This is the second of a five-part series looking back at 2010. The first four parts will take a quarterly trip through the year, followed by The Leader’s top 10 stories of the year.
Elections and more elections, stormy weather, as well as good news for Little Rock Air Force Base and not so good news for the Pulaski County Special School District dominated the second quarter of the year.
Here is a month-by-month look at April through June 2010.
April
Jacksonville’s and central Arkan-sas’ support of Little Rock Air Force Base has been no secret throughout the Air Force, and in its first year of eligibility, the city and surrounding area were awarded the Abilene Trophy for best civic community support in the Air Mobility Command.
The Abilene Trophy, established in 1998 by the Military Relations Committee of the Abilene, Texas, chamber of commerce, is awarded annually to the most supportive community in Air Mobility Command.
“It is with great pride and enthusiasm that I have the privilege of announcing that you won this year’s Abilene Trophy—the best community in all of AMC!” base commander Col. Greg Otey wrote in an e-mail to community-council members.
It took a decade of dreaming, a year of work and $50,000 but Jacksonville got a new updated website in April.
The Web address is www.cityofjacksonville.net.
“What I love about this website is it is interactive,” Mayor Gary Fletcher said. Citizens can correspond with city officials. If they’ve got a pothole or a barking dog in the middle of the night they can communicate directly.”
Country-music icon Lee Greenwood, who wrote and sings “God Bless the USA” and has made more than 20 albums over 30 years, visited Cabot in April and performed a short concert in support of Princella Smith, a Republican candidate for the congressional seat held by retiring Democrat Marion Berry.
Smith lost in the primary to Rick Crawford who eventually won the congressional seat.
A Jacksonville High School teacher who filed a citizen’s complaint with the prosecuting attorney’s office on a ninth-grade student was suspended with pay.
Darrell W. Brown, 33, of Sherwood, filed a police report and a complaint with the prosecutor after he felt the school’s assistant principal did nothing to sufficiently support him.
In the complaint, Brown said the student, a female, became agitated, cursed Brown and told him to get out of her face or she would “whip my ***.”
The complaint also said the student continued to be hostile and that he felt threatened by her. He said the assistant principal “refused to do anything.”
Eventually Brown resigned from teaching and joined the Jim Holt campaign. Holt was running for lieutenant governor.
Officials broke ground for the new $33 million Sylvan Hills Middle School at 10001 Johnson Ave., off Hwy. 107, near the Kiehl Avenue intersection.
The 189,975-square-foot school will replace the current
Sylvan Hills Middle School, which is almost 50 years old.
A state assessment of public-school facilities identified it as PCSSD’s most dilapidated middle school.
It will open in the fall next year and will serve up to 1,200 sixth- through eighth-graders.
About 30 members of Little Rock Air Force Base’s 50th Airlift Squadron left in April for their deployment to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, to fly C-130 combat airlift missions supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
North Pulaski High School students rallied together in April to ask the Pulaski County Special School District and the school board to reconsider its decision not to renew literature teacher Elizabeth Lanius’ contract to teach for the 2010-2011 school year.
Students circulated a petition and gathered signatures, which were presented at the North Pulaski Parent Teacher Student Association board meeting.
Enrollment at North Pulaski High School had dropped, which means fewer teachers were needed.
According to assistant principal Chris Jones, Lanius was being let go because she had the least amount of seniority.
The students’ efforts failed, Lanius’ contract was not renewed.
Census workers started knocking on doors in area cities asking people if they had returned their forms. Arkansas fared worse than the national average when it came to mailing in the census forms.
Nationally, through April, 64 percent of people returned the forms. This compared to 72 percent in 2000. The Arkansas average was at 61 percent compared to 68 percent in 2000.
Among the local counties, Lonoke had the best rate of return, while Pulaski has the worst.
In hopes of hiring a new superintendent before the contract of the interim chief ran out June 30, the PCSSD school board voted to reconsider Charles Hopson, an Arkansas native with Jacksonville roots, who was among four finalists for the post.
“He is an outstanding candidate. I had nothing but kudos for him,” school board member Bill Vasquez of Jacksonville said about Hopson when the board interviewed him several months ago.
Hopson was later hired by the board to be the district’s superintendent.
In the continuing battle between the district and the teacher’s union, The Pulaski Association of Classroom Teach-ers was reinstated as the bargaining agent for teachers in the Pulaski County Special School District, based on a ruling from Circuit Judge Timothy D. Fox.
Fox ruled that the board had the authority to terminate the union’s standing as bargaining agent, but did not follow the state law.
Fox declared the board’s decision “null and void.”
Research completed by a Little Rock marketing firm hired by the Cabot Advertising and Promotion Commission showed that Cabot was a great place to live because of the school system, but it was lacking in the areas of shopping, dining and recreation.
“As expected, our school system and the family-friendly personality of our community received very high marks,” said Bob Seibert, president of Cabot’s Advertising and Promotions Committee.
The return of The Memphis Flea Market to central Arkansas after a five-year absence was a tremendous success, according to Sandy Hembree, the market’s general manager.
The two-day monthly flea market drew 12,000 people to its new location in the old Walmart building, 612 J.P. Wright Loop Road, in Jacksonville.
Austin was the safest place in the local area to live, reporting no violent crimes in the annual FBI crime report.
Jacksonville, on the other hand, had the most violent crimes in sheer numbers and per capita.
The 2010 FBI report covered crimes that occurred in 2008.
Jacksonville had 286 violent crimes, including four murders in 2008. It had none in 2009, but the FBI is still compiling information from that year. The only other city in the area to have a murder in 2008 was Ward.
Violent crimes include murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
The commission that runs Cabot WaterWorks approved the purchase of the last 7 million gallons-a-day water allocation available in Lake DeGray to ensure that Cabot has water for its residents into the next century.
Lake DeGray had a total allocation of 152 million gallons a day, most of which is held by Central Arkansas Water.
Cabot WaterWorks will be able to store water in the lake for a price of $455,000 and an annual maintenance fee of $4,000.
“This is not an agreement to buy water. You’re buying a jug to hold water,” said Tad Bohannon, the commission’s attorney.
It was a homecoming for Charles L. Hopson when he was named PCSSD superintendent. The Arkansas native started his career with the district and was a deputy superintendent for Portland, Ore., schools.
Hopson said immediately after the board vote, “I am deeply honored and humbled to be elected superintendent of a district where I started my teaching career. The vote in solidarity symbolizes that the time is now for the district to move forward in reconciliation and healing for the needs of the students.”
He said he is “in it for the long haul.”
A Lonoke County jury awarded Randall Snider and 15 other area rice farmers nearly $50 million in actual and punitive damages.
It took the jury just two hours and five minutes to find that Bayer CropScience was negligent in safeguarding the rice crop from its experiments with genetically modified rice in and around 2000.
Some of the rice crop in Arkansas and elsewhere was contaminated by the unapproved, experimental genetically modified rice strain. It was just a trace of contamination–.06 percent–but it was sufficient to crash the market for Arkansas’ long-grain rice.
The defendant, Bayer CropScience, said it would appeal the ruling.
A foul smell emanating from Sherwood’s north wastewater treatment facility one weekend in April was so intense that some residents were threatening to file a class-action suit or move away. Utility managers blamed a hot spell and northerly wind for the stench that for several days kept folks inside with the windows down.
Cabot High School television broadcasting and video production teacher Chuck Massey was on the hot seat during the 15th annual Cabot Scholarship Foundation roast and toast banquet at the Junior High North Cafeteria.
The foundation’s dinner honored 51 Cabot High School seniors who received scholarships totaling $51,000.
Pulaski County Special School District’s new superintendent, Charles Hopson, said he intended to make Jacksonville schools a priority of his administration.
“The Jacksonville area is a high priority for me,” Hopson said.
Conditions “that threaten the safety and health of students” not only are a barrier to learning, but are tantamount to a “civil-rights violation,” Hopson said.
May
The 19th Airlift Wing received an “excellent” grade in its unit-compliance inspection from the Air Mobility Command inspector general team.
The wing earned six best practices and 32 team and 48 individual awards during he inspection.
More than 80 inspectors looked at programs and processes across the base to ensure day-to-day compliance with executive orders, Department of Defense directives, and Air Force and major command instructions.
Col. Greg Otey, then 19th AW commander, said the hard work and preparation of every team member had a tremendous impact on the excellent rating.
“I could not be prouder. Thank you… those are the most powerful words we have, and I don’t say it enough. Thank you for who you are, for what you do and for your families because they work with us too,” he said.
Following “a tussle” at a political function, Lonoke police arrested Alderman Pat Howell for disorderly conduct, public intoxication and resisting arrest.
“They had to physically tussle with him and had to pepper spray him,” before taking him into custody and putting him in a holding cell until releasing him, the police chief said.
“We told him he needed to leave or be arrested, and he said ‘arrest me,’” Wilson said.
“I lost my temper,” said Howell at the time, “but I was not drunk.
“I wish that whole situation had ended up differently. I regret that it happened.”
The Jacksonville Farmers Market opened under the newly constructed pavilion located next door to the Jacksonville Community Center.
The 2,000-square-foot, open-air pavilion made of brick and steel cost the city $186,000.
Using data provided by PCSSD and with assistance from local real estate broker, Dan Gray, students in Tracie Rushing’s Advanced Placement Government class, found that schools in Jacksonville received only about 2 percent ($3.26 million) of $181.4 million allocated for new school construction and renovations from 2000 through 2011.
Storms hit the area in early May including a tornado whose path stretched from Lonoke to Beebe. Many Lonoke County residents spent days cutting trees and patching roofs after the tornado hit.
