By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
The state audit of Cabot’s city books for 2006 has been deemed the worst in the city’s history.
There is no allegation that money is missing, only that the books are incomprehensible. Marva Verkler, city clerk-treasurer, on Tuesday told a budget committee made up of city aldermen that the financial statements for that year were so inaccurate the auditor had been unable to verify them.
“The books are just terribly out of balance,” Verkler said.
The committee agreed that the audit should be on the agenda for the March council meeting so it can be discussed with all council members and the mayor present.
Alderman Ken Williams, a lawyer and the former city attorney, was the first to address the audit during the meeting. Williams said he had looked at a lot of audits and all are difficult to understand because they are written in “legislative audit speak.”
But even with the difficult language, it was clear that Cabot’s 2006 audit was bad, the worst he had ever seen.
“It’s pretty rough,” Williams said.
Verkler agreed. “It’s the worst the city has ever had,” she said.
These are some of the findings of the 2006 audit: “Arkansas code requires city management to maintain financial records. The financial records contained omissions/errors that are considered material as enumerated below:
“The city converted to a new accounting system in July 2006. The beginning general fund account balances reported in the new accounting system were different from the ending balances reported in the previous accounting system, and these differences in the financial records were not reconciled.
“Also, the General Fund financial records omitted cash and investments in the amounts of $82,112 and $205,863, respectively, receipts and disbursements in the amounts of $301,699 and $278,064, respectively, due to the failure of the city to record investment and loan activity.
“The other funds in the aggregate financial records contained misstatements for cash and investments in the amounts of $19,528 and $30,379, respectively, primarily due to the lack of record-keeping for investments. The other funds in the aggregate financial records also contained misstatements for receipts and disbursements in the amounts of $220,807 and $2,164,236, respectively, due to the city not recording receipt and disbursement activity in the debt service construction funds.”
The $220,807 and $2,164,236 were bond money overseen by an independent administrator, Verkler and City Attorney Jim Taylor told the committee. The oversight was in not having those records included in the city books.
The audit report continued, “The effect of these omissions and misstatements constitutes a significant control deficiency in the process of preparing financial records. City management should implement procedures to ensure that all assets and fund balances are properly accounted for and that receipts and disbursements are properly recorded.”
Verkler told the committee that she has implemented procedures to ensure that records will be correct from now on. But she said the bad report had nothing to do with her. Although Verkler is the elected official responsible for city records, in 2006, Dale Walker was over finances and the problems for that year were his, she said.
The city council stripped Verkler of most of her financial duties in 2003 after Stubby Stumbaugh became mayor and gave them to Walker.
Alderman Terri Miessner pointed out during the meeting that both Verkler and Walker said they worked together in 2006, after three years of being at odds.
Alluding to the bad relationship between Verkler and Stumbaugh and eventually between Stumbaugh and Walker, Miessner reminded Verkler that she and Walker “worked undercover” in 2006. Verkler would not accept any of the blame for the poor record keeping.
“I helped Dale with a lot of things, but I didn’t keep the books,” she told Miessner.
Although Walker was given most of Verkler’s duties in 2003, the council gave them back in 2007 and made Walker the budget manager.
Walker said Friday that he switched from cash to accrual accounting in 2005 and then at the city council’s request from accrual to cash in 2006. He was fired in June 2007 during budget cuts before he had time to get the books in order from the transition. “Verkler should have made sure the books were in order before the audit because she was the one in control,” Walker said.
“I was relieved of my duties effective Jan. 1, 2007,” he said. “I was no longer the finance director. I was a budget manager. That falls right back on Marva.”
Contacted later, Verkler responded to Walker’s criticisms: “I was not in charge of the books in 2006; he was,” Verkler said. “He should have had the books in order before he left. He had six months.”
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
EDITORIAL >>Which one’s lucky party?
Eight and a half months before the election, Republicans have identified their candidate and the Democrats are not close. For the first time in a quarter-century, Democrats are apt to go to their convention not knowing for sure who the nominee will be. Which is the lucky party?
Republicans are uniting behind John McCain, who is all but a mathematical certainty to win the nomination. By nightfall on March 4, the next big primary day, McCain will have the requisite pledged delegates to win. All the departed candidates but one have endorsed him. Even Mike Huckabee will throw in the towel on March 5 although he will want to keep going and keep the attention and the speaking honoraria flowing. Democrats, meantime, will be riven by the forces of two powerfully magnetic candidates, and some are wringing their hands, believing that there will be too little time to heal and confront the united Republican attack.
But look at it another way. From the Iowa caucus in January through the Potomac primaries this week, record throngs have turned out to choose between Democrats who ignite enthusiasm like no candidates in modern times while Republican voters have manifested no ardor for any of their choices. McCain won almost by default. Only when the field narrowed to him and Huckabee was he able to muster more than 45 percent of the votes except in his home state of Arizona, where he won 47 percent.
In Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia on Tuesday, 1,871,265 people went to the polls to choose between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama and a handful of candidates who had withdrawn but whose names still appeared on the ballot. Far fewer than half that many — 789,674 — voted in the Republican primaries that day.
The margins between the parties have been almost that great in primaries and caucuses across the country. Only in Alabama, Utah, Arizona and Michigan have the Republican votes exceeded Democratic votes, and those by very small margins, except in Michigan, where Democrats did not campaign and only Clinton of the major Democratic candidates appeared on the ballot.
We would take Democratic uncertainty over Republican lethargy.
But the Democrats have a perilous situation. Because neither candidate will have a majority of delegates, the nomination will almost certainly be decided not by elected delegates but by superdelegates, the party leaders and officeholders who are designated as delegates by party rules.
Obama now holds a lead of roughly 50 delegates over Clinton among the 2,000 or so delegates who have been elected by caucuses and primaries. Tuesday, Obama will add to the margin with victories in Wisconsin and perhaps Hawaii. In the spring, he will win more caucuses in western states and probably North Carolina and Mississippi. In March, Clinton must win, decisively, in Texas and in the industrial heartland — Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Kentucky — to maintain her legitimacy. Victories in all those states would still not give her the needed delegates, but they would be a strong inducement to superdelegates who tend to favor her to stay hitched.
The party’s terrible dilemma is what to do about Michigan and Florida, two big states that the Democrats need to win in November. Clinton won those primaries decisively and those delegates would give her a lead today, but because those states defied party rules and held their primaries early, those delegates will not be seated. Denying those states a voice in the nomination will be destructive to the party’s hopes.
It would give Clinton a leg up if the party arranged for fresh primaries — even nonbinding plebiscites — in those states this spring, but it is not merely in Clinton’s interest to do that. The party and its eventual nominee, even if it is Sen. Obama, will need that legitimacy and those states in the fall.
Republicans are uniting behind John McCain, who is all but a mathematical certainty to win the nomination. By nightfall on March 4, the next big primary day, McCain will have the requisite pledged delegates to win. All the departed candidates but one have endorsed him. Even Mike Huckabee will throw in the towel on March 5 although he will want to keep going and keep the attention and the speaking honoraria flowing. Democrats, meantime, will be riven by the forces of two powerfully magnetic candidates, and some are wringing their hands, believing that there will be too little time to heal and confront the united Republican attack.
But look at it another way. From the Iowa caucus in January through the Potomac primaries this week, record throngs have turned out to choose between Democrats who ignite enthusiasm like no candidates in modern times while Republican voters have manifested no ardor for any of their choices. McCain won almost by default. Only when the field narrowed to him and Huckabee was he able to muster more than 45 percent of the votes except in his home state of Arizona, where he won 47 percent.
In Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia on Tuesday, 1,871,265 people went to the polls to choose between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama and a handful of candidates who had withdrawn but whose names still appeared on the ballot. Far fewer than half that many — 789,674 — voted in the Republican primaries that day.
The margins between the parties have been almost that great in primaries and caucuses across the country. Only in Alabama, Utah, Arizona and Michigan have the Republican votes exceeded Democratic votes, and those by very small margins, except in Michigan, where Democrats did not campaign and only Clinton of the major Democratic candidates appeared on the ballot.
We would take Democratic uncertainty over Republican lethargy.
But the Democrats have a perilous situation. Because neither candidate will have a majority of delegates, the nomination will almost certainly be decided not by elected delegates but by superdelegates, the party leaders and officeholders who are designated as delegates by party rules.
Obama now holds a lead of roughly 50 delegates over Clinton among the 2,000 or so delegates who have been elected by caucuses and primaries. Tuesday, Obama will add to the margin with victories in Wisconsin and perhaps Hawaii. In the spring, he will win more caucuses in western states and probably North Carolina and Mississippi. In March, Clinton must win, decisively, in Texas and in the industrial heartland — Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Kentucky — to maintain her legitimacy. Victories in all those states would still not give her the needed delegates, but they would be a strong inducement to superdelegates who tend to favor her to stay hitched.
The party’s terrible dilemma is what to do about Michigan and Florida, two big states that the Democrats need to win in November. Clinton won those primaries decisively and those delegates would give her a lead today, but because those states defied party rules and held their primaries early, those delegates will not be seated. Denying those states a voice in the nomination will be destructive to the party’s hopes.
It would give Clinton a leg up if the party arranged for fresh primaries — even nonbinding plebiscites — in those states this spring, but it is not merely in Clinton’s interest to do that. The party and its eventual nominee, even if it is Sen. Obama, will need that legitimacy and those states in the fall.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
TOP STORY > >Flu cases increase, still time for shots
By EILEEN FELDMAN
Leader executive editor
“It’s not too late to get a flu shot,” according to Melissa Eads, nurse coordinator at the Lonoke County Health Unit in Lonoke.
She said the area is beginning to see an increase in the number of reported flu cases and that after a temporary lull, the health unit is also seeing more people coming in to receive flu shots, she said.
“We tell them to stay away from those with the flu for two weeks while their immunity builds up,” she said. “We’ve had a lot come in for shots in the last few weeks.”
Eads said the unit’s secretary had gone to a local emergency room to pick up some paperwork and reported the ER was full of flu patients and Eads said some local pharmacies reported running out of Theraflu (an over-the-counter symptom reliever).
Eads said the Lonoke unit still has about 600 doses of vaccine and will continue to vaccinate through the end of April as will Cabot’s Health Unit. She said more vaccine is available if the health unit runs short.
Eads points out that because one is immunized, that is not a guarantee one will avoid getting the flu, although she said she is confident most influenza viruses circulating are covered by this year’s vaccine.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, so far this year, the virus strain H1N1 is causing the vast majority of flu-like illnesses, according to Ann Gerberding, head of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. But a new H3N2 strain emerged near the end of Australia’s flu season, too late to be included in this season’s U.S. vaccine. Called H3N2/Brisbane-like, or A/Brisbane, it is now beginning to sicken Americans, although it still is making for a small proportion of cases, Gerberding said. H3N2 viruses are associated with more severe illness, according to the CDC.
The CDC reported widespread flu activity in 31 states as of Feb. 2.
The CDC also advises that it is too early to tell how widely A/Brisbane will circulate in this country or how well this year’s vaccine will provide protection.
Eads said clinics and emergency rooms get nasal swabs on patients who come in seeking treatment for flu-like symptoms. The virus strains are identified through the swabs and the information is sent on to the CDC which keeps statistics on numbers of reported cases and strains.
Although the Jacksonville Health Unit doesn’t see people who are suffering from the flu or other influenza-like illnesses, the staff there usually has their ears to the ground for reports of sickness or infection.
Patricia Henderson, the unit’s administrator, said that she’s heard few reports of the flu or other infectious illnesses in the area but she said the clinic doesn’t see patients suffering from cold or flu as its purpose is to provide vaccinations and health information, among other services.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting that flu cases are on the rise in Arkansas.
Patients suffering from the flu should see their family doctors or visit the emergency room if their symptoms are severe enough they seek treatment, Henderson said.
The health unit does however inoculate for the flu and while this may seem somewhat late to be getting a flu shot, health professionals suggest those who want protection from the flu still have time to be vaccinated. Henderson said the flow of patients to the unit to receive a flu shot has “remained pretty steady” since the vaccine first became available in November.
Henderson recalled the mass vaccination held that month as an exercise testing preparedness of a mass dispensing plan. She said the Jacksonville unit inoculated “roughly 1,000 people in one day” which protected them perhaps from this year’s round of flu.
Cabot and Lonoke participated in the mass vaccination. Eads reported at least 1000 people were inoculated during that round and since then more than another 1,000 flu shots have been given.
There are everyday reports of cold and flu including increased absenteeism from work and school. But Dr. Belinda Shook, Beebe superintendent, said her principals have not reported high absenteeism. But some schools have been hard hit, Bald Knob considered closing down because of so much illness, according to Stacey Whitfield, a registered nurse with the Lonoke School District.
She said out of approximately 1,800 Lonoke district students, there have been about nine children and some adults and teachers out with the flu. “We’ve had about three cases in each school,” she said. “We’re not really seeing a whole lot of cases of flu but there’s been some strep throat and a real bad stomach virus going around.”
She said the season started late this year, after the Christmas break, but she said a lot of teachers and students had gotten their flu shots earlier.
“We started sending notes out in October and Cabot had a free clinic. Searcy Healthworks (from White County Medical Center) came out and inoculated teachers and other staff,” Whitfield said.
Most healthy people recover from the flu without complications, according to the CDC, but those who do get the flu should:
Stay home;
Get lots of rest, drink plenty of liquids, and avoid using alcohol and tobacco;
Some over-the-counter medications can relieve symptoms of the flu (but never give aspirin to children or teenagers who have flu-like symptoms, particularly fever).
Serious illness from the flu is more likely in certain groups of people including people 65 and older, pregnant women, people with certain chronic medical conditions and young children.
On its Website, the CDC recommends actions everyone can take to help prevent the spread of influenza including:
Avoid close contact with people who are sick and keep your distance from others if you’re sick;
Whenever possible, stay home from work, school or errands when you are sick;
Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, and
Wash your hands with soap often.
Symptoms of the flu include high fever, aches, chills, tiredness and sudden onset of symptoms. There may also be extreme tiredness, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches and diarrhea and vomiting (although these are more common among children). Having these symptoms does not always mean one has the flu. Many different illnesses, including the common cold, can have similar symptoms, according to the CDC.
Two antiviral drugs are approved for treatment of the flu and available by presription. Treatment lasts for five days and should be begun within two days of becoming ill.
According to the CDC, high risk groups (sucvh as those more susceptible to the flu) who should be innoculated include:
People 65 years of age and older;
Children ages 6 months to 23 months;
Adults and children 2 years of age and older with chronic lung or heart disorders including heart disease and asthma;
Pregnant women;
Adults and children 2 years of age and older with chronic metabolic diseases (including diabetes), kidney diseases, blood disorders (such as sickle cell anemia), or weakened immune systems, including persons with HIV/AIDS;
Residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities;
Children and teenagers, 6 months to 18 years old, who take aspirin daily;
Health-care workers involved in direct, hands-on care to patients and household members and out-of home caregivers of infants under the age of 6 months. (Children under the age of 6 months cannot be vaccinated.)
Caregivers and household contacts of persons in high-risk groups;
Children and adolescents aged 2 through 18 years who qualify under the Vaccine for Children (VFC) Program and who are household contacts or out-of-home caregivers of persons in high-risk groups.
Leader executive editor
“It’s not too late to get a flu shot,” according to Melissa Eads, nurse coordinator at the Lonoke County Health Unit in Lonoke.
She said the area is beginning to see an increase in the number of reported flu cases and that after a temporary lull, the health unit is also seeing more people coming in to receive flu shots, she said.
“We tell them to stay away from those with the flu for two weeks while their immunity builds up,” she said. “We’ve had a lot come in for shots in the last few weeks.”
Eads said the unit’s secretary had gone to a local emergency room to pick up some paperwork and reported the ER was full of flu patients and Eads said some local pharmacies reported running out of Theraflu (an over-the-counter symptom reliever).
Eads said the Lonoke unit still has about 600 doses of vaccine and will continue to vaccinate through the end of April as will Cabot’s Health Unit. She said more vaccine is available if the health unit runs short.
