“Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
National volunteer week is being observed this week and we wish to thank all our local volunteers for their time and effort and the blood, sweat and tears they sometimes put into their communities.
North Metro Medical Center in Jacksonville; St. Vincent North in Sherwood; local schools in Cabot, Jacksonville, Lonoke and Beebe, senior centers, chambers of commerce, the Boys and Girls Club, and food banks, such as Fishnet Missions and the Care Channel all depend on their altruistic volunteers.
According to research, volunteering has positive benefits for both the organization and for the volunteer, a win-win situation some would say.
The state health department has sent a thank you to its volunteers who support public health efforts in disasters and otherwise:
The Arkansas Department of Health thanks the many volunteers who support public health in our state during National Volunteer Week, April 15-21. Over the past year our volunteers have assisted in the Joplin tornado response, participated in health fairs and mass flu clinics, partnered with us during various 5K runs, hosted teddy bear clinics, had booths at preparedness fairs and participated in emergency preparedness exercises. Without volunteers, many of these activities would not have taken place.
Volunteers serve in the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). The MRC program, established in 2002, is a system that identifies, trains, and organizes medical and public health professionals, as well as lay volunteers to supplement and support on-going emergency response systems and personnel. MRCs are made up of people who volunteer in order to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies as well as promote healthy living in their communities.
Arkansas is plagued by natural disasters such as tornadoes, floods and ice storms. MRCs have provided valuable support to communities during these events. The Arkansas Department of Health coordinates this effort and is available to provide guidance on the establishment of teams, tools, and training to MRC teams.
MRCs are made up of both medical and non-medical individuals. These can include physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians, social workers, EMT’s, and lay individuals who have a desire to serve their community.
A similar program, AR SERV, administered by the Arkansas Department of Health’s Preparedness and Response Branch, works to recruit, train, manage, and deploy volunteers (medical and non-medical) to assist during emergencies and day-to-day activities by providing additional staff to meet health and medical needs.
Volunteers participate in Hometown Health Improvement Coalitions in every county. HHI brings together a wide range of people and organizations including consumers, business leaders, health care providers, elected officials, religious leaders, and educators to identify community health problems and develop and implement ways to solve them.
With much gratitude we say, “thank you” for your continued support of the Arkansas Public Health Volunteer Programs.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
TOP STORY >> Sunday concert a benefit for three first-responders
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Former “American Idol” finalist and up-and-coming country star Bucky Covington will headline a concert Sunday at the Electric Cowboy in Little Rock to benefit the families of three Jacksonville first responders.
Fire Capt. Donnie Jones was killed and engineer Jason Bowmaster and police officer Daniel Dematteo were seriously injured when a car plowed into them March 19 while they were trying to rescue a woman who had driven off Hwy. 161 into a ditch.
Bowmaster has gone through a number of surgeries. He is improving and is expected to recover, but it will take time. Dematteo is also recovering from his injuries.
The driver, Bryce Allen, 47, has been charged in the incident.
The concert, which also features local bands: Dr. County and the Moses Tucker Band, will start at 4 p.m. Sunday at The Electric Cowboy, off I-30, in Little Rock.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at city hall, the central fire station or at www.helpthe goodguys.com, or $15 at the door.
The Help the Good Guys group, which is dedicated to easing the burden for wounded community heroes, contacted firefighter Leo Foster about doing the concert. Foster didn’t hesitate. “It’s a good thing to do.”
Foster worked with both firefighters. “Anyone who is a firefighter or police officer knows, in the back of their minds, that something bad can always happen. We try to prepare for it, but it’s not easy. But we have to keep on doing what we do, which is help the public,” Foster said.
But now it’s the public’s chance to help. “We just want everyone to come out to the concert and help these heroes.”
At Jones’ funeral two weeks ago fire chief John Vanderhoof noted, “A fire chief’s worst nightmare is the loss of a fellow firefighter who has been killed in the line of duty. He started his career with the Jacksonville Fire Department on Dec. 24, 1980. He served for 31 years of dedicated service with the Jacksonville Fire Department. He will be missed by his family as well as his firefighting family.”
Jones was the first Jacksonville firefighter to be killed in the line of duty.
Mickey Milam, a medically retired metro Nashville police officer, formed Help the Good Guys, which is offering the singing service of Covington.
He says that when a firefighter or law enforcement officer is injured, the family often suffers a devastating loss of income. Many cities and communities have limited funds to cope with these situations.
The organization raises funds through CD and merchandise sales as well as concerts.
Artists who have worked with the organization include Ronnie Milsap, Vince Gill, George Strait and others.
Currently, Covington has volunteered to headline shows for the group.
“I am honored to be a part of this organization. Firefighters and police officers risk their lives to protect our families and communities…running into burning buildings, chasing down wanted fugitives…they make what I do look easy. If I can sing a few songs and raise money for a family in need, I consider it a small thing compared to what they do every year.”
Covington’s current hit song is “I Want My Life Back.”
Leader staff writer
Former “American Idol” finalist and up-and-coming country star Bucky Covington will headline a concert Sunday at the Electric Cowboy in Little Rock to benefit the families of three Jacksonville first responders.
Fire Capt. Donnie Jones was killed and engineer Jason Bowmaster and police officer Daniel Dematteo were seriously injured when a car plowed into them March 19 while they were trying to rescue a woman who had driven off Hwy. 161 into a ditch.
Bowmaster has gone through a number of surgeries. He is improving and is expected to recover, but it will take time. Dematteo is also recovering from his injuries.
The driver, Bryce Allen, 47, has been charged in the incident.
The concert, which also features local bands: Dr. County and the Moses Tucker Band, will start at 4 p.m. Sunday at The Electric Cowboy, off I-30, in Little Rock.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at city hall, the central fire station or at www.helpthe goodguys.com, or $15 at the door.
The Help the Good Guys group, which is dedicated to easing the burden for wounded community heroes, contacted firefighter Leo Foster about doing the concert. Foster didn’t hesitate. “It’s a good thing to do.”
Foster worked with both firefighters. “Anyone who is a firefighter or police officer knows, in the back of their minds, that something bad can always happen. We try to prepare for it, but it’s not easy. But we have to keep on doing what we do, which is help the public,” Foster said.
But now it’s the public’s chance to help. “We just want everyone to come out to the concert and help these heroes.”
At Jones’ funeral two weeks ago fire chief John Vanderhoof noted, “A fire chief’s worst nightmare is the loss of a fellow firefighter who has been killed in the line of duty. He started his career with the Jacksonville Fire Department on Dec. 24, 1980. He served for 31 years of dedicated service with the Jacksonville Fire Department. He will be missed by his family as well as his firefighting family.”
Jones was the first Jacksonville firefighter to be killed in the line of duty.
Mickey Milam, a medically retired metro Nashville police officer, formed Help the Good Guys, which is offering the singing service of Covington.
He says that when a firefighter or law enforcement officer is injured, the family often suffers a devastating loss of income. Many cities and communities have limited funds to cope with these situations.
The organization raises funds through CD and merchandise sales as well as concerts.
Artists who have worked with the organization include Ronnie Milsap, Vince Gill, George Strait and others.
Currently, Covington has volunteered to headline shows for the group.
“I am honored to be a part of this organization. Firefighters and police officers risk their lives to protect our families and communities…running into burning buildings, chasing down wanted fugitives…they make what I do look easy. If I can sing a few songs and raise money for a family in need, I consider it a small thing compared to what they do every year.”
Covington’s current hit song is “I Want My Life Back.”
TOP STORY >> Academy touts achievement
By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
Phillis Anderson, Lighthouse Academies vice president for the southern region, touted achievements made by the students and staff of the Jacksonville campus despite its high teacher turnover rate of 44 percent.
Anderson said last week that 14 of the 25 teachers at Jacksonville Lighthouse Academy have been employed for one year or longer. That means 11 teachers left the school after a year.
The charter school has also been criticized for frequent changes in leadership. That campus has seen three principals in the three years since it opened in 2009.
Anderson said the school is addressing the high turnover rate. “As much as possible, those things that are within our control. We can’t control if somebody gets (military) orders. We can’t control if somebody moves out of the area. Because we do know that (our teachers) work harder, we do try to reward them,” she said.
At their weekly town hall meeting Friday in the school’s cafeteria, the academy’s scholars chanted, “We will, we will, work hard, get smart” to the tune of Queen’s “We will rock you.”
A class is chosen every week to present information to the rest of the school on a college, and last week’s pick was the University of Miami.
Anderson said the mission of the charter school is to move each student up 1.5 grade levels each academic year. It has done that with 70 percent of the students.
Their scores on the Northwest Evaluation Association exams, which are given to the students twice every year, measure this growth.