Doris Szafranski said at the time, “We had 13 people in the storm shelter last night. We just barely made it in. No sooner than we got the door shut it came. It sounded like a vacuum and an airplane. Everyone’s ears were popping. I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
A Lonoke County sheriff’s deputy was in his driveway tracking the storm when it passed over, picking up the front end of the patrol car and slamming it to the ground.
David Chad Lane pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, and Circuit Judge Phillip Whiteaker sentenced him to 20 years in prison in the death of fellow inmate Jerry Dale Luker, stemming from a fight Oct. 19, 2009 at the Lonoke County Jail.
Whiteaker gave Lane credit for 120 days already served and ordered him to pay $240 in fees and court costs within 90 days of his release from prison.
He was sentenced as a habitual offender, so instead of first parole eligibility in about three years, Lane must serve about nine years before becoming eligible.
“I’d have rather seen him get the death penalty,” said the victim’s father, Jerry Luker, “but I guess it’s better than having a long drawn-out trial and leave it up to 12 people.”
Jacksonville High School seniors, who spent most of their May prom in the basement of the Clinton Library in Little Rock because of severe weather, got a redo.
A number of parents joined together with the school to give the students another night of dancing, this time it at the Jacksonville Senior Center.
The original prom was peppered with rain and severe weather, and students were ushered into the basement.
Price Eubanks, a senior, was very disappointed the first prom night ended. “We’d been looking forward to our prom for four years. It was supposed to be the night of our lives, but we spent it in the basement. It was a bummer.”
Nine different vendors brought a wide variety of products to the Cabot Farmers’ Market when it opened at its new, more visible location in May on the parking lot of First Security Bank in downtown Cabot. Vendors brought cabbage, lettuce, peas, brown and green eggs, honey, handmade jewelry, handmade knives and strawberries.
A wall-signing ceremony was held at the National Guard armory in Cabot, even though the $10 million facility was nowhere near finished.
Workers from Nabholz Con-struction Co., which is building the armory, representatives from the Arkansas National Guard, Mayor Eddie Joe Williams, two city council members and other project supporters gathered to sign the wall that divides the armory in two before it is covered in rocks.
“It’s symbolic,” the mayor said. “It’s sort of a time capsule of all the people working on it and the people supporting it.”
The Cabot armory, located on Hwy. 367, will be completed in the spring.
The PCSSD school board voted down contracts for district teachers and support staff.
On separate motions made by Bill Vasquez to approve the teachers’ and support staff’s contracts, board members Danny Gilliland, Mildred Tatum and Charlie Wood and school board president Tim Clark voted no. Vasquez, Sandra Sawyer and Gwen Williams voted yes.
Two women and one man were arrested in mid-May in Greystone, Cabot’s golf course subdivision, for allegedly being involved in the practice of what is euphemistically called the world’s oldest profession.
The man believed to be in charge of the alleged house of prostitution was in Dallas with the third female resident of the home when the arrests were made.
The arrests were made following a two-day investigation that began when neighbors complained to the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Department about excessive traffic at the residence.
The sheriff said investigators waited outside the house for two days and interviewed the “johns” as they emerged, but no detective went inside to talk to the women during the investigation or solicited the services they allegedly offered for sale.
Deputies siezed $3,000 in cash from the home, $500 in a safety deposit box, computers and a “little black book” with names of clients.
An investigation by the state into the finances of Pulaski County Special School District over a six-year period unearthed a wide range of abuses, including fraud, theft, missing funds, improper reimbursements, overpayments, misappropriations, and generally careless business practices, resulting in losses totaling at least $500,000.
Highlights of the investigation were presented at a meeting of the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee at the state Capitol.
The “limited scope review” focused on aspects of the district’s financial operations – the buyout settlement with former Superintendent James Sharpe after his resignation March 11, 2009, school board members’ travel-expense reimbursements and central office oversight of expenditures.
Acting Superintendent Rob McGill and PCSSD School Board president Tim Clark last year requested that the Division of Legislative Audit for the state conduct the investigation because they suspected district accounting practices were not sound.
The investigation resulted in criminal charges against two employees and a civil case to recoup funds the district says is owed by Sharpe.
Primary elections were held in May and although there were few surprises, the results did result in some runoffs.
Two-term Sen. Blanche Lincoln ended up in a runoff against Lieut. Gov. Bill Halter in the Democratic primary.
The Democrats also end with a runoff in the race for Rep. Vic Snyder’s Dist. 2 congressional seat. The Democrats had a runoff for the race to occupy retiring Rep. Marion Berry’s Dist. 1 seat. The same was true for the Republicans vying for the Dist. 3 seat, which was being vacated by Rep. John Boozman, who eventually won Lincoln’s seat.
The Democrats also had a runoff for state land commissioner.
Thieves broke into the new building for Hope’s Closet and Pantry in Cabot and took 1,600 pounds of food that had been collected from a recent Stamp Out Hunger food drive. A dryer, tools, a large amount of baby clothes and a generator were also taken.
Hope’s Closet is a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to the needy and the hungry in northern Lonoke County and the Beebe area.
Hope’s Closet volunteer Kelly Coughlin said, “Everything they took, we would have given it to them. It makes me really angry. If they were in need, I wouldn’t be upset, but to take all that stuff was greedy and dishonest.”
The Beebe Chamber of Commerce director Ruth Couch was honored with the Lifetime Service Award at the chamber’s annual banquet at the ASU-Beebe University Café.
Couch said she was totally astonished with the award.
“It makes me feel rewarded for the things that I’ve done, the fun things and the things that were more difficult,” she said.
The Educator of the Year Award went to kindergarten and first-grade counselor Jamie Burns of Beebe Early Childhood School.
The Citizen of the Year Award was presented to Penny Parchman, Beebe’s Angel Tree program organizer.
A petition in support of a separate Jacksonville school district circulated.
The petition, part of attorney Ben Rice’s ongoing effort to wrest control of Jacksonville and north Pulaski County schools from the troubled Pulaski County Special School District, picked up 640 names in front of the Jacksonville Walmart in just one day.
The petition was just to demonstrate the mood of area residents, who believe Cabot’s growth has been at the expense of Jacksonville and related to Jacksonville’s decrepit school buildings and association with PCSSD.
During the time that Cabot has experienced a 40 percent increase in school enrollment, Jacksonville enrollment has declined 23 percent, Rice said. “People are voting with their feet,” he added.
An effort to allow ice- cream trucks to once again chug through the streets of Sherwood was defeated 5-2. The mobile ice- cream sales have been banned since 1968. At the heart of a vote by Sherwood City Council were two fundamental American values – keeping our children safe versus the right of children to pursue their happiness, in this case, in the form of buying ice cream from a street-side vendor on a hot summer day.
Only Aldermen Becki Vassar and Butch Davis voted for the measure. Later, pleas from children caused the council to reverse its vote and ice-cream trucks are back in town.
The Jacksonville Boys and Girls Club entered a new era of local management, which city officials believed would improve program offerings for youth who come there after school and during the summer.
The club, founded in the late 1960s, on May 15 severed ties with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Arkansas, in order to have greater control over how financial resources are used and what programs are offered.
The club’s building, which is owned and maintained by the city of Jacksonville, is now under direction of the Jacksonville Parks and Recreation Department.
The hazardous Hwy. 167 Main Street overpass may be replaced a year earlier than currently scheduled, thanks to Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher’s plea for help at the May Metroplan meeting.
A state Highway and Trans-portation Department spokesman called the change possible and agreed to meet with city officials.
The guardrail with nine concrete supports has been knocked out several times, which is a danger to pedestrians below.
“The overpass is 50 years old and supported in part by a piece of wood,” Fletcher told the group. “School children walk under that overpass.”
Highway workers needed to repair the guardrail four times before April.
June
Without fanfare—and apparently without the written notification required by law from the parole board --former Lonoke Police Chief Jay Campbell, 50, was paroled and released from prison. His wife Kelly Campbell was granted parole and expected to be free and reunited with her husband by early July.
The Campbells were tried together and convicted in April 2007 in a sprawling six-week trial that included tales of sex with prisoners, theft of drugs from friends, continuing criminal enterprise charges and manufacture of methamphetamine.
Campbell was originally sentenced to 40 years in prison, but on Nov. 5, the state Supreme Court overturned Jay Campbell’s convictions and remanded the case back to Lonoke County Circuit Court.
Both Campbells will still have to work community-service hours, and submit to periodic drug testing.
The air-traffic control tower at Little Rock Air Force Base was named the best in the Air Force in June.
The 19th Operations Support Squadron air-traffic-control tower team earned the Air Force-level D. Ray Hardin air-traffic-control facility of the year award.
The annual air-traffic control and airfield management award winners were announced during the airfield-operations conference awards dinner in Las Vegas.
A former Beebe resident who killed his father in 2009 pleaded guilty in a circuit court in Searcy and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Christopher S. Clark, 44, apologized to his mother, sister and brother for stabbing Billy Joe Clark, 75, to death on Nov. 7, 2009 but he didn’t offer an explanation for his action.
Clark also pleaded guilty to felony theft of property for taking his father’s truck from his home at 305 N. Hickory St.
With Cabot High School principal Zanya Clarkson retiring, the Cabot school board promoted Junior High South’s principal Henry Hawkins to the high school position. “When you have someone in-house who you know can do a job and has a passion for what he does, we feel that is the direction we should go,” Superintendent Dr. Tony Thurman said.
A June PCSSD school board meeting — where educators celebrated leaps in scores on Benchmark exams in both literacy and math that exceeded state averages, as well as more than $11 million in college scholarships to graduating seniors — was marred by angry outbursts over the board decision to end recognition of the union.
