and we showed them off to the kids about a month ago and they’re excited about it.”
Other than the new helmetsthe players were excited to try out, Bost said it was just good to get all of his players back on the football field and be in a practice setting again.
“It’s exciting,” Bost said. “This year we had a bunch of kids play baseball – about 13 – and their season ended about two weeks ago. So we’ve got the whole team out there. I think our numbers are right at 48 (players). It’s just been good to get out there.
“We feel like we’ve had three good days of practice. We’ve done an hour of defense, an hour of offense. We’ve got a lot back from last year that are very familiar with our offense and defense, so that’s been real good.”
The most noticeable returning starter on offense is junior running back Josh Coleman. Last year as a sophomore, Coleman ran for 1,400 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Jackrabbits, who finished the season 9-3 and advanced to the second round of the class 4A state playoffs.
“He’s definitely a big part of our offense,” Bost said of Coleman.
Besides Coleman, Bost said he and his staff feel good about the rest of the talent they have at the skill positions, including junior Mark Odom, who played receiver some last year, as well as the rest of the receiving corps.
“Mark Odom is a kid that moved here from Cabot last year. He didn’t get a lot of playing time, but he’s the fastest kid that we have. The receivers are going to be good for us. Justin Meadows, he started the last six games for us. We feel real good about our skill guys.”
Savonte Rountree, a junior, is expected to take the starting quarterback job, but Bost said that sophomore Logan Dozier will get plenty of reps at the position as well. Dozier quarterbacked the junior Jackrabbits to a conference championship last fall.
Bost will have to find some players to fill in on his undersized offensive line. Three starters graduated from last year’s team, but center Chance Bronson and right tackle Jacob Vandiver are returning starters up front.
That’s one area Bost will have to sure up, but he said he feels good about where they currently stand on the defensive side of the ball.
Bost said he’s got seven to nine starters already in mind for his 4-3 defense, all of whom have varsity experience, including leading tacklers Ethan Holland, a middle linebacker, and outside linebacker Chandler Elmore.
“Those were our two leading tacklers,” Bost said. “They’re both back in their linebacker spots. We feel good about defense.”
Overall, Bost added that the transition from offseason workouts to spring drills has been relatively smooth.
“It’s been pretty smooth,” Bost said. “Spring time and summer time you want to get those back-ups plenty of reps, and they need to know the plays as good as the first group does.
“You never know what can happen. You want to have somebody that can step in and know what to do. We really want to give those guys a chance to get in there and show what they can do.”
SPORTS STORY>>Jacksonville all offense in spring drills
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Red Devils don’t have a head football coach and most of the remaining staff has been busy with spring sports and state tournaments, but about 50 players have still come out for spring football practice with offensive coordinator Adam Thrash overseeing activities.
And it’s been an offensive-oriented seven practices so far.
“We put in a basic man defense and that’s what we’ve been working against,” said Thrash. “But it’s been an offensive spring. We’re teaching them man because that’s the easiest thing to learn and we’re young. I’m not saying that’s what we’re going to be playing all the time, but that’s what we’re going with now.”
Thrash wasn’t specific about what kind of offense the team has been working on, apparently because there is no specific offense.
“Our offense is going to be a surprise,” Thrash said. “I know me to run a full spread being from Pulaski Academy, but we’re doing a little bit of everything.”
Personnel has dictated the schemes, according to Thrash.
“We’ve got Lamont Gause, an All-State running back, back, and we have to get him the ball,” Thrash said. “We’ve also got some speed on the edges and we have to get the ball out there, too. We’re trying to find creative ways to get the ball to the playmakers. That’s basically what our offense is about.”
Thrash wouldn’t even rule out a loaded backfield and two tight end sets.
“That’s an option,” Thrash said. “That’s a possibility. There are advantages and disadvantages to that. When you spread them out there are fewer to block and fewer mistakes to be made blocking. When you bring them in you have more blockers and fewer people to beat once you’re past the line. So we’re not ruling out anything.”
Thrash also says there has been lots of heavy conditioning work, and that enthusiasm and work ethic have remained high in spite of the tougher practice sessions.
“We have guys that want to be here,” Thrash said. “When I call practice, they want to keep working. And that’s great to see.
“We have conditioned hard. What we’re trying to do is like what (Nick) Saban said. ‘We want to get the right guys on the bus and the wrong guys off the bus.’ And that’s happening. We’ve got quite a bit fewer here now than we did when spring started. We’re weeding out the ones who are just here for a jersey.”
Some former players have helped out with practice, including Razorback sophomore Kevin Richardson – who has helped the defensive backs.
While Jacksonville lost some speed to graduation and transfer, a couple of new faces will help fill that void. Tresean Lambert and Jaylon Tucker have been out for spring drills after running two legs in Jacksonville’s state championship 4x100-meter relay team.
Lambert has been working with the offense and Tucker with the defense, but Thrash, knowing the precariousness of his situation as one of dozens of applicants for the head-coaching position, says that could change.
“I want to two-platoon and Tucker would be a defensive guy,” Thrash said. “You can’t have all your best guys on one side of the ball. But that’s not my call. It’s nobody’s call at the moment so that’s what we’re going with.”
Jacksonville has used seven of their 10 available practices and will complete their spring allotment next week.
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Red Devils don’t have a head football coach and most of the remaining staff has been busy with spring sports and state tournaments, but about 50 players have still come out for spring football practice with offensive coordinator Adam Thrash overseeing activities.
And it’s been an offensive-oriented seven practices so far.
“We put in a basic man defense and that’s what we’ve been working against,” said Thrash. “But it’s been an offensive spring. We’re teaching them man because that’s the easiest thing to learn and we’re young. I’m not saying that’s what we’re going to be playing all the time, but that’s what we’re going with now.”
Thrash wasn’t specific about what kind of offense the team has been working on, apparently because there is no specific offense.
“Our offense is going to be a surprise,” Thrash said. “I know me to run a full spread being from Pulaski Academy, but we’re doing a little bit of everything.”
Personnel has dictated the schemes, according to Thrash.
