By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Sylvan Hills’ Carter Lance and Cabot’s Justin Haas turned Monday night’s game between the Bruins and Home Depot Legion AAA teams into a pitchers’ duel. Both young men went the distance on the mound for their respective teams. Haas put up very respectable numbers for Home Depot with five hits, two earned runs, and one walk along with six strikeouts.
Lance gave up even less for Sylvan Hills. Three hits and two walks is all the big right hander would allow, also topping Cabot’s southpaw in the strikeout department by one with seven on the evening. He had 95 pitches in seven innings to take the win.
“We didn’t hit the ball like we have been,” Bruins coach Mike Bromley said. “Their little lefty did a good job on the mound for them. I thought Carter Lance did an outstanding job on the mound for us, he looked in control, and that’s what we want to see. It wasn’t our best day hitting, but we did what we had to do to win the ball game.”
Chase Elder tagged-up on a SAC from Bruins first baseman Tony Pavan for Sylvan Hills’ first run in the top of the fourth inning. The second and final run was scored on a double to center from Elder that brought in Gwatney in the fifth inning.
Both teams started out strong defensively in the opening inning. Haas sent the Bruins three-and-out, as Lance did the same to Home Depot. The first offensive highlight did not occur until the top of the second inning. Pavan hit a single to center, followed by a single to left from Jerry Lawson. The hits came after Haas had already forced two pop-ups, and Haas was able force another fly for the final out, this time from eight-hole hitter Ryan Wood. The Bruins left both runners on base, and Cabot avoided the early threat.
Lance also gave up his first hit in the second. Justin Free hopped it to center for a Cabot hit, followed by a walk for Drew Burks. Lance had started the inning with a strikeout on Gross, and got his rhythm back with strikeouts on Murphy and Burgan to leave the Cabot runners on first and second.
Both teams collected a hit each in the third inning, but neither would go past first base. Gwatney sent it to left for a single during the Bruins’ turn, and Trey Rosel bunted for the infield hit in the bottom of the third. The errors for Cabot were few, but the first was most costly. Elder started the top of the fourth for Sylvan Hills with a pop-up to center, but a fielding error allowed him all the way to second base. Jarrett Boles moved him to third with a single grounder to left field, and Pavan popped it up to center for the sacrifice fly. Boles made it to second when Elder scored, but the final two batters popped out to center, leaving him on.
Free got his second hit for Cabot in the fourth, but didn’t make it past first. Lance shut down the next two batters with a K and a 5-3 grounder to take it to the fifth inning. It looked like the fifth would be Haas’ strongest inning. Lead-off batter Bogard and following batter Roark both went down with strikeouts, and No. 3 hitter Gwatney was down in the count. A slight slip from Haas hit Gwatney in the shoulder, moving him to first base.
Grant Garlington followed that with a single to left that moved Gwatney to second. Elder then layed down the biggest hit of the entire game. Elder’s double was the only non-single hit of the night. It also managed to score Gwatney for the Bruins’ final run of the game.
Sylvan Hills now has a record of 14-4. Cabot’s record fell to 3-3 for the AAA squad. Cabot will host Russellville tomorrow at 6 p.m.; Sylvan Hills will play (space to insert opponent and location and date and time)
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
TOP STORY >>Asphalt cost slows road work
By PAUL PETERSON
Leader staff writer
For the last five years, the price-per-ton of asphalt has remained stable. Since asphalt, which is petroleum-based, began skyrocketing in March, public-works departments have faced the daunting task of deciding their road-maintenance schedules, repairing heavy damage first, as well as exploring options to stretch operating budgets.
Glen Bolick, a spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, said municipal and county governments must set priorities on which roads to repair and pave. “Sure, obviously the rising price is going to affect any project of this type,” he said. “Cities and counties are going to have a harder time than we are. It’s a little hard to explain, but the best analogy I can offer is to think of having to mow your grass year round, regardless of the price of gas. In some areas, you may mow them out of turn. It’s the same way with street maintenance. The worst problems are going to get fixed first, whether asphalt price is high or not, just like gasoline.”
Bolick emphasized that contractors are most likely to feel the strongest pinch, as bidding processes can be extensive for long-term projects, and asphalt prices may increase after a bid is secured. “With tonnage prices, who gets affected more than anybody is going to be the contractor,“ Bolick said. “Say, for instance, he comes into bid us on a half-million dollar job. It takes 30 days to bid and maybe between 45 and 60 days to get on the job. If prices go up again, he’s locked into it. It’s still a half-million dollar bid. That’s the nature of the bidding process.”
Bolick explained how the highway department is adjusting to high cost of asphalt. “We’re splitting some jobs,” he said. “Instead of a million-dollar, 10-mile overlay, we’ll do a half-million, 10-mile project so contractors can bid a job that won’t take three or four years. The market dictates.”As for a dismal or promising future, Bolick is uncertain. “Ask a city or county judge,” he said. “A city mayor or local contractor will probably bear most of the brunt of this increase. Prices are going up, bids are higher on jobs, so it made sense for us to make for smaller jobs for contractors to bid. It benefits them, us and the entire state.”
Some city and county governments haven’t felt the pressures of rising asphalt costs because of current contracts with locked prices. But in all likelihood, they will, once contracts expire.
Barbara Richard, director of the roads and bridges department with Pulaski County Public Works, said, “We have been operating for the last three years under a contract with locked prices. We get asphalt ourselves by going over in a truck to get materials and do job ourselves or we can have the contractors apply it for us.”
“But we will have to re-bid in August,” Richard said. “From all indications, we’re looking at a 30 percent increase. When that happens, we’ll definitely start feeling it, because asphalt is an oil-based product. I think everybody’s going to have to take a good hard look before spending dollars. There is preventative maintenance to consider, such as applying seal coats to buy more time before resurfacing asphalt. Counties may have to cut another line item for extra money to fund road repair. As for Pulaski County, it’s the judge’s priority to keep roads up. We only have so much budgeted each year for every type of county project, but I can tell you it’s a big priority with our county judge,” Richard said. “He won’t let them suffer. We’re proud of roads in Pulaski County. We’ve got a good road system and intend to keep it that way.”
Jim Oakley, public works director for the City of Jacksonville, said his department paid about $42 a ton. “We’re fixing to go over the budget for our 2006 overlay program,” he said. “We may have to cut about 30 percent. Right now, we’ve got approximately $250,000 a year for overlays, at $30 to $40 per ton of asphalt.
“We only bid overlays once year, and it was $42 a ton in June 2005. Now, a local contractor could be paying around $60. That’s an estimate for June 2006. We’ll know in about two or three weeks the 2006 prices. For linear feet, a ton of asphalt will do approximately 10 square yards of roadway, but it depends on how wide the street is. The cost per ton is cutting back on how much you can do, but we’ve budgeted the same amount. I guess we’ll do a few less overlays than normal.
Jacksonville is fortunate enough to budget an overlay program. We’re in good shape for the most part, but if the price keeps going up, it could be hard to catch up with our workload, and we’d have to look at coming up with more money.” A hefty reserve supply of materials, however, does have its advantages. Lonoke Public Works director Tony Scroggins said, “As far as road maintenance, we’re in good shape because we pretty much stocked up on prepackaged coal mix that we already bought. There’s not any maintenance to do right now. “Sure it’s going to have an affect on asphalt bidding price per ton. If it’s tripled, we’ll have to decide whether or not to make repairs. Typically, it costs around $4,000 a city block. We may cut down in overlays instead and I’m sure it will have an affect as far as any new overlay projects are concerned. Another Lonoke Public Works employee said, “ Depending on the amount of dollars, if asphalt goes up, streets get shorter.”
Tracey Perkins, with the roads and bridges department of Pulaski County Public Works, said, “The current price per ton is $43.07 in-place, and when our truck picks it up, the price is $32.65.” Perkins said “in-place” is the term applied when contractors apply the asphalt surfacing.
John Suskie, executive director of Arkansas Asphalt Pavement Association, said, “As far as local cities and counties, we have producers and what we call lay-down contractors. Right now it appears prices are based on a national average, but it depends on where you are and how far you have to haul it. In recent years industry experts have been saying that with no increase in actual revenue, that basically, the same dollars available will only be able to purchase 20 percent less than what they could have before the price increase.”
Suskie explained that regardless of the type of paving project, costs won’t stretch as far as they once did, and that any business or municipality involved with road surfacing and repair will endure the resulting frustrations of higher asphalt prices. “Whether it’s city or rural, heavy or light overlay, a two-inch repaving or 8 to 10 inches, you can bet that fewer cities will be able to pay as a result of this,” he said. “That’s what contractors are wresting with right now. It’s a real gamble our guys take, and they may have to bid a little higher right now just to cover their own expenses. One approach the highway department has taken, and it’s real admirable, has helped, though. What they might do is to bid road work, bridges or widening shoulders, or ‘dirt work’ as it’s called, and delay bidding on paving itself, where they’d usually bid it all out at once.”
Suskie said that prioritizing paving projects is key. “As for long-term, we’re looking at having to make hard decisions,” he said. This has caused some contractors not to bid jobs at all, some as far out as 18 months.” But this cause-and-effect relationship with operating expenses also occurs in other business sectors.
“It goes back to the entrepreneurial spirit,” Suskie said. “This happens to homebuilders, too. If the cost of material goes up, consequently, they feel it too. But I’m proud to say I never hear any comments from any of our associates about cutting the quality of work, just maybe the quantity. The public really needs to understand what we’re going through, especially with probing out long-term projects. Some aren’t conscious of the process of contracting. It’s kind of a frustrating thing. Of our 120 members, 40 are asphalt producers.”
Even though the price hike is drastic, Suskie said it came forewarned. “It’s really been coming strong since last summer; without any question Katrina had an affect,” he said. “The costs of diesel was more of a concern last year than the price of asphalt. The drier to heat aggregate runs on it; some use natural gas. Also, it depends of how far you have to haul it, which is usually between 30 and 50 miles. Imagine the fuel costs to move heavy tonnage. We had meetings with haulers, local dump truck operators and aggregate haulers. They bid too, for hauling routes, and if they don’t get enough to cover mileage, it’s not worth it.”
Cabot Public Works director Jim Towe said the city hasn’t funded any overlays this year. “From my standpoint we don’t need to, as of yet,” he said. “We’re still working out of Greystone.
Ward Mayor Art Brooke said, “We’ll just have do to a little less work than we normally would do. In smaller areas like ours, we don’t have the tax base other cities have. Also, asphalt costs will have adverse affect on the 19 streets we’ve scheduled for repair maintenance. The seven we’ve looked at for this year will probably be all we can do.”
Brooke said his city has considered other options. “We’ve looked at chip and seal,” he said. “It’s an alternative to asphalt. The county does a lot with it and the state does a lot of renovation resurfacing by using a sticker base and putting loose shad on top and rolling it. At one-third the cost, it’s still not near as durable and long-term as asphalt.“
Austin Mayor Bernie Chamberlain anticipates asphalt prices will affect her town as well, even though water line improvement is current priority. “Oh, it will,” she said. “We’re upgrading water lines that are old and have been here since the 1960s, so we’ll hold off on roads. Once the lines are in, we’ll need to do a lot of asphalting. But we may have to do it only a little at a time.”
McRae Mayor Bob Sullivan said his city isn’t currently undergoing any roadwork. “The rising cost of asphalt is affecting everything,” he said. “It’s going to limit our repairs this summer. With high costs, we’ll just do what we can with the worst streets and next year do the rest. We’ve seen it coming, but didn’t realize it was going to be so drastic, on account of fuel prices. Fuel prices are killing everything in America.”
Leader staff writer
For the last five years, the price-per-ton of asphalt has remained stable. Since asphalt, which is petroleum-based, began skyrocketing in March, public-works departments have faced the daunting task of deciding their road-maintenance schedules, repairing heavy damage first, as well as exploring options to stretch operating budgets.
Glen Bolick, a spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, said municipal and county governments must set priorities on which roads to repair and pave. “Sure, obviously the rising price is going to affect any project of this type,” he said. “Cities and counties are going to have a harder time than we are. It’s a little hard to explain, but the best analogy I can offer is to think of having to mow your grass year round, regardless of the price of gas. In some areas, you may mow them out of turn. It’s the same way with street maintenance. The worst problems are going to get fixed first, whether asphalt price is high or not, just like gasoline.”
Bolick emphasized that contractors are most likely to feel the strongest pinch, as bidding processes can be extensive for long-term projects, and asphalt prices may increase after a bid is secured. “With tonnage prices, who gets affected more than anybody is going to be the contractor,“ Bolick said. “Say, for instance, he comes into bid us on a half-million dollar job. It takes 30 days to bid and maybe between 45 and 60 days to get on the job. If prices go up again, he’s locked into it. It’s still a half-million dollar bid. That’s the nature of the bidding process.”
Bolick explained how the highway department is adjusting to high cost of asphalt. “We’re splitting some jobs,” he said. “Instead of a million-dollar, 10-mile overlay, we’ll do a half-million, 10-mile project so contractors can bid a job that won’t take three or four years. The market dictates.”As for a dismal or promising future, Bolick is uncertain. “Ask a city or county judge,” he said. “A city mayor or local contractor will probably bear most of the brunt of this increase. Prices are going up, bids are higher on jobs, so it made sense for us to make for smaller jobs for contractors to bid. It benefits them, us and the entire state.”
Some city and county governments haven’t felt the pressures of rising asphalt costs because of current contracts with locked prices. But in all likelihood, they will, once contracts expire.
Barbara Richard, director of the roads and bridges department with Pulaski County Public Works, said, “We have been operating for the last three years under a contract with locked prices. We get asphalt ourselves by going over in a truck to get materials and do job ourselves or we can have the contractors apply it for us.”
“But we will have to re-bid in August,” Richard said. “From all indications, we’re looking at a 30 percent increase. When that happens, we’ll definitely start feeling it, because asphalt is an oil-based product. I think everybody’s going to have to take a good hard look before spending dollars. There is preventative maintenance to consider, such as applying seal coats to buy more time before resurfacing asphalt. Counties may have to cut another line item for extra money to fund road repair. As for Pulaski County, it’s the judge’s priority to keep roads up. We only have so much budgeted each year for every type of county project, but I can tell you it’s a big priority with our county judge,” Richard said. “He won’t let them suffer. We’re proud of roads in Pulaski County. We’ve got a good road system and intend to keep it that way.”
Jim Oakley, public works director for the City of Jacksonville, said his department paid about $42 a ton. “We’re fixing to go over the budget for our 2006 overlay program,” he said. “We may have to cut about 30 percent. Right now, we’ve got approximately $250,000 a year for overlays, at $30 to $40 per ton of asphalt.
“We only bid overlays once year, and it was $42 a ton in June 2005. Now, a local contractor could be paying around $60. That’s an estimate for June 2006. We’ll know in about two or three weeks the 2006 prices. For linear feet, a ton of asphalt will do approximately 10 square yards of roadway, but it depends on how wide the street is. The cost per ton is cutting back on how much you can do, but we’ve budgeted the same amount. I guess we’ll do a few less overlays than normal.
Jacksonville is fortunate enough to budget an overlay program. We’re in good shape for the most part, but if the price keeps going up, it could be hard to catch up with our workload, and we’d have to look at coming up with more money.” A hefty reserve supply of materials, however, does have its advantages. Lonoke Public Works director Tony Scroggins said, “As far as road maintenance, we’re in good shape because we pretty much stocked up on prepackaged coal mix that we already bought. There’s not any maintenance to do right now. “Sure it’s going to have an affect on asphalt bidding price per ton. If it’s tripled, we’ll have to decide whether or not to make repairs. Typically, it costs around $4,000 a city block. We may cut down in overlays instead and I’m sure it will have an affect as far as any new overlay projects are concerned. Another Lonoke Public Works employee said, “ Depending on the amount of dollars, if asphalt goes up, streets get shorter.”
Tracey Perkins, with the roads and bridges department of Pulaski County Public Works, said, “The current price per ton is $43.07 in-place, and when our truck picks it up, the price is $32.65.” Perkins said “in-place” is the term applied when contractors apply the asphalt surfacing.
John Suskie, executive director of Arkansas Asphalt Pavement Association, said, “As far as local cities and counties, we have producers and what we call lay-down contractors. Right now it appears prices are based on a national average, but it depends on where you are and how far you have to haul it. In recent years industry experts have been saying that with no increase in actual revenue, that basically, the same dollars available will only be able to purchase 20 percent less than what they could have before the price increase.”
