By JOHN HOFHEIMER Leader senior staff writer
Funding local General Improvement Fund projects with state revenue is unconstitutional on the face of it, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday, dealing a death blow to the practice of legislators divvying up millions of dollars between their favorite programs across the state.
Unless and until they can find yet another “workaround” to funnel funds – some call it pork – to their local projects, General Improvement Fund “grants” are illegal in Arkansas.
For the second time since 2006, the state Supreme Court has upheld former Jacksonville state representative Mike Wilson’s complaint that channeling state GIF funds through grants to local schools, volunteer fire departments, community groups, shelters, historic monuments and other recipients violates the state’s Constitution.
Circuit Judge Chris Piazza found GIF dispersals constitutional, while rejecting the state’s arguments that Wilson lacked standing to bring the suit and that his suit was moot anyway because the money had been spent. Well, note quite.
MONEY NOT SPENT
Of the $2.9 million the Central Arkansas Planning and Development District and the other planning districts each received in 2015, the district still has $923,086 on hand, Rodney Larsen, the director, said on Friday.
Wilson wants that money returned to the state treasury.
As for standing, CAPDD attorney Sam Jones and the state attorney general’s office argued that because GIF funds were from estate taxes, and Wilson hadn’t paid any estate taxes in the year in question, he lacked standing to bring the suit.
But Wilson and co-counsel John Ogles argued successfully that general tax revenue carryover from the previous year was also lumped into the General Improvement Fund, resulting in standing for Wilson.
The Supreme Court, by a 5-2 vote, overturned Piazza on constitutionality, and remanded the case to him to settle the details of returning the money to the state.
END OF SUCH SPENDING
As a new precedent, the decision signals the end of such spending through the state’s other seven planning and development districts as well, Wilson said Thursday.
Writing for the majority, Justice Robin Wynn wrote: “The plain language of Article 5, Sec. 29 requires the purpose of the appropriation to be distinctly stated in the bill itself. Accordingly, we reverse and remand on this point without reaching Wilson’s factual allegations because the acts are facially unconstitutional.”
Larsen said he hoped the judge would allow grant money already approved but not yet delivered to go to the recipients. For those entities that have the money from their grant but haven’t spent it yet, Larsen wonders if CAPDD will have to notify them to stop their projects.
NEEDS CLARIFICATION
“That needs clarification,” he said. “We’ll wait until the final order.”
“The court made it pretty clear that whatever money CAPDD has left, it can’t be spent,” Wilson told The Leader on Thursday afternoon.
“We’ll ask the court to award attorney fees for Ogles, not for me,” Wilson said.
“I’m disappointed,” Larsen said. “GIF grants gave us opportunities to meet a lot of needs in our communities. Smaller and minority communities don’t always meet the threshold for larger state and federal grants CAPDD administers,” he said. He liked the GIF grants because the decisions were made locally and helped promote economic and social development.
He said over the past five years, his agency had passed through about $15 million in GIF grants.
MIKE WON
The state attorney general’s office and Jones, representing Central Arkansas Planning and Development District in Lonoke and its director, Larsen, put it like this: “Mike won.”
Wilson and his attorney Ogles, also of Jacksonville, argued that the “surplus” revenues also included non-estate-tax money rolled over from the previous year, and so Wilson did have standing.
The Supreme Court agreed.
Piazza also said the suit was not moot because some GIF money remained in CAPPD coffers. The high court agreed.
Wilson said the court remanded the case to Piazza to determine the amount of money that remained of the $2.5 million in GIF funds allotted to CAPPD. Wilson wants that money returned to the state treasury at once.
Originally, Wilson wanted all the money, including that already awarded to various recipients, returned to the treasury.
LEGISLATIVE FRAUD
With criminal charges filed or contemplated against several former legislators for kickback schemes or lining their own pockets with GIF money, there doesn’t seem to be much enthusiasm for seeking yet another path to spit up “surplus” state funds, even for use by worthy recipients.
Jon Woods and Micah Neal, two former Republican Springdale state representatives, have been indicted for arranging GIF grants for Ecclesia College and accepting kickbacks.
Also, state Sen. Jake Files, (R-Fort Smith) is under pressure to resign after about $25,000 in GIF funds intended for construction of a softball park allegedly ended up in his pockets. The FBI is investigating.
The Democratic Party of Arkansas on Wednesday demanded the attorney general’s office and the Arkansas State Police launch an investigation into lawmakers’ fraudulent use of at least $40,000 in state money in a kickback scheme through the General Improvement Fund.
“We need to in-crease transparency,” said state Sen. Eddie Joe Williams (R-Cabot). “It won’t be much of a change—we didn’t do anything last year.”
Many legislators felt the writing was on the wall, particularly after all the charges of self-dealing.
“I’m just tired of it,” state Sen. Jane English (R-North Little Rock) said on Friday of the topic.
“I’m not surprised they ruled the way they did,” said state Rep. David Hillman (R-Almyra). “It was a Band-Aid approach.
He said that while he initially disagreed with the GIF disbursements, over the years many things in his district have been helped that wouldn’t have been otherwise.
He said the tide turned with news that some former legislators treated the GIF money as their own cash funds.
Wilson prevailed in his first suit when Circuit Judge Willard Proctor ruled the practice unconstitutional and in late 2006 and early 2007, the state Supreme Court upheld that decision.
MONEY LAUNDERING
The legislators, not to be denied the opportunity to help curry favor among voters and to fund causes, worthy and otherwise, devised what Wilson calls “a money-laundering scheme,” intended to restore such funding.
Instead of directly funding projects from the state treasury, with each legislator getting a share to direct at programs in his or her district, Legislators decided to run the money through the regional planning and development districts and then essentially tell the district what to fund and how much.
Each state representative in 2015 could earmark $70,000 for projects and each state senator could fund projects up to $285,000.
In 2016 Wilson sued again, saying a local grant of state money is unconstitutional, even if it’s run through the planning and development district.
WHOLE MESSY SCHEME
Asked if he thought legislators were likely to try yet another workaround to spend money on constituents, Wilson said, “I think due to the public exposure of the whole messy scheme, it’s awful difficult (for them) to say let’s try something else.”
That’s the same source of funds the governor uses for his rainy-day fund and also for his quick-action fund to attract business to the state, but Wilson said he believes those are not constitutionally deficient.
“The court made it pretty clear that whatever money CAPDD has left, it can’t be spent,” Wilson said Thursday.
Friday, October 06, 2017
Wednesday, October 04, 2017
EDITORIAL >> A massacre in Las Vegas
“Instead of weeping when a tragedy occurs in a songbird’s life, it sings away its grief. I believe we could well follow the pattern of our feathered friends.” So goes a quote by William Shakespeare.
Let’s follow that pattern and focus on the heroes from Sunday’s tragic mass shooting at a Las Vegas outdoor concert that left about 60 dead, so far, and that number will grow, and more than 500 injured, resulting in the worst mass shooting in American history.
All from a madman with automatic weapons shooting across the street from the country show from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel. With nearly 30,000 people confined by tall temporary walls, the shooter was having a heyday.
The killer, Stephen Paddock, took an arsenal of 23 sophisticated weapons to his hotel room, where he knocked out windows with a special hammer and gleefully gunned down innocent concertgoers enjoying a weekend of country music.
What kept the death toll from rising into the hundreds was the efforts of everyday people stepping up to do what was necessary. The terror gave rise to heroes, some who lost their lives, who urgently helped those who were wounded in the ordeal.
A witness described acts of heroism during and after the shooting. “It was everywhere. I saw guys plugging bullet holes with their fingers. I saw police officers, while everyone else was crouching, police officers standing up as targets, just trying to direct people to tell them where to go. The amount of bravery I saw, words can’t describe what it was like.”
Ordinary people became paramedics.
Dale Shrode, a 34-year veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department, was at the show with his family when the shooting started. His emergency training kicked in, and he and his son began administering first aid, using belts to try to stop people from bleeding.
“My son, he actually collected the belts from people. The best thing we could do for people is stop the bleeding and once we stopped the bleeding, we dragged them out of the line of fire. Most people who were shot were still in the line of fire,” Shrode said.
Mike Cronk, a retired teacher from Alaska, was one of many that used their pickup truck to transport victims from the scene. He did that after making sure that his buddy, who was shot three times in the chest, was out of harm’s way.
Cronk braved gunfire and used his shirt to stop his friend’s bleeding.
“I had to stay with my buddy,” he said. “I wasn’t really worried about the safety part because I was going to stay with my buddy.”
Cronk helped move him under a stage and put pressure on his wounds.
They loaded him into another concertgoer’s pickup truck with four wounded. One concertgoer died in Cronk’s arms while they tried to get to a triage area that was set up by first responders.
Heather Melton, an orthopedic surgeon from Nashville, Tenn., said that her husband, Sonny, “saved my life and lost his.” He was shielding Heather from gunfire when he was fatally shot. He was one of many victims who died protecting their loved ones.
Amy McAslin and roommate Krystal Goddard dove under a table to protect themselves as best as they could from the barrage of bullets. Eventually, McAslin realized a perfect stranger, who ended up taking a bullet in the lower backside, was shielding the women.
“A gentleman – I don’t know his name – he completely covered me,” McAslin told the media. “He covered my face. He said, ‘I’ve got you.’ Just truly incredible, a stranger, jumping over me to protect me.”
An off-duty nurse from Orange County, California, told KTNV that she ran back into the danger to help rescue those who had suffered gunshot wounds.
“We went back because I’m a nurse, and I just felt that I had to,” one of the concertgoers said, after she had gotten safely out of the firing zone and then went back in.
After the shooting, concertgoers helped treat victims and get them to local hospitals. Later, area residents lined up to give blood as people from far and wide donated money.
“It’s been our finest hour as a city,” Nevada Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchinson said at a news conference Monday. “It’s been, I think, among our finest hours as Americans.”
As the days follow, we will learn more about the shooter and about the victims of this most heinous crime, but stories of heroism will also continue to be told.
Writer James Geary is credited with saying, “Heroism often results as a response to extreme events,” that was never more evident than Sunday night in Las Vegas.
Let’s follow that pattern and focus on the heroes from Sunday’s tragic mass shooting at a Las Vegas outdoor concert that left about 60 dead, so far, and that number will grow, and more than 500 injured, resulting in the worst mass shooting in American history.
All from a madman with automatic weapons shooting across the street from the country show from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel. With nearly 30,000 people confined by tall temporary walls, the shooter was having a heyday.
The killer, Stephen Paddock, took an arsenal of 23 sophisticated weapons to his hotel room, where he knocked out windows with a special hammer and gleefully gunned down innocent concertgoers enjoying a weekend of country music.
What kept the death toll from rising into the hundreds was the efforts of everyday people stepping up to do what was necessary. The terror gave rise to heroes, some who lost their lives, who urgently helped those who were wounded in the ordeal.
A witness described acts of heroism during and after the shooting. “It was everywhere. I saw guys plugging bullet holes with their fingers. I saw police officers, while everyone else was crouching, police officers standing up as targets, just trying to direct people to tell them where to go. The amount of bravery I saw, words can’t describe what it was like.”
Ordinary people became paramedics.
Dale Shrode, a 34-year veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department, was at the show with his family when the shooting started. His emergency training kicked in, and he and his son began administering first aid, using belts to try to stop people from bleeding.
“My son, he actually collected the belts from people. The best thing we could do for people is stop the bleeding and once we stopped the bleeding, we dragged them out of the line of fire. Most people who were shot were still in the line of fire,” Shrode said.
Mike Cronk, a retired teacher from Alaska, was one of many that used their pickup truck to transport victims from the scene. He did that after making sure that his buddy, who was shot three times in the chest, was out of harm’s way.
