Wednesday, June 29, 2005

NEIGHBORS>> Banding together

IN SHORT: Shepherd’s Center members mark hummingbirds

By Sara Greene
Leader staff writer

Members of The Shepherd’s Center in Beebe took a field trip this
month to Lakeview Country Club in Hardy for a once-in-a-life- time experience of banding hummingbirds.

The group visited the home of E. P. “Perk” Floyd, one of a few people licensed to band birds in Arkansas. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues the difficult to obtain licenses. Floyd has written several guides on Arkansas birds including “All About Cardinals.”

“I estimate we’ve banded about 6,000 birds over the years,” Floyd said.

He and his wife, Leannah, have banded goldfinches, titmouses, indigo buntings, wrens, sparrows and cardinals.

There are 19 different types of hummingbirds in the continental United States and nine have been spotted in Arkansas.

Hummingbirds are hard to see in flight. The birds’ miniature wings flap so rapidly, there is a buzzing sound as they zip past, hence the “humming.”

Floyd catches the hummingbirds by placing a feeder in cage. Hummingbird feeders are filled with sugar water tinted red with food coloring to replicate nature’s nectar.
After the bird flies into the cage to feed, the cage door is closed. Floyd said the number of hummingbirds attracted to the feeder varies. He may capture two hummingbirds in an hour. Other times, he may capture 12.

Floyd reaches in and gently captures the birds in his hand. Holding the small, fragile birds properly is of utmost importance.

He wraps the birds in a mesh cloth. He takes the birds inside to weigh and measure.
Some of the captured birds will get a small numbered band attached to their tiny leg. Others already have the numbered bands. Numbers of the banded birds are recorded in a logbook.

“By banding the birds and tracking the numbers, we learn where the birds go and how long they live,” Floyd said. “The biggest challenge in banding hummingbirds is the weather, if it’s pouring down rain, the birds won’t come to the feeders.”

When captured, the humming bird goes into a quiet, trance-like state. To release the birds, members of The Shepherd’s Center held the birds, sometimes gently touching their feathers. The birds would come out of their stupor and fly away.

The field trip was a great hands-on learning experience for the group. Many of the members have hummingbird feeders in their gardens and patios.

“This was a great experience for our group,” said Paul Ramsey, executive director of The Shepherd’s Center of Beebe. “I learned so much about the birds that I didn’t know before.”

Floyd served for 25 years with the U. S. Public Health Service. He is a former high school and college teacher has degrees in zoology and chemistry. He’s been a member of the Audubon Society since 1940, but his appreciation of nature’s birds began long before that.

“I started watching birds when I was 10 years old,” he said. “It’s been a lifelong hobby.”

SPORTS>> Local all-stars shine

IN SHORT: West wins All-Star game, East defense still strong

By Ray Benton
Leader sports editor

FAYETTEVILLE – The East All-Star football team couldn’t come away with a victory last Friday night at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, but all three local players in the game started for the East squad in defense and did a good job against the high-octaned offense of the West.

Jacksonville’s Clinton McDonald played right outside linebacker while Sylvan Hills’ Kevin Hubbard played opposite McDonald at left outside linebacker. Right in between those two was Cabot’s Thomas Valdez, who started at nose guard for the East squad.
The West won the game 28-13, but gained very little yardage against the East’s starting defense.

The West took the ball to start the game and went three and out. After three pass plays gained no yardage, a fourth pass on fourth and 10 was almost a certainty.

West QB Johnny Brewer of Rogers took the snap out of the shotgun, but never got to release the ball. McDonald shed his blocker effortlessly and drilled an unsuspecting Brewer in the back for the first of his two sacks in the game.

Hubbard almost blocked the ensuing punt on fourth and long.

The two teams traded possessions a couple more times in the first quarter, but an East turnover inside its own 20-yard line set the West up nicely.

Even with their backs to the wall, the East defenders had stopped the West from getting a first down, but the first of several personal foul penalties on the East kept the West drive alive.

Still, it took three plays for the West to get one yard, when game MVP Brandon Barnett of Texarkana caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Brewer in the right corner of the North end zone.

Most of the starters for both teams took a seat in the second quarter, but the West left Barnett on the field. The Razorback signee broke loose early in the second quarter against the East’s second string and scampered 35 yards for the score and a 14-0 West lead.