Suskie explained that regardless of the type of paving project, costs won’t stretch as far as they once did, and that any business or municipality involved with road surfacing and repair will endure the resulting frustrations of higher asphalt prices. “Whether it’s city or rural, heavy or light overlay, a two-inch repaving or 8 to 10 inches, you can bet that fewer cities will be able to pay as a result of this,” he said. “That’s what contractors are wresting with right now. It’s a real gamble our guys take, and they may have to bid a little higher right now just to cover their own expenses. One approach the highway department has taken, and it’s real admirable, has helped, though. What they might do is to bid road work, bridges or widening shoulders, or ‘dirt work’ as it’s called, and delay bidding on paving itself, where they’d usually bid it all out at once.”
Suskie said that prioritizing paving projects is key. “As for long-term, we’re looking at having to make hard decisions,” he said. This has caused some contractors not to bid jobs at all, some as far out as 18 months.” But this cause-and-effect relationship with operating expenses also occurs in other business sectors.
“It goes back to the entrepreneurial spirit,” Suskie said. “This happens to homebuilders, too. If the cost of material goes up, consequently, they feel it too. But I’m proud to say I never hear any comments from any of our associates about cutting the quality of work, just maybe the quantity. The public really needs to understand what we’re going through, especially with probing out long-term projects. Some aren’t conscious of the process of contracting. It’s kind of a frustrating thing. Of our 120 members, 40 are asphalt producers.”
Even though the price hike is drastic, Suskie said it came forewarned. “It’s really been coming strong since last summer; without any question Katrina had an affect,” he said. “The costs of diesel was more of a concern last year than the price of asphalt. The drier to heat aggregate runs on it; some use natural gas. Also, it depends of how far you have to haul it, which is usually between 30 and 50 miles. Imagine the fuel costs to move heavy tonnage. We had meetings with haulers, local dump truck operators and aggregate haulers. They bid too, for hauling routes, and if they don’t get enough to cover mileage, it’s not worth it.”
Cabot Public Works director Jim Towe said the city hasn’t funded any overlays this year. “From my standpoint we don’t need to, as of yet,” he said. “We’re still working out of Greystone.
Ward Mayor Art Brooke said, “We’ll just have do to a little less work than we normally would do. In smaller areas like ours, we don’t have the tax base other cities have. Also, asphalt costs will have adverse affect on the 19 streets we’ve scheduled for repair maintenance. The seven we’ve looked at for this year will probably be all we can do.”
Brooke said his city has considered other options. “We’ve looked at chip and seal,” he said. “It’s an alternative to asphalt. The county does a lot with it and the state does a lot of renovation resurfacing by using a sticker base and putting loose shad on top and rolling it. At one-third the cost, it’s still not near as durable and long-term as asphalt.“
Austin Mayor Bernie Chamberlain anticipates asphalt prices will affect her town as well, even though water line improvement is current priority. “Oh, it will,” she said. “We’re upgrading water lines that are old and have been here since the 1960s, so we’ll hold off on roads. Once the lines are in, we’ll need to do a lot of asphalting. But we may have to do it only a little at a time.”
McRae Mayor Bob Sullivan said his city isn’t currently undergoing any roadwork. “The rising cost of asphalt is affecting everything,” he said. “It’s going to limit our repairs this summer. With high costs, we’ll just do what we can with the worst streets and next year do the rest. We’ve seen it coming, but didn’t realize it was going to be so drastic, on account of fuel prices. Fuel prices are killing everything in America.”
TOP STORY >>Cabot High almost ready
By SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
As workers put the finishing touches on the new $13.9 million Cabot High School on the northwest side of the campus, facing Highways 89 and 38, teachers are already moving boxes from their classrooms in 25 trailers scattered across campus.
Across campus, construction workers are erecting the walls for a $1,888,722 addition to the south end of the Fine Arts Building. The addition will have new choir, chorus and band rehearsal rooms and several classrooms.
“We feel like everything is progressing and we’re in good shape to be in the new high school in August, and we hope to schedule an open house for the parents, students and community in mid-August,” said Frank Holman, superintendent of the Cabot School District. About 1,800 students are expected on campus this fall.
The massive heating and air conditioning ventilation system for the 191,015 square-foot building is being turned on this month as workers finish in-stalling the ceiling tiles, ceramic floor tiles and carpet on the first floor. Once painters are through with the interior walls on the second floor, ceiling tiles and flooring will be installed.
The completed 12,000- square-foot media center is being used for temporary storage while the inside of the building is being finished. “I’m just amazed of the size of this building. You start from the beginning of construction on paper, and when you get over there and see it finished, it’s just amazing,” Holman told The Leader.
When the classrooms are completely moved into the new high school’s 105 classrooms, 25 trailers across campus are scheduled to be removed, and buildings C and D are scheduled for demolition to provide additional parking around the new building.
“Parents and patrons are excited about the new high school and feel it is long overdue,” said Jim Dalton, assistant superintendent for the Cabot School District. Later this summer, workers will start building a long turn lane on Hwy. 89 so parents can turn into the campus to drop students off at the front of the building without delaying traffic. Students who drive will use an entrance on Hwy. 38.
Construction on the new high school started last August. The two-story, V-shaped building will be arranged to support the district’s six career academies of agriculture, science and mechanics; business, finance and information technology; construction, engineering and automotive technology; health and human services; education, law and public service, and fine arts, journalism and communications. There will be eight offices for principals and support personnel as well as eight counseling offices.
Cabot High School Principal Tony Thurman says students will get the most use out of the centrally located media center while teachers will take advantage of the four resource rooms equipped with kitchenettes, copiers, computers and teleconference equipment. Teachers and students alike will get a lot of use out of the professional development center says Thurman. It will have state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment for staff meetings or guest speakers for classes.
“We will have seating for 160 without tables and 65 individuals when we want to use tables,” Thurman told The Leader.
Students will be both safe and comfortable at the new school. Every entrance to the building will have video surveillance monitored by principals and resource officers. Covered outside walkways on both floors of the building will help students get to and from classes even in inclement weather, without crowding the interior hallway.
The Cabot Board of Education is considering having an open house for parents and community members to view the new building in September.
Leader staff writer
As workers put the finishing touches on the new $13.9 million Cabot High School on the northwest side of the campus, facing Highways 89 and 38, teachers are already moving boxes from their classrooms in 25 trailers scattered across campus.
Across campus, construction workers are erecting the walls for a $1,888,722 addition to the south end of the Fine Arts Building. The addition will have new choir, chorus and band rehearsal rooms and several classrooms.
“We feel like everything is progressing and we’re in good shape to be in the new high school in August, and we hope to schedule an open house for the parents, students and community in mid-August,” said Frank Holman, superintendent of the Cabot School District. About 1,800 students are expected on campus this fall.
The massive heating and air conditioning ventilation system for the 191,015 square-foot building is being turned on this month as workers finish in-stalling the ceiling tiles, ceramic floor tiles and carpet on the first floor. Once painters are through with the interior walls on the second floor, ceiling tiles and flooring will be installed.
The completed 12,000- square-foot media center is being used for temporary storage while the inside of the building is being finished. “I’m just amazed of the size of this building. You start from the beginning of construction on paper, and when you get over there and see it finished, it’s just amazing,” Holman told The Leader.
When the classrooms are completely moved into the new high school’s 105 classrooms, 25 trailers across campus are scheduled to be removed, and buildings C and D are scheduled for demolition to provide additional parking around the new building.
“Parents and patrons are excited about the new high school and feel it is long overdue,” said Jim Dalton, assistant superintendent for the Cabot School District. Later this summer, workers will start building a long turn lane on Hwy. 89 so parents can turn into the campus to drop students off at the front of the building without delaying traffic. Students who drive will use an entrance on Hwy. 38.
Construction on the new high school started last August. The two-story, V-shaped building will be arranged to support the district’s six career academies of agriculture, science and mechanics; business, finance and information technology; construction, engineering and automotive technology; health and human services; education, law and public service, and fine arts, journalism and communications. There will be eight offices for principals and support personnel as well as eight counseling offices.
Cabot High School Principal Tony Thurman says students will get the most use out of the centrally located media center while teachers will take advantage of the four resource rooms equipped with kitchenettes, copiers, computers and teleconference equipment. Teachers and students alike will get a lot of use out of the professional development center says Thurman. It will have state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment for staff meetings or guest speakers for classes.
“We will have seating for 160 without tables and 65 individuals when we want to use tables,” Thurman told The Leader.
Students will be both safe and comfortable at the new school. Every entrance to the building will have video surveillance monitored by principals and resource officers. Covered outside walkways on both floors of the building will help students get to and from classes even in inclement weather, without crowding the interior hallway.
The Cabot Board of Education is considering having an open house for parents and community members to view the new building in September.
TOP STORY >>Local area sees more residences going up
By JOAN McCOY AND SARA GREENE
Leader staff writers
June is Homeownership Month, and the housing market in central Arkansas continues to boom despite predictions of a slump in housing nationwide. “I have been in this business for 19 years and my team has posted record sales for three consecutive months in a row. Currently, we are averaging a home sale every 19 hours in my office,” said Steve Blackwood, of The Blackwood Team realty. Blackwood credits the Cabot School District with the solid housing market in the area. The population of Cabot is projected to be about 20,000 soon, with an average 25 new home permits per month. In May, the city issued building permits for $3.6 million in construction, including 18 permits for homes over $100,000.
The housing market in Beebe has been described as “ready to boom” after years of near-dormancy. Jason Scheel, chairman of the city’s planning commission, said he is seeing more growth in housing now than he has seen in five years on the commission. Allen Ridings, the city’s code enforcement officer and building inspector, says he seen more construction recently than in eight years on the job.
Scheel attributes the five new subdivisions with about 200 homes either under construction or in the planning phases to the quality of life possible in Beebe. “We have a good school district and ASU-Beebe is right here,” Scheel said. “Most people work in or around Little Rock, but they know they can live here and have a good place to spend their afternoons and weekends.”
Most of the homes planned for Beebe are relatively small at 1,200 to 1,500 square feet and will sell for about $100,000 he said. The larger, high-dollar houses are outside the city where lots are measured in acres.
Scheel said Beebe simply doesn’t have enough land for developers to offer large lots. The city council’s attempt last year to grow through annexation failed, but the plan is to try again, he said. The draw of the Cabot School District, responsible for Cabot’s phenomenal growth, also benefits the housing market in Austin and Ward, which are part of the district.
Like Beebe, Austin also is on the verge of a building boom, but unlike Beebe which will have to annex for any large change in population, Austin could potentially grow from 604 in the last census to about 4,500 when the 1,500 homes in nine subdivisions either planned or under construction are sold.
Ward has about 10 subdivisions that are either filling up with new houses or in the preliminary phase where the streets are built. So far, this year about 100 building permits have been sold at city hall. Ward’s growth has been steady. The last census set its population at 2,500, but new subdivisions have already increased that number to almost 3,400 and with more houses being built all the time, the population is expected to reach 5,000 by 2010.
Mayor Art Brooke says houses in Ward sell for an average of $20,000 less than in Cabot. Neither does Ward have the traffic problems that Cabot has, which makes the city more desirable to some families, he says. While the housing market is expected to keep fading from its record levels, 2006 is still expected by many economists to be the third best year for housing ever. In Arkansas homeownership is at a near record high of 69 percent.
“With the soaring cost of new construction, we have seen an increasing demand for existing homes which are perceived to be a better value in comparison to many new construction homes,” Blackwood told The Leader. Little Rock Air Force Base’s economic impact on the local economy increased $20 million from $580 million in 2004 to $600 million in 2005, most of which comes from military members living in surrounding communities.
According to Little Rock Air Force Base’s 2005 fiscal year economic impact analysis released in April, the base’s 5,919 active duty personnel collect $274 million in pay, which is spent in surrounding cities of Sherwood, Jacksonville, Cabot and Beebe for rent and housing. Only 483 airmen live on base now as the older homes on base are being either demolished or renovated as part of a $500 million housing contract awarded to American Eagle Communities. By 2012, American Eagle Commits plans to renovate 732 existing homes and build 648 new homes to make living on the base more appealing to military families.
Analysts with the National Association of Realtors are expecting the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to average 6.9 percent during the second half of the year and the unemployment rate is expected to average 4.8 percent in 2006. Buyers are currently committing to an average 6.67 percent interest on new, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, compared with about 5.5 percent a year ago. That change raises the monthly cost $150 for a $200,000 mortgage.
The national median existing-home price for all housing types is forecast to rise 5.3 percent this year to $231,300. With more construction in 2006 taking place in lower cost housing markets, the median new-home price is projected to increase 0.8 percent to $242,900.
Leader staff writers
June is Homeownership Month, and the housing market in central Arkansas continues to boom despite predictions of a slump in housing nationwide. “I have been in this business for 19 years and my team has posted record sales for three consecutive months in a row. Currently, we are averaging a home sale every 19 hours in my office,” said Steve Blackwood, of The Blackwood Team realty. Blackwood credits the Cabot School District with the solid housing market in the area. The population of Cabot is projected to be about 20,000 soon, with an average 25 new home permits per month. In May, the city issued building permits for $3.6 million in construction, including 18 permits for homes over $100,000.
The housing market in Beebe has been described as “ready to boom” after years of near-dormancy. Jason Scheel, chairman of the city’s planning commission, said he is seeing more growth in housing now than he has seen in five years on the commission. Allen Ridings, the city’s code enforcement officer and building inspector, says he seen more construction recently than in eight years on the job.
Scheel attributes the five new subdivisions with about 200 homes either under construction or in the planning phases to the quality of life possible in Beebe. “We have a good school district and ASU-Beebe is right here,” Scheel said. “Most people work in or around Little Rock, but they know they can live here and have a good place to spend their afternoons and weekends.”
Most of the homes planned for Beebe are relatively small at 1,200 to 1,500 square feet and will sell for about $100,000 he said. The larger, high-dollar houses are outside the city where lots are measured in acres.
Scheel said Beebe simply doesn’t have enough land for developers to offer large lots. The city council’s attempt last year to grow through annexation failed, but the plan is to try again, he said. The draw of the Cabot School District, responsible for Cabot’s phenomenal growth, also benefits the housing market in Austin and Ward, which are part of the district.
Like Beebe, Austin also is on the verge of a building boom, but unlike Beebe which will have to annex for any large change in population, Austin could potentially grow from 604 in the last census to about 4,500 when the 1,500 homes in nine subdivisions either planned or under construction are sold.
Ward has about 10 subdivisions that are either filling up with new houses or in the preliminary phase where the streets are built. So far, this year about 100 building permits have been sold at city hall. Ward’s growth has been steady. The last census set its population at 2,500, but new subdivisions have already increased that number to almost 3,400 and with more houses being built all the time, the population is expected to reach 5,000 by 2010.
Mayor Art Brooke says houses in Ward sell for an average of $20,000 less than in Cabot. Neither does Ward have the traffic problems that Cabot has, which makes the city more desirable to some families, he says. While the housing market is expected to keep fading from its record levels, 2006 is still expected by many economists to be the third best year for housing ever. In Arkansas homeownership is at a near record high of 69 percent.
“With the soaring cost of new construction, we have seen an increasing demand for existing homes which are perceived to be a better value in comparison to many new construction homes,” Blackwood told The Leader. Little Rock Air Force Base’s economic impact on the local economy increased $20 million from $580 million in 2004 to $600 million in 2005, most of which comes from military members living in surrounding communities.
According to Little Rock Air Force Base’s 2005 fiscal year economic impact analysis released in April, the base’s 5,919 active duty personnel collect $274 million in pay, which is spent in surrounding cities of Sherwood, Jacksonville, Cabot and Beebe for rent and housing. Only 483 airmen live on base now as the older homes on base are being either demolished or renovated as part of a $500 million housing contract awarded to American Eagle Communities. By 2012, American Eagle Commits plans to renovate 732 existing homes and build 648 new homes to make living on the base more appealing to military families.
Analysts with the National Association of Realtors are expecting the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to average 6.9 percent during the second half of the year and the unemployment rate is expected to average 4.8 percent in 2006. Buyers are currently committing to an average 6.67 percent interest on new, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, compared with about 5.5 percent a year ago. That change raises the monthly cost $150 for a $200,000 mortgage.
The national median existing-home price for all housing types is forecast to rise 5.3 percent this year to $231,300. With more construction in 2006 taking place in lower cost housing markets, the median new-home price is projected to increase 0.8 percent to $242,900.
