Arkansas voters take lightly the races for the minor constitutional offices and who can blame them? The political parties do not take them seriously or else they would field more estimable candidates.
Aside from attorney general, the second-tier officers — secretary of state, treasurer, auditor and land commissioner — have only ministerial duties.
They and their staffs keep official records and carry out bureaucratic functions that are narrowly prescribed by law.
In any other governmental system they would be mid-level bureaucrats who would be hired under a merit program, but our 1874 Constitution prescribes that the offices be filled by election and we still do.
So does it really make any difference whom we elect to all those offices? Yes, some. Even record-keeping offices need to be run by someone who is competent and honest.
That is often hard to divine unless they have been in the office, so we find ourselves measuring the candidates by how they campaign for the little offices.
The attorney general, the government’s chief legal officer, is an important officeholder because he advises everyone from the governor to justices of the peace on their legal obligations.
He is supposed to defend the public’s interest in utility-rate cases and in other regulatory matters, and he (or she) automatically becomes the default candidate for governor or United States senator in the next election.
State Rep. Dustin McDaniel won a hotly contested primary race for the Democratic nomination.
His opponents are former state Rep. Gunner DeLay, the Republican candidate, and Rebekah Kennedy, a Fort Smith lawyer, who carries the banner for the Green Party.
Faithful to the family name (he is related to former U.S. House Speaker Tom DeLay), Gunner DeLay has run the nastiest campaign in a season of low politics. McDaniel has spent much of his time correcting fabrications by DeLay’s campaign.
So far right has DeLay lurched that his natural cheerleader in the conservative media, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, had to endorse McDaniel — enthusiastically! It has been that kind of year for the Democrat Gazette, which ordinarily has no brief for a Democratic politician.
McDaniel is bright, articulate and progressive. He has too often carried water for big development interests in the legislature — he is the author of the tax-increment-financing law, a bonanza for big developers — but it is an aberration in a generally fine record.
Like 99 percent of other voters, we had never heard of Rebekah Kennedy, who was put up by the Green Party when it won the right to the ballot. In the televised debate among the three, she was the most candid and straightforward.
She did not pander and she did not mince words. We like that in our general counsel.
So we could vote for either Dustin McDaniel or Rebekah Kennedy for attorney general.
The others are easier.
Charlie Daniels is running for a second term as secretary of state, opposed by Jim Lagrone, a Baptist preacher who hopes to follow in the footsteps of Rev. Mike Huckabee.
Lagrone’s campaign has consisted almost entirely of blaming Daniels for the recurring problems with voting machines and ballot counting in a number of counties. But Daniels is not responsible for either the national epidemic of voting problems or for those of a number of Arkansas counties.
The secretary of state is the official state voting registrar, but elections are conducted by counties, not the secretary of state. Lagrone’s biggest blunder was denouncing Daniels because Lagrone’s son couldn’t get his ballot counted in Saline County in the last election while he was fighting in Iraq.
What a cad, denying our fighting men their vote! But it turned out that Lagrone was lying. His son was in Mississippi, not Iraq, and that Daniels had done everything he could to get soldiers’ votes counted. Lagrone denounced the “liberal media” (the Democrat Gazette!) for uncovering the lie.
Charlie Daniels is the choice for secretary of state.
Until last week, we had forgotten that State Rep. Martha A. Shoffner, the Democratic candidate for state treasurer, had an opponent. Chris Morris is his name. He is a highly paid aide to Gov. Huckabee, or was. Huckabee fired him last week for using equipment and his taxpayer-paid time in the governor’s office to campaign.
We know little else about Chris Morris, but that is enough. Martha Shoffner is experienced and knowledgeable on state fiscal matters and we support her.
In the other two offices, Land Commissioner Mark Wilcox is opposed by Green Party candidate R. David Lewis, and state Auditor Jim Wood is opposed by the Greens’ Michael Joseph Bolzenius. The Greens have said little and done no campaigning. Take your choice.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
EDITORIALS>>It’s Marion Berry again
U.S. Rep. Marion Berry, who represents the First District, is the only character in Arkansas’ staid congressional delegation. His cornpone diction and colorful terms embarrass a few people who think our agents in the marble halls should be men of greater sophistication.
But Berry is about right on the urbanity scale. He is tough, outspoken and he fights for his district’s peculiar interests, especially farmers.
He has distinguished himself in the losing fight to scale back the power of the drug manufacturers in setting national health policy, most pointedly in the drafting of the Medicare prescription-drug program.
Arkansas families will be better served if the Democrats win a majority in both houses next week and Medicare can be overhauled. If that happens, Berry will be one of the architects, and that is good.
In this election, Berry has his most energetic opponent since his first race, Cabot Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh.
The mayor gave the congressman a good fight in their lone debate last week, but we were disappointed with his sportsmanship. He attacked Berry for getting personal in debates on the House floor, mentioning a particularly raucous debate on the budget when Berry referred to a redheaded young Republican congressman from Florida as a “Howdy Doody-looking nimrod,” to the apparent delight of both sides of the aisle. The characterization made national news.
Stumbaugh thought Berry had crossed the line. Then he charged that Berry was a public drunk and womanizer. It was not Stubby’s finest hour.
Berry has raised more than $1 million — about 15 times as much as Stubby, who was pushed into the race by national Repub-licans. They’ve given him $3,000, a pittance.
Marion Berry has earned another term.
But Berry is about right on the urbanity scale. He is tough, outspoken and he fights for his district’s peculiar interests, especially farmers.
He has distinguished himself in the losing fight to scale back the power of the drug manufacturers in setting national health policy, most pointedly in the drafting of the Medicare prescription-drug program.
Arkansas families will be better served if the Democrats win a majority in both houses next week and Medicare can be overhauled. If that happens, Berry will be one of the architects, and that is good.
In this election, Berry has his most energetic opponent since his first race, Cabot Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh.
The mayor gave the congressman a good fight in their lone debate last week, but we were disappointed with his sportsmanship. He attacked Berry for getting personal in debates on the House floor, mentioning a particularly raucous debate on the budget when Berry referred to a redheaded young Republican congressman from Florida as a “Howdy Doody-looking nimrod,” to the apparent delight of both sides of the aisle. The characterization made national news.
Stumbaugh thought Berry had crossed the line. Then he charged that Berry was a public drunk and womanizer. It was not Stubby’s finest hour.
Berry has raised more than $1 million — about 15 times as much as Stubby, who was pushed into the race by national Repub-licans. They’ve given him $3,000, a pittance.
Marion Berry has earned another term.
EVENTS>>Fall 2006
There will be a general membership luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8 at the Community Center. Col. Scott Lockard, Little Rock Air Force Base 314th Support Group Commander, will speak. Lunch is available for $10 per person. Jacksonville’s holiday lighting ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30 at city hall. The Christmas Parade will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2.
Capt. Johnny Bradley with the Jacksonville Fire Department will speak on Fire and Holiday Safety in the Home at the regular monthly meeting of the Jacksonville Chapter of AARP on Friday. A pot luck dinner begins at 6 p.m., followed by the program. AARP meetings are held at the Jacksonville Senior Center (south entrance) and everyone 50 years of age and over is invited to visit and join.
Grace Chapel Church in Lonoke hosts the Gospel Harmony Singers from Little Rock performing at 7 p.m. tonight. The Sons Family, southern gospel singers, will perform at the church at 6 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call Pastor Willie Gold at 501-676-3572.
The Cabot Relay for Life will have a planning meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6 behind the Bank of the Ozarks, 615 W. Main St. in Cabot.
YANA, a support group for parents of special needs children, will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13, at First Baptist Church in Cabot. Speakers will be members of the Arkansas Special Education Mediation Project of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Bowen School of Law. There will be sampling of toys appropriate for special needs children. Deadline for childcare reservation is Monday, Nov. 6. For childcare reservations, call 605-8668 or e-mail tetrippe@juno.com.
The Cabot Relay for Life will have a planning meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6 behind the Bank of the Ozarks, 615 W. Main St. in Cabot.
The Jacksonville Chapter 1597 of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) will meet Thursday, Nov. 9 at the Bar B Que Shack, 1000 Hwy. 61 S. in Jacksonville. Speaker will be Garrick Feldman, editor and publisher of The Leader.
Deadline for the 49th annual Jacksonville Christmas Parade sign-up is Nov. 15. The parade will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2. The theme this year is “Stars of Christmas.” The categories are float, decorated vehicle and precision marching group. For more information call 982-1511.
Zion Hill Baptist Church, 11923 Zion Hill Rd. in Cabot, is hosting its annual fall festival at 4:30 p.m. today in the fellowship hall. There will be games and a hayride weather permitting; hot dogs and frito chili pies will be served at 7 p.m. Children may wear costumes. No occult themes. For more information call the church office at 988-4989.
Boyd Veterinary Clinic, at 300 John Harden Drive in Jacksonville is having its third annual Happy Halloweenie pet costume contest at 12:30 p.m. today. There will be prizes for best costumes, gift bags and treat bags for all children.
First Baptist Church of Jacksonville is hosting “Changing the Way I Look Changes My World,” a women’s conference, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at 401 N. First St. Tickets are $10 and include lunch.
The Lonoke County Literacy Council will host a luncheon honoring students, tutors and volunteers at 10:30 a.m. today at the Lonoke Train Depot. For more information, call 676-7478.
The Ward Fall Festival will be held today from 5 to 7 p.m. at the municipal complex. All carnival games will be one ticket. Tickets are a quarter each or five for $1 and are available at the door. There will also be fall portraits available for $3. For more information contact the Ward Water Office at 843-7686. All proceeds from the event will go towards the Ward Annual Egg Hunt.
An Asian festival will be held at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Jacksonville Buddha Vanaram at 1410 Hwy. 294 near Furlow to raise money to support Asian community activities. Lunch will include traditional Asian dishes such as chicken, lumpia, papaya salad, sweet rice and vegetables. There will be a Jr. Miss Asia festival for girls 16 and under. For more information, call 231-8116 or the temple at 676-5099.
The gospel group Pardoned will be in concert at Runyan First Baptist Church, 10611 Jacksonville-Cato Road, at 6 p.m., Sunday.
Grandpa’s Bar-B-Q in Searcy is selling $5 smoked chickens, fully cooked and wrapped, to benefit the Lonoke County Single Parent Scholarship Fund. Orders are being taken by calling 279-0013 or 676-5652. Purchase and pick-up will be from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3 at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Cabot. All funds will be matched at 150 percent to help single Lonoke County parents attending college.
The Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department will have its semi-annual fish fry from 4 to 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 4. Catfish, chicken and homemade desserts will be on the menu. The fish fry will be held at Station 2 located on Hwy. 236 E. Proceeds will go to the fire department. For more information call Betty Austin at 676-0193 or Linda Baldwin at 843-3336.
There will be a Christmas Beauty Pageant at noon Saturday, Nov. 4 at Lonoke High School. For more information contact 541-2177 or 831-2715.
The Cabot School District will host a Business/Industry Partnership Council meeting from 11 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, Nov. 8 in the professional development center in the district administration building. A light lunch will be provided. This is an informational meeting on how local businesses and industries can get involved in the district’s 13 career and technical programs. For more information contact Robert Martin at 843-3363.
Capt. Johnny Bradley with the Jacksonville Fire Department will speak on Fire and Holiday Safety in the Home at the regular monthly meeting of the Jacksonville Chapter of AARP on Friday. A pot luck dinner begins at 6 p.m., followed by the program. AARP meetings are held at the Jacksonville Senior Center (south entrance) and everyone 50 years of age and over is invited to visit and join.
Grace Chapel Church in Lonoke hosts the Gospel Harmony Singers from Little Rock performing at 7 p.m. tonight. The Sons Family, southern gospel singers, will perform at the church at 6 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call Pastor Willie Gold at 501-676-3572.
The Cabot Relay for Life will have a planning meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6 behind the Bank of the Ozarks, 615 W. Main St. in Cabot.
YANA, a support group for parents of special needs children, will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13, at First Baptist Church in Cabot. Speakers will be members of the Arkansas Special Education Mediation Project of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Bowen School of Law. There will be sampling of toys appropriate for special needs children. Deadline for childcare reservation is Monday, Nov. 6. For childcare reservations, call 605-8668 or e-mail tetrippe@juno.com.
The Cabot Relay for Life will have a planning meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6 behind the Bank of the Ozarks, 615 W. Main St. in Cabot.
The Jacksonville Chapter 1597 of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) will meet Thursday, Nov. 9 at the Bar B Que Shack, 1000 Hwy. 61 S. in Jacksonville. Speaker will be Garrick Feldman, editor and publisher of The Leader.
Deadline for the 49th annual Jacksonville Christmas Parade sign-up is Nov. 15. The parade will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2. The theme this year is “Stars of Christmas.” The categories are float, decorated vehicle and precision marching group. For more information call 982-1511.
Zion Hill Baptist Church, 11923 Zion Hill Rd. in Cabot, is hosting its annual fall festival at 4:30 p.m. today in the fellowship hall. There will be games and a hayride weather permitting; hot dogs and frito chili pies will be served at 7 p.m. Children may wear costumes. No occult themes. For more information call the church office at 988-4989.
Boyd Veterinary Clinic, at 300 John Harden Drive in Jacksonville is having its third annual Happy Halloweenie pet costume contest at 12:30 p.m. today. There will be prizes for best costumes, gift bags and treat bags for all children.
First Baptist Church of Jacksonville is hosting “Changing the Way I Look Changes My World,” a women’s conference, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at 401 N. First St. Tickets are $10 and include lunch.
The Lonoke County Literacy Council will host a luncheon honoring students, tutors and volunteers at 10:30 a.m. today at the Lonoke Train Depot. For more information, call 676-7478.
The Ward Fall Festival will be held today from 5 to 7 p.m. at the municipal complex. All carnival games will be one ticket. Tickets are a quarter each or five for $1 and are available at the door. There will also be fall portraits available for $3. For more information contact the Ward Water Office at 843-7686. All proceeds from the event will go towards the Ward Annual Egg Hunt.
An Asian festival will be held at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Jacksonville Buddha Vanaram at 1410 Hwy. 294 near Furlow to raise money to support Asian community activities. Lunch will include traditional Asian dishes such as chicken, lumpia, papaya salad, sweet rice and vegetables. There will be a Jr. Miss Asia festival for girls 16 and under. For more information, call 231-8116 or the temple at 676-5099.
The gospel group Pardoned will be in concert at Runyan First Baptist Church, 10611 Jacksonville-Cato Road, at 6 p.m., Sunday.
Grandpa’s Bar-B-Q in Searcy is selling $5 smoked chickens, fully cooked and wrapped, to benefit the Lonoke County Single Parent Scholarship Fund. Orders are being taken by calling 279-0013 or 676-5652. Purchase and pick-up will be from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3 at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Cabot. All funds will be matched at 150 percent to help single Lonoke County parents attending college.
The Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department will have its semi-annual fish fry from 4 to 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 4. Catfish, chicken and homemade desserts will be on the menu. The fish fry will be held at Station 2 located on Hwy. 236 E. Proceeds will go to the fire department. For more information call Betty Austin at 676-0193 or Linda Baldwin at 843-3336.
There will be a Christmas Beauty Pageant at noon Saturday, Nov. 4 at Lonoke High School. For more information contact 541-2177 or 831-2715.
The Cabot School District will host a Business/Industry Partnership Council meeting from 11 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, Nov. 8 in the professional development center in the district administration building. A light lunch will be provided. This is an informational meeting on how local businesses and industries can get involved in the district’s 13 career and technical programs. For more information contact Robert Martin at 843-3363.
TOP STORY >>Quirk in rezoning law kills townhouse project
IN SHORT: Emma Knight, a member of the Jacksonville Planning Commission and a former alderman, threatened to resign if the city council approved a controversial housing plan, which lacked a two-thirds majority needed to pass.
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Some Jacksonville aldermen knew three weeks ago that the council had improperly passed a rezoning ordinance, which would have allowed three acres of townhouses to be built, before the snafu was publicly announced Thursday night.
The death of the project, part of a larger development on the south side of West Main near Emma Street, pleased planning commissioner Emma Knight, who threatened to quit the commission if the council approved the rezoning over the commission’s objections.
Knight, who learned Friday evening from The Leader that the rezoning failed, said, “I will remain on the commission, and you won’t hear another word from me on this issue.”
A statement Alder-man Bob Stroud read to the council and a packed chamber of residents Thursday said, “On Wednesday, prior to the Oct. 20 city council meeting, certain members of the council became aware of an obscure paragraph in the ‘Handbook for Arkansas Municipal Officials’ that purports to require a two-thirds vote of the entire membership in order to overturn certain zoning decisions.”
Because of that requirement, Stroud pulled the rezoning request, which was set for its third and final reading, from the Oct. 20 meeting without any explanation.
When Aldermen Terry Sansing and Gary Fletcher tried to get a public explanation, Stroud refused, and Mayor Tommy Swaim would only say that the ordinance was pulled according to the rules of order.
“After careful consideration,” Stroud continued, “the city attorney’s opinion is that it takes seven out of ten members of the council to overturn a disapproval of certain zoning action.”
The planning commission at its Sept. 11 meeting soundly turned down the rezoning request by local developer Tim McClurg to rezone a three-acre portion of the 26 acres he was planning to develop for the purpose of building 35 townhouses on West Main near Emma Street. McClurg had also planned to build 25 single homes between Emma Street and the townhouses.
McClurg then appealed the decision, which is his right, to the city council and Stroud sponsored the ordinance asking for the rezoning to be approved.
Stroud said he felt the planning commission erred in its decision to turn down the rezoning. He said the commission turned it down under the verbal assault of a few misinformed citizens and made no effort to compromise with the developer or make any further attempt at studying the issue.
At the Sept. 21 council meeting, the rezoning ordinance seemingly passed Sept. 21 by a 5-4 vote.
Stroud, along with aldermen Kevin McCleary, Reedie Ray, Bill Howard and Kenny Elliott, voted fand Gary Fletcher tried to get a public explanation, Stroud refused, and Mayor Tommy Swaim would only say that the ordinance was pulled according to the rules of order.
“After careful consideration,” Stroud continued, “the city attorney’s opinion is that it takes seven out of ten members of the council to overturn a disapproval of certain zoning action.”
The planning commission at its Sept. 11 meeting soundly turned down the rezoning re-quest by local developer Tim McClurg to rezone a three-acre portion of the 26 acres he was planning to develop for the purpose of building 35 townhouses on West Main near Emma Street. McClurg had also planned to build 25 single homes between Emma Street and the townhouses.
McClurg then appealed the decision, which is his right, to the city council and Stroud sponsored the ordinance asking for the rezoning to be approved.
Stroud said he felt the planning commission erred in its decision to turn down the rezoning. He said the commission turned it down under the verbal assault of a few misinformed citizens and made no effort to compromise with the developer or make any further attempt at studying the issue.
At the Sept. 21 council meeting, the rezoning ordinance seemingly passed by a 5-4 vote.
Stroud, along with aldermen Kevin Mc-Cleary, Reedie Ray, Bill Howard and Kenny Elliott, voted for it, while Sansing and Fletcher, along with aldermen Marshall Smith and Avis Twitty, voted against it.
Alderman Linda Rinker was absent for the first vote and the mayor did not vote.
The council approved it a second time on Oct. 5 by a 6-4 vote with Rinker joining the yes side.
Thursday night, Stroud said, “Unless at least one of the four dissenting members is willing to repent, this ordinance will not be placed on its third and final reading tonight.”
“Repent?” Sansing said, laughing.
None of the aldermen changed their mind, and that killed the ordinance, meaning the townhouses will not be built, at least at that location.
City Attorney Robert Bamburg apologized to the council and residents for not realizing at the first reading in September that seven votes were needed. “My wife says I sometimes have a problem with thinking I know it all. This time I definitely didn’t.
“In all my years working with the council this is only the second time I’ve made a mistake on voting requirements,” Bamburg said.
The council amended its Sept. 21 minutes to show that the ordinance did not pass on the first reading. Its Oct. 5 minutes will reflect that the ordinance passed but the vote was null and void.
Bamburg said the council now needs to work at becoming a cohesive unit again, as the rezoning issue caused a great divide.
During the first and second readings, the council chambers were packed with residents who lived near the planned townhouses who spoke against the plan. Some city leaders, like the chamber’s executive director, spoke for it.
On the council, Smith said he had been in his seat for 26 years and had never gone against the planning commission and wasn’t going to on this issue.
Planning Commissioner Emma Knight told the mayor and the council at the Oct. 5 meeting that she would resign if the issue passed.