The East answered in the second quarter with the option offense guided by CAC quarterback Jesse Gates. Gates and Wynne running back Courtney Williams carried the team down the field before Williams scored on a 13-yard run. The extra point was no good and the West led 14-6. Another long run on the West’s ensuing possession, this one by El Dorado quarterback Josh Shepherd, put the West up 21-6 heading into halftime.

The East answered and cut the margin to 21-13 on the first possession in the second half. Oak Grove tailback Darren McFadden did the bulk of the work this time, capping the drive with an 18-yard run up the middle for the score.

It became a defensive struggle the rest of the way with starters and the best of the second string playing the game out.

Valdez and McDonald played all but one snap in the second half while Hubbard sat most of the time. Hubbard became involved in a couple of scuffles with West tight end Mitch Petrus, leading to his bench time in the second half.

Petrus played the rest of the game, and became a pest to McDonald in the second half, leading to a scene late in the game that saw Carlisle’s big Colorado State signee flung to the ground by the future Memphis Tiger. No call was made on that play, despite the incident taking place about 12 yards behind the line of scrimmage and 25 yards away from the ball.

After McDonald, Valdez and the rest of the East defense forced a third straight West punt, the East turned it over again deep in their own territory with three minutes left.

An exhausted East defense made little resistance this time, allowing the West to score in just four plays, this time another run by Barnett, his third touchdown of the game.
All three local players turned in good performances, with McDon-ald’s huge hit early on highlighting a strong performance.

The nose guard doesn’t usually make a lot of tackles, and that was the case Friday for Valdez, but the Cabot defensive lineman did an excellent job of plugging up the middle and forcing the West to go outside.

Valdez made his presence known in practice earlier in the week, getting two sacks in the East’s first intra-squad scrimmage Wednesday morning. His play in that scrimmage drew praises from his conference rival, but East teammate Hubbard.

“I didn’t even know who he was until we got here, but he’s awesome,” Hubbard said.
Hubbard signed with the Razorbacks, but will play junior college ball to gain his eligibility.

SPORTS>> Gwatney misses several chances

By Ray Benton
Leader sports editor

SHERIDAN – After a red-hot start to the Sheridan Wooden Bat Classic, the Jacksonville AAA team cooled off considerably the rest of the way.

Jacksonville bludgeoned Little Rock Red 15-0 in the tournament opener, but lost two of three the rest of the way.

The Gwatney squad fell 7-3 to Trumann on Friday, but came back to beat Conway 5-3 on Saturday to advance to bracket play in Sunday.

Against Pine Bluff in the first round of bracket play, Jacksonville turned in its worst performance of the tournament, losing 7-5.

“After that first one, we didn’t hit very well,” Jacksonville coach Bob Hicking-botham said. “We misplayed a few ground ball and we’re just having problems throwing strikes. It wasn’t very pretty overall. We’re getting a few hits and creating opportunities for ourselves, but we’re doing a terrible job of capitalizing on those opportunities.”

Hickingbotham was referring specifically to the Pine Bluff game, when his squad trailed 7-4 heading into the sixth inning. In the sixth and seventh frames, Gwatney loaded the bases with no outs, but managed only one run to set the final margin.

“It takes some work to load the bases with no outs and not score, but we did it two innings in a row,” Hickingbotham said. “We had the opportunity to bust it wide open and got one run.”

The one run came when Brandon Clements walked with the bases loaded in the seventh. That was after a scoreless sixth inning that saw the top of the lineup blow a prime opportunity.

Jacksonville’s seven, eight and nine hitters loaded the bases, but the top of the order could not capitalize.

“The bottom of the lineup did pretty well,” Hickingbotham said. “We had exactly what you want in those innings. We had the bottom of the lineup get on base with the top coming up. We just didn’t do a thing with it. This isn’t the first time it’s happened either. We’re developing a little problem of leaving too many on base. We are not stepping up in prime situations.”

The 2-2 record at Sheridan left Jacksonville with a 7-7 record overall.
The Gwatney boys played Maumelle Tuesday night after Leader deadlines.
They begin play in their own annual Fourth of July Classic Thursday night against Benton at 8 p.m.