TOP STORY >>Outcome still same following recount
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader staff writer
If it changed nothing else, the recount of two Republican primary races Saturday confirmed the original tallies and helped ease doubts about the optical scanner and its programming. Following the May 23 Republican primary election, Virgil Teague, Jr. held a one-vote advantage over Carl Schmidt, 586 to 585 in the Cabot alderman Ward 2, Position 1 race. Teague’s narrowest of victories withstood Schmidt’s recount challenge Saturday.
Teague could still face one or more independents in November. Cabot independents haven’t filed yet. Teague said he had been as confident as he could be under the circumstances, since he was winner in the first primary count—discarded because the optical scanner was programmed incorrectly, then again May 28 for official count of all Lonoke County ballots and then again last Saturday in the face of Schmidt’s petition for a recount.
“I knew that’s the way it should have come out,” Teague said Monday, but “you never know what’s going to happen in a recount.” Teague, a retired Union Pacific manager, said he’d bring his management skills to bear on the city council. Traffic and drainage are probably the biggest problems, he said. Since Stumbaugh didn’t pay for his recount, Edwards will be the quorum member.
He said he like to bring accountability on the budget process and help take care of traffic problems in the northern part of the county. Edwards said that despite talk and news stories about his being part of an ultraconservative conspiracy to takeover the Republican Party, neither he nor Casey VanBuskirk, who beat incumbent Gina Burton, met Randy Minton until after they filed for office. “I’ve only spoken to Randy one time, for 15 to 20 minutes. I know they think Randy is who we are going to speak for. He said he wasn’t there to push Minton’s agenda through the quorum court.
“The Republican Assembly aren’t ultraconservative,” said Edwards. “They are just true Republicans. They have conservative true Reagan values.” In a letter to the editor published Wednesday, VanBuskirk said essentially the same thing. “I like to think that I won the election because of my hard work and dedication to winning. Randy Minton does not get to choose the JP for District 12. The people who live within District 12 make that decision.
Of Burton, VanBuskirk said, “The only reason she is out of office is because of the simple fact that she did not vote as a Republican. She ran for office as a Republican but too often chose to vote with the Democrats.” Burton says she will not endorse VanBuskirk when she runs against Patty Knox, a Democrat, in November. “She’s been to only one quorum court meeting and is completely unknowledgeable about the way it functions. She has an association with the Minton Assembly,” Burton said. “She’ll be told how to vote and that’s something I object to. I think JPs should vote according to their conscience and the information they are given.”
Burton said she has no immediate plans but would remain active in the Republican Party. “I believe in the Republican Party and Republican Values and I want to do what I can to just promote the Republican Agenda.
Leader staff writer
If it changed nothing else, the recount of two Republican primary races Saturday confirmed the original tallies and helped ease doubts about the optical scanner and its programming. Following the May 23 Republican primary election, Virgil Teague, Jr. held a one-vote advantage over Carl Schmidt, 586 to 585 in the Cabot alderman Ward 2, Position 1 race. Teague’s narrowest of victories withstood Schmidt’s recount challenge Saturday.
Teague could still face one or more independents in November. Cabot independents haven’t filed yet. Teague said he had been as confident as he could be under the circumstances, since he was winner in the first primary count—discarded because the optical scanner was programmed incorrectly, then again May 28 for official count of all Lonoke County ballots and then again last Saturday in the face of Schmidt’s petition for a recount.
“I knew that’s the way it should have come out,” Teague said Monday, but “you never know what’s going to happen in a recount.” Teague, a retired Union Pacific manager, said he’d bring his management skills to bear on the city council. Traffic and drainage are probably the biggest problems, he said. Since Stumbaugh didn’t pay for his recount, Edwards will be the quorum member.
He said he like to bring accountability on the budget process and help take care of traffic problems in the northern part of the county. Edwards said that despite talk and news stories about his being part of an ultraconservative conspiracy to takeover the Republican Party, neither he nor Casey VanBuskirk, who beat incumbent Gina Burton, met Randy Minton until after they filed for office. “I’ve only spoken to Randy one time, for 15 to 20 minutes. I know they think Randy is who we are going to speak for. He said he wasn’t there to push Minton’s agenda through the quorum court.
“The Republican Assembly aren’t ultraconservative,” said Edwards. “They are just true Republicans. They have conservative true Reagan values.” In a letter to the editor published Wednesday, VanBuskirk said essentially the same thing. “I like to think that I won the election because of my hard work and dedication to winning. Randy Minton does not get to choose the JP for District 12. The people who live within District 12 make that decision.
Of Burton, VanBuskirk said, “The only reason she is out of office is because of the simple fact that she did not vote as a Republican. She ran for office as a Republican but too often chose to vote with the Democrats.” Burton says she will not endorse VanBuskirk when she runs against Patty Knox, a Democrat, in November. “She’s been to only one quorum court meeting and is completely unknowledgeable about the way it functions. She has an association with the Minton Assembly,” Burton said. “She’ll be told how to vote and that’s something I object to. I think JPs should vote according to their conscience and the information they are given.”
Burton said she has no immediate plans but would remain active in the Republican Party. “I believe in the Republican Party and Republican Values and I want to do what I can to just promote the Republican Agenda.
TOP STORY >>Lonoke picks new mayor
By JOHN HOFHEIMER & RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Alderman Wayne McGee is apparently the next mayor of Lonoke, beating Jim Parks, the former alderman, 483 to 270 in the Democratic primary runoff Tuesday. Election officials announced those numbers earlier in the evening, but it was unclear at the time whether they were complete returns for all Lonoke precincts or just interim results. Later, the election commission said those were the final numbers, according to McGee’s cousin, Gaylon McGee.
No one could be reached in the county clerk’s office to confirm the vote late Tuesday night. In the Pulaski County runoff for District 10 Justice of the Peace, Rev. Robert Green beat Johnnie Mass by 40 votes. Green had 482 votes, or 52.2 percent, to 442 votes, or 47.8 percent for Mass. In statewide races, Bill Halter defeated Tim Wooldridge in the Democratic run-off for lieutenant governor and Martha Shoffner defeated Mac Campbell in the Democratic run-off for state treasurer.
With 95 percent of the vote in, Rep. Dustin McDaniel was squeaking by Paul Suskie in the Democratic run-off for attorney general, even though Pulaski County voted three-to-one in favor of Suskie. In the Lonoke Democratic primary on May 23, voters turned Mayor Thomas Privett out of office. In that four-way race, McGee was the top vote-getter with 438, followed by Parks with 362, Privett with 215 and Roy Henderson with 38 votes, setting up the Tuesday runoff.
Because no Republican or independent candidate filed for the positions, McGee will succeed Privett in January. Voters apparently rejected Privett for his association with former Police Chief Jay Campbell, who resigned in February after being indicted on several drug and theft felonies.
“I want to thank my supporters from the bottom of my heart,” said McGee, whose face was red from campaigning in the sun this week. Privett has offered to include his successor in on budget discussions as the city prepares its 2007 budget, and McGee said he welcomes the opportunity. “I want to learn as much as I can so I’m ready when I take office,” McGee said.
McGee is part owner of several businesses in Lonoke, including a family furniture store, a used-car dealership and an auction company.
Leader staff writer
Alderman Wayne McGee is apparently the next mayor of Lonoke, beating Jim Parks, the former alderman, 483 to 270 in the Democratic primary runoff Tuesday. Election officials announced those numbers earlier in the evening, but it was unclear at the time whether they were complete returns for all Lonoke precincts or just interim results. Later, the election commission said those were the final numbers, according to McGee’s cousin, Gaylon McGee.
No one could be reached in the county clerk’s office to confirm the vote late Tuesday night. In the Pulaski County runoff for District 10 Justice of the Peace, Rev. Robert Green beat Johnnie Mass by 40 votes. Green had 482 votes, or 52.2 percent, to 442 votes, or 47.8 percent for Mass. In statewide races, Bill Halter defeated Tim Wooldridge in the Democratic run-off for lieutenant governor and Martha Shoffner defeated Mac Campbell in the Democratic run-off for state treasurer.
With 95 percent of the vote in, Rep. Dustin McDaniel was squeaking by Paul Suskie in the Democratic run-off for attorney general, even though Pulaski County voted three-to-one in favor of Suskie. In the Lonoke Democratic primary on May 23, voters turned Mayor Thomas Privett out of office. In that four-way race, McGee was the top vote-getter with 438, followed by Parks with 362, Privett with 215 and Roy Henderson with 38 votes, setting up the Tuesday runoff.
Because no Republican or independent candidate filed for the positions, McGee will succeed Privett in January. Voters apparently rejected Privett for his association with former Police Chief Jay Campbell, who resigned in February after being indicted on several drug and theft felonies.
“I want to thank my supporters from the bottom of my heart,” said McGee, whose face was red from campaigning in the sun this week. Privett has offered to include his successor in on budget discussions as the city prepares its 2007 budget, and McGee said he welcomes the opportunity. “I want to learn as much as I can so I’m ready when I take office,” McGee said.
McGee is part owner of several businesses in Lonoke, including a family furniture store, a used-car dealership and an auction company.
EDITORIAL>>Message in a jail vote
For the third time in nine years, Pulaski County voters yesterday rejected a proposed special sales tax to expand and operate the county jail. Now, the county and municipal governments have a fresh mandate to be more innovative and more cooperative to keep communities safe.
Every victory has a thousand parents, every defeat is an orphan. Who can say exactly what turned most voters off? Was it reflexive opposition to taxes? Was the tax rate too much? Were voters angry at county government and its profligacy, as the Arkansas Democrat Gazette characterized the situation in a relentless editorial campaign over the past two weeks? (The paper published four editorials — count them, four! — on election day.) We do not think the big newspaper’s heavyhanded opposition and sometimes uninformed attacks were the critical factor. Our observation has been that its endorsements hurt as much as they help, especially in the city of Little Rock.
From the county’s standpoint, the results provided some comfort. The vote was considerably closer than the previous elections. Some 43 percent of voters, according to early returns, favored the tax. In 1997, a jail tax got only 37 percent of the vote, and in 2000, when the proposal was swallowed by other races on the general election ballot, it received only 35 percent.
The results might be close enough to encourage County Judge Buddy Villines and the quorum court to offer a smaller proposal — say, a one-eighth of 1 percent tax rather than a quarter of 1 percent — at the general election or another special election. But having delivered their verdict, voters would be apt to view that as arrogance. The county can profit from a little humility and accept the expression as final regardless of the final margin.
Alternative sentencing, including electronic home monitoring, will have to be increased, although the state government will have to supply some help. The legislature, alas, rarely provides rewards for the state’s biggest county, but every urban county in the state has a crisis, caused partly by the lack of capacity in state prisons and by improvident sentencing laws passed the past quarter-century.
All along, we believed a one-eighth of 1 percent tax would be sufficient to reopen 250 inmate beds that were closed to meet budget constraints last year and to expand the facilities, although considerably more gradually than the quarter-cent proposal that was defeated Tuesday. But the higher rate would have relieved Jacksonville, North Little Rock, Sherwood and Maumelle of their annual correctional subsidy to the county, which they could put to good use with crime-prevention programs.
Now, the county must insist that cities continue and even increase those subsidies, and the cities, while having their own budget crises, must oblige. The alternative is a further reduction in operating jail beds and a further increase in lawlessness.
That was not a message that voters were sending Tuesday.
Every victory has a thousand parents, every defeat is an orphan. Who can say exactly what turned most voters off? Was it reflexive opposition to taxes? Was the tax rate too much? Were voters angry at county government and its profligacy, as the Arkansas Democrat Gazette characterized the situation in a relentless editorial campaign over the past two weeks? (The paper published four editorials — count them, four! — on election day.) We do not think the big newspaper’s heavyhanded opposition and sometimes uninformed attacks were the critical factor. Our observation has been that its endorsements hurt as much as they help, especially in the city of Little Rock.
From the county’s standpoint, the results provided some comfort. The vote was considerably closer than the previous elections. Some 43 percent of voters, according to early returns, favored the tax. In 1997, a jail tax got only 37 percent of the vote, and in 2000, when the proposal was swallowed by other races on the general election ballot, it received only 35 percent.
The results might be close enough to encourage County Judge Buddy Villines and the quorum court to offer a smaller proposal — say, a one-eighth of 1 percent tax rather than a quarter of 1 percent — at the general election or another special election. But having delivered their verdict, voters would be apt to view that as arrogance. The county can profit from a little humility and accept the expression as final regardless of the final margin.
Alternative sentencing, including electronic home monitoring, will have to be increased, although the state government will have to supply some help. The legislature, alas, rarely provides rewards for the state’s biggest county, but every urban county in the state has a crisis, caused partly by the lack of capacity in state prisons and by improvident sentencing laws passed the past quarter-century.
All along, we believed a one-eighth of 1 percent tax would be sufficient to reopen 250 inmate beds that were closed to meet budget constraints last year and to expand the facilities, although considerably more gradually than the quarter-cent proposal that was defeated Tuesday. But the higher rate would have relieved Jacksonville, North Little Rock, Sherwood and Maumelle of their annual correctional subsidy to the county, which they could put to good use with crime-prevention programs.
Now, the county must insist that cities continue and even increase those subsidies, and the cities, while having their own budget crises, must oblige. The alternative is a further reduction in operating jail beds and a further increase in lawlessness.
That was not a message that voters were sending Tuesday.
SPORTS >>Wildcats wary of dangerous Bears
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Sylvan Hills and North Little Rock meet up again in their annual week-three matchup of neighboring non-conference rivals. Both teams enter the game 1-1. North Little Rock was shut out by Texarkana in week one, then bounced back to easily dispose of J.A. Fair last Friday.
The Bears opened the season with a shocking first-half blitz of LR Catholic and held on for a win in week one, then lost a defensive struggle at Cabot last week. For North Little Rock coach Bryan Hutson, Sylvan Hills’ first two games prove one thing. “Sylvan Hills is a quality football team,” Hutson said. Hutson is first concerned with Bear quarterback Hunter Miller, but knows stopping the Bears doesn’t end with stopping the junior QB.
“That’s just where it starts,” Hutson said. “We’ve got to stop him, but you can’t say you’re just going to solely concentrate on him because they’ve got a lot of other weapons out there in just about every skill position that will beat you just as fast.”
Stopping Miller is two-fold, the junior has been a threat with his arm and legs in two games this year. Hutson just wants to keep him from getting comfortable.
“That’s what makes so hard because he can beat you either way,” Hutson said. “We just have to make sure he doesn’t get comfortable at all back there. If you let him get in a rhythm it’s going to be a long night.” So far the Charging Wildcats haven’t let anyone get into a rhythm. The defense has been remarkable so far. Of the 17 points given up to Texarkana, 14 came in the last quarter after turnovers gave the Razorbacks the ball on NLR’s side of the field.
In week two, the Wildcat first-team defense gave up just three points. The Eagles scored a late touchdown on a short drive to finish with 10. “Our defense has played really, really, really well,” Hutson said. “I’m very proud of the way they’ve come out to start the season.” Hutson isn’t so pleased with the offensive performance so far. It’s not that the offense has been ineffective moving the ball, it’s that it has done more to stop itself than opposing teams have done.
“I’m not pleased with the offense,” Hutson said. “We had 19 penalties last week, and I just don’t have many plays in the playbook for third and 30. We scored 14 points in the first five minutes, but it just became comical with all the penalties after that. It’s just hard to continue to overcome that kind of stuff.”
Catholic and Cabot had pretty good success running the ball against Sylvan Hills. Little Rock has a core of talented receivers and a quarterback quite capable of getting the ball to them. Catholic and Cabot, though, had better success running against the Bears. None of that matters much to North Little Roc’s preparation this week.
“We’re going to try to do whatever we can to get yards,” Hutson said. “We’re still in the process of trying to find what we’re good at and what we’re not good at. We’re making progress. That’s what these non-conference games are for. Hopefully we’ll have some answers by the time conference gets here.” Hutson said. “We’ve got to stop him, but you can’t say you’re just going to solely concentrate on him because they’ve got a lot of other weapons out there in just about every skill position that will beat you just as fast.”
Stopping Miller is two-fold, the junior has been a threat with his arm and legs in two games this year. Hutson just wants to keep him from getting comfortable. “That’s what makes it so hard because he can beat you either way,” Hutson said. “We just have to make sure he doesn’t get comfortable back there at all. If you let him get in a rhythm doing anything it’s going to be a long night.”