Eads points out that because one is immunized, that is not a guarantee one will avoid getting the flu, although she said she is confident most influenza viruses circulating are covered by this year’s vaccine.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, so far this year, the virus strain H1N1 is causing the vast majority of flu-like illnesses, according to Ann Gerberding, head of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. But a new H3N2 strain emerged near the end of Australia’s flu season, too late to be included in this season’s U.S. vaccine. Called H3N2/Brisbane-like, or A/Brisbane, it is now beginning to sicken Americans, although it still is making for a small proportion of cases, Gerberding said. H3N2 viruses are associated with more severe illness, according to the CDC.
The CDC reported widespread flu activity in 31 states as of Feb. 2.
The CDC also advises that it is too early to tell how widely A/Brisbane will circulate in this country or how well this year’s vaccine will provide protection.
Eads said clinics and emergency rooms get nasal swabs on patients who come in seeking treatment for flu-like symptoms. The virus strains are identified through the swabs and the information is sent on to the CDC which keeps statistics on numbers of reported cases and strains.
Although the Jacksonville Health Unit doesn’t see people who are suffering from the flu or other influenza-like illnesses, the staff there usually has their ears to the ground for reports of sickness or infection.
Patricia Henderson, the unit’s administrator, said that she’s heard few reports of the flu or other infectious illnesses in the area but she said the clinic doesn’t see patients suffering from cold or flu as its purpose is to provide vaccinations and health information, among other services.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting that flu cases are on the rise in Arkansas.
Patients suffering from the flu should see their family doctors or visit the emergency room if their symptoms are severe enough they seek treatment, Henderson said.
The health unit does however inoculate for the flu and while this may seem somewhat late to be getting a flu shot, health professionals suggest those who want protection from the flu still have time to be vaccinated. Henderson said the flow of patients to the unit to receive a flu shot has “remained pretty steady” since the vaccine first became available in November.
Henderson recalled the mass vaccination held that month as an exercise testing preparedness of a mass dispensing plan. She said the Jacksonville unit inoculated “roughly 1,000 people in one day” which protected them perhaps from this year’s round of flu.
Cabot and Lonoke participated in the mass vaccination. Eads reported at least 1000 people were inoculated during that round and since then more than another 1,000 flu shots have been given.
There are everyday reports of cold and flu including increased absenteeism from work and school. But Dr. Belinda Shook, Beebe superintendent, said her principals have not reported high absenteeism. But some schools have been hard hit, Bald Knob considered closing down because of so much illness, according to Stacey Whitfield, a registered nurse with the Lonoke School District.
She said out of approximately 1,800 Lonoke district students, there have been about nine children and some adults and teachers out with the flu. “We’ve had about three cases in each school,” she said. “We’re not really seeing a whole lot of cases of flu but there’s been some strep throat and a real bad stomach virus going around.”
She said the season started late this year, after the Christmas break, but she said a lot of teachers and students had gotten their flu shots earlier.
“We started sending notes out in October and Cabot had a free clinic. Searcy Healthworks (from White County Medical Center) came out and inoculated teachers and other staff,” Whitfield said.
Most healthy people recover from the flu without complications, according to the CDC, but those who do get the flu should:
Stay home;
Get lots of rest, drink plenty of liquids, and avoid using alcohol and tobacco;
Some over-the-counter medications can relieve symptoms of the flu (but never give aspirin to children or teenagers who have flu-like symptoms, particularly fever).
Serious illness from the flu is more likely in certain groups of people including people 65 and older, pregnant women, people with certain chronic medical conditions and young children.
On its Website, the CDC recommends actions everyone can take to help prevent the spread of influenza including:
Avoid close contact with people who are sick and keep your distance from others if you’re sick;
Whenever possible, stay home from work, school or errands when you are sick;
Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, and
Wash your hands with soap often.
Symptoms of the flu include high fever, aches, chills, tiredness and sudden onset of symptoms. There may also be extreme tiredness, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches and diarrhea and vomiting (although these are more common among children). Having these symptoms does not always mean one has the flu. Many different illnesses, including the common cold, can have similar symptoms, according to the CDC.
Two antiviral drugs are approved for treatment of the flu and available by presription. Treatment lasts for five days and should be begun within two days of becoming ill.
According to the CDC, high risk groups (sucvh as those more susceptible to the flu) who should be innoculated include:
People 65 years of age and older;
Children ages 6 months to 23 months;
Adults and children 2 years of age and older with chronic lung or heart disorders including heart disease and asthma;
Pregnant women;
Adults and children 2 years of age and older with chronic metabolic diseases (including diabetes), kidney diseases, blood disorders (such as sickle cell anemia), or weakened immune systems, including persons with HIV/AIDS;
Residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities;
Children and teenagers, 6 months to 18 years old, who take aspirin daily;
Health-care workers involved in direct, hands-on care to patients and household members and out-of home caregivers of infants under the age of 6 months. (Children under the age of 6 months cannot be vaccinated.)
Caregivers and household contacts of persons in high-risk groups;
Children and adolescents aged 2 through 18 years who qualify under the Vaccine for Children (VFC) Program and who are household contacts or out-of-home caregivers of persons in high-risk groups.
TOP STORY > >Austin might add a tax on construction
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
Austin City Council is considering asking voters to approve a one-cent sales tax that will allow the city to cash in on the building material for the hundreds of houses going up there.
“I’ve been talking to the people about it and most aren’t opposed to a sales tax,” Mayor Bernie Chamberlain said. “I’ve even had people who have said they would go out and talk for us.”
Since Jan. 1, all merchandise purchased in Arkansas that isn’t carried away by the shopper is taxed at the point of delivery rather than sale.
That means that the city and county tax on groceries and clothing likely will be collected where it is sold. But the sales tax on any furniture, appliances or building material that is delivered will be collected in the city or county to which it is delivered.
For example, Cabot, Austin’s closest and biggest neighbor, will continue to receive revenue from the two- cent city sales tax collected at the Wal-Mart store there. But if Ridout Lumber takes a load of building material to Austin, Cabot doesn’t get to collect its two-cent tax.
Since Austin doesn’t have a city sales tax now, it doesn’t collect the tax either. Currently the only local tax collected in Austin is the one-cent county tax that is collected across Lonoke County and divided according to population among the county and all the incorporated cities and towns.
For most cities, the tax revenue that is now leaving could be offset by the new tax revenue from merchandise purchased elsewhere.
But in Austin, which currently has no city sales tax, the truckloads of building material delivered every day represent money the city isn’t getting to help pay for city services like police and fire protection.
Before the sales tax can be placed on the May 20 ballot, the city council must approve it by ordinance. Chamberlain said City Attorney Tim Blair is currently drafting the ordinance and she is trying to put together information for the council to show how much the city could expect to collect on building materials alone.
Chamberlain said builders recommended that the tax be passed. The tax on $50,000 for building materials would bring $500 to the city, which has a general fund budget for 2008 of $388,500.
The new state law was passed as part of an initiative called the Streamlined Sales Tax Project aimed at showing Congress that it is not difficult to standardize sales tax laws to make it easier for catalog and Internet companies to collect sales tax from their out- of-state customers. At the time Arkansas passed its law, 23 of 45 states with sales taxes were part of the project.
Tom Atchley with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration said that for now, those businesses collect taxes on a voluntary basis only.
With federal legislation, all Internet and catalog businesses would be required to collect taxes for the point of delivery, he said, and that could mean a significant increase in revenue for the state and its cities.
Don Zimmerman, executive director of the Arkansas Municipal League, said businesses like Wal-Mart support the initiative because they are being undercut by Internet companies. Getting Congress to pass legislation streamlining tax collection would level the playing field, he said.
Exactly how the Arkansas point-of-delivery tax law will affect cities is not yet known.
Although tax is paid at the time merchandize is purchased, it takes two months for the revenue to get to cities and counties.
December is the biggest shopping month of the year, but February is when the biggest tax checks from the state arrive.
Cabot City Clerk-Treasurer Marva Verkler said last fall after she attended a workshop on the new tax law that it would be March before she would have any idea about the impact of the new law and months after that before she would likely be able to make solid predictions about how the loss of taxes on building materials will affect her city.
Leader staff writer
Austin City Council is considering asking voters to approve a one-cent sales tax that will allow the city to cash in on the building material for the hundreds of houses going up there.
“I’ve been talking to the people about it and most aren’t opposed to a sales tax,” Mayor Bernie Chamberlain said. “I’ve even had people who have said they would go out and talk for us.”
Since Jan. 1, all merchandise purchased in Arkansas that isn’t carried away by the shopper is taxed at the point of delivery rather than sale.
That means that the city and county tax on groceries and clothing likely will be collected where it is sold. But the sales tax on any furniture, appliances or building material that is delivered will be collected in the city or county to which it is delivered.
For example, Cabot, Austin’s closest and biggest neighbor, will continue to receive revenue from the two- cent city sales tax collected at the Wal-Mart store there. But if Ridout Lumber takes a load of building material to Austin, Cabot doesn’t get to collect its two-cent tax.
Since Austin doesn’t have a city sales tax now, it doesn’t collect the tax either. Currently the only local tax collected in Austin is the one-cent county tax that is collected across Lonoke County and divided according to population among the county and all the incorporated cities and towns.
For most cities, the tax revenue that is now leaving could be offset by the new tax revenue from merchandise purchased elsewhere.
But in Austin, which currently has no city sales tax, the truckloads of building material delivered every day represent money the city isn’t getting to help pay for city services like police and fire protection.
Before the sales tax can be placed on the May 20 ballot, the city council must approve it by ordinance. Chamberlain said City Attorney Tim Blair is currently drafting the ordinance and she is trying to put together information for the council to show how much the city could expect to collect on building materials alone.
Chamberlain said builders recommended that the tax be passed. The tax on $50,000 for building materials would bring $500 to the city, which has a general fund budget for 2008 of $388,500.
The new state law was passed as part of an initiative called the Streamlined Sales Tax Project aimed at showing Congress that it is not difficult to standardize sales tax laws to make it easier for catalog and Internet companies to collect sales tax from their out- of-state customers. At the time Arkansas passed its law, 23 of 45 states with sales taxes were part of the project.
Tom Atchley with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration said that for now, those businesses collect taxes on a voluntary basis only.
With federal legislation, all Internet and catalog businesses would be required to collect taxes for the point of delivery, he said, and that could mean a significant increase in revenue for the state and its cities.
Don Zimmerman, executive director of the Arkansas Municipal League, said businesses like Wal-Mart support the initiative because they are being undercut by Internet companies. Getting Congress to pass legislation streamlining tax collection would level the playing field, he said.
Exactly how the Arkansas point-of-delivery tax law will affect cities is not yet known.
Although tax is paid at the time merchandize is purchased, it takes two months for the revenue to get to cities and counties.
December is the biggest shopping month of the year, but February is when the biggest tax checks from the state arrive.
Cabot City Clerk-Treasurer Marva Verkler said last fall after she attended a workshop on the new tax law that it would be March before she would have any idea about the impact of the new law and months after that before she would likely be able to make solid predictions about how the loss of taxes on building materials will affect her city.
TOP STORY > >Manhole contaminates creek
By JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writer
The rain that fell last week had sewer water spewing from a manhole beside a ditch where children play in the Cabot park on Richie Road, but that problem was remedied by cleaning grease from the sewer line.
To keep down such problems, Cabot WaterWorks has stepped up its inspection program for restaurants and is requiring that grease traps be cleaned before they dump their contents into the city sewer system.
Tim Joyner, general manager of Cabot WaterWorks said the manhole that one resident complained about last week to the mayor, his office and The Leader has overflowed in the past.
“That particular location has been a problem,” Joyner said. “But in every situation, it has been grease in the line. That particular line picks up the restaurants on Main Street.”
When too much water is combined with lines that are too small because they are clogged with grease, overflows happen, he said.
Joyner said workers cleaned the line that runs through the park and spread lime in the area of the overflow to kill any bacteria. The spill was minor, he said. If it had been worse, a vacuum truck would have been brought in to clean the contaminated area.
On Tuesday morning, following a night of steady rain, the ditch was running full and the lid to the manhole remained tight.
But that manhole is not the only one that overflows, he said. The city has an infiltration problem in the older part of the city caused by broken lines that allow rainwater into the sewer system.
Money to address the city’s infiltration problem was included in the bond issue supported by a one-cent city sales tax that also paid $15 million for the new wastewater treatment plant that has been in operation since December.
Joyner said engineers are currently working on plans to replace the concrete sewer lines in the older part of the city. The new treatment plant still needs finishing touches like roads, but Joyner said there could be as much as $2.5 million left over for new sewer lines.
Before construction began on the new sewer treatment plant, the city was fined $18,000 by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality because the water released from the old plant did not meet standards set by the state and federal governments.
Now, the commission that runs Cabot WaterWorks says they will have to address the infiltration problem if they expect to meet the expectations of the agency that keeps an eye on their operation
Leader staff writer
The rain that fell last week had sewer water spewing from a manhole beside a ditch where children play in the Cabot park on Richie Road, but that problem was remedied by cleaning grease from the sewer line.
To keep down such problems, Cabot WaterWorks has stepped up its inspection program for restaurants and is requiring that grease traps be cleaned before they dump their contents into the city sewer system.
Tim Joyner, general manager of Cabot WaterWorks said the manhole that one resident complained about last week to the mayor, his office and The Leader has overflowed in the past.
“That particular location has been a problem,” Joyner said. “But in every situation, it has been grease in the line. That particular line picks up the restaurants on Main Street.”
When too much water is combined with lines that are too small because they are clogged with grease, overflows happen, he said.
Joyner said workers cleaned the line that runs through the park and spread lime in the area of the overflow to kill any bacteria. The spill was minor, he said. If it had been worse, a vacuum truck would have been brought in to clean the contaminated area.
On Tuesday morning, following a night of steady rain, the ditch was running full and the lid to the manhole remained tight.
But that manhole is not the only one that overflows, he said. The city has an infiltration problem in the older part of the city caused by broken lines that allow rainwater into the sewer system.
Money to address the city’s infiltration problem was included in the bond issue supported by a one-cent city sales tax that also paid $15 million for the new wastewater treatment plant that has been in operation since December.
Joyner said engineers are currently working on plans to replace the concrete sewer lines in the older part of the city. The new treatment plant still needs finishing touches like roads, but Joyner said there could be as much as $2.5 million left over for new sewer lines.
Before construction began on the new sewer treatment plant, the city was fined $18,000 by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality because the water released from the old plant did not meet standards set by the state and federal governments.
Now, the commission that runs Cabot WaterWorks says they will have to address the infiltration problem if they expect to meet the expectations of the agency that keeps an eye on their operation
TOP STORY > >Airman’s efforts earn Bronze Star
MSgt. Mark Evans of Little Rock Air Force Base received a Bronze Star at the base Tuesday for distinguishing himself with his achievements in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Evans, a member of 314th Security Forces Squadron Antiterrorism and Force Protection NCOIC, led in thwarting three separate mortar and rocket attacks at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq as a battle noncommissioned officer assigned to the Battalion Tactical Operations Center.
His performances in a variety of positions while fighting insurgents, culminating in becoming flight sergeant of the 586th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron in support of Iraqi Freedom, were exemplary, his citation read.
Evans had trouble putting his feelings about receiving the honor into words.
“I was speechless,” Evans said. “I really just want to give credit to my team.”
After Camp Bucca was attacked, Evans quickly directed defense forces to covered positions around the base, providing 360-degree security to identify and neutralize the attacking insurgents.
While a flight sergeant with the 586th, his leadership improved the comeback effectiveness of joint forces charged with protecting the largest internment facility in the Department of Defense with more than 14,000 detainees and a logistical support area housing more than 3,000 coalition forces.
As squad leader for area security operations, Evans was responsible for a large tactical and defensive footprint “outside the wire.”
In three months, he led 117 combat patrols over 5,000 miles of Iraqi roadways conducting mounted, dismounted and presence patrols, improvised explosive device and wire sweeps, personnel security details, listening and observation posts and vehicle checkpoint operations into and out of Iraq.
He conducted 40 counter-improvised explosive device sweeps along the main and alternate supply routes, helping to secure 253 coalition convoys carrying more than 1,000 personnel and 2,000 vehicles delivering food, water, fuel, ammunition and other critical items.
Evans led his team on 11 personnel security-detail missions, where he transported communications experts from Camp Bucca to the Port of Umm Qasr to troubleshoot critical communications problems with British forces.