During the public-comment period, a parent of a Sylvan Hills Middle School student speaking out against board actions in recent months and costs of associated legal services was cut short by school board president Tim Clark. Parent Dawn Jackson told the board that she was “very unhappy” that the board’s decision in December – and again in April – to end recognition of the Pulaski County Association of Classroom Teachers was “costing the district tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees.”
Jackson said her efforts recently to communicate with Clark about the reason for the board’s decision were unsatisfactory.
“I am sick about this money being spent needlessly,” Jackson said as she headed to her seat. “Teachers don’t want to be in a lawsuit, but they are backed into a corner.”
PACT president Marty Nix, next to speak in a public comment period, told Clark, “Grow up,” adding that his treatment of Jackson was the reason why the teachers were in a lawsuit.
Nix was escorted by security from the board meeting room.
In the primary runoff, Sen. Blanche Lincoln beat back a strong challenge from Lt. Gov. Bill Halter.
In other state runoff races, Jacksonville’s Pat O’Brien, currently the Pulaski County Clerk, defeated challenger Mark Wilcox to get the Democratic nod in the secretary of state race.
Chad Causey, Cong. Marion Berry’s former chief of staff, and Tim Wooldridge, a former state senator, battled it out. with Causey coming out on top for the Democratic nod for the District 1 representative race.
Democratic State Sen. Joyce Elliott and Speaker of the House Robbie Wills were the top two vote getters in the May primary with Elliott besting Wills by 12 percentage points, but in the run-off it was closer as Elliott bested Wills, 54 percent to 46 percent.
The USDA designated Lonoke, Faulkner, Mississippi and Woodruff counties as primary agriculture disaster counties in the wake of storms, hail and tornadoes that occurred between April 23 and May 4. Farmers in those and 16 adjoining counties were therefore eligible for crop- production loss assistance, members of the state’s congressional delegation announced in June.
The C-130s from Little Rock Air Force Base assigned to Afghanistan and Iraq helped replace 20,000 truck convoys in May, which set a record.
Through the efforts of these airmen, the C-130s are a safer means of transportation for all branches of the military in combat zones.
“Twenty-thousand (vehicles) was significant because each and every vehicle we took off IED-laden roads in Iraq and Afghanistan lowered the risk to soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines on the ground performing convoy duty,” said Col. David Kasberg, 19th Operations Group commander at Little Rock Air Force Base. “By airlifting cargo and passengers, we also took a target away from the enemy, which undermines their information-operations campaign.”
The Joint Education Center had a 50 percent construction- completion “walk-through” in June and was on schedule for occupancy January 2011.
The 46,239-square-foot facility is being built adjacent to Little Rock Air Force Base with $9.9 million in federal funds and another $5 million raised through a sales tax approved by Jacksonville voters.
The new facility will replace the existing Joint Education Center located on base, which became difficult to access after base security tightened following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
A former Pulaski County Special School District employee was sentenced in June to 18 months in prison for stealing about $500,000 from the district to support his drug habit.
U.S. District Judge Bill Wilson also placed James Diemer, 49, the district’s ex-maintenance supervisor, on three-years supervised probation after his prison term.
Saline County sheriff’s deputies arrested Diemer May 15, 2009.
He pleaded guilty in January to theft of property from a government entity that received federal funds.
Diemer, a PCSSD employee since 1999, admitted to investigators of defrauding the district “from day one” of becoming supervisor of mechanical systems “because he knew no one was looking.”
Charles Hopson, incoming PCSSD superintendent, in an effort to improve conditions at Jacksonville High School, has plans to do a “deep cleaning” at the school as well as make changes in the school’s leadership.
In a June letter to Jacksonville school patrons, Hopson said that Kenneth Clark, who had been principal at the high school for six years, would be reassigned.
Jacksonville High School was entering its seventh year on the list of schools in the state identified as being in academic distress. “Under the No Child Left Behind law, federal sanctions take place if you do not make annual yearly progress with various subgroups,” Hopson said.
The contract was signed and a down payment made in June for two studies that would hone in on the economic potential of three sites near Jacksonville that could become home to the state fair.
Makin Consulting, the Min-nesota-based firm hired to do the studies, was expected to have answers to the question, what are the costs and benefits of the huge undertaking of building a new fairgrounds at a new location – specifically, southeast of Jacksonville — by the end of the year.
State fair director Ralph Shoptaw says that none of the original 19 sites offered for consideration had been ruled out, but that “we want to focus on that particular area and not necessarily any particular site, but that area which includes the Jacksonville site.”
By the “Jacksonville site,” Shoptaw meant the 450 acres that Jacksonville city and business leaders are in the process of acquiring – either through out-right purchase or eminent domain – to then donate for use as new fairgrounds. To the south are the two sites also under consideration: a 827-acre parcel owned by Davidson Ranch, and 632 acres, with three owners, bordered by Ink Bayou and I-440. According to an engineering study by Thomas Engineering, those two sites are priced at $2.85 million and $2.48 million, respectively.
Restructuring of C-130 training at Little Rock Air Force Base, currently in the planning phase, seemed to fit hand in glove with the Pentagon’s decision in June to upgrade “legacy” C-130Hs with the avionics-modernization program.
A site-activation taskforce team was on base to begin working out reorganization details, even as Boeing announced Air Force approval to begin low-rate initial production of 20 AMP kits.
Upon completion of a longer contract, yet to be awarded, 221 C-130Hs will have been updated with digital, computerized cockpits with standardized state-of-the-art avionics, navigation and communication on par with those of the new C-130J airlifters.
The cost of those kits in 2007 was about $14 million per aircraft, according to Boeing spokesman Mike Harris, but by the 69th plane, the cost should be down to about $7 million, he said.
By way of comparison, a new C-130J, which the AMP cockpit emulates in many ways, costs about $85 million per plane, according to Harris.
The AMP is designed to bring the old C-130s into the 21st Century, with digital technology and with standardization. Currently, there are 30 variants of the C-130 cockpit, and installation of the AMP kits will make them identical to pilots and aircrews and make them closely resemble the cockpit of the new C-130J.
Cabot businessman Roger Lemaster was found guilty in circuit court of raping a child and sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Although more than a dozen witnesses were sworn in at the beginning of the one-day trial, only three testified – the victim, the police officer she first told her story to and Lemaster’s mother-in-law, who testified for him.
The Leader was named the best large weekly in the state for the third year in a row by the Arkansas Press Association in June.
The newspaper garnered 22 awards, including five first-place plaques.
The family-owned newspaper — which has been covering Jacksonville, Sherwood, Cabot and Lonoke County, as well as White County, for more than 23 years — took first place in community coverage, editorial writing, best sports page, top sports news story and general excellence.
Interim Superintendent Rob McGill left PCSSD at the end of June after 16 months in that position and took $87,601 in accrued vacation, holiday and sick leave with him.
Most of those days were earned as a teacher or principal during his 16 years in the district, days that would have been paid at the rate of $75 a day had he not been elevated to interim superintendent in March 2009, after the school board bought out the contract of former superintendent, James Sharp.
Instead, he was paid at a rate of $614 a day.
School board president Tim Clark said that particularly now, when the district is under scrutiny from the state Bureau of Legislative Audit for mismanagement and poor financial oversight, it would be important to make sure the right rate was being applied to the correct number of days, as provided for in McGill’s contract.
“I asked (Chief Financial Officer) Anita Farver to double and triple check with (district lawyer) Jay Bequette,” Clark said.
McGill said that he had submitted the bill for those hours to Farver and that $87,601 “sounded about right.”
n The city-owned golf course, The Greens at North Hills, made a strong showing in income generation, it was announced at the monthly meeting of the Sherwood City Council.
Revenue from club memberships and greens fees to date amount to $254,621, and revenue from facilities rentals are $20,105, for a total of $274,726, Alderman Charles Harmon announced. “That was beyond anything we expected.”
The golf course opened for its first season in April, two years after the city took the private North Hills Country Club by eminent domain, paying $5.5 million, in an effort to preserve the historic, 106-acre course for public use rather than see it become a mix of commercial and residential development.
“If we continue at this pace for the golf season, we will exceed expectations,” predicted Harmon after the meeting. The course is open all year.
The course had already exceeded this year’s goal of 100 memberships with 118 purchased so far. Annual memberships range in price from $1,020 to $2,400.
The annual operating budget for the golf course is $1.3 million.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
TOP STORY > >Capps caps off public service
By John Hofmeimer
Leader senior staff writer
Two things that state Sen. John Paul Capps loves—besides his family—are radio and helping people.
So when, after 44 years, he is out of a job representing the people of Searcy, Beebe, north Pulaski County and the Jacksonville area in Dist. 29, the 76-year-old Capps says he’ll still do what he can to help out.
Area residents will lose about three-quarters of a century of able representation in January when term limits strike down Capps and his Lonoke County counterpart, Sen. Bobby Glover, in one fell swoop. They’re both Democrats.
The veteran Searcy politician will be replaced by Rep. Jonathan Dismang of Beebe, Glover by Cabot Mayor Eddie Joe Williams, both Republicans.
Capps grew up in the same town as Gov. Mike Beebe and they also grew up together politically, so it is little wonder the governor turned to him for leadership not only on the recent Blue Ribbon Commission on long-term road and highway funding but on other issues.
“I was always interested in politics since being a small boy,” Capps said recently, taking a break from packing the contents of his office at the state Capitol.
He served 18 consecutive terms as a state representative, starting in 1963—the year John F. Kennedy was assassinated, ending because of newly introduced term limits at the end of 1998.