So far the Charging Wildcats haven’t let anyone get into a rhythm. The defense has been remarkable so far. Of the 17 points given up to Texarkana, 14 came in the last quarter after turnovers gave the Razorbacks the ball on NLR’s side of the field.
In week two, the Wildcats first-team defense gave up just three points. The Eagles scored a late touchdown on a short drive to finish with 10.
“Our defense has played really, really, really well,” Hutson said. “I’m very proud of the way they’ve come out to start the season.” Hutson isn’t so pleased with the offensive performance so far. It’s not that the offense has been ineffective moving the ball, it’s that it has done more to stop itself than opposing teams have done. “I’m not pleased with the offense,” Hutson said. “We had 19 penalties last week, and I just don’t have many plays in the playbook for third and 30. We scored 14 points in the first five minutes, but it just became comical with all the penalties after that. It’s just hard to continue to overcome that kind of stuff.”
North Little Rock has a core of talented receivers and a capable quarterback who can get the ball to them. Catholic and Cabot, though, had better success running against the Bears, especially in the second half of their respective games.
None of that matters much to North Little Rock’s preparation this week.
Hutson will have the team focused on playing their own brand of football, mistake-free. “We’re going to try to do whatever we can to get yards,” Hutson said. “We’re still in the process of trying to find what we’re good at and what we’re not good at. We’re making progress. That’s what these non-conference games are for. Hopefully we’ll have some answers by the time conference gets here.”
The Bears and Wildcats will kick off at Sylvan Hills High School at 7 p.m. Friday night.
Leader sports editor
Sylvan Hills and North Little Rock meet up again in their annual week-three matchup of neighboring non-conference rivals. Both teams enter the game 1-1. North Little Rock was shut out by Texarkana in week one, then bounced back to easily dispose of J.A. Fair last Friday.
The Bears opened the season with a shocking first-half blitz of LR Catholic and held on for a win in week one, then lost a defensive struggle at Cabot last week. For North Little Rock coach Bryan Hutson, Sylvan Hills’ first two games prove one thing. “Sylvan Hills is a quality football team,” Hutson said. Hutson is first concerned with Bear quarterback Hunter Miller, but knows stopping the Bears doesn’t end with stopping the junior QB.
“That’s just where it starts,” Hutson said. “We’ve got to stop him, but you can’t say you’re just going to solely concentrate on him because they’ve got a lot of other weapons out there in just about every skill position that will beat you just as fast.”
Stopping Miller is two-fold, the junior has been a threat with his arm and legs in two games this year. Hutson just wants to keep him from getting comfortable.
“That’s what makes so hard because he can beat you either way,” Hutson said. “We just have to make sure he doesn’t get comfortable at all back there. If you let him get in a rhythm it’s going to be a long night.” So far the Charging Wildcats haven’t let anyone get into a rhythm. The defense has been remarkable so far. Of the 17 points given up to Texarkana, 14 came in the last quarter after turnovers gave the Razorbacks the ball on NLR’s side of the field.
In week two, the Wildcat first-team defense gave up just three points. The Eagles scored a late touchdown on a short drive to finish with 10. “Our defense has played really, really, really well,” Hutson said. “I’m very proud of the way they’ve come out to start the season.” Hutson isn’t so pleased with the offensive performance so far. It’s not that the offense has been ineffective moving the ball, it’s that it has done more to stop itself than opposing teams have done.
“I’m not pleased with the offense,” Hutson said. “We had 19 penalties last week, and I just don’t have many plays in the playbook for third and 30. We scored 14 points in the first five minutes, but it just became comical with all the penalties after that. It’s just hard to continue to overcome that kind of stuff.”
Catholic and Cabot had pretty good success running the ball against Sylvan Hills. Little Rock has a core of talented receivers and a quarterback quite capable of getting the ball to them. Catholic and Cabot, though, had better success running against the Bears. None of that matters much to North Little Roc’s preparation this week.
“We’re going to try to do whatever we can to get yards,” Hutson said. “We’re still in the process of trying to find what we’re good at and what we’re not good at. We’re making progress. That’s what these non-conference games are for. Hopefully we’ll have some answers by the time conference gets here.” Hutson said. “We’ve got to stop him, but you can’t say you’re just going to solely concentrate on him because they’ve got a lot of other weapons out there in just about every skill position that will beat you just as fast.”
Stopping Miller is two-fold, the junior has been a threat with his arm and legs in two games this year. Hutson just wants to keep him from getting comfortable. “That’s what makes it so hard because he can beat you either way,” Hutson said. “We just have to make sure he doesn’t get comfortable back there at all. If you let him get in a rhythm doing anything it’s going to be a long night.”
So far the Charging Wildcats haven’t let anyone get into a rhythm. The defense has been remarkable so far. Of the 17 points given up to Texarkana, 14 came in the last quarter after turnovers gave the Razorbacks the ball on NLR’s side of the field.
In week two, the Wildcats first-team defense gave up just three points. The Eagles scored a late touchdown on a short drive to finish with 10.
“Our defense has played really, really, really well,” Hutson said. “I’m very proud of the way they’ve come out to start the season.” Hutson isn’t so pleased with the offensive performance so far. It’s not that the offense has been ineffective moving the ball, it’s that it has done more to stop itself than opposing teams have done. “I’m not pleased with the offense,” Hutson said. “We had 19 penalties last week, and I just don’t have many plays in the playbook for third and 30. We scored 14 points in the first five minutes, but it just became comical with all the penalties after that. It’s just hard to continue to overcome that kind of stuff.”
North Little Rock has a core of talented receivers and a capable quarterback who can get the ball to them. Catholic and Cabot, though, had better success running against the Bears, especially in the second half of their respective games.
None of that matters much to North Little Rock’s preparation this week.
Hutson will have the team focused on playing their own brand of football, mistake-free. “We’re going to try to do whatever we can to get yards,” Hutson said. “We’re still in the process of trying to find what we’re good at and what we’re not good at. We’re making progress. That’s what these non-conference games are for. Hopefully we’ll have some answers by the time conference gets here.”
The Bears and Wildcats will kick off at Sylvan Hills High School at 7 p.m. Friday night.
SPORTS >>Lions always tough for Panthers
By RAY BENTON AND JASON KING
Leader sports staff
Searcy coach Bart McFarland is hoping to get the first win of the season for the Lions this week while the Cabot Panthers will try to remain undefeated heading into competition in the new 7A-East Conference. McFarland knows that the Cabot team they almost upset last year will not be the same team that rolls into Lion Stadium on Friday after two big wins over Jacksonville and Sylvan Hills already to its credit in ’06.
“It’s the same old Cabot,” McFarland said. “They’re fundamentally sound. I know he has some young guys that he’s playing, but they’ve been stepping up for him. They have been showing some more formations recently, but it’s still the same old Cabot plays. We know they’re going to be running at us. They are on a roll right now; they have a lot momentum.”
Malham is as surprised as anyone that his young defense has played so well. He commented on how well his defense played in the second half against Sylvan Hills, but didn’t even realize it didn’t give up a single completed pass in the first half.
“Really, they didn’t complete a pass,” Malham asked. “I know they’ve been playing pretty well for a group that young. It helped that we were able to keep people from playing both ways. Keeping those guys that were playing both ways just on offense gave everybody a little more rest and that helps. You have to have that at this level.”
McFarland was encouraged by his team’s second half performance last week against Batesville. After falling behind 21-8 in the first half, the Lions refused the Pioneers of a shot at the end zone until the game’s final moments. “Our defense stepped up in the second half,” McFarland said. “Offensively, we were able to move the football, we just couldn’t get it in the end zone.”
Senior receiver Matt Cramblett finished with seven receptions for 170 yards, all in less than a month removed for arthroscopic knee surgery. Searcy’s ball movement isn’t lost on Cabot either. “They’ve moved the ball on everybody they’ve played,” Malham said. “They’ve got all their skill people back from last year you just don’t know when they’re going to put it together. I’d hate for our kids to get a wakeup call. They’re 0-2 and we’re 2-0 but that don’t mean anything. That’s why you go out there and play.”
Justin Rowden shook off a shoulder injury suffered during the season opener at Vilonia to play all four quarters last week, but tight end Easton Valentine was not quite as fortunate. Valentine broke his collarbone in the season opener, and is not expected back for another 4-6 weeks.
The Panthers have continued to struggle with holding onto the ball this season. Last year turnovers killed Cabot drives all season long and multiple times a game. They haven’t been so costly so far this season, but the head coach would still like to see them take better care of the ball.
“We had three last week in the first half and then did a better job in the second half,” Malham said. One of them was on a punt. That’s some pressure to field those with guys bearing down on you. (Colin) Fuller done a pretty good job of that the last couple of years. That’s the first time I remember him dropping one, so I still think we’ll be ok there. We can work on securing the ball but you just have to go out there and take care of it.”
Intangibles are always something that can come into play, and McFarland is well aware of how well his team usually plays against Cabot. “You never know how things will play out,” McFarland said. “We like to hope we can get off to the same start against them this year as we did last year – Searcy led 21-0 in the first quarter – but I’m sure they are hoping they can have the same second quarter. It was a close game last year, we’ll just have to see.”
The Lions and Panthers will kick off the non-conference matchup at 7:30 this Friday at Lions Stadium in Searcy.
Leader sports staff
Searcy coach Bart McFarland is hoping to get the first win of the season for the Lions this week while the Cabot Panthers will try to remain undefeated heading into competition in the new 7A-East Conference. McFarland knows that the Cabot team they almost upset last year will not be the same team that rolls into Lion Stadium on Friday after two big wins over Jacksonville and Sylvan Hills already to its credit in ’06.
“It’s the same old Cabot,” McFarland said. “They’re fundamentally sound. I know he has some young guys that he’s playing, but they’ve been stepping up for him. They have been showing some more formations recently, but it’s still the same old Cabot plays. We know they’re going to be running at us. They are on a roll right now; they have a lot momentum.”
Malham is as surprised as anyone that his young defense has played so well. He commented on how well his defense played in the second half against Sylvan Hills, but didn’t even realize it didn’t give up a single completed pass in the first half.
“Really, they didn’t complete a pass,” Malham asked. “I know they’ve been playing pretty well for a group that young. It helped that we were able to keep people from playing both ways. Keeping those guys that were playing both ways just on offense gave everybody a little more rest and that helps. You have to have that at this level.”
McFarland was encouraged by his team’s second half performance last week against Batesville. After falling behind 21-8 in the first half, the Lions refused the Pioneers of a shot at the end zone until the game’s final moments. “Our defense stepped up in the second half,” McFarland said. “Offensively, we were able to move the football, we just couldn’t get it in the end zone.”
Senior receiver Matt Cramblett finished with seven receptions for 170 yards, all in less than a month removed for arthroscopic knee surgery. Searcy’s ball movement isn’t lost on Cabot either. “They’ve moved the ball on everybody they’ve played,” Malham said. “They’ve got all their skill people back from last year you just don’t know when they’re going to put it together. I’d hate for our kids to get a wakeup call. They’re 0-2 and we’re 2-0 but that don’t mean anything. That’s why you go out there and play.”
Justin Rowden shook off a shoulder injury suffered during the season opener at Vilonia to play all four quarters last week, but tight end Easton Valentine was not quite as fortunate. Valentine broke his collarbone in the season opener, and is not expected back for another 4-6 weeks.
The Panthers have continued to struggle with holding onto the ball this season. Last year turnovers killed Cabot drives all season long and multiple times a game. They haven’t been so costly so far this season, but the head coach would still like to see them take better care of the ball.
“We had three last week in the first half and then did a better job in the second half,” Malham said. One of them was on a punt. That’s some pressure to field those with guys bearing down on you. (Colin) Fuller done a pretty good job of that the last couple of years. That’s the first time I remember him dropping one, so I still think we’ll be ok there. We can work on securing the ball but you just have to go out there and take care of it.”
Intangibles are always something that can come into play, and McFarland is well aware of how well his team usually plays against Cabot. “You never know how things will play out,” McFarland said. “We like to hope we can get off to the same start against them this year as we did last year – Searcy led 21-0 in the first quarter – but I’m sure they are hoping they can have the same second quarter. It was a close game last year, we’ll just have to see.”
The Lions and Panthers will kick off the non-conference matchup at 7:30 this Friday at Lions Stadium in Searcy.
SPORTS >>Streaking Wolves present problems
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Red Devils have not played extremely well for four quarters yet this season, and this week they are traveling for the first time to take on a team that has so far exceeded expectations. Lake Hamilton starts just three seniors on offense and defense and many believed it would be a rebuilding year for the Wolves.
The Wolves have played like anything but underdogs so far. In week one they massacred JA Fair, then knocked off Class 7A Pine Bluff last Friday night. Their efforts have earned them as high as a No. 3 ranking in some publications. Lake Hamilton coach Jerry Clay is more pleased than anyone about his team’s success, but believes Jacksonville could present a level of speed his team hasn’t seen this year.
“As far as all over the field, I don’t know if anybody we’ve faced yet is like Jacksonville,” Clay said. “Pine Bluff though, they’ve got a lot of athletes, and our league has a lot of speed in it. So I think our kids know every year what they’re going to have to get ready for.” Contrastingly, Jacksonville hasn’t played a team yet that has done what Lake Hamilton will try to do. The Wolves spread the field, and run and pass well out of that formation. On the bright side, Jacksonville’s defense has practiced against the spread for two years.
Clay plans for his team to be able to throw the ball around a lot as it matures and learns his system. So far, they have thrown 13 passes against Fair and 18 against the Zebras. Clay has been pleased with the throwing and catching aspect of his passing game. He’s very comfortable with sophomore quarterback ??.
“He has done a good job so far,” Clay said. “He throws it well and handles pressure pretty well. He’s had to because we haven’t protected him real well.” Like Jacksonville, a small offensive line has caused some problems for the Wolves this season. The Red Devil will be the best matchup for Lake Hamilton in size that it’s enjoyed so far this year, but things still won’t be even.
“I think we could match up a little better up front this week, but they’ve still got a little size on us,” Clay said. “I’ve got two starters up front under 200 pounds, so we’re very small and very inexperienced up there. We’ve had some trouble protecting the quarterback, especially against Pine Bluff, but they’re working hard to get better. Pine Bluff just completely overmatched us at spots too. We’re not going to see many teams with the kind of size they had on the defensive line.”
Jacksonville too will enjoy not being at such a size disadvantage up front, but Whatley is still concerned about Lake Hamilton’s defense. “We’re going to have to recognize fronts,” Whatley said. “Assignments are going to be very important. They present a lot of problems with running people through on their stunts.”
The suspect pass blocking has forced the Wolves to run the ball too. They’ve run it about 65 percent of the time, and have been pretty successful with it. That means they’re not going to turn away from it. “We want to be able to run the ball too,” Clay said. “We’d like to be able to throw it a little more than we have so far, but we’re not going to shy away from something we can do pretty well.”
Jacksonville may run a little more than it has with addition of senior fullback Justin Sebourn into the lineup for the first time this year. “I don’t know how much he’s going to play right now,” Whatley said. “We’re a little concerned with his conditioning, but he’s the kind of kid that provides a lift. He makes plays on both sides of the ball.” Jacksonville improved on its throwing and catching from week one to week two, and have worked on some of the little things that Whatley believes has to get better.
“We’ve corrected some of the little bitty things like lengthening the routes that will make us better,” Whatley said.
The Devils and Wolves will kickoff in Pearcy at 7:00 Friday.
Leader sports editor
The Jacksonville Red Devils have not played extremely well for four quarters yet this season, and this week they are traveling for the first time to take on a team that has so far exceeded expectations. Lake Hamilton starts just three seniors on offense and defense and many believed it would be a rebuilding year for the Wolves.
The Wolves have played like anything but underdogs so far. In week one they massacred JA Fair, then knocked off Class 7A Pine Bluff last Friday night. Their efforts have earned them as high as a No. 3 ranking in some publications. Lake Hamilton coach Jerry Clay is more pleased than anyone about his team’s success, but believes Jacksonville could present a level of speed his team hasn’t seen this year.
“As far as all over the field, I don’t know if anybody we’ve faced yet is like Jacksonville,” Clay said. “Pine Bluff though, they’ve got a lot of athletes, and our league has a lot of speed in it. So I think our kids know every year what they’re going to have to get ready for.” Contrastingly, Jacksonville hasn’t played a team yet that has done what Lake Hamilton will try to do. The Wolves spread the field, and run and pass well out of that formation. On the bright side, Jacksonville’s defense has practiced against the spread for two years.