Cronk braved gunfire and used his shirt to stop his friend’s bleeding.
“I had to stay with my buddy,” he said. “I wasn’t really worried about the safety part because I was going to stay with my buddy.”
Cronk helped move him under a stage and put pressure on his wounds.
They loaded him into another concertgoer’s pickup truck with four wounded. One concertgoer died in Cronk’s arms while they tried to get to a triage area that was set up by first responders.
Heather Melton, an orthopedic surgeon from Nashville, Tenn., said that her husband, Sonny, “saved my life and lost his.” He was shielding Heather from gunfire when he was fatally shot. He was one of many victims who died protecting their loved ones.
Amy McAslin and roommate Krystal Goddard dove under a table to protect themselves as best as they could from the barrage of bullets. Eventually, McAslin realized a perfect stranger, who ended up taking a bullet in the lower backside, was shielding the women.
“A gentleman – I don’t know his name – he completely covered me,” McAslin told the media. “He covered my face. He said, ‘I’ve got you.’ Just truly incredible, a stranger, jumping over me to protect me.”
An off-duty nurse from Orange County, California, told KTNV that she ran back into the danger to help rescue those who had suffered gunshot wounds.
“We went back because I’m a nurse, and I just felt that I had to,” one of the concertgoers said, after she had gotten safely out of the firing zone and then went back in.
After the shooting, concertgoers helped treat victims and get them to local hospitals. Later, area residents lined up to give blood as people from far and wide donated money.
“It’s been our finest hour as a city,” Nevada Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchinson said at a news conference Monday. “It’s been, I think, among our finest hours as Americans.”
As the days follow, we will learn more about the shooter and about the victims of this most heinous crime, but stories of heroism will also continue to be told.
Writer James Geary is credited with saying, “Heroism often results as a response to extreme events,” that was never more evident than Sunday night in Las Vegas.
Tuesday, October 03, 2017
SPORTS STORY >> Potential corner turner for Titans
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
It’s homecoming week for Jacksonville, but it’s also a game with major playoff implications in the 6A-East Conference. Coaches always worry about the distractions that come with homecoming, and it’s especially important for the Titans as the Mountain Home Bombers visit Jan Crow Stadium on Friday.
It is, however, a rare chance for the undersized Titans, which, because of an inexplicable ruling by the Arkansas High School Activities Association, plays 6A football even though the school has 5A enrollment numbers, to face a team that doesn’t have a huge depth advantage.
Mountain Home is a legitimate 6A enrollment school, but the football numbers are low, and a comparable number of Bomber players play on both sides of the ball.
“That’s one thing that’s a little bit of a relief,” said Jacksonville coach Barry Hickingbotham. “When you look at them on film, it looks a lot like us. You see guys, a jersey number, on offense. And then you look at their defense and you see some of the same jersey numbers. We’ve had to do that, too, and we’ve had to play a bunch of teams where nobody does that. So in that area we’re not going to be at a big disadvantage this week.”
Just like last year, Jacksonville is 1-4 and Mountain Home is 0-5 coming into the Week 6 matchup. Both teams are again 0-2 in league play. The Bombers, which have 19 seniors and 18 returning starters, pulled off a 34-27 win over the Titans last season, which sparked a strong finish and a playoff berth. After beating Jacksonville for their first win last year, the Bombers lost a tough one to Marion, then finished the regular season with three-straight wins over Little Rock Hall, Searcy and West Memphis.
“They’re going to come in here motivated,” Hickingbotham said. “This game was a key turning point for them last year. I’m sure they’re looking at it like it could be again. Hopefully we can turn the tables and get us a little spark going.”
Jacksonville found a spark in its offense in the first half at Jonesboro last week, but the defense, which had played well up to that point, fell apart. Jacksonville’s offense outscored its season high in the first half, but the defense gave up 55 points in just the first two quarters to Jonesboro. The 55-31 halftime score turned into a 76-31 final.
The lack of production in the second half was largely the result of free substitutions by the JHS coaching staff.
“We moved the ball down the field to start the second half,” Hickingbotham said. “We got down in the red zone, went for it on fourth down and didn’t get it. They went down and scored. It became a case where it just wasn’t going to happen. If we’d have scored there, you know, 55-38 has a different complexion to it than 62-31. We started using a lot of guys at that point and tried to get back home with everybody healthy.”
Mountain Home lost 36-14 to Pine Bluff last week. The Bombers played Jonesboro to open conference play, and lost 42-7. It was the same margin as Jacksonville’s loss to Jonesboro, but two very different types of games that make them difficult to compare.
“They (Jonesboro) ran the ball a lot more on Mountain Home,” Hickingbotham said. “We maybe had a little more speed and were able to do some things to take advantage of how aggressive their front four are.
The Bombers have another new coach, and will run variations of different run-oriented offenses. The team’s main offense is listed as the Flexbone, but they’ll also pull the slot receivers in tighter for a Double-wing look. They also played the entire first half of last week’s game against Pine Bluff in the Dead-T.
Jacksonville quarterback Harderrious Martin’s performance stood out last week, despite the loss. He completed 13 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns, and carried 12 times for 128 yards and another score.
Leader sports editor
It’s homecoming week for Jacksonville, but it’s also a game with major playoff implications in the 6A-East Conference. Coaches always worry about the distractions that come with homecoming, and it’s especially important for the Titans as the Mountain Home Bombers visit Jan Crow Stadium on Friday.
It is, however, a rare chance for the undersized Titans, which, because of an inexplicable ruling by the Arkansas High School Activities Association, plays 6A football even though the school has 5A enrollment numbers, to face a team that doesn’t have a huge depth advantage.
Mountain Home is a legitimate 6A enrollment school, but the football numbers are low, and a comparable number of Bomber players play on both sides of the ball.
“That’s one thing that’s a little bit of a relief,” said Jacksonville coach Barry Hickingbotham. “When you look at them on film, it looks a lot like us. You see guys, a jersey number, on offense. And then you look at their defense and you see some of the same jersey numbers. We’ve had to do that, too, and we’ve had to play a bunch of teams where nobody does that. So in that area we’re not going to be at a big disadvantage this week.”
Just like last year, Jacksonville is 1-4 and Mountain Home is 0-5 coming into the Week 6 matchup. Both teams are again 0-2 in league play. The Bombers, which have 19 seniors and 18 returning starters, pulled off a 34-27 win over the Titans last season, which sparked a strong finish and a playoff berth. After beating Jacksonville for their first win last year, the Bombers lost a tough one to Marion, then finished the regular season with three-straight wins over Little Rock Hall, Searcy and West Memphis.
“They’re going to come in here motivated,” Hickingbotham said. “This game was a key turning point for them last year. I’m sure they’re looking at it like it could be again. Hopefully we can turn the tables and get us a little spark going.”
Jacksonville found a spark in its offense in the first half at Jonesboro last week, but the defense, which had played well up to that point, fell apart. Jacksonville’s offense outscored its season high in the first half, but the defense gave up 55 points in just the first two quarters to Jonesboro. The 55-31 halftime score turned into a 76-31 final.
The lack of production in the second half was largely the result of free substitutions by the JHS coaching staff.
“We moved the ball down the field to start the second half,” Hickingbotham said. “We got down in the red zone, went for it on fourth down and didn’t get it. They went down and scored. It became a case where it just wasn’t going to happen. If we’d have scored there, you know, 55-38 has a different complexion to it than 62-31. We started using a lot of guys at that point and tried to get back home with everybody healthy.”
Mountain Home lost 36-14 to Pine Bluff last week. The Bombers played Jonesboro to open conference play, and lost 42-7. It was the same margin as Jacksonville’s loss to Jonesboro, but two very different types of games that make them difficult to compare.
“They (Jonesboro) ran the ball a lot more on Mountain Home,” Hickingbotham said. “We maybe had a little more speed and were able to do some things to take advantage of how aggressive their front four are.
The Bombers have another new coach, and will run variations of different run-oriented offenses. The team’s main offense is listed as the Flexbone, but they’ll also pull the slot receivers in tighter for a Double-wing look. They also played the entire first half of last week’s game against Pine Bluff in the Dead-T.
Jacksonville quarterback Harderrious Martin’s performance stood out last week, despite the loss. He completed 13 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns, and carried 12 times for 128 yards and another score.
SPORTS STORY >> Joe Kleine talks shop to Panther foundation
By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
Retired NBA basketball player and former Arkansas Razorback Joe Kleine of Little Rock was the guest speaker of the Cabot Panther Foundation Cabot Schools Hall of Fame banquet last week.
Born in Colorado Springs, Col., Kleine settled in Little Rock once his NBA career was over. After retiring from the NBA he was an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from 2007-2015. He coaches AAU basketball and is a volunteer assistant basketball coach at the Little Rock Catholic High School.
Kleine went to high school in Slater, Mo. He played at Norte Dame the 1980-81 season before transferring to the University of Arkansas and playing from 1982-1985. He ranks sixth on the Razorbacks’ all-time scoring list with 1,753 points. He won a gold medal on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team in Los Angeles coached by Bobby Knight.
Kleine played 15 years in the NBA as a center from 1985 to 2000. He was drafted sixth overall in the 1985 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings.
Kleine was member of the 1997-98 NBA Champion Chicago Bulls team with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.
During his career he played for the Portland Trailblazers, the Phoenix Suns, the Chicago Bulls, the New Jersey Nets, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics and the Sacramento Kings. Kleine scored 4,666 total points and had 3,991 rebounds.
Kleine also is co-owner of Corky’s Ribs and BBQ locations in Little Rock and North Little Rock, which was served at the Cabot Hall of Fame banquet.
Honored were Ronnie Abshure, Joseph Gunter, Larry Rogers, Brenda Shurley and Mike Verkler.
“Events like these bring out how important community is. Honoring these people and the accomplishments they made is outstanding. When you think of Hall of Fame you think of sports, and that’s the furthest thing. The help they did made the city of Cabot better, made the school system better and made Arkansas better,” Kleine said.
He said when a person is inducted into a Hall of Fame they think about how lucky they were and the people who helped get to the places they are today.
“You have to work as a team. Sometimes you get a lot of the credit and sometimes the blame. The best part is the journey and the people,” he said.
Kleine spoke about the importance of the Cabot Panther Foundation and the support it gives to education, athletics and other activities to promote education.
“When I was in high school our foundation were 10 guys following the bus to the games. One night we were playing in Paris, Mo. I’m a junior and I look in my bag in the locker room and I don’t have my shoes. I wear size 16,” he said.
“We were playing a big game and told my coach. One of the supporters goes out.
I sit on the bench the first quarter in socked feet. He comes back with some shoes. It was a size 16 box, but it’s a size 14 shoe,” Kleine said.
“I got my feet in those shoes. I played the whole game like that. We won, but I never forgot my shoes after that,” Kleine said.
Kleine talked about how athletics teaches toughness and adversity.
“I remember the first time with Sacramento we played the Lakers. I watched Kareem Abdul-Jabbar run up the floor. I’m sitting there thinking what I’m going to do with this guy,” he said.
Kleine continued, “He shot a hook and I’m looking at his bellybutton. Coach is yelling at me. Years later (Celtics teammate) Robert Parish would look at you and say ‘There ain’t nothing you can do with that. Just take it like a man’.”
“In the NBA you don’t know what faith is until you’re sitting there and check in the game. You have Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon, and the next night you fly to New York and have Patrick Ewing,” Kleine said.
“Dear Lord, please give me someone similar to me. You got tested every night,” he said.
“You had to rise up and fight (Ewing) him. Some nights you got him and some nights he scored 58 points.