As a result of his efforts, critical mission command-and-control equipment was fixed and communications between British forces and Camp Bucca’s Tactical Operations Center were restored.
When requirements for the area security operations mission increased by three squads, Evans was selected to identify and obtain the resources needed to support the mission increase and reorganize existing forces to fill the new manpower requirements. In less than a week, the squads were operationally prepped and countering enemy activity.
As a flight sergeant, Evans led a joint-service flight that included 60 soldiers and airmen assigned to perimeter security, internal base defense and entry control.
Shortly after Evans took over additional duties, insurgents again launched multiple rocket attacks against Camp Bucca. After being attacked, Evans quickly responded to the call, secured his off-duty forces and began assisting with additional security posting.
Within minutes of recall initiation, Evans had five additional mobile teams on the road, conducting area sweeps for injured personnel and unexploded ordnance.
His performances in a variety of positions while fighting insurgents, culminating in becoming flight sergeant of the 586th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron in support of Iraqi Freedom, were exemplary, his citation read.
Evans had trouble putting his feelings about receiving the honor into words.
“I was speechless,” Evans said. “I really just want to give credit to my team.”
After Camp Bucca was attacked, Evans quickly directed defense forces to covered positions around the base, providing 360-degree security to identify and neutralize the attacking insurgents.
While a flight sergeant with the 586th, his leadership improved the comeback effectiveness of joint forces charged with protecting the largest internment facility in the Department of Defense with more than 14,000 detainees and a logistical support area housing more than 3,000 coalition forces.
As squad leader for area security operations, Evans was responsible for a large tactical and defensive footprint “outside the wire.”
In three months, he led 117 combat patrols over 5,000 miles of Iraqi roadways conducting mounted, dismounted and presence patrols, improvised explosive device and wire sweeps, personnel security details, listening and observation posts and vehicle checkpoint operations into and out of Iraq.
He conducted 40 counter-improvised explosive device sweeps along the main and alternate supply routes, helping to secure 253 coalition convoys carrying more than 1,000 personnel and 2,000 vehicles delivering food, water, fuel, ammunition and other critical items.
Evans led his team on 11 personnel security-detail missions, where he transported communications experts from Camp Bucca to the Port of Umm Qasr to troubleshoot critical communications problems with British forces.
As a result of his efforts, critical mission command-and-control equipment was fixed and communications between British forces and Camp Bucca’s Tactical Operations Center were restored.
When requirements for the area security operations mission increased by three squads, Evans was selected to identify and obtain the resources needed to support the mission increase and reorganize existing forces to fill the new manpower requirements. In less than a week, the squads were operationally prepped and countering enemy activity.
As a flight sergeant, Evans led a joint-service flight that included 60 soldiers and airmen assigned to perimeter security, internal base defense and entry control.
Shortly after Evans took over additional duties, insurgents again launched multiple rocket attacks against Camp Bucca. After being attacked, Evans quickly responded to the call, secured his off-duty forces and began assisting with additional security posting.
Within minutes of recall initiation, Evans had five additional mobile teams on the road, conducting area sweeps for injured personnel and unexploded ordnance.
TOP STORY > >Firefighters help victims
By RAY BENTON
Leader managing editor
The South Bend Fire Department near Furlow spearheaded a relief effort for the demolished Highland Fire Department that was destroyed in last week’s tornadoes.
Six fire departments from central Arkansas donated more than $2,400 in cash and about $25,000 worth of equipment to fire departments in Highland and Ash Flat in north Arkansas. The group delivered the donations in two trucks on Saturday.The Highland Fire Department was obliterated by a direct hit from one of the tornadoes that swept through the state on Super Tuesday. Most of the relief went there, but some was redirected to nearby Ash Flat, which suffered some minor damage and loss of equipment.
The proce Clear Channel Communications contacted the riding club about organizing a drive to help out in Highland.
About half of the South Bend Volunteer Fire Department is made up of Red Knight members, and the whole process quickly became a fire department movement.
The South Bend department got other fire departments in the area involved, including Turtle Creek, East Pulaski, Kiehl, Rockport and Cabot.
After three days of taking donations from individuals, businesses and fire departments, the South Bend department, under escort by the Red Knights, took two tractor-trailer loads of equipment to Highland early Saturday morning.
The group was surprised by what it found in the north-central part of the state.
“It wasn’t what we expected at all,” South Bend Department battalion chief and president of the Red Knights Wesley Harris said.
“You couldn’t even tell it was a fire station. It was just gone.”
The group located the United State Flag in the rubble, straightened the flag pole, which had been bent at a 45-degree angle and raised the flag next to the old department’s foundation.
A house near the fire department had about a dozen two-by-four boards driven into and standing erect in its roof.
One vehicle had a telephone-pole-sized hole in its windshield left after the Highland Fire Department removed it from inside the car. The tornado had broken the pole off at the ground and threw it like a missile into the car.
Another heavily damaged vehicle sitting alone in a parking lot across from the department has yet to be identified, and locals don’t know to whom it belongs or from where it came.
Despite the condition of the town, Harris said spirits are high in the area.
“They’re not down and out. They’re looking at it as nowhere to go but up. Their fire chief just said hey, it can’t get any worse, so it can only get better.”
Leader managing editor
The South Bend Fire Department near Furlow spearheaded a relief effort for the demolished Highland Fire Department that was destroyed in last week’s tornadoes.
Six fire departments from central Arkansas donated more than $2,400 in cash and about $25,000 worth of equipment to fire departments in Highland and Ash Flat in north Arkansas. The group delivered the donations in two trucks on Saturday.The Highland Fire Department was obliterated by a direct hit from one of the tornadoes that swept through the state on Super Tuesday. Most of the relief went there, but some was redirected to nearby Ash Flat, which suffered some minor damage and loss of equipment.
The proce Clear Channel Communications contacted the riding club about organizing a drive to help out in Highland.
About half of the South Bend Volunteer Fire Department is made up of Red Knight members, and the whole process quickly became a fire department movement.
The South Bend department got other fire departments in the area involved, including Turtle Creek, East Pulaski, Kiehl, Rockport and Cabot.
After three days of taking donations from individuals, businesses and fire departments, the South Bend department, under escort by the Red Knights, took two tractor-trailer loads of equipment to Highland early Saturday morning.
The group was surprised by what it found in the north-central part of the state.
“It wasn’t what we expected at all,” South Bend Department battalion chief and president of the Red Knights Wesley Harris said.
“You couldn’t even tell it was a fire station. It was just gone.”
The group located the United State Flag in the rubble, straightened the flag pole, which had been bent at a 45-degree angle and raised the flag next to the old department’s foundation.
A house near the fire department had about a dozen two-by-four boards driven into and standing erect in its roof.
One vehicle had a telephone-pole-sized hole in its windshield left after the Highland Fire Department removed it from inside the car. The tornado had broken the pole off at the ground and threw it like a missile into the car.
Another heavily damaged vehicle sitting alone in a parking lot across from the department has yet to be identified, and locals don’t know to whom it belongs or from where it came.
Despite the condition of the town, Harris said spirits are high in the area.
“They’re not down and out. They’re looking at it as nowhere to go but up. Their fire chief just said hey, it can’t get any worse, so it can only get better.”
TOP STORY > >Sheriff’s jail plan gets key backing
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
Pulaski County has a jail plan, or at least it will if the entire quorum court approves the proposal presented by Sheriff Doc Holladay on Tuesday morning and endorsed by the county’s ways and means committee.
Relatively modest compared to the proposed sales tax increase for the jail which voters overwhelmingly rejected in 2006, part if not all of this new plan can be paid for by county officials out of existing revenues and money they can borrow on authority of the quorum court.
Not only did the ways and means committee endorse the plan, but former UALR Chancellor Charles Hathaway, Jim Lynch of the Association of Little Rock Neighborhoods and Bob Birch of Twin Cities Bank took turns at the microphone to speak in favor of the proposal.
“You’re on the right track,” County Judge Buddy Villines called from the back of the room.
Hathaway, who chaired the committee that recommended steps for the county to take to deal with its jail problems and its overall financial problems, said Holladay’s plan would give the county the capacity his committee recommended and “was very affordable.”
“I worked the numbers,” said Hathaway, “and this is absolutely possible and positive.”
“This is not the gold-plated plan of 2006,” said Lynch, a community activist who worked against the millage increase two years ago. Calling it a reasonable approach, he warned nonet unknown future obstacle.
The county has a real jail plan and, according to Treasurer Deborah Buckner, some funds to work with, said Birch.
Quorum court member Allen Kerr said the county budget already reflects payments on $8 million worth of notes used to renovate a derelict old building into a modern office for the county prosecutor and that after the notes are paid off, the county could use that mortgage money to fund new buildings for the jail.
Kerr suggested starting soon on the first new building for 200 additional, non-violent inmates.
Holladay’s plan, if fully realized, would accommodate 1,530 inmates, an increase of 660 inmates over the current allowable capacity. As of Tuesday, the jail held 967 inmates, 87 more than it is designed for.
Repair and construction would cost an estimated $10.4 million to $12.4 million—which is so-called one-time money, while staffing and maintaining the additional beds would cost about $6.2 million a year once the new beds were fully occupied.
His four-step plan breaks down like this:
First use about $400,000 from the public-safety fund to repair, re-roof and reoccupy pods A and B of the old jail. Some sheriff’s office personnel and 160 prisoners could be moved into that building from the work-release center. Repair could include new boilers and new air conditioning units.
The first step would not add any beds to the current population.
Step two—Build a 200-bed warehouse-style facility within the fenced perimeter of the new jail to house the most serious no-violent felons. The detention center would then hold 1,080 prisoners. Construction costs $4 million, annual maintenance and operation $1.5 million.
Step three—Reopen the work center to house 250 misdemeanor inmates who could help offset their cost to the county by performing work for county and the cities. Jail capacity would then be 1,330. No construction cost, Annual maintenance and operation $3 million.
Step four—Build a 200-bed secure wing—bricks and mortar—to the new jail for violent felons. Implementation would bring inmate capacity to 1,530. This wing would cost $6 million to $8 million and cost about $1.6 million a year to operate.
“I would recommend that we move forward, step by step, to identify funding sources for implementation of this plan,” Holladay told the committee.
Leader senior staff writer
Pulaski County has a jail plan, or at least it will if the entire quorum court approves the proposal presented by Sheriff Doc Holladay on Tuesday morning and endorsed by the county’s ways and means committee.
Relatively modest compared to the proposed sales tax increase for the jail which voters overwhelmingly rejected in 2006, part if not all of this new plan can be paid for by county officials out of existing revenues and money they can borrow on authority of the quorum court.
Not only did the ways and means committee endorse the plan, but former UALR Chancellor Charles Hathaway, Jim Lynch of the Association of Little Rock Neighborhoods and Bob Birch of Twin Cities Bank took turns at the microphone to speak in favor of the proposal.
“You’re on the right track,” County Judge Buddy Villines called from the back of the room.
Hathaway, who chaired the committee that recommended steps for the county to take to deal with its jail problems and its overall financial problems, said Holladay’s plan would give the county the capacity his committee recommended and “was very affordable.”
“I worked the numbers,” said Hathaway, “and this is absolutely possible and positive.”
“This is not the gold-plated plan of 2006,” said Lynch, a community activist who worked against the millage increase two years ago. Calling it a reasonable approach, he warned nonet unknown future obstacle.
The county has a real jail plan and, according to Treasurer Deborah Buckner, some funds to work with, said Birch.
Quorum court member Allen Kerr said the county budget already reflects payments on $8 million worth of notes used to renovate a derelict old building into a modern office for the county prosecutor and that after the notes are paid off, the county could use that mortgage money to fund new buildings for the jail.
Kerr suggested starting soon on the first new building for 200 additional, non-violent inmates.
Holladay’s plan, if fully realized, would accommodate 1,530 inmates, an increase of 660 inmates over the current allowable capacity. As of Tuesday, the jail held 967 inmates, 87 more than it is designed for.
Repair and construction would cost an estimated $10.4 million to $12.4 million—which is so-called one-time money, while staffing and maintaining the additional beds would cost about $6.2 million a year once the new beds were fully occupied.
His four-step plan breaks down like this:
First use about $400,000 from the public-safety fund to repair, re-roof and reoccupy pods A and B of the old jail. Some sheriff’s office personnel and 160 prisoners could be moved into that building from the work-release center. Repair could include new boilers and new air conditioning units.
The first step would not add any beds to the current population.
Step two—Build a 200-bed warehouse-style facility within the fenced perimeter of the new jail to house the most serious no-violent felons. The detention center would then hold 1,080 prisoners. Construction costs $4 million, annual maintenance and operation $1.5 million.
Step three—Reopen the work center to house 250 misdemeanor inmates who could help offset their cost to the county by performing work for county and the cities. Jail capacity would then be 1,330. No construction cost, Annual maintenance and operation $3 million.
Step four—Build a 200-bed secure wing—bricks and mortar—to the new jail for violent felons. Implementation would bring inmate capacity to 1,530. This wing would cost $6 million to $8 million and cost about $1.6 million a year to operate.
“I would recommend that we move forward, step by step, to identify funding sources for implementation of this plan,” Holladay told the committee.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
EDITORIAL >>Huck: Our happy warrior
The merriest man in America beyond a doubt is Mike Huckabee. Sure, John McCain climbed to almost a mathematical cinch on the Republican presidential nomination in the three Potomac primaries yesterday, but why should Huckabee worry? He knew on Feb. 6, the day after the Super Tuesday primaries, that his long-shot ambition was hopeless like that of all the better-known candidates who have halted their campaigns in the face of the obvious.
No one blames Huckabee for continuing to run when he has no chance as they would if Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney had kept hammering away. Giuliani and Romney would be fracturing party unity and weakening the party’s chance of winning in November. Huckabee and Ron Paul, the upstarts who never had a chance, do no harm to unity and are collegial foils for McCain’s final lap toward nomination.
Huckabee now basks in attention such as he has never enjoyed, and the sheer joy of his circumstance is evident every day. Rested and beaming, he is on the front pages of the major newspapers every day and shares time on every television news show and commentary, happily delivering the bon mots he has perfected over 15 years of public life and crafting fresh ones. He is a cinch, they say, for a national talk show when the campaign is over. He is a national figure. He is the little engine that could.
When they started voting yesterday morning in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, Huckabee breakfasted with Washington journalists in a popular ritual hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. A captivated New York Times blogger recorded a bunch of his quotable one-liners.
Is he going to go back to Arkansas next month when the presidential race is officially finished for him and file for the United States Senate against Sen. Mark Pryor?
“It’s more likely I’ll dye my hair green, get a bunch of tattoos and go on tour with Amy Winehouse,” Huckabee chortled.
Why shouldn’t he enjoy the presidential race? Compared to the “savagery” of the campaigns against him when he ran in Arkansas, he told the journalists, running for president is a piece of cake. That rebuke might be mystifying to Arkansans, who may barely remember the milquetoast campaigns against him by Nate Coulter, Charlie Cole Chaffin, Bill Bristow and Jimmie Lou Fisher. The charges leveled against him were that he took credit for tax cuts drafted and passed by the Democratic legislative caucus and that he collected gifts from groups beseeching rewards from the government. As we recall, Huckabee answered quite sensibly that whoever was governor got to take credit for whatever happened that people liked and that he was entitled to all the gifts people wanted to lavish on him.
The Times recorded that when he was asked why he would be a better bet to win in November than John McCain, the former governor explained: “Moderate Republicans lose. Conservative Republicans win.”
It was a good line, if not necessarily true. Based simply on their records, not their campaign rhetoric, Huckabee was the most liberal Republican in the race from the start, McCain the most conservative if you discount the weird but principled little Texas congressman, Ron Paul. Huckabee raised more taxes, generated more government spending, enlarged government more and ballooned the taxpayers’ debt more than any governor in his state’s history. In a quarter-century in Congress, McCain was the leading foe of government spending, enraging members of his own party along the way. The leading pork-barreler on the Republican side, the Alaska congressman who got mammoth federal appropriations for the “bridge to nowhere,” which McCain bitterly opposed, is Huckabee’s congressional chairman, or was until he became the subject of a criminal investigation.