Clay plans for his team to be able to throw the ball around a lot as it matures and learns his system. So far, they have thrown 13 passes against Fair and 18 against the Zebras. Clay has been pleased with the throwing and catching aspect of his passing game. He’s very comfortable with sophomore quarterback ??.
“He has done a good job so far,” Clay said. “He throws it well and handles pressure pretty well. He’s had to because we haven’t protected him real well.” Like Jacksonville, a small offensive line has caused some problems for the Wolves this season. The Red Devil will be the best matchup for Lake Hamilton in size that it’s enjoyed so far this year, but things still won’t be even.
“I think we could match up a little better up front this week, but they’ve still got a little size on us,” Clay said. “I’ve got two starters up front under 200 pounds, so we’re very small and very inexperienced up there. We’ve had some trouble protecting the quarterback, especially against Pine Bluff, but they’re working hard to get better. Pine Bluff just completely overmatched us at spots too. We’re not going to see many teams with the kind of size they had on the defensive line.”
Jacksonville too will enjoy not being at such a size disadvantage up front, but Whatley is still concerned about Lake Hamilton’s defense. “We’re going to have to recognize fronts,” Whatley said. “Assignments are going to be very important. They present a lot of problems with running people through on their stunts.”
The suspect pass blocking has forced the Wolves to run the ball too. They’ve run it about 65 percent of the time, and have been pretty successful with it. That means they’re not going to turn away from it. “We want to be able to run the ball too,” Clay said. “We’d like to be able to throw it a little more than we have so far, but we’re not going to shy away from something we can do pretty well.”
Jacksonville may run a little more than it has with addition of senior fullback Justin Sebourn into the lineup for the first time this year. “I don’t know how much he’s going to play right now,” Whatley said. “We’re a little concerned with his conditioning, but he’s the kind of kid that provides a lift. He makes plays on both sides of the ball.” Jacksonville improved on its throwing and catching from week one to week two, and have worked on some of the little things that Whatley believes has to get better.
“We’ve corrected some of the little bitty things like lengthening the routes that will make us better,” Whatley said.
The Devils and Wolves will kickoff in Pearcy at 7:00 Friday.
SPORTS >>NP, Lonoke do battle
By RAY BENTON AND JASON KING
Leader sports staff
Lonoke will host North Pulaski for the meeting between the schools that started the series three years ago. Both teams have taken similar paths so far this season. Each team had very disappointing openers, then bounced back to play better in week two, but couldn’t get a win. Lonoke head coach Jeff Jones believes that this year’s Falcons possess more versatility than NP teams of the past. His major concern is with the ground attack from Bohannon’s bunch, a running game that racked up close to 300 yards against Jacksonville last week.
“They have a lot of size up front,” Jones said. “They are a strong running team with a lot of different looks. I think they have the potential to go all the way on any given play.” North Pulaski coach Tony Bohannon knows that Lonoke has a new coach and a new offensive scheme, but is focusing his attention on his own team.
“Right now I’m more worried about us than what other teams are going to do,” Bohannon said. “They’re good and they’re doing some new things over there with the spread. I think playing Jacksonville last week will help us this week against Lonoke. We just have to concentrate on not making things harder for ourselves than they have to be. We’ve had some big old boo boos in both games that have just hurt us too much.”
NP’s biggest mistakes this year have consisted of giving the ball away while sniffing the end zone. There have been several smaller, but equally costly mistakes that have thwarted Falcon drives this year too. “It’s a lot of little things really,” Bohannon said. Although the ‘Rabbits come into Friday’s home opener with a record of 0-2, Jones also says the his team’s performance in week two at Beebe was more solid than the opener at Hot Springs.
“I saw major improvements from game one to game two,” Jones said. “If we can continue to improve like that from week to week, we can be a very good football team. We’ve been good at times and bad at times, we just have to continue to work hard in practice and get more consistent with our fundamentals. We just have to be able to put it all together, and hopefully we can break through.”
The Jackrabbits may have been the victims of bad luck in the closing moments against Beebe, but their luck with the injury bug so far has been fair. The only major injury after two weeks is a broken foot for starting center Jason Smith. “It had been aggravating him for a while,” Jones said. “The Beebe game just topped it off. We have some bumps and bruises, but that is the only big one we have right now. We are still pretty healthy.”
North Pulaski enters the game hoping to continue progress from its second-half effort against Jacksonville. Everything worked better in the second half after giving up big points in the first half against the Red Devils. The defense stiffened up and the offense began executing. Some of that execution can be attributed to moving sophomore athlete Stanley Appleby from quarterback to tailback. Appleby broke a long run for a touchdown to get his team back into the game with Jacksonville.
Sophomore Michael Fleshman will take over most of the quarterback duties. He has performed well in junior varsity games, but will likely still share snaps with Appleby.
“He’s just got to get more comfortable out there,” Bohannon said. “He’s done pretty well in JV, but there’s a big difference in JV and varsity. He has to learn to keep himself under control, and he’s learning.”
Leader sports staff
Lonoke will host North Pulaski for the meeting between the schools that started the series three years ago. Both teams have taken similar paths so far this season. Each team had very disappointing openers, then bounced back to play better in week two, but couldn’t get a win. Lonoke head coach Jeff Jones believes that this year’s Falcons possess more versatility than NP teams of the past. His major concern is with the ground attack from Bohannon’s bunch, a running game that racked up close to 300 yards against Jacksonville last week.
“They have a lot of size up front,” Jones said. “They are a strong running team with a lot of different looks. I think they have the potential to go all the way on any given play.” North Pulaski coach Tony Bohannon knows that Lonoke has a new coach and a new offensive scheme, but is focusing his attention on his own team.
“Right now I’m more worried about us than what other teams are going to do,” Bohannon said. “They’re good and they’re doing some new things over there with the spread. I think playing Jacksonville last week will help us this week against Lonoke. We just have to concentrate on not making things harder for ourselves than they have to be. We’ve had some big old boo boos in both games that have just hurt us too much.”
NP’s biggest mistakes this year have consisted of giving the ball away while sniffing the end zone. There have been several smaller, but equally costly mistakes that have thwarted Falcon drives this year too. “It’s a lot of little things really,” Bohannon said. Although the ‘Rabbits come into Friday’s home opener with a record of 0-2, Jones also says the his team’s performance in week two at Beebe was more solid than the opener at Hot Springs.
“I saw major improvements from game one to game two,” Jones said. “If we can continue to improve like that from week to week, we can be a very good football team. We’ve been good at times and bad at times, we just have to continue to work hard in practice and get more consistent with our fundamentals. We just have to be able to put it all together, and hopefully we can break through.”
The Jackrabbits may have been the victims of bad luck in the closing moments against Beebe, but their luck with the injury bug so far has been fair. The only major injury after two weeks is a broken foot for starting center Jason Smith. “It had been aggravating him for a while,” Jones said. “The Beebe game just topped it off. We have some bumps and bruises, but that is the only big one we have right now. We are still pretty healthy.”
North Pulaski enters the game hoping to continue progress from its second-half effort against Jacksonville. Everything worked better in the second half after giving up big points in the first half against the Red Devils. The defense stiffened up and the offense began executing. Some of that execution can be attributed to moving sophomore athlete Stanley Appleby from quarterback to tailback. Appleby broke a long run for a touchdown to get his team back into the game with Jacksonville.
Sophomore Michael Fleshman will take over most of the quarterback duties. He has performed well in junior varsity games, but will likely still share snaps with Appleby.
“He’s just got to get more comfortable out there,” Bohannon said. “He’s done pretty well in JV, but there’s a big difference in JV and varsity. He has to learn to keep himself under control, and he’s learning.”
OBITUARIES >> 09-13-06
FRANCES MILSTEAD
Frances Anne Milstead, 69, of Little Rock, formerly of Memphis, passed away Sept. 8 at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Little Rock. She was born Sept. 11, 1936 in Water Valley, Miss., to Odie Bruce and Mary Frances Vaughn Shuffield.
Following graduation from high school, she worked as an operating nurse in Water Valley. On June 2, 1956, she married Ray Milstead in Oxford, Miss. They moved to Memphis in 1958 and worked eight years for Holiday Press and two years for The Commercial Appeal as a book binder. She was a member of North Main Methodist Church in Water Valley.
She is survived by her husband, Ray Milstead; daughter, Maryanne Campbell of Little Rock; son and daughter-in-law, Bill and Elizabeth Milstead of Clinton, Miss.; three grandsons, Hunter Ray Campbell and Matthew and Jacob Milstead; two brothers, Odie Bruce Shuffield Jr. and Charles Allen Shuffield, and a sister, Linda Rae Shuffield, all of Water Valley, Miss.
Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at North Main Methodist Church in Water Valley with Bro. Harold Jaudon officiating. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home of Jacksonville. Memorials may be made to North Main Methodist Church, Water Valley, Miss.
HERBERT DAVID ELLISON, SR.
Herbert David Ellison, Sr., 64, of Jacksonville died Sept. 8 in Little Rock.
He was born May 27, 1942 in Freeport, N.Y., to the late Chester A. and Nancy R. Brambach Ellison, Sr. He was also preceded in death by a son, Herbert David Ellison, Jr.; granddaughters, Sydney and Paige and great-grandson, Ethan.
Ellison served in the U.S. Army. He was stationed in France, where he met his beautiful wife of 43 years, Barbara. Survivors include his wife, Barbara Ellison of Jacksonville; three sons, Robert Mark Ellison and his wife Diane and Chad A. Ellison and his wife Becky Jean, all of Austin, and Timothy Andrew Ellison of Jacksonville; five daughters, Kim Denise Hardin of Cabot, Kelly Doreen Kulback and her husband Jess of Deering, N.H., Kristy Dorn Flynn and her husband Michael of Benton, Betty Jane Houston and her husband John Ashley of Austin, Barbara Jean Winters and her husband Glenn of Hillsbro N.H.; three brothers, Robert Ellison of Palm Coast, Fla., Peter Ellison and his wife Janis of Wantaugh, N.Y., and Chester Ellison and his wife Carla of New London, N.H.; a sister, Nancy Conlon of West Palm Beach, Fla.; 32 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
He was a loving and caring father and grandfather, who will be dearly missed.
A memorial service was held Sept. 11 at Grace Fellowship in Cabot. Funeral arrangements were by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
IRENE BROCK
Irene Stacy Brock, 79, of Conway, died Friday, Sept. 8. She was born Jan. 23, 1927 to George Washington and Loula Stacy. She was of Baptist faith.
She was preceded in death by her husbands, James Lee Carmichael, Pat Mayo, Idis Deeter and Jim Brock; her father; and two sons, Donald Ray Carmichael and Frankie Lewis Mayo.
She is survived by her mother, Loula Stacy, age 102, of Pocahontas; her son, Larry Carmichael and wife Dianna of Wooster; two daughters, Rena Lee Outlaw and husband Tommy of Pine Bluff and Rebecca Lynn Milton and husband Gary of Springdale; nine grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren. Funeral was Sept. 12 at West-brook Funeral Home at Beebe with burial in Grissard Cemetery.
LARRY JOHNSON, SR.
Larry Joe Johnson Sr., 59, formerly of Lonoke, died Sept. 8. He was born March 28, 1947 to the late Leo and Kathryn Johnson in Little Rock. He was a retired truck driver, owner/operator of 20 years.
He was preceded in death by his parents and granddaughter, Brandi Parker. Survivors include his wife of 24 years, Kathy Johnson; one son, Larry and his wife Sherry Johnson, Jr. of Butlerville; two daughters, Laura and husband Danny Lackie of Ward and Shannon Benton of Lonoke; and two step-daughters, Jennifer and husband Jim Glass of Conway and Keni Overton of Mabelvale; 12 grandchildren; two sisters, Charlotte Johnson of Calif. and Bobbie Wilson of Ariz.; one very special friend Tommy Murphy and many other friends and relatives. A funeral service was held Sept. 12 at Boyd Funeral Home Chapel in Lonoke with burial in Hester Cemetery.
PAULINE LEE
Pauline Cordell Lee, 81, of Beebe went to be with the Lord at 11:30 p.m. Sept. 9. She died at home surrounded by friends and loved ones. She was born Feb. 2, 1925 to Elmer “Bigger” and Gliddie Cordell in White County. She was a retired waitress. She worked for Buck Powers’ Restaurant in Beebe and later for Anderson’s Restaurant in Beebe. She last worked as the hostess at McDonald’s in Beebe.
She is survived by one sister, Verna Pemberton of Beebe and a host of friends and neighbors who dearly loved her. Funeral services will be held at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe at 2 p.m Wednesday. Burial will be in Antioch Cemetery. Her pallbearers will be Richard Featherston, Gary Scroggs, Jim Allen, Ryan Allen, Lee Cales, Bobby Ginder and Glen Pledger.
JERRY BUTLER
Jerry Melvin Butler, 66, passed from this world on Sept. 9. He was born July 29, 1940, in Hope, to Luther Harold and Grace Samantha Powell Butler. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Nena Resolme Butler; two sons, Frank Owen Butler and jerry Wayne Butler; and two grandchildren.
He was a machinist in Corpus Christi, Texas, before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1958. He become a tactical instructor in 1965, while stationed in San Diego, Calif. He was wounded three times in Vietnam and was awarded the Purple Heart. He then enlisted in the Air Force in 1968 and served mostly with the Air Police before retiring in 1978.
He joined the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department in 1981 and served 12 years.
As a disabled veteran, he was a member of the DAV, VFW, American Legion, Air Police Security Association, Knights of Columbus as a 4th Degree and the Fil-Am Association.
He served his country, family and friends with love and honor. He is now on the eternal road trip, rockin’ with the King, and slingin’ with the Duke.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Jude Catholic Church in Jacksonville. There will be a Rosary at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Burial will be in Rest Hills Cemetery in Sherwood. Funeral arrangements are by Wood Funeral Home in Jacksonville.
Frances Anne Milstead, 69, of Little Rock, formerly of Memphis, passed away Sept. 8 at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Little Rock. She was born Sept. 11, 1936 in Water Valley, Miss., to Odie Bruce and Mary Frances Vaughn Shuffield.
Following graduation from high school, she worked as an operating nurse in Water Valley. On June 2, 1956, she married Ray Milstead in Oxford, Miss. They moved to Memphis in 1958 and worked eight years for Holiday Press and two years for The Commercial Appeal as a book binder. She was a member of North Main Methodist Church in Water Valley.
She is survived by her husband, Ray Milstead; daughter, Maryanne Campbell of Little Rock; son and daughter-in-law, Bill and Elizabeth Milstead of Clinton, Miss.; three grandsons, Hunter Ray Campbell and Matthew and Jacob Milstead; two brothers, Odie Bruce Shuffield Jr. and Charles Allen Shuffield, and a sister, Linda Rae Shuffield, all of Water Valley, Miss.
Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at North Main Methodist Church in Water Valley with Bro. Harold Jaudon officiating. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home of Jacksonville. Memorials may be made to North Main Methodist Church, Water Valley, Miss.
HERBERT DAVID ELLISON, SR.
Herbert David Ellison, Sr., 64, of Jacksonville died Sept. 8 in Little Rock.
He was born May 27, 1942 in Freeport, N.Y., to the late Chester A. and Nancy R. Brambach Ellison, Sr. He was also preceded in death by a son, Herbert David Ellison, Jr.; granddaughters, Sydney and Paige and great-grandson, Ethan.
Ellison served in the U.S. Army. He was stationed in France, where he met his beautiful wife of 43 years, Barbara. Survivors include his wife, Barbara Ellison of Jacksonville; three sons, Robert Mark Ellison and his wife Diane and Chad A. Ellison and his wife Becky Jean, all of Austin, and Timothy Andrew Ellison of Jacksonville; five daughters, Kim Denise Hardin of Cabot, Kelly Doreen Kulback and her husband Jess of Deering, N.H., Kristy Dorn Flynn and her husband Michael of Benton, Betty Jane Houston and her husband John Ashley of Austin, Barbara Jean Winters and her husband Glenn of Hillsbro N.H.; three brothers, Robert Ellison of Palm Coast, Fla., Peter Ellison and his wife Janis of Wantaugh, N.Y., and Chester Ellison and his wife Carla of New London, N.H.; a sister, Nancy Conlon of West Palm Beach, Fla.; 32 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
He was a loving and caring father and grandfather, who will be dearly missed.
A memorial service was held Sept. 11 at Grace Fellowship in Cabot. Funeral arrangements were by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home.
IRENE BROCK
Irene Stacy Brock, 79, of Conway, died Friday, Sept. 8. She was born Jan. 23, 1927 to George Washington and Loula Stacy. She was of Baptist faith.