“I sell upscale homes,” she said at that meeting. “These townhouses are not upscale. I don’t think this is the best plan for Jacksonville. We do not need these.
“I will resign, mayor, if this passes,” she said.
Knight said the townhouses have been touted as great retirement homes, but in a survey of people aged 50 and older she conducted, “no one wanted to live in them.”
Later Knight called it a trust issue.
“The council entrusted us to make decisions, and now they don’t trust us.” She said when “you don’t trust someone you should replace them or have them go away.”
She plans to go away. “I’ve got too many other meetings and commitments,” she added.
Knight said that the commission covered all the issues involved or connected with this rezoning—traffic, wetlands, drainage, flooding density of dwellings, along with the number of local residents demanding “that we protect them.”
“It was not a hard decision, not a close decision,” she said.
When the third reading of the ordinance, set for Oct. 20, was pulled without explanation, more accusations were fired off.
Stroud pulled the ordinance from the agenda, and with two supporters absent, it gave the appearance of impropriety. The mayor said the ordinance was pulled according to the rules of order. But aldermen Gary Fletcher and Terry Sansing still wanted to know why.
Stroud would not explain at that meeting.
“I just felt that we weren’t taking care of the people’s business, but taking care of political business,” Fletcher said after the ordinance was pulled.
He added that “we are too small to be divided. We need to get back to being one city.”
Fletcher said the people who have attended the many meetings on this issue were entitled to an explanation. “I don’t know if the public has ever been put out this much,” he said.
Stroud said Thursday night that he deeply regretted the rancor, intimidation and animosity exhibited in the council chamber during the past few weeks.
“I am equally sorry that Jacksonville appears to have lost a unique and much-needed housing development that would have been both an asset and a great benefit to the needs of our entire city,” he said.
“Most members of this council are painfully aware that if Jacksonville is to progress as it should, we must improve our schools, broaden the commercial and retail business base and upgrade housing for all citizens,” Stroud said. “And the first two are not likely to happen before we take care of the third.”
Regarding the verbiage that killed the townhouse plan that he supported, Stroud said, “This is a strange little quirk in Arkansas law and an oversight that will be dealt with.”
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Some Jacksonville aldermen knew three weeks ago that the council had improperly passed a rezoning ordinance, which would have allowed three acres of townhouses to be built, before the snafu was publicly announced Thursday night.
The death of the project, part of a larger development on the south side of West Main near Emma Street, pleased planning commissioner Emma Knight, who threatened to quit the commission if the council approved the rezoning over the commission’s objections.
Knight, who learned Friday evening from The Leader that the rezoning failed, said, “I will remain on the commission, and you won’t hear another word from me on this issue.”
A statement Alder-man Bob Stroud read to the council and a packed chamber of residents Thursday said, “On Wednesday, prior to the Oct. 20 city council meeting, certain members of the council became aware of an obscure paragraph in the ‘Handbook for Arkansas Municipal Officials’ that purports to require a two-thirds vote of the entire membership in order to overturn certain zoning decisions.”
Because of that requirement, Stroud pulled the rezoning request, which was set for its third and final reading, from the Oct. 20 meeting without any explanation.
When Aldermen Terry Sansing and Gary Fletcher tried to get a public explanation, Stroud refused, and Mayor Tommy Swaim would only say that the ordinance was pulled according to the rules of order.
“After careful consideration,” Stroud continued, “the city attorney’s opinion is that it takes seven out of ten members of the council to overturn a disapproval of certain zoning action.”
The planning commission at its Sept. 11 meeting soundly turned down the rezoning request by local developer Tim McClurg to rezone a three-acre portion of the 26 acres he was planning to develop for the purpose of building 35 townhouses on West Main near Emma Street. McClurg had also planned to build 25 single homes between Emma Street and the townhouses.
McClurg then appealed the decision, which is his right, to the city council and Stroud sponsored the ordinance asking for the rezoning to be approved.
Stroud said he felt the planning commission erred in its decision to turn down the rezoning. He said the commission turned it down under the verbal assault of a few misinformed citizens and made no effort to compromise with the developer or make any further attempt at studying the issue.
At the Sept. 21 council meeting, the rezoning ordinance seemingly passed Sept. 21 by a 5-4 vote.
Stroud, along with aldermen Kevin McCleary, Reedie Ray, Bill Howard and Kenny Elliott, voted fand Gary Fletcher tried to get a public explanation, Stroud refused, and Mayor Tommy Swaim would only say that the ordinance was pulled according to the rules of order.
“After careful consideration,” Stroud continued, “the city attorney’s opinion is that it takes seven out of ten members of the council to overturn a disapproval of certain zoning action.”
The planning commission at its Sept. 11 meeting soundly turned down the rezoning re-quest by local developer Tim McClurg to rezone a three-acre portion of the 26 acres he was planning to develop for the purpose of building 35 townhouses on West Main near Emma Street. McClurg had also planned to build 25 single homes between Emma Street and the townhouses.
McClurg then appealed the decision, which is his right, to the city council and Stroud sponsored the ordinance asking for the rezoning to be approved.
Stroud said he felt the planning commission erred in its decision to turn down the rezoning. He said the commission turned it down under the verbal assault of a few misinformed citizens and made no effort to compromise with the developer or make any further attempt at studying the issue.
At the Sept. 21 council meeting, the rezoning ordinance seemingly passed by a 5-4 vote.
Stroud, along with aldermen Kevin Mc-Cleary, Reedie Ray, Bill Howard and Kenny Elliott, voted for it, while Sansing and Fletcher, along with aldermen Marshall Smith and Avis Twitty, voted against it.
Alderman Linda Rinker was absent for the first vote and the mayor did not vote.
The council approved it a second time on Oct. 5 by a 6-4 vote with Rinker joining the yes side.
Thursday night, Stroud said, “Unless at least one of the four dissenting members is willing to repent, this ordinance will not be placed on its third and final reading tonight.”
“Repent?” Sansing said, laughing.
None of the aldermen changed their mind, and that killed the ordinance, meaning the townhouses will not be built, at least at that location.
City Attorney Robert Bamburg apologized to the council and residents for not realizing at the first reading in September that seven votes were needed. “My wife says I sometimes have a problem with thinking I know it all. This time I definitely didn’t.
“In all my years working with the council this is only the second time I’ve made a mistake on voting requirements,” Bamburg said.
The council amended its Sept. 21 minutes to show that the ordinance did not pass on the first reading. Its Oct. 5 minutes will reflect that the ordinance passed but the vote was null and void.
Bamburg said the council now needs to work at becoming a cohesive unit again, as the rezoning issue caused a great divide.
During the first and second readings, the council chambers were packed with residents who lived near the planned townhouses who spoke against the plan. Some city leaders, like the chamber’s executive director, spoke for it.
On the council, Smith said he had been in his seat for 26 years and had never gone against the planning commission and wasn’t going to on this issue.
Planning Commissioner Emma Knight told the mayor and the council at the Oct. 5 meeting that she would resign if the issue passed.
“I sell upscale homes,” she said at that meeting. “These townhouses are not upscale. I don’t think this is the best plan for Jacksonville. We do not need these.
“I will resign, mayor, if this passes,” she said.
Knight said the townhouses have been touted as great retirement homes, but in a survey of people aged 50 and older she conducted, “no one wanted to live in them.”
Later Knight called it a trust issue.
“The council entrusted us to make decisions, and now they don’t trust us.” She said when “you don’t trust someone you should replace them or have them go away.”
She plans to go away. “I’ve got too many other meetings and commitments,” she added.
Knight said that the commission covered all the issues involved or connected with this rezoning—traffic, wetlands, drainage, flooding density of dwellings, along with the number of local residents demanding “that we protect them.”
“It was not a hard decision, not a close decision,” she said.
When the third reading of the ordinance, set for Oct. 20, was pulled without explanation, more accusations were fired off.
Stroud pulled the ordinance from the agenda, and with two supporters absent, it gave the appearance of impropriety. The mayor said the ordinance was pulled according to the rules of order. But aldermen Gary Fletcher and Terry Sansing still wanted to know why.
Stroud would not explain at that meeting.
“I just felt that we weren’t taking care of the people’s business, but taking care of political business,” Fletcher said after the ordinance was pulled.
He added that “we are too small to be divided. We need to get back to being one city.”
Fletcher said the people who have attended the many meetings on this issue were entitled to an explanation. “I don’t know if the public has ever been put out this much,” he said.
Stroud said Thursday night that he deeply regretted the rancor, intimidation and animosity exhibited in the council chamber during the past few weeks.
“I am equally sorry that Jacksonville appears to have lost a unique and much-needed housing development that would have been both an asset and a great benefit to the needs of our entire city,” he said.
“Most members of this council are painfully aware that if Jacksonville is to progress as it should, we must improve our schools, broaden the commercial and retail business base and upgrade housing for all citizens,” Stroud said. “And the first two are not likely to happen before we take care of the third.”
Regarding the verbiage that killed the townhouse plan that he supported, Stroud said, “This is a strange little quirk in Arkansas law and an oversight that will be dealt with.”
TOP STORY >>Stumbaugh war chest is just $85,154
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
If the winner of a congressional race is determined by the size of the war chest, then Cabot Mayor Mickey Darrin “Stubby” Stumbaugh has reason to worry.
Campaign contributions records, which had to be filed by Oct. 15 with the Federal Election Commission, show Stumbaugh is far behind Cong. Marion Berry in money collected for their 1st Con-gressional District race.
Stumbaugh, a Republican, has run his “People before Politics” campaign on just $85,154 in contributions, a fraction of the amount he said he would need to get to Washington.
In contrast, Berry, the Demo-crat who has held the office for 10 years, has amassed $1.2 million — or nearly 15 times what Stum-baugh has raised. The Cabot mayor has received almost nothing from the national Republican congressional campaign or political-action committees.
Most of the money Stumbaugh has collected, $71,996, came from individuals.
Republican committees contributed $3,800, and non-party political action committees gave $6,770. The information about Stumbaugh’s campaign contributions and the campaign contributions of all candidates for national office can be found on the Web site for the Federal Election Commission.
The site contains not only the amounts collected by candidates but also the names and addresses of contributors. For example, Stumbaugh’s contributors included 10 Cabot residents who together gave $5,759 to his campaign. The most generous among his Cabot supporters was Kenneth Williams, who gave $2,000.
Berry’s support was split almost evenly between individuals, who gave $614,530, and PACs, which gave $608,825.
Party contributions added another $10,909 to Berry’s re-election fund, which already contained $171,975 before the campaign started.
Stumbaugh said at the beginning of his campaign that he believed he could win with $500,000 to $750,000.
But Berry said it takes a minimum of $1.1 million to mount a credible campaign.
Stumbaugh started with nothing in August, when he announced his decision to run and had raised $16,462 by Sept. 30. Berry, serving his fifth term in office, started with $171,975 and raised $378,375 by Sept. 30.
Of that amount, $211,100 came from about 130 political action committees and other similar groups and the balance came from individuals.
Federal law requires that candidates report the names of individuals who contribute $200 or more.
So far, 20 individuals meet that requirement for Stumbaugh’s campaign.
Of that number, most contributed $500 to $1,000.
In the 2nd Congressional District, Vic Snyder, the Democratic incumbent, also has outdistanced Andy Mayberry, his Republican opponent, in campaign contributions.
Snyder has raised $596,283 for his campaign compared to Mayberry’s $94,488.
In a breakdown of Snyder’s contributions, $381,963 came from individuals, $204,264 came from PACs and $9,250 came from Democratic Party committees.
Mayberry borrowed $15,000, but most of his campaign has been financed by individuals, who contributed $76,439. PACs contributed $1,600.
Leader staff writer
If the winner of a congressional race is determined by the size of the war chest, then Cabot Mayor Mickey Darrin “Stubby” Stumbaugh has reason to worry.
Campaign contributions records, which had to be filed by Oct. 15 with the Federal Election Commission, show Stumbaugh is far behind Cong. Marion Berry in money collected for their 1st Con-gressional District race.
Stumbaugh, a Republican, has run his “People before Politics” campaign on just $85,154 in contributions, a fraction of the amount he said he would need to get to Washington.
In contrast, Berry, the Demo-crat who has held the office for 10 years, has amassed $1.2 million — or nearly 15 times what Stum-baugh has raised. The Cabot mayor has received almost nothing from the national Republican congressional campaign or political-action committees.
Most of the money Stumbaugh has collected, $71,996, came from individuals.
Republican committees contributed $3,800, and non-party political action committees gave $6,770. The information about Stumbaugh’s campaign contributions and the campaign contributions of all candidates for national office can be found on the Web site for the Federal Election Commission.
The site contains not only the amounts collected by candidates but also the names and addresses of contributors. For example, Stumbaugh’s contributors included 10 Cabot residents who together gave $5,759 to his campaign. The most generous among his Cabot supporters was Kenneth Williams, who gave $2,000.
Berry’s support was split almost evenly between individuals, who gave $614,530, and PACs, which gave $608,825.
Party contributions added another $10,909 to Berry’s re-election fund, which already contained $171,975 before the campaign started.
Stumbaugh said at the beginning of his campaign that he believed he could win with $500,000 to $750,000.
But Berry said it takes a minimum of $1.1 million to mount a credible campaign.
Stumbaugh started with nothing in August, when he announced his decision to run and had raised $16,462 by Sept. 30. Berry, serving his fifth term in office, started with $171,975 and raised $378,375 by Sept. 30.
Of that amount, $211,100 came from about 130 political action committees and other similar groups and the balance came from individuals.
Federal law requires that candidates report the names of individuals who contribute $200 or more.
So far, 20 individuals meet that requirement for Stumbaugh’s campaign.
Of that number, most contributed $500 to $1,000.
In the 2nd Congressional District, Vic Snyder, the Democratic incumbent, also has outdistanced Andy Mayberry, his Republican opponent, in campaign contributions.
Snyder has raised $596,283 for his campaign compared to Mayberry’s $94,488.
In a breakdown of Snyder’s contributions, $381,963 came from individuals, $204,264 came from PACs and $9,250 came from Democratic Party committees.
Mayberry borrowed $15,000, but most of his campaign has been financed by individuals, who contributed $76,439. PACs contributed $1,600.
TOP STORY >>Red Baron returns home
IN SHORT: Former Jacksonville resident performs with aerial group this weekend at base.
By CHRISTY HENDRICKS
Leader staff writer
Travis Aukes moved to Illinois from Jacksonville when he was 11 years old. His father was a crop duster, so it was no surprise that Aukes got his pilot’s license at age 16. His dream as a teenager was to fly with the Red Baron Squadron.
This weekend, Aukes, who now lives in Aledo, Ill., returns home to perform at Airpower Arkansas, the Little Rock Air Force Base air show, as slot pilot for the Red Baron Squadron.
This will be the first time he has performed at the Little Rock Air Force Base air show.
“Jacksonville hasn’t changed at all,” Aukes said. “It brings back a lot of memories.”
He requested to perform at this year’s show well ahead of time. “I was looking forward to it,” he said. His parents, Bob and Beth Aukes, live at Mt. Ida, and most of his family still lives here in Arkansas. Several family members are planning on coming to the show. He has flown with each of his four brothers, who are also pilots.
During the 1980s, one brother was a crew chief for the Red Barons. When the opportunity arose, Aukes tried out and landed a spot on the team. He has been flying with the Red Barons since 1992.
“It’s been a dream ever since,” he said.
As slot pilot, Aukes flies in the last position in formation.
The Red Barons fly open-cockpit biplanes, known as Stearman-made planes.
They were used by the Navy to train pilots to fly during WWII. The one Aukes flies came off the assembly line April 20,1943, and was built by Boeing Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kan.
Aukes has more than 20 years of flight experience and has flown more than 5,500 flight hours. The team will perform Saturday and Sunday.
By CHRISTY HENDRICKS
Leader staff writer
Travis Aukes moved to Illinois from Jacksonville when he was 11 years old. His father was a crop duster, so it was no surprise that Aukes got his pilot’s license at age 16. His dream as a teenager was to fly with the Red Baron Squadron.
This weekend, Aukes, who now lives in Aledo, Ill., returns home to perform at Airpower Arkansas, the Little Rock Air Force Base air show, as slot pilot for the Red Baron Squadron.
This will be the first time he has performed at the Little Rock Air Force Base air show.
“Jacksonville hasn’t changed at all,” Aukes said. “It brings back a lot of memories.”
He requested to perform at this year’s show well ahead of time. “I was looking forward to it,” he said. His parents, Bob and Beth Aukes, live at Mt. Ida, and most of his family still lives here in Arkansas. Several family members are planning on coming to the show. He has flown with each of his four brothers, who are also pilots.
During the 1980s, one brother was a crew chief for the Red Barons. When the opportunity arose, Aukes tried out and landed a spot on the team. He has been flying with the Red Barons since 1992.
“It’s been a dream ever since,” he said.
As slot pilot, Aukes flies in the last position in formation.
The Red Barons fly open-cockpit biplanes, known as Stearman-made planes.
They were used by the Navy to train pilots to fly during WWII. The one Aukes flies came off the assembly line April 20,1943, and was built by Boeing Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kan.
Aukes has more than 20 years of flight experience and has flown more than 5,500 flight hours. The team will perform Saturday and Sunday.
TOP STORY >>Weekend air show
IN SHORT: Air Force flexes military muscle this weekend.
By SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
Little Rock Air Force Base plans for 150,000 people to pass through the gates during this weekend’s air show.
Last year, more than 150,000 attended the base’s 50th anniversary air show. Temperatures for this weekend’s air show at Little Rock Air Force Base are predicted to be in the mid-60s, with clouds and possible showers on Sunday.
More military aircraft will be on display and performing at this show compared to previous years. The gates for the air show open at 8:30 a.m. and the planes take to the air at 10:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The Air Force Academy Wings of Blue parachute team opens the show on both days with aerial skills and precision landings. Each member is a qualified jumpmaster and instructor in the Air Force Academy parachuting program.
Following the Wings of Blue is a demonstration of LRAFB’s very own C-130J cargo aircraft, the newest version of the Hercules. LRAFB has seven of the $65 million planes. The C130J is 15 feet longer than previous models. When it is parked, the plane can easily be identified by its uniquely curved propellers.
Afterwards, a native of Arkansas, Mike Rinker will take to the air in “Pink Floyd,” a Russian built Sukhoi SU-26.
The F-16 Viper East Demonstration Team located at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. will follow Rinker. The F-16 performing at the show is one of the operational fighters from the 20th Fighter Wing.
The Shockwave Jet Truck will be having two performances each day, streaking down tarmac at 300 mph. The modified Peterbilt has a spot in the Guinness Book of World for reaching 376 mph.
A B-52 Stratofortress will fly by just before the Canadian Air Force’s CF-18 aerial demonstration. The CF-18 is similar to the F-18 Hornet used by the Navy Blue Angels. The Canadian version of the F-18 incorporates a sky-blue underside of the fuselage to confuse an opponent in the heat of a dogfight as to which side is up.
John Melby, a former loadmaster from LRAFB, will perform in his Pitts bi-plane followed by an F-117 Nighthawk flyby.
LRAFB’s older C-130s will take part in the show with a cargo drop demonstration by dropping heavy equipment, cargo and approximately 400 paratroopers with the 82 Airborne, Fort Bragg, N. C. The paratroopers will load up and be flown back to North Carolina in a C-17 Globemaster.
Retired Navy pilot Capt. Dale “Snort” Snodgrass will fly a F-86 Sabre with the F-15 East Strike Eagle and F-16 Viper demonstration teams as an Air Combat Command heritage flight.
The Red Baron Pizza Squadron performs in vintage Boeing Stearman biplanes built between 1941 and 1943. The eight planes of the squadron will fly in formation less than a wingspan apart while performing aerobatic maneuvers such as loops, clover leafs, avalanches and barrel rolls.
On Saturday only, a B-1 Lancer bomber will fly over before the E-2C Hawkeye reconnaissance aircraft demonstration.
Melby will take to the skies again, flying low over the tarmac to race the ShockWave Jet Truck just before the F-16 Viper “Fire and Fury” demonstration.
The Navy Blue Angels F-18 Hornet aerial demonstration team is the featured performance for the show, tentatively scheduled to fly at 2:45 p.m. both days. This year has marked the Blue Angels 60th year of performing during air shows. The biggest member of the Navy Blue team is a Lockheed Martin C-130T Hercules, known as Fat Albert Airlines. The plane has jet-assisted take-off (JATO) capability with eight solid-fuel rocket bottles, four on each side, attached near the rear paratrooper doors. Fired simultaneously, the JATO bottles allow the transport aircraft to take off within 1,500 feet, climb at a 45-degree angle, and propel it to an altitude of 1,000 feet in approximately 15 seconds. The Fat Albert joined the Blue Angels team in 1970 and flies more than 140,000 miles each season. It carries more than 40 maintenance and support personnel, their gear and enough spare parts and communication equipment to complete a successful air show.