The North First Street campus was recently recognized for that progress by the Arkansas Public School Resource Center with the annual $2,500 School Academic Growth Award, which is sponsored through a grant from the Walton Family Foundation.
The school’s Benchmark scores aren’t much better than those of Pulaski County Special School District students. Anderson said the charter school does get students from PCSSD and other districts that may be lagging when they arrive.
She said it is possible that, for some teachers, a year is not enough time to instill the Lighthouse way in those students and bring them up to par.
Any student in the state can enroll at the charter school if there is space. When there are more applications than spaces, then a lottery is held.
TEACHERS RELOCATE
Anderson said teachers:
Relocate because they are military spouses.
Relocate for family reasons. Anderson said, “A lot of times, people just make the best decisions for their families. Whatever that may be, it may be closer to home, a shorter day. We just respect the fact that people have to make decisions that are right for their families. Whoever we lose, we’re sorry to lose them and we wish them well.”
Lighthouse provides 160 hours of professional development as opposed to the 60 hours public schools provide and the state requires. Teachers also work eight hours and 10 additional days a year.
– Seek jobs in the Cabot School District because it offers salaries the charter school can’t compete with, although the Lighthouse offers teachers the opportunity to earn merit pay based on student growth each year and is giving about $18,000 in teacher bonuses this year. Anderson said the school also pays at least $1,000 a year per teacher for professional development.
“We feel like that ($1,000) is an investment,” she said.
All certified Lighthouse teachers, excluding administrators, make between $30,000 and $39,000.
Most Cabot teachers, excluding administrators, earn between $40,000 and $60,000.
– Leave because they find the high standards the Lighthouse expects aren’t for them.
– Find jobs elsewhere after they are certified because no one, except a charter school, can hire staff members who have expertise in their fields but haven’t been certified or don’t have previous experience with teaching.
After one year at the charter school, teachers become fully certified, Anderson said. “Sometimes that happens (they leave after that year). But we haven’t had too many incidences of that,” she said.
– Discover teaching doesn’t suit them.
– Are let go because they do not meet Lighthouse standards after one year.
Anderson said, “We have a rigorous teacher selection process. The teachers don’t just come in for an interview. They have to do a model lesson and then we get feedback from the scholars and how they thought the lesson went. If you’re not mission-minded like we are, it’s going to be evident early on.”
She said the school anticipates less than a 5 percent change in its teaching staff and no changes in leadership. Anderson also said six new teachers are joining the school because they will add a ninth grade next year.
EVALUATIONS
Whitfield said teachers are evaluated twice a year. A green teacher is an instructor who is on target concerning the year and a half growth for each student. A yellow teacher is one that is approaching that goal while a red teacher is not meeting Lighthouse standards.
A teacher who is categorized as red twice could be dismissed.
The first time a teacher is designated as red or yellow, administrators work with them to develop an action plan they can follow to become green.
Whitfield also said, “The majority of our staff members have children. It’s a very family-oriented atmosphere. We have a potluck next week for birthdays. We go off to summit every year as a group. You take some people from Arkansas to Chicago, you become close.”
Anderson said, “Sharing a heart for this mission brings people together. When you get the right people on the bus, it’s an amazing ride because everybody realizes that what we’re trying to do is no ordinary thing.
We’re trying to do something extraordinary, what the school systems that have been in place for years have not done. The expectations for our performance are so much. It seems to be so much higher and it also seems to be a much higher level of accountability for us.”
She also said the University of Central Arkansas is placing student teachers at the academy and this is the first time UCA has partnered with a charter school for that.
GRATITUDE
Anderson expressed the school administration’s gratitude toward the city too.
“I cannot say enough about this community and that is what makes this school so special. This school came about as a result of the desires of the parents of this community to have another option, to have another choice. Parents really are our partners. They make up our board. They’re here every day.
“They are so much a part of who we are. This school couldn’t be what it is without the parents in this community. I think Jacksonville is such a model community. You just don’t see people saying we want a sound, great educational system and then going to work to get it,” she said.
PRINCIPALS
The first principal was Nigena Livingston, who had been the principal of a Lighthouse community school in Cleveland.
She moved back to Ohio because she was planning to marry and her fiancé lived there.
The second principal was Ryan Dean, a Harvard graduate from a military family. He previously worked at a private school in Virginia and at a charter school in Massachusetts, but he had second cousins living in Arkansas.
Anderson said Dean got married mid-year and moved to San Francisco, where his new wife lives.
Whitfield is a Fort Smith native who worked at Teach for America in Mississippi as a program director in the Mississippi Delta.
He was hired as a first-grade teacher in the second semester of the 2009-10 school year and then was promoted to director of instruction for the upper academy – or vice principal – last school year.
Whitfield said, “One of the first things I told those scholars and their families is that I would be around until they graduated. I don’t make promises to kids that I can’t keep.”
Felicia Kelly of Forrest City was hired last fall to help start up the College Prep Academy, which will open in 2012-13 with the addition of a ninth grade at the First Street campus. Lighthouse opened two other campuses, the Flightline Academy on Little Rock Air Force Base and one in Pine Bluff last year.
A new high school building is planned for 2013-14 and the charter school will add one grade level each year until 2016, when it will see the first graduating class.
Anderson said Kelly didn’t stay on as principal because the commute was too far and she wasn’t successful in relocating closer to Lighthouse.
Chris Carter has been selected for the position. He worked with Whitfield in the Mississippi Delta and is an Indiana native. He has lived in Helena for the past seven years.
Anderson said changing leadership isn’t a problem that is unique to Lighthouse.
Jacksonville High School has seen four principals in the past two years. Jacksonville Middle School, Northwood Middle School and Pinewood Elementary School all had new principals this year too. But none of them were new to PCSSD.
Adkins Elementary, Arnold Drive Elementary, Cato Elementary, Warren Dupree Elementary, Taylor Elementary and North Pulaski High School have had the same principal for the past three years.
Bayou Meto and Tolleson Elementary schools have had the same principal for two years. Jacksonville Elementary had the same principal for two years before it closed this year.
Tolleson’s principal re-tired and the principal from Jacksonville Elementary took over there.
Leader staff writer
Phillis Anderson, Lighthouse Academies vice president for the southern region, touted achievements made by the students and staff of the Jacksonville campus despite its high teacher turnover rate of 44 percent.
Anderson said last week that 14 of the 25 teachers at Jacksonville Lighthouse Academy have been employed for one year or longer. That means 11 teachers left the school after a year.
The charter school has also been criticized for frequent changes in leadership. That campus has seen three principals in the three years since it opened in 2009.
Anderson said the school is addressing the high turnover rate. “As much as possible, those things that are within our control. We can’t control if somebody gets (military) orders. We can’t control if somebody moves out of the area. Because we do know that (our teachers) work harder, we do try to reward them,” she said.
At their weekly town hall meeting Friday in the school’s cafeteria, the academy’s scholars chanted, “We will, we will, work hard, get smart” to the tune of Queen’s “We will rock you.”
A class is chosen every week to present information to the rest of the school on a college, and last week’s pick was the University of Miami.
Anderson said the mission of the charter school is to move each student up 1.5 grade levels each academic year. It has done that with 70 percent of the students.
Their scores on the Northwest Evaluation Association exams, which are given to the students twice every year, measure this growth.
The North First Street campus was recently recognized for that progress by the Arkansas Public School Resource Center with the annual $2,500 School Academic Growth Award, which is sponsored through a grant from the Walton Family Foundation.
The school’s Benchmark scores aren’t much better than those of Pulaski County Special School District students. Anderson said the charter school does get students from PCSSD and other districts that may be lagging when they arrive.
She said it is possible that, for some teachers, a year is not enough time to instill the Lighthouse way in those students and bring them up to par.
Any student in the state can enroll at the charter school if there is space. When there are more applications than spaces, then a lottery is held.
TEACHERS RELOCATE
Anderson said teachers:
Relocate because they are military spouses.
Relocate for family reasons. Anderson said, “A lot of times, people just make the best decisions for their families. Whatever that may be, it may be closer to home, a shorter day. We just respect the fact that people have to make decisions that are right for their families. Whoever we lose, we’re sorry to lose them and we wish them well.”
Lighthouse provides 160 hours of professional development as opposed to the 60 hours public schools provide and the state requires. Teachers also work eight hours and 10 additional days a year.
– Seek jobs in the Cabot School District because it offers salaries the charter school can’t compete with, although the Lighthouse offers teachers the opportunity to earn merit pay based on student growth each year and is giving about $18,000 in teacher bonuses this year. Anderson said the school also pays at least $1,000 a year per teacher for professional development.
“We feel like that ($1,000) is an investment,” she said.
All certified Lighthouse teachers, excluding administrators, make between $30,000 and $39,000.