She was preceded in death by her husbands, James Lee Carmichael, Pat Mayo, Idis Deeter and Jim Brock; her father; and two sons, Donald Ray Carmichael and Frankie Lewis Mayo.
She is survived by her mother, Loula Stacy, age 102, of Pocahontas; her son, Larry Carmichael and wife Dianna of Wooster; two daughters, Rena Lee Outlaw and husband Tommy of Pine Bluff and Rebecca Lynn Milton and husband Gary of Springdale; nine grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren. Funeral was Sept. 12 at West-brook Funeral Home at Beebe with burial in Grissard Cemetery.
LARRY JOHNSON, SR.
Larry Joe Johnson Sr., 59, formerly of Lonoke, died Sept. 8. He was born March 28, 1947 to the late Leo and Kathryn Johnson in Little Rock. He was a retired truck driver, owner/operator of 20 years.
He was preceded in death by his parents and granddaughter, Brandi Parker. Survivors include his wife of 24 years, Kathy Johnson; one son, Larry and his wife Sherry Johnson, Jr. of Butlerville; two daughters, Laura and husband Danny Lackie of Ward and Shannon Benton of Lonoke; and two step-daughters, Jennifer and husband Jim Glass of Conway and Keni Overton of Mabelvale; 12 grandchildren; two sisters, Charlotte Johnson of Calif. and Bobbie Wilson of Ariz.; one very special friend Tommy Murphy and many other friends and relatives. A funeral service was held Sept. 12 at Boyd Funeral Home Chapel in Lonoke with burial in Hester Cemetery.
PAULINE LEE
Pauline Cordell Lee, 81, of Beebe went to be with the Lord at 11:30 p.m. Sept. 9. She died at home surrounded by friends and loved ones. She was born Feb. 2, 1925 to Elmer “Bigger” and Gliddie Cordell in White County. She was a retired waitress. She worked for Buck Powers’ Restaurant in Beebe and later for Anderson’s Restaurant in Beebe. She last worked as the hostess at McDonald’s in Beebe.
She is survived by one sister, Verna Pemberton of Beebe and a host of friends and neighbors who dearly loved her. Funeral services will be held at Westbrook Funeral Home in Beebe at 2 p.m Wednesday. Burial will be in Antioch Cemetery. Her pallbearers will be Richard Featherston, Gary Scroggs, Jim Allen, Ryan Allen, Lee Cales, Bobby Ginder and Glen Pledger.
JERRY BUTLER
Jerry Melvin Butler, 66, passed from this world on Sept. 9. He was born July 29, 1940, in Hope, to Luther Harold and Grace Samantha Powell Butler. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Nena Resolme Butler; two sons, Frank Owen Butler and jerry Wayne Butler; and two grandchildren.
He was a machinist in Corpus Christi, Texas, before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1958. He become a tactical instructor in 1965, while stationed in San Diego, Calif. He was wounded three times in Vietnam and was awarded the Purple Heart. He then enlisted in the Air Force in 1968 and served mostly with the Air Police before retiring in 1978.
He joined the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department in 1981 and served 12 years.
As a disabled veteran, he was a member of the DAV, VFW, American Legion, Air Police Security Association, Knights of Columbus as a 4th Degree and the Fil-Am Association.
He served his country, family and friends with love and honor. He is now on the eternal road trip, rockin’ with the King, and slingin’ with the Duke.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Jude Catholic Church in Jacksonville. There will be a Rosary at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Burial will be in Rest Hills Cemetery in Sherwood. Funeral arrangements are by Wood Funeral Home in Jacksonville.
EDITORIAL>>Docudrama downfall
By ERNIE DUMAS
Editorial writer for The Leader
Impartial media may have become an oxymoron, but even in this day of jaded and sly journalism ABC’s five-hour documentary, or “docudrama,” “The Path to 9/11” is a monumental embarrassment. More than that, it is an affront to the American people. At least for living Americans, Sept. 11, 2001, remains the most monstrous day in U.S. history, and most people expect a high degree of reverence for the event and the memory of it. It brought the country, even the warring political parties in Washington, together for a remarkable period back there and on Monday, five years and many bruising battles later, all sides in Washington strove for some evenhandedness, some harmony, even if the shallow armistice was only for a single day.
But “The Path to 9/11,” which ran for two nights, was a jarring reminder of how the deep divisions in the country have corrupted nearly every institution. ABC, once the solid bellwether of the electronic media but now the property of the right-wing Walt Disney Co., exploited the nation’s mourning to put across the message that the terrorist attacks and all the sorrows that have followed lay at the feet of former President Bill Clinton. Disney produced the film and used its media property to circulate it.
An election is approaching and the docudrama was supposed to recast people’s reflections on the past five years in a more favorable light to the Bush administration. Blame and the worthiness of the administration’s efforts to punish the enemy and combat terrorism are perfectly good questions for argument, but it is dishonest to deliver one side’s message subliminally in a documentary that purports to be almost truthful. (A disclaimer did acknowledge that some characters were “composites” and that times were “compressed for dramatic purposes,” as if 9/11 itself were not sufficiently dramatic.)
The script was written by a friend of Rush Limbaugh, who, along with a handful of Republicans, was given a chance to review it before the airing. The upshot of the film was that Clinton and his surrogates twice had a chance to kill Osama bin Laden, but they were all too cowardly or dumb to pull the trigger. These stories cropped up in the months after 9/11 — often on Limbaugh’s show — but the 9/11 Commission, headed by a Republican politician, ferreted out the truth of those situations. Although the film purports to be based on the report of the 9/11 Commission whole scenes, narratives and dialogue frequently fly in the face of the report.
Everyone in the Clinton administration, from the president down to the ambassador to Yemen, Barbara K. Bodine, and unnamed bureaucrats are characterized as spineless or ignorant. Some scenes contradict incontrovertible fact. Richard A. Clarke, the counterterrorist chief who pressed both administrations to act more forcefully against terrorists and who now is a terrorism consultant to ABC, said the film was fiction.
American Airlines Monday condemned the film because it insinuated that the airline had ignored a warning about Mohammed Atta, the 9/11 ringleader, when he tried to check in at the Boston airport on 9/11 but waved him onto the plane anyway.
The film insinuated that the airline was negligent and violated federal rules. But every particular about the scene was wrong: the airport, the airline and what happened. The real airline, U.S. Airways, was not negligent either, the 9/11 Commission said.
Asked about the documentary at Little Rock the other day, Clinton said simply: “I think they ought to tell the truth.” It is as simple as that. And the truth was frightening enough.
Editorial writer for The Leader
Impartial media may have become an oxymoron, but even in this day of jaded and sly journalism ABC’s five-hour documentary, or “docudrama,” “The Path to 9/11” is a monumental embarrassment. More than that, it is an affront to the American people. At least for living Americans, Sept. 11, 2001, remains the most monstrous day in U.S. history, and most people expect a high degree of reverence for the event and the memory of it. It brought the country, even the warring political parties in Washington, together for a remarkable period back there and on Monday, five years and many bruising battles later, all sides in Washington strove for some evenhandedness, some harmony, even if the shallow armistice was only for a single day.
But “The Path to 9/11,” which ran for two nights, was a jarring reminder of how the deep divisions in the country have corrupted nearly every institution. ABC, once the solid bellwether of the electronic media but now the property of the right-wing Walt Disney Co., exploited the nation’s mourning to put across the message that the terrorist attacks and all the sorrows that have followed lay at the feet of former President Bill Clinton. Disney produced the film and used its media property to circulate it.
An election is approaching and the docudrama was supposed to recast people’s reflections on the past five years in a more favorable light to the Bush administration. Blame and the worthiness of the administration’s efforts to punish the enemy and combat terrorism are perfectly good questions for argument, but it is dishonest to deliver one side’s message subliminally in a documentary that purports to be almost truthful. (A disclaimer did acknowledge that some characters were “composites” and that times were “compressed for dramatic purposes,” as if 9/11 itself were not sufficiently dramatic.)
The script was written by a friend of Rush Limbaugh, who, along with a handful of Republicans, was given a chance to review it before the airing. The upshot of the film was that Clinton and his surrogates twice had a chance to kill Osama bin Laden, but they were all too cowardly or dumb to pull the trigger. These stories cropped up in the months after 9/11 — often on Limbaugh’s show — but the 9/11 Commission, headed by a Republican politician, ferreted out the truth of those situations. Although the film purports to be based on the report of the 9/11 Commission whole scenes, narratives and dialogue frequently fly in the face of the report.
Everyone in the Clinton administration, from the president down to the ambassador to Yemen, Barbara K. Bodine, and unnamed bureaucrats are characterized as spineless or ignorant. Some scenes contradict incontrovertible fact. Richard A. Clarke, the counterterrorist chief who pressed both administrations to act more forcefully against terrorists and who now is a terrorism consultant to ABC, said the film was fiction.
American Airlines Monday condemned the film because it insinuated that the airline had ignored a warning about Mohammed Atta, the 9/11 ringleader, when he tried to check in at the Boston airport on 9/11 but waved him onto the plane anyway.
The film insinuated that the airline was negligent and violated federal rules. But every particular about the scene was wrong: the airport, the airline and what happened. The real airline, U.S. Airways, was not negligent either, the 9/11 Commission said.
Asked about the documentary at Little Rock the other day, Clinton said simply: “I think they ought to tell the truth.” It is as simple as that. And the truth was frightening enough.
FROM THE PUBLISHER >> Honoring heroes in a time of terrorism
Sgt. Synnora Guinn of the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department was decked out in her Scottish regalia and played “Amazing Grace” on her bag pipes at the end of a ceremony Monday honoring America’s heroes. She stood outside a wide door at the Jacksonville Museum of Military History while those at the ceremony stood and listened inside, candles flickering in the dimly lit room because some lights had gone out, but that made for an even more moving ceremony.
Some of the people closed their eyes and held back tears, and they may have imagined they were at the World Trade Center, where the sounds of Scottish bagpipes are heard at every memorial service. It had stopped raining just before the ceremony, which was moved inside because of the rain. The sun had set and candles flickered inside as Ms. Guinn’s mournful sounds filled the big room in front of her and the night air beyond her.
She stood outside the museum, not far from the tall veterans monument, and motorists must have heard Ms. Guinn’s bagpipes, which is now the instrument of choice when America mourns its dead. Kyla Horton sang “The Star Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America,” our second anthem, which is much easier to sing than the first and sounds better, too.
Current and past military commanders at Little Rock Air Force Base were in attendance, including Brig. Gen. Kip Self and retired Col. Roy Hart and Col. Bill Kehler.
The Kehlers’ son, First Lt. Timothy W. Kehler, who died during a training mission, was among those honored during a long roll call of local heroes. Those participating at the ceremony, like all Americans, were relieved there were no attacks on America on this Sept. 11. Al Qaeda is weakened, to be sure: It could not pull off a terrorist attack on the fifth anniversary of 9/11. All it could do was release a lousy video that threatened more attacks, but al Qaeda is on the run, probably low on funds and many of its followers dead or in custody.
Yet, the U.S. remains vulnerable, as we saw Tuesday, when fanatics tried to attack the U.S. Embassy in Damascus. Their bombs didn’t go off, and perhaps they were free-lance terrorists unaffiliated with bin Laden, but you get the feeling that these suicide bombers are not radical Islam’s best and brightest. But one day, it will take only an evil genius to get his hands on a nuclear device and set it off in the middle of a large city. Let us hope that terrible day will never come.
Some of the people closed their eyes and held back tears, and they may have imagined they were at the World Trade Center, where the sounds of Scottish bagpipes are heard at every memorial service. It had stopped raining just before the ceremony, which was moved inside because of the rain. The sun had set and candles flickered inside as Ms. Guinn’s mournful sounds filled the big room in front of her and the night air beyond her.
She stood outside the museum, not far from the tall veterans monument, and motorists must have heard Ms. Guinn’s bagpipes, which is now the instrument of choice when America mourns its dead. Kyla Horton sang “The Star Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America,” our second anthem, which is much easier to sing than the first and sounds better, too.
Current and past military commanders at Little Rock Air Force Base were in attendance, including Brig. Gen. Kip Self and retired Col. Roy Hart and Col. Bill Kehler.
The Kehlers’ son, First Lt. Timothy W. Kehler, who died during a training mission, was among those honored during a long roll call of local heroes. Those participating at the ceremony, like all Americans, were relieved there were no attacks on America on this Sept. 11. Al Qaeda is weakened, to be sure: It could not pull off a terrorist attack on the fifth anniversary of 9/11. All it could do was release a lousy video that threatened more attacks, but al Qaeda is on the run, probably low on funds and many of its followers dead or in custody.
Yet, the U.S. remains vulnerable, as we saw Tuesday, when fanatics tried to attack the U.S. Embassy in Damascus. Their bombs didn’t go off, and perhaps they were free-lance terrorists unaffiliated with bin Laden, but you get the feeling that these suicide bombers are not radical Islam’s best and brightest. But one day, it will take only an evil genius to get his hands on a nuclear device and set it off in the middle of a large city. Let us hope that terrible day will never come.
TOP STORY >>Colonel:U.S. must continue terror war
By SARA GREENE
Leader staff writer
If America withdraws its forces from Iraq too soon, there will be more attacks like those five years ago on 9/11, according to Col. Mike Ross, commander of the 39th Infantry Brigade, Arkansas Army National Guard, at Camp Robinson. “You can’t put a timeline on stabilizing Iraq. It’s mission oriented. The insurgency eventually will go away under the burden of its own oppression. You can only kill so many of your own people before the people say ‘enough is enough’ and stand up,” Ross said. “My personal opinion is the only way we will lose this war is to pull out prematurely. It is a battle of wills,” Ross said, addressing the Jacksonville Rotary Club Monday.
America has more at stake today than it did in World War II, Ross said. Leaving Iraq would give al Qaeda the psychological edge to continue attacking America and enlist allies, he said. In March 2004, the 39th Infantry Brigade arrived in Iraq and spent 13 months in the sand, training Iraqi forces, fighting insurgents and rebuilding both urban and rural infrastructure. Arkansas soldiers provided medical care, rebuilt schools and built water-treatment facilities around Fallujah and Taji.
“That’s how you win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. The little kids over there, they like electricity, they like televisions and air conditioning. We’re not going to change a lot of the mindset of the Iraqi people there today but we are changing the mindset of the future generations. They like having something to look forward to,” Ross told The Leader.
Before the U.S. arrived, hardly anyone in Iraq had electricity, much less a radio or television. Now electricity is available in most areas and many homes have a television satellite dish on the roof. Cars are becoming more common and Iraqis are learning to deal with traffic jams.
The soldiers of the 39th Infantry Brigade brought skills from their civilian jobs to help make a difference for Iraqis. Skills like welding, plumbing and electrical engineering are put to use. Upon returning from Iraq, Ross said he expected a 40 to 50 percent reenlistment rate. So far, it’s been closer to 80 percent.
The soldiers he talks to tell Ross their civilian jobs don’t seem as important as helping the people of Iraq. Besides Iraq, Arkansas soldiers have provided tornado and ice storm support within the state. Last year, more than 3,000 Arkansas soldiers went to the Gulf Coast after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Some 1,700 Guard troops are mobilized for overseas missions in support of the global war on terror, as well as stateside in support of Operation Jump Start, a support mission to the Department of Homeland Security and the Customs and Border Protection Service (CBP) to quell illegal immigration.
Leader staff writer
If America withdraws its forces from Iraq too soon, there will be more attacks like those five years ago on 9/11, according to Col. Mike Ross, commander of the 39th Infantry Brigade, Arkansas Army National Guard, at Camp Robinson. “You can’t put a timeline on stabilizing Iraq. It’s mission oriented. The insurgency eventually will go away under the burden of its own oppression. You can only kill so many of your own people before the people say ‘enough is enough’ and stand up,” Ross said. “My personal opinion is the only way we will lose this war is to pull out prematurely. It is a battle of wills,” Ross said, addressing the Jacksonville Rotary Club Monday.
America has more at stake today than it did in World War II, Ross said. Leaving Iraq would give al Qaeda the psychological edge to continue attacking America and enlist allies, he said. In March 2004, the 39th Infantry Brigade arrived in Iraq and spent 13 months in the sand, training Iraqi forces, fighting insurgents and rebuilding both urban and rural infrastructure. Arkansas soldiers provided medical care, rebuilt schools and built water-treatment facilities around Fallujah and Taji.