But Huckabee’s remark raised no rejoinder from the assembled reporters. That is why our man is going all the way to the top — not to the White House but to the wide, wonderful world of broadcasting. Anything he says is to be believed. He’s proved that he’s that good. Move over, Bill O’Reilly.
No one blames Huckabee for continuing to run when he has no chance as they would if Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney had kept hammering away. Giuliani and Romney would be fracturing party unity and weakening the party’s chance of winning in November. Huckabee and Ron Paul, the upstarts who never had a chance, do no harm to unity and are collegial foils for McCain’s final lap toward nomination.
Huckabee now basks in attention such as he has never enjoyed, and the sheer joy of his circumstance is evident every day. Rested and beaming, he is on the front pages of the major newspapers every day and shares time on every television news show and commentary, happily delivering the bon mots he has perfected over 15 years of public life and crafting fresh ones. He is a cinch, they say, for a national talk show when the campaign is over. He is a national figure. He is the little engine that could.
When they started voting yesterday morning in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, Huckabee breakfasted with Washington journalists in a popular ritual hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. A captivated New York Times blogger recorded a bunch of his quotable one-liners.
Is he going to go back to Arkansas next month when the presidential race is officially finished for him and file for the United States Senate against Sen. Mark Pryor?
“It’s more likely I’ll dye my hair green, get a bunch of tattoos and go on tour with Amy Winehouse,” Huckabee chortled.
Why shouldn’t he enjoy the presidential race? Compared to the “savagery” of the campaigns against him when he ran in Arkansas, he told the journalists, running for president is a piece of cake. That rebuke might be mystifying to Arkansans, who may barely remember the milquetoast campaigns against him by Nate Coulter, Charlie Cole Chaffin, Bill Bristow and Jimmie Lou Fisher. The charges leveled against him were that he took credit for tax cuts drafted and passed by the Democratic legislative caucus and that he collected gifts from groups beseeching rewards from the government. As we recall, Huckabee answered quite sensibly that whoever was governor got to take credit for whatever happened that people liked and that he was entitled to all the gifts people wanted to lavish on him.
The Times recorded that when he was asked why he would be a better bet to win in November than John McCain, the former governor explained: “Moderate Republicans lose. Conservative Republicans win.”
It was a good line, if not necessarily true. Based simply on their records, not their campaign rhetoric, Huckabee was the most liberal Republican in the race from the start, McCain the most conservative if you discount the weird but principled little Texas congressman, Ron Paul. Huckabee raised more taxes, generated more government spending, enlarged government more and ballooned the taxpayers’ debt more than any governor in his state’s history. In a quarter-century in Congress, McCain was the leading foe of government spending, enraging members of his own party along the way. The leading pork-barreler on the Republican side, the Alaska congressman who got mammoth federal appropriations for the “bridge to nowhere,” which McCain bitterly opposed, is Huckabee’s congressional chairman, or was until he became the subject of a criminal investigation.
But Huckabee’s remark raised no rejoinder from the assembled reporters. That is why our man is going all the way to the top — not to the White House but to the wide, wonderful world of broadcasting. Anything he says is to be believed. He’s proved that he’s that good. Move over, Bill O’Reilly.
SPORTS >>Abundant Life gets ready for district with
By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
Tim Ballard isn’t afraid to set lofty goals for his Abundant Life Owls as they head into postseason play this week.
Eight straight wins will do that to a head coach.
The Owls tuned up for 2-3A district tournament play this weekend in Rose Bud with an easy 62-32 win over Kirby last Friday in the final regular-season game for the Owls.
Abundant Life, which earned a No. 2 seed after turning a 4-3 conference start into an 11-3 finish, is already guaranteed a berth in the regionals next week at Riverview and has a bye into the district semifinals this Thursday at 5:30. The Owls will play No. 3 Harding Academy, if the Wildcats are able to get past the Brinkley-Barton winner on Tuesday.
Last Friday, the Owls got 18 points from Dane Lottner and 15 from Colby Woolverton, who saw limited action due to the lopsided nature of the win.
“We were hoping for a tune-up,” said Ballard, whose Owls improved to 25-6 overall. “We were wanting a tough game on the road. Kirby’s down a little this year. That’s the first time they’ve been down in a while.”
Though it didn’t turn out to be the tune-up Ballard wanted, he still thinks his Owls are playing top-notch basketball at the right time.
“I still don’t think we’ve played our best basketball,” he said. “There were a couple of weeks early in the season where we were playing lights-out basketball.”
Ballard is hoping that the addition of a much-improved post game to go along with outstanding guards Woolverton and Lottner is going to make the Owls that much tougher to defend. Senior center Nelson Boren has added scoring prowess to his already dominant defensive play.
“If you talk to people, they’ll say our inside game is non-existent,” Ballard said. “I think with Boren playing like he is, we’ll catch some people off guard. I’m looking forward to seeing him in the offseason. We’re hoping to get 10 points from him. He’s going to get his five or six blocks.”
Ballard also hopes that Dustin Keathley’s ankle will continue to improve. Keathley injured the ankle the first of December and has never fully recovered.
“He was going to be our focal point inside,” Ballard said. “I’ve never seen an ankle injury like this. It’s still swollen double its size. He’s just now starting to get some lift off it. He’s one of our few players that plays with his back to the basket.”
If there’s any good news resulting from that injury, it’s that it has given Boren and sophomore post Garrett Sutherland an opportunity to log some valuable minutes.
“They’ve developed some confidence,” Ballard said. “If Keathley can come back, we should be even stronger.”
Asked if the fact that Abundant Life played top-ranked, unbeaten Rose Bud its toughest game of the year — a 58-53 loss on Dec. 13 — gave the Owls extra confidence, Ballard said no.
“I’ll be honest with you, we were confident we could beat them going into that game,” he said. “They’re good and they’re better than we are. But the guys were sorely disappointed. We didn’t feel like we were happy just to play them close.”
So if the Owls figure they can play with the best, what are their hopes for the postseason?
“I’ll tell you this: The way we’re playing right now, we feel we can go all the way,” Ballard said.
Leader sports editor
Tim Ballard isn’t afraid to set lofty goals for his Abundant Life Owls as they head into postseason play this week.
Eight straight wins will do that to a head coach.
The Owls tuned up for 2-3A district tournament play this weekend in Rose Bud with an easy 62-32 win over Kirby last Friday in the final regular-season game for the Owls.
Abundant Life, which earned a No. 2 seed after turning a 4-3 conference start into an 11-3 finish, is already guaranteed a berth in the regionals next week at Riverview and has a bye into the district semifinals this Thursday at 5:30. The Owls will play No. 3 Harding Academy, if the Wildcats are able to get past the Brinkley-Barton winner on Tuesday.
Last Friday, the Owls got 18 points from Dane Lottner and 15 from Colby Woolverton, who saw limited action due to the lopsided nature of the win.
“We were hoping for a tune-up,” said Ballard, whose Owls improved to 25-6 overall. “We were wanting a tough game on the road. Kirby’s down a little this year. That’s the first time they’ve been down in a while.”
Though it didn’t turn out to be the tune-up Ballard wanted, he still thinks his Owls are playing top-notch basketball at the right time.
“I still don’t think we’ve played our best basketball,” he said. “There were a couple of weeks early in the season where we were playing lights-out basketball.”
Ballard is hoping that the addition of a much-improved post game to go along with outstanding guards Woolverton and Lottner is going to make the Owls that much tougher to defend. Senior center Nelson Boren has added scoring prowess to his already dominant defensive play.
“If you talk to people, they’ll say our inside game is non-existent,” Ballard said. “I think with Boren playing like he is, we’ll catch some people off guard. I’m looking forward to seeing him in the offseason. We’re hoping to get 10 points from him. He’s going to get his five or six blocks.”
Ballard also hopes that Dustin Keathley’s ankle will continue to improve. Keathley injured the ankle the first of December and has never fully recovered.
“He was going to be our focal point inside,” Ballard said. “I’ve never seen an ankle injury like this. It’s still swollen double its size. He’s just now starting to get some lift off it. He’s one of our few players that plays with his back to the basket.”
If there’s any good news resulting from that injury, it’s that it has given Boren and sophomore post Garrett Sutherland an opportunity to log some valuable minutes.
“They’ve developed some confidence,” Ballard said. “If Keathley can come back, we should be even stronger.”
Asked if the fact that Abundant Life played top-ranked, unbeaten Rose Bud its toughest game of the year — a 58-53 loss on Dec. 13 — gave the Owls extra confidence, Ballard said no.
“I’ll be honest with you, we were confident we could beat them going into that game,” he said. “They’re good and they’re better than we are. But the guys were sorely disappointed. We didn’t feel like we were happy just to play them close.”
So if the Owls figure they can play with the best, what are their hopes for the postseason?
“I’ll tell you this: The way we’re playing right now, we feel we can go all the way,” Ballard said.
SPORTS >> Falcons avenge earlier GCT loss
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Ridge Williams had a big night rebounding for North Pulaski, but his final rebound kept the Falcons alive in the 5A-East playoff chase. NP held on for a thrilling 53-52 victory in an intense rematch with Greene County Tech on Friday night in front of a capacity crowd at the Falcons’ Nest.
The Eagles’ Russell Jetton had the winning three pointer in his sights in the final 10 seconds, but his shot from the left wing was just off, and Williams was there for the rebound — his seventh of the game.
It was a big win for a recovering Falcons team that has been plagued by illness, and redemption after the first meeting between the two teams ended in chaos, and resulted in the first league loss of the season for North Pulaski.
According to NP coach Raymond Cooper, the memory of the first game at GCT, in which both camps made accusations of bad sportsmanship afterward, wasn’t even a factor in the win.
“We never even talked about that,” Cooper said. “These guys know that you can’t bring personal stuff into a game this important. If you go in angry, you’re not going to play good basketball; we were just focused on the game.
“There was no big rah-rah speech before the game; these guys were up already,” Cooper added.
While it was Williams who secured the win, sophomore Duquan Bryant served up his own heroics during the game. Extra pressure on point guard Aaron Cooper gave Bryant multiple opportunities to have his way inside the GCT paint.
The Tech post players had struggled to contain Bryant’s moves inside. The sophomore standout cleared his way past the sizeable Eagles, and made the most of those chances to lead the Falcons with 23 points.
“Duquan is a unique player,” Cooper said. “He’s just touching the surface of how many skills he will have when he is fully developed. People don’t realize how great of a shooter he is. They think they can back off of him on the floor and let him miss, but I think he suprised some people tonight.”
The game featured seven lead changes over the final six minutes until two free throws by Bryant on back-to-back trips to the stripe put the Falcons up for the final time. Cooper followed that with a pair of foul shots to give NP a 50-47 lead, but Jetton pulled it to within one with a basket.
Kelvin Parker hit both ends of a one-and-one to give NP a 53-49 lead with 30 seconds left. Trase Davis hit a big three pointer for the Eagles to pull to within one, and an offensive foul by Parker set up Tech with one last chance to take it all, but Jetton’s miss and Williams’ rebound sealed it for the Falcons.
“I knew we had to have that last rebound,” Williams said. “We needed it, and we refused — refused to go out of here without a win. A loss for us would have meant no state tournament.”
The Eagles went up 14-11 at the end of the first quarter, and added a three pointer in the opening seconds of the second quarter for a 17-11 advantage.
NP closed the gap with an inside jumper and free throw by Bryant, followed by a steal by Cliff Harrison that led to a pair of free throws that made it 17-16 Tech with 6:16 left in the second quarter.
Greene County Tech built the lead to 27-21 at the intermission. The Falcons still trailed by six at the 5:48 mark of the third quarter until a basket by Parker also drew a foul to send him to the line. He missed the and-one, but Bryant was there for the rebound, and put it up for two more.
That cut the Eagles’ lead to 30-28, a lead they maintained until a six-point run by Bryant put North Pulaski ahead 36-32 at the 2:56 mark. Bryant then followed a Tech goal with a steal he took coast to coast to put the Falcons up 38-34 heading into the final period.
Neither team could produce points in the opening minutes of the final period, but Harrison finally found his way to the basket with an assist from Cooper at the 6:38 mark to give the Falcons a 40-34 lead.
Zach Mitchell quickly cut that lead in half for the Golden Eagles with a three-point basket and a layup, and free throw by Wes Livingston after an offensive foul by Williams gave possession back to Tech tied the game at 40-40 with 5:59 remaining.
“There was no praise for me,” Williams said of his game-clinching rebound. “That’s not what it was all about. We all praised each other for a good job and a great win. We have another big one against Nettleton next Friday, and we have to play like this all over again then.”
Bryant’s efforts earned him a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds, along with two steals and a block. Harrison added 11 points, six rebounds and three steals. Parker finished with eight points, including a perfect 6-for-6 at the foul line.
Joe Agee led the Falcons in assists with four.
For Tech, Livingston led with 16 points. The win improves North Pulaski to 13-8 overall and 6-4 in the 5A-East Conference, tied with Nettleton for fourth place in the East standings.
The Lady Falcons played toe to toe with Tech for 31 minutes of the girls opener, but it was the three unanswered three pointers for GCT in the opening minute that proved impossible to make up. The Lady Eagles went on to win 50-39 led by a 12-point performance from Brittany Chesser. Neisha Ridgeway led the Lady Falcons with 12 points. North Pulaski moved to 3-16 on the season.
North Pulaski hosted Beebe last night after Leader deadlines, and will play at Nettleton on Friday.
Leader sportswriter
Ridge Williams had a big night rebounding for North Pulaski, but his final rebound kept the Falcons alive in the 5A-East playoff chase. NP held on for a thrilling 53-52 victory in an intense rematch with Greene County Tech on Friday night in front of a capacity crowd at the Falcons’ Nest.
The Eagles’ Russell Jetton had the winning three pointer in his sights in the final 10 seconds, but his shot from the left wing was just off, and Williams was there for the rebound — his seventh of the game.
It was a big win for a recovering Falcons team that has been plagued by illness, and redemption after the first meeting between the two teams ended in chaos, and resulted in the first league loss of the season for North Pulaski.
According to NP coach Raymond Cooper, the memory of the first game at GCT, in which both camps made accusations of bad sportsmanship afterward, wasn’t even a factor in the win.
“We never even talked about that,” Cooper said. “These guys know that you can’t bring personal stuff into a game this important. If you go in angry, you’re not going to play good basketball; we were just focused on the game.
“There was no big rah-rah speech before the game; these guys were up already,” Cooper added.
While it was Williams who secured the win, sophomore Duquan Bryant served up his own heroics during the game. Extra pressure on point guard Aaron Cooper gave Bryant multiple opportunities to have his way inside the GCT paint.
The Tech post players had struggled to contain Bryant’s moves inside. The sophomore standout cleared his way past the sizeable Eagles, and made the most of those chances to lead the Falcons with 23 points.
“Duquan is a unique player,” Cooper said. “He’s just touching the surface of how many skills he will have when he is fully developed. People don’t realize how great of a shooter he is. They think they can back off of him on the floor and let him miss, but I think he suprised some people tonight.”
The game featured seven lead changes over the final six minutes until two free throws by Bryant on back-to-back trips to the stripe put the Falcons up for the final time. Cooper followed that with a pair of foul shots to give NP a 50-47 lead, but Jetton pulled it to within one with a basket.
Kelvin Parker hit both ends of a one-and-one to give NP a 53-49 lead with 30 seconds left. Trase Davis hit a big three pointer for the Eagles to pull to within one, and an offensive foul by Parker set up Tech with one last chance to take it all, but Jetton’s miss and Williams’ rebound sealed it for the Falcons.
“I knew we had to have that last rebound,” Williams said. “We needed it, and we refused — refused to go out of here without a win. A loss for us would have meant no state tournament.”
The Eagles went up 14-11 at the end of the first quarter, and added a three pointer in the opening seconds of the second quarter for a 17-11 advantage.
NP closed the gap with an inside jumper and free throw by Bryant, followed by a steal by Cliff Harrison that led to a pair of free throws that made it 17-16 Tech with 6:16 left in the second quarter.
Greene County Tech built the lead to 27-21 at the intermission. The Falcons still trailed by six at the 5:48 mark of the third quarter until a basket by Parker also drew a foul to send him to the line. He missed the and-one, but Bryant was there for the rebound, and put it up for two more.