“I was grabbing him, biting, stepping on his foot. I was trying to foul out of the game that’s back when they wouldn’t call a foul. The way they call the game now, I’d be gone in 30 seconds,” Kleine said.
“The greatest moments of my life was standing in the huddle at Hofheinz Pavilion (University of Houston). They were screaming at us and it’s just the 12 of us in there and you look at each other and say Let’s Go,” Kleine said.
“In Philadelphia when we were pulling inside the tunnel of the Spectrum (arena). You heard thumping. It’s them throwing pennies and quarters and other things at the bus. Then you beat their butt and on the way out you’re waving at it. That’s the greatest thing,” he said.
The hardest thing in sports and in life is to make somebody better. To be a true superstar in sports, make somebody on the team better.
“Larry Bird made me better because they went to guard him; I got to stand at the free-throw line wide open shooting 15-footers because they didn’t want (Bird) to shoot.
“Robert Parish made me better because a guy beat me and (Parish) blocked the guy’s shot.
Playing with guys who could give you a pass and all you had to do was lay it in. It made it so much easier,” Kleine said.
Leader staff writer
Retired NBA basketball player and former Arkansas Razorback Joe Kleine of Little Rock was the guest speaker of the Cabot Panther Foundation Cabot Schools Hall of Fame banquet last week.
Born in Colorado Springs, Col., Kleine settled in Little Rock once his NBA career was over. After retiring from the NBA he was an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from 2007-2015. He coaches AAU basketball and is a volunteer assistant basketball coach at the Little Rock Catholic High School.
Kleine went to high school in Slater, Mo. He played at Norte Dame the 1980-81 season before transferring to the University of Arkansas and playing from 1982-1985. He ranks sixth on the Razorbacks’ all-time scoring list with 1,753 points. He won a gold medal on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team in Los Angeles coached by Bobby Knight.
Kleine played 15 years in the NBA as a center from 1985 to 2000. He was drafted sixth overall in the 1985 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings.
Kleine was member of the 1997-98 NBA Champion Chicago Bulls team with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.
During his career he played for the Portland Trailblazers, the Phoenix Suns, the Chicago Bulls, the New Jersey Nets, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics and the Sacramento Kings. Kleine scored 4,666 total points and had 3,991 rebounds.
Kleine also is co-owner of Corky’s Ribs and BBQ locations in Little Rock and North Little Rock, which was served at the Cabot Hall of Fame banquet.
Honored were Ronnie Abshure, Joseph Gunter, Larry Rogers, Brenda Shurley and Mike Verkler.
“Events like these bring out how important community is. Honoring these people and the accomplishments they made is outstanding. When you think of Hall of Fame you think of sports, and that’s the furthest thing. The help they did made the city of Cabot better, made the school system better and made Arkansas better,” Kleine said.
He said when a person is inducted into a Hall of Fame they think about how lucky they were and the people who helped get to the places they are today.
“You have to work as a team. Sometimes you get a lot of the credit and sometimes the blame. The best part is the journey and the people,” he said.
Kleine spoke about the importance of the Cabot Panther Foundation and the support it gives to education, athletics and other activities to promote education.
“When I was in high school our foundation were 10 guys following the bus to the games. One night we were playing in Paris, Mo. I’m a junior and I look in my bag in the locker room and I don’t have my shoes. I wear size 16,” he said.
“We were playing a big game and told my coach. One of the supporters goes out.
I sit on the bench the first quarter in socked feet. He comes back with some shoes. It was a size 16 box, but it’s a size 14 shoe,” Kleine said.
“I got my feet in those shoes. I played the whole game like that. We won, but I never forgot my shoes after that,” Kleine said.
Kleine talked about how athletics teaches toughness and adversity.
“I remember the first time with Sacramento we played the Lakers. I watched Kareem Abdul-Jabbar run up the floor. I’m sitting there thinking what I’m going to do with this guy,” he said.
Kleine continued, “He shot a hook and I’m looking at his bellybutton. Coach is yelling at me. Years later (Celtics teammate) Robert Parish would look at you and say ‘There ain’t nothing you can do with that. Just take it like a man’.”
“In the NBA you don’t know what faith is until you’re sitting there and check in the game. You have Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon, and the next night you fly to New York and have Patrick Ewing,” Kleine said.
“Dear Lord, please give me someone similar to me. You got tested every night,” he said.
“You had to rise up and fight (Ewing) him. Some nights you got him and some nights he scored 58 points.
“I was grabbing him, biting, stepping on his foot. I was trying to foul out of the game that’s back when they wouldn’t call a foul. The way they call the game now, I’d be gone in 30 seconds,” Kleine said.
“The greatest moments of my life was standing in the huddle at Hofheinz Pavilion (University of Houston). They were screaming at us and it’s just the 12 of us in there and you look at each other and say Let’s Go,” Kleine said.
“In Philadelphia when we were pulling inside the tunnel of the Spectrum (arena). You heard thumping. It’s them throwing pennies and quarters and other things at the bus. Then you beat their butt and on the way out you’re waving at it. That’s the greatest thing,” he said.
The hardest thing in sports and in life is to make somebody better. To be a true superstar in sports, make somebody on the team better.
“Larry Bird made me better because they went to guard him; I got to stand at the free-throw line wide open shooting 15-footers because they didn’t want (Bird) to shoot.
“Robert Parish made me better because a guy beat me and (Parish) blocked the guy’s shot.
Playing with guys who could give you a pass and all you had to do was lay it in. It made it so much easier,” Kleine said.
SPORTS STORY >> Strong ground games collide
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Save for one half against El Dorado, for the first four games of the season, the Cabot defense ranged from good to very good. Game five was different, and it will have to get back to the former when the Panthers travel to Conway this Friday for a conference matchup with the archrival Wampus Cats.
Conway has rolled up some impressive offensive numbers this season. The good news for Cabot is that it has mostly been on the ground. It was El Dorado and Fort Smith Southside’s passing game that perplexed the Panthers. Last week, Southside rolled up 41 points and almost 600 yards (593) of offense. That included just under 400 yards passing, but even most of the rushing yards came from quarterback Taye Gatewood scrambling when he couldn’t find open receivers.
“The defense is going to have to step up and play,” said Cabot coach Mike Malham. “I don’t think we can score over 40 against them like we have the last three games.”
Leading the Conway offense has been senior running back Michael George. Except for the season opening, 19-17 loss to Springdale, in which he only got 12 carries, George has rushed for well over 100 yards in the other four games.
Last week he carried 28 times for 187 yards against a tough North Little Rock defense in a 24-14 loss. In Conway’s most impressive outing, George had 21 totes for 132 yards in a 35-16 victory over Bentonville.
He carried 17 times for 156 yards in a 49-18 blowout of Jonesboro, but his standout outing so far came in the wild 54-47 win over Southside.
In that game, George carried 31 times for 354 yards. He has 109 carries on the season for 891 yards in just five games.
“They will throw it,” Malham said. “They’ll do what it takes. But when they’re moving it on the gorund, that’s where they’re going to stay. They’re a lot like us that way. Those handoffs are just about 100 percent.”
Cabot also ran wild on Southside, totaling 520 rushing and total yards in last week’s 43-41 victory. The week before that, the Panthers had 455 yards rushing in a 42-20 win over Catholic.
After punting six times in the season-opening win at Pine Bluff, The Panthers have only punted twice since then.
“The offense, so far, has been a pleasant surprise,” Malham said. “We didn’t really know what to expect with a new quarterback and whole new offensive line. We felt like we had some good backs. We’ve moved the ball pretty well. We’ve been fortunate enough to do that.”
Cabot (4-1, 2-0) hasn’t needed to score 40 points in two of those 40-plus point victories.
The percentage of completed passes against Cabot hasn’t been exceptional, but the yards-per-catch has been. Southside only completed 56 percent (23 of 41) of its pass attempts, but averaged 18 yards per completion.
The Panthers’ run defense has been exceptional. They have only allowed a 100-yards rushing by a running back once this season. That was Catholic’s Samy Johnson, who carried 21 times for 125 yards in Week 4.
Gatewood had 23 carries for 182 yards against Cabot last week, but again, most of those came from scrambling on pass plays.
Conway, however, is the best rushing offensive team Cabot has faced this year.
“They’ve got a good running back,” Malham said. “Even against North Little Rock they ran up almost 200 yards on them. They got down there close a couple times and didn’t score. North Little Rock’s got some athletes. We’re going to have to be ready to play.”
Leader sports editor
Save for one half against El Dorado, for the first four games of the season, the Cabot defense ranged from good to very good. Game five was different, and it will have to get back to the former when the Panthers travel to Conway this Friday for a conference matchup with the archrival Wampus Cats.
Conway has rolled up some impressive offensive numbers this season. The good news for Cabot is that it has mostly been on the ground. It was El Dorado and Fort Smith Southside’s passing game that perplexed the Panthers. Last week, Southside rolled up 41 points and almost 600 yards (593) of offense. That included just under 400 yards passing, but even most of the rushing yards came from quarterback Taye Gatewood scrambling when he couldn’t find open receivers.
“The defense is going to have to step up and play,” said Cabot coach Mike Malham. “I don’t think we can score over 40 against them like we have the last three games.”
Leading the Conway offense has been senior running back Michael George. Except for the season opening, 19-17 loss to Springdale, in which he only got 12 carries, George has rushed for well over 100 yards in the other four games.
Last week he carried 28 times for 187 yards against a tough North Little Rock defense in a 24-14 loss. In Conway’s most impressive outing, George had 21 totes for 132 yards in a 35-16 victory over Bentonville.
He carried 17 times for 156 yards in a 49-18 blowout of Jonesboro, but his standout outing so far came in the wild 54-47 win over Southside.
In that game, George carried 31 times for 354 yards. He has 109 carries on the season for 891 yards in just five games.
“They will throw it,” Malham said. “They’ll do what it takes. But when they’re moving it on the gorund, that’s where they’re going to stay. They’re a lot like us that way. Those handoffs are just about 100 percent.”
Cabot also ran wild on Southside, totaling 520 rushing and total yards in last week’s 43-41 victory. The week before that, the Panthers had 455 yards rushing in a 42-20 win over Catholic.
After punting six times in the season-opening win at Pine Bluff, The Panthers have only punted twice since then.
“The offense, so far, has been a pleasant surprise,” Malham said. “We didn’t really know what to expect with a new quarterback and whole new offensive line. We felt like we had some good backs. We’ve moved the ball pretty well. We’ve been fortunate enough to do that.”
Cabot (4-1, 2-0) hasn’t needed to score 40 points in two of those 40-plus point victories.
The percentage of completed passes against Cabot hasn’t been exceptional, but the yards-per-catch has been. Southside only completed 56 percent (23 of 41) of its pass attempts, but averaged 18 yards per completion.
The Panthers’ run defense has been exceptional. They have only allowed a 100-yards rushing by a running back once this season. That was Catholic’s Samy Johnson, who carried 21 times for 125 yards in Week 4.
Gatewood had 23 carries for 182 yards against Cabot last week, but again, most of those came from scrambling on pass plays.
Conway, however, is the best rushing offensive team Cabot has faced this year.
“They’ve got a good running back,” Malham said. “Even against North Little Rock they ran up almost 200 yards on them. They got down there close a couple times and didn’t score. North Little Rock’s got some athletes. We’re going to have to be ready to play.”
TOP STORY >> Exhibit on black legislators
The Cabot Public Library will host a free traveling exhibit called “Arkansas African American Legislators, 1868-1893,” from Oct. 16 through Nov. 11.
It was produced by the Arkansas State Archives and the Black History Commission of Arkansas.