“We’ve got Lamont Gause, an All-State running back, back, and we have to get him the ball,” Thrash said. “We’ve also got some speed on the edges and we have to get the ball out there, too. We’re trying to find creative ways to get the ball to the playmakers. That’s basically what our offense is about.”
Thrash wouldn’t even rule out a loaded backfield and two tight end sets.
“That’s an option,” Thrash said. “That’s a possibility. There are advantages and disadvantages to that. When you spread them out there are fewer to block and fewer mistakes to be made blocking. When you bring them in you have more blockers and fewer people to beat once you’re past the line. So we’re not ruling out anything.”
Thrash also says there has been lots of heavy conditioning work, and that enthusiasm and work ethic have remained high in spite of the tougher practice sessions.
“We have guys that want to be here,” Thrash said. “When I call practice, they want to keep working. And that’s great to see.
“We have conditioned hard. What we’re trying to do is like what (Nick) Saban said. ‘We want to get the right guys on the bus and the wrong guys off the bus.’ And that’s happening. We’ve got quite a bit fewer here now than we did when spring started. We’re weeding out the ones who are just here for a jersey.”
Some former players have helped out with practice, including Razorback sophomore Kevin Richardson – who has helped the defensive backs.
While Jacksonville lost some speed to graduation and transfer, a couple of new faces will help fill that void. Tresean Lambert and Jaylon Tucker have been out for spring drills after running two legs in Jacksonville’s state championship 4x100-meter relay team.
Lambert has been working with the offense and Tucker with the defense, but Thrash, knowing the precariousness of his situation as one of dozens of applicants for the head-coaching position, says that could change.
“I want to two-platoon and Tucker would be a defensive guy,” Thrash said. “You can’t have all your best guys on one side of the ball. But that’s not my call. It’s nobody’s call at the moment so that’s what we’re going with.”
Jacksonville has used seven of their 10 available practices and will complete their spring allotment next week.
SPORTS STORY>>Lady Panthers fall in round two
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The Cabot girls’ soccer team won its first-round game in the class 7A state tournament with a 4-3 win over Rogers Heritage on Thursday, May 15 at Bentonville High School, but fell to the tournament hosts and defending state champions the next day, losing by the final score of 3-0.
Even though Cabot won a share of the 7A/6A-East Conference championship for the second year in a row this season, because of point differentials, it entered the state tournament as the No. 3 seed from the Central division behind No. 1 Mount St. Mary and No. 2 Little Rock Central, the only team to beat the Lady Panthers in conference play this year.
The Lady Panthers entered their first-round matchup against Heritage with their top 11 players healthy, but the Lady War Eagles struck first on the scoreboard to lead 1-0.
Cabot’s top scorer, Jessica Souza, pulled the Lady Panthers to an even 1-1 score with a stellar one-on-one goal that shot into the upper portion of the net. Heritage, however, once again took the lead with a corner kick that Cabot failed to clear.
Sydney Farquharson scored the next goal for Cabot on a one-touch half volley to the right upper portion of the net after getting on the end of a crossing pass from Souza. The score was 2-2 at the half.
The Lady Panthers appeared to take the lead for good when Devin Patterson scored in typical fashion by getting on the end of a Codee Park corner kick that gave Cabot a 3-2 lead. Souza scored shortly after receiving a crossing pass from Anna Applegate that made it a 4-2 game.
Heritage kept at it and earned a penalty kick that led to the final goal of the game, and Cabot held them off for the remainder of the first round to advance to the second against Bentonville.
The tournament hosts proved to be the superior team as they ended Cabot’s season with a 3-0 triumph over the Lady Panthers. All three of the Lady Tigers’ goals scored in that game came in the first half.
“We just couldn’t get going in attack,” said Cabot girls’ coach Kerry Castillo. “Defensively, we were also breaking down. The stigma of Bentonville along with some apparent stage fright seemed to be our Achilles’ heel. In the end, they were just the superior team on that day.”
Even though Cabot lost the game, Castillo is proud of his team for its accomplishments this season, especially the senior class, which joined the program the same year Castillo took over head coaching duties.
“They came in the same year I did,” Castillo said. “A year earlier, the program saw only one win. Now, we’ve made the playoffs for four consecutive years, been co-conference champions for two years in a row now, and have taken the program from a one-win season in 2010 to eight in 2011, 10 in 2012, 13 in 2013 and 15 in 2014.
“That is a testament to the foundation those seniors laid with much hard work and sacrifice of their time to get better. We’ve lost two years in a row in the quarterfinals now, signifying that we’re one of the top eight teams in 7A.
“We will only become more successful as time passes and younger girls see how successful they can be and how successful we can be. I have lofty expectations for our future and it’s due to this year’s group of seniors for building us one year at a time for their high-school career.
“I wish I could do more to express my gratitude to them. They are very special to me.”
The Lady Panthers ended their season with a 15-5-2 record and a 6-1 record in conference play.
Leader sportswriter
The Cabot girls’ soccer team won its first-round game in the class 7A state tournament with a 4-3 win over Rogers Heritage on Thursday, May 15 at Bentonville High School, but fell to the tournament hosts and defending state champions the next day, losing by the final score of 3-0.
Even though Cabot won a share of the 7A/6A-East Conference championship for the second year in a row this season, because of point differentials, it entered the state tournament as the No. 3 seed from the Central division behind No. 1 Mount St. Mary and No. 2 Little Rock Central, the only team to beat the Lady Panthers in conference play this year.
The Lady Panthers entered their first-round matchup against Heritage with their top 11 players healthy, but the Lady War Eagles struck first on the scoreboard to lead 1-0.
Cabot’s top scorer, Jessica Souza, pulled the Lady Panthers to an even 1-1 score with a stellar one-on-one goal that shot into the upper portion of the net. Heritage, however, once again took the lead with a corner kick that Cabot failed to clear.
Sydney Farquharson scored the next goal for Cabot on a one-touch half volley to the right upper portion of the net after getting on the end of a crossing pass from Souza. The score was 2-2 at the half.