“That’s how you win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. The little kids over there, they like electricity, they like televisions and air conditioning. We’re not going to change a lot of the mindset of the Iraqi people there today but we are changing the mindset of the future generations. They like having something to look forward to,” Ross told The Leader.
Before the U.S. arrived, hardly anyone in Iraq had electricity, much less a radio or television. Now electricity is available in most areas and many homes have a television satellite dish on the roof. Cars are becoming more common and Iraqis are learning to deal with traffic jams.
The soldiers of the 39th Infantry Brigade brought skills from their civilian jobs to help make a difference for Iraqis. Skills like welding, plumbing and electrical engineering are put to use. Upon returning from Iraq, Ross said he expected a 40 to 50 percent reenlistment rate. So far, it’s been closer to 80 percent.
The soldiers he talks to tell Ross their civilian jobs don’t seem as important as helping the people of Iraq. Besides Iraq, Arkansas soldiers have provided tornado and ice storm support within the state. Last year, more than 3,000 Arkansas soldiers went to the Gulf Coast after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Some 1,700 Guard troops are mobilized for overseas missions in support of the global war on terror, as well as stateside in support of Operation Jump Start, a support mission to the Department of Homeland Security and the Customs and Border Protection Service (CBP) to quell illegal immigration.
TOP STORY >>HUD probe sees widespread mismanagement
By PEG KENYON
Leader staff writer
The former director of the Jacksonville Housing Authority admitted to fraud in a report The Leader obtained from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The report outlines findings of a federal audit of the agency earlier this year. The Jacksonville Housing Authority, which oversees the Max Howell Place apartment complex and disbursement of rent vouchers, caught the attention of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Executive director Virginia Simmons resigned from her JHA post shortly after the audit. She had been executive director for 14 years. The report also said the agency had concerns over lack of security and a lack of response to what should have been emergency work orders. In mid-June the federal agency asked for contracts and work orders for more than $132,000 spent by the housing authority. HUD officials wanted to scrutinize all contracts and purchase orders and asked that they be pulled and available for June 28. On June 27, a JHA employee informed HUD that Simmons had directed her to create four contracts and to call contractors to come to the office and sign the contracts.
THE REVIEW
On the same day, Simmons “admitted to Mr. Jesse Westover, Public Housing director, Little Rock Field Office, that she had falsely reported program obligation under the FY 2003 Capital Fund Program on Sept. 15, 2005 in the amount of $132,788.11,” according to the HUD review document. HUD officials concluded that these actions were taken in an attempt on the part of the then JHA executive director to document evidence to support contracts had legitimately been entered into before the obligation end date of Sept. 16, 2005.
The review also alleges that the local housing authority “did not properly advertise for bids in excess of $25,000” or adequately keep documentation of solicitations. Those deficiencies may require further investigation, according to HUD officials. Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim, who received a copy of the HUD review, cites this as one of the two biggest issues facing the JHA. “They’re still investigating and there could be ramifications over this,” Swaim said. Mismanagement was a problem, he said. While looking over the work order log at JHA, the HUD review’s team noticed there were no work orders listed as being an “emergency.” The team found this unusually “rare” for a housing authority of this size.
The review claims that a work order denoting “‘tenant smells gas’” should have been listed as an emergency work order. The conclusion would be that the JHA should determine what should be classified as emergency work orders.
MEMBERS RESIGN
Coinciding with the HUD review, three members — Ferrell Gray, Robert Colford and Robert Whatley — of the JHA Board of Commissioners followed in Simmons’ footsteps and also resigned. A fourth member, Johnny Moory, had previously resigned due to an illness in the family. The sole remaining commissioner, Fred West, is now hospitalized, according to one of the employees at his State Farm Insurance firm.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, The Leader received the HUD document with the outcome of the review, which was conducted by Corey Grant, public housing revitalization specialist; Johnny Wooley, facilities management specialist; and Sandra King financial analyst. A letter to Mary Boyd, interim executive director for JHA, requested a written response detailing actions taken or planned to address “concerns” contained in the report.
Boyd was not available for comment because she had left to attend training from the state’s National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials organization, according to Barbara Boyd, deputy director at JHA. On Tuesday afternoon, Barbara Boyd said the HUD review was a surprise to her. “We haven’t seen this at all,” she said.
Boyd explained that she was also getting ready to leave for training at the state’s chapter of NAHRA. She said the review would be sent to the interim executive director of the JHA..
SPECIAL REQUEST
With the paperwork obtained through the FOI request is a letter to Mary Boyd, the interim director, requesting a written response detailing actions taken or planned to address “concerns” contained in the review. Those concerns focused on recaptured funds of $23,780 from a fiscal year 2001 program and $5,430 from a fiscal year 2002 program “due to poor program implementation,” according to the document’s summary.
It reads, “The JHA has had problems in the past in regards to documenting and reported to HUD the obligations and expenditures for their CFP (capital funding).” This led to more concerns by HUD dealing with obligations and expenditures for the fiscal year of 2003 because Simmons “waited until one day prior to the program obligations end date to report to funding obligations.…” The amount figure was listed as $132,788. 11. The document noted no disbursements on the obligations until four months later. The review referred to this action as being “odd due to the small amounts” disbursed on the large obligation amount.
Based on past concerns, Jesse Westover, director of the Office of Public Housing, at a June 19 meeting asked Simmons if the JHA had “documentation, executed contracts and/or purchase orders” regarding the $132,788.11. Simmons claimed all the funds reported on Sept. 15, 2005 were either under a contract and/or purchase orders. It was shortly after this that Simmons asked JHA employees for backdated contracts to be drawn up, according to the report.
DISCREPANCIES
In day-to-day operations of the JHA, a HUD review team pointed out possible flaws ranging from personnel policy having not been properly followed to a security officer allegedly seldom seen on the premises. “The security officer is paid a set salary bi-weekly whether he reviews background reports or not,” the document states. The security officer is “not” providing a weekly report of services performed and the review team noted seeing “several messages” between three to 10 days old” left for him by applicants, according to the document.
Employees reported that the security officer is only seen in the office when he signs his time sheets and picks up his paycheck. Additionally, the local housing authority accepts cash for rent payments. “Even though the money is deposited on a daily basis, there is no safeguard over cash nor is rent being collected in a safe secured area,” per HUD Handbook 7511.1, Chapter 3, Section 1. The review indicates that JHA’s personnel policy needs to be revised, adopted by the Board of Commissioners, and then “fully” implemented.
The review uncovered that a maintenance employee was suspended for 10 days without pay but the personnel policy allows for a maximum of seven days without pay. The JHA Board of Commissioners was made aware of the situation and the employee was able to return to work and was being paid for the time off, according to the review team. An independent audit report for 2005 contained one finding for the Housing Choice Voucher Program. The finding was, “Four of the 35 tenant files reviewed lacked adequate documentation.” A similar finding was discovered in 2004.
Leader staff writer
The former director of the Jacksonville Housing Authority admitted to fraud in a report The Leader obtained from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The report outlines findings of a federal audit of the agency earlier this year. The Jacksonville Housing Authority, which oversees the Max Howell Place apartment complex and disbursement of rent vouchers, caught the attention of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Executive director Virginia Simmons resigned from her JHA post shortly after the audit. She had been executive director for 14 years. The report also said the agency had concerns over lack of security and a lack of response to what should have been emergency work orders. In mid-June the federal agency asked for contracts and work orders for more than $132,000 spent by the housing authority. HUD officials wanted to scrutinize all contracts and purchase orders and asked that they be pulled and available for June 28. On June 27, a JHA employee informed HUD that Simmons had directed her to create four contracts and to call contractors to come to the office and sign the contracts.
THE REVIEW
On the same day, Simmons “admitted to Mr. Jesse Westover, Public Housing director, Little Rock Field Office, that she had falsely reported program obligation under the FY 2003 Capital Fund Program on Sept. 15, 2005 in the amount of $132,788.11,” according to the HUD review document. HUD officials concluded that these actions were taken in an attempt on the part of the then JHA executive director to document evidence to support contracts had legitimately been entered into before the obligation end date of Sept. 16, 2005.
The review also alleges that the local housing authority “did not properly advertise for bids in excess of $25,000” or adequately keep documentation of solicitations. Those deficiencies may require further investigation, according to HUD officials. Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim, who received a copy of the HUD review, cites this as one of the two biggest issues facing the JHA. “They’re still investigating and there could be ramifications over this,” Swaim said. Mismanagement was a problem, he said. While looking over the work order log at JHA, the HUD review’s team noticed there were no work orders listed as being an “emergency.” The team found this unusually “rare” for a housing authority of this size.
The review claims that a work order denoting “‘tenant smells gas’” should have been listed as an emergency work order. The conclusion would be that the JHA should determine what should be classified as emergency work orders.
MEMBERS RESIGN
Coinciding with the HUD review, three members — Ferrell Gray, Robert Colford and Robert Whatley — of the JHA Board of Commissioners followed in Simmons’ footsteps and also resigned. A fourth member, Johnny Moory, had previously resigned due to an illness in the family. The sole remaining commissioner, Fred West, is now hospitalized, according to one of the employees at his State Farm Insurance firm.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, The Leader received the HUD document with the outcome of the review, which was conducted by Corey Grant, public housing revitalization specialist; Johnny Wooley, facilities management specialist; and Sandra King financial analyst. A letter to Mary Boyd, interim executive director for JHA, requested a written response detailing actions taken or planned to address “concerns” contained in the report.
Boyd was not available for comment because she had left to attend training from the state’s National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials organization, according to Barbara Boyd, deputy director at JHA. On Tuesday afternoon, Barbara Boyd said the HUD review was a surprise to her. “We haven’t seen this at all,” she said.
Boyd explained that she was also getting ready to leave for training at the state’s chapter of NAHRA. She said the review would be sent to the interim executive director of the JHA..
SPECIAL REQUEST
With the paperwork obtained through the FOI request is a letter to Mary Boyd, the interim director, requesting a written response detailing actions taken or planned to address “concerns” contained in the review. Those concerns focused on recaptured funds of $23,780 from a fiscal year 2001 program and $5,430 from a fiscal year 2002 program “due to poor program implementation,” according to the document’s summary.
It reads, “The JHA has had problems in the past in regards to documenting and reported to HUD the obligations and expenditures for their CFP (capital funding).” This led to more concerns by HUD dealing with obligations and expenditures for the fiscal year of 2003 because Simmons “waited until one day prior to the program obligations end date to report to funding obligations.…” The amount figure was listed as $132,788. 11. The document noted no disbursements on the obligations until four months later. The review referred to this action as being “odd due to the small amounts” disbursed on the large obligation amount.
Based on past concerns, Jesse Westover, director of the Office of Public Housing, at a June 19 meeting asked Simmons if the JHA had “documentation, executed contracts and/or purchase orders” regarding the $132,788.11. Simmons claimed all the funds reported on Sept. 15, 2005 were either under a contract and/or purchase orders. It was shortly after this that Simmons asked JHA employees for backdated contracts to be drawn up, according to the report.
DISCREPANCIES
In day-to-day operations of the JHA, a HUD review team pointed out possible flaws ranging from personnel policy having not been properly followed to a security officer allegedly seldom seen on the premises. “The security officer is paid a set salary bi-weekly whether he reviews background reports or not,” the document states. The security officer is “not” providing a weekly report of services performed and the review team noted seeing “several messages” between three to 10 days old” left for him by applicants, according to the document.
Employees reported that the security officer is only seen in the office when he signs his time sheets and picks up his paycheck. Additionally, the local housing authority accepts cash for rent payments. “Even though the money is deposited on a daily basis, there is no safeguard over cash nor is rent being collected in a safe secured area,” per HUD Handbook 7511.1, Chapter 3, Section 1. The review indicates that JHA’s personnel policy needs to be revised, adopted by the Board of Commissioners, and then “fully” implemented.
The review uncovered that a maintenance employee was suspended for 10 days without pay but the personnel policy allows for a maximum of seven days without pay. The JHA Board of Commissioners was made aware of the situation and the employee was able to return to work and was being paid for the time off, according to the review team. An independent audit report for 2005 contained one finding for the Housing Choice Voucher Program. The finding was, “Four of the 35 tenant files reviewed lacked adequate documentation.” A similar finding was discovered in 2004.
TOP STORY >>Cabot count will kick off in November
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
Workers for a special census that will be underway by mid-November in Cabot could be headquartered in the old Community Bank building beside city hall that the city plans to buy. The special census will cost about $300,000 and is expected to bring in about that much in additional state revenue every year for the next three years until the regular census is completed in 2010. Metroplan estimates that the city’s population has grown 41.4 percent, from 15,261 to 21,575, since the Karen Davis, director of operations for the city, said she has been instructed by the U.S. Census Bureau to find 150 applicants to fill 50 to 60 positions.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old with a valid driver’s license and access to reliable transportation. The census should be completed in three to five weeks. Workers will be paid $9.75 to $10.75 an hour for mostly evening and weekend work.
Davis said although the hope is that all the applications will be in by Sept. 29 so testing can begin the first week of October, realistically some will probably be hired later.
Testing will be held in the city annex, but if the Census Bureau says the bank building meets its security requirements, it could be the headquarters for the counting. The city is leasing the bank building for $3,500 a month with the option of buying it after five or 10 years. The bank offered to sell the building to the city for $1.1 million.
Since the city has opted to lease it instead, the lease money will go toward the purchase price. If the city leases for five years the purchase price will be $890,000. After 10 years of leasing the purchase price would be $678,000. The council passed a resolution in June giving Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh and clerk-treasurer Marva Verker authority to negotiate the purchase of the building.
Stumbaugh told the council Monday night during a special council meeting that the city will begin leasing the building Oct. 1.
As part of the negotiations, the bank will continue to use about one-third of the building for up to 10 months while a new building is under construction on Main Street and will sublease the space at the old building from the city for $1,218 a month. Dickson Flake, who negotiated the deal between the bank and the city, told the council that Tracy French, the bank’s chief executive officer, should receive the credit for the city getting the building under market value.
“He’s really extended himself personally,” Flake said.
Stumbaugh also spoke briefly about the lease-to-own arrangement the city is entering into with the bank. “It’s almost like borrowing money with no interest,” he said. The bank building will eventually be used for city offices which will allow the police department to expand out of the basement at city hall. But Stumbaugh, who is running for Congress in the First District, told the council he doesn’t intend to move his office this year.
The new mayor will get the new office, he said. Verkler also said she doesn’t plan to move this year. The bank building will need to be remodeled before city workers move in, she said. Davis said applications to work on the census may be picked up at city hall in Cabot or downloaded from the city’s website at www.cabotar.gov. Davis said she is asking the Cabot Chamber of Commerce, local churches, ASU-Beebe and the unemployment office in Jacksonville to help get the word out that census workers are needed.
Leader staff writer
Workers for a special census that will be underway by mid-November in Cabot could be headquartered in the old Community Bank building beside city hall that the city plans to buy. The special census will cost about $300,000 and is expected to bring in about that much in additional state revenue every year for the next three years until the regular census is completed in 2010. Metroplan estimates that the city’s population has grown 41.4 percent, from 15,261 to 21,575, since the Karen Davis, director of operations for the city, said she has been instructed by the U.S. Census Bureau to find 150 applicants to fill 50 to 60 positions.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old with a valid driver’s license and access to reliable transportation. The census should be completed in three to five weeks. Workers will be paid $9.75 to $10.75 an hour for mostly evening and weekend work.
Davis said although the hope is that all the applications will be in by Sept. 29 so testing can begin the first week of October, realistically some will probably be hired later.
Testing will be held in the city annex, but if the Census Bureau says the bank building meets its security requirements, it could be the headquarters for the counting. The city is leasing the bank building for $3,500 a month with the option of buying it after five or 10 years. The bank offered to sell the building to the city for $1.1 million.
Since the city has opted to lease it instead, the lease money will go toward the purchase price. If the city leases for five years the purchase price will be $890,000. After 10 years of leasing the purchase price would be $678,000. The council passed a resolution in June giving Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh and clerk-treasurer Marva Verker authority to negotiate the purchase of the building.
Stumbaugh told the council Monday night during a special council meeting that the city will begin leasing the building Oct. 1.
As part of the negotiations, the bank will continue to use about one-third of the building for up to 10 months while a new building is under construction on Main Street and will sublease the space at the old building from the city for $1,218 a month. Dickson Flake, who negotiated the deal between the bank and the city, told the council that Tracy French, the bank’s chief executive officer, should receive the credit for the city getting the building under market value.