Most Cabot teachers, excluding administrators, earn between $40,000 and $60,000.
– Leave because they find the high standards the Lighthouse expects aren’t for them.
– Find jobs elsewhere after they are certified because no one, except a charter school, can hire staff members who have expertise in their fields but haven’t been certified or don’t have previous experience with teaching.
After one year at the charter school, teachers become fully certified, Anderson said. “Sometimes that happens (they leave after that year). But we haven’t had too many incidences of that,” she said.
– Discover teaching doesn’t suit them.
– Are let go because they do not meet Lighthouse standards after one year.
Anderson said, “We have a rigorous teacher selection process. The teachers don’t just come in for an interview. They have to do a model lesson and then we get feedback from the scholars and how they thought the lesson went. If you’re not mission-minded like we are, it’s going to be evident early on.”
She said the school anticipates less than a 5 percent change in its teaching staff and no changes in leadership. Anderson also said six new teachers are joining the school because they will add a ninth grade next year.
EVALUATIONS
Whitfield said teachers are evaluated twice a year. A green teacher is an instructor who is on target concerning the year and a half growth for each student. A yellow teacher is one that is approaching that goal while a red teacher is not meeting Lighthouse standards.
A teacher who is categorized as red twice could be dismissed.
The first time a teacher is designated as red or yellow, administrators work with them to develop an action plan they can follow to become green.
Whitfield also said, “The majority of our staff members have children. It’s a very family-oriented atmosphere. We have a potluck next week for birthdays. We go off to summit every year as a group. You take some people from Arkansas to Chicago, you become close.”
Anderson said, “Sharing a heart for this mission brings people together. When you get the right people on the bus, it’s an amazing ride because everybody realizes that what we’re trying to do is no ordinary thing.
We’re trying to do something extraordinary, what the school systems that have been in place for years have not done. The expectations for our performance are so much. It seems to be so much higher and it also seems to be a much higher level of accountability for us.”
She also said the University of Central Arkansas is placing student teachers at the academy and this is the first time UCA has partnered with a charter school for that.
GRATITUDE
Anderson expressed the school administration’s gratitude toward the city too.
“I cannot say enough about this community and that is what makes this school so special. This school came about as a result of the desires of the parents of this community to have another option, to have another choice. Parents really are our partners. They make up our board. They’re here every day.
“They are so much a part of who we are. This school couldn’t be what it is without the parents in this community. I think Jacksonville is such a model community. You just don’t see people saying we want a sound, great educational system and then going to work to get it,” she said.
PRINCIPALS
The first principal was Nigena Livingston, who had been the principal of a Lighthouse community school in Cleveland.
She moved back to Ohio because she was planning to marry and her fiancé lived there.
The second principal was Ryan Dean, a Harvard graduate from a military family. He previously worked at a private school in Virginia and at a charter school in Massachusetts, but he had second cousins living in Arkansas.
Anderson said Dean got married mid-year and moved to San Francisco, where his new wife lives.
Whitfield is a Fort Smith native who worked at Teach for America in Mississippi as a program director in the Mississippi Delta.
He was hired as a first-grade teacher in the second semester of the 2009-10 school year and then was promoted to director of instruction for the upper academy – or vice principal – last school year.
Whitfield said, “One of the first things I told those scholars and their families is that I would be around until they graduated. I don’t make promises to kids that I can’t keep.”
Felicia Kelly of Forrest City was hired last fall to help start up the College Prep Academy, which will open in 2012-13 with the addition of a ninth grade at the First Street campus. Lighthouse opened two other campuses, the Flightline Academy on Little Rock Air Force Base and one in Pine Bluff last year.
A new high school building is planned for 2013-14 and the charter school will add one grade level each year until 2016, when it will see the first graduating class.
Anderson said Kelly didn’t stay on as principal because the commute was too far and she wasn’t successful in relocating closer to Lighthouse.
Chris Carter has been selected for the position. He worked with Whitfield in the Mississippi Delta and is an Indiana native. He has lived in Helena for the past seven years.
Anderson said changing leadership isn’t a problem that is unique to Lighthouse.
Jacksonville High School has seen four principals in the past two years. Jacksonville Middle School, Northwood Middle School and Pinewood Elementary School all had new principals this year too. But none of them were new to PCSSD.
Adkins Elementary, Arnold Drive Elementary, Cato Elementary, Warren Dupree Elementary, Taylor Elementary and North Pulaski High School have had the same principal for the past three years.
Bayou Meto and Tolleson Elementary schools have had the same principal for two years. Jacksonville Elementary had the same principal for two years before it closed this year.
Tolleson’s principal re-tired and the principal from Jacksonville Elementary took over there.
TOP STORY >> Next House speaker sets agenda
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Education will be the top priority at the state legislature, Rep. Darren Williams (D-Little Rock) said Tuesday.
Williams, an attorney, is the House speaker-elect for 2013. He spoke at the third annual joint meeting of the Cabot and Jacksonville chambers of commerce at the Jacksonville Community Center.
“Education is our number one priority,” he told the crowd of about 200. “Forty-six percent of our budget goes to education and in our last fiscal session we added about $56 million to the education total. Every dollar we spend in education is truly important.”
He said the state spends more than $6,000 per student per year. Add in the state lottery scholarships for students wanting to attend college—that’s $4,500 for 320 Pulaski County students and 240 Cabot-area students—which Williams said was all good news.
The bad news is that the state is spending $20,000 a year per inmate and the state’s prison system is jammed with around 16,000 prisoners.
“There is a relationship between a lack of education and prison time. We are one of the top five states in sending people to prison and for lengths 196 percent above the guidelines,” Williams explained.
“What we do in education will have a significant impact on our prison numbers,” he said. “What we do in education will have an important role in the prison numbers.”
He said he’s proud of his recent prison-reform bill that tackles the problem from a number of sides. “Financially, we can’t sustain what we were doing,” he warned.
Williams said Arkansans should be proud that the state has a balanced budget. “Yes, I get told that all states are supposed to have a balanced budget, but we are one of the few that actually do it,” he said.
He added that in this year’s 19-day fiscal session, legislators approved 287 financial bills and increased the overall state budget by 3.5 percent, but did not raise taxes.
“We’ve not raised taxes since 2004. Also last year 46 states had to cut services. We didn’t,” he pointed out.
The speaker-to-be added that shortfalls in Medicaid are looming. “The estimates are between $250 and $390 million, and that will have a significant impact on the budget.
The governor and others are looking at innovative ways to cut down the shortfall, and we have to look at changing our model—the way we handle costs and expenditures in Medicaid.”
Williams said the state is initiating pilot programs in six Medicaid areas to see if they’ll curb expenses without cutting services.
He took time to salute the military for its service and dedication and told everyone that Little Rock Air Force Base was not just a strong part of the community, but also a strong part of the state.
He also said state Representatives Mark Perry (D-Jacksonville) and Jim Nickels (D-Sherwood) were outstanding leaders and would play an active role in state leadership in the coming year.
That said, there is a slight chance that House leadership could change in January.
His peers, mostly Democrats, elected Williams in the last session, but after November’s election, Republicans could control the House.
The House has to reaffirm the Speaker choice in January.
“We’ve never had a change, but it is possible. But we are less about partisanship and more about what’s best for the people,” Williams told The Leader.
A change could be costly to the state because it might add days to the session, he said.
“Each day we are in session cost about $30,000 and to have someone in January to learn everything that I’m still learning would cause delays and disruptions,” he said.
Leader staff writer
Education will be the top priority at the state legislature, Rep. Darren Williams (D-Little Rock) said Tuesday.
Williams, an attorney, is the House speaker-elect for 2013. He spoke at the third annual joint meeting of the Cabot and Jacksonville chambers of commerce at the Jacksonville Community Center.
“Education is our number one priority,” he told the crowd of about 200. “Forty-six percent of our budget goes to education and in our last fiscal session we added about $56 million to the education total. Every dollar we spend in education is truly important.”
He said the state spends more than $6,000 per student per year. Add in the state lottery scholarships for students wanting to attend college—that’s $4,500 for 320 Pulaski County students and 240 Cabot-area students—which Williams said was all good news.
The bad news is that the state is spending $20,000 a year per inmate and the state’s prison system is jammed with around 16,000 prisoners.
“There is a relationship between a lack of education and prison time. We are one of the top five states in sending people to prison and for lengths 196 percent above the guidelines,” Williams explained.
“What we do in education will have a significant impact on our prison numbers,” he said. “What we do in education will have an important role in the prison numbers.”
He said he’s proud of his recent prison-reform bill that tackles the problem from a number of sides. “Financially, we can’t sustain what we were doing,” he warned.
Williams said Arkansans should be proud that the state has a balanced budget. “Yes, I get told that all states are supposed to have a balanced budget, but we are one of the few that actually do it,” he said.
