Wednesday, March 08, 2006

OBITUARIES >> 3-8-06

JOHN WILEY, 61

John F. Wiley, 61, of Jacksonville died March 3. He was a retired mechanic from Smurfit Stone.
Wiley is survived by two sons and daughters-in-law Chris and Jackie Wiley of Jacksonville and Travis and Bertha Wiley of Houston, Ark., one brother, Walter Van New of California; one sister, Phyllis Kimbell of Collinsville, Ill.; three grandchildren, Joanna Wiley and Elizabeth and Dona Sumler; two great-grandchildren, Johnathan Norman and Brandon Wiley.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Cabot Funeral Home Chapel with interment at Johnson Chapel Cemetery in Des Arc.

JERRY MARSHALL, 75

Jerry Jean Wells Marshall, 75, of Ward, died March 4.
She was born March 9, 1930, in El Paso to the late Roy W. and Clarice Boardman Wells.
She was a member of Mars Hill Church of Christ.
In addition to being a homemaker, she was a rural mail carrier and during World War II, she worked at the arsenal in Jacksonville. She served the city of Ward as an alderman on the city council for many years. She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Robert Harold Marshall of Ward, and five children, Paula Henderson and her husband, Steve, who preceded her in death, of England, Vicky Hendrix and her husband John of Cabot, Robbie Marshall and his wife, Lori of Sixteenth Section, Alesia Roberts and her husband, Darrell of Ward and Renee Shepard and her husband, Jerry of Harrison.
She is also survived by one sister, Betty Ridgeway of Ward, and two brothers, Carl Wells of Vilonia and Dennis Wells of Conway as well as eight grandchildren, Torey, Paula, Jesse, Marshall, Faith, Darla, Kaitlan and Sarah. She was always a loving wife, mother and grandmother.
The funeral service will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. in the Cabot Funeral Home Chapel officiated by Brother David Riley and Brother Joe Johnson.
Burial will follow in Sixteenth Section Cemetery.
Memorials in honor of Jerry Marshall may be made to Arkansas Hospice.

ILA SULLIVAN, 80

Ila Fay Sullivan, 80, of North Little Rock died March 6.
She was born May 4, 1925, in Cabot to the late Horace Lee and Grace Evelyn Bailey Mulkey. She graduated high school and attended Draughn’s School of Business before her career in computer services for the Arkansas Highway Department. She was also an avid reader.
She is survived by three children; Roy Lee Sullivan of North Little Rock, Carol Jean Wawerna of Prescott, Ariz., and Hosea Dan Sullivan of Little Rock. She is also survived by one grandson, Brandon Seagroves of Atlanta, Ga., and one brother, Ronald Lewis Mulkey of Cabot. The family will receive friends from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday at Cabot Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be sent to the Humane Society of Pulaski County at 14600 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock, Ark., 72210.
Services are under the direction of Cabot Funeral Home.

BARBARA BALDING, 55

Barbara Balding, 55, of Austin, died March 4.
She was a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and a retired truck driver. She is survived by her husband, Mack A. Balding of Austin.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Westbrook Funeral Home, Beebe.

COY HODGES, 95

Coy Homer Hodges, 95, of Austin, passed away March 3.  
He was born Jan. 5, 1911, to Mr. and Mrs. Luther Hodges in Beebe.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Illamae Dover and one daughter, Cynthia Baucum. He is survived by one son, Loyd and wife Deborah Hodges of Cabot; two grandchildren, Dawn Lewis and Holly Hodges. Graveside services were held Tuesday at Sumner Cemetery in Cabot. Arrangements were by Moore’s Cabot Funeral Home.

ALMA FORD, 79

Alma Jean Ford, 79, of Jacksonville, passed away March 5. She was born Dec. 23, 1926, in Morrilton to the late Abner and Thelma Chandler Fitzgerald.
She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Vernon Ford of Jack-sonville; two daughters, Benita Crook of Jacksonville and Belinda McNew of Cabot; two sisters, Jan Moore of Fayetteville and Betty Bolling of Oklahoma; brother, Jackie Fitzgerald of Alma; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Graveside services were held Tuesday at Arkansas State Veteran’s Cemetery with arrangements by Thomas Funeral Service of Cabot.

JOEY MAHONEY, 8

Joey Mahoney, 8, of Cabot died March 2. He was born March 22, 1997, in Little Rock. Joey and his family attended Faith Christian Center. He was an honor student with straight A’s at Southside Elem-entary School in Cabot.
He en-joyed playing video games, working on the computer, riding his bike FAST, and playing with his brothers. Joey is the oldest of three children.
He is survived by his parents; Seath and Jammie Mahoney of Cabot; two brothers, Blain and Colton Mahoney of Cabot.  
He is also survived by his maternal grandparents; Kevin and Tina Colton of Cabot, who he called Nana and Papa; paternal grandparents, Janice Mahoney and John Stanley of Houston, Texas, who he called Memaw and Papa; his great-grandparents, Mary and Jessie Martindale of Jacksonville, Dale and Louise Crabtree of Austin and Connie and George Mahoney of Cabot. To Joey, Mary and Connie were known as “Granny” and George was known as “Pop.” Joey is also survived by two great-great grandmothers; Selma Thornton, “Granny T,” of Cabot and Auda Martindale of Little Rock as well as a host of aunts, uncles and cousins.
Funeral services were held Tuesday at Faith Christian Center with Pastor Gene Gilliam officiating. Burial followed in King Cemetery in Cabot.
Arrangements were by Cabot Funeral Home.

MARY ROBINSON, 89

Mary S. Robinson, 89, of Hazen Nursing Center, formerly of Zimmerman Nursing Home in Carlisle, died Feb. 22. She was preceded in death by her husband Frank Robinson.
Survivors include her daughter, Reola Blackwell of Michigan.
Arrangements are incomplete and under the direction of Boyd Funeral Home in Lonoke.

L.C. DRENNAN, 88

L.C. ‘’Pete’’ Drennan, 88, of El Paso passed away March 4 after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Rosabelle; one son, Wendall and wife Ninette of El Paso; two grandchildren, Cheryl and husband John Reaves and Mark and wife Misty Drennan of El Paso; four great-grandchildren, Cody, Ellie, and Will Reaves, Pete Drennan and one special niece, Alice Nipper, of Beebe. 
He is preceded in death by his parents, Martha and Christopher and wife Kit Drennan; five brothers, Lois, Otha, Charlie, Boone, and Buddy; three sisters, Carrie Ander-son, Valrie Price and Velma Harston.
He was an excellent farmer and an avid outdoorsman.
He loved fishing, hunting, and all types of sports. As a young man, he was a very good baseball and basketball player. He was also a member of the White County ASCS Committee for 35 years. 
The family wishes to thank all of his friends and neighbors for their loving support.
A special thanks to the nurses and aides from Hospice Home Care of Searcy which allowed him to stay at home with his family and on the farm which he loved.
Funeral services were held Tuesday at Westbrook Funeral Home with burial in Grissard Cemetery.

GENE BAKER, 79

Gene Baker, 79, of Antioch, died March 4. He was a retired constable for Antioch Township.
He is survived by his son, Billy and wife Teresa Baker of Beebe; his daughter, Jamie and husband Bobby Brown of Antioch; five grandchildren, Joshua Hackler, Christopher Hackler, Madison Brown, Sean Henderson and Sarah Baker; one great-grandchild, Nathan Lovell; four brothers, Doug Baker and Wayne Baker, both of Cabot, J. D. Baker and W. C. Baker, both of Beebe; two sisters, Anne Schultz of Ohio and Evelyn Blake Hodges of Kensett.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty, and a sister, Lois Baker.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at West-brook Funeral Home in Beebe. Funeral is at 2 p.m. Thursday at Westbrook Funeral Home, with burial in Antioch Cemetery.