The Blue Angels demonstration lasts about an hour and a half.
Spectators will also get a chance to get up-close and personal with static displays of both modern and vintage military aircraft and the crewmembers that fly them.
All visitors and their vehicles will be subject to search. Due to security restrictions, recreational vehicles will not be allowed on base. No coolers, pets, backpacks, skates of any kind or large bags are allowed at the air show.
Due to safety concerns, there will be designated smoking areas. Lawn chairs and folding chairs are allowed. For more information about the air show visit www.littlerock.af.mil.
By SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
Little Rock Air Force Base plans for 150,000 people to pass through the gates during this weekend’s air show.
Last year, more than 150,000 attended the base’s 50th anniversary air show. Temperatures for this weekend’s air show at Little Rock Air Force Base are predicted to be in the mid-60s, with clouds and possible showers on Sunday.
More military aircraft will be on display and performing at this show compared to previous years. The gates for the air show open at 8:30 a.m. and the planes take to the air at 10:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The Air Force Academy Wings of Blue parachute team opens the show on both days with aerial skills and precision landings. Each member is a qualified jumpmaster and instructor in the Air Force Academy parachuting program.
Following the Wings of Blue is a demonstration of LRAFB’s very own C-130J cargo aircraft, the newest version of the Hercules. LRAFB has seven of the $65 million planes. The C130J is 15 feet longer than previous models. When it is parked, the plane can easily be identified by its uniquely curved propellers.
Afterwards, a native of Arkansas, Mike Rinker will take to the air in “Pink Floyd,” a Russian built Sukhoi SU-26.
The F-16 Viper East Demonstration Team located at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. will follow Rinker. The F-16 performing at the show is one of the operational fighters from the 20th Fighter Wing.
The Shockwave Jet Truck will be having two performances each day, streaking down tarmac at 300 mph. The modified Peterbilt has a spot in the Guinness Book of World for reaching 376 mph.
A B-52 Stratofortress will fly by just before the Canadian Air Force’s CF-18 aerial demonstration. The CF-18 is similar to the F-18 Hornet used by the Navy Blue Angels. The Canadian version of the F-18 incorporates a sky-blue underside of the fuselage to confuse an opponent in the heat of a dogfight as to which side is up.
John Melby, a former loadmaster from LRAFB, will perform in his Pitts bi-plane followed by an F-117 Nighthawk flyby.
LRAFB’s older C-130s will take part in the show with a cargo drop demonstration by dropping heavy equipment, cargo and approximately 400 paratroopers with the 82 Airborne, Fort Bragg, N. C. The paratroopers will load up and be flown back to North Carolina in a C-17 Globemaster.
Retired Navy pilot Capt. Dale “Snort” Snodgrass will fly a F-86 Sabre with the F-15 East Strike Eagle and F-16 Viper demonstration teams as an Air Combat Command heritage flight.
The Red Baron Pizza Squadron performs in vintage Boeing Stearman biplanes built between 1941 and 1943. The eight planes of the squadron will fly in formation less than a wingspan apart while performing aerobatic maneuvers such as loops, clover leafs, avalanches and barrel rolls.
On Saturday only, a B-1 Lancer bomber will fly over before the E-2C Hawkeye reconnaissance aircraft demonstration.
Melby will take to the skies again, flying low over the tarmac to race the ShockWave Jet Truck just before the F-16 Viper “Fire and Fury” demonstration.
The Navy Blue Angels F-18 Hornet aerial demonstration team is the featured performance for the show, tentatively scheduled to fly at 2:45 p.m. both days. This year has marked the Blue Angels 60th year of performing during air shows. The biggest member of the Navy Blue team is a Lockheed Martin C-130T Hercules, known as Fat Albert Airlines. The plane has jet-assisted take-off (JATO) capability with eight solid-fuel rocket bottles, four on each side, attached near the rear paratrooper doors. Fired simultaneously, the JATO bottles allow the transport aircraft to take off within 1,500 feet, climb at a 45-degree angle, and propel it to an altitude of 1,000 feet in approximately 15 seconds. The Fat Albert joined the Blue Angels team in 1970 and flies more than 140,000 miles each season. It carries more than 40 maintenance and support personnel, their gear and enough spare parts and communication equipment to complete a successful air show.
The Blue Angels demonstration lasts about an hour and a half.
Spectators will also get a chance to get up-close and personal with static displays of both modern and vintage military aircraft and the crewmembers that fly them.
All visitors and their vehicles will be subject to search. Due to security restrictions, recreational vehicles will not be allowed on base. No coolers, pets, backpacks, skates of any kind or large bags are allowed at the air show.
Due to safety concerns, there will be designated smoking areas. Lawn chairs and folding chairs are allowed. For more information about the air show visit www.littlerock.af.mil.
TOP STORY >>Tuesday is D-Day as votes are cast
IN SHORT: Early voting continues until Election Day, when final tallies are counted.
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
Long lines formed all day Friday as people took advantage of the final days of early voting in the area.
Lonoke County Clerk Prudie Percifull said 2,950 people had voted in the county by Friday afternoon, including 1,800 at the old Community Bank in Cabot.
In Jacksonville, 2,159 residents had cast early votes at city hall, and 2,726 had cast votes at Sherwood’s senior center.
Early voting continues Saturday in Jacksonville and Cabot and at the courthouses, but on Monday, the only place to cast votes will be at the county courthouses.
Lonoke County
In addition to the Republican incumbents facing challenges in two countywide law-enforcement races in Lonoke County and the contest for the county clerk’s office, being vacated by Percifull, voters will help decide statewide offices and two ballot initiatives.
Former deputy prosecutor Tim Blair, a Democrat, is challenging Prosecutor Lona McCastlain, a Republican.
Democrat Charlie Martin, the former sheriff, is challenging Sheriff Jim Roberson, a Republican.Republican Cassandra Pitts, who works in Roberson’s sheriff’s office, faces off against Dawn Porterfield, who works in Percifull’s office.
In the only other contested countywide election, Republican incumbent surveyor Samuel E. Smith is de-fending his seat against Democrat William “Randy” Gipson.
Running unopposed for countywide office are County Judge Charlie Troutman, Circuit Clerk Deborah Oglesby, Assessor Jerry D. Adams, Treasurer Karol DePriest and Coroner Sherry Stracener—all incumbents and Democrats, and Democrat Patricia McCallie, for collector.
Democrat Larry Ridgeway will try to regain his old Lonoke County Quorum Court seat from Republican J.P. Jannette Minton.
Alexis Malham, a Republican, defends her District 6 J.P. seat from Democrat Chris R. Skinner and from Harry Roderick, an independent.
In the Dist. 12 race, Republican Casey VanBuskirk faces Patty Knox, a Democrat.
All other Lonoke County Quorum Courts seats are unopposed.
LONOKE
Alderman Wayne McGee is unopposed for Lonoke mayor.
On the city council, incumbent Democrat Phillip Howell faces independent challenger Shane Whitehurst.
Robert (Bob) Combs-R, Wendell Walker-I and Kenneth Pasley-R, will face off in the only other contested city council race.
All other city races are unopposed.
CABOT
Republican Eddie Joe Wil-liams, independents James R. Glenn, David Polantz and Kenny Ridgeway square off in a four-way race to replace Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh.
Independent Clinton D. McGue and Republican Jimmy Taylor are vying for city attorney.
In the races for alderman, here’s who is running:
Ward 1, Position 1, John W. Johnson and Eddie Long, both independents.
Ward 2, Position 1, Michael A. Burton, an independent, and Republican Virgil O. Teague, Jr.
Ward 3, Position 1, incumbent Tom Armstrong is challenged by Bruce L. “Ernie” Ernst. Both men are independents.
Ward 3, Position 2, independent Nancy Cohea is running against Teri Miessner, a Republican.
Ward 4, Position 1, incumbent Odis Waymack faces Becky Lemaster. Both are independents.
Ward 2, Position 2, Robert L. Helton, Lisa Brickell and Thomas Standley face off in a three-way race. All are independents.
AUSTIN
In Austin’s nonpartisan elections, incumbent Mayor Bernie Chamberlain faces Barry D. Weathers II and Jeremy C. Reed.
For Austin City Council, in Ward 2, Position 2, Christopher L. Dawson faces Michawn David and in Ward 2, Position 5, Tammy Williams faces Sandra Kay Chambers.
WARD
In Ward, Mayor Art Brooke faces challenges from Bill Boyd, former Alderman Donnie Rouse, and J.S. “Buford” McClendon.
In contested city council races, incumbent Ginger Tarno faces Don Harris, Marrice Jackson faces John B. Harris and Murriel Seymour challenges Jeff Shaver.
CARLISLE
In a three-way race for mayor, independents Ron (Yank) Wannemacker, Harold D. Reed and Ray Glover seek the seat vacated by Bob McCallie.
Curtis Moody faces Leo Orton for Ward 1, Position 2.
HUMNOKE
Mayor Harold “Bill” Morris faces a challenge from Roger Oliver.
PULASKI COUNTY
In Pulaski County 29,005 took advantage of early voting.
“It’s going really smoothly. Attendance has been steady and Friday was the first day we had lines,” said Pat O’Brien, Pulaski County Circuit Clerk.
“We’ve had a few small glitches, normal stuff like people with incorrect addresses,” O’Brien said.
In North Pulaski County, voters are chosing between County Judge Buddy Villines, a Democrat, is seeking his ninth term, or challenger Buddy York, a Repub-lican, a North Little Rock bail bondsman. Democrat Doc Holladay and DeWayne Graham, a Republican, face off in a contest to replace Sheriff Randy Johnson, who is retiring.
SHERWOOD
Alderman Dan Stedman is running against Mike Presson, a restaurant owner, to succeed Mayor Bill Harmon.
City Clerk/Treasurer Virginia Hillman, faces a challenge from Sharon McMinn.
In Ward I, position 1, firefighter Robert Wallace challenges incumbent Becky Vassar. Greg Chastain and Charlie Harmon seek the Ward I, position 2 alderman seat.
JACKSONVILLE
There are no contested Jack-sonville city races.
WHITE COUNTY
In White County 4,957 cast ballots during early voting so far. There is a three-way battle for Lonoke County judge between independent candidate Dennis Gillam, Democrat Waylon Heath-scott and Republican Michael Lincoln.
White County Sheriff Pat Garrett, a Democrat, faces challengers Republican Ricky Shourd and independent candidate Edward Thornton.
The only other contested county race is for tax assessor between incumbent Debra Akers Lang-D and her Republican challenger Shane Sellers.
Incumbents running unopposed are Circuit Clerk Tami King, County Clerk Tanya Burleson, County Treasurer Janet Hibbitts and Coroner David Powell — all Republicans along with Democrat Sue Liles for collector.
Contested races for White County Quorum Court are Horace Taylor-D and Jerry Sites-R for District 1; incumbent Terry Adams-D and challenger Billy Young-R for District 4; incumbent Johney Gibson-D and challenger Danny Thomas-R for District 6, and incumbent Mike Cleveland-R and Jimmy Dale Smith, an independent for District 9.
The rest of the quorum court positions are uncontested.
BEEBE
Beebe voters will decide whether or not to double the size of the city through annexation.
Like most city elections, Beebe’s are nonpartisan.
Mike Robertson is running unopposed for mayor, replacing Donald Ward. Carol Crump-Westergren and Estela Gomez are competing for City Clerk/ Treasurer and three are running for the Ward 3, Position 1 alderman spot on the city council.
The candidates are John D. Johnson, Hermon Blackmon and Garland Kirkpatrick.
Uncontested races for Beebe include Harold Welch, Ward 1, Position 1; Janice Petray, Ward 1, Positon 2; Becky Sort, Ward 2, Position 1; Tracy Lightfoot, Ward 2, Position 1, and Les Cossey, Ward 3, Position2.
MCRAE
In McRae voters will choose between incumbent mayor Robert “Bob” Sullivan or David Newman. The only contested race for McRae city council is between independents Cecil “Mack” Davis and Shirley Cox for the Ward 1, Position 2 seat.
Other city council members are running unopposed.
SEARCY
In Searcy, there is a three-way race for mayor between incumbent Belinda LaForce-D; former alderman Dale Brewer-R and Phillip R. Williams, an independent candidate.
City Clerk and Treasurer Tommy Gowen-D, and incumbent City Attorney Buck C. Gibson-D, are running uncontested. There are races for three seats on the Searcy City Council.
JoAnn Ramsey-D, and Mike Chalenburg-R, are vying for the Ward 4, Position 2, alderman seat. Ward 3, Position 1, incumbent Dale English-D, is facing off against challenger Cindy Erwin-Barker-R, and incumbent Jackie Liles-R, is running against Dale Ellis-D.
The rest of the city council members are running without opposition.
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
Long lines formed all day Friday as people took advantage of the final days of early voting in the area.
Lonoke County Clerk Prudie Percifull said 2,950 people had voted in the county by Friday afternoon, including 1,800 at the old Community Bank in Cabot.
In Jacksonville, 2,159 residents had cast early votes at city hall, and 2,726 had cast votes at Sherwood’s senior center.
Early voting continues Saturday in Jacksonville and Cabot and at the courthouses, but on Monday, the only place to cast votes will be at the county courthouses.
Lonoke County
In addition to the Republican incumbents facing challenges in two countywide law-enforcement races in Lonoke County and the contest for the county clerk’s office, being vacated by Percifull, voters will help decide statewide offices and two ballot initiatives.
Former deputy prosecutor Tim Blair, a Democrat, is challenging Prosecutor Lona McCastlain, a Republican.
Democrat Charlie Martin, the former sheriff, is challenging Sheriff Jim Roberson, a Republican.Republican Cassandra Pitts, who works in Roberson’s sheriff’s office, faces off against Dawn Porterfield, who works in Percifull’s office.
In the only other contested countywide election, Republican incumbent surveyor Samuel E. Smith is de-fending his seat against Democrat William “Randy” Gipson.
Running unopposed for countywide office are County Judge Charlie Troutman, Circuit Clerk Deborah Oglesby, Assessor Jerry D. Adams, Treasurer Karol DePriest and Coroner Sherry Stracener—all incumbents and Democrats, and Democrat Patricia McCallie, for collector.
Democrat Larry Ridgeway will try to regain his old Lonoke County Quorum Court seat from Republican J.P. Jannette Minton.
Alexis Malham, a Republican, defends her District 6 J.P. seat from Democrat Chris R. Skinner and from Harry Roderick, an independent.
In the Dist. 12 race, Republican Casey VanBuskirk faces Patty Knox, a Democrat.
All other Lonoke County Quorum Courts seats are unopposed.
LONOKE
Alderman Wayne McGee is unopposed for Lonoke mayor.
On the city council, incumbent Democrat Phillip Howell faces independent challenger Shane Whitehurst.
Robert (Bob) Combs-R, Wendell Walker-I and Kenneth Pasley-R, will face off in the only other contested city council race.
All other city races are unopposed.
CABOT
Republican Eddie Joe Wil-liams, independents James R. Glenn, David Polantz and Kenny Ridgeway square off in a four-way race to replace Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh.
Independent Clinton D. McGue and Republican Jimmy Taylor are vying for city attorney.
In the races for alderman, here’s who is running:
Ward 1, Position 1, John W. Johnson and Eddie Long, both independents.
Ward 2, Position 1, Michael A. Burton, an independent, and Republican Virgil O. Teague, Jr.
Ward 3, Position 1, incumbent Tom Armstrong is challenged by Bruce L. “Ernie” Ernst. Both men are independents.
Ward 3, Position 2, independent Nancy Cohea is running against Teri Miessner, a Republican.
Ward 4, Position 1, incumbent Odis Waymack faces Becky Lemaster. Both are independents.
Ward 2, Position 2, Robert L. Helton, Lisa Brickell and Thomas Standley face off in a three-way race. All are independents.
AUSTIN
In Austin’s nonpartisan elections, incumbent Mayor Bernie Chamberlain faces Barry D. Weathers II and Jeremy C. Reed.
For Austin City Council, in Ward 2, Position 2, Christopher L. Dawson faces Michawn David and in Ward 2, Position 5, Tammy Williams faces Sandra Kay Chambers.
WARD
In Ward, Mayor Art Brooke faces challenges from Bill Boyd, former Alderman Donnie Rouse, and J.S. “Buford” McClendon.
In contested city council races, incumbent Ginger Tarno faces Don Harris, Marrice Jackson faces John B. Harris and Murriel Seymour challenges Jeff Shaver.
CARLISLE
In a three-way race for mayor, independents Ron (Yank) Wannemacker, Harold D. Reed and Ray Glover seek the seat vacated by Bob McCallie.
Curtis Moody faces Leo Orton for Ward 1, Position 2.
HUMNOKE
Mayor Harold “Bill” Morris faces a challenge from Roger Oliver.
PULASKI COUNTY
In Pulaski County 29,005 took advantage of early voting.
“It’s going really smoothly. Attendance has been steady and Friday was the first day we had lines,” said Pat O’Brien, Pulaski County Circuit Clerk.
“We’ve had a few small glitches, normal stuff like people with incorrect addresses,” O’Brien said.
In North Pulaski County, voters are chosing between County Judge Buddy Villines, a Democrat, is seeking his ninth term, or challenger Buddy York, a Repub-lican, a North Little Rock bail bondsman. Democrat Doc Holladay and DeWayne Graham, a Republican, face off in a contest to replace Sheriff Randy Johnson, who is retiring.
SHERWOOD
Alderman Dan Stedman is running against Mike Presson, a restaurant owner, to succeed Mayor Bill Harmon.
City Clerk/Treasurer Virginia Hillman, faces a challenge from Sharon McMinn.
In Ward I, position 1, firefighter Robert Wallace challenges incumbent Becky Vassar. Greg Chastain and Charlie Harmon seek the Ward I, position 2 alderman seat.
JACKSONVILLE
There are no contested Jack-sonville city races.
WHITE COUNTY
In White County 4,957 cast ballots during early voting so far. There is a three-way battle for Lonoke County judge between independent candidate Dennis Gillam, Democrat Waylon Heath-scott and Republican Michael Lincoln.
White County Sheriff Pat Garrett, a Democrat, faces challengers Republican Ricky Shourd and independent candidate Edward Thornton.
The only other contested county race is for tax assessor between incumbent Debra Akers Lang-D and her Republican challenger Shane Sellers.
Incumbents running unopposed are Circuit Clerk Tami King, County Clerk Tanya Burleson, County Treasurer Janet Hibbitts and Coroner David Powell — all Republicans along with Democrat Sue Liles for collector.
Contested races for White County Quorum Court are Horace Taylor-D and Jerry Sites-R for District 1; incumbent Terry Adams-D and challenger Billy Young-R for District 4; incumbent Johney Gibson-D and challenger Danny Thomas-R for District 6, and incumbent Mike Cleveland-R and Jimmy Dale Smith, an independent for District 9.
The rest of the quorum court positions are uncontested.
BEEBE
Beebe voters will decide whether or not to double the size of the city through annexation.
Like most city elections, Beebe’s are nonpartisan.
Mike Robertson is running unopposed for mayor, replacing Donald Ward. Carol Crump-Westergren and Estela Gomez are competing for City Clerk/ Treasurer and three are running for the Ward 3, Position 1 alderman spot on the city council.
The candidates are John D. Johnson, Hermon Blackmon and Garland Kirkpatrick.
Uncontested races for Beebe include Harold Welch, Ward 1, Position 1; Janice Petray, Ward 1, Positon 2; Becky Sort, Ward 2, Position 1; Tracy Lightfoot, Ward 2, Position 1, and Les Cossey, Ward 3, Position2.
MCRAE
In McRae voters will choose between incumbent mayor Robert “Bob” Sullivan or David Newman. The only contested race for McRae city council is between independents Cecil “Mack” Davis and Shirley Cox for the Ward 1, Position 2 seat.
Other city council members are running unopposed.
SEARCY
In Searcy, there is a three-way race for mayor between incumbent Belinda LaForce-D; former alderman Dale Brewer-R and Phillip R. Williams, an independent candidate.
City Clerk and Treasurer Tommy Gowen-D, and incumbent City Attorney Buck C. Gibson-D, are running uncontested. There are races for three seats on the Searcy City Council.
JoAnn Ramsey-D, and Mike Chalenburg-R, are vying for the Ward 4, Position 2, alderman seat. Ward 3, Position 1, incumbent Dale English-D, is facing off against challenger Cindy Erwin-Barker-R, and incumbent Jackie Liles-R, is running against Dale Ellis-D.