EDITORIAL>> Nervous about Iraq

President Bush went on TV Tuesday evening to reassure the American people that progress is being made in Iraq. He has seen support for the war, and his own approval rating, slipping as more and more Americans question the wisdom of our involvement in Iraq and the evidence that was presented to them about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction.

Most Americans now believe the war was a mistake fought with dubious evidence against Saddam, a nasty dictator, to be sure, but not the most dangerous tyrant in the world. North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il, who does indeed possess nuclear weapons, remains in power, as do the Iranian mullahs, who are just a few years away from producing their own nuclear missiles.

As the U.S. death toll keeps climbing well above 1,700, support for the war and the president’s policies has inevitably fallen dramatically. An administration that once convinced most Americans it knew what it was doing in Iraq is now scrambling to shore up support for a guerrilla war that now has haunting similarities to Vietnam, as Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., himself a veteran of the earlier conflict, pointed out the other day.

After months of denial, the Pentagon is admitting for the first time that our occupation of Iraq will not end anytime soon as insurgents continue killing Americans and Iraqis every day.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, one of the architects of our Iraq adventure, conceded over the weekend that victory over the insurgents is not on the horizon. This is an astonishing admission, since Rumsfeld had confidently predicted easy victory before the war and never imagined that a resistance would develop after Saddam’s fall. The defense secretary had a simple strategy for victory in Iraq, or so he thought: 10-30-30, he called his winning formula — it would take 10 days to defeat Saddam Hussein, 30 days to install a new regime and 30 more days to move on to the next military target.

The 10-30-30 formula needs a little tweaking after Rumsfeld’s pessimistic prognosis. Historian Niall Ferguson pointed out recently, the formula should be restated in years, not days. Rumsfeld said as much on Sunday’s TV talk shows: The fighting in Iraq could well extend beyond a decade, which will inevitably lead to more U.S. casualties.
The professional soldiers who planned the invasion of Iraq knew it wouldn’t be easy occupying a huge country with several warring factions that would resent our presence there.

We were ill-prepared for a protracted battle in Iraq and did not send enough troops into battle. As Hagel pointed out, civilian planners in the Pentagon overruled the professionals who knew it would take several hundred thousand soldiers to pacify Iraq.
The U.S. could leave before the end of the decade, but our departure would mean another bloodbath like those that followed our departure from Vietnam and Cambodia and elsewhere. Veterans like Hagel see a frightening replay of an earlier debacle and what’s going on in Iraq today.

This is not the war that the American people supported more than two years ago as we backed the administration’s goal of toppling Saddam Husssein and getting rid of his weapons of mass destruction. Saddam is in prison, but now we know that the weapons of mass destruction were a figment of Saddam’s imagination (and ours).

Vice President Cheney is probably the only U.S. official who still thinks the rebellion is “in its last throes.” Rumsfeld and his generals know better, as do most Americans, especially the families of the fallen soldiers.

OBITUARIES

Alvie Southern

Alvie Leon Southern, 76, of Mablevale was called home to be with his heavenly father on April 27 in Little Rock.

He was born on Feb. 24, 1929, in Carlisle to the late James and Mary Ellen Dennis Southern. He was a long time member of Victory Baptist Church of Cabot.

He served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps for 17 years. He served the city of Jacksonville for 14 years and retired a police captain of investigations. He is survived by his loving wife of 53 years, Frances Dolorese “Del” Southern; three daughters and sons-in-law, Sandra and Taylor Pinkerton, Patricia and David Stacks of Mabelvale and Letha and Alan Swicegood of Ellabell, Ga.; 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Thursday at Victory Baptist Church in Cabot with Rev. Ben Leonard officiating.

Entombment will follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Park in Jacksonville. Visitation will be from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.

Funeral arrangements are under direction of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.

Ursula Polk

Ursula Sue Nunn Polk, 52, of Lansing, Kan., passed away June 26 at Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan.

She was born on Dec. 20, 1952 at Fort Hood, Texas, the daughter of Howard and Ilse Kalmering Nunn. As a child she lived in Germany and Turkey.

She was salutatorian of Jacksonville High School graduating class of 1971. She graduated with honors from the University of Central Arkansas, where she majored in political science. In 1976, she received her commission as second lieutenant in the Army.

The Polks were stationed in Germany, where Ursula gave birth to their daughter, Jessica Marie on Aug. 22, 1980.

She received her master’s degree in public administration from American University in Washington in 1983.