VERNIE MCEUEN, 92

Vernie Haynie McEuen, 92, of Beebe, was born Nov. 26, 1913, at McRae, (16th Section) to Samuel and Susie Evans Haynie, and she died March 6, 2006.
She was Past Worthy Matron of Forrest Park Chapter of Eastern Star in Little Rock, and a delegate to Delaware in 1960.
She was a 50 member of Eastern Star in 2004, was active in Railroad Engineers Wives Club for many years, and was a member of Union Valley Baptist Church in Beebe.
She was always a very loving mother, an excellent cook, and was known for the wonderful pies that she baked. She loved to fish, and not too many years ago raised a huge garden.
She is survived by two sons, Ray McEuen, Jr. and wife Sue, and James M. McEuen and wife Donna, all of Beebe; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; one sister, Helen Powell of Escon-dido, Calif.; and many nephews and nieces.
She was preceded in death by her husband Ray McEuen, Sr. who was a retired engineer for Missouri Pacific Railroad, after almost 70 years of marriage; also, her parents, one brother, two sisters and one grandson.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at West-brook Funeral Home in Beebe. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at Westbrook Fune-ral Home. Burial will be in Weir Cemetery. Rev. Tommy Miller will officiate.
Memorials may be made to Union Valley Baptist Church, 932 Hwy. 64 West, Beebe, Ark., 72012.

JAMES REAVES, 76

James W. “J.W.” Reaves, 76, of Beebe, was born Nov. 3, 1929, to Issac E. and Mary Ethel Island Reaves. He went home to be with the Lord on March 6.
He retired from Arkansas Best Freight System after 38 years of service.
He served four years in the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Auxiliary and then worked as the animal control officer for the city of Beebe for seven years.
He was a member of Harrison Chapel Church at Beebe.
He is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Syble Reaves; two sons, Randy Reaves and wife Sandy of Cabot and David Reaves and wife Nancy of Beebe; two daughters, Vicky Reed of Cabot and Holly Reaves Dugger of Searcy; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; one sister, Naomi Jen-kins of Beebe and many other loving relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his beloved pets and best friends, Teddy and Charlie.
J.W. sincerely loved his family as well as dogs and all animals. He enjoyed jigsaw puzzles, woodworking, gardening and decorating for Christmas.
He will be missed by all who knew and loved him.
His family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Westbrook Fune-ral Home with burial in Meadow-brook Memorial Gardens at Beebe.

SAT 3-8-6 EDITORIAL >> Beebe sues payday lenders

Hats off to Attorney General Mike Beebe, who asked a circuit court this week to close a hybrid check-cashing business at Jonesboro that is charging up to 520 percent interest. Money in a Flash.net is a particularly blatant scam so the attorney general and Democratic candidate for governor feels secure in going after one of its outlets.

Money in a Flash.net does make loans, you see, so it claims that the law limiting interest rate charges does not apply to it. So 520 percent interest does not mean anything. Money in a Flash.net contracts with consumers for internet service and charges an annual fee. It “rebates” money to the consumers up front and they pay it back all year. For example, it may “rebate” someone $300 and then over the next year they pay the company biweekly, up to $1,500 over a year. Beebe’s suit maintains that the rebate is a ruse. It’s really a loan to a desperate person, who winds up paying it back five times over in a year.
Of course it is a loan and of course it is illegal.

But Money in a Flash.net is worse only by degrees than scores of other check-cashing companies that charge interest rates many times the lawful limit by disguising interest as something else. Beebe and his predecessor, Mark Pryor, never went after them.

For 50 years, lenders, including big banks and merchants, could not get by with such schemes. They couldn’t fudge even slightly.

The Arkansas Supreme Court interpreted the usury provision in the Constitution to mean what it said and tolerated no nonsense. The law was weakened a bit and the courts have become a trifle more pliant. But in the end, this year perhaps, we trust that the justices will give consumers some justice and hold these payday-lending schemes, all of them, to be beyond the pale.

Meantime, please extend medium-sized congratulations to General Beebe.

SAT 3-8-6 EDITORIAL >> Ruling goes against TIF

Circuit Judge Kim Smith deserves the state’s thanks for striking down a scheme to divert school taxes for downtown business development in Fayetteville. Judge Smith ruled in the only way that the law really permitted but that big development interests refuse to acknowledge.

He said that 25 mills of state-levied property taxes for the schools could not be used to fund a tax-increment-finance district.
But the judge’s ruling was so narrow that it does not afford Arkansas school children the protection they deserve. Let us hope that the Arkansas Supreme Court gives them that protection.

A constitutional amendment permitting the creation of tax-increment districts would allow local governments to take away the growth from school millage and other local ad-valorem taxes and turn it over to commercial development projects. Few voters in Arkansas understood the implications of the amendment, which was characterized in wholly different ways during the election.

Everyone should understand that neither the Fayetteville project or any other, whether it is at Rogers, Jonesboro or North Little Rock, is simply a local concern. The taxes come from every school district in Arkansas. Some of your school taxes would go to the Fayetteville project, although you would have no say about it.

Judge Smith ruled that the growth in tax receipts from the schools’ 25 mills could not be used in the Fayetteville project, but the legislature amended the law after that project was proposed. Developers can argue that the judge’s reasoning does not apply to projects proposed since the 2005 changes in the law.

We think they are mistaken about the law. Taxes that were levied by the voters for school purposes should never be diverted to other purposes. The prevailing law at the time all local school taxes were levied said the receipts could never be used for any other purpose. We believe the Supreme Court will so rule when the proper case reaches it. If we’re wrong, the schools and children are in far greater jeopardy than any of us imagined.

WED 3-8-6 EDITORIAL >> Health plan first in nation

We knew Mike Huckabee pretty well. When he is not in out-of-state Republican precincts bashing gays, abortion and Democrats, Gov. Huckabee is a big-government liberal working to preserve and expand the welfare state. But we frankly were surprised this week by the news that the Bush administration had signed off on a big expansion of government health care, even if it is to be undertaken exclusively in our little state. We thought we knew Bush, too. He has been trying in other ways to slash government health insurance for the poor, not enlarge it.

Let us be the first to congratulate both men on the pilot project announced yesterday to extend Medicaid health benefits to low-wage Arkansas workers and their families. It is a slight enlargement of the employer-based, single-payer system that one day will afford health security to every American. It is not a system that President Bush admires, but whatever the reason he approved Gov. Huckabee’s initiative, he deserves our thanks. Well, we assume the president was aware that his health and human services secretary was approving it.

The governor was allowed to announce Washing-ton’s consent to the project, which will burnish his credentials as the good-health candidate for president. Now, he has more than his weight loss to crow about. Actually, he could already boast that he had beaten most other states in expanding Medicaid to cover tens of thousands of children whose families were above the federal poverty line. This little bit of socialized medicine may not endear him to conservative Republican audiences, but there are still a few Republicans who believe that government is supposed to solve problems and act as a tribune for the neediest. Huckabee will go near the top of their list.

We have an idea that far fewer Arkansans will get the coverage than the 80,000 workers and their families that Huckabee predicts. The conditions that small businesses will have to meet to get the government insurance for their low-wage workers will be too daunting for many (they will have to go into the commercial market and insure every higher-income workers as well). Our pessimism notwithstanding, it is a salutary effort.

Dr. Joe Thompson, now the worthy state health director, developed the program. He was searching for a way to insure the state’s largest uninsured group: the families of low-wage workers in small businesses, very few of whom can afford health insurance. Their employers can’t either.