He added that in this year’s 19-day fiscal session, legislators approved 287 financial bills and increased the overall state budget by 3.5 percent, but did not raise taxes.
“We’ve not raised taxes since 2004. Also last year 46 states had to cut services. We didn’t,” he pointed out.
The speaker-to-be added that shortfalls in Medicaid are looming. “The estimates are between $250 and $390 million, and that will have a significant impact on the budget.
The governor and others are looking at innovative ways to cut down the shortfall, and we have to look at changing our model—the way we handle costs and expenditures in Medicaid.”
Williams said the state is initiating pilot programs in six Medicaid areas to see if they’ll curb expenses without cutting services.
He took time to salute the military for its service and dedication and told everyone that Little Rock Air Force Base was not just a strong part of the community, but also a strong part of the state.
He also said state Representatives Mark Perry (D-Jacksonville) and Jim Nickels (D-Sherwood) were outstanding leaders and would play an active role in state leadership in the coming year.
That said, there is a slight chance that House leadership could change in January.
His peers, mostly Democrats, elected Williams in the last session, but after November’s election, Republicans could control the House.
The House has to reaffirm the Speaker choice in January.
“We’ve never had a change, but it is possible. But we are less about partisanship and more about what’s best for the people,” Williams told The Leader.
A change could be costly to the state because it might add days to the session, he said.
“Each day we are in session cost about $30,000 and to have someone in January to learn everything that I’m still learning would cause delays and disruptions,” he said.
TOP STORY >> Department hears ideas from PCSSD
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
The state education commissioner met with two factions of the Pulaski County Special School District on Tuesday to determine how to shave $13 million or more from the beleaugered district’s budget.
Tom Kimbrell met in the morning with representatives of the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers and the Pulaski Association of Support Staff.
Then later that afternoon, he met with the district’s superintendent, Dr. Jerry Guess, and other district officials.
If the cuts can’t be worked out, then the state Board of Education has the authority to make other plans for the district, from a range of options that include dissolution, consolidation, reconfiguration and even assignment to management by a charter organization.
Negotiating for most of this year, the two sides fairly quickly agreed to about $7 million in cuts, but then the give-and-take stalled.
Negotiations and mediation between district officials and the unions came to an impasse about a month ago. Kimbrell acted after a final mediation attempt failed to make progress.
“If there’s not something that happens to get this into balance by the end of the month, we have concerns about the ability to get the district out of fiscal distress,” he said.
Changes must be made by May 1, when there is otherwise an automatic renewal of employment in contract terms, according to Guess.
According to paperwork submitted to Kimbrell by PACT president Marty Nix, the district superintendent is painting the unions in a negative light. Nix wrote that Guess is trying to convey to the Arkansas Department of Education that “we are unwilling to collaborate with him and his surprisingly single race negotiation team.
“It was even a greater surprise that a district consistently criticized for its exorbitant attorney fees has a negotiations team composed of two district-paid outside attorneys and one district-paid outside consultant.”
Nix said the union has been asked to cut the teachers work contract from 192 to 190 days, but the administrators’ 244-day contracts aren’t being cut. “Teachers can account for every single one of their 192-work days; can the 244-day administrators account for every single one of their work days?” Nix wrote.
District officials claim the unions are ignoring the fact that $15.1 million in property tax revenue for this school year was a one-time payment and without cuts the district will still have a multimillion dollar deficit. “Doing nothing is not an option,” Guess wrote in his letter to Kimbrell.
To date, district administrators and union leaders have agreed to forego pay raises or experience step increases, not replacing buses, eliminating 77 positions through attrition or reduction in force, changes in benefits, eliminating 19 bus routes and keeping a number of unfilled positions vacant.
The administration wants to cut teacher contracts by two days, cut pay for non-instructional duties, revamp how teachers get credit for professional growth for raises, cut severance pay, cut incentive pay for national board certification, cut longevity pay, cut attendance incentive pay and have employees pay a larger share of their health benefits’ costs.
Earlier, Kimbrell said he would review the proposals, but the district must “build a plan that we can recommend to the state board that can allow its release from the fiscal-distress designation.”
Because the district is currently bound by the terms of a desegregation agreement, federal District Judge Brian Miller would have to sign off on some sort of reconfiguration, Kimbrell said earlier.
Leader staff writer John Hofheimer contributed to this report.
Leader staff writer
The state education commissioner met with two factions of the Pulaski County Special School District on Tuesday to determine how to shave $13 million or more from the beleaugered district’s budget.
Tom Kimbrell met in the morning with representatives of the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers and the Pulaski Association of Support Staff.
Then later that afternoon, he met with the district’s superintendent, Dr. Jerry Guess, and other district officials.
If the cuts can’t be worked out, then the state Board of Education has the authority to make other plans for the district, from a range of options that include dissolution, consolidation, reconfiguration and even assignment to management by a charter organization.
Negotiating for most of this year, the two sides fairly quickly agreed to about $7 million in cuts, but then the give-and-take stalled.
Negotiations and mediation between district officials and the unions came to an impasse about a month ago. Kimbrell acted after a final mediation attempt failed to make progress.
“If there’s not something that happens to get this into balance by the end of the month, we have concerns about the ability to get the district out of fiscal distress,” he said.
Changes must be made by May 1, when there is otherwise an automatic renewal of employment in contract terms, according to Guess.
According to paperwork submitted to Kimbrell by PACT president Marty Nix, the district superintendent is painting the unions in a negative light. Nix wrote that Guess is trying to convey to the Arkansas Department of Education that “we are unwilling to collaborate with him and his surprisingly single race negotiation team.
“It was even a greater surprise that a district consistently criticized for its exorbitant attorney fees has a negotiations team composed of two district-paid outside attorneys and one district-paid outside consultant.”
Nix said the union has been asked to cut the teachers work contract from 192 to 190 days, but the administrators’ 244-day contracts aren’t being cut. “Teachers can account for every single one of their 192-work days; can the 244-day administrators account for every single one of their work days?” Nix wrote.
District officials claim the unions are ignoring the fact that $15.1 million in property tax revenue for this school year was a one-time payment and without cuts the district will still have a multimillion dollar deficit. “Doing nothing is not an option,” Guess wrote in his letter to Kimbrell.
To date, district administrators and union leaders have agreed to forego pay raises or experience step increases, not replacing buses, eliminating 77 positions through attrition or reduction in force, changes in benefits, eliminating 19 bus routes and keeping a number of unfilled positions vacant.
The administration wants to cut teacher contracts by two days, cut pay for non-instructional duties, revamp how teachers get credit for professional growth for raises, cut severance pay, cut incentive pay for national board certification, cut longevity pay, cut attendance incentive pay and have employees pay a larger share of their health benefits’ costs.
Earlier, Kimbrell said he would review the proposals, but the district must “build a plan that we can recommend to the state board that can allow its release from the fiscal-distress designation.”
Because the district is currently bound by the terms of a desegregation agreement, federal District Judge Brian Miller would have to sign off on some sort of reconfiguration, Kimbrell said earlier.
Leader staff writer John Hofheimer contributed to this report.
SPORTS >> Lady Devil bats better in road win at WMHS
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Lady Red Devil softball team pulled even in league play on Monday with a 9-0 road win over West Memphis. The 6A East victory followed a 1-2 performance at a tournament in Woodlawn over the weekend.
“We didn’t play badly, but we didn’t play lights out,” Jacksonville coach Kevin Sullivan said. “I think we have improved throughout the year. West Memphis made us earn our runs this time. We run ruled them earlier because they were messing up routine plays. They didn’t do that this time. They’ve gotten a lot better, but so have we. We’re hoping to be playing our best ball right at the end. That’s what you shoot for.”
The Lady Devils (6-10, 5-6) got three runs in three different innings, starting in the bottom of the first. Haley Hickingbotham doubled to reach in the first. Cojya Hood and Mailani Walker got RBI base hits and Bailey Mallison got an RBI on a sacrifice grounder to make it 3-0.
In the third inning, Bailea Jones, Alexis Goodman and Whitney house were responsible for Jacksonville’s three runs that made it 6-0.
In the top of the seventh, Keke Alcorn singled, Shyrel McKinney and Walker then picked up RBI base hits, and House came through with another run-scoring double that set the final margin.
House was also good on the mound. She went the distance, giving up just four hits while striking out six and walking one.
“The good thing is we’re getting good at bats up and down the lineup,” Sullivan said. “Earlier in the year, if we didn’t get it at the top, we were in trouble. We struck the ball very well, we just hit it right at people a lot and like I said, West Memphis wasn’t making the mistakes they made the first time. But I’m very pleased with how we’ve improved down the lineup.”