Capps worked in radio from the mid-1950s. In the 1970s, “I built my own station in Searcy—80 AM and 85 FM, selling out in 1999.”
He returned full time and happily, he says, to radio, while Mike Beebe served as the area’s state senator.
FACED BOND
State Rep. Pat Bond of Jack-sonville announced her intent to run for state Senate from the district in 2002. Capps said many folks came to him and asked him to run, and although he and Bond were friends, he said, with his wife’s encouragement, he ran and beat Bond.
He described it as a very civil race, with no name calling or dirty tricks.
Capps served 36 years in the state House of Representatives, serving as speaker of the House, and another eight years in the state Senate.
“It’s so different, the way the House and Senate operate now,” he said.
When Capps ran for House speaker, he hadn’t even had a chairmanship to his credit, but he pledged an open and transparent process.
POWERFUL FAUBUS
Capps served under nine governors. The first was the legendary and incendiary Orville Faubus.
“He was very powerful,” Capps remembers.
“He was a good governor in so many ways. It was a different day and time and he’ll always be known for (calling out the National Guard to prevent desegregation at) Little Rock Central.”
Capps served one term in the House with David Pryor, later governor and senator.
“We became good friends and remain so,” he said.
“Huckabee had some good ideas, but would become impatient and was prone to anger legislators,” Capps recalled.
“I had excellent relations with Bill Clinton,” he said. “I was House Speaker. He made some mistakes.”
He said Clinton was an excellent governor.
“Mike Beebe’s at the top. He understands government, people and he had the right kind of experience tempered with compassion and concern.”
TALE OF TWO HIGHWAYS
It’s all about connectivity for Capps.
“I’ve pushed two highway systems,” he said. “One’s asphalt, the other is high tech—the Internet,” he said.
“I’ve always been a strong advocate for education and highway improvement,” Capps said.
Of what accomplishments is he proudest?
“I worked on merging Little Rock University (now UALR) into the state university system,” he said.
“I supported the (mammoth, multimillion dollar) expansion of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital,” he added.
He wrangled state Senate support for a 5 percent mixed-drink tax to pay for it, which was a vital component of the tax voters approved in 2007.
INSURANCE REFORM
Capps also worked on insurance reform, getting changes enacted that prohibited insurance companies from raising rates on the driver or owner of a car who was not cited in an accident.
When Gov. Mike Huckabee’s idea to streamline vehicle licensing and stopping the requirement that all vehicles or drivers have liability insurance, the bill failed, and rightly so, Capps says.
But then he and state Sen. Dave Bisbane took the good elements—the other elements of that bill—and when Huckabee refused to promote it, they pushed through the legislation streamlining the process.
He said Huckabee–who had no legislative experience before becoming governor–could be quite prickly when he didn’t get his way.
By contrast, Beebe had served as state representative, state senator and attorney general before being elected governor and was “probably the most qualified governor of all.”
IDENTITY THEFT
Capps is also responsible for the state law that requires businesses operating in Arkansas to notify “everybody” if there is a breech of security resulting in possible identity theft.
The idea was suggested by his daughter, an out-of-state attorney familiar with the problem. His legislation “became a model for I don’t know how many states,” he said.
He introduced “Connect Arkansas,” a broadband initiative to try to bring broadband to all parts of Arkansas.
“I’m as proud of that as anything I’ve ever done,” he said. “It’s the basis for all broadband expansion in the state. It’s one of the most important things we can do to get every nook and cranny connected.”
Among his few regrets, Capps said broadband connectivity is not as far along as he would have wished.
“We have to have high-speed broadband across the state. Other than that, there’s not a lot of unfinished business I’m leaving behind.”
FISCAL RESTRAINTS
After voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing the state legislature to meet annually instead of biennially, Capps said he helped write the rules for the first fiscal session—the off-year meeting of the General Assembly.
“We met and put it together, Sen. Bob Johnson and me and legal counsel. There was nothing in the new law to say what you could (and couldn’t) do.
“In Jacksonville and north Pulaski County, the people there have been very very nice to me. I have enjoyed representing them. I’m grateful to the leaders, the chambers of commerce and I have compassion for their plight.
Jacksonville and north Pulaski County need their own school district, he said.
ACTIVELY RETIRED
“I’m going to be actively retired,” he said. “I’m curious about everything.
“I’ve always wanted to help people—to be an ombudsman, removing bureaucratic obstacles,” Capps added.
He said he’s going to miss his friends at the Capitol, but won’t miss being a legislator, and he’ll miss not being able to help on statewide problems.
He said he’s displeased with the political rancor at the national level.
“It’s amazing what we can accomplish if we don’t care who gets the credit,” he said, quoting an old political saw.
Now that he’s finished serving, “no more elected office for me. I have lots to do that’s been stacking up on me. I’m not good with a rocking chair.”
Two things that state Sen. John Paul Capps loves—besides his family—are radio and helping people.
So when, after 44 years, he is out of a job representing the people of Searcy, Beebe, north Pulaski County and the Jacksonville area in Dist. 29, the 76-year-old Capps says he’ll still do what he can to help out.
Area residents will lose about three-quarters of a century of able representation in January when term limits strike down Capps and his Lonoke County counterpart, Sen. Bobby Glover, in one fell swoop. They’re both Democrats.
The veteran Searcy politician will be replaced by Rep. Jonathan Dismang of Beebe, Glover by Cabot Mayor Eddie Joe Williams, both Republicans.
Capps grew up in the same town as Gov. Mike Beebe and they also grew up together politically, so it is little wonder the governor turned to him for leadership not only on the recent Blue Ribbon Commission on long-term road and highway funding but on other issues.
“I was always interested in politics since being a small boy,” Capps said recently, taking a break from packing the contents of his office at the state Capitol.
He served 18 consecutive terms as a state representative, starting in 1963—the year John F. Kennedy was assassinated, ending because of newly introduced term limits at the end of 1998.
Capps worked in radio from the mid-1950s. In the 1970s, “I built my own station in Searcy—80 AM and 85 FM, selling out in 1999.”
He returned full time and happily, he says, to radio, while Mike Beebe served as the area’s state senator.
FACED BOND
State Rep. Pat Bond of Jack-sonville announced her intent to run for state Senate from the district in 2002. Capps said many folks came to him and asked him to run, and although he and Bond were friends, he said, with his wife’s encouragement, he ran and beat Bond.
He described it as a very civil race, with no name calling or dirty tricks.
Capps served 36 years in the state House of Representatives, serving as speaker of the House, and another eight years in the state Senate.
“It’s so different, the way the House and Senate operate now,” he said.
When Capps ran for House speaker, he hadn’t even had a chairmanship to his credit, but he pledged an open and transparent process.
POWERFUL FAUBUS
Capps served under nine governors. The first was the legendary and incendiary Orville Faubus.
“He was very powerful,” Capps remembers.
“He was a good governor in so many ways. It was a different day and time and he’ll always be known for (calling out the National Guard to prevent desegregation at) Little Rock Central.”
Capps served one term in the House with David Pryor, later governor and senator.
“We became good friends and remain so,” he said.
“Huckabee had some good ideas, but would become impatient and was prone to anger legislators,” Capps recalled.
“I had excellent relations with Bill Clinton,” he said. “I was House Speaker. He made some mistakes.”
He said Clinton was an excellent governor.
“Mike Beebe’s at the top. He understands government, people and he had the right kind of experience tempered with compassion and concern.”
TALE OF TWO HIGHWAYS
It’s all about connectivity for Capps.
“I’ve pushed two highway systems,” he said. “One’s asphalt, the other is high tech—the Internet,” he said.
“I’ve always been a strong advocate for education and highway improvement,” Capps said.
Of what accomplishments is he proudest?
“I worked on merging Little Rock University (now UALR) into the state university system,” he said.
“I supported the (mammoth, multimillion dollar) expansion of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital,” he added.
He wrangled state Senate support for a 5 percent mixed-drink tax to pay for it, which was a vital component of the tax voters approved in 2007.
INSURANCE REFORM
Capps also worked on insurance reform, getting changes enacted that prohibited insurance companies from raising rates on the driver or owner of a car who was not cited in an accident.
When Gov. Mike Huckabee’s idea to streamline vehicle licensing and stopping the requirement that all vehicles or drivers have liability insurance, the bill failed, and rightly so, Capps says.
But then he and state Sen. Dave Bisbane took the good elements—the other elements of that bill—and when Huckabee refused to promote it, they pushed through the legislation streamlining the process.
He said Huckabee–who had no legislative experience before becoming governor–could be quite prickly when he didn’t get his way.
By contrast, Beebe had served as state representative, state senator and attorney general before being elected governor and was “probably the most qualified governor of all.”
IDENTITY THEFT
Capps is also responsible for the state law that requires businesses operating in Arkansas to notify “everybody” if there is a breech of security resulting in possible identity theft.
The idea was suggested by his daughter, an out-of-state attorney familiar with the problem. His legislation “became a model for I don’t know how many states,” he said.
He introduced “Connect Arkansas,” a broadband initiative to try to bring broadband to all parts of Arkansas.
“I’m as proud of that as anything I’ve ever done,” he said. “It’s the basis for all broadband expansion in the state. It’s one of the most important things we can do to get every nook and cranny connected.”
Among his few regrets, Capps said broadband connectivity is not as far along as he would have wished.
“We have to have high-speed broadband across the state. Other than that, there’s not a lot of unfinished business I’m leaving behind.”
FISCAL RESTRAINTS
After voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing the state legislature to meet annually instead of biennially, Capps said he helped write the rules for the first fiscal session—the off-year meeting of the General Assembly.