That cut the Eagles’ lead to 30-28, a lead they maintained until a six-point run by Bryant put North Pulaski ahead 36-32 at the 2:56 mark. Bryant then followed a Tech goal with a steal he took coast to coast to put the Falcons up 38-34 heading into the final period.
Neither team could produce points in the opening minutes of the final period, but Harrison finally found his way to the basket with an assist from Cooper at the 6:38 mark to give the Falcons a 40-34 lead.
Zach Mitchell quickly cut that lead in half for the Golden Eagles with a three-point basket and a layup, and free throw by Wes Livingston after an offensive foul by Williams gave possession back to Tech tied the game at 40-40 with 5:59 remaining.
“There was no praise for me,” Williams said of his game-clinching rebound. “That’s not what it was all about. We all praised each other for a good job and a great win. We have another big one against Nettleton next Friday, and we have to play like this all over again then.”
Bryant’s efforts earned him a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds, along with two steals and a block. Harrison added 11 points, six rebounds and three steals. Parker finished with eight points, including a perfect 6-for-6 at the foul line.
Joe Agee led the Falcons in assists with four.
For Tech, Livingston led with 16 points. The win improves North Pulaski to 13-8 overall and 6-4 in the 5A-East Conference, tied with Nettleton for fourth place in the East standings.
The Lady Falcons played toe to toe with Tech for 31 minutes of the girls opener, but it was the three unanswered three pointers for GCT in the opening minute that proved impossible to make up. The Lady Eagles went on to win 50-39 led by a 12-point performance from Brittany Chesser. Neisha Ridgeway led the Lady Falcons with 12 points. North Pulaski moved to 3-16 on the season.
North Pulaski hosted Beebe last night after Leader deadlines, and will play at Nettleton on Friday.
SPORTS >> Cabot senior going out a winner
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Sam Bates may not claim history as his favorite topic in school.
But the Cabot senior is about to become part of it later this month when Cabot takes to the court in the state playoffs for the first time since 1977.
It is a long time coming for a school noted for football excellence, and retribution for Bates and his fellow seniors, who have endured the typical message-board insults and the general lack of respect extended to Cabot basketball in recent years.
Bates, who turns 18 in just two days, is a starting post player for Jerry Bridges’ Panthers.
But it is baseball he will build his athletic future around. He has one more season under coach Jay Fitch on the Panthers baseball team, before he makes the move to Neosho, Mo., in the fall to play baseball for the Crowder Jr. College Rough Riders.
The son of Jennifer and Sammy Bates currently holds a 3.5 GPA, and plans on majoring in business/finance at CJC.
The 31-year drought for Cabot basketball officially ended last Friday when Russellville lost, ensuring the Panthers of at least a No. 6 seed when the state 7A state tournament begins Feb. 26. Cabot could reach as high as a No. 2 seed, depending on how the final two weeks of the regular season play out.
While Bates may not be putting up the eye-popping numbers of junior teammate Adam Sterrenberg, he still gets plenty of credit from his coach for Cabot’s success this season.
“Sam is a great teammate for these kids to have,” Bridges said. “He’s very likeable, never has a bad word to say about anyone, and he works very hard. Last year, he showed flashes of brilliance, but this year, he has been nothing but consistent. Every time I send him out on that floor, I know I’m going to get anywhere from eight to ten rebounds a night from him.”
For Bates, being a part of the team that has finally ended the state playoff drought is a culmination of lots of hard work and determination.
“It’s been three years in the making,” Bates said. “The coaches have told us that we’re good enough all along. It just took us making up our minds to do it. We finally got over the hump this year.
“We had a really good team during my sophomore year, but we were in such a tough conference [what is now the 6A-East], we just weren’t fortunate enough.”
Coach Jay Fitch is happy for Bates and for the basketball team’s success this season, but admits that he is ready to see him in the pinstripes.
“Sam has been a great one for me,” Fitch said. “In 11 years of coaching at Cabot, I’ve only had three kids start for me as freshmen, and he is one of them. He’s done so well at both sports all these years, it’s kind of scary to think what he can accomplish when he focuses all of his fundamentals into one sport.”
Bates finished the 2007 season with a .349 batting average. He has already been picked by his teammates to serve as a team captain this season, along with fellow senior and friend Shayne Burgan.
“Sam is not going to be a big vocal leader,” Fitch said. “But he has that Cal Ripken-effect. He’s not going to miss a single day, which is just as valuable an attribute. I’m expecting a big year from him — potential All-State numbers.”
Bates, a two-time All-Conference selection for baseball, says he has learned many valuable lessons about competition and life from both Fitch and Bridges.
“It’s not all that different, really,” Bates said of his two coaches. “Both are good, Christian men, and both of them are good role models to build upon for a student-athlete like me. Both of them stress the importance of hard work, and are just good guys in general.”
Among the many games played by Bates on both the court and diamond, he lists last year’s baseball 7A-Central Conference closer with Central as his most memorable moment. The Tigers had won the previous meeting, and went for a season sweep when they put current University of Arkansas freshman Drew Smiley on the mound. The Panthers went on to score in the final inning to take a 2-1 win over Central, which locked them into the No. 2 seed for the state tournament.
Thrilled as Bates is to have extended his baseball career beyond high school, he’s in no rush to play at the next level and intends to relish his last season at Cabot.
“You only get one senior year of high school,” Bates said. “Just like finding out we clinched the playoffs this year; that’s at least one more basketball game I will get to play. I’m trying to make the most of this year. You can’t waste your life away waiting on something else.
“You have to enjoy it while it’s here.”
Leader sportswriter
Sam Bates may not claim history as his favorite topic in school.
But the Cabot senior is about to become part of it later this month when Cabot takes to the court in the state playoffs for the first time since 1977.
It is a long time coming for a school noted for football excellence, and retribution for Bates and his fellow seniors, who have endured the typical message-board insults and the general lack of respect extended to Cabot basketball in recent years.
Bates, who turns 18 in just two days, is a starting post player for Jerry Bridges’ Panthers.
But it is baseball he will build his athletic future around. He has one more season under coach Jay Fitch on the Panthers baseball team, before he makes the move to Neosho, Mo., in the fall to play baseball for the Crowder Jr. College Rough Riders.
The son of Jennifer and Sammy Bates currently holds a 3.5 GPA, and plans on majoring in business/finance at CJC.
The 31-year drought for Cabot basketball officially ended last Friday when Russellville lost, ensuring the Panthers of at least a No. 6 seed when the state 7A state tournament begins Feb. 26. Cabot could reach as high as a No. 2 seed, depending on how the final two weeks of the regular season play out.
While Bates may not be putting up the eye-popping numbers of junior teammate Adam Sterrenberg, he still gets plenty of credit from his coach for Cabot’s success this season.
“Sam is a great teammate for these kids to have,” Bridges said. “He’s very likeable, never has a bad word to say about anyone, and he works very hard. Last year, he showed flashes of brilliance, but this year, he has been nothing but consistent. Every time I send him out on that floor, I know I’m going to get anywhere from eight to ten rebounds a night from him.”
For Bates, being a part of the team that has finally ended the state playoff drought is a culmination of lots of hard work and determination.
“It’s been three years in the making,” Bates said. “The coaches have told us that we’re good enough all along. It just took us making up our minds to do it. We finally got over the hump this year.
“We had a really good team during my sophomore year, but we were in such a tough conference [what is now the 6A-East], we just weren’t fortunate enough.”
Coach Jay Fitch is happy for Bates and for the basketball team’s success this season, but admits that he is ready to see him in the pinstripes.
“Sam has been a great one for me,” Fitch said. “In 11 years of coaching at Cabot, I’ve only had three kids start for me as freshmen, and he is one of them. He’s done so well at both sports all these years, it’s kind of scary to think what he can accomplish when he focuses all of his fundamentals into one sport.”
Bates finished the 2007 season with a .349 batting average. He has already been picked by his teammates to serve as a team captain this season, along with fellow senior and friend Shayne Burgan.
“Sam is not going to be a big vocal leader,” Fitch said. “But he has that Cal Ripken-effect. He’s not going to miss a single day, which is just as valuable an attribute. I’m expecting a big year from him — potential All-State numbers.”
Bates, a two-time All-Conference selection for baseball, says he has learned many valuable lessons about competition and life from both Fitch and Bridges.
“It’s not all that different, really,” Bates said of his two coaches. “Both are good, Christian men, and both of them are good role models to build upon for a student-athlete like me. Both of them stress the importance of hard work, and are just good guys in general.”
Among the many games played by Bates on both the court and diamond, he lists last year’s baseball 7A-Central Conference closer with Central as his most memorable moment. The Tigers had won the previous meeting, and went for a season sweep when they put current University of Arkansas freshman Drew Smiley on the mound. The Panthers went on to score in the final inning to take a 2-1 win over Central, which locked them into the No. 2 seed for the state tournament.
Thrilled as Bates is to have extended his baseball career beyond high school, he’s in no rush to play at the next level and intends to relish his last season at Cabot.
“You only get one senior year of high school,” Bates said. “Just like finding out we clinched the playoffs this year; that’s at least one more basketball game I will get to play. I’m trying to make the most of this year. You can’t waste your life away waiting on something else.
“You have to enjoy it while it’s here.”
SPORTS >> ’Rabbits hold off Panthers in finale
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
With their second-straight 2-4A Conference title already in hand, the Lonoke Jackrabbits found motivation for Friday’s game at Heber Springs a little difficult. The Panthers stayed close until late, when Lonoke finally put them away with 27 points in the final quarter to take a 74-64 win.
The Panthers were up for the game. A two-game winning streak, senior night and saying goodbye to their old gymnasium made for a Heber team that was ready to pull off a major upset.
“We didn’t play well at all, especially defensively,” Lonoke coach Wes Swift said. “They had a lot of emotion going into that game, and they have been playing well at the end of the season.
“The guys that were supposed to make big plays finally started doing that in the fourth quarter, but I have to give Heber a lot
of credit. I thought they played well.”
The Jackrabbits had been focusing on their post game for the previous couple of practices, but early foul trouble for Juicy Lambert, combined with the sudden illness of freshman post Myles Taylor, blew previous plans out of the water, and made the team much, much smaller.
Lonoke led 37-28 at halftime, but the Panthers rallied in the third quarter to make it a one-point game heading into the final period. At that point, seniors Bradley Spencer and Tyrone Dobbins came alive offensively to help put away the stubborn underdogs.
Spencer finished with 15 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter. Dobbins added 12 for the Jackrabbits, and Michael Howard had 13 points, six of which came in the fourth quarter. Clarence Harris rounded out high scorers for Lonoke with nine points.
The win gives the Jackrabbits a final regular-season record of 22-5, 14-2 in the 2-4A Conference. They will have a two-round bye in the district tournament at Bald Knob, and will begin tourney play Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. at the Bulldog gymnasium.
HEBER SPRINGS 39, LONOKE GIRLS 37
The Lady Jackrabbits also knew their postseason fate going into Friday’s matchup with Heber Springs. Lonoke fell in a close 39-37 decision to the Lady Panthers.
While the game was essentially meaningless, Lady ’Rabs’ coach Nathan Morris was disappointed with his team’s performance.
“We just couldn’t get it going,” Morris said. “We already had the No. 2 seed. That could be an excuse. We’ve had some sickness — that could be another excuse.
“There are actually a hundred excuses I could throw at you, but the bottom line is, we got beat. We’ve got to get back and get this corrected quick.
“Last year, we were talking about winning the district and the regional tournaments kind of like it was a given. Not this year.”
Ultimately, it was free-throw shooting that made the difference down the stretch for Lonoke. The Lady ’Rabbits only hit 5-of-10 attempts.
Morris says a performance like that this week could spell disaster for the Lady Jackrabbits.
“We need to be gearing up for these teams,” Morris said. “We have to get the ship righted, or we could be sitting at home when the state tournament gets here. We’re the defending district champs, and I know these teams are getting geared up to play Lonoke. The question is, will Lonoke get geared up for them?”
Asiah Scribner led the Lady Jackrabbits with 12 points, while senior Hayley O’Cain added a trio of three pointers for nine points. The loss moved Lonoke to 20-7 overall and 13-3 in conference.
The Lady Jackrabbits will enter the district tournament at Bald Knob as the defending champions, with a No. 2 seed behind regular season champs and host team Lady Bulldogs. They will also have a bye through the first two rounds, and will play Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m.
Leader sportswriter
With their second-straight 2-4A Conference title already in hand, the Lonoke Jackrabbits found motivation for Friday’s game at Heber Springs a little difficult. The Panthers stayed close until late, when Lonoke finally put them away with 27 points in the final quarter to take a 74-64 win.
The Panthers were up for the game. A two-game winning streak, senior night and saying goodbye to their old gymnasium made for a Heber team that was ready to pull off a major upset.
“We didn’t play well at all, especially defensively,” Lonoke coach Wes Swift said. “They had a lot of emotion going into that game, and they have been playing well at the end of the season.
“The guys that were supposed to make big plays finally started doing that in the fourth quarter, but I have to give Heber a lot
of credit. I thought they played well.”
The Jackrabbits had been focusing on their post game for the previous couple of practices, but early foul trouble for Juicy Lambert, combined with the sudden illness of freshman post Myles Taylor, blew previous plans out of the water, and made the team much, much smaller.
Lonoke led 37-28 at halftime, but the Panthers rallied in the third quarter to make it a one-point game heading into the final period. At that point, seniors Bradley Spencer and Tyrone Dobbins came alive offensively to help put away the stubborn underdogs.
Spencer finished with 15 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter. Dobbins added 12 for the Jackrabbits, and Michael Howard had 13 points, six of which came in the fourth quarter. Clarence Harris rounded out high scorers for Lonoke with nine points.
The win gives the Jackrabbits a final regular-season record of 22-5, 14-2 in the 2-4A Conference. They will have a two-round bye in the district tournament at Bald Knob, and will begin tourney play Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. at the Bulldog gymnasium.
HEBER SPRINGS 39, LONOKE GIRLS 37
The Lady Jackrabbits also knew their postseason fate going into Friday’s matchup with Heber Springs. Lonoke fell in a close 39-37 decision to the Lady Panthers.
While the game was essentially meaningless, Lady ’Rabs’ coach Nathan Morris was disappointed with his team’s performance.
“We just couldn’t get it going,” Morris said. “We already had the No. 2 seed. That could be an excuse. We’ve had some sickness — that could be another excuse.
“There are actually a hundred excuses I could throw at you, but the bottom line is, we got beat. We’ve got to get back and get this corrected quick.
“Last year, we were talking about winning the district and the regional tournaments kind of like it was a given. Not this year.”
Ultimately, it was free-throw shooting that made the difference down the stretch for Lonoke. The Lady ’Rabbits only hit 5-of-10 attempts.
Morris says a performance like that this week could spell disaster for the Lady Jackrabbits.
“We need to be gearing up for these teams,” Morris said. “We have to get the ship righted, or we could be sitting at home when the state tournament gets here. We’re the defending district champs, and I know these teams are getting geared up to play Lonoke. The question is, will Lonoke get geared up for them?”
Asiah Scribner led the Lady Jackrabbits with 12 points, while senior Hayley O’Cain added a trio of three pointers for nine points. The loss moved Lonoke to 20-7 overall and 13-3 in conference.
The Lady Jackrabbits will enter the district tournament at Bald Knob as the defending champions, with a No. 2 seed behind regular season champs and host team Lady Bulldogs. They will also have a bye through the first two rounds, and will play Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m.
SPORTS >> Cabot boys nipped by Central, but reach state
By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
Cabot coach Jerry Bridges can find several good things to take out of the Panthers’ tough 67-66 loss to Little Rock Central on Friday night.
A moral victory is not among them.
“We knew coming in we could play with anybody,” Bridges said. “We just have to regroup. It would have been a big win for us.”
A big win for a lot of reasons. It would have meant a season sweep of the state’s second-ranked 7A team. It would more importantly have moved the Panthers to within a game of the first-place Tigers, and into a third-place tie with Conway.
But, even with the disheartening loss, the Panthers secured their first state tournament berth in 31 years when Russellville lost on Friday. That’s one good thing. The other is that junior Austin Johnson turned in perhaps his best game of the season.
“That’s big for us,” Bridges said of Johnson’s 24-point performance. “He was hurt earlier in the year and he’s just now getting back to 100 percent. He’s shown a lot ofguts and courage for us this year.”