She graduated with distinction and was admitted to the National Honor Society for Public Administration.

She and her husband were stationed at West Point, N.Y., where both served as assistant professors.

She was one of the first women to teach at the United States Military Academy where their son, John Edward Ronald, was born May 19, 1985.

The Polks were stationed in Panama and participated in Operation Just Cause of 1989. She participated in both the planning and the execution of the operation and became one of the first post-Vietnam female soldiers to earn a combat patch.

She was an active member and advocate of St. Paul Lutheran Church and School in Leavenworth, Kan.

She is survived by her husband Fred and son John, both of Lansing, Kan.; and daughter Jessica of Topeka, Kan.

Her mother lives in Jacksonville. Her surviving sisters are Sandra Owens of Covington, Ga., and Angel Hope of Harrison.

Funeral services will be held at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Leavenworth, Kan., at 10 a.m. Thursday. Burial will be at Leavenworth National Cemetery at 11 a.m. Floral arrangements may be sent to Davis Funeral Chapel, 531 Shawnee St., Leavenworth, Kan.

Memorials may be made in Ursula’s name to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 650309, Dallas, Texas, 75265.

William Pipkins

William Howard Pipkins, 61, of Liberty, Texas, passed away June 19.

He was the son of the late Jess and Rev. Mae Pipkins of McRae. He was also preceded in death by one brother, Harold Glen and an infant son.

He is survived by his wife, Connie; a son, Scott of Richmond, Texas; three daughters, Sherry Doucet of Beaumont, Texas, Pam Talent and Lisa Roy of Liberty, Texas; three brothers, Harlie of Quinlan, Texas, Arlen of Beebe and Lester of Farmington, N.M.; three sisters, Delois Mills of Jacksonville, Ruth Wyatt of Vilonia and Mabel Hooper of Beebe; eight grandchildren; an aunt, Dorothy Mason of Beebe; two uncles, Gene Mason of LeMesa, Calif., and Chuck Stidham of Eastland, Texas, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Military services were held June 23 at Liberty. Burial was in Oakdale Cemetery at Daisetta, Texas.

TOP STORY>> Fourth of July family fun set

IN SHORT: Fireworks, food, frolic and fellowship abound when communities hold their holiday celebrations starting this weekend.

By Rick Kron
Leader staff writer

Fireworks, food, frolic and fellowship abound this Fourth of July weekend.

Jacksonville, Cabot, Sherwood, Ward and Little Rock Air Force Base all have festivities planned.

Jacksonville gets the July Fourth holiday weekend started Friday with its patriotic spectacular “Our Flag Was Still There.”

Cabot, Sherwood and Ward have parades, ceremonies, special activities and fireworks all slated for Monday.

Gates at Jacksonville High School’s Jan Crow Stadium open at 6 p.m. for Friday’s freedom celebration.

The event includes local singers, an 80-member choir, a multi-media spectacular, reenactments of historical events and close with a fireworks final complete with 3-D glasses. Last year more than 3,500 people attended the event which honors military members, emergency professional and teachers.

Cabot

Cabot’s salute this year will focus primarily on military members in the area, across the state and throughout the nation. The event, “Welcome Home the Troops Celebration,” will be at the Cabot High School stadium Monday. Gates will open at 6 p.m. and activities will start at 7 p.m.

“The entire event is to honor our military,” explained Karen Davis, operations director for Cabot. Among the events will be a “Missing In Action” performance by members of the Little Rock Air Force Base.

There will also be local entertainers including the band, Praise the Band. “We’ll even have free ice cream for the first 1,000 people in the gate,” Davis said. Band boosters will operate concession stands. Entertainment will start about 6 p.m. and go until the fireworks finale. “The fireworks will be about 9 or 9:15. Whenever it gets good and dark,” Davis said.

Sherwood

Sherwood’s Family Fourth of July Celebration will also be Monday from 6 to 9 p.m. at Sherwood Forest, 1111 W. Maryland Ave. A free flag will be given to everyone who attends.

Individuals will also be able to buy bricks for the city’s veterans’ memorial. Each brick costs $100, and construction of the memorial will start in August.

The city will also provide free shuttle bus service from Sylvan Hills High School parking lot to Sherwood Forest.