The rest of the city council members are running without opposition.
TOP STORY >>Blue Angels to perform
IN SHORT: Navy’s aerial-demonstration team will show its stuff this afternoon and tomorrow at air base
By SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
Even if the weather is less than perfect for part of this weekend’s air show at Little Rock Air Force Base, all the pilots need is a 1,000-foot cloud ceiling and five miles of visibility, according to Lt. Commander Tom Winkler, a pilot with the Navy Blue Angels aerial demonstration team.
“We can put on a show in weather a lot of people probably wouldn’t want to stand out in,” Winkler said Thursday afternoonafter the team rehearsed over Jacksonville.
“If there was bad weather we’d shorten the show by about 20 minutes by not doing some of the higher altitude maneuvers like the big loops,” Winkler said.
The Navy Blue Angels flight team has been entertaining audiences for 60 years before more than 414 million fans.
The $21 million F-18s flown by the Blue Angels are just like the ones on Navy aircraft carriers stationed in the Persian Gulf.
“In a war situation, an F-18 can be used for reconnaissance or air-to-air or air-to-ground combat,” Winkler said, standing beside the No. 3 Blue Angels plane.
Nine of the Blue Angels planes will be on the ground, but only six performing about mid-afternoon today and Sunday.
The three extra planes are used for media flights before each air show and if need be, a spare plane. A flock of spooked sparrows fled the airfield as the F-18 engines roared to life in stark contrast to the steady hum of LRAFB’s C-130 cargo planes.
“If we hit a bird while performing, depending on how much damage is done to the plane, we might keep performing, put the plane down and take one of the spares up or stop the show altogether,” Winkler said.
The Blue Angels planes are capable of reaching speeds of 1,500 mph. For the air show, the planes will fly at 700 mph and at the slowest speed they can manage, 100 mph.
Spectators don’t need to worry about missing one of the jets. Biodegradable paraffin oil is pumped into the exhaust nozzles of each plane and instantly becomes a smoke plume. The smoke provides a traceable path for spectators, so they can see the path of the planes.
It also enhances safety of flight by providing a valuable means by which the solo pilots can see each other during opposing maneuvers and conditions of lowered visibility or haze.
“All parts of being a Blue Angel and representing the Navy are good. The worst part I guess would be being away from home so much,” Winkler said. Most of the Blue Angels are in the program for two to three year stints.
“When I’m done doing this, I’ll go back to training F-18 pilots on aircraft carriers,” Winkler said.
Born in London, England, Winkler grew up in Washington and first entered the Navy in 1997. He has logged more than 1,800 flight hours and 302 carrier landings.
The Blue Angels team is stationed at Forrest Sherman Field, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. most of the year.
The group spends January through March training pilots and new team members at Naval Air Facility El Centro, Calif.
By SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
Even if the weather is less than perfect for part of this weekend’s air show at Little Rock Air Force Base, all the pilots need is a 1,000-foot cloud ceiling and five miles of visibility, according to Lt. Commander Tom Winkler, a pilot with the Navy Blue Angels aerial demonstration team.
“We can put on a show in weather a lot of people probably wouldn’t want to stand out in,” Winkler said Thursday afternoonafter the team rehearsed over Jacksonville.
“If there was bad weather we’d shorten the show by about 20 minutes by not doing some of the higher altitude maneuvers like the big loops,” Winkler said.
The Navy Blue Angels flight team has been entertaining audiences for 60 years before more than 414 million fans.
The $21 million F-18s flown by the Blue Angels are just like the ones on Navy aircraft carriers stationed in the Persian Gulf.
“In a war situation, an F-18 can be used for reconnaissance or air-to-air or air-to-ground combat,” Winkler said, standing beside the No. 3 Blue Angels plane.
Nine of the Blue Angels planes will be on the ground, but only six performing about mid-afternoon today and Sunday.
The three extra planes are used for media flights before each air show and if need be, a spare plane. A flock of spooked sparrows fled the airfield as the F-18 engines roared to life in stark contrast to the steady hum of LRAFB’s C-130 cargo planes.
“If we hit a bird while performing, depending on how much damage is done to the plane, we might keep performing, put the plane down and take one of the spares up or stop the show altogether,” Winkler said.
The Blue Angels planes are capable of reaching speeds of 1,500 mph. For the air show, the planes will fly at 700 mph and at the slowest speed they can manage, 100 mph.
Spectators don’t need to worry about missing one of the jets. Biodegradable paraffin oil is pumped into the exhaust nozzles of each plane and instantly becomes a smoke plume. The smoke provides a traceable path for spectators, so they can see the path of the planes.
It also enhances safety of flight by providing a valuable means by which the solo pilots can see each other during opposing maneuvers and conditions of lowered visibility or haze.
“All parts of being a Blue Angel and representing the Navy are good. The worst part I guess would be being away from home so much,” Winkler said. Most of the Blue Angels are in the program for two to three year stints.
“When I’m done doing this, I’ll go back to training F-18 pilots on aircraft carriers,” Winkler said.
Born in London, England, Winkler grew up in Washington and first entered the Navy in 1997. He has logged more than 1,800 flight hours and 302 carrier landings.
The Blue Angels team is stationed at Forrest Sherman Field, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. most of the year.
The group spends January through March training pilots and new team members at Naval Air Facility El Centro, Calif.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
EDITORIAL>>Halter for lite governor
Think about it this way. Neither Bill Halter nor Jim Holt will do much harm or much good when they preside over the Arkansas Senate, which is the only constitutional duty that a lieutenant governor has, but he might be the acting governor for a few hours or a few days sometime.
And he could become the real governor should something happen to the governor before the next election.
That is exactly what happened three times since the office was created 80 years ago. Neither Mike Beebe nor Asa Hutchinson, in his heart, wants Jim Holt when they are out of state to be only a flight of stairs away from the governor’s chair.
Holt would exercise the full power of governor.
If a term on the Highway Commission expired he would appoint one of his own pals. He might call out the National Guard to round up Mexicans at the country club or call the legislature into session. Who really knows? Once when Gov. Bill Clinton left the state, Nick Wilson, who was the acting governor for a day, fired the governor’s chief of staff.
Holt would give the governor heartburn whenever he left the state. Heaven knows what mischief he would wreak. Halter may campaign on issues like he’s going to be the governor, not just the lite governor, but he says he would not be a pretender and undermine the state’s elected chief executive.
Holt would be a nightmare for lawmakers, too. Even Republican senators find him outside the pale. Rather than preside impartially over the Senate, which is his duty, he has made it clear that he would take sides and promote his own legislative agenda.
One is to scotch the minimum wage. He cast the only vote against the tiny raise in the wage floor early this year. He thinks early childhood programs for poor children are communist, and he would fight funding for them. Government works poorly enough as it is. It does not need a monkey wrench in a slot that is supposed to smooth the lawmaking process, not impede it. So we would choose Bill Halter, a smart North Little Rock boy who exudes competence.
And he could become the real governor should something happen to the governor before the next election.
That is exactly what happened three times since the office was created 80 years ago. Neither Mike Beebe nor Asa Hutchinson, in his heart, wants Jim Holt when they are out of state to be only a flight of stairs away from the governor’s chair.
Holt would exercise the full power of governor.
If a term on the Highway Commission expired he would appoint one of his own pals. He might call out the National Guard to round up Mexicans at the country club or call the legislature into session. Who really knows? Once when Gov. Bill Clinton left the state, Nick Wilson, who was the acting governor for a day, fired the governor’s chief of staff.
Holt would give the governor heartburn whenever he left the state. Heaven knows what mischief he would wreak. Halter may campaign on issues like he’s going to be the governor, not just the lite governor, but he says he would not be a pretender and undermine the state’s elected chief executive.
Holt would be a nightmare for lawmakers, too. Even Republican senators find him outside the pale. Rather than preside impartially over the Senate, which is his duty, he has made it clear that he would take sides and promote his own legislative agenda.
One is to scotch the minimum wage. He cast the only vote against the tiny raise in the wage floor early this year. He thinks early childhood programs for poor children are communist, and he would fight funding for them. Government works poorly enough as it is. It does not need a monkey wrench in a slot that is supposed to smooth the lawmaking process, not impede it. So we would choose Bill Halter, a smart North Little Rock boy who exudes competence.
OBITUARIES >> 11-01-06
WAYNE BLAND
Wayne A. Bland, 62, of Ward died Oct. 27 at UAMS in Little Rock. He was born June 19, 1944.
He was a dairy farmer before retiring as a truck driver. He was a member of Cabot United Methodist Church.
He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Frances and his father, Dewitt Bland.
Survivors include his mother, Helen Trotter of Cabot; his sister, Emilea Rooney and her husband, Roger; two beloved nephews, DeWayne Rooney and Chuck Rooney and wife, Laura; great niece and nephew Jenifer and Gabriel Rooney, all of Ward.
Funeral services were Oct. 30 at Westbrook Funeral Home, with burial in Beebe Cemetery.
JOY ELLIOT
Joy Meredith Elliott, 79, of Jacksonville passed away Oct. 27 in North Little Rock. She was born in Greenbrier to the late James B. and Merle Nixon Elliott. She was also preceded in death by her brother, Royce Elliott.
She is survived by her sister-in-law, Mary Nell Elliott of Jacksonville; two nephews, James Philip Elliott and his wife, Sandy, and Anthony Elliott, all of Jacksonville; great-niece, Stephanie Elliott of Jacksonville and great-nephew, Philip Elliott of Jacksonville.
Funeral services were Oct. 29 at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home Chapel followed by burial in Chapel Hill Memorial Park.
The family would like to extend their thanks and love to Dr. Anthony Bucolo and staff, Cindy Jeffers, Betty Jackson, Second Baptist Church Sunday school class and Arkansas Hospice.
Memorials may be made to Arkansas Hospice Foundation, 5600 W. 12th St., Little Rock, Ark. 72204-1717.
LYNDEL STENDER
Lyndel “Butch” Stender, 60, died Oct. 26 at his Jacksonville home.
He was born July 11, 1946, in Waverly, Minn., to Marjorie Lindenberg Stender and the late LeRoy A. Stender. He was also preceded in death by a brother, Ricky Stender.
Stender was president of equipment sales for Lomanco. He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Watertown.
Survivors include his loving friend, Nancy Bailey; mother, Marjorie Lindenberg of Watertown; two sons, Lyndel Stender and his wife Cathleen of Jacksonville and Jeffrey Stender of Little Rock; daughter, Kimberly Stender-Vann and her husband David Vann of Cabot; brother, Larry Stender of Waconia, Minn.; five sisters, Connie Gatz of Lester Prarie, Minn., Sherrie Leuthner of Branson, Mo., Linda Stieve of DelAno, Minn., Patsy Schug of Watertown and Luann Christopherson of Young America, Minn.; grandchildren Jared Stender, Jagger Stender, Justin Ken-nedy, Brittney Kennedy, Braxton Reed, Kaitlyn Vann and friend Brittany Bailey.
Memorial services were Oct. 30 at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home with the Rev. Leslie Belden officiating. Entombment followed in Chapel Hill Memorial Park.
ALBERTA PLUMMER
Alberta Plummer, 95, of Beebe passed away Oct. 27.
She was born January 25, 1911, at Porham, Okla., to Charlie and Elvie Moody Noble. She had retired from Anderson’s Restaurant, where she made pies for many years.
Alberta was preceded in death by her husband, Otis Plummer; one son, Doyle Boone; two daughters, 3-year-old Rosielee Boone (many years ago) and Louise Brown; infant granddaughter, Angela Brown; and one great-grandson, Justin McIver.
She is survived by two sons, Billy Boone and Danny Plummer, both of Beebe; two daughters, Shirley Brown of Bristow, Okla. and Katheryn Adams of Beebe; 18 grandchildren; 30 great-grandchildren and 23 great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were Oct. 30 at Westbrook Funeral Home, with burial in Beebe Cemetery.
NANCY UTZ
Nancy Lee Utz, 62, of Cabot, formerly of Jackson, Mich., went to be with her Lord Oct. 27, at Hospice Care Inpatient Center in Little Rock after a long battle with cancer.
She was born July 21, 1944 in Kalamazoo, Mich. She is survived by her best friend and husband of 22 years, David R. Utz; daughters, Lura Soles of Gregory, Mich., and Angie Fields of Jackson, Mich.; son, Larry Gilbert of Jackson, Mich.; sister, Joann and husband Irv Freck of Cabot; 13 grandchildren, one great-grandchild and several nieces and nephews.
A private memorial service is being planned. Cremation arrangements by Thomas Funeral Service.
CANON NORMAN
Our sweet precious Canon Andrew Norman, 4, was taken to heaven on Oct. 21. He was an inspiration to all who knew him.
Canon fought his whole life with a congenital heart defect and went through numerous surgeries. He underwent a heart transplant Sept. 16, at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
He fought for five weeks in the cardiac intensive care unit. Canon’s smiling face touched so many lives in his brief four years. Although his body was weak, Canon continued to run, play and laugh.
He was preceded in death by his great-grandfathers, Charles Dress and Joe Norman. He will forever be missed by his mother, Carla Norman; older brother, Chase, and sister, Kamryn Norman of Cabot; his father, Brian Norman of North Little Rock; his meme, Sue Pettey of Cabot, and papaw, Chuck Drees of Cabot, and papaw, Ron Pettey of Jacksonville; his great-grandparents, Lola Drees of Cabot and Billie Norman of North Little Rock; his aunt and uncle, Tonya and Doug Drees of Cabot; uncle, Scott Drees of Sheridan, and his cousins, Kelsey and Ashley Drees of Cabot and many more family and friends.
Funeral services were Oct. 25 at Levy Church of Christ in North Little Rock.
Arrangements were by Griffin Leggett Rest Hills Funeral Home in North Little Rock.
Wayne A. Bland, 62, of Ward died Oct. 27 at UAMS in Little Rock. He was born June 19, 1944.
He was a dairy farmer before retiring as a truck driver. He was a member of Cabot United Methodist Church.
He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Frances and his father, Dewitt Bland.
Survivors include his mother, Helen Trotter of Cabot; his sister, Emilea Rooney and her husband, Roger; two beloved nephews, DeWayne Rooney and Chuck Rooney and wife, Laura; great niece and nephew Jenifer and Gabriel Rooney, all of Ward.
Funeral services were Oct. 30 at Westbrook Funeral Home, with burial in Beebe Cemetery.
JOY ELLIOT
Joy Meredith Elliott, 79, of Jacksonville passed away Oct. 27 in North Little Rock. She was born in Greenbrier to the late James B. and Merle Nixon Elliott. She was also preceded in death by her brother, Royce Elliott.
She is survived by her sister-in-law, Mary Nell Elliott of Jacksonville; two nephews, James Philip Elliott and his wife, Sandy, and Anthony Elliott, all of Jacksonville; great-niece, Stephanie Elliott of Jacksonville and great-nephew, Philip Elliott of Jacksonville.
Funeral services were Oct. 29 at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home Chapel followed by burial in Chapel Hill Memorial Park.
The family would like to extend their thanks and love to Dr. Anthony Bucolo and staff, Cindy Jeffers, Betty Jackson, Second Baptist Church Sunday school class and Arkansas Hospice.
Memorials may be made to Arkansas Hospice Foundation, 5600 W. 12th St., Little Rock, Ark. 72204-1717.
LYNDEL STENDER
Lyndel “Butch” Stender, 60, died Oct. 26 at his Jacksonville home.
He was born July 11, 1946, in Waverly, Minn., to Marjorie Lindenberg Stender and the late LeRoy A. Stender. He was also preceded in death by a brother, Ricky Stender.
Stender was president of equipment sales for Lomanco. He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Watertown.
Survivors include his loving friend, Nancy Bailey; mother, Marjorie Lindenberg of Watertown; two sons, Lyndel Stender and his wife Cathleen of Jacksonville and Jeffrey Stender of Little Rock; daughter, Kimberly Stender-Vann and her husband David Vann of Cabot; brother, Larry Stender of Waconia, Minn.; five sisters, Connie Gatz of Lester Prarie, Minn., Sherrie Leuthner of Branson, Mo., Linda Stieve of DelAno, Minn., Patsy Schug of Watertown and Luann Christopherson of Young America, Minn.; grandchildren Jared Stender, Jagger Stender, Justin Ken-nedy, Brittney Kennedy, Braxton Reed, Kaitlyn Vann and friend Brittany Bailey.
Memorial services were Oct. 30 at Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home with the Rev. Leslie Belden officiating. Entombment followed in Chapel Hill Memorial Park.
ALBERTA PLUMMER
Alberta Plummer, 95, of Beebe passed away Oct. 27.
She was born January 25, 1911, at Porham, Okla., to Charlie and Elvie Moody Noble. She had retired from Anderson’s Restaurant, where she made pies for many years.
Alberta was preceded in death by her husband, Otis Plummer; one son, Doyle Boone; two daughters, 3-year-old Rosielee Boone (many years ago) and Louise Brown; infant granddaughter, Angela Brown; and one great-grandson, Justin McIver.
She is survived by two sons, Billy Boone and Danny Plummer, both of Beebe; two daughters, Shirley Brown of Bristow, Okla. and Katheryn Adams of Beebe; 18 grandchildren; 30 great-grandchildren and 23 great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were Oct. 30 at Westbrook Funeral Home, with burial in Beebe Cemetery.
NANCY UTZ
Nancy Lee Utz, 62, of Cabot, formerly of Jackson, Mich., went to be with her Lord Oct. 27, at Hospice Care Inpatient Center in Little Rock after a long battle with cancer.
She was born July 21, 1944 in Kalamazoo, Mich. She is survived by her best friend and husband of 22 years, David R. Utz; daughters, Lura Soles of Gregory, Mich., and Angie Fields of Jackson, Mich.; son, Larry Gilbert of Jackson, Mich.; sister, Joann and husband Irv Freck of Cabot; 13 grandchildren, one great-grandchild and several nieces and nephews.
A private memorial service is being planned. Cremation arrangements by Thomas Funeral Service.
CANON NORMAN
Our sweet precious Canon Andrew Norman, 4, was taken to heaven on Oct. 21. He was an inspiration to all who knew him.
Canon fought his whole life with a congenital heart defect and went through numerous surgeries. He underwent a heart transplant Sept. 16, at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
He fought for five weeks in the cardiac intensive care unit. Canon’s smiling face touched so many lives in his brief four years. Although his body was weak, Canon continued to run, play and laugh.
He was preceded in death by his great-grandfathers, Charles Dress and Joe Norman. He will forever be missed by his mother, Carla Norman; older brother, Chase, and sister, Kamryn Norman of Cabot; his father, Brian Norman of North Little Rock; his meme, Sue Pettey of Cabot, and papaw, Chuck Drees of Cabot, and papaw, Ron Pettey of Jacksonville; his great-grandparents, Lola Drees of Cabot and Billie Norman of North Little Rock; his aunt and uncle, Tonya and Doug Drees of Cabot; uncle, Scott Drees of Sheridan, and his cousins, Kelsey and Ashley Drees of Cabot and many more family and friends.
Funeral services were Oct. 25 at Levy Church of Christ in North Little Rock.
Arrangements were by Griffin Leggett Rest Hills Funeral Home in North Little Rock.
SPORTS >>Cabot, Cyclones playing for pride
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panthers can’t make the playoffs, but they still have a lot to play for this Thursday when they close the season hosting Russellville. The Panthers are 5-4 and still have a chance to finish with a winning record and head into offseason on a positive note. Cabot head coach Mike Malham expects the team to play hard despite the fact that the game has no playoff implications. He’s rarely seen his team play any differently, so he’s not expecting anything different this week.
“I think our kids have played pretty well,” Malham said. “I can’t fault anything they’ve done all year except what we did in the Conway game. I don’t know what happened there. We just didn’t show up to play. Other than that, take away five turnovers in the first half against North Little Rock, we played Central down to the wire and should have beat them but the kicking game broke down. Defense held Bryant to seven points when they’d been averaging 30 something. When you consider where they started what’s happened to them this year, that’s pretty darn good.”
The Panther defense, which has consisted of several sophomores since the conference opener against Conway, has given up just 21 points over the last three games. Two of those games came against Bryant and Central, the two undefeated teams that meet this week to decided the conference championship.
Casey Carlisle suffered a broken collarbone last week against Pine Bluff, making him the seventh Panther that started game one to suffer a season-ending injury. Last week, Cabot played five players both ways and started seven sophomores. They have been in this predicament since early in the season, and still have a chance to finish with a winning record.