The Lady Panthers appeared to take the lead for good when Devin Patterson scored in typical fashion by getting on the end of a Codee Park corner kick that gave Cabot a 3-2 lead. Souza scored shortly after receiving a crossing pass from Anna Applegate that made it a 4-2 game.
Heritage kept at it and earned a penalty kick that led to the final goal of the game, and Cabot held them off for the remainder of the first round to advance to the second against Bentonville.
The tournament hosts proved to be the superior team as they ended Cabot’s season with a 3-0 triumph over the Lady Panthers. All three of the Lady Tigers’ goals scored in that game came in the first half.
“We just couldn’t get going in attack,” said Cabot girls’ coach Kerry Castillo. “Defensively, we were also breaking down. The stigma of Bentonville along with some apparent stage fright seemed to be our Achilles’ heel. In the end, they were just the superior team on that day.”
Even though Cabot lost the game, Castillo is proud of his team for its accomplishments this season, especially the senior class, which joined the program the same year Castillo took over head coaching duties.
“They came in the same year I did,” Castillo said. “A year earlier, the program saw only one win. Now, we’ve made the playoffs for four consecutive years, been co-conference champions for two years in a row now, and have taken the program from a one-win season in 2010 to eight in 2011, 10 in 2012, 13 in 2013 and 15 in 2014.
“That is a testament to the foundation those seniors laid with much hard work and sacrifice of their time to get better. We’ve lost two years in a row in the quarterfinals now, signifying that we’re one of the top eight teams in 7A.
“We will only become more successful as time passes and younger girls see how successful they can be and how successful we can be. I have lofty expectations for our future and it’s due to this year’s group of seniors for building us one year at a time for their high-school career.
“I wish I could do more to express my gratitude to them. They are very special to me.”
The Lady Panthers ended their season with a 15-5-2 record and a 6-1 record in conference play.
SPORTS STORY>>Heptathlon Top 10 deep with locals
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Four local competitors finished in the Top 10 of the 2014 high school heptathlon that took place Wednesday and Thursday at Cabot High School. Three Lady Panthers, including Lexi Weeks, Tori Weeks and Danielle McWilliams, and Beebe Lady Badger Madison Richey finished third, fourth, seventh and ninth respectively out of 66 competitors in the seven-event meet.
Payton Stumbaugh of Springdale Har-Ber won it for the second time and set a new heptathlon record with 5,210 points. She also avenged her loss last year to Crossett’s Kelsey Herman. Stumbaugh, a senior who will run for the University of Oklahoma next year, won the heptathlon her in 10th grade while Herman was injured. Herman, who will run for the University of Arkansas next year, won last year and took second this year with 4,956 points.
Lexi Weeks finished with 4,423 points; Tori Weeks was just 42 points behind that with 4,381. Bryant’s Melinda Murdock was fifth. Forrest City’s Dominique Dillard took sixth. Bentonville’s Logan Morton was eighth and Parkview’s Jada Bylark rounded out the Top 10.
The three Cabot entries are all juniors and were the only non-seniors in the Top-10.
McWilliams didn’t run track at all her sophomore year, but came back this season and became a key contributor for the Lady Panthers’ team, which finished fourthin the class 7A state meet and third in the Meet of Champions.
“I didn’t run my sophomore year because I wanted to focus on basketball,” said McWilliams. “But things change. I wanted to come out and try it this year. I really did not expect to place this high at all, so I’m very happy with my performance.”
Richey finished fifth two years ago and 11th last season as a junior. She was happy to be back in the Top 10, but even happier that her total score reflected her improvement.
“My sophomore year was my highest finish, but my lowest point total,” said Richey. “My points have gone up every year so I’m pleased with that. The competition is just getting really strong. There are a lot of talented athletes out here.”
Stumbaugh and Herman had the best marks in two events each, while Des Arc’s Kirby Smith, who finished 14th overall, had best marks in discus and shot put. Melinda Murdock turned in the best time in the 800.
Tori Weeks had the second-best discus throw at 98-4.75, was second fastest in the 800-meter race at 2:21.53 and was the only athlete besides the top two to jump farther than 18-feet in the long jump.
Herman set heptathlon records in the long jump and high jump, going 18-11.25 and 5-9.25 respectively. Stumbaugh won the 100-hurdles and the 200-yard dash.
Lexi Weeks was third best in the hurdles behind the top two, and had the third best time in the 200 and 800.
Cabot could enter as many as five athletes in next year’s heptathlon. Each team is allowed two competitors in addition to any competitor that finished in the Top 10 the previous year.
“The twins, of course, did really well last year,” said Cabot track coach Leon White. “I felt like Danielle had a chance to do really well even if she didn’t know it. I knew she was fast, that’s why I recruited her to come back out and run for us.”
Only one area athlete finished in the Top 10 in the boys’ decathlon. Beebe sophomore Connor Patrom finished eighth with 5,214 points. Rogers-Heritage senior Daniel Spickes won with 6,488 points.
Har-Ber senior Sain-Thomas Mathew was second, Bentonville senior Jordan Patrick third, Hamburg sophomore Lorenzo Watkins fourth, Crossett sophomore Travern Caldwell fifth, Melbourne junior Dalton Romero sixth, NLR senior Clayton Smith seventh, Lake Hamilton junior Donell West ninth and Sheridan senior Tyler Wallace rounded out the Top 10.
Leader sports editor
Four local competitors finished in the Top 10 of the 2014 high school heptathlon that took place Wednesday and Thursday at Cabot High School. Three Lady Panthers, including Lexi Weeks, Tori Weeks and Danielle McWilliams, and Beebe Lady Badger Madison Richey finished third, fourth, seventh and ninth respectively out of 66 competitors in the seven-event meet.
Payton Stumbaugh of Springdale Har-Ber won it for the second time and set a new heptathlon record with 5,210 points. She also avenged her loss last year to Crossett’s Kelsey Herman. Stumbaugh, a senior who will run for the University of Oklahoma next year, won the heptathlon her in 10th grade while Herman was injured. Herman, who will run for the University of Arkansas next year, won last year and took second this year with 4,956 points.