The library will hold a reception from 5 till 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16 to celebrate the exhibit’s opening.
The exhibit can be viewed during the library’s regular hours 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturdays.
“Arkansas African Ameri-can Legislators, 1868-1893” tells the story of the 85 African Americans who served in the Arkansas General Assembly in the 19th Century.
“After the Civil War, Arkansas adopted a new constitution in 1868, and its provisions included the right to vote and hold public office for black males. African American lawyers, merchants, ministers, educators, farmers, and other professionals served in the Arkansas General Assembly. Photographs of 46 of the 85 legislators are an integral part of the display,” according the library’s press release.
The exhibit will display a complete listing of the legislators and a short history of post-Civil War and election law “reforms” that effectively barred African Americans from being elected to the legislature until the 1970s.
The Black History Com-mission of Arkansas collects black historical materials for the Arkansas State Archives, encourages research in Arkansas black history and to cooperate with the Arkansas Department of Education in the development of African American historical materials for use in public schools.
The Black History Com-mission produces exhibits, hosts seminars, offers free educational material on African American history and administers the Curtis H. Sykes Memorial Grant Program to fund projects related to African American history in Arkansas.
The Arkansas State Archives, founded in 1905, collects and preserves the documentary history of Arkansas. It is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and shares the goal of all eight Department of Arkansas Heritage agencies, that of preserving and enhancing the heritage of the state of Arkansas.
The other agencies are the Arkansas Arts Council, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, the Arkansas State Archives, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, the Historic Arkansas Museum, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and the Old State House Museum.
To learn more about the Arkansas State Archives and the Black History Commission of Arkansas visit archives.arkansas.gov.
The Cabot library is at 909 W. Main St.
For more information about the exhibit, call Leisa Horness at 855-572-6657, ext. 904 or email lhorness@lonokecountylibrary.org.
To schedule the exhibit in your institution call the Arkansas State Archives at 501.682.6900, e-mail state.archives@arkansas.gov or visit www.ark-ives.com.
It was produced by the Arkansas State Archives and the Black History Commission of Arkansas.
The library will hold a reception from 5 till 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16 to celebrate the exhibit’s opening.
The exhibit can be viewed during the library’s regular hours 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturdays.
“Arkansas African Ameri-can Legislators, 1868-1893” tells the story of the 85 African Americans who served in the Arkansas General Assembly in the 19th Century.
“After the Civil War, Arkansas adopted a new constitution in 1868, and its provisions included the right to vote and hold public office for black males. African American lawyers, merchants, ministers, educators, farmers, and other professionals served in the Arkansas General Assembly. Photographs of 46 of the 85 legislators are an integral part of the display,” according the library’s press release.
The exhibit will display a complete listing of the legislators and a short history of post-Civil War and election law “reforms” that effectively barred African Americans from being elected to the legislature until the 1970s.
The Black History Com-mission of Arkansas collects black historical materials for the Arkansas State Archives, encourages research in Arkansas black history and to cooperate with the Arkansas Department of Education in the development of African American historical materials for use in public schools.
The Black History Com-mission produces exhibits, hosts seminars, offers free educational material on African American history and administers the Curtis H. Sykes Memorial Grant Program to fund projects related to African American history in Arkansas.
The Arkansas State Archives, founded in 1905, collects and preserves the documentary history of Arkansas. It is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and shares the goal of all eight Department of Arkansas Heritage agencies, that of preserving and enhancing the heritage of the state of Arkansas.
The other agencies are the Arkansas Arts Council, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, the Arkansas State Archives, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, the Historic Arkansas Museum, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and the Old State House Museum.
To learn more about the Arkansas State Archives and the Black History Commission of Arkansas visit archives.arkansas.gov.
The Cabot library is at 909 W. Main St.
For more information about the exhibit, call Leisa Horness at 855-572-6657, ext. 904 or email lhorness@lonokecountylibrary.org.
To schedule the exhibit in your institution call the Arkansas State Archives at 501.682.6900, e-mail state.archives@arkansas.gov or visit www.ark-ives.com.
TOP STORY >> Statewide community services Saturday
By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
The North Pulaski Baptist Association and the Arkansas Baptist State Convention are teaming up for a day of community service from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in Jacksonville, Sherwood, north Pulaski County, North Little Rock and Maumelle.
Associational missionary Dennis Wilkins with the North Pulaski Baptist Association said more than 2,000 volunteers from 50 churches in the North Pulaski Baptist Association and churches from all over the state will meet at 8 a.m. at the North Little Rock High School football stadium and then spread out to dozens of locations in the area.
Volunteers can sign up at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at North Little Rock High School. Groups will leave at 8 a.m. and return by 4 p.m. with a celebration service.
“The North Pulaski Baptist Association has a community service day in the spring and fall. The State Association has one a year in a different area of the state,” Wilkins said.
“As Christians, we are called to reach out to people in need. The day of service is a lesson to all of us that we can do it individually. But on this scale, we can see how it all works. People are coming from various parts of life – professionals, blue-collar and students – working on a common goal. It is a demonstration of unity, to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the community,” Wilkins said.
The associations will feed on-duty police, fire and paramedics. They will have senior adult ministries. They will be doing yard work and home repairs for north Pulaski County residents.
Block parties with free lunch and games will be held in Jacksonville at Bayou Meto Baptist Church, 26200 Hwy. 107; Stonewall Park, Lakeside Estates, 2613 E. Coffelt Road; Christ Centered Fellowship, 111 N. Oak St. and Runyan First Baptist Church, 10611 Jacksonville Cato Road.
In Sherwood at the vacant lot on 119 Country Club Road; Oakbrooke Elementary School, 2200 Thornhill Drive; Connection Church, 14322 Hwy. 107; Kohl’s parking lot, 7600 Warden Road; Indianhead Lake Baptist Church, 8601 Indianhead Drive and Iglesia Bautista Betel, 2300 E. Lee St.
Free medical and dental services held in Jacksonville at Bayou Meto Baptist Church, 26200 Hwy. 107; Options Pregnancy Center, 1409 Madden Road and Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church, 1017 Ray Road. In Sherwood at Iglesia Bautista Betel, 2300 E. Lee St.
Free food distribution in Jacksonville at Christ Centered Fellowship, 111 N. Oak St. and Runyan First Baptist Church, 10611 Jacksonville Cato Road. In Sherwood at Kohl’s parking lot, 7600 Warden Road.
Free laundromat service at the Super Suds locations, 1000 Stone St. in Jacksonville and 3301 E. Kiehl Ave. in Sherwood.
Free children’s activities in Jacksonville at Options Preg-nancy Center, 1409 Madden Road, Maddox Road Baptist Church, 702 E. Maddox Road. In north Pulaski County at Zion Hill Baptist Church, 11923 Zion Hill Road. In Sherwood at Park Crest Apartments, 100 Manson Road.
Free children’s fishing derbies at Lake Cherrywood in Sherwood and North Pulaski Community Park, 5705 W. Republican Road.
Free car washes at in Jacksonville at Bethel Baptist Church, 112 N. Jeff Davis Ave. In Sherwood at Friendship Baptist Church, 10150 Brockington Road and at Auto Spa, 8521 Hwy. 107; Splash Car Wash, 14323 Hwy. 107 and Suds Carwash, 25401 Hwy. 107.
Leader staff writer
The North Pulaski Baptist Association and the Arkansas Baptist State Convention are teaming up for a day of community service from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in Jacksonville, Sherwood, north Pulaski County, North Little Rock and Maumelle.
Associational missionary Dennis Wilkins with the North Pulaski Baptist Association said more than 2,000 volunteers from 50 churches in the North Pulaski Baptist Association and churches from all over the state will meet at 8 a.m. at the North Little Rock High School football stadium and then spread out to dozens of locations in the area.
Volunteers can sign up at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at North Little Rock High School. Groups will leave at 8 a.m. and return by 4 p.m. with a celebration service.
“The North Pulaski Baptist Association has a community service day in the spring and fall. The State Association has one a year in a different area of the state,” Wilkins said.
“As Christians, we are called to reach out to people in need. The day of service is a lesson to all of us that we can do it individually. But on this scale, we can see how it all works. People are coming from various parts of life – professionals, blue-collar and students – working on a common goal. It is a demonstration of unity, to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the community,” Wilkins said.
The associations will feed on-duty police, fire and paramedics. They will have senior adult ministries. They will be doing yard work and home repairs for north Pulaski County residents.
Block parties with free lunch and games will be held in Jacksonville at Bayou Meto Baptist Church, 26200 Hwy. 107; Stonewall Park, Lakeside Estates, 2613 E. Coffelt Road; Christ Centered Fellowship, 111 N. Oak St. and Runyan First Baptist Church, 10611 Jacksonville Cato Road.
In Sherwood at the vacant lot on 119 Country Club Road; Oakbrooke Elementary School, 2200 Thornhill Drive; Connection Church, 14322 Hwy. 107; Kohl’s parking lot, 7600 Warden Road; Indianhead Lake Baptist Church, 8601 Indianhead Drive and Iglesia Bautista Betel, 2300 E. Lee St.
Free medical and dental services held in Jacksonville at Bayou Meto Baptist Church, 26200 Hwy. 107; Options Pregnancy Center, 1409 Madden Road and Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church, 1017 Ray Road. In Sherwood at Iglesia Bautista Betel, 2300 E. Lee St.
Free food distribution in Jacksonville at Christ Centered Fellowship, 111 N. Oak St. and Runyan First Baptist Church, 10611 Jacksonville Cato Road. In Sherwood at Kohl’s parking lot, 7600 Warden Road.
Free laundromat service at the Super Suds locations, 1000 Stone St. in Jacksonville and 3301 E. Kiehl Ave. in Sherwood.
Free children’s activities in Jacksonville at Options Preg-nancy Center, 1409 Madden Road, Maddox Road Baptist Church, 702 E. Maddox Road. In north Pulaski County at Zion Hill Baptist Church, 11923 Zion Hill Road. In Sherwood at Park Crest Apartments, 100 Manson Road.
Free children’s fishing derbies at Lake Cherrywood in Sherwood and North Pulaski Community Park, 5705 W. Republican Road.
Free car washes at in Jacksonville at Bethel Baptist Church, 112 N. Jeff Davis Ave. In Sherwood at Friendship Baptist Church, 10150 Brockington Road and at Auto Spa, 8521 Hwy. 107; Splash Car Wash, 14323 Hwy. 107 and Suds Carwash, 25401 Hwy. 107.
TOP STORY >> Lemons, Byrd to face off again in Primary
By JONATHAN FELDMAN
Leader editor
State Rep. Tim Lemons (R-Cabot) will have a familiar opponent in his bid for a third term next year.
Darlene Byrd will challenge him again in House Dist. 43 in the Republican primary set for May 2018.
It will be a rematch of their 2014 faceoff in the Republican primary for the seat, when Lemons was first elected. Lemons won by 653 votes. He ran unopposed in 2016.
Byrd, a nurse practitioner, is chairwoman of the Lonoke County 911 Call Center Advisory Committee, which is working to modernize the county’s emergency response system. Last year, she served four months on the quorum court after being appointed by the governor to fill the Dist. 12 seat being vacated by Matt Sanders.
Byrd said health-care policy, improving the state’s emergency response call system and fiscal responsibility would be her top priorities in the legislature.
“Being an advanced practice nurse, I see what patients and providers face every day,” she said.
Byrd has had a 28-year career in nursing, and the last 21 have been as an advance practice nurse. She is on faculty at UAMS College of Nursing.
Dist. 43 includes most of Cabot and parts of northwest Lonoke County.