“I think the kids have done a tremendous job,” Malham said. “I don’t fault ‘em for effort at all. When you think about it, they came really close to doing something amazing. Now we’re going to try to get to 6-4 and head into offseason with a lot of sophomores that played a lot and got some good experience and performed well. We’ve got a few juniors but not very many.”
To get to 6-4, the Panthers will have to beat a dangerous Russ-ellville team. Cyclone coach Jeff Holt might say his team is more dangerous to itself than to anyone else. Russellville has moved the ball against everyone it’s played, but hasn’t been able to come away with many victories.
“At times we’ve played well,” Holt said. “We just seem to do things at critical times to get ourselves beat. We’ve been in every ballgame, we just can’t seem to finish.” This game was almost for a potential playoff spot. Russellville let Conway come back from a 14-point deficit to win in overtime last week. Had Russellville won, both teams in this game would still be playing for the postseason. As it is, Conway has locked up the No. 4 seed from the Central Conference.
Like Malham, Holt doesn’t expect his players to give any less effort this week. “Every week we’ve gone to work,” Holt said. “The kids have practiced well. They give us what they’ve got. I don’t expect that to change any.” Holt’s Cyclones are a young team with only 12 seniors on the roster, but the head coach isn’t using that as an excuse at this point in the season.
“At some point we’ve got to grow up,” Holt said.
Russellville will be seeing an offense it hasn’t seen yet this year, and this is always a concern for opposing coaches. “It’s extremely hard to simulate what they do,” Holt said. “They’re very good at what they do and it’s very hard to get your players to understand what they’ll be up against.”
Malham knows what his team will be up against, and so do his players. Russellville runs the spread offense, which has become quite common nowadays. Russellville has been running it for years, and put 43 points the last time it brought its version of the spread to Cabot.
“We played ‘em here a couple years ago and that offense was phenomenal,” Malham said. “They throw it well and run it well. They’ve moved it on everyone they’ve played, they’ve just had a lot turnovers. We can’t count on that. We’re going to have to move the ball or we’re in trouble because they’re going to move it. If we play like we did against Bryant we’re in trouble. If we play offense like we did against Pine Bluff and Central, we can win the ballgame.”
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panthers can’t make the playoffs, but they still have a lot to play for this Thursday when they close the season hosting Russellville. The Panthers are 5-4 and still have a chance to finish with a winning record and head into offseason on a positive note. Cabot head coach Mike Malham expects the team to play hard despite the fact that the game has no playoff implications. He’s rarely seen his team play any differently, so he’s not expecting anything different this week.
“I think our kids have played pretty well,” Malham said. “I can’t fault anything they’ve done all year except what we did in the Conway game. I don’t know what happened there. We just didn’t show up to play. Other than that, take away five turnovers in the first half against North Little Rock, we played Central down to the wire and should have beat them but the kicking game broke down. Defense held Bryant to seven points when they’d been averaging 30 something. When you consider where they started what’s happened to them this year, that’s pretty darn good.”
The Panther defense, which has consisted of several sophomores since the conference opener against Conway, has given up just 21 points over the last three games. Two of those games came against Bryant and Central, the two undefeated teams that meet this week to decided the conference championship.
Casey Carlisle suffered a broken collarbone last week against Pine Bluff, making him the seventh Panther that started game one to suffer a season-ending injury. Last week, Cabot played five players both ways and started seven sophomores. They have been in this predicament since early in the season, and still have a chance to finish with a winning record.
“I think the kids have done a tremendous job,” Malham said. “I don’t fault ‘em for effort at all. When you think about it, they came really close to doing something amazing. Now we’re going to try to get to 6-4 and head into offseason with a lot of sophomores that played a lot and got some good experience and performed well. We’ve got a few juniors but not very many.”
To get to 6-4, the Panthers will have to beat a dangerous Russ-ellville team. Cyclone coach Jeff Holt might say his team is more dangerous to itself than to anyone else. Russellville has moved the ball against everyone it’s played, but hasn’t been able to come away with many victories.
“At times we’ve played well,” Holt said. “We just seem to do things at critical times to get ourselves beat. We’ve been in every ballgame, we just can’t seem to finish.” This game was almost for a potential playoff spot. Russellville let Conway come back from a 14-point deficit to win in overtime last week. Had Russellville won, both teams in this game would still be playing for the postseason. As it is, Conway has locked up the No. 4 seed from the Central Conference.
Like Malham, Holt doesn’t expect his players to give any less effort this week. “Every week we’ve gone to work,” Holt said. “The kids have practiced well. They give us what they’ve got. I don’t expect that to change any.” Holt’s Cyclones are a young team with only 12 seniors on the roster, but the head coach isn’t using that as an excuse at this point in the season.
“At some point we’ve got to grow up,” Holt said.
Russellville will be seeing an offense it hasn’t seen yet this year, and this is always a concern for opposing coaches. “It’s extremely hard to simulate what they do,” Holt said. “They’re very good at what they do and it’s very hard to get your players to understand what they’ll be up against.”
Malham knows what his team will be up against, and so do his players. Russellville runs the spread offense, which has become quite common nowadays. Russellville has been running it for years, and put 43 points the last time it brought its version of the spread to Cabot.
“We played ‘em here a couple years ago and that offense was phenomenal,” Malham said. “They throw it well and run it well. They’ve moved it on everyone they’ve played, they’ve just had a lot turnovers. We can’t count on that. We’re going to have to move the ball or we’re in trouble because they’re going to move it. If we play like we did against Bryant we’re in trouble. If we play offense like we did against Pine Bluff and Central, we can win the ballgame.”
SPORTS >>Jackrabbits need to win to advance
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Friday’s game between Lonoke and Newport has turned from a conference game into what amounts to a wildcard playoff game for the No. 4 seed in the 2-4A Conference. The league has proved to be one of the toughest in the state this year, with teams possessing records of 4-5 (Lonoke) and 3-6 (Newport) vying for a shot at the post season.
Greyhounds coach Greg Brannon says his team has more at stake than just a playoff bid. Newport currently has the longest streak of consecutive trips to the playoffs with 19, and hope to make it an even 20 with a win over Lonoke. “The kids know what’s at stake,” Brannon said. “They are aware of the streak that is on the line, and they don’t want to be the ones that break it. Even with our 3-6 record, we are still upbeat and we think we can get in.”
Though Lonoke’s record is not much better at 4-5, the only blowout loss was given up last week at the hand of flawless Stuttgart. Every other game has been decided by only six points or less, making the ‘Rabbits one of the toughest teams with five losses in the state.
Like most coaches, Brannon is most concerned with the team speed that Lonoke possesses, but says he thinks he has the speed to match Jeff Jones’ squad. “They have a lot of speed, and they will spread the ball out on you,” Brannon said. “They kind of remind me of the type of athletes that we have. They play hard every down. Coach Jones has done a great job coaching them this year. We are just going to go out and do things the way we normally do it.”
Newport’s go-to guy offensively all season has been Nico Cox. The junior tailback has already rushed for over 1,000 yards this season. The ‘Hounds also have a solid passing game, led by junior QB Edward Pruitt. The ‘Rabbits will be the last of a string of tough teams faced by the Greyhounds this season.
Newport started the season off with a grueling stand of non-conference games against Pocahontas, Gosnell and Batesville. Those resulted in half of the ‘Hounds’ six losses, the other three came at the hands of Marianna, Stuttgart and Heber Springs, coincidentally the three teams already locked into the playoffs from the 2-4A Conference. The ‘Rabbits and ‘Hounds will square off the final playoff vacancy Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Leader sportswriter
Friday’s game between Lonoke and Newport has turned from a conference game into what amounts to a wildcard playoff game for the No. 4 seed in the 2-4A Conference. The league has proved to be one of the toughest in the state this year, with teams possessing records of 4-5 (Lonoke) and 3-6 (Newport) vying for a shot at the post season.
Greyhounds coach Greg Brannon says his team has more at stake than just a playoff bid. Newport currently has the longest streak of consecutive trips to the playoffs with 19, and hope to make it an even 20 with a win over Lonoke. “The kids know what’s at stake,” Brannon said. “They are aware of the streak that is on the line, and they don’t want to be the ones that break it. Even with our 3-6 record, we are still upbeat and we think we can get in.”
Though Lonoke’s record is not much better at 4-5, the only blowout loss was given up last week at the hand of flawless Stuttgart. Every other game has been decided by only six points or less, making the ‘Rabbits one of the toughest teams with five losses in the state.
Like most coaches, Brannon is most concerned with the team speed that Lonoke possesses, but says he thinks he has the speed to match Jeff Jones’ squad. “They have a lot of speed, and they will spread the ball out on you,” Brannon said. “They kind of remind me of the type of athletes that we have. They play hard every down. Coach Jones has done a great job coaching them this year. We are just going to go out and do things the way we normally do it.”
Newport’s go-to guy offensively all season has been Nico Cox. The junior tailback has already rushed for over 1,000 yards this season. The ‘Hounds also have a solid passing game, led by junior QB Edward Pruitt. The ‘Rabbits will be the last of a string of tough teams faced by the Greyhounds this season.
Newport started the season off with a grueling stand of non-conference games against Pocahontas, Gosnell and Batesville. Those resulted in half of the ‘Hounds’ six losses, the other three came at the hands of Marianna, Stuttgart and Heber Springs, coincidentally the three teams already locked into the playoffs from the 2-4A Conference. The ‘Rabbits and ‘Hounds will square off the final playoff vacancy Friday at 7:30 p.m.
SPORTS >>Panthers hoping to step it up in playoffs
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
After a strong start to the season, the Cabot Lady Panthers have found their maiden voyage into the 7A-Central Conference a difficult one. Cabot coach Terri Williams says the task at hand now has been preparing for today’s state tournament qualifier game against West Conference No. 4 seed Fayetteville. The Lady Panthers will play the Lady Purple Dogs today at noon at tournament site Ft. Smith Southside.
A win in that game means a second-round date with Central league and defending state champion Russellville at noon Thursday.Fayetteville finished behind Fort Smith Northside, Bentonville and Southside in the 7A-West. The top two teams from each conference received a bye in the first round of the 12-team tournament.
In other first-round matchups, Central No. 3 seed Mount St. Mary’s plays Rogers, the No. 6 seed from the West. Central 4 North Little Rock faces West 5 Harber, and the final matchup pits Southside against LR Central. The winner of that game faced Conway. Northside awaits the NLR-Harber winner while Bentonville will meet either MSM or Rogers.
In a league filled with traditional powerhouses, the Lady Panthers struggled to make their mark early. A strong non-conference record is disguised in the overall record with eight conference losses. Williams says the strength of the Central Conference was not surprising to her. “We knew it would be tough coming into this conference,” Williams said. “You have Conway, Mt. Saint Mary’s, Russellville and North Little Rock, so there are four traditionally strong teams right there.”
Williams says that it wouldn’t matter if they were in this conference or the old 5A-East. She believes that the so-called ‘weak conference’ no longer exists in high-school volleyball. “It doesn’t matter what conference you’re in anymore,” Williams said. “Anywhere you go, you’re going to have to face strong teams. We pretty much traded one hard conference to go to another one. We had Jonesboro in our old conference, and they are every bit as tough as some of these teams.”
Cabot lost senior blocker Kim Carter in the Russellville tournament early in the season. Carter was the heart and soul of the Panthers’ defense, and her absence made play at the net different for the remainder of the season. That gave the leadership res-ponsibilities to senior hitter Kelli Lowry. Although Lowry did not have the season hitting that she enjoyed during her junior year, Lowry proved herself to be one of the best servers in the state. Williams says that Lowry’s talents lie in more than just hitting; she is a solid overall player and will be a key to any success the Lady Panthers will have in the state tournament.
“Kelli has been a varsity player all three years,” Williams said. “She is not one-dimensional, she is a good all around player. She is fundamentally sound and has a really good arm swing. If she was just a little bit taller, she could dominate. But considering her height, I would say she has done very well.”
Leading hitter Katie Mantione, along with fellow junior Erika McCaghren, will also have to have an impact for the Lady Panthers to advance in state. The duo gives Cabot its biggest look up front in a long time. Sophomore Tori Hendrix has also showed great promise as a hitter this season.
The second round will be played out Thursday. The semifinal matches will be at 1 and 3 p.m. Friday.
Look for details of the first two rounds in Saturday’s edition of the Leader.
Leader sportswriter
After a strong start to the season, the Cabot Lady Panthers have found their maiden voyage into the 7A-Central Conference a difficult one. Cabot coach Terri Williams says the task at hand now has been preparing for today’s state tournament qualifier game against West Conference No. 4 seed Fayetteville. The Lady Panthers will play the Lady Purple Dogs today at noon at tournament site Ft. Smith Southside.
A win in that game means a second-round date with Central league and defending state champion Russellville at noon Thursday.Fayetteville finished behind Fort Smith Northside, Bentonville and Southside in the 7A-West. The top two teams from each conference received a bye in the first round of the 12-team tournament.
In other first-round matchups, Central No. 3 seed Mount St. Mary’s plays Rogers, the No. 6 seed from the West. Central 4 North Little Rock faces West 5 Harber, and the final matchup pits Southside against LR Central. The winner of that game faced Conway. Northside awaits the NLR-Harber winner while Bentonville will meet either MSM or Rogers.
In a league filled with traditional powerhouses, the Lady Panthers struggled to make their mark early. A strong non-conference record is disguised in the overall record with eight conference losses. Williams says the strength of the Central Conference was not surprising to her. “We knew it would be tough coming into this conference,” Williams said. “You have Conway, Mt. Saint Mary’s, Russellville and North Little Rock, so there are four traditionally strong teams right there.”
Williams says that it wouldn’t matter if they were in this conference or the old 5A-East. She believes that the so-called ‘weak conference’ no longer exists in high-school volleyball. “It doesn’t matter what conference you’re in anymore,” Williams said. “Anywhere you go, you’re going to have to face strong teams. We pretty much traded one hard conference to go to another one. We had Jonesboro in our old conference, and they are every bit as tough as some of these teams.”
Cabot lost senior blocker Kim Carter in the Russellville tournament early in the season. Carter was the heart and soul of the Panthers’ defense, and her absence made play at the net different for the remainder of the season. That gave the leadership res-ponsibilities to senior hitter Kelli Lowry. Although Lowry did not have the season hitting that she enjoyed during her junior year, Lowry proved herself to be one of the best servers in the state. Williams says that Lowry’s talents lie in more than just hitting; she is a solid overall player and will be a key to any success the Lady Panthers will have in the state tournament.
“Kelli has been a varsity player all three years,” Williams said. “She is not one-dimensional, she is a good all around player. She is fundamentally sound and has a really good arm swing. If she was just a little bit taller, she could dominate. But considering her height, I would say she has done very well.”
Leading hitter Katie Mantione, along with fellow junior Erika McCaghren, will also have to have an impact for the Lady Panthers to advance in state. The duo gives Cabot its biggest look up front in a long time. Sophomore Tori Hendrix has also showed great promise as a hitter this season.
The second round will be played out Thursday. The semifinal matches will be at 1 and 3 p.m. Friday.
Look for details of the first two rounds in Saturday’s edition of the Leader.
SPORTS >>Devils playing for top seed
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
It’s been a great while since Jacksonville has played in a game of such importance in the final week of the season. It’s been over a decade since the Red Devils have won a conference championship. They’ve already accomplished at least a share of that, but nothing would be sweeter than an outright conference title and a No. 1 seed in the state playoffs that begin next week. There’s also a home game in the playoffs on the line. If Jacksonville loses, it can’t finish in the top two, which means going on the road for the first round of the playoffs.
In order to get all of that, they have to beat the Marion Patriots this Thursday night at Marion. The Patriots are fresh off a 10-7 win over Jonesboro in which the offense didn’t score a touchdown. Razorback commit Jerry Franklin intercepted a pass late in the game and returned it for a touchdown to lift the Patriots to victory.
Despite the lack of scoring, Marion coach Mark Uhiren is pleased with the way his team played in its most recent game. “I was real pleased with my kids the other night,” Uhiren said. “It was a slop hole up there. It had rained every day of the week and it rained during the game. That was the biggest team I’ve ever seen. The line was gigantic, the backs were big and punishing. Then you had the quarterback running around back there like a chicken that we just couldn’t catch. I tell you I was proud of the way they handled all of that.”
Jacksonville coach Mark Whatley sees the same thing Uhiren sees in the Patriots, a resilient team with a lot of speed and athleticism. “That’s a very good football team,” Whatley said. “They’re very physical and they’ve got everybody healthy. We’ve been catching people like that the last three or four weeks, but all we can do is go play. The Franklin kid is a difference maker and you have to be aware of where he is. They want to keep the football a lot like West Memphis, but they’re a little more complex than them. They’ve got a few more options that we’re going to have to be ready for.”
Marion is in its first year in a higher classfication, and the lack of depth is apparent. Only a few players have the luxury of playing on just one side of the football, but Jacksonville is in a similar situation. The Red Devils have a little more depth and can rest people for a few more snaps than Marion, but both teams have played a lot of players both ways all season.
Uhiren believes that is becoming less of a factor as the season moves on.
“We’re playing one-platoon football and a lot of teams have tried to take advantage of that. But I believe my kids were playing stronger in the fourth quarter the other night than they played all game long. “I wouldn’t say that if it’s not true. It’s getting cooler and that heat isn’t beating down on us like it was earlier in the year. I’m proud of how hard the kids are playing.”
The Patriots are finally getting healthy. They got everyone back two weeks ago against Sylvan Hills, and were at full strength against Jonesboro. Senior running back Darcel Johnston, who missed most of the season before returning as a full-time player against Sylvan Hills, hasn’t been as productive as last season, when he ran for over 2,000 yards and scored 30 touchdowns.
That has forced the Patriots to be more versatile, and Uhiren isn’t totally displeased with that. “We’ve finally got everybody back but we’re not full speed,” Uhiren said. “If Darcel was 100 percent and going full-tilt I’d say we have a go-to guy. As it is we’ve had to spread it around and I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing.”
Jacksonville has been well balanced between the run and pass in recent games. Last week the running game did most of the damage in the win over West Memphis, but Uhiren believes the key to Jacksonville’s offense is quarterback Daniel Hubbard.
“That quarterback runs things smoothly, he doesn’t panic,” Uhiren said. “He’s not a runner so to speak, but he’s elusive. He knows how to shift around and find a better way to throw the football.”
The head Patriot isn’t disregarding the running game however. “That would be silly for me to go all out after the quarterback, so I’m not neglecting the running game at all. I don’t know, I just think that quarterback is the key to things. There’s something to say about a guy that can calmly and collectively get a team together and make things go.”
Leader sports editor
It’s been a great while since Jacksonville has played in a game of such importance in the final week of the season. It’s been over a decade since the Red Devils have won a conference championship. They’ve already accomplished at least a share of that, but nothing would be sweeter than an outright conference title and a No. 1 seed in the state playoffs that begin next week. There’s also a home game in the playoffs on the line. If Jacksonville loses, it can’t finish in the top two, which means going on the road for the first round of the playoffs.
In order to get all of that, they have to beat the Marion Patriots this Thursday night at Marion. The Patriots are fresh off a 10-7 win over Jonesboro in which the offense didn’t score a touchdown. Razorback commit Jerry Franklin intercepted a pass late in the game and returned it for a touchdown to lift the Patriots to victory.
Despite the lack of scoring, Marion coach Mark Uhiren is pleased with the way his team played in its most recent game. “I was real pleased with my kids the other night,” Uhiren said. “It was a slop hole up there. It had rained every day of the week and it rained during the game. That was the biggest team I’ve ever seen. The line was gigantic, the backs were big and punishing. Then you had the quarterback running around back there like a chicken that we just couldn’t catch. I tell you I was proud of the way they handled all of that.”
Jacksonville coach Mark Whatley sees the same thing Uhiren sees in the Patriots, a resilient team with a lot of speed and athleticism. “That’s a very good football team,” Whatley said. “They’re very physical and they’ve got everybody healthy. We’ve been catching people like that the last three or four weeks, but all we can do is go play. The Franklin kid is a difference maker and you have to be aware of where he is. They want to keep the football a lot like West Memphis, but they’re a little more complex than them. They’ve got a few more options that we’re going to have to be ready for.”
Marion is in its first year in a higher classfication, and the lack of depth is apparent. Only a few players have the luxury of playing on just one side of the football, but Jacksonville is in a similar situation. The Red Devils have a little more depth and can rest people for a few more snaps than Marion, but both teams have played a lot of players both ways all season.
Uhiren believes that is becoming less of a factor as the season moves on.