Lexi Weeks finished with 4,423 points; Tori Weeks was just 42 points behind that with 4,381. Bryant’s Melinda Murdock was fifth. Forrest City’s Dominique Dillard took sixth. Bentonville’s Logan Morton was eighth and Parkview’s Jada Bylark rounded out the Top 10.
The three Cabot entries are all juniors and were the only non-seniors in the Top-10.
McWilliams didn’t run track at all her sophomore year, but came back this season and became a key contributor for the Lady Panthers’ team, which finished fourthin the class 7A state meet and third in the Meet of Champions.
“I didn’t run my sophomore year because I wanted to focus on basketball,” said McWilliams. “But things change. I wanted to come out and try it this year. I really did not expect to place this high at all, so I’m very happy with my performance.”
Richey finished fifth two years ago and 11th last season as a junior. She was happy to be back in the Top 10, but even happier that her total score reflected her improvement.
“My sophomore year was my highest finish, but my lowest point total,” said Richey. “My points have gone up every year so I’m pleased with that. The competition is just getting really strong. There are a lot of talented athletes out here.”
Stumbaugh and Herman had the best marks in two events each, while Des Arc’s Kirby Smith, who finished 14th overall, had best marks in discus and shot put. Melinda Murdock turned in the best time in the 800.
Tori Weeks had the second-best discus throw at 98-4.75, was second fastest in the 800-meter race at 2:21.53 and was the only athlete besides the top two to jump farther than 18-feet in the long jump.
Herman set heptathlon records in the long jump and high jump, going 18-11.25 and 5-9.25 respectively. Stumbaugh won the 100-hurdles and the 200-yard dash.
Lexi Weeks was third best in the hurdles behind the top two, and had the third best time in the 200 and 800.
Cabot could enter as many as five athletes in next year’s heptathlon. Each team is allowed two competitors in addition to any competitor that finished in the Top 10 the previous year.
“The twins, of course, did really well last year,” said Cabot track coach Leon White. “I felt like Danielle had a chance to do really well even if she didn’t know it. I knew she was fast, that’s why I recruited her to come back out and run for us.”
Only one area athlete finished in the Top 10 in the boys’ decathlon. Beebe sophomore Connor Patrom finished eighth with 5,214 points. Rogers-Heritage senior Daniel Spickes won with 6,488 points.
Har-Ber senior Sain-Thomas Mathew was second, Bentonville senior Jordan Patrick third, Hamburg sophomore Lorenzo Watkins fourth, Crossett sophomore Travern Caldwell fifth, Melbourne junior Dalton Romero sixth, NLR senior Clayton Smith seventh, Lake Hamilton junior Donell West ninth and Sheridan senior Tyler Wallace rounded out the Top 10.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
EVENTS >> 5-28-14
McRAE SCHOOL REUNION AND DINNER ON JUNE 7
The annual McRae school reunion will be held at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, June 7 at McRae Middle School, which is now part of the Beebe School District. The class of 1964 will be honored as they mark their 50th anniversary.
Dinner, which is $6 per person, will be served at 6:15 p.m. “If you went to school at McRae but did not graduate from McRae, still come. We would love to see you. I’m sure you will see someone you will know,” according to a news release.
ALZHEIMER'S SUPPORT-GROUP MEETINGS IN CABOT
The Alzheimer’s Association holds a monthly support group meeting at 10 a.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Cabot United Methodist Church. The meetings are hosted by Cindy Jones, Linda Vining and Jane Gunter. For more details, call 501-259-0646.
‘THE NERD’ AT CABOT THEATER THIS WEEKEND
“The Nerd” will be performed at the Cabot Community Theatre on Friday, May 30 through Sunday, June 1. Proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society. The shows on May 30-31 will include dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the performances start at 7:30. A matinee, without a meal, will be at 2 p.m. on June 1. Call 501-941-2266 for reservations. The theater is at 204 N. First St.
JACKSONVILLE CHAMBER LUNCHEON ON JUNE 17
The Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce will hold its quarterly luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 17 at the Jacksonville Community Center, 5 Municipal Drive.
Andrew Parker, the director of governmental affairs for the Arkansas State Chamber, will speak. Tickets are $15 for members and $30 for nonmembers with advance registration or $40 after June 10. Call 501-982-1511 to RSVP or email chamber@jacksonville-arkansas.com.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS MEETING HELD IN CABOT
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are held five times a week at the Lonoke County Christian Clinic, 502 Richie Road.
Closed discussions are held at 8 p.m. Tuesdays and at 7 p.m. Wednesdays. An open discussion is held at 8 p.m. Fridays, and an open-book study is held at 10 a.m. Saturdays. A closed meeting for women is held at 6 p.m. Sundays.
For more information, visit www.araadist6.org.
AUSTIN SPRINGFEST SET FOR SATURDAY
Austin Springfest will be held from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday.
The festival, which will raise money for the city’s volunteer fire department, will kick off with a parade at 10 a.m., a beauty pageant at 11 p.m., dance performances at 1 p.m., a Lonoke County police dog demonstration at 2 p.m., military police dog demonstration at 3 p.m. and the Luke Williams Band will perform from 4 until 6 p.m.
McGruff the Crime Dog and Smokey the Bear will also be on hand. The event will include a dunking booth and a silent auction.
The Austin Community Auxiliary, which is sponsoring the festival, is asking for donations of baked goods for a cake auction. They may be dropped off at city hall on Friday.
To rent a booth or for more information, call Austin City Hall at 501-941-2648 or Mayor Bernie Chamberlain at 501-941-8974.
BRIDGE PLAYERS NEEDED AT SHEPHERD’S CENTER
The Shepherd’s Center at Beebe United Methodist Church is seeking bridge players for its weekly game at 1 p.m. Wednesdays. Beginners are welcome. For more information, call Pat Graham at 501-843-2930.
The annual McRae school reunion will be held at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, June 7 at McRae Middle School, which is now part of the Beebe School District. The class of 1964 will be honored as they mark their 50th anniversary.