Lemons said on Tuesday, “The opportunity to serve the citizens of Cabot is an honor I’ll cherish forever, and I’m looking forward to continuing that dedicated service in the next term. I’m thankful for the continued support of the people of Dist. 43, and I ask for their support again in the coming election season.”
He said he helped cut taxes for Arkansas families and is committed to reforming the state tax code. He said he supports business growth and Arkansas’ public school systems.
“Cabot is fortunate to have one of the best schools in the state. It’s important to me that we take lessons learned from our success here and apply it across Arkansas to help every student get a great education,” Lemons said.
He served six years on the Lonoke County Quorum Court before joining the legislature.
He’s also served on many Cabot-area boards, including the Cabot chamber and Cabot Parks and Recreation. He has coached several youth baseball teams and volunteered for Special Olympics, Relay for Life and Project Lead the Way at Cabot High School.
At the Capitol, Lemons is chairman of the City, County and Local Affairs Committee. He is a member of the House Public Transportation Com-mittee and the Legislative Joint Audit.
“Many times, the decisions in the City, County and Local Affairs Committee have a direct and immediate impact of the residents of our state, along with the city and counties to which they are governed. I take this big responsibility to heart and will continue to do what I can to increase jobs while cutting the waste from government and reducing taxes,” Lemons said.
Lemons was encouraged to seek re-election by his wife Janice, who for much of this year has been undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer.
“During our last visit to MD Anderson, we received a great report that Janice is beating this cancer. After leaving the doctor, Janice asked me to please consider running, for her. I have been in church all my life, but I never realized just how strong prayer really is, and I thank those who continue to pray for Janice and our family,” he said.
They live in Cabot, where he owns Lemons Engineering Consultants. They have two children and two grandchildren.
Byrd was born in Little Rock and raised in Pine Bluff. She is not married and does not have children.
She earned her bachelor’s and master’s in nursing from UAMS and has a doctorate of nursing practice from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
She provides clinical services on a fill-in basis and now works in Altheimer (Jefferson County).
“Over the last year, I’ve become aware of some of the problems of interoperability of emergency first responders,” she said Monday of her interest in boosting 911 response.
Byrd mentioned Lonoke County has some dead spots in the Arkansas Wireless Infor-mation Network, which handles public-safety communications.
She said, as a legislator, she’d help the state prepare for “the next generation of emergency 911 call systems.”
“AT&T has received contract for First Net, dedicated for public safety across the country,” Byrd said.
The county’s 911 advisory committee will meet Thursday, she said.
“We need to be fiscally responsible with what we do and how we do it. Make sure to have the infrastructure to rollout the next generation of emergency technology,” she said.
Byrd said she was urged to run again by Cabot Alderman Rick Prentice, Wynonne Dwiggins of the Wade Knox Child Advocacy Center and Janice Treadway of Kiwanis Club. Byrd emphasized those organizations have not endorsed her.
“I appreciate their support and their willingness to serve on my committee and in this campaign,” Byrd said.
Byrd is president of the Lonoke County Coalition for Progress, which holds the annual Lonoke County Leadership program. She is first vice president of the Lonoke County Republican Committee.
Byrd was appointed by then-Gov. Mike Huckabee to the Arkansas State Board of Nursing and served one term as its president. Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt appointed her to the National Advisory Committee for Rural Health and Human Services.
She has worked with state legislators, the state Depart-ment of Health and Arkansas Medicaid on a variety of health-care issues.
Leader editor
State Rep. Tim Lemons (R-Cabot) will have a familiar opponent in his bid for a third term next year.
Darlene Byrd will challenge him again in House Dist. 43 in the Republican primary set for May 2018.
It will be a rematch of their 2014 faceoff in the Republican primary for the seat, when Lemons was first elected. Lemons won by 653 votes. He ran unopposed in 2016.
Byrd, a nurse practitioner, is chairwoman of the Lonoke County 911 Call Center Advisory Committee, which is working to modernize the county’s emergency response system. Last year, she served four months on the quorum court after being appointed by the governor to fill the Dist. 12 seat being vacated by Matt Sanders.
Byrd said health-care policy, improving the state’s emergency response call system and fiscal responsibility would be her top priorities in the legislature.
“Being an advanced practice nurse, I see what patients and providers face every day,” she said.
Byrd has had a 28-year career in nursing, and the last 21 have been as an advance practice nurse. She is on faculty at UAMS College of Nursing.
Dist. 43 includes most of Cabot and parts of northwest Lonoke County.
Lemons said on Tuesday, “The opportunity to serve the citizens of Cabot is an honor I’ll cherish forever, and I’m looking forward to continuing that dedicated service in the next term. I’m thankful for the continued support of the people of Dist. 43, and I ask for their support again in the coming election season.”
He said he helped cut taxes for Arkansas families and is committed to reforming the state tax code. He said he supports business growth and Arkansas’ public school systems.
“Cabot is fortunate to have one of the best schools in the state. It’s important to me that we take lessons learned from our success here and apply it across Arkansas to help every student get a great education,” Lemons said.
He served six years on the Lonoke County Quorum Court before joining the legislature.
He’s also served on many Cabot-area boards, including the Cabot chamber and Cabot Parks and Recreation. He has coached several youth baseball teams and volunteered for Special Olympics, Relay for Life and Project Lead the Way at Cabot High School.
At the Capitol, Lemons is chairman of the City, County and Local Affairs Committee. He is a member of the House Public Transportation Com-mittee and the Legislative Joint Audit.
“Many times, the decisions in the City, County and Local Affairs Committee have a direct and immediate impact of the residents of our state, along with the city and counties to which they are governed. I take this big responsibility to heart and will continue to do what I can to increase jobs while cutting the waste from government and reducing taxes,” Lemons said.
Lemons was encouraged to seek re-election by his wife Janice, who for much of this year has been undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer.
“During our last visit to MD Anderson, we received a great report that Janice is beating this cancer. After leaving the doctor, Janice asked me to please consider running, for her. I have been in church all my life, but I never realized just how strong prayer really is, and I thank those who continue to pray for Janice and our family,” he said.
They live in Cabot, where he owns Lemons Engineering Consultants. They have two children and two grandchildren.
Byrd was born in Little Rock and raised in Pine Bluff. She is not married and does not have children.
She earned her bachelor’s and master’s in nursing from UAMS and has a doctorate of nursing practice from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
She provides clinical services on a fill-in basis and now works in Altheimer (Jefferson County).
“Over the last year, I’ve become aware of some of the problems of interoperability of emergency first responders,” she said Monday of her interest in boosting 911 response.
Byrd mentioned Lonoke County has some dead spots in the Arkansas Wireless Infor-mation Network, which handles public-safety communications.
She said, as a legislator, she’d help the state prepare for “the next generation of emergency 911 call systems.”
“AT&T has received contract for First Net, dedicated for public safety across the country,” Byrd said.
The county’s 911 advisory committee will meet Thursday, she said.
“We need to be fiscally responsible with what we do and how we do it. Make sure to have the infrastructure to rollout the next generation of emergency technology,” she said.
Byrd said she was urged to run again by Cabot Alderman Rick Prentice, Wynonne Dwiggins of the Wade Knox Child Advocacy Center and Janice Treadway of Kiwanis Club. Byrd emphasized those organizations have not endorsed her.
“I appreciate their support and their willingness to serve on my committee and in this campaign,” Byrd said.
Byrd is president of the Lonoke County Coalition for Progress, which holds the annual Lonoke County Leadership program. She is first vice president of the Lonoke County Republican Committee.
Byrd was appointed by then-Gov. Mike Huckabee to the Arkansas State Board of Nursing and served one term as its president. Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt appointed her to the National Advisory Committee for Rural Health and Human Services.
She has worked with state legislators, the state Depart-ment of Health and Arkansas Medicaid on a variety of health-care issues.
Monday, October 02, 2017
TOP STORY >> Hall of Fame inductees
By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
The Cabot Panther Foundation inducted a businessman, a police officer, a school board member, a superintendent and a teacher into the Cabot Schools Hall of Fame during the ninth annual banquet on Tuesday.
Retired NBA player Joe Kleine was the guest speaker and 2012 inductee Channel 11 weatherman Tom Brannon was emcee.
RONNIE ABSHURE
Ronnie Abshure is a 1964 Cabot High School graduate and lifelong resident of Lonoke County who was born in the Bethlehem community. He was on the junior and senior high football teams.
He was drafted into the service and did two tours in the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1969. Abshure returned to Cabot after the military and married Rita Mulkey.
Abshure was a pipe fitter and later founded Arkansas Automatic Sprinklers in 1984 in Cabot. Abshure and business partner Bob Walton sold the company in 2009 and retired.
Gene Crouch nominated Abshure to the Hall of Fame. Crouch said Abshure was a strong supporter of Cabot schools.
He helped nonprofit groups with food and financial assistance for Lonoke County’s less fortunate citizens.
“He is content being a quiet, humble, unheralded man doing good things for others without recognition expected,” Crouch said.
“I’m honored to be inducted to the Hall of Fame. I thank the Panther Foundation, Gene Crouch for the nomination and my family and friends,” Abshure said.
JOSEPH "TWEDELL" GUNTER
Joseph Gunter (1904-1972) was a state representative in 1945 and served on the Cabot School Board for 15 years. He helped commission the building of the Cabot High School gymnasium in 1962 after a fire destroyed the old gym.
Gunter petitioned the state Highway Commission in the 1960s to have Hwy. 5 come into Cabot from El Paso.
Gunter was born in a log cabin on Hwy. 319. He attended a one-room school in the Sixteenth Section community until the fifth grade. He was self-educated and left home at age 15.
He returned to the area in the 1920s to teach, although without a diploma, at his old school he attended.
He married Berthal Fiddler, a school teacher at the Baugh’s Chapel community, five miles east of Sixteenth Section, and started a family.
Gunter had a passion for politics. He was Lonoke County treasurer in the 1930s.
“He was known in the Sixteen Section community for his math skills. Many of the neighbors would come to him to figure the pitch of a roof. He had a love of politics we didn’t quite share with him,” Joseph Gunter Jr. said.
Gunter drilled for oil in the area and hit natural gas in the early 1940s. It was during the war and he could not get parts, water seeped in and sealed the natural gas his son said.
In the 1940s, he purchased land on West Lewisburg Road and dug a large lake and two small lakes to irrigate a truck patch garden and for recreation. The property was sold in 1957 and renamed Indian Lakes.
Gunter opened a small grocery store in the Sixteenth Section community. In the early 1950s, he managed a farmer’s cooperative in Ward, formed to sell strawberries shipped out by rail.
Gunter lived to age 68. He died from lung cancer due to smoking.
“My family is honored with this award,” Gunter Jr. said.
LARRY ROGERS
Larry Rogers was superintendent of the Cabot School District for 10 years from 1991 to 2001.
Rogers grew up in Oden (Montgomery County) and graduated from Oden High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in political science from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, where he met Sharon, his wife of 52 years.
Rogers earned a doctorate in educational administration at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1972.
He was director of special education and gifted programs for the state Department of Education before coming to Cabot in 1980 as an assistant superintendent.
Rogers became superintendent in 1991. During his time, Cabot’s enrollment doubled from 3,500 to 7,500 students.
He established an in-house construction management system. It saved the district 20 percent in construction costs and the school district only went to public once for a millage increase.
As superintendent, Rogers saw the construction of Ward Central Elementary, Middle School North, Middle School South, the original Junior High North, Magness Creek Elementary and the Central Administration Building.
One of Rogers’ fondest memories was when then- Gov. Jim Guy Tucker came to Cabot to promote a plan to consolidate school districts and remove local control.