“We’re playing one-platoon football and a lot of teams have tried to take advantage of that. But I believe my kids were playing stronger in the fourth quarter the other night than they played all game long. “I wouldn’t say that if it’s not true. It’s getting cooler and that heat isn’t beating down on us like it was earlier in the year. I’m proud of how hard the kids are playing.”
The Patriots are finally getting healthy. They got everyone back two weeks ago against Sylvan Hills, and were at full strength against Jonesboro. Senior running back Darcel Johnston, who missed most of the season before returning as a full-time player against Sylvan Hills, hasn’t been as productive as last season, when he ran for over 2,000 yards and scored 30 touchdowns.
That has forced the Patriots to be more versatile, and Uhiren isn’t totally displeased with that. “We’ve finally got everybody back but we’re not full speed,” Uhiren said. “If Darcel was 100 percent and going full-tilt I’d say we have a go-to guy. As it is we’ve had to spread it around and I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing.”
Jacksonville has been well balanced between the run and pass in recent games. Last week the running game did most of the damage in the win over West Memphis, but Uhiren believes the key to Jacksonville’s offense is quarterback Daniel Hubbard.
“That quarterback runs things smoothly, he doesn’t panic,” Uhiren said. “He’s not a runner so to speak, but he’s elusive. He knows how to shift around and find a better way to throw the football.”
The head Patriot isn’t disregarding the running game however. “That would be silly for me to go all out after the quarterback, so I’m not neglecting the running game at all. I don’t know, I just think that quarterback is the key to things. There’s something to say about a guy that can calmly and collectively get a team together and make things go.”
TOP STORY >>Lonoke race for sheriff is down to wire
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
Lonoke County voters are tired of turnover and instability in the sheriff’s office and, like voters everywhere, they are ready to kick the incumbent to the curb, according to Charlie Martin, the Democratic challenger and former sheriff. Not so, says Lonoke County Sheriff Jim Roberson, a Republican, confident that residents are pleased with the professionalism and outreach programs he initiated and the job he’s done and will reelect him Tuesday to serve a third term.
Despite conventional wisdom, Roberson says he doesn’t think it will be a tough year on incumbents. “It’s only going to be rough on people who haven’t done their job. I don’t see it being rough on me. All the feedback I’m getting, people are happy (with our performance),” the sheriff insisted.
On the tail of a strong turnout in Cabot in 2002, Roberson ended Martin’s six-year stint in office 8,646 to 7,515 in part because Martin and some members of his department were cited by the Bureau of Legislative Audit for improper use of money in the weapons and uniforms fund and indicted.
Martin pled no contest to a misdemeanor as a result. “If I was arrested for falsifying receipts, I couldn’t face the public,” Roberson said of Martin. “You have to arrest people for the same thing every day.” Martin failed to regain the office in 2004, when Roberson beat him 11,582 to 7,660 behind a strong Republican turnout to support President George W. Bush in his tightly contested race against Democrat challenger John Kerry.
This time the Bureau of Legislative Audit is looking into improper use of county credit cards by two of Roberson’s employees, one of whom was fired, the other demoted, he says. “We had two employees that didn’t follow procedure on credit card use,” says Roberson. He says he initiated an internal investigation, notified the prosecutor’s office and the legislative audit bureau, he says. “They bought some items that they had planned to pay for later,” he says. “I made them pay and then took action against them.”
Martin, 58, and his wife Mavis have three sons, one of whom is due home from Iraq Dec. 15. Since leaving office, Martin has been working as a part-time Ward policeman. Martin Monday charged that Roberson had gone through 77 employees during four years. “I went through one in six years,” he said.
Roberson, 59, reached by phone away from the office, said it was natural to have some turnover when taking over a large county office, doubted Martin’s numbers but said he didn’t have a figure. Martin also criticized Roberson, saying “I don’t believe it’s a deputy’s job to chase drugs on the intestate, when there’s people kicking in doors and stealing people’s property. They need to be on the county roads, developing their confidential informants and finding out who’s doing this stuff.”
“My deputies are not on interstate,” Roberson says, unless the state Police asks for backup or they are in hot pursuit. “We’re patrolling county roads.” “I’m not one to guess politics,” said Roberson. “I hope I have done a good enough job that people will keep me. I’ve implemented several community programs,” he said. They include work with senior citizens, working with the schools, riding school buses, work on the alert program and sponsoring Beth Holloway Twitty, whose daughter disappeared in a high-profile possible murder in Aruba. Twitty spoke to students at several county schools about safe travel.
Roberson says one of his biggest accomplishments is increasing the training and professionalism of the deputies. “They are some of the best trained officers in the state,” he says.
The sheriff says the county needs more officers. Meanwhile, he says, the number of arrests is up, including methamphetamine-related arrests. “Our guys are doing a good job, arresting people every day,” he said. “We’re locking up drug dealers, users, domestic violence and thieves. That’s our goal, everyday.”
He said criminals who should be in overcrowded Pulaski County jails are on the streets, adding to Lonoke County crime.
Martin counters that Roberson is too quick to arrest and jail people who don’t need it. “I’m for treating people with respect,” he says. “Every time you come in contact with someone on a call you don’t have to arrest them and everyone you arrest doesn’t have to go to jail.”
Martin says he’d reinstitute the electronic home arrest system he used when he was in office. “If the monitor showed tampering, the company notified us and we immediately put them back in jail,” he added. Martin also says the response time from the 911-operators and deputies is too slow. “We had a fatality up in Ward on Hwy. 319 and from the time the sheriff’s department got the call, it was six to eight minutes before anyone was dispatched to Ward—and then they sent us in the wrong direction.”
Roberson notes that new jail policies have been instituted since he took office, with new jailers, more security and all-new stainless steel bathroom equipment.
Leader staff writer
Lonoke County voters are tired of turnover and instability in the sheriff’s office and, like voters everywhere, they are ready to kick the incumbent to the curb, according to Charlie Martin, the Democratic challenger and former sheriff. Not so, says Lonoke County Sheriff Jim Roberson, a Republican, confident that residents are pleased with the professionalism and outreach programs he initiated and the job he’s done and will reelect him Tuesday to serve a third term.
Despite conventional wisdom, Roberson says he doesn’t think it will be a tough year on incumbents. “It’s only going to be rough on people who haven’t done their job. I don’t see it being rough on me. All the feedback I’m getting, people are happy (with our performance),” the sheriff insisted.
On the tail of a strong turnout in Cabot in 2002, Roberson ended Martin’s six-year stint in office 8,646 to 7,515 in part because Martin and some members of his department were cited by the Bureau of Legislative Audit for improper use of money in the weapons and uniforms fund and indicted.
Martin pled no contest to a misdemeanor as a result. “If I was arrested for falsifying receipts, I couldn’t face the public,” Roberson said of Martin. “You have to arrest people for the same thing every day.” Martin failed to regain the office in 2004, when Roberson beat him 11,582 to 7,660 behind a strong Republican turnout to support President George W. Bush in his tightly contested race against Democrat challenger John Kerry.
This time the Bureau of Legislative Audit is looking into improper use of county credit cards by two of Roberson’s employees, one of whom was fired, the other demoted, he says. “We had two employees that didn’t follow procedure on credit card use,” says Roberson. He says he initiated an internal investigation, notified the prosecutor’s office and the legislative audit bureau, he says. “They bought some items that they had planned to pay for later,” he says. “I made them pay and then took action against them.”
Martin, 58, and his wife Mavis have three sons, one of whom is due home from Iraq Dec. 15. Since leaving office, Martin has been working as a part-time Ward policeman. Martin Monday charged that Roberson had gone through 77 employees during four years. “I went through one in six years,” he said.
Roberson, 59, reached by phone away from the office, said it was natural to have some turnover when taking over a large county office, doubted Martin’s numbers but said he didn’t have a figure. Martin also criticized Roberson, saying “I don’t believe it’s a deputy’s job to chase drugs on the intestate, when there’s people kicking in doors and stealing people’s property. They need to be on the county roads, developing their confidential informants and finding out who’s doing this stuff.”
“My deputies are not on interstate,” Roberson says, unless the state Police asks for backup or they are in hot pursuit. “We’re patrolling county roads.” “I’m not one to guess politics,” said Roberson. “I hope I have done a good enough job that people will keep me. I’ve implemented several community programs,” he said. They include work with senior citizens, working with the schools, riding school buses, work on the alert program and sponsoring Beth Holloway Twitty, whose daughter disappeared in a high-profile possible murder in Aruba. Twitty spoke to students at several county schools about safe travel.
Roberson says one of his biggest accomplishments is increasing the training and professionalism of the deputies. “They are some of the best trained officers in the state,” he says.
The sheriff says the county needs more officers. Meanwhile, he says, the number of arrests is up, including methamphetamine-related arrests. “Our guys are doing a good job, arresting people every day,” he said. “We’re locking up drug dealers, users, domestic violence and thieves. That’s our goal, everyday.”
He said criminals who should be in overcrowded Pulaski County jails are on the streets, adding to Lonoke County crime.
Martin counters that Roberson is too quick to arrest and jail people who don’t need it. “I’m for treating people with respect,” he says. “Every time you come in contact with someone on a call you don’t have to arrest them and everyone you arrest doesn’t have to go to jail.”
Martin says he’d reinstitute the electronic home arrest system he used when he was in office. “If the monitor showed tampering, the company notified us and we immediately put them back in jail,” he added. Martin also says the response time from the 911-operators and deputies is too slow. “We had a fatality up in Ward on Hwy. 319 and from the time the sheriff’s department got the call, it was six to eight minutes before anyone was dispatched to Ward—and then they sent us in the wrong direction.”
Roberson notes that new jail policies have been instituted since he took office, with new jailers, more security and all-new stainless steel bathroom equipment.
TOP STORY >>City set to clear land for library
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
An abandoned gas station, detail shop and old store front on four acres of land on Main Street in Jacksonville should soon be torn down to make way a for a new $2.5 million library. The city purchased three acres of the land in three separate buys this summer, then used eminent domain to condemn and take the remaining acre of land. “We have title to the land and are proceeding with the library plans,” Mayor Tommy Swaim said.
Those plans next include demolition of the abandoned buildings and asbestos removal. The city council will vote on bids for the work at its meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday. The mayor said the city has received two bids and is checking company references before making a suggestion as to which company to use.
If the council approves one of the two bids to demolition and clear the land, work should start before Thanksgiving.
The mayor also said that there is a public meeting set for at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15 at the Nixon Library, also on Main Street, to discuss design plans for the new library.
Plans that the architect presented last year were roundly rejected. It was then decided to wait until the land was obtained before developing another design. “I’d like for this to be a centerpiece for the downtown area,” Swaim has said, with amenities including a park-like setting.
The new library building will be approximately 13,500 square feet, about 4,000 square feet larger than the current city library built in 1969. Swaim has said that the most of the cost of the land has been paid for by private donations. In July 2004, Jacksonville residents approved a one-mil property tax increase to pay off $2.5 million in bonds to build the new library building. Since that time the current library has suffered numerous roof leaks and was even closed for about a month as leaks damaged books, carpeting and other portions of the library.
During the summer, the city purchased the Texaco station and related property from he Scheaffer family for $300,000, or about $10 a square foot. Another portion of the land was purchased from the Abdin family, which was paid $80,300 for the land housing the closed tobacco store and Fishnet thrift shop, which worked out to $10.70 a square foot.
The city also worked out an agreement with Butch Dougherty to buy the three lots in the block that he owns for $231,550, or $7.98 a square foot. That left about 1.1 acres of land owned by Robert Dougherty. Because a price could not be agreed amount, the city used its powers of eminent domain in August, condemning and taking the property. Dougherty is suing the city to get more money for his land.
“We have placed money in escrow to cover the appraised value of the property,” the mayor explained, “and the former owner will have his day in court to argue what is a fair price.” “If eminent domain will allow the library project to move along more quickly, then this is what the city should do,” said Robert Dougherty in a letter to the city council in August, when it took up the condemnation issue.
But he was adamant about taking his case to court to get a fair price. According to Dougherty, the city is offering him about half of what it gave the other land owners. City Attorney Bob Bamburg explained that under eminent domain the landowner would still have to be fairly compensated for the land, but eminent domain allows the city to proceed with its public project—in this case the library—while the sides work out fair compensation.
Leader staff writer
An abandoned gas station, detail shop and old store front on four acres of land on Main Street in Jacksonville should soon be torn down to make way a for a new $2.5 million library. The city purchased three acres of the land in three separate buys this summer, then used eminent domain to condemn and take the remaining acre of land. “We have title to the land and are proceeding with the library plans,” Mayor Tommy Swaim said.
Those plans next include demolition of the abandoned buildings and asbestos removal. The city council will vote on bids for the work at its meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday. The mayor said the city has received two bids and is checking company references before making a suggestion as to which company to use.
If the council approves one of the two bids to demolition and clear the land, work should start before Thanksgiving.
The mayor also said that there is a public meeting set for at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15 at the Nixon Library, also on Main Street, to discuss design plans for the new library.
Plans that the architect presented last year were roundly rejected. It was then decided to wait until the land was obtained before developing another design. “I’d like for this to be a centerpiece for the downtown area,” Swaim has said, with amenities including a park-like setting.
The new library building will be approximately 13,500 square feet, about 4,000 square feet larger than the current city library built in 1969. Swaim has said that the most of the cost of the land has been paid for by private donations. In July 2004, Jacksonville residents approved a one-mil property tax increase to pay off $2.5 million in bonds to build the new library building. Since that time the current library has suffered numerous roof leaks and was even closed for about a month as leaks damaged books, carpeting and other portions of the library.
During the summer, the city purchased the Texaco station and related property from he Scheaffer family for $300,000, or about $10 a square foot. Another portion of the land was purchased from the Abdin family, which was paid $80,300 for the land housing the closed tobacco store and Fishnet thrift shop, which worked out to $10.70 a square foot.
The city also worked out an agreement with Butch Dougherty to buy the three lots in the block that he owns for $231,550, or $7.98 a square foot. That left about 1.1 acres of land owned by Robert Dougherty. Because a price could not be agreed amount, the city used its powers of eminent domain in August, condemning and taking the property. Dougherty is suing the city to get more money for his land.
“We have placed money in escrow to cover the appraised value of the property,” the mayor explained, “and the former owner will have his day in court to argue what is a fair price.” “If eminent domain will allow the library project to move along more quickly, then this is what the city should do,” said Robert Dougherty in a letter to the city council in August, when it took up the condemnation issue.
But he was adamant about taking his case to court to get a fair price. According to Dougherty, the city is offering him about half of what it gave the other land owners. City Attorney Bob Bamburg explained that under eminent domain the landowner would still have to be fairly compensated for the land, but eminent domain allows the city to proceed with its public project—in this case the library—while the sides work out fair compensation.
TOP STORY >>More planes are headed for air base
By SARA GREENE
Leader deputy managing editor
Little Rock Air Force Base is projected to get more than a dozen additional C-130J cargo aircraft and possibly some of the Air Force’s 100 joint-cargo aircraft. “We’re projected to get 14 more C-130Js at Little Rock Air Force Base over the next several years for Air Mobility Command’s 463rd Airlift Group,” said Capt. David Faggard, of the 314th Airlift Wing’s Strategic Information Flight office.
Little Rock Air Force Base has seven C-130J models attached to the 48th Airlift Squadron as part of the Air Education Training Command’s training program for pilots and crews. The Air Force recently changed the type of contract it will use to purchase 39 of the $65 million C-130J cargo aircraft from Lockheed Martin. The contract was changed from a commercial contract to a traditional military contract. The change was necessary to comply with the fiscal year 2006 National Defense Authorization Act and is estimated to save the Air Force $168 million, roughly about $4.3 million per plane.
Faggard said the addition of new C-130s to the Air Force fleet is important both locally and globally. “The C-130J is important because it shows the Air Force is investing in Little Rock Air Force Base and the community. Every day C-130s take convoys off the roadways in Iraq. As we add more C-130s that’s less time the war fighter has to spend on the ground,” Faggard said.
Another new plane could be parked on LRAFB’s tarmac by 2010. The Pentagon has yet to decide which company will design and build the joint cargo aircraft, a twin-engine plane about half as big as a C-130, to be used by both the Army and Air Force to deliver small amounts of cargo to war zones with unpaved or rough airstrips.
Since the planes haven’t been designed yet, there’s no price tag for the JCA. The Army requested 75 of the planes and Gen. Duncan McNabb, commander of Air Mobility Command said Monday the Air Force may buy as many as 100 of the Joint Cargo Aircraft, not the 70 it has previously talked about. Based on the Defense Department’s Mission Capabilities Study—a classified report the Pentagon uses to craft its mobility policy—the Air Force requires about 400 C-130s, McNabb said in Orlando, Fla., where he is taking part in the annual Airlift Tanker Association convention.
“We know we’re looking at 400-plus C-130-capacity type aircraft,” he said. “We’re going to do (the avionics modernization program) on all the (C-130H models), so right there you’ve got about 280 of those.” Once you factor in the C-130Js, he said, the fleet is up to about 350 toward the Mission Capabilities Study requirement.
“So that brings you to the last 50,” he said. “Right now we think the JCA will carry half as much as the C-130J. So what we’re thinking is that about 100 of those will give us the capacity of those 50. So that’s what we’re targeting.” Still, he said, the JCA “could be lot of different type of airplanes. We don’t know exactly what that will be. But if you put all that together that will fit pretty nicely and we’ll have that updated fleet.” Army contracting officers had eliminated Lockheed Martin from a $6 billion bid competition to provide the JCAs earlier this year saying Lockheed’s submission was not be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Lockheed Martin is appealing that decision says Peter Simmons, spokesman for Lockheed Martin. “We’ve filed a petition of appeal with the Government Accountability Office and hope to have a decision by the end of November,” Simmons said.
Other competitors for the JCA contract are Raytheon and L3–a joint venture between Boeing, L-3 Communications and Italian company Alenia.
New planes like the C-130J and the JCA are needed to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of cargo planes. In 2005, Air Force engineers found microscopic cracking where the wings meet the fuselage, an area called the wing-box, of the 40-year old C-130 E and 20-year old H models. After maintainers evaluated the 450 C-130s in the fleet, the Air Force grounded nearly 100 aircraft with the cracks. The Air Force put weight, altitude and flight time restrictions on aircraft that might develop the cracks based on wear and tear based such as the number of hours flown, maintenance issues and the more demanding tactical flying of wartime maneuvers.
There are 15 C-130Es grounded at LRAFB. Of the planes at LRAFB AETC’s 53rd and 62nd Airlift Squadrons have 45 C-130E cargo aircraft. AMC’s 61st Airlift Squadron has 30 of the C-130Es. The Arkansas Air National Guard’s 189th Airlift Group has 8 C-130H models at the base.
Some of the information for this article is from the Air Force Times.
Leader deputy managing editor
Little Rock Air Force Base is projected to get more than a dozen additional C-130J cargo aircraft and possibly some of the Air Force’s 100 joint-cargo aircraft. “We’re projected to get 14 more C-130Js at Little Rock Air Force Base over the next several years for Air Mobility Command’s 463rd Airlift Group,” said Capt. David Faggard, of the 314th Airlift Wing’s Strategic Information Flight office.
Little Rock Air Force Base has seven C-130J models attached to the 48th Airlift Squadron as part of the Air Education Training Command’s training program for pilots and crews. The Air Force recently changed the type of contract it will use to purchase 39 of the $65 million C-130J cargo aircraft from Lockheed Martin. The contract was changed from a commercial contract to a traditional military contract. The change was necessary to comply with the fiscal year 2006 National Defense Authorization Act and is estimated to save the Air Force $168 million, roughly about $4.3 million per plane.
Faggard said the addition of new C-130s to the Air Force fleet is important both locally and globally. “The C-130J is important because it shows the Air Force is investing in Little Rock Air Force Base and the community. Every day C-130s take convoys off the roadways in Iraq. As we add more C-130s that’s less time the war fighter has to spend on the ground,” Faggard said.
Another new plane could be parked on LRAFB’s tarmac by 2010. The Pentagon has yet to decide which company will design and build the joint cargo aircraft, a twin-engine plane about half as big as a C-130, to be used by both the Army and Air Force to deliver small amounts of cargo to war zones with unpaved or rough airstrips.
Since the planes haven’t been designed yet, there’s no price tag for the JCA. The Army requested 75 of the planes and Gen. Duncan McNabb, commander of Air Mobility Command said Monday the Air Force may buy as many as 100 of the Joint Cargo Aircraft, not the 70 it has previously talked about. Based on the Defense Department’s Mission Capabilities Study—a classified report the Pentagon uses to craft its mobility policy—the Air Force requires about 400 C-130s, McNabb said in Orlando, Fla., where he is taking part in the annual Airlift Tanker Association convention.