“We met and put it together, Sen. Bob Johnson and me and legal counsel. There was nothing in the new law to say what you could (and couldn’t) do.
“In Jacksonville and north Pulaski County, the people there have been very very nice to me. I have enjoyed representing them. I’m grateful to the leaders, the chambers of commerce and I have compassion for their plight.
Jacksonville and north Pulaski County need their own school district, he said.
ACTIVELY RETIRED
“I’m going to be actively retired,” he said. “I’m curious about everything.
“I’ve always wanted to help people—to be an ombudsman, removing bureaucratic obstacles,” Capps added.
He said he’s going to miss his friends at the Capitol, but won’t miss being a legislator, and he’ll miss not being able to help on statewide problems.
He said he’s displeased with the political rancor at the national level.
“It’s amazing what we can accomplish if we don’t care who gets the credit,” he said, quoting an old political saw.
Now that he’s finished serving, “no more elected office for me. I have lots to do that’s been stacking up on me. I’m not good with a rocking chair.”
TOP STORY > >Sherwood chief resigns
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Sherwood Police Chief Kel Nichol-son announced at the Sherwood City Council meeting Monday that he was stepping down, but not going away.
Nicholson, 47, who has had some health issues the past few months and is just now getting back to 100 percent, has been the chief for almost seven years.
Nicholson said he and Capt. Jim Bedwell, 56, who heads the detectives and warrants division, will be switching jobs come Saturday. “It’s just a matter of us changing offices,” he said.
Nicholson, who worked his way up from a patrol officer, said the job of chief was a lot harder than people think.
“I’ve sacrificed time, health and family,” he said, adding that there’s not enough time to do the things the Lord wants him to do.
Nicholson, a 24-year veteran of the Sherwood police force, said he wants to spend more time with his 13-year-old daughter and his wife, and working with middle school students at his church. His wife, Angela, is the city’s clerk and treasurer.
“I love this city, the officers and this department too much to leave it,” he said. Nicholson said he looks forward to the new job and has 100-percent confidence in Bedwell.
Bedwell, 56, a 22-year veteran of the police department, said he was shocked when Nicholson came to him with the idea. “It wasn’t something I had thought about, but it’ll be a great challenge.”
The police chief and all department heads work at the pleasure of the mayor. When Nicholson came to Mayor Virginia Hillman with the swap idea, she thought it would be a good move.
“It’ll be a smooth transition,” she said. “I hate to lose him as chief, but it’s great to keep him as a captain in the department. I have full confidence in Bedwell.”
Bedwell, who also started out as a patrol officer, was patrol captain from 2004 to 2009, before heading up the detective branch. He is married and has one son and two stepchildren.
Leader staff writer
Sherwood Police Chief Kel Nichol-son announced at the Sherwood City Council meeting Monday that he was stepping down, but not going away.
Nicholson, 47, who has had some health issues the past few months and is just now getting back to 100 percent, has been the chief for almost seven years.
Nicholson said he and Capt. Jim Bedwell, 56, who heads the detectives and warrants division, will be switching jobs come Saturday. “It’s just a matter of us changing offices,” he said.
Nicholson, who worked his way up from a patrol officer, said the job of chief was a lot harder than people think.
“I’ve sacrificed time, health and family,” he said, adding that there’s not enough time to do the things the Lord wants him to do.
Nicholson, a 24-year veteran of the Sherwood police force, said he wants to spend more time with his 13-year-old daughter and his wife, and working with middle school students at his church. His wife, Angela, is the city’s clerk and treasurer.
“I love this city, the officers and this department too much to leave it,” he said. Nicholson said he looks forward to the new job and has 100-percent confidence in Bedwell.
Bedwell, 56, a 22-year veteran of the police department, said he was shocked when Nicholson came to him with the idea. “It wasn’t something I had thought about, but it’ll be a great challenge.”
The police chief and all department heads work at the pleasure of the mayor. When Nicholson came to Mayor Virginia Hillman with the swap idea, she thought it would be a good move.
“It’ll be a smooth transition,” she said. “I hate to lose him as chief, but it’s great to keep him as a captain in the department. I have full confidence in Bedwell.”
Bedwell, who also started out as a patrol officer, was patrol captain from 2004 to 2009, before heading up the detective branch. He is married and has one son and two stepchildren.
SPORTS>>Suspend disbelief at NCAA penalties
By Todd Traub
Leader sports editor
I was at the traditional, Christmas Eve party with family and friends when the talk inevitably turned to a certain, upcoming bowl game foremost on the minds of Arkansas Razorbacks fans.
So I got football to go with the sausage balls, the Sugar Bowl AND the candy bowl.
I didn’t get dragged into the discussion of the Jan. 4 game between Arkansas and Ohio State because I’m a sports editor or anything like that. I got dragged into it because I showed up.
Anyone who follows college football right now would have suffered the same fate.
The reason for the uproar, of course, has to do with the misadventures of the Ohio State players and the nature of the punishment that has befallen.
Buckeyes starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor, running back Daniel Herron, receiver DeVier Posey, offensive lineman Mike Adams and defensive end Soloman Thomas must sit out the first five games of 2011 for selling memorabilia to a tattoo parlor owner in exchange for tattoos.
The five must also repay between $1,000 and $2,500 to charity while a sixth, linebacker Jordan Whiting, must sit out one game next season.
Tattoos, of course, have become the adornment of choice, a way of expressing one’s rugged individuality the same way everyone else does. But I digress; what matters here is that the players broke NCAA rules governing outside income and gifts.
The punishment, which is sort of like invading Canada because the Virgin Islands attacked us, makes it clear what is going on.
The NCAA wants its BCS bowl game to be as attractive as possible for the sake of advertising money and other revenues, so the six besmirched Buckeyes must play.
We figured out a long time ago that college football is as corrupted by the influence of money as any other institution, and the NCAA is as beholden to the almighty dollar as you or I.
The Razorbacks fans I spoke to sensed an additional NCAA bias in favor of the Big Ten and Ohio State. I don’t know about that; all I ever hear is how great the SEC is, but I agree the proper punishment should be a bowl game suspension.
Whether it’s to a national championship game, another BCS game like the Sugar Bowl or a lesser event like the New Orleans Bowl, a postseason bowl trip is supposed to be a reward to players for a job well done.
It’s one last chance to play, usually somewhere far from home and often in an appealing climate, with lots of dinners and other functions, sightseeing tours and NCAA sanctioned gifts thrown in.
Do the misbehaved Buckeyes deserve such a reward? No.
It could be argued that missing five games next year is actually a harsher penalty. Some of those will be conference games, and losses could wind up costing Ohio State more down the line — a shot at a league title and another really good postseason bowl trip.
And if it’s all about cash and free things for these guys, then consider they will miss out on five opportunities to impress NFL scouts next year.
Except of course, the players could jump to the NFL and avoid the suspensions altogether, leaving only the charity payout as their penalty.
But wait, the other Ohio State seniors may have a say in this. In the run-up to the team’s departure for New Orleans on Tuesday, the upperclassmen were still deciding whether or not the six tarnished Buckeyes would sit out the Sugar Bowl after all, or be allowed to play but not start.
Razorbacks fans can recall the 1978 Orange Bowl when Lou Holtz suspended three key players for a dormitory incident involving a woman, and Arkansas still beat Oklahoma 31-6. The Hogs fans are entitled to think Ohio State should suspend its guys and attempt the same thing in the Sugar Bowl.
But no matter how this shakes out, whether the six players participate a little or not at all Jan. 4, I’d say Ohio State has already lost and the Hogs have already won.
If the Buckeyes play their guys and win it’s a tarnished victory. If they lose, well, they lose.
No. 8 Arkansas is entirely capable of beating No. 6 Ohio State even if the Buckeyes are at full strength. If the Razorbacks play a short-handed opponent, their chances at a Sugar Bowl victory get even better.
If Ohio State uses its tarnished players and Arkansas wins, then what a righteous victory it would be.
Leader sports editor
I was at the traditional, Christmas Eve party with family and friends when the talk inevitably turned to a certain, upcoming bowl game foremost on the minds of Arkansas Razorbacks fans.
So I got football to go with the sausage balls, the Sugar Bowl AND the candy bowl.
I didn’t get dragged into the discussion of the Jan. 4 game between Arkansas and Ohio State because I’m a sports editor or anything like that. I got dragged into it because I showed up.
Anyone who follows college football right now would have suffered the same fate.
The reason for the uproar, of course, has to do with the misadventures of the Ohio State players and the nature of the punishment that has befallen.
Buckeyes starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor, running back Daniel Herron, receiver DeVier Posey, offensive lineman Mike Adams and defensive end Soloman Thomas must sit out the first five games of 2011 for selling memorabilia to a tattoo parlor owner in exchange for tattoos.
The five must also repay between $1,000 and $2,500 to charity while a sixth, linebacker Jordan Whiting, must sit out one game next season.
Tattoos, of course, have become the adornment of choice, a way of expressing one’s rugged individuality the same way everyone else does. But I digress; what matters here is that the players broke NCAA rules governing outside income and gifts.
The punishment, which is sort of like invading Canada because the Virgin Islands attacked us, makes it clear what is going on.
The NCAA wants its BCS bowl game to be as attractive as possible for the sake of advertising money and other revenues, so the six besmirched Buckeyes must play.
We figured out a long time ago that college football is as corrupted by the influence of money as any other institution, and the NCAA is as beholden to the almighty dollar as you or I.
The Razorbacks fans I spoke to sensed an additional NCAA bias in favor of the Big Ten and Ohio State. I don’t know about that; all I ever hear is how great the SEC is, but I agree the proper punishment should be a bowl game suspension.