The crowd of 2,000 filled the Fine Arts Auditorium that held 1,200 to show opposition to Tucker’s plan. Opposition was shared by school board members.
Two weeks later Tucker revealed a new plan that supported local control.
Rogers’ top priorities were a strong curriculum, healthy learning environment and support of staff members. Rogers said he talked Jack Carrington out of retirement returning to the high school as principal because of his experience and community trust.
He talked Gene Crouch into retiring from the FBI and returning to teaching and coaching.
Rogers was recognized in 1997 by the Cabot Chamber of Commerce as Man of the Year.
“I want to thank the Cabot Panther Foundation for this honor. I will treasurer it for the rest of my life. Any success came from support from work and at home,” Rogers said.
BRENDA COVINGTON SHURLEY
Brenda Shurley is a 1967 Cabot High School graduate. She was homecoming queen. She earned her master’s degree in education at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. Shurley had a 20-year teaching career with 10 years at the Cabot School District.
She returned to Cabot in 1972 as a teacher. After leaving due to her husband’s job relocations, she came back to Cabot in 1985.
Shurley found in her first year of teaching, students were having trouble with grammar. She began developing her own curriculum, “Shurley English.”
In 1989, Shurley Instructional Materials was published.
Ruth Wetsell worked with Shurley for 25 years after her son had Shurley as a fourth grade teacher in 1986. Many former students can remember the jingles.
“She wrote her own curriculum at night, on weekends and during vacation,” Wetsell said.
Shurley’s curriculum expanded to 360 instructional materials for kindergarten to eighth grades.
There are eight editions of Shurley English taught in public, private and home schools in the U.S. and 10 countries. All titles are shipped directly from Shurley Instructional Materials, a family-owned and operated company in Cabot with 21 employees.
The Shurley family is a supporter of ASU-Beebe by funding the Shurley Learning Center and the Shurley Greenhouse. A scholarship bearing her name is provided each year since 2004 to a student pursuing a career in education.
“I can’t think of anyone more deserving to receive this award that represents Cabot more than her,” friend Gale Baker said.
“She is one of the most humble, generous and committed individuals I know,” Baker said.
Shurley thanked the Cabot Panther Foundation to be selected to the Hall of Fame.
“It is great honor, and I’m appreciative. Teaching has been a passion I’ve had forever. As a teacher I was looking for better ways to help my students and that’s the reason I created Shurley curriculum,” Shurley said.
“I have, over the years, received support from family, friends and the Shurley team. I could not have done it without you,” she said.
Shurley thanked Cabot for teaching her and giving her the foundation she needed to follow her dream.
MIKE VERKLER
Mike Verkler is a 1976 graduate of Cabot High School. He holds a bachelor’s in criminal justice from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and an associate’s in agriculture from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.
Verkler retired in 2010 after a 31-year career in law enforcement, 28 of those with the Little Rock Police Department.
He and his wife, Dawn own and operate Woodlawn Ranch and Arena in the Woodlawn community.
He is a past member of the Lonoke County Quorum Court. He received the Lonoke County Citizen of the Year Award in 2016.
Verkler is a member of the Cabot Scholarship Foundation and president of the Cabot Panther Foundation and is on the Cabot FFA Advisory Board.
“Mike Verkler is giving. He finds a way to get the job done or finds someone who will help him. Mike knows everyone and has more friends than anyone I know. He helped many people by loaning them money, to mending fences or loaning equipment and tools,” Panther Foundation board member Joey York said.
“If he gives you his word and handshake that is all you need. He will give you 110-percent of hard work and dedication – proven time and again,” York said.
“This is a great honor. Thanks for supporting the Panther Foundation. I serve a great board,” Verkler said.
He said the 33 prior inductees had a great impact on his life and there is a whole room of people attending that are deserving and will be inducted in the future.
The Cabot Panther Foundation Hall of Fame was started in 2008 to celebrate the successes of public education by honoring talented graduates of Cabot Public Schools and local leaders who provided distinguished service to public schools.
The group awards up to 10 $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors annually.
Leader staff writer
The Cabot Panther Foundation inducted a businessman, a police officer, a school board member, a superintendent and a teacher into the Cabot Schools Hall of Fame during the ninth annual banquet on Tuesday.
Retired NBA player Joe Kleine was the guest speaker and 2012 inductee Channel 11 weatherman Tom Brannon was emcee.
RONNIE ABSHURE
Ronnie Abshure is a 1964 Cabot High School graduate and lifelong resident of Lonoke County who was born in the Bethlehem community. He was on the junior and senior high football teams.
He was drafted into the service and did two tours in the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1969. Abshure returned to Cabot after the military and married Rita Mulkey.
Abshure was a pipe fitter and later founded Arkansas Automatic Sprinklers in 1984 in Cabot. Abshure and business partner Bob Walton sold the company in 2009 and retired.
Gene Crouch nominated Abshure to the Hall of Fame. Crouch said Abshure was a strong supporter of Cabot schools.
He helped nonprofit groups with food and financial assistance for Lonoke County’s less fortunate citizens.
“He is content being a quiet, humble, unheralded man doing good things for others without recognition expected,” Crouch said.
“I’m honored to be inducted to the Hall of Fame. I thank the Panther Foundation, Gene Crouch for the nomination and my family and friends,” Abshure said.
JOSEPH "TWEDELL" GUNTER
Joseph Gunter (1904-1972) was a state representative in 1945 and served on the Cabot School Board for 15 years. He helped commission the building of the Cabot High School gymnasium in 1962 after a fire destroyed the old gym.
Gunter petitioned the state Highway Commission in the 1960s to have Hwy. 5 come into Cabot from El Paso.
Gunter was born in a log cabin on Hwy. 319. He attended a one-room school in the Sixteenth Section community until the fifth grade. He was self-educated and left home at age 15.
He returned to the area in the 1920s to teach, although without a diploma, at his old school he attended.
He married Berthal Fiddler, a school teacher at the Baugh’s Chapel community, five miles east of Sixteenth Section, and started a family.
Gunter had a passion for politics. He was Lonoke County treasurer in the 1930s.
“He was known in the Sixteen Section community for his math skills. Many of the neighbors would come to him to figure the pitch of a roof. He had a love of politics we didn’t quite share with him,” Joseph Gunter Jr. said.
Gunter drilled for oil in the area and hit natural gas in the early 1940s. It was during the war and he could not get parts, water seeped in and sealed the natural gas his son said.
In the 1940s, he purchased land on West Lewisburg Road and dug a large lake and two small lakes to irrigate a truck patch garden and for recreation. The property was sold in 1957 and renamed Indian Lakes.
Gunter opened a small grocery store in the Sixteenth Section community. In the early 1950s, he managed a farmer’s cooperative in Ward, formed to sell strawberries shipped out by rail.
Gunter lived to age 68. He died from lung cancer due to smoking.
“My family is honored with this award,” Gunter Jr. said.
LARRY ROGERS
Larry Rogers was superintendent of the Cabot School District for 10 years from 1991 to 2001.
Rogers grew up in Oden (Montgomery County) and graduated from Oden High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in political science from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, where he met Sharon, his wife of 52 years.
Rogers earned a doctorate in educational administration at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1972.
He was director of special education and gifted programs for the state Department of Education before coming to Cabot in 1980 as an assistant superintendent.
Rogers became superintendent in 1991. During his time, Cabot’s enrollment doubled from 3,500 to 7,500 students.
He established an in-house construction management system. It saved the district 20 percent in construction costs and the school district only went to public once for a millage increase.
As superintendent, Rogers saw the construction of Ward Central Elementary, Middle School North, Middle School South, the original Junior High North, Magness Creek Elementary and the Central Administration Building.
One of Rogers’ fondest memories was when then- Gov. Jim Guy Tucker came to Cabot to promote a plan to consolidate school districts and remove local control.
The crowd of 2,000 filled the Fine Arts Auditorium that held 1,200 to show opposition to Tucker’s plan. Opposition was shared by school board members.
Two weeks later Tucker revealed a new plan that supported local control.
Rogers’ top priorities were a strong curriculum, healthy learning environment and support of staff members. Rogers said he talked Jack Carrington out of retirement returning to the high school as principal because of his experience and community trust.
He talked Gene Crouch into retiring from the FBI and returning to teaching and coaching.
Rogers was recognized in 1997 by the Cabot Chamber of Commerce as Man of the Year.
“I want to thank the Cabot Panther Foundation for this honor. I will treasurer it for the rest of my life. Any success came from support from work and at home,” Rogers said.
BRENDA COVINGTON SHURLEY
Brenda Shurley is a 1967 Cabot High School graduate. She was homecoming queen. She earned her master’s degree in education at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. Shurley had a 20-year teaching career with 10 years at the Cabot School District.
She returned to Cabot in 1972 as a teacher. After leaving due to her husband’s job relocations, she came back to Cabot in 1985.
Shurley found in her first year of teaching, students were having trouble with grammar. She began developing her own curriculum, “Shurley English.”
In 1989, Shurley Instructional Materials was published.
Ruth Wetsell worked with Shurley for 25 years after her son had Shurley as a fourth grade teacher in 1986. Many former students can remember the jingles.
“She wrote her own curriculum at night, on weekends and during vacation,” Wetsell said.
Shurley’s curriculum expanded to 360 instructional materials for kindergarten to eighth grades.
There are eight editions of Shurley English taught in public, private and home schools in the U.S. and 10 countries. All titles are shipped directly from Shurley Instructional Materials, a family-owned and operated company in Cabot with 21 employees.
The Shurley family is a supporter of ASU-Beebe by funding the Shurley Learning Center and the Shurley Greenhouse. A scholarship bearing her name is provided each year since 2004 to a student pursuing a career in education.
“I can’t think of anyone more deserving to receive this award that represents Cabot more than her,” friend Gale Baker said.
“She is one of the most humble, generous and committed individuals I know,” Baker said.
Shurley thanked the Cabot Panther Foundation to be selected to the Hall of Fame.
“It is great honor, and I’m appreciative. Teaching has been a passion I’ve had forever. As a teacher I was looking for better ways to help my students and that’s the reason I created Shurley curriculum,” Shurley said.
“I have, over the years, received support from family, friends and the Shurley team. I could not have done it without you,” she said.
Shurley thanked Cabot for teaching her and giving her the foundation she needed to follow her dream.
MIKE VERKLER
Mike Verkler is a 1976 graduate of Cabot High School. He holds a bachelor’s in criminal justice from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and an associate’s in agriculture from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.
Verkler retired in 2010 after a 31-year career in law enforcement, 28 of those with the Little Rock Police Department.
He and his wife, Dawn own and operate Woodlawn Ranch and Arena in the Woodlawn community.
He is a past member of the Lonoke County Quorum Court. He received the Lonoke County Citizen of the Year Award in 2016.
Verkler is a member of the Cabot Scholarship Foundation and president of the Cabot Panther Foundation and is on the Cabot FFA Advisory Board.
“Mike Verkler is giving. He finds a way to get the job done or finds someone who will help him. Mike knows everyone and has more friends than anyone I know. He helped many people by loaning them money, to mending fences or loaning equipment and tools,” Panther Foundation board member Joey York said.
“If he gives you his word and handshake that is all you need. He will give you 110-percent of hard work and dedication – proven time and again,” York said.
“This is a great honor. Thanks for supporting the Panther Foundation. I serve a great board,” Verkler said.
He said the 33 prior inductees had a great impact on his life and there is a whole room of people attending that are deserving and will be inducted in the future.
The Cabot Panther Foundation Hall of Fame was started in 2008 to celebrate the successes of public education by honoring talented graduates of Cabot Public Schools and local leaders who provided distinguished service to public schools.