Dinner, which is $6 per person, will be served at 6:15 p.m. “If you went to school at McRae but did not graduate from McRae, still come. We would love to see you. I’m sure you will see someone you will know,” according to a news release.
ALZHEIMER'S SUPPORT-GROUP MEETINGS IN CABOT
The Alzheimer’s Association holds a monthly support group meeting at 10 a.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Cabot United Methodist Church. The meetings are hosted by Cindy Jones, Linda Vining and Jane Gunter. For more details, call 501-259-0646.
‘THE NERD’ AT CABOT THEATER THIS WEEKEND
“The Nerd” will be performed at the Cabot Community Theatre on Friday, May 30 through Sunday, June 1. Proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society. The shows on May 30-31 will include dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the performances start at 7:30. A matinee, without a meal, will be at 2 p.m. on June 1. Call 501-941-2266 for reservations. The theater is at 204 N. First St.
JACKSONVILLE CHAMBER LUNCHEON ON JUNE 17
The Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce will hold its quarterly luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 17 at the Jacksonville Community Center, 5 Municipal Drive.
Andrew Parker, the director of governmental affairs for the Arkansas State Chamber, will speak. Tickets are $15 for members and $30 for nonmembers with advance registration or $40 after June 10. Call 501-982-1511 to RSVP or email chamber@jacksonville-arkansas.com.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS MEETING HELD IN CABOT
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are held five times a week at the Lonoke County Christian Clinic, 502 Richie Road.
Closed discussions are held at 8 p.m. Tuesdays and at 7 p.m. Wednesdays. An open discussion is held at 8 p.m. Fridays, and an open-book study is held at 10 a.m. Saturdays. A closed meeting for women is held at 6 p.m. Sundays.
For more information, visit www.araadist6.org.
AUSTIN SPRINGFEST SET FOR SATURDAY
Austin Springfest will be held from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday.
The festival, which will raise money for the city’s volunteer fire department, will kick off with a parade at 10 a.m., a beauty pageant at 11 p.m., dance performances at 1 p.m., a Lonoke County police dog demonstration at 2 p.m., military police dog demonstration at 3 p.m. and the Luke Williams Band will perform from 4 until 6 p.m.
McGruff the Crime Dog and Smokey the Bear will also be on hand. The event will include a dunking booth and a silent auction.
The Austin Community Auxiliary, which is sponsoring the festival, is asking for donations of baked goods for a cake auction. They may be dropped off at city hall on Friday.
To rent a booth or for more information, call Austin City Hall at 501-941-2648 or Mayor Bernie Chamberlain at 501-941-8974.
BRIDGE PLAYERS NEEDED AT SHEPHERD’S CENTER
The Shepherd’s Center at Beebe United Methodist Church is seeking bridge players for its weekly game at 1 p.m. Wednesdays. Beginners are welcome. For more information, call Pat Graham at 501-843-2930.
SPORTS EVENTS >> 5-28-14
SHOOTING SPORTS DAY CAMP AT UAPB FARM
The Lonoke County 4-H Club is sponsoring a shooting sports camp on June 9-11 that will feature classroom education and hand-on activities. The first two days will be basic skills in archery and pellet rifles and campers will receive a hunter education certificate. Day three is advanced training and will include muzzleloaders and shotguns. To attend advanced camp students must have completed 3rd grade and attended and completed basic camp.
Camp is open to children ages 5-19 and cost is $50. Space is limited. Applications are available at the Lonoke County Extension Service. For more information, contact Keith Perkins at 501-676-3124.
The Lonoke County 4-H Club is sponsoring a shooting sports camp on June 9-11 that will feature classroom education and hand-on activities. The first two days will be basic skills in archery and pellet rifles and campers will receive a hunter education certificate. Day three is advanced training and will include muzzleloaders and shotguns. To attend advanced camp students must have completed 3rd grade and attended and completed basic camp.
Camp is open to children ages 5-19 and cost is $50. Space is limited. Applications are available at the Lonoke County Extension Service. For more information, contact Keith Perkins at 501-676-3124.
OBITUARIES >> 5-28-14
LOMELIA FYE
Lomelia (Tootsie) Dean Fye, 93, of Little Rock passed away peacefully from natural causes on May 23.
Willie Lomelia Dean, the middle of three girls, was born July 5, 1920, in El Paso to the late John Hollie Dean and Ann Blassin-game Dean.
Her family moved to Beebe, where she proudly graduated from Beebe High School in 1939. Tootsie went on to briefly attend classes at what is now ASU-Beebe before she met her husband, Dan Fye, at a USO dance. They were married July 28, 1942, in Little Rock.
Dan, being career military, was stationed around the United States, as well as Europe. During their 34 years of marriage, they lived in Vermont, Georgia, California and Germany to name their favorites.
Tootsie loved traveling and enjoyed making friends, attending parties and volunteering with several civic organizations wherever they went.
Along with her service, she enjoyed making a home and raising their three children: Liz, Mike (Dan) and Pris. During summers and holidays, they would take their family to the working ranch near Mount Magazine, where Tootsie’s parents lived. Tootsie enjoyed spending time with her parents, sisters, nieces and nephews.
After Dan retired from the service and instructing at Culver Military Academy, the couple relocated to Little Rock to be closer to Tootsie’s parents and other family. She most enjoyed cooking, entertaining, antiquing, collecting rocks and listening to big band and orchestral music.
She will be most remembered for her quick tongue and sharp wit. You never knew what she would do or say when she walked in the room, but you were more than certain not to forget it once she walked out. That is how she will be remembered best by those who knew and loved her.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Dan Fye; older sister, Hollye Byrd Arnold; daughter, Liz Friedricksen, and son, Mike (Dan) Fye.
She is survived by daughter, Pris Houchens and her husband Bill of Sheridan; grandsons, Don Friedricksen of Ithaca, N.Y., Brandon Fye of Franklin, Tenn., J.D. Houchens of Little Rock; sister Ann Harris of Little Rock, and nieces and nephews.