“We know we’re looking at 400-plus C-130-capacity type aircraft,” he said. “We’re going to do (the avionics modernization program) on all the (C-130H models), so right there you’ve got about 280 of those.” Once you factor in the C-130Js, he said, the fleet is up to about 350 toward the Mission Capabilities Study requirement.
“So that brings you to the last 50,” he said. “Right now we think the JCA will carry half as much as the C-130J. So what we’re thinking is that about 100 of those will give us the capacity of those 50. So that’s what we’re targeting.” Still, he said, the JCA “could be lot of different type of airplanes. We don’t know exactly what that will be. But if you put all that together that will fit pretty nicely and we’ll have that updated fleet.” Army contracting officers had eliminated Lockheed Martin from a $6 billion bid competition to provide the JCAs earlier this year saying Lockheed’s submission was not be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Lockheed Martin is appealing that decision says Peter Simmons, spokesman for Lockheed Martin. “We’ve filed a petition of appeal with the Government Accountability Office and hope to have a decision by the end of November,” Simmons said.
Other competitors for the JCA contract are Raytheon and L3–a joint venture between Boeing, L-3 Communications and Italian company Alenia.
New planes like the C-130J and the JCA are needed to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of cargo planes. In 2005, Air Force engineers found microscopic cracking where the wings meet the fuselage, an area called the wing-box, of the 40-year old C-130 E and 20-year old H models. After maintainers evaluated the 450 C-130s in the fleet, the Air Force grounded nearly 100 aircraft with the cracks. The Air Force put weight, altitude and flight time restrictions on aircraft that might develop the cracks based on wear and tear based such as the number of hours flown, maintenance issues and the more demanding tactical flying of wartime maneuvers.
There are 15 C-130Es grounded at LRAFB. Of the planes at LRAFB AETC’s 53rd and 62nd Airlift Squadrons have 45 C-130E cargo aircraft. AMC’s 61st Airlift Squadron has 30 of the C-130Es. The Arkansas Air National Guard’s 189th Airlift Group has 8 C-130H models at the base.
Some of the information for this article is from the Air Force Times.
TOP STORY >>AARP tells voters: Be informed
By SARA GREENE
Leader deputy managing editor
In September, the Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons (AARP) launched a “Don’t Vote” campaign to tell voters not to cast a ballot without knowing where the candidates stand on the issues. “For the most part, the feedback I’ve re-ceived from people about the ad has been positive. Some people worried a bit because they thought it really would discourage people from voting, but mostly people think it’s witty and creative, it makes you think,” said Billie Ann Myers of Jacksonville, president of AARP Arkansas.
According to a press release by David Sloane, AARP senior managing director of government relations and advocacy, the ad was designed to get voters’ attention. “We all worry when candidates aren’t willing to clearly explain where they stand on the issues. Voters want to make an informed choice at the polls, and dontvote.com is a big step toward this goal,” Sloane said.
Voters can visit dontvote.com to view AARP Voters’ Guides. The guides have unedited responses from the state’s candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, the state senate and house on issues such as Medicaid, nursing home reform and payday lending.
A recent poll of the state’s 351,000 AARP members showed bipartisan opposition to giving nursing homes additional protection from lawsuits. AARP members support protecting consumers from predatory payday lending with clearly displayed loan fees and reasonable pay back terms. Payday loans are short-term, high interest loans. Payday lending alternatives supported by the AARP include creating a small loan fund run by a nonprofit organization funded by Arkansas banks and requiring consumers to take credit counseling courses to get loans from such a fund.
Arkansas AARP members are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports allowing Medicaid funds to be used for services to that help people live in their own homes or communities instead of in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes. Such services include making it easier for companies to build assisted living facilities, better transportation for residents with limited mobility and wheelchair accessible public transportation.
In the 2006 voter guides, nearly all the candidates support AARP’s positions on these issues. “AARP members tend to vote regularly, that’s a big stick to carry (politically),” Myers said.
Leader deputy managing editor
In September, the Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons (AARP) launched a “Don’t Vote” campaign to tell voters not to cast a ballot without knowing where the candidates stand on the issues. “For the most part, the feedback I’ve re-ceived from people about the ad has been positive. Some people worried a bit because they thought it really would discourage people from voting, but mostly people think it’s witty and creative, it makes you think,” said Billie Ann Myers of Jacksonville, president of AARP Arkansas.
According to a press release by David Sloane, AARP senior managing director of government relations and advocacy, the ad was designed to get voters’ attention. “We all worry when candidates aren’t willing to clearly explain where they stand on the issues. Voters want to make an informed choice at the polls, and dontvote.com is a big step toward this goal,” Sloane said.
Voters can visit dontvote.com to view AARP Voters’ Guides. The guides have unedited responses from the state’s candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, the state senate and house on issues such as Medicaid, nursing home reform and payday lending.
A recent poll of the state’s 351,000 AARP members showed bipartisan opposition to giving nursing homes additional protection from lawsuits. AARP members support protecting consumers from predatory payday lending with clearly displayed loan fees and reasonable pay back terms. Payday loans are short-term, high interest loans. Payday lending alternatives supported by the AARP include creating a small loan fund run by a nonprofit organization funded by Arkansas banks and requiring consumers to take credit counseling courses to get loans from such a fund.
Arkansas AARP members are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports allowing Medicaid funds to be used for services to that help people live in their own homes or communities instead of in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes. Such services include making it easier for companies to build assisted living facilities, better transportation for residents with limited mobility and wheelchair accessible public transportation.
In the 2006 voter guides, nearly all the candidates support AARP’s positions on these issues. “AARP members tend to vote regularly, that’s a big stick to carry (politically),” Myers said.
TOP STORY >>Candidates trade barbs
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
Lona McCastlain, Lonoke County’s Republican prosecuting attorney, hasn’t had an opponent for three of the four terms she’s been in office. But now a defense attorney, who was one of her deputy prosecutors after the 1998 election, says he can do the job better. At the very least, he says, he will take more cases to trial.
In an advertisement, Tim Blair, who worked for McCastlain for 18 months, says her office has 1,000 cases untried, including 153 untried cases one to two years old and 75 cases more two years old. Blair, a Democrat, maintains that her budget doubled and her staff tripled, but that only seven trials went to the jury in 2006, and she lost four.
McCastlain said Blair’s ad was designed to confuse voters and it did. She disputes the number of cases tried. She says she tried 12 with four lost while Blair maintains that his research showed she only tried seven. Blair said he did the research for the ad, which was paid for by the Democratic Party of Arkansas.
Blair said he found the information contained in the ad on a state court website, in Circuit Judge Lance Hanshaw’s office and in the office of the Lonoke County Treasurer, he said. Blair said that to save the time required for jury trials, most trials are bench trials, which means the judge determines guilt, not a jury. But there’s bad blood between McCastlain and Hanshaw, he said, so cases go untried.
“There were over 800 cases brought over this year from last year,” Blair said this week. “We’ve got to have change in Lonoke County or that system is going to crash.” McCastlain doesn’t dispute all the numbers in Blair’s campaign ad, but she does say they are misleading. That same website also shows that her percentage of untried cases has dropped from 12 percent to six percent over the past two years, during the time when her relationship with Hanshaw has been strained.
And that six percent puts her in the top three in the state where some districts have as many as 20 percent of their cases untried for more than two years. Her staff tripled and her budget doubled? That’s a pretty good value for the money, she joked, but that too is misleading. The staff isn’t just prosecutors. It includes new positions like the victim-witness coordinator. And most of the salaries for the new positions came from grants.
McCastlain said she is disappointed that Blair was able to use against her the same numbers that she is proud of.
“We’re in pretty good shape as far as a backlog,” she said. “To be in the top three in the state, that’s great and I’m proud of it.” McCastlain said she tries the tough cases and goes for stiff sentences, but there is no way to predict how a jury will decide. Blair says the danger of waiting too long to go to trial is that witnesses who could help get a conviction sometimes dwindle away taking a good case with them.
“You have to be in court, prepared and trying cases every day. If you don’t you’ve got a backlog,” Blair said.
In the 18 months he was in McCastlain’s office he tried 24 cases and lost only two, he said. “I want this job because I like trial work,” he said. “I like getting in front of 12 strangers and convincing them.”
McCastlain responds that there is no way Blair can be in court every day because the judge sets the docket not the prosecutor. Hanshaw gave her three days for jury trials in September and three days in October and she used them all and could have used more.
“We don’t set the trial dates, we go when Lance tells us we go,” McCastlain said. As a defense attorney, Blair represents the people that McCastlain prosecutes, but he said changing roles isn’t difficult because prosecutor and defender are both parts of a system that works well.
McCastlain said the question that voters must decide is whether they want a prosecutor or a defense attorney. “You can’t have a fox guarding the henhouse,” she said. “And if you want a defense attorney, you sure don’t want me.” “I believe in our system and I’m going to represent who I represent to the best of my ability. You have to have faith in the system if it’s going to work,” he said.
Leader staff writer
Lona McCastlain, Lonoke County’s Republican prosecuting attorney, hasn’t had an opponent for three of the four terms she’s been in office. But now a defense attorney, who was one of her deputy prosecutors after the 1998 election, says he can do the job better. At the very least, he says, he will take more cases to trial.
In an advertisement, Tim Blair, who worked for McCastlain for 18 months, says her office has 1,000 cases untried, including 153 untried cases one to two years old and 75 cases more two years old. Blair, a Democrat, maintains that her budget doubled and her staff tripled, but that only seven trials went to the jury in 2006, and she lost four.
McCastlain said Blair’s ad was designed to confuse voters and it did. She disputes the number of cases tried. She says she tried 12 with four lost while Blair maintains that his research showed she only tried seven. Blair said he did the research for the ad, which was paid for by the Democratic Party of Arkansas.
Blair said he found the information contained in the ad on a state court website, in Circuit Judge Lance Hanshaw’s office and in the office of the Lonoke County Treasurer, he said. Blair said that to save the time required for jury trials, most trials are bench trials, which means the judge determines guilt, not a jury. But there’s bad blood between McCastlain and Hanshaw, he said, so cases go untried.
“There were over 800 cases brought over this year from last year,” Blair said this week. “We’ve got to have change in Lonoke County or that system is going to crash.” McCastlain doesn’t dispute all the numbers in Blair’s campaign ad, but she does say they are misleading. That same website also shows that her percentage of untried cases has dropped from 12 percent to six percent over the past two years, during the time when her relationship with Hanshaw has been strained.
And that six percent puts her in the top three in the state where some districts have as many as 20 percent of their cases untried for more than two years. Her staff tripled and her budget doubled? That’s a pretty good value for the money, she joked, but that too is misleading. The staff isn’t just prosecutors. It includes new positions like the victim-witness coordinator. And most of the salaries for the new positions came from grants.
McCastlain said she is disappointed that Blair was able to use against her the same numbers that she is proud of.
“We’re in pretty good shape as far as a backlog,” she said. “To be in the top three in the state, that’s great and I’m proud of it.” McCastlain said she tries the tough cases and goes for stiff sentences, but there is no way to predict how a jury will decide. Blair says the danger of waiting too long to go to trial is that witnesses who could help get a conviction sometimes dwindle away taking a good case with them.
“You have to be in court, prepared and trying cases every day. If you don’t you’ve got a backlog,” Blair said.
In the 18 months he was in McCastlain’s office he tried 24 cases and lost only two, he said. “I want this job because I like trial work,” he said. “I like getting in front of 12 strangers and convincing them.”
McCastlain responds that there is no way Blair can be in court every day because the judge sets the docket not the prosecutor. Hanshaw gave her three days for jury trials in September and three days in October and she used them all and could have used more.
“We don’t set the trial dates, we go when Lance tells us we go,” McCastlain said. As a defense attorney, Blair represents the people that McCastlain prosecutes, but he said changing roles isn’t difficult because prosecutor and defender are both parts of a system that works well.
McCastlain said the question that voters must decide is whether they want a prosecutor or a defense attorney. “You can’t have a fox guarding the henhouse,” she said. “And if you want a defense attorney, you sure don’t want me.” “I believe in our system and I’m going to represent who I represent to the best of my ability. You have to have faith in the system if it’s going to work,” he said.
TOP STORY >>Air Force lieutenant winner of pageant
By SARA GREENE
Leader deputy managing editor
Former Miss Air Force 2003, 2nd Lt. Kelly George, 24, deputy chief of the 314th Airlift Wing’s Strategic Information Flight, was crowned Miss Arkansas USA Saturday night in the Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
George said winning this competition was important to her so she could represent the Air Force in a positive way. “This breaks stereotypes about wo-men in pageants and women in the military,” she said. “You have to be a good role model in the Air Force and as Miss Arkansas USA,” she said. “The key is to embody all the qualities of a healthy lifestyle and be a good role model and represent yourself and the state well.”
Brig. General Kip Self, commander of Little Rock Air Force Base applauds George’s victory.“Kelly represents the Air Force and Arkansas well. She takes to heart the spirit of service in dedicating herself to civic duty and to the country,” Self said.
“The Air Force is supportive in letting me fufill my public appearance duties as Miss Arkansas USA,” George said.
Miss Arkansas USA makes numerous appearances across the state for charities including breast and ovarian cancer awareness.
“Breast and ovarian cancer run in my family so it means a lot to me to work for those charities,” George said. In the spring, George will compete for the Miss USA title, a qualifier for the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss USA pageant will be televised on NBC. She may be making other television appearances on the NBC game shows “Deal or No Deal” and “Fear Factor.”
She is the daughter of Dale and Dottie George of Mission Viejo, Calif.
Leader deputy managing editor
Former Miss Air Force 2003, 2nd Lt. Kelly George, 24, deputy chief of the 314th Airlift Wing’s Strategic Information Flight, was crowned Miss Arkansas USA Saturday night in the Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
George said winning this competition was important to her so she could represent the Air Force in a positive way. “This breaks stereotypes about wo-men in pageants and women in the military,” she said. “You have to be a good role model in the Air Force and as Miss Arkansas USA,” she said. “The key is to embody all the qualities of a healthy lifestyle and be a good role model and represent yourself and the state well.”
Brig. General Kip Self, commander of Little Rock Air Force Base applauds George’s victory.“Kelly represents the Air Force and Arkansas well. She takes to heart the spirit of service in dedicating herself to civic duty and to the country,” Self said.
“The Air Force is supportive in letting me fufill my public appearance duties as Miss Arkansas USA,” George said.
Miss Arkansas USA makes numerous appearances across the state for charities including breast and ovarian cancer awareness.
“Breast and ovarian cancer run in my family so it means a lot to me to work for those charities,” George said. In the spring, George will compete for the Miss USA title, a qualifier for the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss USA pageant will be televised on NBC. She may be making other television appearances on the NBC game shows “Deal or No Deal” and “Fear Factor.”
She is the daughter of Dale and Dottie George of Mission Viejo, Calif.
TOP STORY >>Early voting heads for a record
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
More than 17,000 Pulaski County voters had cast early ballots electronically by mid-day Tuesday, and officials in Lonoke and White counties say the early turnout was encouraging.By early Tuesday afternoon, 17,570 people had voted in Pulaski County, according to Melinda Allen, voter registration supervisor. “The totals are (already) high, but we’re thinking it will pick up Thursday and Friday,” she said.
In Jacksonville, 1,326 people had voted, according to Allen and in Sherwood, 1,688 had. Early voting at Jacksonville and Cabot city halls ends Friday, but early voting continues till Monday at the courthouses. As of Tuesday morning, 1,100 people had voted early in Cabot and about 600 more at the Lonoke County Courthouse. “It seems to be a good turnout,” said election commissioner Larry Clarke.
He predicted that 3,000 Lonoke County voters will have voted by Election Day. “That will rival the 2004 vote,” Clarke explained. That was a presidential election year, when turnout is always higher and this is only a midterm election.
White County officials report that the electronic voting machines are still working well. By the end of the business day, 3,260 early votes had been cast. Officials say they consider the turnout for early voting a good one.
FAIRWAY DILEMMA
The only reported problem with balloting this time around affects at most the 141 Lonoke County voters on Fairway Drive in the Cabot city limits, according to Clarke, who says they alone will have to vote on paper ballots to be hand counted.
“There’s a small area in Ward four of Cabot that juts out into JP District six,” said Clarke. “Without a microscope, you can’t see that it is the city limits.” He said the road in question is off Hwy. 321.
The election sheriff’s and judges know, said Clarke and both early voting sites have had the paper ballot since day one.
Clarke said the probably was called to his attention about three weeks ago by Republican Alexis Malham, the incumbent in district six.
HONEST MISTAKE
Her Democratic opponent, Chris Skinner, said this week that he believed the omission was an honest mistake that didn’t necessarily benefit either candidate, but that he was concerned that there could be confusion for the Fairway Drive voters.
Skinner said an article in another newspaper misidentified the affected street and that he feared there would be chaos at the polls.
Clarke said that because the appropriate ballot wasn’t programmed into either the touch screen voting machines nor the optical paper ballot scanners, those votes would be hand counted. He said the problem already had been corrected for future elections. Skinner also complained that at least one district six voter had been sent the wrong absentee ballot, but that the problem had been corrected.
Leader staff writer
More than 17,000 Pulaski County voters had cast early ballots electronically by mid-day Tuesday, and officials in Lonoke and White counties say the early turnout was encouraging.By early Tuesday afternoon, 17,570 people had voted in Pulaski County, according to Melinda Allen, voter registration supervisor. “The totals are (already) high, but we’re thinking it will pick up Thursday and Friday,” she said.
In Jacksonville, 1,326 people had voted, according to Allen and in Sherwood, 1,688 had. Early voting at Jacksonville and Cabot city halls ends Friday, but early voting continues till Monday at the courthouses. As of Tuesday morning, 1,100 people had voted early in Cabot and about 600 more at the Lonoke County Courthouse. “It seems to be a good turnout,” said election commissioner Larry Clarke.
He predicted that 3,000 Lonoke County voters will have voted by Election Day. “That will rival the 2004 vote,” Clarke explained. That was a presidential election year, when turnout is always higher and this is only a midterm election.
White County officials report that the electronic voting machines are still working well. By the end of the business day, 3,260 early votes had been cast. Officials say they consider the turnout for early voting a good one.
FAIRWAY DILEMMA
The only reported problem with balloting this time around affects at most the 141 Lonoke County voters on Fairway Drive in the Cabot city limits, according to Clarke, who says they alone will have to vote on paper ballots to be hand counted.
“There’s a small area in Ward four of Cabot that juts out into JP District six,” said Clarke. “Without a microscope, you can’t see that it is the city limits.” He said the road in question is off Hwy. 321.
The election sheriff’s and judges know, said Clarke and both early voting sites have had the paper ballot since day one.
Clarke said the probably was called to his attention about three weeks ago by Republican Alexis Malham, the incumbent in district six.
HONEST MISTAKE
Her Democratic opponent, Chris Skinner, said this week that he believed the omission was an honest mistake that didn’t necessarily benefit either candidate, but that he was concerned that there could be confusion for the Fairway Drive voters.
Skinner said an article in another newspaper misidentified the affected street and that he feared there would be chaos at the polls.
Clarke said that because the appropriate ballot wasn’t programmed into either the touch screen voting machines nor the optical paper ballot scanners, those votes would be hand counted. He said the problem already had been corrected for future elections. Skinner also complained that at least one district six voter had been sent the wrong absentee ballot, but that the problem had been corrected.
EDITORIAL>>Why Beebe is the choice
For men with such disparate careers and political philosophies, Mike Beebe and Asa Hutchinson hold remarkably similar views on the issues that they have chosen to address, except, that is, the other’s character and record. Both make the ritual promise to improve education but are short on specifics. Both oppose more consolidation of small school districts.
Hutchinson says he would let tiny schools that cannot meet state standards slide by and Beebe says he would not. That is as close to a major difference as the candidates for governor have had, but it really is not that great. If Hutchinson succeeded, in the next few years a half-dozen tiny high schools that would otherwise have to close would stay open. Hutchinson hoped that his promise to stand in the schoolhouse door in places like Paron would drive rural voters to the polls to vote for him, but he badly miscalculated. Most rural voters already live in consolidated school districts and have for half a century.
Both would sign laws preventing gay and lesbian couples from serving as foster parents for abused and troubled children.
The only difference is that Hutchinson seeks to make a big issue of it and Beebe does not. If gay foster parenting were among the 100 most serious issues facing the state, these would be extraordinarily good times.