The Panthers lost, despite Johnson’s performance, and despite 29 more points from Adam Sterrenberg, when Erick Brooks hit a pair of free throws with 11.2 seconds left. Cabot never got a chance at a game-winning basket as Central’s Alandis Harris stole a cross-court pass at midcourt and was able to run out the clock.
“It was a tremendous game. That was the first time we had employed that defense all year,” said Central head coach Oliver Fitzpatrick of the zone press the Tigers ran on the final play. “We were saving that just for a situation like this. [Cabot] wasn’t prepared for it.”
The Panthers had rallied from a seven-point deficit over the final three minutes. Miles Monroe’s three and Sterrenberg’s baseline drive got Cabot to within 65-64 with 2:01 left. Brooks missed a breakaway layup with 35 seconds, and Johnson gave the Panthers the lead with a baseline drive and an up-and-under basket with 20 seconds remaining.
But Brooks was fouled near the top of the circle with 11 seconds left and made them both. Brooks led Central with 23 points.
Cabot did itself no favors by missing 8-of-11 free throws in the second half.
“Bottom line, we missed free throws,” Bridges said. “You’ve got to hit those. If we make our free throws, we win.”
Bridges wasn’t so certain the Panthers didn’t deserve a few more attempts than they got. Twice over the final four minutes of the game, Sterrenberg was stripped of the ball driving into traffic near the basket.
“They didn’t really protect Sterrenberg,” Bridges said. “There were some no-calls [that looked like] fouls. I mean, you’ve got to give those calls to a player like that. He’s earned them.”
With Monroe in foul trouble early in the game, the Panthers turned to Sterrenberg and Johnson, and they delivered, combing for all but one of Cabot’s first half points. The Panthers led 34-33 at intermission.
It was tough going offensively in the early going. Sterrenberg hit a pair of threes over the final two minutes of the first period, which had Cabot trailing 16-13 after one. Johnson scored nine consecutive points for Cabot over a span of 2:43 in the second quarter as the Panthers took their first lead at 23-20.
Sterrenberg scored the final nine points of the period for the Panthers to finish with 19 points at intermission. Brooks also had 19 at the half.
Monroe added six points in limited action.
“If you want to talk about foul trouble, we were in foul trouble,” Bridges said. “Monroe might have played 10 minutes tonight.”
Sam Bates added four points and nine rebounds as the Panthers finished with a six-rebound advantage over a Central team that went to a small lineup for most of the game.
The Panthers made 8-of-20 three-pointers and knocked down 24-of-52 overall, but they made only 10-of-19 free throws.
Central hit 25-of-45 shots overall, despite making only 2-of-15 from beyond the arc. They got several key breakaway buckets in the final period, which allowed them to build a 65-58 lead at the 3:02 mark. The Tigers made 15-of-24 free throws.
CENTRAL GIRLS 57, CABOT 46
Add another to the Lady Panthers’ ever-expanding disabled list.
Shelby Ashcraft went down midway through the final period.
That merely added an injury to insult as Central was already having its way with the Lady Panthers.
Coming off an emotional one-point, buzzer-beating loss to North Little Rock two nights earlier, the Lady Panthers seemed strangely flat, especially in the second half, when they were outrebounded 24-8 to finish with an overall 38-25 disadvantage on the boards.
That wasn’t the end of their troubles against the Lady Tigers. Cabot committed 21 turnovers and made only 13-of-38 shots in falling into a three-way tie for third at 6-5.
“That’s eight or nine kids now,” said Cabot assistant Charles Ruple of the plague of injuries that have hobbled the Lady Panthers this season. “Nobody likes to make excuses, but we’re playing six or seven, and they’re playing eight or 10. That makes a difference.”
Cabot never led in the contest, falling behind 4-0 and 19-13 after one period. The Lady Tigers were able to get penetration throughout the first half for easy buckets and fouls.
Cabot got within one point on three free throws by Morgan Verkler, but Shawnessi Arnold hit a 40-footer at the buzzer to give
Central a 31-27 lead at intermission.
Ashcraft scored twice inside early in the third to keep the Lady Panthers within 33-31, and Jenna Bailey’s basket and free throw still had them within three. But the Lady Tigers out-rebounded Cabot 12-2 in the third period and eventually opened up a 44-36 lead after three. Cabot never got closer than eight the rest of the way.
Ashcraft suffered the injury when she drove under the basket for a reverse layup attempt with 3:51 left in the game. She hit the floor and was carted off in a wheelchair several minutes later. Ashcraft scored only six points, but grabbed 10 rebounds and two steals. She also had three assists and a block.
Lauren Walker led Cabot with 12 points. Leah Watts had 11 points and three steals. Bailey added eight points and four steals.
Leader sports editor
Cabot coach Jerry Bridges can find several good things to take out of the Panthers’ tough 67-66 loss to Little Rock Central on Friday night.
A moral victory is not among them.
“We knew coming in we could play with anybody,” Bridges said. “We just have to regroup. It would have been a big win for us.”
A big win for a lot of reasons. It would have meant a season sweep of the state’s second-ranked 7A team. It would more importantly have moved the Panthers to within a game of the first-place Tigers, and into a third-place tie with Conway.
But, even with the disheartening loss, the Panthers secured their first state tournament berth in 31 years when Russellville lost on Friday. That’s one good thing. The other is that junior Austin Johnson turned in perhaps his best game of the season.
“That’s big for us,” Bridges said of Johnson’s 24-point performance. “He was hurt earlier in the year and he’s just now getting back to 100 percent. He’s shown a lot ofguts and courage for us this year.”
The Panthers lost, despite Johnson’s performance, and despite 29 more points from Adam Sterrenberg, when Erick Brooks hit a pair of free throws with 11.2 seconds left. Cabot never got a chance at a game-winning basket as Central’s Alandis Harris stole a cross-court pass at midcourt and was able to run out the clock.
“It was a tremendous game. That was the first time we had employed that defense all year,” said Central head coach Oliver Fitzpatrick of the zone press the Tigers ran on the final play. “We were saving that just for a situation like this. [Cabot] wasn’t prepared for it.”
The Panthers had rallied from a seven-point deficit over the final three minutes. Miles Monroe’s three and Sterrenberg’s baseline drive got Cabot to within 65-64 with 2:01 left. Brooks missed a breakaway layup with 35 seconds, and Johnson gave the Panthers the lead with a baseline drive and an up-and-under basket with 20 seconds remaining.
But Brooks was fouled near the top of the circle with 11 seconds left and made them both. Brooks led Central with 23 points.
Cabot did itself no favors by missing 8-of-11 free throws in the second half.
“Bottom line, we missed free throws,” Bridges said. “You’ve got to hit those. If we make our free throws, we win.”
Bridges wasn’t so certain the Panthers didn’t deserve a few more attempts than they got. Twice over the final four minutes of the game, Sterrenberg was stripped of the ball driving into traffic near the basket.
“They didn’t really protect Sterrenberg,” Bridges said. “There were some no-calls [that looked like] fouls. I mean, you’ve got to give those calls to a player like that. He’s earned them.”
With Monroe in foul trouble early in the game, the Panthers turned to Sterrenberg and Johnson, and they delivered, combing for all but one of Cabot’s first half points. The Panthers led 34-33 at intermission.
It was tough going offensively in the early going. Sterrenberg hit a pair of threes over the final two minutes of the first period, which had Cabot trailing 16-13 after one. Johnson scored nine consecutive points for Cabot over a span of 2:43 in the second quarter as the Panthers took their first lead at 23-20.
Sterrenberg scored the final nine points of the period for the Panthers to finish with 19 points at intermission. Brooks also had 19 at the half.
Monroe added six points in limited action.
“If you want to talk about foul trouble, we were in foul trouble,” Bridges said. “Monroe might have played 10 minutes tonight.”
Sam Bates added four points and nine rebounds as the Panthers finished with a six-rebound advantage over a Central team that went to a small lineup for most of the game.
The Panthers made 8-of-20 three-pointers and knocked down 24-of-52 overall, but they made only 10-of-19 free throws.
Central hit 25-of-45 shots overall, despite making only 2-of-15 from beyond the arc. They got several key breakaway buckets in the final period, which allowed them to build a 65-58 lead at the 3:02 mark. The Tigers made 15-of-24 free throws.
CENTRAL GIRLS 57, CABOT 46
Add another to the Lady Panthers’ ever-expanding disabled list.
Shelby Ashcraft went down midway through the final period.
That merely added an injury to insult as Central was already having its way with the Lady Panthers.
Coming off an emotional one-point, buzzer-beating loss to North Little Rock two nights earlier, the Lady Panthers seemed strangely flat, especially in the second half, when they were outrebounded 24-8 to finish with an overall 38-25 disadvantage on the boards.
That wasn’t the end of their troubles against the Lady Tigers. Cabot committed 21 turnovers and made only 13-of-38 shots in falling into a three-way tie for third at 6-5.
“That’s eight or nine kids now,” said Cabot assistant Charles Ruple of the plague of injuries that have hobbled the Lady Panthers this season. “Nobody likes to make excuses, but we’re playing six or seven, and they’re playing eight or 10. That makes a difference.”
Cabot never led in the contest, falling behind 4-0 and 19-13 after one period. The Lady Tigers were able to get penetration throughout the first half for easy buckets and fouls.
Cabot got within one point on three free throws by Morgan Verkler, but Shawnessi Arnold hit a 40-footer at the buzzer to give
Central a 31-27 lead at intermission.
Ashcraft scored twice inside early in the third to keep the Lady Panthers within 33-31, and Jenna Bailey’s basket and free throw still had them within three. But the Lady Tigers out-rebounded Cabot 12-2 in the third period and eventually opened up a 44-36 lead after three. Cabot never got closer than eight the rest of the way.
Ashcraft suffered the injury when she drove under the basket for a reverse layup attempt with 3:51 left in the game. She hit the floor and was carted off in a wheelchair several minutes later. Ashcraft scored only six points, but grabbed 10 rebounds and two steals. She also had three assists and a block.
Lauren Walker led Cabot with 12 points. Leah Watts had 11 points and three steals. Bailey added eight points and four steals.
SPORTS >> Devils slip at FC
By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
FORREST CITY — Jacksonville coach Vic Joyner is still trying to get his young Red Devils to understand what being a front-runner is all about.
They got another lesson in that on Friday night when Forrest City jumped up and beat Jacksonville, 58-54, to knock the Red Devils out of a first-place tie with Jonesboro in the 6A-East.
“For the third game in a row, we didn’t show up defensively,” Joyner said after his Red Devils fell to 8-2 in league play, 11-11 overall. “When you’re a front runner, you’re going to take people’s best shot. Everybody’s trying to take you down.
“You got to come out and play as a front runner and play hard in the first half, to send a message you are better. Or you’re in a dog fight.”
After leading by a field goal at the half against a Forrest City team the Red Devils routed in their first meeting at the Devil’s
Den, Jacksonville found itself trailing by nine heading into the final period.
But the Red Devils rallied to take a one-point lead late in the game. The Mustangs (4-4, 10-10) responded with a three-pointer to go back on top. Forrest City held the ball and a one-point lead with 17 seconds when the pivotal play of the game took place.
“We fouled the guy we wanted,” Joyner said. “He missed it, and Demetrius Harris and Antwan Lockhart blocked out beautifully.”
But each thought the other was going to grab the ball. When neither one did, Forrest City grabbed the ball, made a basket and got fouled. The free throw extended the lead to four, the final margin of victory.
“It’s disheartening to come back like that and lose on one of those freakish things,”
Joyner said of the late slip.
Lockhart led a balanced Jacksonville scoring attack with 15 points. LaQuinton Miles added 10. Terrell Eskridge scored nine, Harris eight and Cortrell Eskridge seven.
Joyner was disappointed in the Red Devils’ offense over the first half.
“We didn’t execute, and we were doing those things that had us 3-9 to start the season,” he said. “But Terrell ran the point extremely well. He took control and played point guard extraordinaire. Demetrius and Antwan handled their business well, too. Demetrius shut down their big man inside to give us a chance.”
It turned out to be a little man that hurt Jacksonville on Friday, guard Jessie Mitchell. Mitchell poured in 26.
“He just busted our heads,” Joyner said. “He was unconscious. He was hitting shots with kids hanging on him. He’s going to be big-time.”
The Red Devils are now tied for second with West Memphis, who they will face on Friday. Jacksonville hosted winless Sylvan Hills last night in a game played after Leader deadlines. Joyner said he had no concerns that his team would look past the Bears.
“That’s one thing I haven’t had to tell them after starting off 3-9,” Joyner said. “They see a game for a game. They know you’ve got to win this one.
“They’ve just got to play front-runner-style basketball. Teams are going to play their best and hardest against you. You have to impose your will.”
Leader sports editor
FORREST CITY — Jacksonville coach Vic Joyner is still trying to get his young Red Devils to understand what being a front-runner is all about.
They got another lesson in that on Friday night when Forrest City jumped up and beat Jacksonville, 58-54, to knock the Red Devils out of a first-place tie with Jonesboro in the 6A-East.
“For the third game in a row, we didn’t show up defensively,” Joyner said after his Red Devils fell to 8-2 in league play, 11-11 overall. “When you’re a front runner, you’re going to take people’s best shot. Everybody’s trying to take you down.
“You got to come out and play as a front runner and play hard in the first half, to send a message you are better. Or you’re in a dog fight.”
After leading by a field goal at the half against a Forrest City team the Red Devils routed in their first meeting at the Devil’s
Den, Jacksonville found itself trailing by nine heading into the final period.
But the Red Devils rallied to take a one-point lead late in the game. The Mustangs (4-4, 10-10) responded with a three-pointer to go back on top. Forrest City held the ball and a one-point lead with 17 seconds when the pivotal play of the game took place.
“We fouled the guy we wanted,” Joyner said. “He missed it, and Demetrius Harris and Antwan Lockhart blocked out beautifully.”
But each thought the other was going to grab the ball. When neither one did, Forrest City grabbed the ball, made a basket and got fouled. The free throw extended the lead to four, the final margin of victory.
“It’s disheartening to come back like that and lose on one of those freakish things,”
Joyner said of the late slip.
Lockhart led a balanced Jacksonville scoring attack with 15 points. LaQuinton Miles added 10. Terrell Eskridge scored nine, Harris eight and Cortrell Eskridge seven.
Joyner was disappointed in the Red Devils’ offense over the first half.
“We didn’t execute, and we were doing those things that had us 3-9 to start the season,” he said. “But Terrell ran the point extremely well. He took control and played point guard extraordinaire. Demetrius and Antwan handled their business well, too. Demetrius shut down their big man inside to give us a chance.”
It turned out to be a little man that hurt Jacksonville on Friday, guard Jessie Mitchell. Mitchell poured in 26.
“He just busted our heads,” Joyner said. “He was unconscious. He was hitting shots with kids hanging on him. He’s going to be big-time.”
The Red Devils are now tied for second with West Memphis, who they will face on Friday. Jacksonville hosted winless Sylvan Hills last night in a game played after Leader deadlines. Joyner said he had no concerns that his team would look past the Bears.
“That’s one thing I haven’t had to tell them after starting off 3-9,” Joyner said. “They see a game for a game. They know you’ve got to win this one.
“They’ve just got to play front-runner-style basketball. Teams are going to play their best and hardest against you. You have to impose your will.”
Friday, February 08, 2008
TOP STORY > >Businesses react to vote on annexation
By RAY BENTON
Leader managing editor
Among Gravel Ridge business owners, the choice for annexation is almost unanimous. When the choice between Jacksonville and Sherwood is clearly laid out, businesses prefer Sherwood.
The main reason given for choosing Sherwood is the widely held belief that Sherwood would provide better police protection.
Jacksonville held its annexation vote last Tuesday, with that city voting about 2-1 for annexation. Sherwood residents will vote on the issue on March 11. If that vote also goes for annexation, then Gravel Ridge residents will vote alone on April 1 to decide which city to join.
Rob Gregory, owner of Gregory Polaris, a motorcycle and ATV dealership, already has experience with the Sherwood Police Department. His business was hit by robbers who took $48,000 worth of equipment a little over a year ago.
He called the county to ask for extra protection, and also called Sherwood since the dealership’s property nearly reaches Sherwood city limits.