The family extends its heartfelt thanks to the staff of Sheridan Nursing and Rehab for years of dedicated care.
A graveside service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 29 at Grissard Cemetery in El Paso, where she will be buried among family.
Arrangements are by Westbrook Funeral Home.
JERRY GROBER
Jerry Ned Grober, 71, of Conway passed away May 24.
He was born on Dec. 7, 1942, in Fort Smith to the late David Elwood and Jean Gower Grober.
Jerry retired from the Air Force after 20 years, including serving in Vietnam. He later worked in civil service health profession recruiting for the next 27 years. He was a member of the Sherwood Moose Lodge No. 942 since 2006.
He was predeceased by his parents; his wife of 45 years, Wilma Faye Anderson Grober, and his son, Lenny Grober.
Jerry is survived by two daughters, Verna Waddell and her husband Gerry of Lonoke and Nedra Davidson and her husband Larry of Missouri; four grandchildren, Crystal Demster and her husband Damon, John and Kyle Davidson, and Courtney Southerland and her husband Garret; one sister, Karen Jenkins; three brothers, David Grober, Eddie Grober and Jerry Milam, and a special friend, Debbie Ford.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Wounded Warrior Family Foundation, P.O. Box 231464, Montgomery, Ala. 36123. Enclose note: In honor of Jerry Grober.
The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday, May 30 at Roller- Owens Funeral Home Chapel in North Little Rock. Interment will follow at noon at the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in North Little Rock.
The family will receive friends from 6 until 8 p.m. Thursday, May 29 at the funeral home.
LEVETTA WILSON
Levetta Barker Wilson, born Aug. 23, 1944, left this earth on May 24 to go on a fishing date with her husband on Heavenly Ponds and enjoy the outdoors again.
Levetta is survived by her children, Sherry Ward, Keith Wilson, Teresa Stuckey Hunt and Johnny Jr. Wilson; her numerous nieces and nephews who she considered her children; 15 grandchildren (one very dear to her heart); seven great-grandchildren who she loved like her own, and two siblings, Margaret Morrow and Bobby Barker.
She was preceded in death by her husband Kenneth R. Wilson; her mom, Ora Walsh; her dad, Lee Barker, and many others.
Levetta was a loving and giving person; she never met a stranger. She always made sure that there was always room for more.
She loved life, earthly possessions meant nothing, and friends were like family and family was everything. “No fighting,” she would say, “Go outside, not in my house.”
She enjoyed fishing, hunting, friends and family above all. She loved to cook whoever’s favorite dessert or meal just to see them smile.
She loved to laugh and see everyone enjoy the simple pleasures. She was a God-loving woman. A church, she would say is not a building, it was the people and they could serve God wherever they were. She was an upfront person who told you the truth whether you wanted to hear it or not.
The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 28 at Gravel Ridge General Baptist Church in Sherwood with Bro. Robert Hunt officiating. Interment will follow at Sumner Cemetery in Cabot.
Memorials may be made to the Wilson Fund c/o Robert Hunt 15915 Hwy. 107 Sherwood, Ark. 72076.Arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
ELEANOR GILBERT
Eleanor M. Gilbert Staton of Quitman (Cleburne County), formerly of Cabot, passed from this life May 24 and is now at rest with her heavenly father. She was born Aug. 27, 1929, to Sarah and Earl Gilbert in Auburn, Neb.
She was preceded in death by her parents and sisters, Erma, Mildred and Carrie.
Eleanor was a member of Kaley Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Quitman and a former member of Charity Missionary Baptist in Ward.
She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Wayne; son Darrel and wife Joni of Quitman; daughter Brenda of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; son Earl and wife Debbie of Mayflower; sister Lola Fae Ramer of Benton, six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be from 6 until 8 p.m. Thursday, May 29 at Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home in Cabot.
The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 30 at Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home with burial to follow at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Cabot. The family would like to thank the staff of Arkansas Hospice of Faulkner County for their loving care.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Prairie Union Cemetery c/o Elizabeth Sowden, 29 Kali Court, Vilonia, Ark. 72173 or to Mt. Carmel Cemetery, P.O. Box 1092, Cabot, Ark. 72023.
GLEN JONES
Glen Norman Jones, 66, of Collierville, Tenn., passed away on May 24.
He was born Jan. 4, 1948, in Rexburg, Idaho, to the late Glen (Bud) and Barbara Jones.
Mr. Jones was a proud veteran who served in the Marine Corps.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Sharon Jones.
He is survived by his daughter, Tracy Carter, of Collierville, Tenn.; three grandchildren, Christopher Carter, Jesse Carter and Kayleigh Carter; siblings, Don J. and wife Dorothy Jones, Debbie and husband Russ Genter, Bud H. and wife Liza Jones, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be from 6 until 8 p.m. Friday at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 31 at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home. Interment will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Park.
Arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
FAYE SKILLERN
Faye Skillern, 65, died May 24. She was retired from First State Bank in Lonoke. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charlie and Allie Mae Evans Horton, and sisters, Earline Hill and Barbara Tippitt.
Survivors include her husband, Jim Skillern; four children, Shari and her husband Jeffery Gustin of North Little Rock, Dana and her husband Rex Kyzer, Jared Skillern of Lonoke and Jennifer Elmore of Bryant; four grandchildren, Andrew Gustin, Evan Kyzer, Abby Kyzer and Mitchell Elmore; siblings, Mick Horton and his wife Carolyn, Carl Horton and his wife Sandra, Sue Walker and her husband Wendell and Patsy Lassiter and her husband Ronnie, all of Lonoke, and Judy Carpenter and her husband Doyne of Carlisle and numerous nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 28 at New Testament Bapist Church. Burial will follow in Brownsville Cemetery.
Arrangements are by Boyd Funeral Home.
JOSEPH CUNNINGHAM
Joseph Henry Cunning-ham, 66, of Carlisle died on May 22.
He was born on Oct. 23, 1947, in Little Rock to the late Bill and Marie Cunningham.