So now the employers can get the federal government to pick up roughly three-fourths of the tab. That is the rate at which Washington matches Arkansas’ Medicaid coverage for the poor. But instead of the state government putting up the other 25 percent, which Arkansas does for other Medicaid beneficiaries, the employer would in effect do it. The business would pay $15 a month for each worker whose earnings are below twice the federal poverty line, which is about $26,400 for a family of two.
The coverage would be much skimpier than that of other Medicaid beneficiaries — a sizable deductible, limited hospital and physician visits each year and only two prescriptions a month. But barebones is better than they have and it will provide some security for families who have none.

But a condition of an employer’s participation is that every single employee would have to have insurance coverage of some kind, including higher-salaried workers who do not qualify for the Medicaid plan. Our hunch is that will keep hundreds of employers away from the plan and tens of thousands of workers and their families uninsured.

The Arkansas Legislature enacted the plan three years ago and Huckabee submitted it to the Department of Health and Human Services seeking a waiver from the usual rules for Medicaid coverage. The Bush administration rejected it, reportedly because the state government was putting up not a dime for a program that was supposed to involve states sharing the burden of public services. State Rep. David Johnson of Little Rock had the law amended last year to offer the Washington gods a little money from Arkansas’ annual cash bonanza from its settlement of claims against the big tobacco companies. Apparently, that was enough.
We suspect that the state will have to find still further inducements for businesses to participate, but meantime let us hope for their optimum participation. The good health of tens of thousands of children and adults depend upon it. Now what can we do about the uninsured at the megabusinesses, like Wal-Mart?

SPORTS >> Mentor gone, but won’t be forgotten

By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor

Jacksonville lost one of its most dedicated supporters last week when Jacksonville Softball Association director Sam Ashabranner died at the age of 61.

Ashabranner ran the JYSA for the last 12 years and was instrumental in making Dupree Park one of the busiest ballparks in the state. He also played a major role in putting on some of the most well-run tournaments anywhere.

Dupree Park has grown in leaps and bounds since Ashabranner took over the reins. There are better facilities with more and bigger youth tournaments here now than ever before.

Last year, he played a pivotal role in giving Jacksonville its first-ever world series softball tournaments. Ashabranner was key in convincing International Baseball-Softball Association official Greg Belcher that Jacksonville was a great place for his organization to hold its 12-under fastpitch world series.

That tournament brought in state champions from several states, such as Texas, Georgia and Michigan.
While he worked hard to bring the best competition to the area, he wasn’t just about the good players. He was all about the children of Jacksonville, regardless of their skill level.

In an interview with The Leader in July 2002, he explained what he felt was most important for kids to learn about youth sports.

“We’ve got three rules for them (the players) to follow,” Ashabranner said. “The first one is make good grades. Second one is be good to momma and daddy so they don’t get grounded and can’t come play. And third one is to have fun, have as much fun as you can.”

He not only ran the organization as a director, on many occasions he stepped in and coached teams when not enough coaches enlisted to help for a particular league.

Ashabranner did the grunt work too, the physical labor like hanging signs, preparing fields for play and whatever other chores needed to be done.

He even began helping the local high school team for a few seasons when it came up short an assistant coach.
He was the first one at the park to get things started for the day, and he was usually the last one to leave, staying until 3 or 4 a.m. the next day getting everything in order for the coming evening’s activities.

He’s even been known to start sing-alongs of gospel or country and western songs among his patrons that were still there at the park in the wee hours of the morning.

But more than his tireless works for Dupree Park and the young ladies in Jacksonville, what people will miss most about Ashabranner this season, and seasons to come, will be his toothpick smile and belly laugh.

The wide-brimmed straw hat gliding effortlessly through the thick crowd on Saturday afternoons was most assuredly Sam on his golf cart, off to take care of something, or maybe just to get to the field on the other side of the park because a local team was playing an important game.

He frequently joked about how bad he had it, but his almost constant grin willingly gave the truth away.
He loved being at the park around friends and the kids, and would just as frequently say so.

He had many, many friends. People gravitated towards him, as people often do towards those as friendly, funny and generous as Sam Ashabranner.

His longtime friend and co-worker at the park, Sissy Colvert, described her pal well.
“He was just great,” Colvert said.

“He was generous. If he had a dollar, you had a dollar. He was funny and you couldn’t help but like being around him.
He was the kind of person that if you had the worst of days, Sam would walk into the park and things would just get better.”
His tireless effort, his jolly countenance and his unparalleled dedication is irreplaceable and will be missed.
And “Poor Ole Sam” will never be forgotten.

SPORTS >> Lady Panthers beaten in semis

By JASON KING
Leader sports writer

An amazing run came to an end on Saturday afternoon at the UALR Stephens Center when the Cabot Lady Panthers lost their AAAAA semifinal game to North Little Rock 50-39. Cabot led from the tip-off until 2:57 left in the first half, when the Lady Wildcats took their first lead of the game. Unfortunately for the Lady Panthers, it would be the only lead change in the entire contest.

Senior forward Kim Sitzmann averaged 24 points in Cabot’s first two tourney appearances against Conway and Rogers. The trend looked like it might continue when Sitzmann took the opening tip from Lauren Daniels all the way in for the easy lay up to give the Lady Panthers the first points of the game. Few would have guessed that the lay up would make for one-third of Sitzmann’s total points by game’s end. Foul trouble kept the senior off the court for much of the second quarter, and less effective in the third and fourth quarters.

“When Kim got in foul trouble in the first quarter, it got us off sync,” Lady Panthers coach Carla Crowder said.
“Whenever we put her back in, she was afraid of drawing the foul. They are very talented and athletic, and huge. We are disappointed, but there are a lot worse things that can happen to you in this world than losing a basketball game.”

The Lady Panthers only trailed by a point heading into the final quarter, but six failed three-point attempts in the fourth prevented Cabot from overtaking the Lady Wildcats. North Little Rock kept control in the final minutes with an MVP performance from junior Gabby Coleman. Coleman scored 10 of her total 13 points in the last frame, including 6 of 6 shots at the foul line.

Cabot’s only success from the outside in the game was a three pointer from Daniels in the third quarter, and a three from Lindsey Watts with 5:46 left. In all, the Lady Panthers were 2 of 13 from behind the arc, easily their lowest percentage of the season.
“We just couldn’t get it to fall,” Cabot junior Maddie Helms said after the game. “We had the shots, they just wouldn’t go in. We’ve worked very hard as a team this year. God has allowed us to get as far as we have.”

The Lady Panthers got out to the early lead with Sitzmann’s opening move followed by two baskets from Rachel Glover. Brittany Rochelle got North Little Rock on the board first with a jumper at the 4:52 mark to make the score 6-2 Cabot. Jamie Sterrenberg then drove in the paint for Cabot’s next two, followed by a home-run pass from Sitzmann to Helms, who was all alone under the goal to put the Lady Panthers up 10-3.

Things looked good for Cabot after one, as the Lady Panthers held a 15-8 lead, and went 5 for 11 from the floor, including two missed three-point attempts. North Little Rock missed their first eight shot attempts, but would come back much stronger in the second quarter.

NLR quickly cut it to 15-12 with two buckets from Sophia Piggie and Sherina Scott in the first 1:15 of the frame. Cabot’s shooting fell way off in the second, with three of its first four shots resulting in air balls. There were very few second-shot attempts for Cabot in the game with the Lady Wildcats’ tremendous size advantage inside. Rochelle and sophomore Maylaya Leggs measured up at 6’3” and 6’0” respectively, compared to Daniels, who at 5’11” was the tallest Lady Panther.
A jumper from Rochelle inside at the 2:57 mark gave North Little Rock the lead at 18-17. The Lady Panthers didn’t help their cause any, turning the ball over four straight times after relinquishing the lead.