“The county told me they would help us out,” Gregory said. “Their substation is right behind our property so I thought that would be a plus. I also called the city of Sherwood to ask them to be on the lookout for any of these machines. They told me that since my property goes pretty much up to their line, they’d just make our lot a turnaround and give us a presence that way. We got our cameras fixed and in the following month, the county came by twice, and Sherwood came 52 times.”
Gregory estimates the annexation will cost him $500 per year, but says he’ll gladly pay it for the extra protection. The major concern is the increased sales tax for his customers.
“It will be a little less sales tax going with Sherwood,” Gregory said. “At the price of the equipment I sell, that’s a big hit. When you’re talking about a $10,000 Ranger, and that’s a starting point, a 1 percent difference is pretty major. The worry is, there are tons of customers that shop final price. I hope they can understand why things are going up.”
William Hum of Hum Hard-ware has a positive take on the whole ordeal.
“I guess we all love it because it’s coming,” Hum said. “One way or another it’s coming.”
Since it’s coming, Hum would also rather see a Sherwood annexation instead of Jacksonville.
“I really think the fire and police protection will be better from Sherwood. I also think Sherwood will be able to handle the growth in this area better.”
One place that’s never been hit by burglars is Gravel Ridge Small Engine Repair. The main reason is likely because it is just across the street from the north Pulaski sheriff’s substation, but management there also prefers Sherwood because of the increased crime in the area in recent years.
“Sherwood just seems to have such a police presence,” parts manager Linda Langley said. “I’ve been in this community for a long time, over 20 years, and it just seems like Sherwood has police everywhere. You can’t drive anywhere in that community and not see police.”
Langley said most of the other business owners she has talked with would prefer no annexation, but having to choose, they would choose Sherwood. Langley, though, welcomes annexation.
“Whoever we get annexed by, I’ll be all for it,” she said. “A lot of businesses around here have been broken into and we’re looking forward to more police.”
Christy Organ, whose family-owned business Sherwood Marble just moved into Gravel Ridge about three years ago, says their preference is no annexation.
“We would really prefer not to be annexed,” Organ said. “Our customers will have to start paying that extra sales tax, and that’s one of the advantages we had by moving out here when we did.”
Organ knows that annexation is coming, and doesn’t prefer one town over another, she simply wants the city that gets Gravel Ridge to provide the services they’ve promised.
“The extra police protection would be nice,” Organ said. “I don’t really know (which city would be better). We used to be in Sherwood and they patrolled that area pretty well. Either way, the extra protection would be great because we are in sort of a crime area.”
In the three years that Sherwood Marble has been in Gravel Ridge, its trucks have been broken into twice.
“It’s well known that around Hatcher Road and that area, there’s a lot of crystal meth and other drugs, so it’s not surprising that places around here are being hit.”
Rob Gregory believes strongly that Sherwood would address that problem better than Jacksonville.
“Jacksonville already has some slummy areas, and Sherwood does not,” Gregory said. “I think Sherwood’s not going to allow it. And I believe some of the slum areas already in the Gravel Ridge area would be under control pretty quick. I’m fine with Sherwood.”
Leader managing editor
Among Gravel Ridge business owners, the choice for annexation is almost unanimous. When the choice between Jacksonville and Sherwood is clearly laid out, businesses prefer Sherwood.
The main reason given for choosing Sherwood is the widely held belief that Sherwood would provide better police protection.
Jacksonville held its annexation vote last Tuesday, with that city voting about 2-1 for annexation. Sherwood residents will vote on the issue on March 11. If that vote also goes for annexation, then Gravel Ridge residents will vote alone on April 1 to decide which city to join.
Rob Gregory, owner of Gregory Polaris, a motorcycle and ATV dealership, already has experience with the Sherwood Police Department. His business was hit by robbers who took $48,000 worth of equipment a little over a year ago.
He called the county to ask for extra protection, and also called Sherwood since the dealership’s property nearly reaches Sherwood city limits.
“The county told me they would help us out,” Gregory said. “Their substation is right behind our property so I thought that would be a plus. I also called the city of Sherwood to ask them to be on the lookout for any of these machines. They told me that since my property goes pretty much up to their line, they’d just make our lot a turnaround and give us a presence that way. We got our cameras fixed and in the following month, the county came by twice, and Sherwood came 52 times.”
Gregory estimates the annexation will cost him $500 per year, but says he’ll gladly pay it for the extra protection. The major concern is the increased sales tax for his customers.
“It will be a little less sales tax going with Sherwood,” Gregory said. “At the price of the equipment I sell, that’s a big hit. When you’re talking about a $10,000 Ranger, and that’s a starting point, a 1 percent difference is pretty major. The worry is, there are tons of customers that shop final price. I hope they can understand why things are going up.”
William Hum of Hum Hard-ware has a positive take on the whole ordeal.
“I guess we all love it because it’s coming,” Hum said. “One way or another it’s coming.”
Since it’s coming, Hum would also rather see a Sherwood annexation instead of Jacksonville.
“I really think the fire and police protection will be better from Sherwood. I also think Sherwood will be able to handle the growth in this area better.”
One place that’s never been hit by burglars is Gravel Ridge Small Engine Repair. The main reason is likely because it is just across the street from the north Pulaski sheriff’s substation, but management there also prefers Sherwood because of the increased crime in the area in recent years.
“Sherwood just seems to have such a police presence,” parts manager Linda Langley said. “I’ve been in this community for a long time, over 20 years, and it just seems like Sherwood has police everywhere. You can’t drive anywhere in that community and not see police.”
Langley said most of the other business owners she has talked with would prefer no annexation, but having to choose, they would choose Sherwood. Langley, though, welcomes annexation.
“Whoever we get annexed by, I’ll be all for it,” she said. “A lot of businesses around here have been broken into and we’re looking forward to more police.”
Christy Organ, whose family-owned business Sherwood Marble just moved into Gravel Ridge about three years ago, says their preference is no annexation.
“We would really prefer not to be annexed,” Organ said. “Our customers will have to start paying that extra sales tax, and that’s one of the advantages we had by moving out here when we did.”
Organ knows that annexation is coming, and doesn’t prefer one town over another, she simply wants the city that gets Gravel Ridge to provide the services they’ve promised.
“The extra police protection would be nice,” Organ said. “I don’t really know (which city would be better). We used to be in Sherwood and they patrolled that area pretty well. Either way, the extra protection would be great because we are in sort of a crime area.”
In the three years that Sherwood Marble has been in Gravel Ridge, its trucks have been broken into twice.
“It’s well known that around Hatcher Road and that area, there’s a lot of crystal meth and other drugs, so it’s not surprising that places around here are being hit.”
Rob Gregory believes strongly that Sherwood would address that problem better than Jacksonville.
“Jacksonville already has some slummy areas, and Sherwood does not,” Gregory said. “I think Sherwood’s not going to allow it. And I believe some of the slum areas already in the Gravel Ridge area would be under control pretty quick. I’m fine with Sherwood.”
TOP STORY > >Economy overstocks pawnshops
By ALIYA FELDMAN & JOAN MCCOY
Leader staff writers
The pawnshop business has a rough reputation for good reason.
Jim’s Pawn Shop in Jacksonville sits next to an abandoned furniture store on a quiet strip along North First Street, but for a few cars and an occasional passing train. Owner Jim Pate suffered a concussion and fractured skull when two teenagers barged into his shop and demanded money and firearms last fall.
He says business has decreased recently with a lot of people looking to sell.
“Pawn business has been up for the past several years, but sales are down,” Pate said. He blamed grocery prices, utility bills and higher gasoline prices for the downturn in buyers.
“Trying to pawn everything,” he said of people who come into his shop needing money. “Jewelry, guns, tools.”
At Jewelry Exchange and Loan in Jacksonville, business is steady. Trish Baskin, an employee at the store, said business is “great.” She said buying and selling was normal, but the shop buys only jewelry and prices them according to market. Pawnshops decide how long a loan can be made and at what interest it will have to be paid back.
Cathy Adams said a daily interest rate of .833% is charged at Jewelry Exchange. Sellers are also charged storage fees, which depends on the amount borrowed. The storage fee for a $100 loan would be $25.
Other area pawnshops repeat a decrease in business.
“It’s been kind of slow,” said Mike Brooks, owner of Mike’s Sports Stop on Hwy. 161 in Jacksonville. January and February are usually better months. “It’s off just a little bit, but not bad,” he said.
Pawnshops advance cash toward customers and hold the item as collateral until the property is reclaimed. Many customers choose to sell the item for immediate cash. Pawnshops take jewelry, guns, electronics, computers, tools, instruments and some take cars and boats as well.
“Most everybody gets 20 percent,” Brooks said about interest rates. He gives a 30-day contract.
“The pawn business is always steady,” Tim Collier president of the Arkansas Pawn Brokers Association said. “Cash flow is good because income taxes are coming back.”
He said more people always want cash right away. Collier said the average pawn nationally is $65-$70, but closer to $50 in Arkansas. There is no interest cap set on loans given in the state.
“People borrow, but people don’t come back and pick merchandise up,” Collier said. “We haven’t seen tremendous downturn.”
Jim’s Pawn Shop no longer takes watches. “We used to take everything, but we’ve had to trim back,” Pate said. Pate has been in the business 32 years and said he appraises an item based on his experience. “I’ve got an idea what I can sell it for, so I go by that,” he said.
“The actual value you can’t compare new to used,” Pate said.
An employee at Jacksonville Pawn and Loan Company on East Main Street said he would give $15 on a watch valued at $300. He said he had watches sitting at the shops for literally years.
Pawnbrokers do not go after sellers like traditional creditors do when the loan is not paid pack. They do have the choice to sell if they want, though. “We don’t chase people back if they don’t pay,” Collier said.
In 2006, Collier’s association opposed a proposed law that capped interest rates on military personnel and their families at 3 percent per month or 36 percent annually.
The law was included as part of the Department of Defense Authorization Act. The association opposed pawn brokers being grouped with predatory lenders.
Pawnshops are regulated by the Truth-in-Lending Law, which requires a statement of interest rates.
Pawnbrokers were only opposed to the law if they were included with refund anticipation brokers and payday lenders. They ended up not being included in the interest fee cap for military personnel, according to Collier.
Other pawn shops say business is stable. Philip Hutchins, manager of Beebe Pawn Shop, said he hasn’t necessarily seen an increase in the customers needing to raise cash, but many who come in say the high price of gas has contributed to their money problems.
“When it gets up to $3 a gallon, everybody who comes in is singing the blues,” Hutchinson said.
“I don’t know why, but jewelry is the first thing they get rid of,” he said. “We’ve got a ton of it.”
But many of his customers have received income tax returns and they come to his shop to either retrieve the jewelry, guns or tools they’ve pawned or they are there looking for a bargain, he said.
In Cabot, Jim Boggs at Cabot Pawn Shop and Chuck Myers at Pro Pawn Shop say they haven’t seen any change.
To prevent theft and to track stolen property, state law requires pawnshops and pawnbroker to record everything sold to them. Detailed records of every transaction must be kept along with identification of who sold them the property. Serial numbers and a description of each pawned item must be kept for three years with the seller’s identifying information.
Leader staff writers
The pawnshop business has a rough reputation for good reason.
Jim’s Pawn Shop in Jacksonville sits next to an abandoned furniture store on a quiet strip along North First Street, but for a few cars and an occasional passing train. Owner Jim Pate suffered a concussion and fractured skull when two teenagers barged into his shop and demanded money and firearms last fall.
He says business has decreased recently with a lot of people looking to sell.
“Pawn business has been up for the past several years, but sales are down,” Pate said. He blamed grocery prices, utility bills and higher gasoline prices for the downturn in buyers.
“Trying to pawn everything,” he said of people who come into his shop needing money. “Jewelry, guns, tools.”
At Jewelry Exchange and Loan in Jacksonville, business is steady. Trish Baskin, an employee at the store, said business is “great.” She said buying and selling was normal, but the shop buys only jewelry and prices them according to market. Pawnshops decide how long a loan can be made and at what interest it will have to be paid back.
Cathy Adams said a daily interest rate of .833% is charged at Jewelry Exchange. Sellers are also charged storage fees, which depends on the amount borrowed. The storage fee for a $100 loan would be $25.
Other area pawnshops repeat a decrease in business.
“It’s been kind of slow,” said Mike Brooks, owner of Mike’s Sports Stop on Hwy. 161 in Jacksonville. January and February are usually better months. “It’s off just a little bit, but not bad,” he said.
Pawnshops advance cash toward customers and hold the item as collateral until the property is reclaimed. Many customers choose to sell the item for immediate cash. Pawnshops take jewelry, guns, electronics, computers, tools, instruments and some take cars and boats as well.
“Most everybody gets 20 percent,” Brooks said about interest rates. He gives a 30-day contract.
“The pawn business is always steady,” Tim Collier president of the Arkansas Pawn Brokers Association said. “Cash flow is good because income taxes are coming back.”
He said more people always want cash right away. Collier said the average pawn nationally is $65-$70, but closer to $50 in Arkansas. There is no interest cap set on loans given in the state.
“People borrow, but people don’t come back and pick merchandise up,” Collier said. “We haven’t seen tremendous downturn.”
Jim’s Pawn Shop no longer takes watches. “We used to take everything, but we’ve had to trim back,” Pate said. Pate has been in the business 32 years and said he appraises an item based on his experience. “I’ve got an idea what I can sell it for, so I go by that,” he said.
“The actual value you can’t compare new to used,” Pate said.
An employee at Jacksonville Pawn and Loan Company on East Main Street said he would give $15 on a watch valued at $300. He said he had watches sitting at the shops for literally years.
Pawnbrokers do not go after sellers like traditional creditors do when the loan is not paid pack. They do have the choice to sell if they want, though. “We don’t chase people back if they don’t pay,” Collier said.
In 2006, Collier’s association opposed a proposed law that capped interest rates on military personnel and their families at 3 percent per month or 36 percent annually.
The law was included as part of the Department of Defense Authorization Act. The association opposed pawn brokers being grouped with predatory lenders.
Pawnshops are regulated by the Truth-in-Lending Law, which requires a statement of interest rates.
Pawnbrokers were only opposed to the law if they were included with refund anticipation brokers and payday lenders. They ended up not being included in the interest fee cap for military personnel, according to Collier.
Other pawn shops say business is stable. Philip Hutchins, manager of Beebe Pawn Shop, said he hasn’t necessarily seen an increase in the customers needing to raise cash, but many who come in say the high price of gas has contributed to their money problems.
“When it gets up to $3 a gallon, everybody who comes in is singing the blues,” Hutchinson said.
“I don’t know why, but jewelry is the first thing they get rid of,” he said. “We’ve got a ton of it.”
But many of his customers have received income tax returns and they come to his shop to either retrieve the jewelry, guns or tools they’ve pawned or they are there looking for a bargain, he said.
In Cabot, Jim Boggs at Cabot Pawn Shop and Chuck Myers at Pro Pawn Shop say they haven’t seen any change.
To prevent theft and to track stolen property, state law requires pawnshops and pawnbroker to record everything sold to them. Detailed records of every transaction must be kept along with identification of who sold them the property. Serial numbers and a description of each pawned item must be kept for three years with the seller’s identifying information.
TOP STORY > >City agrees to add land to battlefield
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Four more acres of land were added Thursday to the Reed’s Bridge Battlefield off Hwy. 161 when the Jacksonville City Council voted to spend $100,000 to buy the acres.
“We’ve got to grab the green space when we can,” said Tommy Dupree, president of the Reed’s Bridge Battlefield Preservation Society, which operates the battlefield site.
The council agreed to pony up the money after the society don-ated $50,000 worth of battlefield land to the city, along with $50,000 in cash.
“Anytime we can do something like this with matching funds it’s a win-win situation for all sides,” said Alderman Kenny Elliot.
The city will take control of the land, clear all the titles and allow the society to use the acreage through what is called a conversion easement, which lets the society use the land for park purposes.
The four acres bring the total amount of battlefield land owned by the city to about 35 acres. The society also owns or has access, through agreements with private landowners, to about another 120 acres of land in the battlefield area. Studies and surveys have shown that the Civil War battle covered an area of about 412 acres.