He spent most of his career working in construction. He recently retired from Wood Grain Mill Works. He was a farmer. He served as a Carlisle city councilman for several terms, was a volunteer fireman for 25 years and fire chief. He was also a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and a member of the Army National Guard.
He is survived by his amazing wife of 47 years, Chloe Cunningham; son, Wally Cunningham of Conway and his wife Nid; daughters, D.J. Duckworth of New York City and Jo’el Cunningham of Little Rock; grandchildren, Corbin Duckworth of New York City, Tro, Keeta and Henry Cunningham of Conway; brothers, Bill Cunningham and wife Charlene of Lonoke, Thomas Cunningham and his wife Janie of Beebe, Richard Cunningham and wife Susan of Carlisle and his sister Jeanne Percefull and her husband Larry of Carlisle; 13 nieces and nephews and 12 great- nieces and nephews.
A Rosary service was held May 26 at Boyd Funeral Home in Lonoke.
A funeral mass was celebrated at St. Rose Catholic Church on May 27. Burial followed at Carlisle Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Arkansas Children’s Hospital or St. Rose Catholic Church.Arrangements were by Boyd Funeral Home.
LETHA MILLS
Letha Kathryn Mills died May 23. She was born and raised in Carlisle.
She was preceded by her parents, Kelly and Beatrice Campbell, and her husbands, Ross L. Mills and Rudy Kober.
She is survived by her children, Virgle Lee Harvey Jr. and Jimmy Dean Mills and his wife Jan; one brother, Wayne Campbell and wife Shirley; grandchildren, Barry Dean Mills and his wife Lori and Kelly Denise Harvey; great-grandchildren, Hunter Mills, Morgan Mills and her husband Cody Burnett and great great-grandchildren, Fisher and Layne Burnett.
She retired from Missouri Pacific Railroad and in retirement loved sewing, taking care of her flowers and caring for her grandchildren and nieces and nephews children.
The funeral was held May 27, with Bro. Chris Garner officiating.
Burial followed at Arkansas Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, donations will be appreciated by Arkansas Hospice or Panola Missionary Baptist Church.
Arrangements were by Boyd Funeral Home.
Lomelia (Tootsie) Dean Fye, 93, of Little Rock passed away peacefully from natural causes on May 23.
Willie Lomelia Dean, the middle of three girls, was born July 5, 1920, in El Paso to the late John Hollie Dean and Ann Blassin-game Dean.
Her family moved to Beebe, where she proudly graduated from Beebe High School in 1939. Tootsie went on to briefly attend classes at what is now ASU-Beebe before she met her husband, Dan Fye, at a USO dance. They were married July 28, 1942, in Little Rock.
Dan, being career military, was stationed around the United States, as well as Europe. During their 34 years of marriage, they lived in Vermont, Georgia, California and Germany to name their favorites.
Tootsie loved traveling and enjoyed making friends, attending parties and volunteering with several civic organizations wherever they went.
Along with her service, she enjoyed making a home and raising their three children: Liz, Mike (Dan) and Pris. During summers and holidays, they would take their family to the working ranch near Mount Magazine, where Tootsie’s parents lived. Tootsie enjoyed spending time with her parents, sisters, nieces and nephews.
After Dan retired from the service and instructing at Culver Military Academy, the couple relocated to Little Rock to be closer to Tootsie’s parents and other family. She most enjoyed cooking, entertaining, antiquing, collecting rocks and listening to big band and orchestral music.
She will be most remembered for her quick tongue and sharp wit. You never knew what she would do or say when she walked in the room, but you were more than certain not to forget it once she walked out. That is how she will be remembered best by those who knew and loved her.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Dan Fye; older sister, Hollye Byrd Arnold; daughter, Liz Friedricksen, and son, Mike (Dan) Fye.
She is survived by daughter, Pris Houchens and her husband Bill of Sheridan; grandsons, Don Friedricksen of Ithaca, N.Y., Brandon Fye of Franklin, Tenn., J.D. Houchens of Little Rock; sister Ann Harris of Little Rock, and nieces and nephews.
The family extends its heartfelt thanks to the staff of Sheridan Nursing and Rehab for years of dedicated care.
A graveside service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 29 at Grissard Cemetery in El Paso, where she will be buried among family.
Arrangements are by Westbrook Funeral Home.
JERRY GROBER
Jerry Ned Grober, 71, of Conway passed away May 24.
He was born on Dec. 7, 1942, in Fort Smith to the late David Elwood and Jean Gower Grober.
Jerry retired from the Air Force after 20 years, including serving in Vietnam. He later worked in civil service health profession recruiting for the next 27 years. He was a member of the Sherwood Moose Lodge No. 942 since 2006.
He was predeceased by his parents; his wife of 45 years, Wilma Faye Anderson Grober, and his son, Lenny Grober.
Jerry is survived by two daughters, Verna Waddell and her husband Gerry of Lonoke and Nedra Davidson and her husband Larry of Missouri; four grandchildren, Crystal Demster and her husband Damon, John and Kyle Davidson, and Courtney Southerland and her husband Garret; one sister, Karen Jenkins; three brothers, David Grober, Eddie Grober and Jerry Milam, and a special friend, Debbie Ford.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Wounded Warrior Family Foundation, P.O. Box 231464, Montgomery, Ala. 36123. Enclose note: In honor of Jerry Grober.
The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday, May 30 at Roller- Owens Funeral Home Chapel in North Little Rock. Interment will follow at noon at the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in North Little Rock.
The family will receive friends from 6 until 8 p.m. Thursday, May 29 at the funeral home.
LEVETTA WILSON
Levetta Barker Wilson, born Aug. 23, 1944, left this earth on May 24 to go on a fishing date with her husband on Heavenly Ponds and enjoy the outdoors again.
Levetta is survived by her children, Sherry Ward, Keith Wilson, Teresa Stuckey Hunt and Johnny Jr. Wilson; her numerous nieces and nephews who she considered her children; 15 grandchildren (one very dear to her heart); seven great-grandchildren who she loved like her own, and two siblings, Margaret Morrow and Bobby Barker.