One constant for Jacksonville has been Hickingbotham, who is hitting for a .560 average this season. She went 1 for 5 against West Memphis and the Lady Devils scored nine runs.
“I know she was about as frustrated as I’ve ever seen her,” Sullivan said of Hickingbotham. She even struck out for the first time all year. Everyone has bad games now and then, but for us it was a good sign. For her to struggle like that and we still score nine runs is good for us. It’s real evidence that we are getting more production from other people. I’m encouraged by the way we swung the bats.”
In Friday’s games at Wood-lawn, Jacksonville beat McGehee 10-0 then lost 8-0 to Woodlawn. The loss put them in the third place game against Rose Bud on Saturday. Jacksonville lost that game 8-5.
“McGehee just wasn’t very good to be honest,” Sullivan said. “Against Woodlawn I was very disappointed in the fact that I just didn’t feel like we competed. There was no energy. Woodlawn is a good team, but I just didn’t feel like they got our best, and that’s disappointing as a coach.
“I was very pleased with how they came back on Saturday and played Rose Bud. Rose Bud was an impressive team. They’re going to compete in their classification. We really battled in that game. We didn’t win, but I at least felt like we gave our best effort and competed well with a very good team.”
Jacksonville also got Whitney House’s twin sister Alexis House back on the field in JV action on Monday.
She missed the last two seasons with two separate knee injuries. She returned on Monday, pitching three innings in junior varsity action and getting one hit on one at bat.
“We don’t know exactly how much she’s ready to contribute, but it’s a good start,” Sullivan said. “Having her would help us. It gives us more pitching depth and she adds a pretty good stick to the lineup. She’s been very frustrated not being able to play, so we’re all really hoping she can come back and be a part of things this year.”
Jacksonville played Searcy at home on Tuesday, and will host Hall next Tuesday in another conference matchup.
Leader sports editor
The Lady Red Devil softball team pulled even in league play on Monday with a 9-0 road win over West Memphis. The 6A East victory followed a 1-2 performance at a tournament in Woodlawn over the weekend.
“We didn’t play badly, but we didn’t play lights out,” Jacksonville coach Kevin Sullivan said. “I think we have improved throughout the year. West Memphis made us earn our runs this time. We run ruled them earlier because they were messing up routine plays. They didn’t do that this time. They’ve gotten a lot better, but so have we. We’re hoping to be playing our best ball right at the end. That’s what you shoot for.”
The Lady Devils (6-10, 5-6) got three runs in three different innings, starting in the bottom of the first. Haley Hickingbotham doubled to reach in the first. Cojya Hood and Mailani Walker got RBI base hits and Bailey Mallison got an RBI on a sacrifice grounder to make it 3-0.
In the third inning, Bailea Jones, Alexis Goodman and Whitney house were responsible for Jacksonville’s three runs that made it 6-0.
In the top of the seventh, Keke Alcorn singled, Shyrel McKinney and Walker then picked up RBI base hits, and House came through with another run-scoring double that set the final margin.
House was also good on the mound. She went the distance, giving up just four hits while striking out six and walking one.
“The good thing is we’re getting good at bats up and down the lineup,” Sullivan said. “Earlier in the year, if we didn’t get it at the top, we were in trouble. We struck the ball very well, we just hit it right at people a lot and like I said, West Memphis wasn’t making the mistakes they made the first time. But I’m very pleased with how we’ve improved down the lineup.”
One constant for Jacksonville has been Hickingbotham, who is hitting for a .560 average this season. She went 1 for 5 against West Memphis and the Lady Devils scored nine runs.
“I know she was about as frustrated as I’ve ever seen her,” Sullivan said of Hickingbotham. She even struck out for the first time all year. Everyone has bad games now and then, but for us it was a good sign. For her to struggle like that and we still score nine runs is good for us. It’s real evidence that we are getting more production from other people. I’m encouraged by the way we swung the bats.”
In Friday’s games at Wood-lawn, Jacksonville beat McGehee 10-0 then lost 8-0 to Woodlawn. The loss put them in the third place game against Rose Bud on Saturday. Jacksonville lost that game 8-5.
“McGehee just wasn’t very good to be honest,” Sullivan said. “Against Woodlawn I was very disappointed in the fact that I just didn’t feel like we competed. There was no energy. Woodlawn is a good team, but I just didn’t feel like they got our best, and that’s disappointing as a coach.
“I was very pleased with how they came back on Saturday and played Rose Bud. Rose Bud was an impressive team. They’re going to compete in their classification. We really battled in that game. We didn’t win, but I at least felt like we gave our best effort and competed well with a very good team.”
Jacksonville also got Whitney House’s twin sister Alexis House back on the field in JV action on Monday.
She missed the last two seasons with two separate knee injuries. She returned on Monday, pitching three innings in junior varsity action and getting one hit on one at bat.
“We don’t know exactly how much she’s ready to contribute, but it’s a good start,” Sullivan said. “Having her would help us. It gives us more pitching depth and she adds a pretty good stick to the lineup. She’s been very frustrated not being able to play, so we’re all really hoping she can come back and be a part of things this year.”
Jacksonville played Searcy at home on Tuesday, and will host Hall next Tuesday in another conference matchup.
SPORTS >> Jacksonville earns victory on road trip to West Fork
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Jacksonville got a needed win over the weekend at West Fork. The team makes a near annual trip for a weekend game in northwest Arkansas every year and takes in a Razorback baseball game while there.
This year’s trip went well for the Red Devils, they beat the West Fork Tigers 13-3, invoking the 10-run sportsmanship rule in the sixth inning.
It was the first win for Jacksonville in nearly two weeks, but the most important thing was that the bats were sharper.
“We’re swinging better,” Jacksonville coach Larry Burrows said. “We weren’t seeing the kind of pitching we’ve been seeing, but we were swinging better in practice all week. I thought our preparation for this game was good. We improved last week in practice and it showed on the field in that game.”
Jacksonville got a quick lead with two runs in the top of the first inning. They were held scoreless in the second and West Fork got on the board in the bottom of the second frame.
That set the stage for the turning point of the game, a five-run rally by Jacksonville in the top of the third.
Kaleb Reeves started things off by reaching on a hit-by-pitch and Jesse Harbin walked. Both runners advanced on stolen bases to set up an RBI groundout by Greg Jones. Harbin then scored on a single by Cole Bredenburg and David Williams walked to put runners on first and second base. A passed ball advanced both runners into scoring position, and freshman Derek St. Clair singled to drive in both runners for the third and fourth runs of the inning.
Tanner Burks then singled to put runners on the corners for Razorback signee D’Vone McClure. He doubled to centerfield to score St. Clair and give Jacksonville a 7-1 lead.
Jacksonville’s Blake Perry started on the mound and got the win. He gave up just four hits in four innings. One was a two-run home run in the bottom of the third that made it 7-3, but that’s all West Fork was able to muster.
St. Clair pitched the fifth and sixth innings for Jacksonville, striking out four batters and giving up just one hit in his two innings of relief work.
“We pitch good enough and we get enough defense most of the time to stay in it,” Burrows said. “We just have to get the sticks going a little bit more. We execute pretty well, we just haven’t been able to get anybody on. With the bats the way they are this year, the key is to throw strikes. We’ve done that. I think our hitting improved last week so hopefully we can keep improving and start getting some more wins.”
McClure and Harbin led Jacksonville offensively. Each senior got two hits and one double. Ragan Jones, Burks and St. Clair each had two RBIs in the win.
The Red Devils (7-14, 2-6)will resume conference play on Wednesday when they travel to play a doubleheader against Little Rock Hall.
Leader sportswriter
Jacksonville got a needed win over the weekend at West Fork. The team makes a near annual trip for a weekend game in northwest Arkansas every year and takes in a Razorback baseball game while there.
This year’s trip went well for the Red Devils, they beat the West Fork Tigers 13-3, invoking the 10-run sportsmanship rule in the sixth inning.
It was the first win for Jacksonville in nearly two weeks, but the most important thing was that the bats were sharper.
“We’re swinging better,” Jacksonville coach Larry Burrows said. “We weren’t seeing the kind of pitching we’ve been seeing, but we were swinging better in practice all week. I thought our preparation for this game was good. We improved last week in practice and it showed on the field in that game.”
Jacksonville got a quick lead with two runs in the top of the first inning. They were held scoreless in the second and West Fork got on the board in the bottom of the second frame.
That set the stage for the turning point of the game, a five-run rally by Jacksonville in the top of the third.
Kaleb Reeves started things off by reaching on a hit-by-pitch and Jesse Harbin walked. Both runners advanced on stolen bases to set up an RBI groundout by Greg Jones. Harbin then scored on a single by Cole Bredenburg and David Williams walked to put runners on first and second base. A passed ball advanced both runners into scoring position, and freshman Derek St. Clair singled to drive in both runners for the third and fourth runs of the inning.