There will be free hamburgers, hot dogs, soda and chips, along with entertainment by Steve Perry and Friends, The Highway 5 Band, Mabel Seelinger, the “Legends Live On” performers and the Radio Disney Party Patrol, and then fireworks.

Ward

Ward starts off its Fourth of July activities at 4 p.m. Monday with a parade along Highway 367 to the ballfields.

After the parade there will be all kinds of fun, family activities, arts and crafts booths and food will be served from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and entertainment will start at 6 p.m. and go until the fireworks show, about 9:15.

The Little Rock Air Force Base will also have a fireworks show and picnic at the large base lake. Activities start at 3 p.m. and go until the fireworks show at 9:30. “There’ll be music, food and games,” said Lt. John Quinlan, a base spokesman.
All the events are free.

TOP STORY>> Officials say sewer woes not as bad

IN SHORT: Problems cited by state and federal officials have been addressed in Cabot.

By Joan McCoy
Leader staff writer

Cabot’s sewer treatment plant is too small for its growing population and functions poorly, but the man who is ultimately responsible for its operation says it isn’t quite as bad off as it appears from comments made in letters from the state and federal agencies that are closely watching it.

Jim Towe, Cabot public works director, said this week that some of the problems noted recently by inspectors with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency were because parts of the plant were shut down for repairs. Those repairs have been made and the plant is again functioning normally.
And as for the workers being so poorly trained that they are unable to understand the reasons for the problems at the plant, Towe says it should be known that their immediate supervisor was out of town when the ADEQ and EPA made its surprise inspection.

The staff was intimidated by the inspectors, he said, but that doesn’t mean they don’t know what they are doing.

The city council last week started the process of raising sewer rates to pay for a $16.5 million sewer treatment plant.

At the same time, David Hicks, a member of the Public Utilities Commission that the council abolished and revamped as the Water and Wastewater Commission, announced that a group of concerned citizens were starting a petition drive to challenge the rate increase and build the facility with an existing one-cent sales tax.

No one who has been involved with the operation of the plant says it shouldn’t be replaced especially since the city has already been fined about $25,000 and could be fined even more since the EPA has started monitoring it.

But Towe says workers at the plant are doing their best to maintain it until that happens.

In a letter to Trey Lieblong, district field inspector with the ADEQ dated June 22, Towe responded to the shortcomings noted in Lieblong’s letter dated June 13 saying the city is aware that the current treatment plant is inadequate and is taking steps to build a new one.

As for the workers at the plant,he acknowledges that most haven’t been trained long, but they are trained.

Towe writes in part: “The inadequacy of the current facility is acknowledged; however, the city of Cabot in association with USI Engineering/Burns & McDonnell is committed to the construction of a new facility in order to eliminate violations and improve the environmental quality throughout the city.

“The wastewater department views training as a priority. Training of all personnel is ongoing.

“Most of the current wastewater employees had no previous wastewater treatment or operations experience prior to their employment with the city.

All but one (out of seven) has been on staff less than two years. As of September 1, 2003, one employee was licensed as a class 1 operator. Currently there are four Class I operators, one Class II and two Class III’s. All Class I operators are currently scheduled for upgrade training through both the Arkansas Environmental Academy and Arkansas Rural Water Association.”

TOP STORY>> We're Number 1

IN SHORT: LRAFB is center of C-130 universe as rodeo team is big winner again.

Staff and wire reports

“You hear it all the time, ‘We’re the best C-130 base in the world.’ Here’s the proof,” said Senior Airman John Ritter, a member of the award-winning 314th Airlift Wing Rodeo team.

Ritter and his teammates from Little Rock Air Force Base returned to a hero’s welcome at the base Saturday, after a weeklong national and international competition at McChord Air Force Base, at Washington State.

The 314th Airlift Wing was named Best C-130 Wing and Best Airdrop Wing on Friday following the Air Mobility Command Rodeo 2005 international competition.

“Winning the best airdrop wing is sweet because not only were they competing against C-130s, they also competed against C-17 crews,” said Col. Joseph Reheiser, 314th AW commander. “It says a lot for the venerable C-130.”

The competition focused on improving the skills of air mobility professionals. Little Rock Air Force Base’s team brought home a total of six trophies from the competition, validating the long-standing belief that they are the best of the best.

The competition included airdrop, air refueling, aero medical evacuation, security forces procedures, short-field landings, combat offloads and ground-support activities such as security forces, aerial port operations and maintenance operations.