Both would remove the sales tax on groceries. Hutchinson first said it was not on his agenda, but when Beebe said he would ask the legislature to phase out the tax over several years so that state services would not be interrupted by the sudden slump in revenues, Hutchinson joined the chase.
He said he would remove all the tax instantly even if it meant a budget crisis. He would transfer surplus funds to the operating budgets. But lawmakers are not apt to go along with that dangerous remedy. That brings us to one of three reasons that Beebe, not Hutchinson, should be governor.
He is temperate, thoughtful and as close to non-partisan as a lifelong Democrat or Republican is apt to be. As the leader in the state Senate, he carried much of Gov. Huckabee’s program for him, including the expansion of Medicaid to cover hundreds of thousands of children, Huckabee’s proudest achievement.
He worked closely with Republican legislators so that in the past week we had the spectacle of Republican lawmakers defending Beebe against the attacks of their own standard-bearer. Second, on the basis of knowledge and experience the state may never have had a better-qualified candidate for governor. He has been the legislature’s acknowledged expert on government operations and budgets. Hutchinson’s practice has been in spendthrift Washington, where he helped the Bush administration produce the biggest deficits in history.
He will have to learn that you can’t budget that way in Arkansas. Campaigns usually tell us little about what a man will do after he’s elected, but they do tell us how he will react when his career is on the line. Beebe’s campaign has been overly cautious and safe to the point of boredom but short on demagoguery and personal attack. That has never described an Asa Hutchinson campaign.
Some will remember Hutchinson’s nasty attacks on the character of Dale Bumpers and Winston Bryant in two losing statewide campaigns. Last week, his campaign was linking Beebe with the corruption of state Sen. Nick Wilson, who spent time in the federal penitentiary for his self-dealing with a state ad-litem program for children.
Hutchinson implied that Beebe and Wilson were cronies. Even Hutchinson’s brother-in-law, who served with Beebe in the Senate, had to dispute that. Nick Wilson was the only enemy Beebe ever made in the legislature.
They were implacable foes. Wilson contemptuously referred to Beebe and his friend, Sen. Morril Harriman of Van Buren, as “the young golfers.” Beebe and Vic Snyder, a state senator then and now congressman, led the way in curtailing Wilson’s power in the ’90s. Forget their narrow little arguments over schools and taxes. On things that matter much more, Mike Beebe is the choice.
Hutchinson says he would let tiny schools that cannot meet state standards slide by and Beebe says he would not. That is as close to a major difference as the candidates for governor have had, but it really is not that great. If Hutchinson succeeded, in the next few years a half-dozen tiny high schools that would otherwise have to close would stay open. Hutchinson hoped that his promise to stand in the schoolhouse door in places like Paron would drive rural voters to the polls to vote for him, but he badly miscalculated. Most rural voters already live in consolidated school districts and have for half a century.
Both would sign laws preventing gay and lesbian couples from serving as foster parents for abused and troubled children.
The only difference is that Hutchinson seeks to make a big issue of it and Beebe does not. If gay foster parenting were among the 100 most serious issues facing the state, these would be extraordinarily good times.
Both would remove the sales tax on groceries. Hutchinson first said it was not on his agenda, but when Beebe said he would ask the legislature to phase out the tax over several years so that state services would not be interrupted by the sudden slump in revenues, Hutchinson joined the chase.
He said he would remove all the tax instantly even if it meant a budget crisis. He would transfer surplus funds to the operating budgets. But lawmakers are not apt to go along with that dangerous remedy. That brings us to one of three reasons that Beebe, not Hutchinson, should be governor.
He is temperate, thoughtful and as close to non-partisan as a lifelong Democrat or Republican is apt to be. As the leader in the state Senate, he carried much of Gov. Huckabee’s program for him, including the expansion of Medicaid to cover hundreds of thousands of children, Huckabee’s proudest achievement.
He worked closely with Republican legislators so that in the past week we had the spectacle of Republican lawmakers defending Beebe against the attacks of their own standard-bearer. Second, on the basis of knowledge and experience the state may never have had a better-qualified candidate for governor. He has been the legislature’s acknowledged expert on government operations and budgets. Hutchinson’s practice has been in spendthrift Washington, where he helped the Bush administration produce the biggest deficits in history.
He will have to learn that you can’t budget that way in Arkansas. Campaigns usually tell us little about what a man will do after he’s elected, but they do tell us how he will react when his career is on the line. Beebe’s campaign has been overly cautious and safe to the point of boredom but short on demagoguery and personal attack. That has never described an Asa Hutchinson campaign.
Some will remember Hutchinson’s nasty attacks on the character of Dale Bumpers and Winston Bryant in two losing statewide campaigns. Last week, his campaign was linking Beebe with the corruption of state Sen. Nick Wilson, who spent time in the federal penitentiary for his self-dealing with a state ad-litem program for children.
Hutchinson implied that Beebe and Wilson were cronies. Even Hutchinson’s brother-in-law, who served with Beebe in the Senate, had to dispute that. Nick Wilson was the only enemy Beebe ever made in the legislature.
They were implacable foes. Wilson contemptuously referred to Beebe and his friend, Sen. Morril Harriman of Van Buren, as “the young golfers.” Beebe and Vic Snyder, a state senator then and now congressman, led the way in curtailing Wilson’s power in the ’90s. Forget their narrow little arguments over schools and taxes. On things that matter much more, Mike Beebe is the choice.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
EVENTS>>11_01_06
Support group forms for special-needs kids
YANA, a support group for parents of special needs children, will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13, at First Baptist Church in Cabot.
Speakers will be members of the Arkansas Special Education Mediation Project of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Bowen School of Law.
There will be sampling of toys appropriate for special needs children. Deadline for childcare reservation is Monday, Nov. 6. For childcare reservations, call 605-8668 or e-mail tetrippe@juno.com.
Cabot Relay for Life looks ahead to next year
The Cabot Relay for Life will have a planning meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6 behind the Bank of the Ozarks, 615 W. Main St. in Cabot.
The NARFE meeting at Bar-B-Que Shack Nov. 9
The Jacksonville Chapter 1597 of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) will meet Thursday, Nov. 9 at the Bar B Que Shack, 1000 Hwy. 61 S. in Jacksonville. Speaker will be Garrick Feldman, editor and publisher of The Leader.
Deadline for local Christmas Parade is Nov. 15
Deadline for the 49th annual Jacksonville Christmas Parade sign-up is Nov. 15. The parade will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2. The theme this year is “Stars of Christmas.” The categories are float, decorated vehicle and precision marching group. For more information call 982-1511.
Zion Hill Baptist Church, 11923 Zion Hill Rd. in Cabot, is hosting its annual fall festival at 4:30 p.m. today in the fellowship hall. There will be games and a hayride weather permitting; hot dogs and frito chili pies will be served at 7 p.m. Children may wear costumes. No occult themes. For more information call the church office at 988-4989.
Boyd Veterinary Clinic, at 300 John Harden Drive in Jacksonville is having its third annual Happy Halloweenie pet costume contest at 12:30 p.m. today. There will be prizes for best costumes, gift bags and treat bags for all children.
First Baptist Church of Jacksonville is hosting “Changing the Way I Look Changes My World,” a women’s conference, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at 401 N. First St. Tickets are $10 and include lunch.
The Lonoke County Literacy Council will host a luncheon honoring students, tutors and volunteers at 10:30 a.m. today at the Lonoke Train Depot. For more information, call 676-7478.
The Ward Fall Festival will be held today from 5 to 7 p.m. at the municipal complex. All carnival games will be one ticket. Tickets are a quarter each or five for $1 and are available at the door. There will also be fall portraits available for $3. For more information contact the Ward Water Office at 843-7686. All proceeds from the event will go towards the Ward Annual Egg Hunt.
An Asian festival will be held at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Jacksonville Buddha Vanaram at 1410 Hwy. 294 near Furlow to raise money to support Asian community activities. Lunch will include traditional Asian dishes such as chicken, lumpia, papaya salad, sweet rice and vegetables. There will be a Jr. Miss Asia festival for girls 16 and under. For more information, call 231-8116 or the temple at 676-5099.
The gospel group Pardoned will be in concert at Runyan First Baptist Church, 10611 Jacksonville-Cato Road, at 6 p.m., Sunday.
Grandpa’s Bar-B-Q in Searcy is selling $5 smoked chickens, fully cooked and wrapped, to benefit the Lonoke County Single Parent Scholarship Fund. Orders are being taken by calling 279-0013 or 676-5652. Purchase and pick-up will be from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3 at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Cabot. All funds will be matched at 150 percent to help single Lonoke County parents attending college.
The Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department will have its semi-annual fish fry from 4 to 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 4. Catfish, chicken and homemade desserts will be on the menu. The fish fry will be held at Station 2 located on Hwy. 236 E. Proceeds will go to the fire department. For more information call Betty Austin at 676-0193 or Linda Baldwin at 843-3336.
There will be a Christmas Beauty Pageant at noon Saturday, Nov. 4 at Lonoke High School. For more information contact 541-2177 or 831-2715.
The Cabot School District will host a Business/Industry Partnership Council meeting from 11 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, Nov. 8 in the professional development center in the district administration building. A light lunch will be provided. This is an informational meeting on how local businesses and industries can get involved in the district’s 13 career and technical programs. For more information contact Robert Martin at 843-3363.
YANA, a support group for parents of special needs children, will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13, at First Baptist Church in Cabot.
Speakers will be members of the Arkansas Special Education Mediation Project of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Bowen School of Law.
There will be sampling of toys appropriate for special needs children. Deadline for childcare reservation is Monday, Nov. 6. For childcare reservations, call 605-8668 or e-mail tetrippe@juno.com.
Cabot Relay for Life looks ahead to next year
The Cabot Relay for Life will have a planning meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6 behind the Bank of the Ozarks, 615 W. Main St. in Cabot.
The NARFE meeting at Bar-B-Que Shack Nov. 9
The Jacksonville Chapter 1597 of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) will meet Thursday, Nov. 9 at the Bar B Que Shack, 1000 Hwy. 61 S. in Jacksonville. Speaker will be Garrick Feldman, editor and publisher of The Leader.
Deadline for local Christmas Parade is Nov. 15
Deadline for the 49th annual Jacksonville Christmas Parade sign-up is Nov. 15. The parade will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2. The theme this year is “Stars of Christmas.” The categories are float, decorated vehicle and precision marching group. For more information call 982-1511.
Zion Hill Baptist Church, 11923 Zion Hill Rd. in Cabot, is hosting its annual fall festival at 4:30 p.m. today in the fellowship hall. There will be games and a hayride weather permitting; hot dogs and frito chili pies will be served at 7 p.m. Children may wear costumes. No occult themes. For more information call the church office at 988-4989.
Boyd Veterinary Clinic, at 300 John Harden Drive in Jacksonville is having its third annual Happy Halloweenie pet costume contest at 12:30 p.m. today. There will be prizes for best costumes, gift bags and treat bags for all children.
First Baptist Church of Jacksonville is hosting “Changing the Way I Look Changes My World,” a women’s conference, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at 401 N. First St. Tickets are $10 and include lunch.
The Lonoke County Literacy Council will host a luncheon honoring students, tutors and volunteers at 10:30 a.m. today at the Lonoke Train Depot. For more information, call 676-7478.
The Ward Fall Festival will be held today from 5 to 7 p.m. at the municipal complex. All carnival games will be one ticket. Tickets are a quarter each or five for $1 and are available at the door. There will also be fall portraits available for $3. For more information contact the Ward Water Office at 843-7686. All proceeds from the event will go towards the Ward Annual Egg Hunt.
An Asian festival will be held at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Jacksonville Buddha Vanaram at 1410 Hwy. 294 near Furlow to raise money to support Asian community activities. Lunch will include traditional Asian dishes such as chicken, lumpia, papaya salad, sweet rice and vegetables. There will be a Jr. Miss Asia festival for girls 16 and under. For more information, call 231-8116 or the temple at 676-5099.
The gospel group Pardoned will be in concert at Runyan First Baptist Church, 10611 Jacksonville-Cato Road, at 6 p.m., Sunday.
Grandpa’s Bar-B-Q in Searcy is selling $5 smoked chickens, fully cooked and wrapped, to benefit the Lonoke County Single Parent Scholarship Fund. Orders are being taken by calling 279-0013 or 676-5652. Purchase and pick-up will be from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3 at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Cabot. All funds will be matched at 150 percent to help single Lonoke County parents attending college.
The Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department will have its semi-annual fish fry from 4 to 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 4. Catfish, chicken and homemade desserts will be on the menu. The fish fry will be held at Station 2 located on Hwy. 236 E. Proceeds will go to the fire department. For more information call Betty Austin at 676-0193 or Linda Baldwin at 843-3336.
There will be a Christmas Beauty Pageant at noon Saturday, Nov. 4 at Lonoke High School. For more information contact 541-2177 or 831-2715.
The Cabot School District will host a Business/Industry Partnership Council meeting from 11 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, Nov. 8 in the professional development center in the district administration building. A light lunch will be provided. This is an informational meeting on how local businesses and industries can get involved in the district’s 13 career and technical programs. For more information contact Robert Martin at 843-3363.
SPORTS >>Badgers falter in last half
IN SHORT: Beebe lost a one-point halftime lead to lose 35-14 to Nettleton Friday.
By JOHNNY RAY LAKE
Special to the Leader
The Beebe Badgers looked as though they were going to put the visiting Nettleton Raiders away early, but on the legs of senior runningback Derek Lawson, the Raiders stormed back to win on the road in Beebe 35-14.
On the opening kickoff, Nettleton (6-3, 5-1) return man Garrett Spencer mishandled the kick, retreated into his own end zone, and as he was attempting to turn up field fumbled, and Beebe (5-4, 3-3) recovered at the Raider 1- yard line. On the first offensive play of the ballgame, quarterback Jared Mathis ran a quarterback keeper up the middle for the score. The extra point was good, and with only 13 seconds into the game Beebe led 7-0.
On the very next kickoff, Nettleton again turned the ball over, and the Badgers again had great field position at the Raider 26. But on fourth and two from the 18-yard line, Mathis’ pass was incomplete.
Nettleton then drove down to the Badger 28-yard line, and on fourth and eight, Badger defensive back Josh Turner intercepted a Nic Schaaf pass to end the drive.
On first and 10 from their own 32, Mathis found James And-erson open for a 46-yard gain down to the Raider 22. On third and 14, Mathis then hooked up with running back Robbie Puckett for a 26-yard scoring strike.
After the extra point, the Badgers led 14-0 with 4:06 left in the first quarter.
Nettleton then marched back. A 12-play, 60-yard drive on their next possession was capped with a one-yard touchdown run by Lawson, and with 2.2 seconds left in the first quarter, Beebe led 14-7.
On the Badgers’ next drive, Puckett fumbled after a nine-yard gain, and the Raiders recovered on their own 30-yard line. Then, on second down, Lawson found a hole up the middle for a 33-yard gain down to the Badger 37-yard line. Nine plays later, Lawson ran in his second score from three yards out, and after the extra point was unsuccessful, Beebe would take a one-point lead into halftime by the score of 14-13.
After receiving the opening kickoff in the second half, Beebe drove 72 yards down to the Raider 1-yard line.
On fourth and goal from the 1, Nettleton met Puckett in the backfield for a two-yard loss. The Raiders then turned the game over to their workhorse Lawson, and he would not disappoint.
The Raiders stormed 97 yards in just 11 plays, and Lawson carried the ball on eight of those plays, including runs of 10, 19, 17, 21, 15, and finally the final carry of the drive, a 16-yard run around the end for his third score of the game.
With 3:04 left in the third, Nettleton led 21-14, as the two- point conversion was successful on a Schaaf to Matt Akers pass.
The Badgers then used a trick reverse play on the ensuing kickoff to advance the ball all the way out to the Raider 36-yard line. But on second down and seven from the 17, quarterback Zack Kersey was intercepted and the Raiders took over at their own 24-yard line.
Desperately needing a defensive stop, the Badger defense was beginning to get worn down by running back Lawson.
The Raiders ran the ball down the field, and much time off the clock. Lawson once again concluded the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. And with nine minutes left in the game, Beebe was now down 28-14.
But the Badgers could not get anywhere on their next possession, and a fourth down and 17-yard pass attempt was incomplete.
The Raiders took over at the Badger 30-yard line, and four plays later, Lawson ran in his fifth touchdown run of the night from 20 yards out to give the Raiders a 35-14 lead with 4:20 remaining on the clock.
The game would end with the 21-point advantage for the Raiders.
Beebe plays Batesville next week in a must-win game for any chance to advance into the playoffs, while Nettleton squares off against Wynn for a share of the conference championship.
Lawson would finish with 319 yards rushing on 37 attempts and five touchdowns for the Raiders. Of the 58 offensive plays the Raiders ran, Lawson touched the ball on 38 of those plays.
Beebe finished with 72 yards rushing and 206 yards passing.
Both teams committed three turnovers in the game.
By JOHNNY RAY LAKE
Special to the Leader
The Beebe Badgers looked as though they were going to put the visiting Nettleton Raiders away early, but on the legs of senior runningback Derek Lawson, the Raiders stormed back to win on the road in Beebe 35-14.
On the opening kickoff, Nettleton (6-3, 5-1) return man Garrett Spencer mishandled the kick, retreated into his own end zone, and as he was attempting to turn up field fumbled, and Beebe (5-4, 3-3) recovered at the Raider 1- yard line. On the first offensive play of the ballgame, quarterback Jared Mathis ran a quarterback keeper up the middle for the score. The extra point was good, and with only 13 seconds into the game Beebe led 7-0.
On the very next kickoff, Nettleton again turned the ball over, and the Badgers again had great field position at the Raider 26. But on fourth and two from the 18-yard line, Mathis’ pass was incomplete.
Nettleton then drove down to the Badger 28-yard line, and on fourth and eight, Badger defensive back Josh Turner intercepted a Nic Schaaf pass to end the drive.
On first and 10 from their own 32, Mathis found James And-erson open for a 46-yard gain down to the Raider 22. On third and 14, Mathis then hooked up with running back Robbie Puckett for a 26-yard scoring strike.
After the extra point, the Badgers led 14-0 with 4:06 left in the first quarter.
Nettleton then marched back. A 12-play, 60-yard drive on their next possession was capped with a one-yard touchdown run by Lawson, and with 2.2 seconds left in the first quarter, Beebe led 14-7.
On the Badgers’ next drive, Puckett fumbled after a nine-yard gain, and the Raiders recovered on their own 30-yard line. Then, on second down, Lawson found a hole up the middle for a 33-yard gain down to the Badger 37-yard line. Nine plays later, Lawson ran in his second score from three yards out, and after the extra point was unsuccessful, Beebe would take a one-point lead into halftime by the score of 14-13.
After receiving the opening kickoff in the second half, Beebe drove 72 yards down to the Raider 1-yard line.
On fourth and goal from the 1, Nettleton met Puckett in the backfield for a two-yard loss. The Raiders then turned the game over to their workhorse Lawson, and he would not disappoint.
The Raiders stormed 97 yards in just 11 plays, and Lawson carried the ball on eight of those plays, including runs of 10, 19, 17, 21, 15, and finally the final carry of the drive, a 16-yard run around the end for his third score of the game.
With 3:04 left in the third, Nettleton led 21-14, as the two- point conversion was successful on a Schaaf to Matt Akers pass.
The Badgers then used a trick reverse play on the ensuing kickoff to advance the ball all the way out to the Raider 36-yard line. But on second down and seven from the 17, quarterback Zack Kersey was intercepted and the Raiders took over at their own 24-yard line.
Desperately needing a defensive stop, the Badger defense was beginning to get worn down by running back Lawson.
The Raiders ran the ball down the field, and much time off the clock. Lawson once again concluded the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. And with nine minutes left in the game, Beebe was now down 28-14.
But the Badgers could not get anywhere on their next possession, and a fourth down and 17-yard pass attempt was incomplete.
The Raiders took over at the Badger 30-yard line, and four plays later, Lawson ran in his fifth touchdown run of the night from 20 yards out to give the Raiders a 35-14 lead with 4:20 remaining on the clock.
The game would end with the 21-point advantage for the Raiders.
Beebe plays Batesville next week in a must-win game for any chance to advance into the playoffs, while Nettleton squares off against Wynn for a share of the conference championship.
Lawson would finish with 319 yards rushing on 37 attempts and five touchdowns for the Raiders. Of the 58 offensive plays the Raiders ran, Lawson touched the ball on 38 of those plays.
Beebe finished with 72 yards rushing and 206 yards passing.
Both teams committed three turnovers in the game.
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