Whether it’s to a national championship game, another BCS game like the Sugar Bowl or a lesser event like the New Orleans Bowl, a postseason bowl trip is supposed to be a reward to players for a job well done.
It’s one last chance to play, usually somewhere far from home and often in an appealing climate, with lots of dinners and other functions, sightseeing tours and NCAA sanctioned gifts thrown in.
Do the misbehaved Buckeyes deserve such a reward? No.
It could be argued that missing five games next year is actually a harsher penalty. Some of those will be conference games, and losses could wind up costing Ohio State more down the line — a shot at a league title and another really good postseason bowl trip.
And if it’s all about cash and free things for these guys, then consider they will miss out on five opportunities to impress NFL scouts next year.
Except of course, the players could jump to the NFL and avoid the suspensions altogether, leaving only the charity payout as their penalty.
But wait, the other Ohio State seniors may have a say in this. In the run-up to the team’s departure for New Orleans on Tuesday, the upperclassmen were still deciding whether or not the six tarnished Buckeyes would sit out the Sugar Bowl after all, or be allowed to play but not start.
Razorbacks fans can recall the 1978 Orange Bowl when Lou Holtz suspended three key players for a dormitory incident involving a woman, and Arkansas still beat Oklahoma 31-6. The Hogs fans are entitled to think Ohio State should suspend its guys and attempt the same thing in the Sugar Bowl.
But no matter how this shakes out, whether the six players participate a little or not at all Jan. 4, I’d say Ohio State has already lost and the Hogs have already won.
If the Buckeyes play their guys and win it’s a tarnished victory. If they lose, well, they lose.
No. 8 Arkansas is entirely capable of beating No. 6 Ohio State even if the Buckeyes are at full strength. If the Razorbacks play a short-handed opponent, their chances at a Sugar Bowl victory get even better.
If Ohio State uses its tarnished players and Arkansas wins, then what a righteous victory it would be.
SPORTS>>Lady Lions look for lineup
By Jason King
Leader sportswriter
The Searcy Lady Lions are starting to find the balance between their young talent and a small senior class.
Seniors Elliot Scarborough and Chelsea Butler have plenty of experience as three-year starters, but as the only two seniors from last year’s 6A state final qualifier, they have struggled to find some support.
The Lady Lions (5-6) have experimented with several different combinations in an effort to find what works, and even with a productive holiday break and a 54-46 victory over Stuttgart in the first round of the Wynne invitational Monday, coach Michelle Birdsong said she is not yet ready to take off her lab coat.
“We’re still having trouble finding the right combination,” Birdsong said. “We’re still struggling. We’ve been playing a lot of combinations, and everyone has been playing their role.
“We’ve been able to play several kids off the bench who have put in a lot of minutes on the floor, and I think that’s going to help us in the long run.”
Stuttgart led most of the way in the first half and carried a 23-20 lead into halftime. But the Lady Lions, led by freshman sensation Brittnee Broadway’s 16-point performance, took control of the rebounding in the second half and outscored the Lady Ricebirds 17-10 in the third quarter.
Searcy outscored Stuttgart 17-13 in the final period.
Scarborough added 11 points for Searcy while Butler had nine and freshman Micah Tipton scored seven.
“We were sluggish,” Birdsong said. “And we didn’t practice over the weekend, so we looked tired. But the girls did a good job in the second half of rebounding.
“I told them at halftime that if we could get in there and rebound, we would be alright, and they were able to do that.”
Broadway has started every game for the Lady Lions while Tipton sat out several games with a back injury. Both players started Monday.
“Micah hurt her back, and I don’t know if it was one of our practices,” Birdsong said.
“She also does a lot of club soccer. And with playing soccer and playing basketball, she didn’t get a break. It makes you tired, and when you get tired, you get hurt.”
Birdsong said that a tough start to the season for Scarborough has not kept her from improving as a floor leader.
“I think it’s something she tried to prepare for since the beginning of the year,” Birdsong said.
“Elliot’s done a good job of coming on the floor and encouraging. It’s tough, especially when you lose some, and we’ve lost quite a few. It can get you down, but she’s been a strong, positive influence.”
The Lady Lions were preparing for a second-round game against Forrest City on Tuesday. A victory would put them in today’s championship round.
The tournament also features Bald Knob, Hughes, Earle and the host team Wynne.
Birdsong said she hopes the tournament competition and two good weeks of holiday practice will have Searcy ready for action in the 6A-East Conference beginning next week. The Lady Lions will be put to the test early with road games at West Memphis and Mountain Home.
“The last two weeks have been really good practices for us,” Birdsong said.
“Once you get into the season, it’s hard to get in a good hard practice because you always have a game coming up. But we had two weeks in between games, so we were able to get in some good, hard practices, and the girls have responded well.”
Leader sportswriter
The Searcy Lady Lions are starting to find the balance between their young talent and a small senior class.
Seniors Elliot Scarborough and Chelsea Butler have plenty of experience as three-year starters, but as the only two seniors from last year’s 6A state final qualifier, they have struggled to find some support.
The Lady Lions (5-6) have experimented with several different combinations in an effort to find what works, and even with a productive holiday break and a 54-46 victory over Stuttgart in the first round of the Wynne invitational Monday, coach Michelle Birdsong said she is not yet ready to take off her lab coat.
“We’re still having trouble finding the right combination,” Birdsong said. “We’re still struggling. We’ve been playing a lot of combinations, and everyone has been playing their role.
“We’ve been able to play several kids off the bench who have put in a lot of minutes on the floor, and I think that’s going to help us in the long run.”
Stuttgart led most of the way in the first half and carried a 23-20 lead into halftime. But the Lady Lions, led by freshman sensation Brittnee Broadway’s 16-point performance, took control of the rebounding in the second half and outscored the Lady Ricebirds 17-10 in the third quarter.
Searcy outscored Stuttgart 17-13 in the final period.
Scarborough added 11 points for Searcy while Butler had nine and freshman Micah Tipton scored seven.
“We were sluggish,” Birdsong said. “And we didn’t practice over the weekend, so we looked tired. But the girls did a good job in the second half of rebounding.
“I told them at halftime that if we could get in there and rebound, we would be alright, and they were able to do that.”
Broadway has started every game for the Lady Lions while Tipton sat out several games with a back injury. Both players started Monday.
“Micah hurt her back, and I don’t know if it was one of our practices,” Birdsong said.
“She also does a lot of club soccer. And with playing soccer and playing basketball, she didn’t get a break. It makes you tired, and when you get tired, you get hurt.”
Birdsong said that a tough start to the season for Scarborough has not kept her from improving as a floor leader.
“I think it’s something she tried to prepare for since the beginning of the year,” Birdsong said.
“Elliot’s done a good job of coming on the floor and encouraging. It’s tough, especially when you lose some, and we’ve lost quite a few. It can get you down, but she’s been a strong, positive influence.”
The Lady Lions were preparing for a second-round game against Forrest City on Tuesday. A victory would put them in today’s championship round.
The tournament also features Bald Knob, Hughes, Earle and the host team Wynne.
Birdsong said she hopes the tournament competition and two good weeks of holiday practice will have Searcy ready for action in the 6A-East Conference beginning next week. The Lady Lions will be put to the test early with road games at West Memphis and Mountain Home.
“The last two weeks have been really good practices for us,” Birdsong said.
“Once you get into the season, it’s hard to get in a good hard practice because you always have a game coming up. But we had two weeks in between games, so we were able to get in some good, hard practices, and the girls have responded well.”
SPORTS>>Texans outman Searcy for win
By Jason King
Leader sportswriter
Searcy is still considered by many to be a program on the rise.
But it was Garland (Texas) Lakeview Centennial that rose to the occasion against the Lions in the first round of the Springdale Har-Ber tournament Monday.
Lakeview Centennial used its depth and supply of seniors to beat the Lions 82-42, sending Searcy to the consolation bracket where it faced host Har-Ber late Tuesday evening.
The Lions (9-3) gave up an early, 15-point lead before regrouping to keep pace with Lakeview until the final minute of the third quarter.
“We’ve got three games in three days, so we pulled our first five and put in our second five,” Searcy coach Jim Summers said, comparing his depth to Lakeview Centennial’s. “He doesn’t have a second five, he has 12. They kept pressing, which was good for these kids to see. Not making excuses, we just chose to live to play another day.”
Senior and Ole Miss signee Jamal Jones led the Lions with 11 points, while guard Casey Wilmath added 10. Jonathan Powell added eight points for Searcy.
Lakeview Centennial is one of Texas’ best basketball programs with a No. 18 national ranking and a roster of 12 players, 10 of them seniors.
“No disrespect to Hall, Parkview or West Memphis, but this team was in a whole different category,” Summers said as he ticked off some of the tougher 7A/6A-East opponents. “That was pressure we won’t see again, not even in our conference.”
Searcy’s 9-3 start is the best of Summers’ three-plus seasons.
“I think we’re sitting in a pretty good spot after getting a good start,” he said.
“I think we can continue to get better. You hear some teams talk about peaking too early and not getting anything out of their practices because they’re not going to get any better, but we still have plenty of things to work on.”
Summers said the Lions still need to improve their defense and shooting.
The transition from football to basketball, in the case of players like junior Dezmond Stegall, has been slower than expected.
“We have some guys who are still getting in basketball shape,” Summers said.
“That’s part of getting better shooting is not being tired. Defensively, we can get better; we’re going to have to get better with conference coming up.”
Summers is pleased to see progress in Searcy’s depth.
“We have guys on the bench beginning to fill roles,” Summers said.