The group awards up to 10 $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors annually.
EDITORIAL >> Durham’s departure
Jacksonville City Administrator Jim Durham stepped down Friday after nearly 40 years of service to the community. He’s been Mayor Gary Fletcher’s right-hand man since 2009.
A retirement reception for Durham will be held at 3 p.m. Monday at city hall.
Durham’s job has come to characterize much of Fletcher’s tenure as mayor. In their time as the city’s top officials, Fletcher and Durham have pursued major economic development plans in hopes of revitalizing Jacksonville.
Jacksonville must stay focused on long-term progress. The recently announced downtown revitalization program headed by Dr. Robert Price is another hopeful sign that the city is serious about preserving its past and building a better future. We’ve come a long way.
The best days are yet to come, and they can’t arrive soon enough. The community is eager to stabilize the city’s finances and attract new businesses. Those things take time.
The new Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District is building four new schools – a high school, a middle school and two elementary schools – when not one has been built or even had a major remodeling in more than 40 years.
Yet current city government cannot claim much credit for those accomplishments. Durham and Fletcher firmly supported the new district, and helped pass, however narrowly, a key property tax increase to help pay for the new school construction, but much more is needed to move Jacksonville forward.
The most ambitious plans of Fletcher and Durham seemed to have turned into the most contentious issues for Jacksonville — the Arkansas Game and Fish Shooting Complex and the Oklahoma-based economic developer Ricky Hayes come to mind.
But it’s clear that Jacksonville is improving. The Hwy. 67/167 widening project will make the city more appealing to developers.
An election on Nov. 14 to allow liquor sales in restaurants in Gray Township, which includes most of Jacksonville, will help, too. Alcohol restrictions have hurt the city. A solution to that problem appeared during the tough infighting during the debate over economic-development strategies. Sherwood, which includes parts of Gray Township, will also vote on the issue on the same date.
Families will see Jacksonville as a fun and practical place to live once the new schools open.
When was the last time Jacksonville residents could see such a brighter future?
Nevertheless, we predict a tough mayoral campaign in 2018.
State Rep. Bob Johnson (D-Jacksonville) has already announced he will challenge Fletcher. Johnson, an accountant, will make the city’s precarious financial condition a flagship issue.
The mayor can still turn things around if revenue collections increase. He will also have to quickly resolve the long lingering issue of Geoffrey Herweg, who was ordered by a judge to step down as police chief until the state Supreme Court decides if he’s eligible for the job after being convicted of filing a false police report in Texas, where Herweg lost his policing credentials and even spent a day in jail over the incident. He went on to have a career protecting U.S. military and diplomatic installations in Iraq and Afghanistan and then as an assistant police chief in New Mexico.
The state Supreme Court, although it made no final decision, recently signaled it’s not pleased with Herweg’s hiring. There’s a strong chance the city will have to find someone else.
In the off chance the justices rule in the mayor’s favor and allow Herweg to be the city’s top cop, he could be a major campaign issue in November 2018.
A retirement reception for Durham will be held at 3 p.m. Monday at city hall.
Durham’s job has come to characterize much of Fletcher’s tenure as mayor. In their time as the city’s top officials, Fletcher and Durham have pursued major economic development plans in hopes of revitalizing Jacksonville.
Jacksonville must stay focused on long-term progress. The recently announced downtown revitalization program headed by Dr. Robert Price is another hopeful sign that the city is serious about preserving its past and building a better future. We’ve come a long way.
The best days are yet to come, and they can’t arrive soon enough. The community is eager to stabilize the city’s finances and attract new businesses. Those things take time.
The new Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District is building four new schools – a high school, a middle school and two elementary schools – when not one has been built or even had a major remodeling in more than 40 years.
Yet current city government cannot claim much credit for those accomplishments. Durham and Fletcher firmly supported the new district, and helped pass, however narrowly, a key property tax increase to help pay for the new school construction, but much more is needed to move Jacksonville forward.
The most ambitious plans of Fletcher and Durham seemed to have turned into the most contentious issues for Jacksonville — the Arkansas Game and Fish Shooting Complex and the Oklahoma-based economic developer Ricky Hayes come to mind.
But it’s clear that Jacksonville is improving. The Hwy. 67/167 widening project will make the city more appealing to developers.
An election on Nov. 14 to allow liquor sales in restaurants in Gray Township, which includes most of Jacksonville, will help, too. Alcohol restrictions have hurt the city. A solution to that problem appeared during the tough infighting during the debate over economic-development strategies. Sherwood, which includes parts of Gray Township, will also vote on the issue on the same date.
Families will see Jacksonville as a fun and practical place to live once the new schools open.
When was the last time Jacksonville residents could see such a brighter future?
Nevertheless, we predict a tough mayoral campaign in 2018.
State Rep. Bob Johnson (D-Jacksonville) has already announced he will challenge Fletcher. Johnson, an accountant, will make the city’s precarious financial condition a flagship issue.
The mayor can still turn things around if revenue collections increase. He will also have to quickly resolve the long lingering issue of Geoffrey Herweg, who was ordered by a judge to step down as police chief until the state Supreme Court decides if he’s eligible for the job after being convicted of filing a false police report in Texas, where Herweg lost his policing credentials and even spent a day in jail over the incident. He went on to have a career protecting U.S. military and diplomatic installations in Iraq and Afghanistan and then as an assistant police chief in New Mexico.
The state Supreme Court, although it made no final decision, recently signaled it’s not pleased with Herweg’s hiring. There’s a strong chance the city will have to find someone else.
In the off chance the justices rule in the mayor’s favor and allow Herweg to be the city’s top cop, he could be a major campaign issue in November 2018.
SPORTS STORY >> Rabbits get offense rolling against Prep
By ANN THARP
Special to The Leader
The Lonoke Jackrabbits evened their conference record at 1-1 with a 2-4A home victory at James B. Abraham Stadium over the Baptist Prep Eagles Friday night by a final of 49-14. The Jackrabbits are 2-3 overall, and Baptist Prep remains winless. Lonoke scored first and the most in the first half, leading 21-7 at intermission. The Jackrabbits then scored on each possession of the second half, including a kick off return for a touchdown, while holding the Eagles to one score.
“It was a good win. We needed that,” Lonoke coach Taggart Moore commented. “I thought the first half, we came out, we did some things, we saw some different stuff out of them, so we made good adjustments. All the coaches got in there and used what they saw in the first half and drew it up on the board, and the kids took the coaching. We came out and played great in the second half. It was a great win, and we’re ready for Southside next week.”
After Lonoke forced a three and out on the first possession of the game by Baptist Prep, Lonoke wasted no time putting a touchdown on the scoreboard. Michael Hodges picked up 29 yards. Quarterback Daniel Seigrist then connected with Braidon Bryant for a 53-yard touchdown reception. Nick Tate added the point after for the 7-0 early lead, with 8:45 left in the opening quarter.
The Eagles had a drive going, reaching the Lonoke 23 before a fumble and a sack resulted in an over on downs to the Jackrabbits on their own 35-yard line. Again, the home team scored quickly, going the 65 yards in only two plays.
The first was a 41-yard run by Lexington Mays, followed by a 24-yard scamper by Xavier Hodge. Tate added the extra point, and the lead was 14-0 with 1:06 remaining in the first period.
The Eagles got on the board with 8:09 remaining in quarter number two. Quarterback Jax Coleman had a 29-yard completion to Hunter Teaster, and Nicholas Jones carried three times for 20 yards, the last two for the touchdown. Allie Mead added the point after to cut the advantage to 14-7.
Lonoke covered the ensuing onside kick at midfield. Davonta Adams started the drive with a 23-yard run, and finished it with a 6-yard touchdown carry. Tate was good again for the extra, and the lead was 21-7 with 5:40 remaining in the half.
An interception by De’Angelo Noid gave the ball back to the Jackrabbits, but neither team scored again until the third quarter when Lonoke scored again in two plays from its own 48 with less than a minute off the clock. It was Adams again on the score, this time with a 49-yard touchdown run. Tate’s point after made the lead 28-7.
The Eagles turned the ball over by way of a fumble recovered by Hodges. Hodge ran for 37 yards and a touchdown, again on the second play from scrimmage, and the score grew to 35-7.
Seigrist got in on the scoring on the next Lonoke drive as he first picked up seven yards to move the chains on fourth and two, then scored on a keeper from seven yards out. This made the score 42-7 with 3:10 to go in the third, and the sportsmanship rule came into play.
The Eagles put together a 15-play, 69-yard scoring drive, with Jonathan Gilliam scoring from one yard, and the score was 42-14 after Mead’s point after.
The final score of the game came on the following play as Adams returned the kick off roughly 80 yards for a touchdown. Tate was a perfect 7 for 7 for the night on extra points, and the final score was set at 49-14.
Lonoke had 330 yards of offense, while holding the Eagles to 202. Adams led Lonoke in rushing with 8 carries for 96 yards, two touchdowns and the kick off return for touchdown. Hodge rushed six times for 78 yards and two touchdowns, while Mays carried 8 times for 64 yards.
The Jackrabbits travel to Southside Batesville next Friday night.
Special to The Leader
The Lonoke Jackrabbits evened their conference record at 1-1 with a 2-4A home victory at James B. Abraham Stadium over the Baptist Prep Eagles Friday night by a final of 49-14. The Jackrabbits are 2-3 overall, and Baptist Prep remains winless. Lonoke scored first and the most in the first half, leading 21-7 at intermission. The Jackrabbits then scored on each possession of the second half, including a kick off return for a touchdown, while holding the Eagles to one score.
“It was a good win. We needed that,” Lonoke coach Taggart Moore commented. “I thought the first half, we came out, we did some things, we saw some different stuff out of them, so we made good adjustments. All the coaches got in there and used what they saw in the first half and drew it up on the board, and the kids took the coaching. We came out and played great in the second half. It was a great win, and we’re ready for Southside next week.”
After Lonoke forced a three and out on the first possession of the game by Baptist Prep, Lonoke wasted no time putting a touchdown on the scoreboard. Michael Hodges picked up 29 yards. Quarterback Daniel Seigrist then connected with Braidon Bryant for a 53-yard touchdown reception. Nick Tate added the point after for the 7-0 early lead, with 8:45 left in the opening quarter.
The Eagles had a drive going, reaching the Lonoke 23 before a fumble and a sack resulted in an over on downs to the Jackrabbits on their own 35-yard line. Again, the home team scored quickly, going the 65 yards in only two plays.
The first was a 41-yard run by Lexington Mays, followed by a 24-yard scamper by Xavier Hodge. Tate added the extra point, and the lead was 14-0 with 1:06 remaining in the first period.
The Eagles got on the board with 8:09 remaining in quarter number two. Quarterback Jax Coleman had a 29-yard completion to Hunter Teaster, and Nicholas Jones carried three times for 20 yards, the last two for the touchdown. Allie Mead added the point after to cut the advantage to 14-7.
Lonoke covered the ensuing onside kick at midfield. Davonta Adams started the drive with a 23-yard run, and finished it with a 6-yard touchdown carry. Tate was good again for the extra, and the lead was 21-7 with 5:40 remaining in the half.
An interception by De’Angelo Noid gave the ball back to the Jackrabbits, but neither team scored again until the third quarter when Lonoke scored again in two plays from its own 48 with less than a minute off the clock. It was Adams again on the score, this time with a 49-yard touchdown run. Tate’s point after made the lead 28-7.
The Eagles turned the ball over by way of a fumble recovered by Hodges. Hodge ran for 37 yards and a touchdown, again on the second play from scrimmage, and the score grew to 35-7.