The Lady Wildcats made their lead as much as six, but a driving basket for Helms before the buzzer cut it 23-19 at the half.
It was anyone’s game until 2:19 left in the game, when a Coleman jumper made it 42-38 NLR. Helms, Sterrenberg, Sitzmann and Watts all tried for three pointers in the final two minutes, but every attempt fell short, and the Lady Wildcats grabbed the easy rebounds. Coleman took the game in her hands at that point, sending Cabot home for the season after a 19-game winning streak. The last loss for Cabot was in mid-December in a non-conference game against Lonoke which took two overtimes to decide.

Helms led Cabot with nine points, with Sitzmann and Glover finishing with six. Coleman had 13 points to lead North Little Rock. Scott added 11 for the Lady Wildcats. The loss makes Cabot’s final record 26-4. North Little Rock will play Fort Smith Northside Saturday afternoon in the AAAAA finals.

NEIGHBORS >> Remembering Dakota

By SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer

Those left behind will never forget him

Hundreds attended celebration services for Henry Dakota Hawkins Sunday afternoon at First Baptist Church in Cabot, a testimony to the many lives he touched. After beating acute myeloid leukemia last spring, Dakota passed away at his home last Thursday morning.

Services started with videotaped presentations of Dakota’s grandfathers, Frank Hawkins of Cabot and Barden Lamb of Delight, sharing some of their favorite memories of Dakota.

Hymns included “I Can Only Imagine” performed by Brent Tullos, “If You Could See Me Now,” by Jerry Miller and “For the Glory of the Cross” written in Dakota’s honor and performed by Lis Geoghegan. Rob Leonard led congregational singing of “Trust and Obey” and “When We All Get To Heaven.”

Laura Crocker, Dakota’s cousin, played “Ashokan Farewell” on the violin.
Eulogies were given by Jimmie Taylor, a family friend and youth minister from Katy, Texas, and by Dr. David Becton, Dakota’s oncologist at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Mitch Tapson delivered the message, reminding the audience of how Dakota’s battle against leukemia was like the Biblical battle of David versus Goliath. Jim Coy read a proclamation from Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh declaring March 6 “A Day of Remembrance and Tribute to Dakota Hawkins.”

Services concluded with a slideshow of photographs of the Hawkins family.
Dakota was interred at the old Austin Cemetery. Pallbearers were Zach Coy, John Michael Crocker, Dr. Craig Johnston, Nathan Lamb, Dr. Jeff Hernandez and T. J. Richards.

Dakota was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia on Dec. 26 2002 at age 11.After several bone marrow transplants, community fundraising collected $127,000 in two weeks in February 2004 for the entire Hawkins family; Dakota, his brother Reily, and parents Sharon and Henry, to live in Israel for nearly four months in order for Dakota to undergo innovative leukemia treatment from Dr. Shimon Slavin at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.

After receiving a stem cell transplant from his mother Sharon and his brother Riley, Dakota and his family returned to Cabot leukemia free in May. Leukemia free, Dakota developed graft versus host disease, an autoimmune condition where new cells fight against the host body.

FROM THE PUBLISHER >> Author says ivory bill is alive here!

GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader Publisher

Last weekend’s Call of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Festival drew hundreds of birdwatchers to Brink-ley, where ornithologists remained upbeat about the bird’s existence after several reported sightings over the past two years.
“The ivory bill lives!”

That was the inscription Tim Gallagher wrote in my copy of his wonderful book, “The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker” (Houghton Mifflin, $25).

Gallagher is a fine writer with an ebullient personality who can hardly contain his excitement over the bird’s discovery in the Big Woods outside Brinkley.

He’s convinced the ivory bill can thrive in the Big Woods as its habitat keeps growing with better conservation. The federal government has announced a $2.1 million grant to help with the search.

What is worrying many birdwatchers is the paucity of sightings in recent weeks, although one Arkansan insists he has seen the rare bird — until recently believed to have been extinct — in the Bayou DeView off Hwy. 17 near Brinkley.

What’s more, a young Dutch scientist who is helping search for the ivory-billed woodpecker has taken photographs of a mostly white pileated woodpecker, which has a red head, like its cousin. That photograph has created some excitement among bird watchers, although a picture of the ivory bill is what everybody’s waiting for.

David Luneau of the University of Arkansas of Little Rock has taken a fuzzy video of what many people believe is the ivory-bill, so a sharp picture would convince the skeptics that bird does exist.

Gene Sparling, who first reported seeing the ivory-bill in the Bayou DeView more than two years ago, spoke at the woodpecker festival at the Brinkley Convention Center, along with Bobby Harrison, Luneau and Gallagher, who have reported seeing the bird not long after Sparling’s sighting.

There have been several credible sightings, but the bird may have moved on. The Cache River and White River Wildlife Refuge areas, the bird’s habitat, contain some 500,000 acres, so seeing an elusive bird in that huge area is like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack, but searchers are using sophisticated sound and video equipment that should help them find their bird.

The area continues to attract hundreds of visitors because they know the ivory bill’s discovery is the most important development in the birding world since the bald eagle was saved from extinction.

Peter Gilchrist, an attorney from Toronto, visited the area a few weeks ago, along with several other birders who were part of a tour group. Bird watching, he said, “is not a hobby. It’s a passion.”

He has seen more than 3,000 species, but the ivory bill’s sighting is a big deal. “I’m very impressed,” he told us.

He was heading for India to see some rare birds, but he would trade that experience for a good look at the ivory-billed woodpecker.

“It’s the most important bird in the world,” Gilchrist said.

FROM THE PUBLISHER >> Dubai buys off Bill, but not Hillary

GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader Publisher

Sen. Hillary Clinton and her husband, the former president, should get their heads together and decide where their family stands on handing over control of our ports to an Arab company.

She is against it, but he’s for it, and they both have their reasons.

Mrs. Clinton thinks the port take-over is a terrible idea because she’s running for president in 2008.

But the former president has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars for his library and speaking fees from Dubai, which owns the company that could take over many of our ports unless Congress kills the idea, as it should.

You’ve read plenty about the Bush administration’s much-criticized plan to turn many of our nation’s ports over to Dubai World Ports owned by the United Arab Emirates, but the former president’s close ties to that desert kingdom have received less coverage than Sen. Clinton’s criticism of that misbegotten deal.

What’s going on? Do the Clintons know what the other is doing?

If you read Robert Novak’s column in the Saturday Leader, Bill Clinton has deep ties to the UAE (and has even tried to get it to hire Joe Lockhart, his former press secretary, to lobby for the port sale), while Mrs. Clinton is making political hay out of the administration’s faux pas.

Don’t the Clintons consult each other about the affairs of state, or are they pretty much going their separate way on issues that could affect the outcome of the next election and the presidential race in 2008?

Although Mrs. Clinton says she didn’t know her husband was getting money from Dubai, her senatorial financial disclosure forms reveal that he received $450,000 for making speeches there in 2002.

The UAE also donated between $500,000 and $1 million for the presidential library in Little Rock.
Like many “moderate” Arab nations, the emirates have spent a lot of money in this country to buy influence with former presidents, including George Walker Bush and Jimmy Carter.

Carter has come out in favor of the Dubai Ports deal, which has made many Republi-cans even more upset over the deal, although George W. Bush has been more reticent about his son’s decision to OK the port sale.

You know the Bush administration is in trouble when fellow Repub-licans jump ship on the issue of port security: Most Republicans in Congress find it sickening that the administration saw nothing wrong with handing over operations at some of our major ports to a company based in the United Arab Emirates.

The deal could still fizzle out, but the damage has been done: The Republicans, previously seen as strong on national security, have allowed the Democrats to run with the issue, which has not only upset Republicans up for re-election this year, but has also alienated many of the nation’s pundits that had been Bush supporters.