“We have some sophomores stepping up and creating more depth for us. They’re beginning to understand that Casey and Jamal can’t tote the load every single ballgame.”
Leader sportswriter
Searcy is still considered by many to be a program on the rise.
But it was Garland (Texas) Lakeview Centennial that rose to the occasion against the Lions in the first round of the Springdale Har-Ber tournament Monday.
Lakeview Centennial used its depth and supply of seniors to beat the Lions 82-42, sending Searcy to the consolation bracket where it faced host Har-Ber late Tuesday evening.
The Lions (9-3) gave up an early, 15-point lead before regrouping to keep pace with Lakeview until the final minute of the third quarter.
“We’ve got three games in three days, so we pulled our first five and put in our second five,” Searcy coach Jim Summers said, comparing his depth to Lakeview Centennial’s. “He doesn’t have a second five, he has 12. They kept pressing, which was good for these kids to see. Not making excuses, we just chose to live to play another day.”
Senior and Ole Miss signee Jamal Jones led the Lions with 11 points, while guard Casey Wilmath added 10. Jonathan Powell added eight points for Searcy.
Lakeview Centennial is one of Texas’ best basketball programs with a No. 18 national ranking and a roster of 12 players, 10 of them seniors.
“No disrespect to Hall, Parkview or West Memphis, but this team was in a whole different category,” Summers said as he ticked off some of the tougher 7A/6A-East opponents. “That was pressure we won’t see again, not even in our conference.”
Searcy’s 9-3 start is the best of Summers’ three-plus seasons.
“I think we’re sitting in a pretty good spot after getting a good start,” he said.
“I think we can continue to get better. You hear some teams talk about peaking too early and not getting anything out of their practices because they’re not going to get any better, but we still have plenty of things to work on.”
Summers said the Lions still need to improve their defense and shooting.
The transition from football to basketball, in the case of players like junior Dezmond Stegall, has been slower than expected.
“We have some guys who are still getting in basketball shape,” Summers said.
“That’s part of getting better shooting is not being tired. Defensively, we can get better; we’re going to have to get better with conference coming up.”
Summers is pleased to see progress in Searcy’s depth.
“We have guys on the bench beginning to fill roles,” Summers said.
“We have some sophomores stepping up and creating more depth for us. They’re beginning to understand that Casey and Jamal can’t tote the load every single ballgame.”
SPORTS>>Cabot boys at crossroads
By Jason King
Leader sportswriter
Cabot coach Jerry Bridges has mixed feeling about the first part of the Panthers’ basketball season, which includes a 2-1 run and third-place finish at the recent Battle of the Brier Invitational at Greenbrier.
The 7A Panthers (6-7) beat Mills in the first round before falling to 5A non-conference rival Vilonia in the second.
That put Cabot in the third-place game against Charleston, where the Panthers pulled through with another victory.
“The only thing that disappointed me was that we didn’t play very well against Vilonia,” Bridges said. “Not to take away from Vilonia — the things they did defensively gave us problems.
“We came out shooting extremely poor. We were 3 of 20 in the first half. Our defensive intensity wasn’t anything near what it needed to be. But I think it is all stuff we can learn from.”
With a roster that features just as many sophomores and juniors as it does seniors, Bridges said court time and gaining confidence have been top priorities in preparation for the 7A-Central Conference schedule that begins on Jan. 7.
“It’s not about effort,” Bridges said. “They work hard every day. It’s about telling the younger ones that we don’t consider them sophomores anymore because they have 13 games under their belts.
“We have to do a better job of making the right decisions at the right times and do all the little things right.”
Cabot has made three straight appearances in the 7A state tournament since 2008.
The Panthers held off a scrappy Russellville team in the final 7A-Central Conference game of the season last year to hold on to the No. 6 and tournament seed.
They faced 7A-West No. 3 seed Fort Smith Northside in the first round of the state tournament in Van Buren and lost 44-31, marking the first time Cabot did not reach the semifinal round in the three recent trips to state.
The Panthers will open the conference schedule in Conway on Jan. 7, followed by a home game against Little Rock Catholic on Jan. 11.
Cabot will play at home against Little Rock Central on Jan. 18 and take to the road again for a game against Bryant on Jan. 21 as the start of a two-game road swing that includes a trip to Van Buren on Jan. 25.
The Panthers will return home Jan. 28 to face Russellville and have an open date Feb. 1.
“The competition level may get a little tougher,” Bridges said.
“The biggest thing that has hurt us in a lot of games is sending our opponents to the foul line way too many times. We’ve got to stop reaching and grabbing so much.”
Among Cabot’s early-season successes was a trip to the final of the Central Arkansas Christian Invitational before Christmas.
Cabot got a last-second three-pointer from Clayton Vaught to beat Benton in the semifinal. But a scrappy Paragould team, similar to Cabot in size and defensive hustle, held off the Panthers for a 58-53 victory Dec. 11.
Leader sportswriter
Cabot coach Jerry Bridges has mixed feeling about the first part of the Panthers’ basketball season, which includes a 2-1 run and third-place finish at the recent Battle of the Brier Invitational at Greenbrier.
The 7A Panthers (6-7) beat Mills in the first round before falling to 5A non-conference rival Vilonia in the second.
That put Cabot in the third-place game against Charleston, where the Panthers pulled through with another victory.
“The only thing that disappointed me was that we didn’t play very well against Vilonia,” Bridges said. “Not to take away from Vilonia — the things they did defensively gave us problems.
“We came out shooting extremely poor. We were 3 of 20 in the first half. Our defensive intensity wasn’t anything near what it needed to be. But I think it is all stuff we can learn from.”
With a roster that features just as many sophomores and juniors as it does seniors, Bridges said court time and gaining confidence have been top priorities in preparation for the 7A-Central Conference schedule that begins on Jan. 7.
“It’s not about effort,” Bridges said. “They work hard every day. It’s about telling the younger ones that we don’t consider them sophomores anymore because they have 13 games under their belts.
“We have to do a better job of making the right decisions at the right times and do all the little things right.”
Cabot has made three straight appearances in the 7A state tournament since 2008.
The Panthers held off a scrappy Russellville team in the final 7A-Central Conference game of the season last year to hold on to the No. 6 and tournament seed.
They faced 7A-West No. 3 seed Fort Smith Northside in the first round of the state tournament in Van Buren and lost 44-31, marking the first time Cabot did not reach the semifinal round in the three recent trips to state.
The Panthers will open the conference schedule in Conway on Jan. 7, followed by a home game against Little Rock Catholic on Jan. 11.
Cabot will play at home against Little Rock Central on Jan. 18 and take to the road again for a game against Bryant on Jan. 21 as the start of a two-game road swing that includes a trip to Van Buren on Jan. 25.
The Panthers will return home Jan. 28 to face Russellville and have an open date Feb. 1.
“The competition level may get a little tougher,” Bridges said.
“The biggest thing that has hurt us in a lot of games is sending our opponents to the foul line way too many times. We’ve got to stop reaching and grabbing so much.”
Among Cabot’s early-season successes was a trip to the final of the Central Arkansas Christian Invitational before Christmas.
Cabot got a last-second three-pointer from Clayton Vaught to beat Benton in the semifinal. But a scrappy Paragould team, similar to Cabot in size and defensive hustle, held off the Panthers for a 58-53 victory Dec. 11.
SPORTS>>Success, scandal head list
Compiled by Todd Traub and Jason King
Abundant Life boys basketball coach Tim Ballard was a no-show at his team’s biggest game of the year, but the ensuing scandal was worse than the loss the Owls suffered in the first round of the 2A-East regional at White Co. Central on Feb. 25.
It also became The Leader’s top sports story of 2010.
Ballard, also the principal at the tiny parochial school in Sherwood, had been suspended the day before the game and he was arrested March 5 for sexual assault, revealing a pattern of alleged sexual misconduct dating back several years.
The suspension came after a former student sent an e-mail to school superintendent Russell Eudy and a concerned party made a call to the Sherwood Police Department regarding a different young girl.
Officials at Abundant Life did notnotify authorities when Eudy received the e-mail on Feb. 24. Instead, they placed Ballard on paid leave pending their own investigation.
But when the boyfriend of another former student with whom Ballard allegedly had relations contacted Sherwood Police and suggested Ballard was already on suspension, police launched an investigation.
Ballard was freed on bail shortly after his arrest and appeared in court for his preliminary hearing May 24 when he pleaded not guilty on five counts. His trial was set for Oct. 27 but was pushed back until the first of the year.
Ballard will be tried on four charges of second-degree sexual assault and one charge of first-degree sexual assault, which is a Class A felony.
The arrest report stated in detail how, on numerous occasions, Ballard allegedly kissed and fondled a student. The report outlined a relationship that went back several years and progressed through the student’s time at the high school.
When news of the investigation broke, 20 young women came forward with reports of abuse or misconduct by Ballard. The statute of limitations has run out on all but two of the alleged victims but it is believed many of the 20 will testify at Ballard’s trial to help the prosecution support a behavioral pattern.
It was later revealed that over time, numerous complaints about Ballard had been made to school administrators. One dated to 1999 and another had been received the previous fall.
Ballard was a popular figure with students and a respected coach across the state. He had taken the Owls to the 2A state tournament the two previous years and appeared to have his team ready to compete for a third trip when he was suspended the day before the regional qualifier, which, under assistant Chris Horton, the Owls lost in double overtime.
Ballard helped several of his basketball players secure scholarships with smaller universities and he was also the high school track coach.
Beebe baseball
Led by pitcher Griffin Glaude, the Beebe Badgers earned the school’s first boys championship in a major sport since 1941 when the Badgers beat Monticello 6-2 in the 5A state championship at Fayetteville.