Tanner Burks then singled to put runners on the corners for Razorback signee D’Vone McClure. He doubled to centerfield to score St. Clair and give Jacksonville a 7-1 lead.
Jacksonville’s Blake Perry started on the mound and got the win. He gave up just four hits in four innings. One was a two-run home run in the bottom of the third that made it 7-3, but that’s all West Fork was able to muster.
St. Clair pitched the fifth and sixth innings for Jacksonville, striking out four batters and giving up just one hit in his two innings of relief work.
“We pitch good enough and we get enough defense most of the time to stay in it,” Burrows said. “We just have to get the sticks going a little bit more. We execute pretty well, we just haven’t been able to get anybody on. With the bats the way they are this year, the key is to throw strikes. We’ve done that. I think our hitting improved last week so hopefully we can keep improving and start getting some more wins.”
McClure and Harbin led Jacksonville offensively. Each senior got two hits and one double. Ragan Jones, Burks and St. Clair each had two RBIs in the win.
The Red Devils (7-14, 2-6)will resume conference play on Wednesday when they travel to play a doubleheader against Little Rock Hall.
SPORTS >> Tourney title goes to Beebe
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
After handling Trumann 7-0 and squeaking by Jonesboro Westside 1-0 in the semi-finals of the Beebe/Searcy Softball Invitational Saturday at Beebe High School, the Lady Badgers edged 5A East foe Nettleton 1-0 in the championship game with another shutout performance from standout freshman pitcher Ellie Reaves.
Reaves threw three complete games for the Lady Badgers, and showed nothing but consistency and resiliency as she didn’t allow a single walk or run all day.
“She said she was a little tired there at the end,” said Beebe coach Eric Chambers about Reaves after the championship game. “She did real well today. She stayed focused, and she didn’t bat today for us so I think that might have helped her a little bit. But she’s just a freshman, and she’s going to be pitching for someone at the DI level.”
Beebe scored the game’s only run in the bottom of the first. Calah Hill normally bats in the leadoff spot for the Lady Badgers, but was out for the remainder of the tournament after being hit in the arm during her first at bat against Westside.
Madelyn Poe, Beebe’s two-hole hitter, moved into the leadoff spot for the title game and started things off with an infield single.
Makenzie Bingham followed with a sacrifice bunt to advance Poe to second.
Brittany Gentry then grounded out to short, but picked up the game-winning RBI as Poe scored on a close play at the plate after rounding third and sliding home to give the Lady Badgers the 1-0 lead.
Reaves kept Nettleton at bay for the remainder of the game, allowing just four hits.
Beebe’s defense was stellar as well, but the Lady Badgers had as hard a time as the Lady Raiders did connecting at the plate, something Chambers would like to see improve before postseason tournament play begins.
“We’re not really stroking the ball very well,” Chambers said. “We’re not hitting it like we should be, and I think they’re just a little young and indecisive. Other teams come in here against Ellie, and they swing the bat, because they know she’s going to pitch it at them, and they come in swinging. We need to get that way also, but we’re young and we’re getting better.”
Poe, Sarah White, Lannie Reaves and Courtney Shepard all singled for the Lady Badgers. In the semi-final game against Westside, Beebe had the same formula for success, scoring a run early and allowing Reaves to take control of the game while providing defense when needed.
Bingham had a huge impact in helping the Lady Badgers advance to the title game as she scored the game’s only run and prevented Westside from scoring late.
After singling to start the bottom of the second, Lannie Reaves put down the sacrifice bunt to move Bingham to second. Shepard grounded out, but that allowed Bingham to advance to third. Bingham then scored on a passed ball at home plate to give the Lady Badgers the lead.
Beebe’s only scare came in the fifth when Westside’s Sharon Bishop hit a triple to start the inning. Tosha Geror followed with a long fly ball to center. Bingham caught the fly ball, and hurled it home as Bishop tagged from third.
Gentry caught the ball inside the left batter’s box, and dove at the plate to tag out Bishop just as she was sliding in.
“I thought they really played well,” Chambers said about the team’s overall performance in the tournament. “I thought we pitched well the whole day, and we beat a really good Westside team that beat Benton earlier.
“Those two teams were probably picked to win the whole thing, and for us to play as well as we did, I was proud of them, and they did a good job.”
The Lady Badgers (17-6, 6-2) will see the Lady Raiders (12-5, 4-2) again tomorrow, as they’ll travel to Nettleton for a doubleheader starting at 5:00 p.m.
Leader sportswriter
After handling Trumann 7-0 and squeaking by Jonesboro Westside 1-0 in the semi-finals of the Beebe/Searcy Softball Invitational Saturday at Beebe High School, the Lady Badgers edged 5A East foe Nettleton 1-0 in the championship game with another shutout performance from standout freshman pitcher Ellie Reaves.
Reaves threw three complete games for the Lady Badgers, and showed nothing but consistency and resiliency as she didn’t allow a single walk or run all day.
“She said she was a little tired there at the end,” said Beebe coach Eric Chambers about Reaves after the championship game. “She did real well today. She stayed focused, and she didn’t bat today for us so I think that might have helped her a little bit. But she’s just a freshman, and she’s going to be pitching for someone at the DI level.”
Beebe scored the game’s only run in the bottom of the first. Calah Hill normally bats in the leadoff spot for the Lady Badgers, but was out for the remainder of the tournament after being hit in the arm during her first at bat against Westside.
Madelyn Poe, Beebe’s two-hole hitter, moved into the leadoff spot for the title game and started things off with an infield single.
Makenzie Bingham followed with a sacrifice bunt to advance Poe to second.
Brittany Gentry then grounded out to short, but picked up the game-winning RBI as Poe scored on a close play at the plate after rounding third and sliding home to give the Lady Badgers the 1-0 lead.
Reaves kept Nettleton at bay for the remainder of the game, allowing just four hits.
Beebe’s defense was stellar as well, but the Lady Badgers had as hard a time as the Lady Raiders did connecting at the plate, something Chambers would like to see improve before postseason tournament play begins.
“We’re not really stroking the ball very well,” Chambers said. “We’re not hitting it like we should be, and I think they’re just a little young and indecisive. Other teams come in here against Ellie, and they swing the bat, because they know she’s going to pitch it at them, and they come in swinging. We need to get that way also, but we’re young and we’re getting better.”
Poe, Sarah White, Lannie Reaves and Courtney Shepard all singled for the Lady Badgers. In the semi-final game against Westside, Beebe had the same formula for success, scoring a run early and allowing Reaves to take control of the game while providing defense when needed.
Bingham had a huge impact in helping the Lady Badgers advance to the title game as she scored the game’s only run and prevented Westside from scoring late.
After singling to start the bottom of the second, Lannie Reaves put down the sacrifice bunt to move Bingham to second. Shepard grounded out, but that allowed Bingham to advance to third. Bingham then scored on a passed ball at home plate to give the Lady Badgers the lead.
Beebe’s only scare came in the fifth when Westside’s Sharon Bishop hit a triple to start the inning. Tosha Geror followed with a long fly ball to center. Bingham caught the fly ball, and hurled it home as Bishop tagged from third.
Gentry caught the ball inside the left batter’s box, and dove at the plate to tag out Bishop just as she was sliding in.
“I thought they really played well,” Chambers said about the team’s overall performance in the tournament. “I thought we pitched well the whole day, and we beat a really good Westside team that beat Benton earlier.
“Those two teams were probably picked to win the whole thing, and for us to play as well as we did, I was proud of them, and they did a good job.”
The Lady Badgers (17-6, 6-2) will see the Lady Raiders (12-5, 4-2) again tomorrow, as they’ll travel to Nettleton for a doubleheader starting at 5:00 p.m.
SPORTS >> Searcy rallies to beat Cabot
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panthers dropped a nonconference baseball game Monday at Searcy, losing 8-2 to the Lions. Timely hitting and excellent defense lifted Searcy to the victory. The loss came three days after the Panthers snapped a seven-game conference losing streak. On Friday Cabot beat Van Buren 4-3 to get its first win in 7A Central play.
“We did some really good things against Van Buren,” Cabot coach Jay Fitch said after the Searcy game. “We have a couple of players that are starting to hit the ball pretty good. But we’re just playing so-so baseball right now. You can see we made some errors in this game and we’re still not getting the sticks working up and down the lineup like we need to.”
In Monday’s game, Cabot grabbed an early lead with a run in the top of the first inning. Cole Thomas walked with one out and scored two batters later on a double off the wall in centerfield by Casey Vaughan. The knock should’ve been a triple but Vaughan lost his footing rounding second base and had to retreat back to the bag.