Many of the contributors to our editorial page, apart from John Brummett and Molly Ivins, are staunch Republicans, including David Sanders (like Brummett, another Arkansan, but quite different politically), as well as such nationally syndicated columnists as Robert Novak, Stephen Chap-man and Paul Craig Roberts (a distinguished economist and former Wall Street Journal editorial writer).

What these Repub-licans have in common is their profound disappointment in the Bush administration, from the ill-fated ports deal to the inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina, not to mention rising de-ficits and the quagmire in Iraq.

As Republican opinion makers lose their enthusiasm for this administration, it’s no wonder President Bush’s approval rating hovers around 35 percent.

That leaves an opening for the Clintons and the Democrats.
It looks like 1992 all over again, only a lot different.

TOP STORY >> Naturalists can obtain a four-color guide

By EILEEN FELDMAN
Leader Managing Editor

The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and 12 partners have produced “Birding and Watchable Wildlife,” a guide to help wildlife enthusiasts catch glimpses of creatures in their natural surroundings. Also provided are viewing tips and viewing ethics.

The oversize folding brochure features full-color photography and sections devoted to wildlife found in Arkansas and highlighting the ivory-billed woodpecker and other endangered species. It is handy enough to keep in one’s glove box along with maps for forays into the country.

The map shows 95 viewing sites and provides detailed descriptions of each location.
Sites of interest are divided by geographical and geological location including the Mississippi Delta, Crowley’s Ridge, West Gulf Coastal Plain, Ouachita Moun-tains, Arkansas River Valley and the Ozark Mountains.

Among the notable sites to visit are the Henry Gray/Hurricane Lake WMA near Augusta and the Cache River Wildlife Refuge where the ivory-billed woodpecker was found; Holland Bottoms WMA at Lonoke, home to Great blue herons, green-backed herons, wading birds, woodpeckers and songbirds; Dagmar WMA and Rex Hancock Black Swamp, where the elusive Ivory-billed woodpecker has been spotted and filmed but which is also home to a number of water snakes, otters, raccoons, armadillos, cottontails, aquatic turtles, flycatchers, warblers, tri-colored herons, black ducks, indigo buntings, hawks and owls. The list of beautiful natural vistas is endless.

Also included is a list of highlighted species, including back bear, elk, the state’s 90 species of butterflies and endangered species including, of course, the ivory-billed woodpecker, the bald eagle and the Ozark big-eared bat just to name a few.
“The success of habitat preservation efforts in The Natural State is evident in the amazing rediscovery of the ivory-billed wood-pecker in the wetlands of eastern Arkansas, in the growing herd of elk reintroduced along the Buffalo National River in the northern Ozark Mountains and in the increasing numbers of black bears across the state,” said Richard Davies, Parks and Tourism executive director.

Partners who helped produce the guide are the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission; Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission; Arkansas Natural Resources Conservation Service; Arkansas Wildlife Federation, Inc.; Audu-bon Arkansas; Cornell Lab or Ornithology; Ducks Unlimited; The Nature Conservancy; The Trust for Public Land; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and USDA Forest Service.

The guide is being distributed at Arkansas Welcome Centers and selected Visitor Centers and Arkansas State Parks.
It can also be downloaded at www.arkansas.com.

TOP STORY >> Lore of ivory-billed woodpecker sparks lovefest

By EILEEN FELDMAN
Leader Managing Editor

Amateur naturalists and wildlife biologists and some genuine wilderness lovers gathered together in Brinkley in late February for a love- fest in honor of the “Lord God” bird, the ivory-billed woodpecker.

Long thought extinct, but recently spotted on more than one occasion in the Big Woods of the Cache River basin, the rediscovery of Campephilus principalis (the woodpecker’s scientific name) has created a wave of euphoria among bird lovers and scientists alike and brought a group of scientists from Cornell University to the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. The scientists operated clandestinely at first to determine if the bird truly had been seen.

The group’s original work, first publicly reported in June, 2005 in the journal “Science,” documented seven sightings and video considered to be definitive proof of the bird’s miraculous recovery from what had been believed to be extinction.
Hot Springs native Gene Sparling made the accidental discovery in February 2004 while canoeing leisurely in the Bayou de View, alternately soaking in the beauty of the thousand-year-old tupelo cypresses, which grow in the bayou and communing with nature.

Said Sparling, “I heard tales of Bayou de View and the property of the Nature Conservancy with 300- year-old trees in the Cache River Refuge. Many of the trees are estimated to be 1,000 or 1,200 years old. So in February 2004, I put a blue kayak in at the upper reaches at Bull Town and paddled my way south. There were huge cypress and the bayou had an ancient primeval feel to it. On the second day of the journey while floating around a small bend, I was thinking, ‘It’s so neat to be in this wonderful place’ and as I came around the small bend, a large woodpecker flew directly toward me and flared his wings. It’s the biggest Pileated I’ve ever seen in my life, I thought, and then the bird landed about 60 feet in front of me.”But he realized this bird was different. Sparling described the startled bird to those gathered at the Brinkley Convention Center as having a red crest “laid tight on his head” and having white feathers on its back with a yellowish tinge at the edges. The bird’s wing profile was long and straight and Sparling never saw it flap his wings as the pileated woodpecker does.
“I was familiar with the legend of the ivory-billed woodpecker as a child and I’m here tonight to celebrate the return of the ivory-billed woodpecker and this unique precious habitat. The Big Woods are critically important,” he said.

The bird’s discovery that February touched off a frenzy of activity aimed at protecting the ivory-billed woodpecker, expanding possible habitat and protecting its existing environment. Public and private groups joined together to rally ‘round the ivory-billed woodpecker including the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Arkansas Game and Fish, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, the Nature Conser-vancy, Audubon Society and forming the Big Woods Conservation Partnership to save this largest of North American woodpeckers, the second largest woodpecker in the world. The Interior Department pledged $5 million to save the bird.

Dutch ornithologist Martjan Lammertink, an international expert on large woodpeckers, was one of the first Cornell scientists to arrive at the Big Woods after Sparling’s discovery. He told the group at Brinkley that large woodpeckers need “really huge areas” to live and breed. Although large woodpeckers have a historical tendency to flock, he described the ivory-billed as very elusive and adapted for swift, sustained flight.

He added that in 1942 James Tanner, author of “The Ivory-billed Woodpecker,” wrote his observations of the Singer Tract, a now long-gone stand of huge tupelo cypress in northeast Louisiana. He said the large woodpeckers are vulnerable to extinction in part because they preferred large diameter trees, which were quickly being cleared for farmland.

There are doubters and skeptics as well as firm believers and Cornell has assembled a group of 22-foot searchers and 112 volunteers from birding groups who venture into the Big Woods 14 at a time. They do systematic searches looking for cavities and scaling particular to the ivory-billed woodpecker’s method of obtaining the particular beetle grubs which comprise their idiet and which are located under the bark of partially dead tupelo cypresses.

David Luneau of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, author of “Big Woods Bird,” began using remote cameras in late 2003 and early 2004 on a Zeiss-sponsored Pearl River WMA search for the bird in Louisiana.

The search goes on. At Brinkley, Luneau thanked Arkansas hunters for their support of the wildlife management areas, for their conservation practices and for their use of the federal Duck Stamp, the proceeds of which go to wetlands habitat preservation. In the meantime, hunters and who frequent the Big Woods between the Cache and White Rivers sometimes are honored by a glimpse of the amazing ivory-billed woodpecker.

Some, like Lonoke mayoral candidate Roy Henderson, say they’ve seen the great bird on more than one occasion while fishing in the spring-flooded bayou between the Cache and the White rivers south of Hwy. 70. Perhaps it’s only been the pileated woodpecker he’s seen but even that counts among the great sightings for some of us.