“He’s really extended himself personally,” Flake said.
Stumbaugh also spoke briefly about the lease-to-own arrangement the city is entering into with the bank. “It’s almost like borrowing money with no interest,” he said. The bank building will eventually be used for city offices which will allow the police department to expand out of the basement at city hall. But Stumbaugh, who is running for Congress in the First District, told the council he doesn’t intend to move his office this year.
The new mayor will get the new office, he said. Verkler also said she doesn’t plan to move this year. The bank building will need to be remodeled before city workers move in, she said. Davis said applications to work on the census may be picked up at city hall in Cabot or downloaded from the city’s website at www.cabotar.gov. Davis said she is asking the Cabot Chamber of Commerce, local churches, ASU-Beebe and the unemployment office in Jacksonville to help get the word out that census workers are needed.
TOP STORY >>Sales tax for jail is rejected by voters
By JOHN HOFHEIMER and RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
All of the Pulaski County mayors were for it. So were all the chiefs of police, chambers of commerce and police fraternal organizations. But the voters said no on Tuesday. With nearly all precincts reporting, 16,112 Pulaski County residents voted against the proposed quarter-cent sales tax, while 12,088 voted for it.
The quarter-cent sales tax, which would have raised about $17 million annually, was to be dedicated to building new Pulaski County jail facilities, fixing old ones and running them. Tax collections would have started in January, according to County Judge Floyd “Buddy” Villines. Two previous attempts to pass similar jail taxes failed. “I believe we have a lot of people roaming the streets that need to be in jail,” Villines said. “I’m really concerned. “It didn’t do well in North Little Rock, “said Villines. “There was a lot of voter uncertainty. It just wasn’t going to happen.”
The county spends about $16.8 million to fund jail operations, according to Villines, and each of the county’s eight municipalities chip in a percentage. Jacksonville kicks in $125,000 annually. The judge said that unless the cities kick in another $800,000 to $1 million next year, as they did this year, the county would have to reduce the number of jail beds from 880 to 800 from a recent level of 1,125.
Because of a late, but growing, anti-tax sentiment, Villines had projected at least 34,000 to 40,000 voters would be needed to pass the levy. As it turned out, fewer than 30,000 residents voted. Villines has said that the original capacity of the current detention center wasn’t enough to sustain projected inmate increases, even when it opened in 1994. “By the time we opened 800, we needed 1,300 to 1,400 beds,” he said. “We’ve been 10 years on the slide and have hit the wall.”
The quorum court, sheriff’s department, mayors and others will now have to look at alternative ways to add extra beds to the jail or find other ways of dealing with criminals. Asked if there were any other options, Villines said, “I don’t know of any. The task force looked. They didn’t find any. We’ll just finance the operation we have.”
Past recommendations have included reopening the warehouse work center, using private firms to house medium and low-risk inmates, generate revenue by assessments such as those added to county services, create a plea-bargain arrangement to “move prisoners through the system” faster and lobby the state to increase county funding for housing inmates until they are transferred to prison. Villines had pushed for this special election, which cost the county about $100,000.
In meetings this summer, Villines stressed the importance of holding a special election as soon as possible in order to avoid muddling the issue with the general elections in November. The infusion of new, dedicated money would have allowed the county to hold about 1,618 inmates once the entire building and repair plan was completed by 2008.
The current jail facility has been closed to all but violent offenders since before January and the County Detention Center, which must house all inmates in the county, has been reduced from 1,125 beds to 880 beds in the last year.
Leader staff writer
All of the Pulaski County mayors were for it. So were all the chiefs of police, chambers of commerce and police fraternal organizations. But the voters said no on Tuesday. With nearly all precincts reporting, 16,112 Pulaski County residents voted against the proposed quarter-cent sales tax, while 12,088 voted for it.
The quarter-cent sales tax, which would have raised about $17 million annually, was to be dedicated to building new Pulaski County jail facilities, fixing old ones and running them. Tax collections would have started in January, according to County Judge Floyd “Buddy” Villines. Two previous attempts to pass similar jail taxes failed. “I believe we have a lot of people roaming the streets that need to be in jail,” Villines said. “I’m really concerned. “It didn’t do well in North Little Rock, “said Villines. “There was a lot of voter uncertainty. It just wasn’t going to happen.”
The county spends about $16.8 million to fund jail operations, according to Villines, and each of the county’s eight municipalities chip in a percentage. Jacksonville kicks in $125,000 annually. The judge said that unless the cities kick in another $800,000 to $1 million next year, as they did this year, the county would have to reduce the number of jail beds from 880 to 800 from a recent level of 1,125.
Because of a late, but growing, anti-tax sentiment, Villines had projected at least 34,000 to 40,000 voters would be needed to pass the levy. As it turned out, fewer than 30,000 residents voted. Villines has said that the original capacity of the current detention center wasn’t enough to sustain projected inmate increases, even when it opened in 1994. “By the time we opened 800, we needed 1,300 to 1,400 beds,” he said. “We’ve been 10 years on the slide and have hit the wall.”
The quorum court, sheriff’s department, mayors and others will now have to look at alternative ways to add extra beds to the jail or find other ways of dealing with criminals. Asked if there were any other options, Villines said, “I don’t know of any. The task force looked. They didn’t find any. We’ll just finance the operation we have.”
Past recommendations have included reopening the warehouse work center, using private firms to house medium and low-risk inmates, generate revenue by assessments such as those added to county services, create a plea-bargain arrangement to “move prisoners through the system” faster and lobby the state to increase county funding for housing inmates until they are transferred to prison. Villines had pushed for this special election, which cost the county about $100,000.
In meetings this summer, Villines stressed the importance of holding a special election as soon as possible in order to avoid muddling the issue with the general elections in November. The infusion of new, dedicated money would have allowed the county to hold about 1,618 inmates once the entire building and repair plan was completed by 2008.
The current jail facility has been closed to all but violent offenders since before January and the County Detention Center, which must house all inmates in the county, has been reduced from 1,125 beds to 880 beds in the last year.
TOP STORY >>9/11 A day of remembrance
By PEG KENYON
Leader staff writer
Five years ago on Sept. 11, U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.) and other congressmen gathered outside the House of Representatives, grieving after three commercial airliners captured by terrorists killed thousands of Americans on U.S. soil.
“We were just all standing around, and then someone two rows in front of me started singing ‘God Bless America,’” Snyder said Monday on the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Snyder was the main speaker at the first Honor and Remembrance ceremony at the Jacksonville Museum of Military History.
Snyder said America will always remember the tragedies at the World Trade Center towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington and a sparsely populated area in Pennsylvania.
“I think, five years out, we’re not ever going to forget the people lost that day,” Snyder told the crowd. “And we come together to remember them and to rededicate ourselves to a great America.” Snyder talked about ways to help America reach its potential. His plan includes Americans adopting a “can-do spirit” to bolster its moral authority and working on national and world economic problems, keeping a “strong, smart military” ready for war, and increasing cross-cultural understanding.
After referring to cross-cultural understanding, Snyder stressed that America has a “pretty dismal” track record when it comes to speaking and understanding foreign languages.
“It’s not some leftover touchy- feely thing of the 60s,” Snyder quipped. Snyder said the U.S. is facing a difficult challenge in the war on terror. “We need proper equipping of the Iraqi military, improving their court system, having jobs available to them and reconstructing Iraq,” Snyder told The Leader. “There’s been a lot of wasted money on construction over there.”
Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim welcomed the crowd on this “solemn, joyous occasion, if that’s possible.”
The joyous side to the event was dedicating a new flagpole donated by the Woodmen of the World. Area manager, Howard Harts, said 2,000 flagpoles have been donated so far. The solemn portion included the presentation of a black wreath with white calla lilies descending from one side and the playing of Taps. The ceremony included the reading of roll calls of area heroes from law enforcement, firefighters/emergency medical personnel, the U.S. military, the Arkansas National Guard and civilians.
The roll call of heroes started with Lt. Williams Shelley, and names kept on flowing as other officials stepped up to the microphone with more names of local heroes. Shelley is a member of the Jacksonville police force. He received the Medal of Valor in 2005. Each toll of a bell denoted those who received the recognition posthumously. After each of the five categories of heroes, a candle was lit to honor them.
After the event, Brig. Gen. Kip Self, commander at Little Rock Air Force Base, told The Leader he was at Fort Campbell, Ky., when he heard of the 9/11 terrorist attack five years ago. “We were shocked,” Self said. “There was this tremendous heartache for the loss….and two weeks later, I was heading to Afghanistan.”
Leader staff writer
Five years ago on Sept. 11, U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.) and other congressmen gathered outside the House of Representatives, grieving after three commercial airliners captured by terrorists killed thousands of Americans on U.S. soil.
“We were just all standing around, and then someone two rows in front of me started singing ‘God Bless America,’” Snyder said Monday on the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Snyder was the main speaker at the first Honor and Remembrance ceremony at the Jacksonville Museum of Military History.
Snyder said America will always remember the tragedies at the World Trade Center towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington and a sparsely populated area in Pennsylvania.
“I think, five years out, we’re not ever going to forget the people lost that day,” Snyder told the crowd. “And we come together to remember them and to rededicate ourselves to a great America.” Snyder talked about ways to help America reach its potential. His plan includes Americans adopting a “can-do spirit” to bolster its moral authority and working on national and world economic problems, keeping a “strong, smart military” ready for war, and increasing cross-cultural understanding.
After referring to cross-cultural understanding, Snyder stressed that America has a “pretty dismal” track record when it comes to speaking and understanding foreign languages.
“It’s not some leftover touchy- feely thing of the 60s,” Snyder quipped. Snyder said the U.S. is facing a difficult challenge in the war on terror. “We need proper equipping of the Iraqi military, improving their court system, having jobs available to them and reconstructing Iraq,” Snyder told The Leader. “There’s been a lot of wasted money on construction over there.”
Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim welcomed the crowd on this “solemn, joyous occasion, if that’s possible.”
The joyous side to the event was dedicating a new flagpole donated by the Woodmen of the World. Area manager, Howard Harts, said 2,000 flagpoles have been donated so far. The solemn portion included the presentation of a black wreath with white calla lilies descending from one side and the playing of Taps. The ceremony included the reading of roll calls of area heroes from law enforcement, firefighters/emergency medical personnel, the U.S. military, the Arkansas National Guard and civilians.
The roll call of heroes started with Lt. Williams Shelley, and names kept on flowing as other officials stepped up to the microphone with more names of local heroes. Shelley is a member of the Jacksonville police force. He received the Medal of Valor in 2005. Each toll of a bell denoted those who received the recognition posthumously. After each of the five categories of heroes, a candle was lit to honor them.
After the event, Brig. Gen. Kip Self, commander at Little Rock Air Force Base, told The Leader he was at Fort Campbell, Ky., when he heard of the 9/11 terrorist attack five years ago. “We were shocked,” Self said. “There was this tremendous heartache for the loss….and two weeks later, I was heading to Afghanistan.”
Saturday, September 09, 2006
SPORTS >>Panthers fall to defending champion Russellville
By JASON KING
Leader sports writer
When the Lady Panthers had momentum, they were brilliant. Without it, they were ineffective against defending state champions Russellville Thursday night at the Panther gymnasium. The Lady Cyclones took the match 3-1, with a strong third set from Cabot interrupting an otherwise dominating performance for Russellville.
Russellville took the first two sets 25-19 and 25-14 respectively, but the Lady Panthers stepped up in the third set, holding a narrow lead most of the distance to claim a 26-24 win after the Lady Cyclones threatened to steal the frame with a late rally.
Despite a strong showing in the third set, Cabot looked downright out of gas in the fourth and final set. Russellville used its slight depth advantage to easily seal the match with a 25-16 win in the final set.
The first half of the opening set was closely contested until the final moments, when Russellville quickly turned a narrow 19-17 advantage into a more comfortable 22-17 lead. The Lady Cyclones held Cabot to just two more points in the set to lead the match 1-0.
The second set was all Russellville. After rushing out to a 7-2 lead, the Cyclones kept Cabot on the defensive, allowing just four total team kills from the Lady Panthers in the frame. The kills were more decisive on Russellville’s side of the net with 10. Blocks from Morgan Young and Ashton Seidl were the only opposition from the Lady Panthers in the set.
The Lady Panthers undoubtedly played their best volleyball in the third set. Three early kills from junior Katie Mantione gave Cabot the early momentum, rushing them out to a 4-2 lead. The interval remained close throughout the frame, but the Lady Panthers kept the momentum in their favor.
After dominating most of the set, Cabot was strongly challenged by the Lady Cyclones in the late going. Russellville racked up five straight points to turn a 20-16 deficit into a 21-20 lead, but Cabot got help in closing the deal from an unlikely source.
With normal studs Kim Carter and Kelli Lowry a bit off the mark in the set, sophomore Tori Hendrix stepped up and rolled off two straight kills to edge out Russ-ellville for the 26-24 win. Hendrix had put on a clinic earlier in the evening during the JV contest, and carried that momentum into the varsity match when the Lady Panthers needed it the most.
After the opening moments of the fourth set, it became apparent that the frame was merely a formality for the Lady Cyclones, as the winded Lady Panthers struggled to recapture the glory of the previous set.
Once Russellville’s lead reached double digits in the frame, they coasted to the win to claim the conference-opening match for the 7A-Central division.
Mantione led Cabot with eight kills. Lowry finished with six kills and two aces. Hendrix had five kills, all of which came in the final two sets. Carter had three blocks in the match.
For Russellville, junior Megan Simpson led the team with eight kills and 11 blocks. Senior Candace Scott and junior Cody Brook-houser each finished with seven kills on the evening. The loss dropped Cabot’s record to 4-2 on the season.
Cabot’s next match will be at Conway next Tuesday in varsity/JV action.
Leader sports writer
When the Lady Panthers had momentum, they were brilliant. Without it, they were ineffective against defending state champions Russellville Thursday night at the Panther gymnasium. The Lady Cyclones took the match 3-1, with a strong third set from Cabot interrupting an otherwise dominating performance for Russellville.
Russellville took the first two sets 25-19 and 25-14 respectively, but the Lady Panthers stepped up in the third set, holding a narrow lead most of the distance to claim a 26-24 win after the Lady Cyclones threatened to steal the frame with a late rally.
Despite a strong showing in the third set, Cabot looked downright out of gas in the fourth and final set. Russellville used its slight depth advantage to easily seal the match with a 25-16 win in the final set.
The first half of the opening set was closely contested until the final moments, when Russellville quickly turned a narrow 19-17 advantage into a more comfortable 22-17 lead. The Lady Cyclones held Cabot to just two more points in the set to lead the match 1-0.
The second set was all Russellville. After rushing out to a 7-2 lead, the Cyclones kept Cabot on the defensive, allowing just four total team kills from the Lady Panthers in the frame. The kills were more decisive on Russellville’s side of the net with 10. Blocks from Morgan Young and Ashton Seidl were the only opposition from the Lady Panthers in the set.
The Lady Panthers undoubtedly played their best volleyball in the third set. Three early kills from junior Katie Mantione gave Cabot the early momentum, rushing them out to a 4-2 lead. The interval remained close throughout the frame, but the Lady Panthers kept the momentum in their favor.
After dominating most of the set, Cabot was strongly challenged by the Lady Cyclones in the late going. Russellville racked up five straight points to turn a 20-16 deficit into a 21-20 lead, but Cabot got help in closing the deal from an unlikely source.
With normal studs Kim Carter and Kelli Lowry a bit off the mark in the set, sophomore Tori Hendrix stepped up and rolled off two straight kills to edge out Russ-ellville for the 26-24 win. Hendrix had put on a clinic earlier in the evening during the JV contest, and carried that momentum into the varsity match when the Lady Panthers needed it the most.
After the opening moments of the fourth set, it became apparent that the frame was merely a formality for the Lady Cyclones, as the winded Lady Panthers struggled to recapture the glory of the previous set.
Once Russellville’s lead reached double digits in the frame, they coasted to the win to claim the conference-opening match for the 7A-Central division.
Mantione led Cabot with eight kills. Lowry finished with six kills and two aces. Hendrix had five kills, all of which came in the final two sets. Carter had three blocks in the match.
For Russellville, junior Megan Simpson led the team with eight kills and 11 blocks. Senior Candace Scott and junior Cody Brook-houser each finished with seven kills on the evening. The loss dropped Cabot’s record to 4-2 on the season.
Cabot’s next match will be at Conway next Tuesday in varsity/JV action.
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