Searcy put runners at second and third with one out in the bottom of the first but failed to produce any runs.
Searcy’s Conner Carlisle led off with a double that also should have been a triple, but he tripped at second base. Cabot pitcher Cason Kimbrellthen struck out Corey Webb be-fore walking Reed Haggard. The runners advanced on a passed ball, but Kimbrell fanned Brandon Zomant and Joey Davis to end the threat and strike out the side.
The Lions tied it in the bottom of the second. After Kimbrell’s third-straight strikeout put away Jay Bona, Justin Holtz singled to left field. He advanced to second when the throw back to the infield was fielded by no one. Will Dunavan bunted back to Kimbrell, which caught Holtz between second and third.
Kimbrell’s throw to second wasn’t in time and left everyone safe. Kimbrell got his fifth strikeout in two innings when he fanned nine-hole hitter Colby Crossen, but gave up an RBI single to Carlisle. The hit was also the last at bat of the inning. After a throw to home was not in time to get Holtz, Cabot catcher T.C. Carter threw to third and Justin Goffe applied the tag to get Dunavan trying to sneak an extra base.
Searcy took control of the game in third with four runs, three on one swing. Webb led off with a walk and Haggard flew out to left field.
Zomant grounded to short, but the throw got by first base, leaving everyone safe. Joey Davis then walked to load the bases and Bona tripled to centerfield to score three runs. Holtz then hit a fly ball to centerfield that was deep enough to score Bona. Dunavan then walked, but was thrown out on the base paths for the second time when he was caught stealing.
Cabot’s final run came in the top of the fourth. Scott Burnett reached on an error at second base and Bryson Morris singled to right field to bring him home.
The Panthers got just two base runners in the final three innings, an infield single by Thomas and a walk by Burnett, who reached base on all three at bats without getting a hit.
Searcy got its final three runs in the bottom of the fifth off relief pitcher Zach Patterson.
The Lions led off with a single and a bunt single, then loaded the bases on an error by Patterson on another bunt attempt. Holtz then walked to bring home one run.
Dunavan hit a sacrifice grounder to second and Crossen hit a sacrifice fly to center to set the final margin. Cabot got just four hits, but had 11 base runners in the game. The Panthers drew six walks and Searcy committed one error, but they left seven runners on base.
“We showed pretty good discipline at the plate,” Fitch said. “We walked a lot. We’re just not getting that timely base hit.”
Fitch’s team did get that timely hit in Friday’s victory. Vaughan, who went 2 for 3 with two doubles against Searcy, came up huge on Friday.
The Panthers and Pointers were tied at three when Vaughan hit what turned out to be the game-winning home run in the bottom of the fifth.
“He’s swinging it really well right now,” Fitch said of Vaughan. “He had two doubles today and had that big hit against Van Buren. That’s proof that if you keep plugging away good things can happen. He hasn’t been swinging like this all year. Hopefully we’ll have some other guys that’ll find that swing and get things going for us.”
Cabot 4, Van Buren 3
Friday’s game wasn’t without some controversy. Trailing 3-0 in the third with runners on first and second, Van Buren hit a looping line drive down the first base line.
The ball landed fair, but rolled under the fence on the baseline in right field. Vaughan threw his arms up to indicate the ball was out of play, but the umpire made no call. Vaughan then reached underneath the fence and managed to retrieve the ball.
By the time his throw came in, it was an inside-the-park home run. After some objection by Fitch, the call was changed to a ground-rule double and only one run was allowed. That brought objection from the Van Buren coach and a long delay ensued. Cabot won the argument, but Van Buren got the runs across anyway.
On the next at bat, a dink hit to shallow left field scored both base runners to tie the game, setting up Vaughan’s game winner in the fifth.
Junior pitcher Chipper Morris was outstanding on the mound. The two hits in the third were the only ones he allowed in seven innings of work. He also struck out 13 Pointers while walking three.
Cabot (7-13, 1-7) has two conference road games later this week on successive days. The Panthers travel to first-place Russellville on Thursday, then take on Conway on Friday.
Leader sports editor
The Cabot Panthers dropped a nonconference baseball game Monday at Searcy, losing 8-2 to the Lions. Timely hitting and excellent defense lifted Searcy to the victory. The loss came three days after the Panthers snapped a seven-game conference losing streak. On Friday Cabot beat Van Buren 4-3 to get its first win in 7A Central play.
“We did some really good things against Van Buren,” Cabot coach Jay Fitch said after the Searcy game. “We have a couple of players that are starting to hit the ball pretty good. But we’re just playing so-so baseball right now. You can see we made some errors in this game and we’re still not getting the sticks working up and down the lineup like we need to.”
In Monday’s game, Cabot grabbed an early lead with a run in the top of the first inning. Cole Thomas walked with one out and scored two batters later on a double off the wall in centerfield by Casey Vaughan. The knock should’ve been a triple but Vaughan lost his footing rounding second base and had to retreat back to the bag.
Searcy put runners at second and third with one out in the bottom of the first but failed to produce any runs.
Searcy’s Conner Carlisle led off with a double that also should have been a triple, but he tripped at second base. Cabot pitcher Cason Kimbrellthen struck out Corey Webb be-fore walking Reed Haggard. The runners advanced on a passed ball, but Kimbrell fanned Brandon Zomant and Joey Davis to end the threat and strike out the side.
The Lions tied it in the bottom of the second. After Kimbrell’s third-straight strikeout put away Jay Bona, Justin Holtz singled to left field. He advanced to second when the throw back to the infield was fielded by no one. Will Dunavan bunted back to Kimbrell, which caught Holtz between second and third.
Kimbrell’s throw to second wasn’t in time and left everyone safe. Kimbrell got his fifth strikeout in two innings when he fanned nine-hole hitter Colby Crossen, but gave up an RBI single to Carlisle. The hit was also the last at bat of the inning. After a throw to home was not in time to get Holtz, Cabot catcher T.C. Carter threw to third and Justin Goffe applied the tag to get Dunavan trying to sneak an extra base.
Searcy took control of the game in third with four runs, three on one swing. Webb led off with a walk and Haggard flew out to left field.
Zomant grounded to short, but the throw got by first base, leaving everyone safe. Joey Davis then walked to load the bases and Bona tripled to centerfield to score three runs. Holtz then hit a fly ball to centerfield that was deep enough to score Bona. Dunavan then walked, but was thrown out on the base paths for the second time when he was caught stealing.
Cabot’s final run came in the top of the fourth. Scott Burnett reached on an error at second base and Bryson Morris singled to right field to bring him home.
The Panthers got just two base runners in the final three innings, an infield single by Thomas and a walk by Burnett, who reached base on all three at bats without getting a hit.
Searcy got its final three runs in the bottom of the fifth off relief pitcher Zach Patterson.
The Lions led off with a single and a bunt single, then loaded the bases on an error by Patterson on another bunt attempt. Holtz then walked to bring home one run.
Dunavan hit a sacrifice grounder to second and Crossen hit a sacrifice fly to center to set the final margin. Cabot got just four hits, but had 11 base runners in the game. The Panthers drew six walks and Searcy committed one error, but they left seven runners on base.
“We showed pretty good discipline at the plate,” Fitch said. “We walked a lot. We’re just not getting that timely base hit.”
Fitch’s team did get that timely hit in Friday’s victory. Vaughan, who went 2 for 3 with two doubles against Searcy, came up huge on Friday.
The Panthers and Pointers were tied at three when Vaughan hit what turned out to be the game-winning home run in the bottom of the fifth.
“He’s swinging it really well right now,” Fitch said of Vaughan. “He had two doubles today and had that big hit against Van Buren. That’s proof that if you keep plugging away good things can happen. He hasn’t been swinging like this all year. Hopefully we’ll have some other guys that’ll find that swing and get things going for us.”
Cabot 4, Van Buren 3
Friday’s game wasn’t without some controversy. Trailing 3-0 in the third with runners on first and second, Van Buren hit a looping line drive down the first base line.
The ball landed fair, but rolled under the fence on the baseline in right field. Vaughan threw his arms up to indicate the ball was out of play, but the umpire made no call. Vaughan then reached underneath the fence and managed to retrieve the ball.
By the time his throw came in, it was an inside-the-park home run. After some objection by Fitch, the call was changed to a ground-rule double and only one run was allowed. That brought objection from the Van Buren coach and a long delay ensued. Cabot won the argument, but Van Buren got the runs across anyway.
On the next at bat, a dink hit to shallow left field scored both base runners to tie the game, setting up Vaughan’s game winner in the fifth.
Junior pitcher Chipper Morris was outstanding on the mound. The two hits in the third were the only ones he allowed in seven innings of work. He also struck out 13 Pointers while walking three.