Information on the ivory-billed woodpecker and how to report a sighting can be found on the Web site www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory.

TOP STORY >> Iraqi airmen proud of C-130s

By DANIEL CONNOLLY
Associated Press Writer

When the U.S. government gave three C-130 cargo planes to the new Iraqi Air Force, Iraqi airmen celebrated by slaughtering sheep and marking the planes with blood.

The ceremony was repeated in November, when they flew a mission without a single American aboard, said Lt. Col. Mike Bauer, an Air Force officer who is involved in their training.

“I mean, we dunk somebody in water or drink champagne, and they do the sheep,” Bauer said by phone from Iraq.
Bauer is involved in the effort to build a small but functional Iraqi air force. It’s part of the larger goal of strengthening the Iraqi military to enable the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

At the core of the fledgling air force is the C-130. The chubby propeller-driven transport aircraft is the specialty of Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, which has played a key role in training Iraqi air crews.

Bauer said more than 28 people from the Jacksonville base have trained the airmen in Iraq. And last year, more than 55 Iraqis came to Arkansas for training in loading and flying the C-130, said Lt. Col. Tom Walker, who launched the training program here.

The Iraqi Air Force remains small: In addition to the C-130s, it has eight light reconnaissance aircraft and 21 helicopters, Lt. Col. Maureen Banavige wrote in an e-mail message.

Coming to Arkansas was a dramatic twist for the Iraqi airmen, all of whom had flown in Saddam Hussein’s Air Force, which was nearly wiped out by U.S.-led forces in the 1991 Gulf War.

Word-of-mouth recruiting helped build up the force. “It was a previous high-ranking (Iraqi) Air Force officer who knew them by name and called them personally and asked them to come back and be part of the new Iraqi Air Force,” Bauer said.
The youngest of the pilots is 39 and the youngest navigator is 37, relatively advanced ages because more than a decade of sanctions meant it was difficult to train new airmen, Bauer said.

In January 2005, the first group of pilots, navigators, flight engineers and loading specialists came to Arkansas, Walker said.
They received classroom training, flight-simulator training, and one flight in a C-130 before returning to Iraq. They also have been trained in Jordan.

An interpreter was on hand to help in Arkansas. Some of the Iraqis also spoke English well and were able to interpret for their peers, Walker said.

The program wasn’t publicized. Walker said there was concern that the Iraqis’ families might face retaliation for working with Americans if their names and faces appeared in the media.

But the Iraqis’ presence on the base wasn’t a secret, Walker said. The Leader reported about the Iraqis in February 2005.
“We certainly didn’t hide them in any way,” Walker said. “We took them downtown, toured the state Capitol, shopping facilities, whatever they wanted to see.”

Walker recalled taking two of the officers to see his 13-year-old’s ice hockey practice. He said he offered to take them out to dinner, but they declined. On the way home he stopped at a Sonic fast food drive-in to buy a snack for his son.

They commented that going out at night would be impossible in Baghdad. And they also noticed the ice cream on the menu, he said.

“And they got all excited and said ‘I’ve changed my mind. I will have ice cream,’” he said.
Training Iraqi military members in the United States is unusual, but not unprecedented.

Iraqis have been trained at military institutions across the United States since the 2003 U.S. invasion, including at Fort Leaven-worth, Kan., and Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala., said defense department spokes-man Lt. Col. Barry Venable.

Most of the training has focused on leadership. Venable wouldn’t give specific numbers of Iraqis trained.
“It’s a small number. They have more immediate needs over there than the institutional-type training that we can offer here,” he said. “It’s not cost-effective, either.”

Despite the sheep’s-blood ritual and other cultural differences, like occasional pauses for Muslim prayers, Bauer said the Iraqis have a lot in common with their American counterparts.

Today, the Iraqis continue to train in Baghdad alongside American airmen and have flown a variety of combat missions, including humanitarian missions as well as transporting dignitaries and combat troops, Bauer said.

TOP STORY >> Who watches lenders?

By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer

Arkansas has 275 cash advance or payday lending stores, of which only 66 are licensed and make any pretense of being regulated by the state, according to a study to be released Wednesday morning by Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending (AAAPL).

“We located all the payday lenders,” said study author Hank Klein, president of AAAPL.

The study, “Payday Lend-ers in Arkansas: The Regulated and the Unregulated” is an update of the study released in September 2004.

In addition to the 66 licensed and regulated by the state, 70 more are licensed and unregulated and the last 139 aren’t even licensed, Klein said.

“The state, which has supposedly set up a regulatory agency, regulates less than 25 percent,” he said.
The others are shunning regulation.

Klein said Tuesday that these were lenders of last resort, charging needy and unsophisticated borrowers hundreds of percent interest, figured on an annual rate.

He said borrowers sometimes find themselves trapped in an endless cycle of debt when doing business with payday lenders.
“The Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation (FDIC) has told banks to stop partnering (with payday lenders,)” said Klein. “It’s not bank-like to make 500 percent loans.”

Payday loans are typically small—$100 to $500, made for an average of 14 days, according to Klein. “People who borrow from them may pay interest equivalent to an annual percentage rate of more than 400 percent.

The average borrower pays $800 to borrow $325, according to the Center for Respon-sible Lending. Payday lenders are disproportionately located near military bases and also target minority and low-income consumers.
In part, payday lenders and their ilk can ply their trade because of legislation calling interest “fees,” since in this state, it’s against the law to charge more than 17 percent interest.

“No region of the state is unaffected,” said Klein, adding that 60 of the state’s 75 counties have at least one such lender. Jacksonville alone has about half a dozen, three of them near the main gate to Little Rock Air Force Base.
“The state isn’t doing a very good job of protecting consumers,” said Klein.

Klein said that several recent events have made things more difficult for Arkansas payday lenders, but that they tend to morph into a new shape to continue their lucrative business.

“We have categorized four or five types of lenders,” Klein said. Among them are regular cash advance stores, stores that posture as Internet providers, stores that affiliate with out-of-state banks—rent-a-bank lenders — allowing higher interest rates and larger loan amounts and yet others that do the same thing with out-of-state finance companies.

Klein says the recent decision of at least two such out-of-state banks will impact several local lenders, including in Jacksonville Amer-ican Cash Express (ACE), Advance America, and First America Cash Express.

Klein said it was too early to know if the affected lenders would shutter their doors or reconfigure themselves.
AAAPL members include Arkansas Advocates for children and Families, AARP, the Arkansas AFL-CIO, ACORN, the Better Business Bureau of Arkansas, Family Service agency, the NAACP, the Pulaski County Cooperative Extension Service, Arkansas Federal Credit Union and Todd Turner, of the law firm Arnold, Batson, Turner & Turner.

More than a third of the payday lenders in Arkansas identified by an earlier AAAPL study claimed they were independent contractors doing business with Mount Rushmore Loan Company, LLC in South Dakota, and thus able to make larger loans than the $400 allowed by Arkansas law.

W. Cosby Hodges, Jr. of Fort Smith has incorporated about 20 payday advance companies—including two in Jacksonville— located in several Arkansas cities.

In addition to those companies, Hodges is listed as the organizer of the Mount Rushmore Loan Company, according to documents on file with the South Dakota secretary of state’s Office. He and Robert Srygley of Springdale also are listed as co-managers of Mount Rush-more Loan Company.

TOP STORY >> Crime is down in Lonoke

By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer

Even as former Lonoke Police Chief Jay Campbell, his wife Kelly Campbell and a pair of bail bondsmen prepare for arraignment in Lonoke County Circuit Court Monday, statistics show that crime in the city during Campbell’s last full year was down 24 percent.

That’s according to 2004 and 2005 statistics compiled and released by the standardized National Incident-Based Reporting System.