Seigrist got in on the scoring on the next Lonoke drive as he first picked up seven yards to move the chains on fourth and two, then scored on a keeper from seven yards out. This made the score 42-7 with 3:10 to go in the third, and the sportsmanship rule came into play.
The Eagles put together a 15-play, 69-yard scoring drive, with Jonathan Gilliam scoring from one yard, and the score was 42-14 after Mead’s point after.
The final score of the game came on the following play as Adams returned the kick off roughly 80 yards for a touchdown. Tate was a perfect 7 for 7 for the night on extra points, and the final score was set at 49-14.
Lonoke had 330 yards of offense, while holding the Eagles to 202. Adams led Lonoke in rushing with 8 carries for 96 yards, two touchdowns and the kick off return for touchdown. Hodge rushed six times for 78 yards and two touchdowns, while Mays carried 8 times for 64 yards.
The Jackrabbits travel to Southside Batesville next Friday night.
SPORTS STORY >> Cabot conversion seals win
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
It was homecoming night for Cabot, but both teams found a home in the end zone of Panther Stadium. Three special teams gambles failed, but the fourth one paid off for the Panthers, who got a two-point conversion with 2:14 remaining for a nine-point lead, and held on for a 43-41 victory over Fort Smith Southside on Friday.
The Mavericks scored with 4:52 left in the game, but got two penalties, one for illegal procedure and another for illegal participation, that made it a long extra point try that they missed, leaving Cabot with a 35-34 lead.
The Panthers rolled four plays down to the 14-yard line, and Southside called its second timeout with 2:58 to play. The Mavericks (1-4, 0-2) decided during that team huddle to allow Cabot to score, and Panther coach Mike Malham knew it.
He instructed his backs not to score, and they followed instructions for one play. Halfback T.J. Rogers fell down after a 4-yard gain, but on the next play, went 10 yards for the touchdown.
Malham decided to try to put the game away, and fullback Bradley Morales got the 3 yards needed for the conversion and the nine-point lead.
“I knew we had to go for it,” Malham said. “If we hadn’t, we’d be in overtime right now. They can score. They put 35 up on Har-Ber, and Har-Ber has three shutouts in their other three games.
“Our offense played pretty good, too. It was an offensive game. I knew what they were doing letting us score, and I had just told the kid to get three yards and go down. But that’s kids. We got another good conference win. We’re 2-0 in conference, and we’ll try to regroup and get another one next week. There are no easy ones in this conference.”
It looked early like Cabot might win in a blowout. Cabot got the ball first and scored quickly. On the fourth snap, fullback Bradley Morales broke three tackles and cut back from the sideline to the middle of the field for a 65-yard touchdown run just 1:32 into the game.
The defense stopped Southside’s first possession, and on the first play of the ensuing drive, halfback T.J. Rogers got his own 65-yard touchdown run. Ben McCullough’s extra point made it 14-0 with 6:58 left in the first quarter.
Cabot stopped the Mavericks next drive as well, but could only manage one first down before facing fourth and 2 on its own 30.
The Panthers (4-1, 2-0) faked the punt and snapped to Morales, but he was dropped for a 1-yard loss. Four plays later, Southside was in the end zone on an 11-yard pass from Gatewood to Jordan Jackson with 10:56 left in the second quarter.
The Panthers didn’t take long to answer. Halfback Noah Sorrell got 23 yards on the first play of the ensuing drive. Four plays and 22 yards later, John Wiens took the tight end counter handoff 22 more yards to the Southside 2-yard line. Morales got the rest for a 21-7 lead with 8:45 to go until halftime.
Southside initially went backwards on the next possession, but converted third and 18 from its own 12 with a 21-yard catch by Jackson.
Another penalty backed Southside up again, but Gatewood answered with a 15-yard completion to Tyrese Solomon, and an offsides penalty gave the Mavericks the first down. Two Jackson catches later, one of 13 and the other of 42, put the Mavs in the end zone again, making it 21-14 with 5:53 to go.
The Mavericks then surprised Cabot with an on-side kick that No. 80 covered easily at the Cabot 47. Gatewood went to his favorite target again on the very next play, and connected with Jackson for 44 yards.
The converted RB carried it in himself on the next play and the extra point tied the game with 5:17 until intermission.
The Panthers put together a nice drive after that, going 85 yards in nine plays without facing a third down. A 24-yard run by Morales set up first and goal, and Rogers got the last 2 yards for a 28-21 lead with 1:42 on the clock.
Gatewood continued to shred Cabot’s defense on the first drive of the second half. A holding penalty negated a 14-yard gain, and led to fourth and 15, but Southside converted.
Gatewood hit Solomon for a 23-yard gain to the Cabot 32. The safety had dropped back deep for a quick kick, leaving a huge hole in the middle of the field for the easy conversion.
Gatewood then hit Mason Love for 28 yards to the 4, and then went to Love again for the score to tie the game with 10:01 left in the third quarter.
Southside then had a chance to take the lead after stopping Cabot on downs. The Mavericks drove from their own 9-yard line to Cabot 34. John Wiens and Jansen Hubanks finally got some pressure on Gatewood, and he threw as he was being hit.
The pass was under thrown, and Zhane Harper picked it off at the 25-yard line. He returned it 31 yards, but an illegal block was called on Hubanks, and Cabot started at their own 38.
This time the Panthers barreled down the field, overcoming an 11-yard holding penalty when Rogers took the counter handoff 32 yards on second and 17 to the Southside 11. He went 9 yards on the same play and Oaks sneaked it in from there.
McCullough’s PAT made it 35-28 with 42 seconds to go in the third.
Cabot had a chance to put it away after stopping Southside’s next possession, but more penalties and a fumble made it third and 16, and Oaks threw an interception under pressure. That set up Southside’s fourth-quarter touchdown and missed extra point.
Both teams went over 500 yards of offense. Southside had 593 total yards to 520 for Cabot. Gatewood did it all for the Mavs. He completed 23 of 41 pass attempts for 359 yards and three touchdowns. He also carried the ball 23 times for 182 yards and three more scores.
All of Cabot’s offense came on the ground. Rogers carried 17 times for 194 yards and three touchdowns. Morales carried 11 times for 169 yards and two scores. Sophomore Graham Turner added 70 yards on eight carries for the Panthers.
Cabot will travel to Conway next week. The Wampus Cats (3-2, 1-1) lost 24-14 at North Little Rock last night.
Leader sports editor
It was homecoming night for Cabot, but both teams found a home in the end zone of Panther Stadium. Three special teams gambles failed, but the fourth one paid off for the Panthers, who got a two-point conversion with 2:14 remaining for a nine-point lead, and held on for a 43-41 victory over Fort Smith Southside on Friday.
The Mavericks scored with 4:52 left in the game, but got two penalties, one for illegal procedure and another for illegal participation, that made it a long extra point try that they missed, leaving Cabot with a 35-34 lead.
The Panthers rolled four plays down to the 14-yard line, and Southside called its second timeout with 2:58 to play. The Mavericks (1-4, 0-2) decided during that team huddle to allow Cabot to score, and Panther coach Mike Malham knew it.
He instructed his backs not to score, and they followed instructions for one play. Halfback T.J. Rogers fell down after a 4-yard gain, but on the next play, went 10 yards for the touchdown.
Malham decided to try to put the game away, and fullback Bradley Morales got the 3 yards needed for the conversion and the nine-point lead.
“I knew we had to go for it,” Malham said. “If we hadn’t, we’d be in overtime right now. They can score. They put 35 up on Har-Ber, and Har-Ber has three shutouts in their other three games.
“Our offense played pretty good, too. It was an offensive game. I knew what they were doing letting us score, and I had just told the kid to get three yards and go down. But that’s kids. We got another good conference win. We’re 2-0 in conference, and we’ll try to regroup and get another one next week. There are no easy ones in this conference.”
It looked early like Cabot might win in a blowout. Cabot got the ball first and scored quickly. On the fourth snap, fullback Bradley Morales broke three tackles and cut back from the sideline to the middle of the field for a 65-yard touchdown run just 1:32 into the game.
The defense stopped Southside’s first possession, and on the first play of the ensuing drive, halfback T.J. Rogers got his own 65-yard touchdown run. Ben McCullough’s extra point made it 14-0 with 6:58 left in the first quarter.
Cabot stopped the Mavericks next drive as well, but could only manage one first down before facing fourth and 2 on its own 30.
The Panthers (4-1, 2-0) faked the punt and snapped to Morales, but he was dropped for a 1-yard loss. Four plays later, Southside was in the end zone on an 11-yard pass from Gatewood to Jordan Jackson with 10:56 left in the second quarter.
The Panthers didn’t take long to answer. Halfback Noah Sorrell got 23 yards on the first play of the ensuing drive. Four plays and 22 yards later, John Wiens took the tight end counter handoff 22 more yards to the Southside 2-yard line. Morales got the rest for a 21-7 lead with 8:45 to go until halftime.
Southside initially went backwards on the next possession, but converted third and 18 from its own 12 with a 21-yard catch by Jackson.
Another penalty backed Southside up again, but Gatewood answered with a 15-yard completion to Tyrese Solomon, and an offsides penalty gave the Mavericks the first down. Two Jackson catches later, one of 13 and the other of 42, put the Mavs in the end zone again, making it 21-14 with 5:53 to go.
The Mavericks then surprised Cabot with an on-side kick that No. 80 covered easily at the Cabot 47. Gatewood went to his favorite target again on the very next play, and connected with Jackson for 44 yards.
The converted RB carried it in himself on the next play and the extra point tied the game with 5:17 until intermission.
The Panthers put together a nice drive after that, going 85 yards in nine plays without facing a third down. A 24-yard run by Morales set up first and goal, and Rogers got the last 2 yards for a 28-21 lead with 1:42 on the clock.
Gatewood continued to shred Cabot’s defense on the first drive of the second half. A holding penalty negated a 14-yard gain, and led to fourth and 15, but Southside converted.
Gatewood hit Solomon for a 23-yard gain to the Cabot 32. The safety had dropped back deep for a quick kick, leaving a huge hole in the middle of the field for the easy conversion.
Gatewood then hit Mason Love for 28 yards to the 4, and then went to Love again for the score to tie the game with 10:01 left in the third quarter.
Southside then had a chance to take the lead after stopping Cabot on downs. The Mavericks drove from their own 9-yard line to Cabot 34. John Wiens and Jansen Hubanks finally got some pressure on Gatewood, and he threw as he was being hit.
The pass was under thrown, and Zhane Harper picked it off at the 25-yard line. He returned it 31 yards, but an illegal block was called on Hubanks, and Cabot started at their own 38.
This time the Panthers barreled down the field, overcoming an 11-yard holding penalty when Rogers took the counter handoff 32 yards on second and 17 to the Southside 11. He went 9 yards on the same play and Oaks sneaked it in from there.
McCullough’s PAT made it 35-28 with 42 seconds to go in the third.
Cabot had a chance to put it away after stopping Southside’s next possession, but more penalties and a fumble made it third and 16, and Oaks threw an interception under pressure. That set up Southside’s fourth-quarter touchdown and missed extra point.
Both teams went over 500 yards of offense. Southside had 593 total yards to 520 for Cabot. Gatewood did it all for the Mavs. He completed 23 of 41 pass attempts for 359 yards and three touchdowns. He also carried the ball 23 times for 182 yards and three more scores.
All of Cabot’s offense came on the ground. Rogers carried 17 times for 194 yards and three touchdowns. Morales carried 11 times for 169 yards and two scores. Sophomore Graham Turner added 70 yards on eight carries for the Panthers.
Cabot will travel to Conway next week. The Wampus Cats (3-2, 1-1) lost 24-14 at North Little Rock last night.
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