She was preceded in death by her husband Kenneth R. Wilson; her mom, Ora Walsh; her dad, Lee Barker, and many others.
Levetta was a loving and giving person; she never met a stranger. She always made sure that there was always room for more.
She loved life, earthly possessions meant nothing, and friends were like family and family was everything. “No fighting,” she would say, “Go outside, not in my house.”
She enjoyed fishing, hunting, friends and family above all. She loved to cook whoever’s favorite dessert or meal just to see them smile.
She loved to laugh and see everyone enjoy the simple pleasures. She was a God-loving woman. A church, she would say is not a building, it was the people and they could serve God wherever they were. She was an upfront person who told you the truth whether you wanted to hear it or not.
The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 28 at Gravel Ridge General Baptist Church in Sherwood with Bro. Robert Hunt officiating. Interment will follow at Sumner Cemetery in Cabot.
Memorials may be made to the Wilson Fund c/o Robert Hunt 15915 Hwy. 107 Sherwood, Ark. 72076.Arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
ELEANOR GILBERT
Eleanor M. Gilbert Staton of Quitman (Cleburne County), formerly of Cabot, passed from this life May 24 and is now at rest with her heavenly father. She was born Aug. 27, 1929, to Sarah and Earl Gilbert in Auburn, Neb.
She was preceded in death by her parents and sisters, Erma, Mildred and Carrie.
Eleanor was a member of Kaley Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Quitman and a former member of Charity Missionary Baptist in Ward.
She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Wayne; son Darrel and wife Joni of Quitman; daughter Brenda of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; son Earl and wife Debbie of Mayflower; sister Lola Fae Ramer of Benton, six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be from 6 until 8 p.m. Thursday, May 29 at Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home in Cabot.
The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 30 at Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home with burial to follow at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Cabot. The family would like to thank the staff of Arkansas Hospice of Faulkner County for their loving care.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Prairie Union Cemetery c/o Elizabeth Sowden, 29 Kali Court, Vilonia, Ark. 72173 or to Mt. Carmel Cemetery, P.O. Box 1092, Cabot, Ark. 72023.
GLEN JONES
Glen Norman Jones, 66, of Collierville, Tenn., passed away on May 24.
He was born Jan. 4, 1948, in Rexburg, Idaho, to the late Glen (Bud) and Barbara Jones.
Mr. Jones was a proud veteran who served in the Marine Corps.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Sharon Jones.
He is survived by his daughter, Tracy Carter, of Collierville, Tenn.; three grandchildren, Christopher Carter, Jesse Carter and Kayleigh Carter; siblings, Don J. and wife Dorothy Jones, Debbie and husband Russ Genter, Bud H. and wife Liza Jones, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be from 6 until 8 p.m. Friday at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 31 at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home. Interment will follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Park.
Arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
FAYE SKILLERN
Faye Skillern, 65, died May 24. She was retired from First State Bank in Lonoke. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charlie and Allie Mae Evans Horton, and sisters, Earline Hill and Barbara Tippitt.
Survivors include her husband, Jim Skillern; four children, Shari and her husband Jeffery Gustin of North Little Rock, Dana and her husband Rex Kyzer, Jared Skillern of Lonoke and Jennifer Elmore of Bryant; four grandchildren, Andrew Gustin, Evan Kyzer, Abby Kyzer and Mitchell Elmore; siblings, Mick Horton and his wife Carolyn, Carl Horton and his wife Sandra, Sue Walker and her husband Wendell and Patsy Lassiter and her husband Ronnie, all of Lonoke, and Judy Carpenter and her husband Doyne of Carlisle and numerous nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 28 at New Testament Bapist Church. Burial will follow in Brownsville Cemetery.
Arrangements are by Boyd Funeral Home.
JOSEPH CUNNINGHAM
Joseph Henry Cunning-ham, 66, of Carlisle died on May 22.
He was born on Oct. 23, 1947, in Little Rock to the late Bill and Marie Cunningham.
He spent most of his career working in construction. He recently retired from Wood Grain Mill Works. He was a farmer. He served as a Carlisle city councilman for several terms, was a volunteer fireman for 25 years and fire chief. He was also a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and a member of the Army National Guard.
He is survived by his amazing wife of 47 years, Chloe Cunningham; son, Wally Cunningham of Conway and his wife Nid; daughters, D.J. Duckworth of New York City and Jo’el Cunningham of Little Rock; grandchildren, Corbin Duckworth of New York City, Tro, Keeta and Henry Cunningham of Conway; brothers, Bill Cunningham and wife Charlene of Lonoke, Thomas Cunningham and his wife Janie of Beebe, Richard Cunningham and wife Susan of Carlisle and his sister Jeanne Percefull and her husband Larry of Carlisle; 13 nieces and nephews and 12 great- nieces and nephews.
A Rosary service was held May 26 at Boyd Funeral Home in Lonoke.
A funeral mass was celebrated at St. Rose Catholic Church on May 27. Burial followed at Carlisle Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Arkansas Children’s Hospital or St. Rose Catholic Church.Arrangements were by Boyd Funeral Home.
LETHA MILLS
Letha Kathryn Mills died May 23. She was born and raised in Carlisle.
She was preceded by her parents, Kelly and Beatrice Campbell, and her husbands, Ross L. Mills and Rudy Kober.
She is survived by her children, Virgle Lee Harvey Jr. and Jimmy Dean Mills and his wife Jan; one brother, Wayne Campbell and wife Shirley; grandchildren, Barry Dean Mills and his wife Lori and Kelly Denise Harvey; great-grandchildren, Hunter Mills, Morgan Mills and her husband Cody Burnett and great great-grandchildren, Fisher and Layne Burnett.
She retired from Missouri Pacific Railroad and in retirement loved sewing, taking care of her flowers and caring for her grandchildren and nieces and nephews children.
The funeral was held May 27, with Bro. Chris Garner officiating.
Burial followed at Arkansas Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, donations will be appreciated by Arkansas Hospice or Panola Missionary Baptist Church.
Arrangements were by Boyd Funeral Home.
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