Campbell, his wife and bondsmen Bobby Cox Jr. and Larry Norwood are charged variously with felony drug charges and the Campbells also face some theft charges.

“We can attribute a lot of that decline to officers getting out, having more physical contact with the public through bike patrols and participation in back-to-school festivals,” said Capt. Sean O’Nale, the interim chief.

While budgetary problems have resulted in fewer police on the street, O’Nale said he would keep the bike patrols going. He said he is crunching numbers with members of the Lonoke Police Commission, hoping to present a plan to the city council that would help beef up the number of patrolmen.

“I want to start looking down the road,” said O’Nale. “We’re on the verge of taking off. I expect to see a lot of growth in the city soon.”

O’Nale said that Arkansas law has made it harder for methamphetamine cooks to get the necessary ingredients, resulting in fewer meth lab busts, but that meth is being imported and remains an epidemic.

The city has advertised and is accepting applications for a new police chief through March 15. O’Nale said he was neither a candidate for the job nor involved in the selection process.

He said he’d like to remain as the captain, but said the new chief may bring in someone new should he or she see fit.
O’Nale said the city could be encouraged by the decrease in crime, but noted that within individual categories, percentages of increase or decrease can swing wildly from year to year because the number of crimes is so low.

If Lonoke had one robbery the one year and three the next, statistically, robbery would be up 300 percent.
In 2005, as the preceding year, the city recorded one murder. There were two kidnappings or abductions in 2005, none the preceding year, according to the data.

Robberies were up 700 percent and aggravated assaults up 141 percent, but simple assault was down 8 percent.
Burglaries were down from 67 to 58.

Credit card theft was up from four incidents to six, while impersonation dropped from 13 events to three.
Drug violations were down 53 percent and paraphernalia arrests were down 71 percent.
Incidences of driving intoxicated dropped from 41 to 26 incidents.

In all, 1,030 offenses were reported to Lonoke police in 2005, down from 1,365 the previous year.

TOP STORY >> Cabot tries to ease traffic congestion

By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer

Cabot residents who don’t want to battle Hwy. 89 traffic to get to the new Wal-Mart Supercenter will eventually have a direct route off Hwy. 5, courtesy up to this point of the Lonoke County Road Depart-ment.

The 1.4-mile road is the first step in a proposed long-range transportation plan to alleviate traffic congestion in Cabot. And it is an unusual step because a planning committee put together at the county level, not the city, has proposed it.

The new road, which is clearly visible from U.S. 67-167, is nearer completion than expected, thanks to a dry winter. The county has asked the city and businesses in the area, including Wal-Mart, to help pay for the road, but so far the entire cost of the estimated $750,000 project has been borne by the county.

The new Wal-Mart is scheduled to open this spring, and if the requested financial assistance comes through, the new road could be opened sometime in the summer.

Asked Tuesday why the county was taking the lead in trying to solve the city’s traffic problems, Lonoke County Judge Charlie Troutman said it was a matter of economics.

“I’m not criticizing anyone, but I wish we’d taken the lead 10 years ago,” Troutman said. “We have such a problem over there that it is going to effect the economic development of that whole area and that will affect my road department,” he said.
Several years ago, county residents passed a one-cent sales tax that is divided by population among the county and the cities in the county. The county gets 45 percent of the total, most of which goes to the road department, which last year collected $1.6 million from the tax.

Lonoke County JP Larry Odom is chairman of the long-range transportation committee, which includes two Cabot council members.

Odom, owner of Holland Bottom Farms on Highway 321, was instrumental in getting that road built more than 10 years ago.
He said recently that he knew the county and city are losing tax revenue because his own wife won’t fight the traffic in Cabot to get to Wal-Mart. She goes to Jacksonville instead.

Court cases and opinions by the state attorney general support the county judge’s authority over roads, including opening city streets without the permission or involvement of the city.

Troutman says frankly that a county judge’s authority over roads approaches that of a dictator, but doesn’t intend to get into a territory battle with Cabot.

He wants and believes he has the support of a majority of the council for some of the work he has proposed to do in Cabot, which is important since the city has money for roads at this time.

“If I can help some, I’m certainly going to do it,” Troutman said. “But I’m not going to get into a shooting match over jurisdiction.”

Cabot Mayor Stubby Stum-baugh, asked last week to support the long-range plan, which in-cludes almost 30 miles of new roads, refused. He told The Leader later that most of the roads were inside city limits and he had not seen the plan until it was completed.

An ordinance introduced before the Cabot City Council in February would provide the financial help the county has asked for on the road now under construction and also help with one-lane bridges on First Street that county, city and state officials say need to be replaced.

A state bridge inspector notified the city Feb. 7 that one of the bridges needs to be repaired within 12 months.
The center pier foot shows minor undermining and concrete underneath has crumbled, exposing the steel reinforcement. The city’s sports complex is on First Street.

The city had planned to re-place all seven of the bridges, at an estimated cost of $750,000.

Troutman has volunteered to do the work for $75,000 and has asked the city to use $400,000 of the estimated $675,000 savings to help with the road currently under construction and to improve and extend Willie Ray Drive on the other side of the freeway so residents on that side of the city would have quick access to the Austin interchange, which is used below capacity.

The ordinance sponsored by Aldermen Odis Waymack and Tom Armstrong would give Troutman permission to move ahead with the work as requested. It was read once during the February meeting, but did not have enough votes to pass.

TOP STORY >> Cabot tries to ease traffic congestion

By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer

Cabot residents who don’t want to battle Hwy. 89 traffic to get to the new Wal-Mart Supercenter will eventually have a direct route off Hwy. 5, courtesy up to this point of the Lonoke County Road Depart-ment.

The 1.4-mile road is the first step in a proposed long-range transportation plan to alleviate traffic congestion in Cabot. And it is an unusual step because a planning committee put together at the county level, not the city, has proposed it.

The new road, which is clearly visible from U.S. 67-167, is nearer completion than expected, thanks to a dry winter. The county has asked the city and businesses in the area, including Wal-Mart, to help pay for the road, but so far the entire cost of the estimated $750,000 project has been borne by the county.

The new Wal-Mart is scheduled to open this spring, and if the requested financial assistance comes through, the new road could be opened sometime in the summer.

Asked Tuesday why the county was taking the lead in trying to solve the city’s traffic problems, Lonoke County Judge Charlie Troutman said it was a matter of economics.

“I’m not criticizing anyone, but I wish we’d taken the lead 10 years ago,” Troutman said. “We have such a problem over there that it is going to effect the economic development of that whole area and that will affect my road department,” he said.
Several years ago, county residents passed a one-cent sales tax that is divided by population among the county and the cities in the county. The county gets 45 percent of the total, most of which goes to the road department, which last year collected $1.6 million from the tax.

Lonoke County JP Larry Odom is chairman of the long-range transportation committee, which includes two Cabot council members.

Odom, owner of Holland Bottom Farms on Highway 321, was instrumental in getting that road built more than 10 years ago.
He said recently that he knew the county and city are losing tax revenue because his own wife won’t fight the traffic in Cabot to get to Wal-Mart. She goes to Jacksonville instead.

Court cases and opinions by the state attorney general support the county judge’s authority over roads, including opening city streets without the permission or involvement of the city.

Troutman says frankly that a county judge’s authority over roads approaches that of a dictator, but doesn’t intend to get into a territory battle with Cabot.

He wants and believes he has the support of a majority of the council for some of the work he has proposed to do in Cabot, which is important since the city has money for roads at this time.

“If I can help some, I’m certainly going to do it,” Troutman said. “But I’m not going to get into a shooting match over jurisdiction.”