The new land includes about 3.5 acres off Hwy. 161, a lot at 105 Lakeshore Drive, and a lot near the intersection of Military Road and Trickey Lane.
So far, 15 acres have been improved or restored for the battlefield park.
Tommy Dupree, with the Reed’s Bridge Historical Society, said long-range plans call for connecting the battlefield to Dupree Park through bike and hiking trails.
The battlefield area abuts the south end of the city park. The Battle of Reed’s Bridge in 1863 was an effort to slow down the Union march and eventual control of Little Rock. Confederate Major Gen. Sterling Price sent two of his top calvary units under the command of Brig. Gen. John Marmaduke and Brig. Gen. Lucius M. Walker out to Reed’s Bridge just south of Jacksonville to slow the Union forces.
On Aug. 26, 1863, the Con-federate calvary and Union forces collided along the Bayou Meto and Reed’s Bridge.
The job of the Confederate troops was to hold out for as long as possible. During the battle, the Confederate troops set fire to the original Reed’s Bridge. As Union troops ran to put out the flames, the Confederate troops opened fire, killing seven, wounding 38 and delaying the Union advance. But the battle was not all glory for the Confederacy.
As they pulled back, closer to Little Rock, Gen. Marmaduke supposedly accused Gen. Walker of cowardice during the Battle at Reed’s Bridge.
The accusations were quickly settled during a duel in which Marmaduke killed Walker.
The site, off Hwy. 161, on the banks of the Bayou Meto, is open daily from dawn to dusk.
In other council business:
Aldermen agreed to spend about $8,000 to replace the phone system at the community center.
The mayor reminded the council that there was a mandatory joint-planning session between the council and the planning commission Tuesday at the community center. “Department heads, the chamber and others are welcome to attend and give their input,” the mayor said.
The engineering department, in its monthly report, showed that 12 building permits and 17 business licenses were issued in January. The department also performed almost 200 inspections during the month and mailed out 100 letters to residents and business owners regarding trash-filled or unkempt yards or property.
Leader staff writer
Four more acres of land were added Thursday to the Reed’s Bridge Battlefield off Hwy. 161 when the Jacksonville City Council voted to spend $100,000 to buy the acres.
“We’ve got to grab the green space when we can,” said Tommy Dupree, president of the Reed’s Bridge Battlefield Preservation Society, which operates the battlefield site.
The council agreed to pony up the money after the society don-ated $50,000 worth of battlefield land to the city, along with $50,000 in cash.
“Anytime we can do something like this with matching funds it’s a win-win situation for all sides,” said Alderman Kenny Elliot.
The city will take control of the land, clear all the titles and allow the society to use the acreage through what is called a conversion easement, which lets the society use the land for park purposes.
The four acres bring the total amount of battlefield land owned by the city to about 35 acres. The society also owns or has access, through agreements with private landowners, to about another 120 acres of land in the battlefield area. Studies and surveys have shown that the Civil War battle covered an area of about 412 acres.
The new land includes about 3.5 acres off Hwy. 161, a lot at 105 Lakeshore Drive, and a lot near the intersection of Military Road and Trickey Lane.
So far, 15 acres have been improved or restored for the battlefield park.
Tommy Dupree, with the Reed’s Bridge Historical Society, said long-range plans call for connecting the battlefield to Dupree Park through bike and hiking trails.
The battlefield area abuts the south end of the city park. The Battle of Reed’s Bridge in 1863 was an effort to slow down the Union march and eventual control of Little Rock. Confederate Major Gen. Sterling Price sent two of his top calvary units under the command of Brig. Gen. John Marmaduke and Brig. Gen. Lucius M. Walker out to Reed’s Bridge just south of Jacksonville to slow the Union forces.
On Aug. 26, 1863, the Con-federate calvary and Union forces collided along the Bayou Meto and Reed’s Bridge.
The job of the Confederate troops was to hold out for as long as possible. During the battle, the Confederate troops set fire to the original Reed’s Bridge. As Union troops ran to put out the flames, the Confederate troops opened fire, killing seven, wounding 38 and delaying the Union advance. But the battle was not all glory for the Confederacy.
As they pulled back, closer to Little Rock, Gen. Marmaduke supposedly accused Gen. Walker of cowardice during the Battle at Reed’s Bridge.
The accusations were quickly settled during a duel in which Marmaduke killed Walker.
The site, off Hwy. 161, on the banks of the Bayou Meto, is open daily from dawn to dusk.
In other council business:
Aldermen agreed to spend about $8,000 to replace the phone system at the community center.
The mayor reminded the council that there was a mandatory joint-planning session between the council and the planning commission Tuesday at the community center. “Department heads, the chamber and others are welcome to attend and give their input,” the mayor said.
The engineering department, in its monthly report, showed that 12 building permits and 17 business licenses were issued in January. The department also performed almost 200 inspections during the month and mailed out 100 letters to residents and business owners regarding trash-filled or unkempt yards or property.
TOP STORY > >How they voted on annexing neighbor
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Seventy five percent of Jacksonville residents who voted Tuesday favored bringing Gravel Ridge into the city.
“We are excited about those numbers,” said Mayor Tommy Swaim.
About 30 percent of the Gravel Ridge residents also voted for the annexation, bringing the totals to 3,319 votes, or 66 percent for the annexation, and 1,733 votes, or 34 percent against annexation.
“Now we’ve got to get to work to convince those other Gravel Ridge voters that we are best for them,” said Alderman Kenny Elliott.
The total includes early voting which had 598 ballots for annexation to 191 against. Absentee ballots also favored annexation, 28 to 16.
The mayor said the election commission told him that there were still a few absentee ballots out that the commission was waiting on before certifying the results.
The election commission said voting went pretty smoothly across the area, but there were complaints from some voters who were not allowed to cast an annexation vote. Also severe storms moving through central Arkansas zapped the power to the election commission offices and vote tallying could not be completed until early Wednesday.
The approval vote does not automatically put Gravel Ridge into Jacksonville city limits, as Sherwood also wants the rural community of about 3,500.
Sherwood has set its vote on the issue for March 11. Only Sherwood and Gravel Ridge residents will be allowed to vote in that election on the question of whether or not Gravel Ridge should become part of Sherwood.
If they vote yes as they did in Jacksonville this week, then a third election will be held April 1 for just Gravel Ridge voters. In that election, the residents will have to choose between Jacksonville and Sherwood.
Of the 13 precincts voting on the issue in Tuesday’s election, only three opposed the annexation, but all three of those were in Gravel Ridge.
First Baptist Church of Gravel Ridge had the most voters on the annexation issue out of the 13 precincts and was the most adamant against the idea. Of the 935 votes cast, 594, or 63 percent, were against annexation, while 341, or 36 percent, were for it.
At the Kellogg Valley voting site, 195 residents voted on the issue and only 19, or 10 percent, favored the idea of annexation.
At Sylvan Hills Methodist Church, the voting was substantially less, but much closer. Just 21 people voted on the issue, with 11 of them against annexation and 10 for it.
In Jacksonville, First Baptist Church had the most voters, with 686 residents casting ballots. Of those, 561, or 82 percent, were for annexation, while 125, or 18 percent, were against.
The Chapel Hill site had fewer voters, but a slightly higher percentage favored annexation. Of 627 votes cast, 524, or 84 percent, were for annexation, while 103, or 16 percent, were against it.
At the Jacksonville Boys and Girls Club, 635 residents cast votes, with 456, or 72 percent, going for annexation, and 179, or 28 percent, against the idea.
Those voting at the St. Jude’s site, favored annexation 360 to 97, or 79 percent to 21 percent.
Just over 490 people voted at the Jacksonville Community Center, with 348, or 71 percent, wanting Gravel Ridge to be part of the city, and 143, or 29 percent, against the idea.
Voters at McArthur Baptist Church went for annexation, 203 to 91, or 69 percent to 31 percent. Berea Baptist voters also approved annexation by nearly a two-to-one vote, 160 to 84.
At Harris Elementary and Indianhead Lakes Baptist Church, the vote totals were much less, but the percentage still favored annexation.
At Harris, 70 residents voted, with 48, or 69 percent, favoring annexation, and 22, or 31 percent, against.
Just 22 votes were cast at Indianhead, with 12 ballots in favor of and 10 against annexation.
Leader staff writer
Seventy five percent of Jacksonville residents who voted Tuesday favored bringing Gravel Ridge into the city.
“We are excited about those numbers,” said Mayor Tommy Swaim.
About 30 percent of the Gravel Ridge residents also voted for the annexation, bringing the totals to 3,319 votes, or 66 percent for the annexation, and 1,733 votes, or 34 percent against annexation.
“Now we’ve got to get to work to convince those other Gravel Ridge voters that we are best for them,” said Alderman Kenny Elliott.
The total includes early voting which had 598 ballots for annexation to 191 against. Absentee ballots also favored annexation, 28 to 16.
The mayor said the election commission told him that there were still a few absentee ballots out that the commission was waiting on before certifying the results.
The election commission said voting went pretty smoothly across the area, but there were complaints from some voters who were not allowed to cast an annexation vote. Also severe storms moving through central Arkansas zapped the power to the election commission offices and vote tallying could not be completed until early Wednesday.
The approval vote does not automatically put Gravel Ridge into Jacksonville city limits, as Sherwood also wants the rural community of about 3,500.
Sherwood has set its vote on the issue for March 11. Only Sherwood and Gravel Ridge residents will be allowed to vote in that election on the question of whether or not Gravel Ridge should become part of Sherwood.
If they vote yes as they did in Jacksonville this week, then a third election will be held April 1 for just Gravel Ridge voters. In that election, the residents will have to choose between Jacksonville and Sherwood.
Of the 13 precincts voting on the issue in Tuesday’s election, only three opposed the annexation, but all three of those were in Gravel Ridge.
First Baptist Church of Gravel Ridge had the most voters on the annexation issue out of the 13 precincts and was the most adamant against the idea. Of the 935 votes cast, 594, or 63 percent, were against annexation, while 341, or 36 percent, were for it.
At the Kellogg Valley voting site, 195 residents voted on the issue and only 19, or 10 percent, favored the idea of annexation.
At Sylvan Hills Methodist Church, the voting was substantially less, but much closer. Just 21 people voted on the issue, with 11 of them against annexation and 10 for it.
In Jacksonville, First Baptist Church had the most voters, with 686 residents casting ballots. Of those, 561, or 82 percent, were for annexation, while 125, or 18 percent, were against.
The Chapel Hill site had fewer voters, but a slightly higher percentage favored annexation. Of 627 votes cast, 524, or 84 percent, were for annexation, while 103, or 16 percent, were against it.
At the Jacksonville Boys and Girls Club, 635 residents cast votes, with 456, or 72 percent, going for annexation, and 179, or 28 percent, against the idea.
Those voting at the St. Jude’s site, favored annexation 360 to 97, or 79 percent to 21 percent.
Just over 490 people voted at the Jacksonville Community Center, with 348, or 71 percent, wanting Gravel Ridge to be part of the city, and 143, or 29 percent, against the idea.
Voters at McArthur Baptist Church went for annexation, 203 to 91, or 69 percent to 31 percent. Berea Baptist voters also approved annexation by nearly a two-to-one vote, 160 to 84.
At Harris Elementary and Indianhead Lakes Baptist Church, the vote totals were much less, but the percentage still favored annexation.
At Harris, 70 residents voted, with 48, or 69 percent, favoring annexation, and 22, or 31 percent, against.
Just 22 votes were cast at Indianhead, with 12 ballots in favor of and 10 against annexation.
TOP STORY > >Base thanks mayor for support
Little Rock Air Force Base last weekend honored its best, presenting awards to a dozen airmen and civilian employees.
Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim was the recipient of the first Team Little Rock Cornerstone Award for his contribution to base relations. Brig. Gen. Rowayne Schatz, commander of the 314th Airlift Wing, came up with the idea for the award as a way to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the air base.
Swaim was instrumental in getting a penny sales tax passed that will help fund a new education center in front of the air base.
The center is a joint project between the air base and the city and will cost $15 million. The city is contributing $5 million of that amount. Congress recently appropriated $10 million through a Defense Department spending bill. Construction will start next year.
The project is the first of its kind in the nation, forging a unique partnership between the military and the city. The education center will serve the military and civilian students, in effect providing a college campus in Jacksonville.
Maj. Gen. Irving L. Halter, commander of the 19th Air Force, and Schatz presided over the ceremony at the sports and fitness center.
Halter called the winners better than Super Bowl athletes.
“I can guarantee you our team will be back here next year, doing the same thing with the same people as of the same great Air Force, because ‘The Rock’ and the Air Force have made a habit of excellence,” Halter said during the awards presentation.
Senior Airman Hector Villarreal, of the 314th Maintenance Squadron, was named airman of the year.
Tech Sgt. Joseph Croswait, of the 314th Civil Engineering Squadron, was selected noncommissioned officer of the year.
Senior Master Sgt. Brian Stevens of the 314th Maintenance Squadron, was picked senior noncommissioned officer of the year.
Capt. Daniel J. Brown, of the 61st Airlift Squadron, was chosen company grade officer of the year.
Master Sgt. Charles Doan, of the 314th Medical Group, was named first sergeant of the year.
Tech Sgt. Kendal Dismute, of the 314th Civil Engineer Squadron was ceremonial guardsman of the year.
Terry Gardner of the 314th Maintenance Squadron was civilian of the year in category one.
Randall Grimes of the 314th Medical Support Squadron was civilian of the year in category two.
Maighdlin DiMatteo of the 314th Services Squadron, Hangar 1080, was honored in the nonappropriated funds category of the year.
Diandra Crippen of the 314th Services Squadron accounting office, was in category two.
Jerry McCray of the 314th Services Squardon, Razorback Inn, won in category three.
John Heffernan, 314 th Airlift Wing, retiree activities office, was volunteer of the year.
The Tops in Blue musical group provided the entertainment.
Staff Sgt. Beth Orlen of the 314th Airlift Wing Public Affairs office contributed to this report.
Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim was the recipient of the first Team Little Rock Cornerstone Award for his contribution to base relations. Brig. Gen. Rowayne Schatz, commander of the 314th Airlift Wing, came up with the idea for the award as a way to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the air base.
Swaim was instrumental in getting a penny sales tax passed that will help fund a new education center in front of the air base.
The center is a joint project between the air base and the city and will cost $15 million. The city is contributing $5 million of that amount. Congress recently appropriated $10 million through a Defense Department spending bill. Construction will start next year.
The project is the first of its kind in the nation, forging a unique partnership between the military and the city. The education center will serve the military and civilian students, in effect providing a college campus in Jacksonville.
Maj. Gen. Irving L. Halter, commander of the 19th Air Force, and Schatz presided over the ceremony at the sports and fitness center.
Halter called the winners better than Super Bowl athletes.
“I can guarantee you our team will be back here next year, doing the same thing with the same people as of the same great Air Force, because ‘The Rock’ and the Air Force have made a habit of excellence,” Halter said during the awards presentation.
Senior Airman Hector Villarreal, of the 314th Maintenance Squadron, was named airman of the year.
Tech Sgt. Joseph Croswait, of the 314th Civil Engineering Squadron, was selected noncommissioned officer of the year.
Senior Master Sgt. Brian Stevens of the 314th Maintenance Squadron, was picked senior noncommissioned officer of the year.
Capt. Daniel J. Brown, of the 61st Airlift Squadron, was chosen company grade officer of the year.
Master Sgt. Charles Doan, of the 314th Medical Group, was named first sergeant of the year.
Tech Sgt. Kendal Dismute, of the 314th Civil Engineer Squadron was ceremonial guardsman of the year.
Terry Gardner of the 314th Maintenance Squadron was civilian of the year in category one.
Randall Grimes of the 314th Medical Support Squadron was civilian of the year in category two.
Maighdlin DiMatteo of the 314th Services Squadron, Hangar 1080, was honored in the nonappropriated funds category of the year.
Diandra Crippen of the 314th Services Squadron accounting office, was in category two.
Jerry McCray of the 314th Services Squardon, Razorback Inn, won in category three.
John Heffernan, 314 th Airlift Wing, retiree activities office, was volunteer of the year.
The Tops in Blue musical group provided the entertainment.
Staff Sgt. Beth Orlen of the 314th Airlift Wing Public Affairs office contributed to this report.
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