Glaude, then a junior, pitched a career game with 11 strikeouts, four walks and four hits and an RBI double at the plate. On the mound, Glaude held Monticello hitless from the second through the fifth innings.
It was just the fourth state tournament appearance for the Badgers (25-7), though it was their third straight, and their first appearance in a state final.
Beebe’s last major sports championship was in basketball in 1941.
Glaude (10-2), the MVP, struck out seven in the first three innings.
Lonoke misses final
The phrase “there’s always next year” carried the Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits through three unsuccessful trips to the state finals from 2007-2009.
When seniors Asiah Scribner, Michaela Brown and Ashleigh Himstedt reached the final stretch of their high-school careers last spring, it was their last chance to claim the prize that had eluded them in three close championship losses.
But this time Prairie Grove shut the door on the Lady Jackrabbits as it took a 35-32 victory in the 4A state semifinals at Cherokee Village.
The potential go-ahead basket by Lonoke’s Cara Neighbors was waved off because of an offensive foul with 24 seconds left, and Prairie Grove won it on free throws.
The loss was the high-school swan song for seniors Scribner — now a freshman with the UALR Trojans — Himstedt and Brown.
Coaching carousel
Rick Russell was no stranger to Jacksonville football when he took the reigns of the program in the wake of Mark Whatley’s departure to join the staff at Springdale.
Russell had been a Jackson-ville assistant for 15 years, many of them as defensive coordinator, before leaving the program to become head coach at crosstown rival North Pulaski for 2009.
When Whatley’s departure opened up the Red Devils job, Russell returned to Jacksonville and improved the team’s regular-season record by four victories. Jacksonville finished 6-4 and beat Sheridan in the first round of the 6A playoffs before losing at Pine Bluff.
To fill the vacancy at North Pulaski, the Falcons promoted offensive coordinator Terrod Hatcher, who Russell described as a “shut down corner” when Hatcher played for Russell at Jacksonville.
At 21, Hatcher became the youngest head coach in the state and the Falcons gave him his first victory when they beat Crossett 38-13 on Oct. 22.
Searcy ups, downs.
The faulty light standards that forced the 2009 Lions to play a few more road football games were only the prelude to a wild 2010 for Searcy athletics.
On Feb. 9 the auxiliary gym roof collapsed under the weight of winter precipitation, which put space at a premium for basketball practices, physical education classes and other athletics, but things seemed to improve from that point.
The structure was estimated at $1.25 million, minus the uniforms and equipment stored inside.
The girls basketball team reached the 6A state championship, losing 51-42 to Watson Chapel on March 13.
On May 7, the boys and girls soccer teams each won 6A state championships.
The boys took their fourth consecutive championship with a 4-0 victory over Mountain Home while the girls beat El Dorado 3-1 to win their third championship in four seasons.
The Lions baseball team powered to the 6A state championship but, with sore-armed ace pitcher Dillon Howard regulated to position work, Lake Hamilton rolled to a 9-1 victory in Fayetteville on May 21.
The Lions football team reached the playoffs for the second consecutive year and the boys basketball team is off to a solid start behind Ole Miss signee Jamal Jones.
Sitzmann, UALR
Former Cabot standout Kim Stizmann wrapped up a record-setting career in style as the UALR Trojans reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time and scored a first-round upset of Georgia Tech.
Sitzmann finished her career as a four-year starter as UALR’s all-time leader in assists (430), steals (128) and three-pointers (115). Against Georgia Tech she led UALR with 21 points in the 63-53 victory before the Trojans took a second-round loss to Oklahoma.
Sitzmann got a tryout with Nolan Richardson’s Tulsa Shock, of the WNBA, and has been playing overseas.
Abundant Life boys basketball coach Tim Ballard was a no-show at his team’s biggest game of the year, but the ensuing scandal was worse than the loss the Owls suffered in the first round of the 2A-East regional at White Co. Central on Feb. 25.
It also became The Leader’s top sports story of 2010.
Ballard, also the principal at the tiny parochial school in Sherwood, had been suspended the day before the game and he was arrested March 5 for sexual assault, revealing a pattern of alleged sexual misconduct dating back several years.
The suspension came after a former student sent an e-mail to school superintendent Russell Eudy and a concerned party made a call to the Sherwood Police Department regarding a different young girl.
Officials at Abundant Life did notnotify authorities when Eudy received the e-mail on Feb. 24. Instead, they placed Ballard on paid leave pending their own investigation.
But when the boyfriend of another former student with whom Ballard allegedly had relations contacted Sherwood Police and suggested Ballard was already on suspension, police launched an investigation.
Ballard was freed on bail shortly after his arrest and appeared in court for his preliminary hearing May 24 when he pleaded not guilty on five counts. His trial was set for Oct. 27 but was pushed back until the first of the year.
Ballard will be tried on four charges of second-degree sexual assault and one charge of first-degree sexual assault, which is a Class A felony.
The arrest report stated in detail how, on numerous occasions, Ballard allegedly kissed and fondled a student. The report outlined a relationship that went back several years and progressed through the student’s time at the high school.
When news of the investigation broke, 20 young women came forward with reports of abuse or misconduct by Ballard. The statute of limitations has run out on all but two of the alleged victims but it is believed many of the 20 will testify at Ballard’s trial to help the prosecution support a behavioral pattern.
It was later revealed that over time, numerous complaints about Ballard had been made to school administrators. One dated to 1999 and another had been received the previous fall.
Ballard was a popular figure with students and a respected coach across the state. He had taken the Owls to the 2A state tournament the two previous years and appeared to have his team ready to compete for a third trip when he was suspended the day before the regional qualifier, which, under assistant Chris Horton, the Owls lost in double overtime.
Ballard helped several of his basketball players secure scholarships with smaller universities and he was also the high school track coach.
Beebe baseball
Led by pitcher Griffin Glaude, the Beebe Badgers earned the school’s first boys championship in a major sport since 1941 when the Badgers beat Monticello 6-2 in the 5A state championship at Fayetteville.
Glaude, then a junior, pitched a career game with 11 strikeouts, four walks and four hits and an RBI double at the plate. On the mound, Glaude held Monticello hitless from the second through the fifth innings.
It was just the fourth state tournament appearance for the Badgers (25-7), though it was their third straight, and their first appearance in a state final.
Beebe’s last major sports championship was in basketball in 1941.
Glaude (10-2), the MVP, struck out seven in the first three innings.
Lonoke misses final
The phrase “there’s always next year” carried the Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits through three unsuccessful trips to the state finals from 2007-2009.
When seniors Asiah Scribner, Michaela Brown and Ashleigh Himstedt reached the final stretch of their high-school careers last spring, it was their last chance to claim the prize that had eluded them in three close championship losses.
But this time Prairie Grove shut the door on the Lady Jackrabbits as it took a 35-32 victory in the 4A state semifinals at Cherokee Village.
The potential go-ahead basket by Lonoke’s Cara Neighbors was waved off because of an offensive foul with 24 seconds left, and Prairie Grove won it on free throws.
The loss was the high-school swan song for seniors Scribner — now a freshman with the UALR Trojans — Himstedt and Brown.
Coaching carousel
Rick Russell was no stranger to Jacksonville football when he took the reigns of the program in the wake of Mark Whatley’s departure to join the staff at Springdale.
Russell had been a Jackson-ville assistant for 15 years, many of them as defensive coordinator, before leaving the program to become head coach at crosstown rival North Pulaski for 2009.
When Whatley’s departure opened up the Red Devils job, Russell returned to Jacksonville and improved the team’s regular-season record by four victories. Jacksonville finished 6-4 and beat Sheridan in the first round of the 6A playoffs before losing at Pine Bluff.
To fill the vacancy at North Pulaski, the Falcons promoted offensive coordinator Terrod Hatcher, who Russell described as a “shut down corner” when Hatcher played for Russell at Jacksonville.
At 21, Hatcher became the youngest head coach in the state and the Falcons gave him his first victory when they beat Crossett 38-13 on Oct. 22.
Searcy ups, downs.
The faulty light standards that forced the 2009 Lions to play a few more road football games were only the prelude to a wild 2010 for Searcy athletics.
On Feb. 9 the auxiliary gym roof collapsed under the weight of winter precipitation, which put space at a premium for basketball practices, physical education classes and other athletics, but things seemed to improve from that point.
The structure was estimated at $1.25 million, minus the uniforms and equipment stored inside.
The girls basketball team reached the 6A state championship, losing 51-42 to Watson Chapel on March 13.
On May 7, the boys and girls soccer teams each won 6A state championships.
The boys took their fourth consecutive championship with a 4-0 victory over Mountain Home while the girls beat El Dorado 3-1 to win their third championship in four seasons.
The Lions baseball team powered to the 6A state championship but, with sore-armed ace pitcher Dillon Howard regulated to position work, Lake Hamilton rolled to a 9-1 victory in Fayetteville on May 21.
The Lions football team reached the playoffs for the second consecutive year and the boys basketball team is off to a solid start behind Ole Miss signee Jamal Jones.
Sitzmann, UALR
Former Cabot standout Kim Stizmann wrapped up a record-setting career in style as the UALR Trojans reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time and scored a first-round upset of Georgia Tech.
Sitzmann finished her career as a four-year starter as UALR’s all-time leader in assists (430), steals (128) and three-pointers (115). Against Georgia Tech she led UALR with 21 points in the 63-53 victory before the Trojans took a second-round loss to Oklahoma.
Sitzmann got a tryout with Nolan Richardson’s Tulsa Shock, of the WNBA, and has been playing overseas.
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