Cabot Mayor Stubby Stum-baugh, asked last week to support the long-range plan, which in-cludes almost 30 miles of new roads, refused. He told The Leader later that most of the roads were inside city limits and he had not seen the plan until it was completed.

An ordinance introduced before the Cabot City Council in February would provide the financial help the county has asked for on the road now under construction and also help with one-lane bridges on First Street that county, city and state officials say need to be replaced.

A state bridge inspector notified the city Feb. 7 that one of the bridges needs to be repaired within 12 months.
The center pier foot shows minor undermining and concrete underneath has crumbled, exposing the steel reinforcement. The city’s sports complex is on First Street.

The city had planned to re-place all seven of the bridges, at an estimated cost of $750,000.

Troutman has volunteered to do the work for $75,000 and has asked the city to use $400,000 of the estimated $675,000 savings to help with the road currently under construction and to improve and extend Willie Ray Drive on the other side of the freeway so residents on that side of the city would have quick access to the Austin interchange, which is used below capacity.

The ordinance sponsored by Aldermen Odis Waymack and Tom Armstrong would give Troutman permission to move ahead with the work as requested. It was read once during the February meeting, but did not have enough votes to pass.

TOP STORY >> Cabot tries to ease traffic congestion

By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer

Cabot residents who don’t want to battle Hwy. 89 traffic to get to the new Wal-Mart Supercenter will eventually have a direct route off Hwy. 5, courtesy up to this point of the Lonoke County Road Depart-ment.

The 1.4-mile road is the first step in a proposed long-range transportation plan to alleviate traffic congestion in Cabot. And it is an unusual step because a planning committee put together at the county level, not the city, has proposed it.

The new road, which is clearly visible from U.S. 67-167, is nearer completion than expected, thanks to a dry winter. The county has asked the city and businesses in the area, including Wal-Mart, to help pay for the road, but so far the entire cost of the estimated $750,000 project has been borne by the county.

The new Wal-Mart is scheduled to open this spring, and if the requested financial assistance comes through, the new road could be opened sometime in the summer.

Asked Tuesday why the county was taking the lead in trying to solve the city’s traffic problems, Lonoke County Judge Charlie Troutman said it was a matter of economics.

“I’m not criticizing anyone, but I wish we’d taken the lead 10 years ago,” Troutman said. “We have such a problem over there that it is going to effect the economic development of that whole area and that will affect my road department,” he said.
Several years ago, county residents passed a one-cent sales tax that is divided by population among the county and the cities in the county. The county gets 45 percent of the total, most of which goes to the road department, which last year collected $1.6 million from the tax.

Lonoke County JP Larry Odom is chairman of the long-range transportation committee, which includes two Cabot council members.

Odom, owner of Holland Bottom Farms on Highway 321, was instrumental in getting that road built more than 10 years ago.
He said recently that he knew the county and city are losing tax revenue because his own wife won’t fight the traffic in Cabot to get to Wal-Mart. She goes to Jacksonville instead.

Court cases and opinions by the state attorney general support the county judge’s authority over roads, including opening city streets without the permission or involvement of the city.

Troutman says frankly that a county judge’s authority over roads approaches that of a dictator, but doesn’t intend to get into a territory battle with Cabot.

He wants and believes he has the support of a majority of the council for some of the work he has proposed to do in Cabot, which is important since the city has money for roads at this time.

“If I can help some, I’m certainly going to do it,” Troutman said. “But I’m not going to get into a shooting match over jurisdiction.”

Cabot Mayor Stubby Stum-baugh, asked last week to support the long-range plan, which in-cludes almost 30 miles of new roads, refused. He told The Leader later that most of the roads were inside city limits and he had not seen the plan until it was completed.

An ordinance introduced before the Cabot City Council in February would provide the financial help the county has asked for on the road now under construction and also help with one-lane bridges on First Street that county, city and state officials say need to be replaced.

A state bridge inspector notified the city Feb. 7 that one of the bridges needs to be repaired within 12 months.
The center pier foot shows minor undermining and concrete underneath has crumbled, exposing the steel reinforcement. The city’s sports complex is on First Street.

The city had planned to re-place all seven of the bridges, at an estimated cost of $750,000.

Troutman has volunteered to do the work for $75,000 and has asked the city to use $400,000 of the estimated $675,000 savings to help with the road currently under construction and to improve and extend Willie Ray Drive on the other side of the freeway so residents on that side of the city would have quick access to the Austin interchange, which is used below capacity.

The ordinance sponsored by Aldermen Odis Waymack and Tom Armstrong would give Troutman permission to move ahead with the work as requested. It was read once during the February meeting, but did not have enough votes to pass.

TOP STORY >> Fight against meth far from over

By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer

A celebration in Little Rock Monday over the decline in meth labs across the state could be misleading.

While it is true there are fewer large meth labs in production since a new state law made it difficult to buy over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines like Sudafed, used in making the illegal drug, Arkansas’ war on drugs isn’t over. Local, state and federal officials say it has simply moved to a new front as usage increases.

Several groups and individuals were on hand at the state Capitol Monday to hear Scott Burns, the White House deputy drug czar, praise them for their efforts at eradicating drugs in their areas as well as the new state law that is helping.
“You are doing a good job of reducing the drug use,” Burns said during the ceremony in which certificates were awarded to several community organizations for battling what he called “the singular worst drug we face in America.”

But Burns said that while the amount of meth being manufactured in Arkansas may be dropping, the use of the drug continues to rise because it is being imported from Mexico at alarming rates.

Sheriffs in The Leader’s coverage area, who were not invited to the ceremony, say they saw that trend and others last year and they know drug use is not down despite the new law that took medicines containing pseudoephedrine off shelves, moved them behind pharmacy counters and made them attainable only with a picture ID. Users are now cooking meth for their own use or buying the imported “ice.”

Lonoke County Sheriff Jim Roberson says meth production is down in his county thanks to the hard work of his deputies and the new state law. But now, his evidence room is filled with marijuana from Mexico.

“Marijuana is on the rise, I think, because it’s harder to get meth,” the sheriff said.

Pulaski County has fewer meth labs, according to John Rehrauer, spokesman for the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department. “The numbers have gone down steadily for the last couple of years.”

He said more meth and ice—souped-up meth—is being brought in, much of it from Mexico. “There’s been no drop in usage, and the drug-related arrests in the area are about the same.”

The new law made it difficult to buy enough pseudoephedrine for a large lab, said Lt. Greg Williams who works narcotics for the White County Sheriff’s Department. For a time “ice” (also made from pseudo-ephedrine) from Mexico supplied local users, he said, and as a result, meth lab busts declined dramatically in 2005.

But eventually, the drug cooks overcame their anxiety about showing their identifications to pharmacists and started banding together. Now, by driving from town to town and buying the maximum at any pharmacy that will sell to them, they are able to put together enough pseudoephedrine to make small batches at home, he said. “We don’t find any big labs in the woods anymore,” he said.

At about the same time the local meth cooks overcame their reservations about buying the active ingredient for meth, the Mexican dealers became wary of being caught and stopped selling indiscriminately, Williams said.

Last year, his department busted nine meth labs compared to eight already this year, Williams said as evidence that local meth production is on the rise again.

Burns told those assembled for the Monday ceremony that the federal government will have to take the lead on stopping Mexican ice production.

“We know there are approximately nine companies that make ....ephedrine and there is an obligation by the federal government to try and stop the flow of pseudo-phedrine to Mexico which is being diverted for illegal purposes,” he said.
Burns said U.S. officials “are literally traveling to these nine companies that produce ephedrine and pseudoephedrine and saying, ‘You’re poisoning us.’”

While government does not want to limit the companies’ ability to do business, Burns said, officials do want to have a frank discussion about what is a legitimate amount of the product to ship to Mexico and distribute within the United States.