The 314th AW and 463rd Airlift Group also came home with four more trophies — the 463rd AG was lauded as the Best C-130 Aircrew and the 314th AW earned bragging rights as the Best C-130 Post-flight Team, Best C-130 Maintenance Team and Best C-130 Airdrop Crew.
Beating the C-17s in the airdrop competition wasn’t the only major feat accomplished by the 314th AW.

Fourteen C-130s from seven nations competed for the title Best C-130 Wing, but only the 314th AW had what it takes to emerge the victor, according to Reheiser.

“The C-130 wing award is huge,” said Reheiser. “There were seven or eight international competitors, all of which flew the C-130. So, by far, the C-130 category had the most competitors — more than double in any competition. To be the best of that many competitors says a lot about the 314th Airlift Wing and Little Rock. We have world-class airmen and world-class leadership, top to bottom.”

With 27 U.S. teams and six international competitors — Brazil, France, Germany, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and United Kingdom — competing, the Air Mobility Rodeo is known around the world as the premiere competition for bases, wings, squadrons and crews to find who’s the best of the best.

Friends, family members, co-workers civic leaders, and community partners at an arrival ceremony at the base welcomed the base team Saturday.

“The support from community could not have been better ... we could not have done it with out you,” said Lt. Col. Thom Gilster, 314th AW Rodeo commander.

Air Mobility Command leadership also spoke about the lessons that airmen will take away from the event.

“These experiences will serve you better in your career,” said Gen. John Handy, Air Mobility Com-mand and U.S. Transportation Command commander. “(It’s all about the chance to) compete hard, play hard, and enjoy yourself. We will now be a better Air Force and a better world.”

But competition wasn’t the only thing on the minds of participants. Several traditions were also in force as teams exchanged hatpins, T-shirts, key chains, coins and cultures. Saudi Arabia, France and Germany brought many of their traditions, drinks, food and customs to McChord AFB to share with Ameri-cans. In turn, they were offered barbecue, rock music and cowboy hats.

“It was a good time had by all,” said Capt. Tom Ulmer, 314th AW Rodeo deputy commander. “We worked hard, played hard and came home with some hardware. The months of training we put in were totally worth it. We are the best C-130 and airdrop wing in the world!”

(LRAFB Public Affairs contributed to this report.)

TOP STORY>> Traffic is going one way

IN SHORT: Access roads in Sherwood and North Little Rock make big change.

By John Hofheimer
Leader staff writer

As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, motorists moving between Hwy. 67/167 and the adjacent frontage roads on the stretch between McCain Boulevard and Wildwood Avenue no-longer face nerve-wracking and dangerous two-way traffic.

Landers Road is now one-way north, Warden Road, one-way south, so traffic entering and leaving the highway will always be merging with traffic moving that same direction.
The conversion to one-way frontage roads, by press time, came off without any major problems.

The revamped frontage roads are part of the $22.5 million project that includes widening the highway to six lanes along that stretch.

It also includes construction a a “Texas flyover” connecting the two frontage roads just north of McCain Boulevard, elevation of the highway in front of the old Sherwood Wal-Mart to allow crossover between the two one-way roads and an additional lane at Wildwood, allowing northbound traffic on Landers to come back south on Warden, according to Farrell Wilson, state Highway and Trans-portation department spokesman.

Both frontage roads will be reduced to one lane while additional work is completed, she said. The Texas Flyover won’t open for 48 hours, she said, meaning traffic at that end of the loop will have to use the existing McCain Boulevard Bridge to get from Warden to Landers Road.

The one-way frontage roads form a counterclockwise loop.

Orange barrels and electronic messages boards will help direct traffic while motorists get used to the new configuration, Wilson said.

The design of the turnaround at Five-Mile Creek does not allow traffic from McClanahan Drive to cross under the highway to travel north on Landers, Wilson said. The conversion will make the roads safer and able to carry more traffic, Wilson said.
As the main corridor in and out of central Arkansas from the north, approximately 80,000 vehicles travel the highway each day.

Wilson said work on the highway between McCain and Wildwood should be completed by the end of the summer. Bids will be let this fall for work to widen to six lanes Hwy. 67/167 from McCain to I-40 and from Wildwood to Kiehl.