Cabot (7-13, 1-7) has two conference road games later this week on successive days. The Panthers travel to first-place Russellville on Thursday, then take on Conway on Friday.
SPORTS >> Bears get two in seventh to beat Central
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
Sylvan Hills and Little Rock Central had a difficult time putting any runs on the board in their nonconference game Monday due to excellent pitching and defensive play. The Bears took advantage of Central’s lone error in the final inning to put two runs on the board in the seventh to beat the Tigers 2-0 at Buddy Coleman Field in Little Rock.
David Carrasquillo picked up the hard-earned win for Sylvan Hills (16-6, 7-1) with a complete game shutout performance. Carrasquillo struck out two and walked just one in the outing, and the defense behind him was just as solid as the Bears didn’t commit a single error, and made play after play through all seven innings.
“If we don’t walk anyone and we don’t make errors, we’re going to win. That’s the key to the game,” said Sylvan Hills coach Denny Tipton. “They’re (Central) good. They were the hottest team to start, and started the year 9-0. They’re senior-laden and very good.”
Central (10-11, 3-5) proved to be a much more competitive team than its record indicates as the Tigers have a stable of pitchers, three of whom are expected to play major college ball after they graduate. Central’s Achilles heel this year has been its inability to score. In this game the Tigers left seven runners stranded on the bases.
“They have been struggling a little bit,” Tipton said of Central’s troubles this season. “They’ve been struggling a little bit getting guys home, but we knew it was going to be a good ball game. I knew we’d see a good quality guy on the hump.
“Our varsity hasn’t gotten to play since last Tuesday, and I didn’t really know how we’d be after a little layoff. I was pleased with our pitcher. David (Carrasquillo) pitched a great game, and I thought our defense played really well.”
University of Central Arkansas signee Clayton Booth, Central’s number three pitcher, made it very difficult for Sylvan Hills to get anything going at the plate. Booth didn’t allow a run, and gave up only three hits while striking out six and walking one through six innings of work.
However, Sylvan Hills showed some signs of life at the plate in the sixth when leadoff hitter Brandon Baioni doubled off the wall in left field to start the inning. The Bears couldn’t capitalize on the base hit, but gained a little momentum going into the final inning.
Carrasquillo was hit by a pitch from Booth to start the seventh, and Lance Hunter followed with a well-executed sacrifice bunt. As Hunter sprinted to first, Central’s third baseman, Joey Abraham, rushed the throw and overthrew it to first.
The wild throw allowed Carrasquillo’s courtesy runner, Nathan Thomas, to advance to third, and kept Hunter at first with no outs. After singling his last at bat, Dalton Freeling grounded out to third, and Abraham held Thomas on the base to prevent the go-ahead run, but Hunter advanced to second on the throw to first.
Connor Eller then came to the plate and hit a one-out double that drove in both Thomas and Hunter to set the final margin. Baioni, Freeling, Eller and Dylan Boone each had a base hit for Sylvan Hills.
Leader sportswriter
Sylvan Hills and Little Rock Central had a difficult time putting any runs on the board in their nonconference game Monday due to excellent pitching and defensive play. The Bears took advantage of Central’s lone error in the final inning to put two runs on the board in the seventh to beat the Tigers 2-0 at Buddy Coleman Field in Little Rock.
David Carrasquillo picked up the hard-earned win for Sylvan Hills (16-6, 7-1) with a complete game shutout performance. Carrasquillo struck out two and walked just one in the outing, and the defense behind him was just as solid as the Bears didn’t commit a single error, and made play after play through all seven innings.
“If we don’t walk anyone and we don’t make errors, we’re going to win. That’s the key to the game,” said Sylvan Hills coach Denny Tipton. “They’re (Central) good. They were the hottest team to start, and started the year 9-0. They’re senior-laden and very good.”
Central (10-11, 3-5) proved to be a much more competitive team than its record indicates as the Tigers have a stable of pitchers, three of whom are expected to play major college ball after they graduate. Central’s Achilles heel this year has been its inability to score. In this game the Tigers left seven runners stranded on the bases.
“They have been struggling a little bit,” Tipton said of Central’s troubles this season. “They’ve been struggling a little bit getting guys home, but we knew it was going to be a good ball game. I knew we’d see a good quality guy on the hump.
“Our varsity hasn’t gotten to play since last Tuesday, and I didn’t really know how we’d be after a little layoff. I was pleased with our pitcher. David (Carrasquillo) pitched a great game, and I thought our defense played really well.”
University of Central Arkansas signee Clayton Booth, Central’s number three pitcher, made it very difficult for Sylvan Hills to get anything going at the plate. Booth didn’t allow a run, and gave up only three hits while striking out six and walking one through six innings of work.
However, Sylvan Hills showed some signs of life at the plate in the sixth when leadoff hitter Brandon Baioni doubled off the wall in left field to start the inning. The Bears couldn’t capitalize on the base hit, but gained a little momentum going into the final inning.
Carrasquillo was hit by a pitch from Booth to start the seventh, and Lance Hunter followed with a well-executed sacrifice bunt. As Hunter sprinted to first, Central’s third baseman, Joey Abraham, rushed the throw and overthrew it to first.
The wild throw allowed Carrasquillo’s courtesy runner, Nathan Thomas, to advance to third, and kept Hunter at first with no outs. After singling his last at bat, Dalton Freeling grounded out to third, and Abraham held Thomas on the base to prevent the go-ahead run, but Hunter advanced to second on the throw to first.
Connor Eller then came to the plate and hit a one-out double that drove in both Thomas and Hunter to set the final margin. Baioni, Freeling, Eller and Dylan Boone each had a base hit for Sylvan Hills.
Friday, April 13, 2012
TOP STORY >> Fourth arrest in ‘pot-pourri’ case
By JOAN McCOY
Leader staff writer
One more business owner has been arrested after raids last week on tobacco stores in Cabot, Austin and Ward were said to be selling synthetic marijuana and paraphernalia and at least one more arrest warrant is in the works.
But whether the state law passed in 2011 that included synthetic marijuana on the list of Schedule 6 drugs actually made the substance illegal as it intended has not yet been tested in court.
“I think we all know what the stuff is,” Lonoke County Prosecutor Chuck Graham said about the arrests and the official charges he will make against the business owners and possibly the store clerks. “We’ve just got to let the system work a little bit. The law is so new.”
“We’ve made the arrests. We’ll make the appropriate charges. We’ll react to whatever claims they make, but to us the law is clear,” he said.
Joseph Alford, owner of the Alford Tobacco Store in Cabot, was arrested for “possession of a Schedule 6 controlled substance with purpose to deliver,” Graham said.
That arrest was preceded by the arrest of three owners of Rock’s Smoke-N-Bait in Ward: Beth Glover, her son Jeremy Reed and his wife Stephanie Reed. Jeremy Reed is a firefighter for North Little Rock and former member of the Austin City Council. Glover, the chief clerk for the district court in Ward under District Judge Joe O’Bryan, is still on the job.
Graham said the Arkansas state police, which served the search warrant on the Austin business Up in Smoke, has not completed the arrest warrant for Doug Wilson, but he expects it soon.
So far all the business owners have turned themselves in when the warrants for their arrests were completed. Graham expects Wilson to do the same.
Synthetic marijuana has been on the market for about six years and attempts to ban it started when the potentially harmful effects become known. Although long-term effects are not known, local law enforcement reports seizures associated with the various products for sale.
Cabot Police Chief Jackie Davis said this week that he knows a man who has smoked pot for decades who says Diablo, a synthetic form of his favorite drug, is highly addictive, but too expensive for him to buy as often as he needs it.
The packets cost $20 to $50 each. The store in Ward reportedly made $12 million a year in sales.
Diablo was also the brand that a Cabot-area woman said almost killed her son in late December. She found him unconscious after smoking the drug just once. After he had been stabilized at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the mother called state Sen. Eddie Joe Williams who asked the State Police for help.
Williams said he believes stronger legislation is needed to control the sale of synthetic drugs.
But for now, Graham says he will use the one he has. Act 751 of 2011 added synthetic marijuana to the list of illegal drugs.
Although the formulas for making the drug in its various forms keeps changing, Graham said state law says if a drug is similar in chemical structure to marijuana, it is marijuana and therefore illegal.
The law was passed March 28, 2011, and included an emergency clause that made it affective immediately and also explained the intent: It is found and determined by the General Assembly of the state of Arkansas that new substances that need immediate scheduling are becoming more prevalent; and that this act is immediately necessary because these new substances pose a risk to the public.
Leader staff writer
One more business owner has been arrested after raids last week on tobacco stores in Cabot, Austin and Ward were said to be selling synthetic marijuana and paraphernalia and at least one more arrest warrant is in the works.
But whether the state law passed in 2011 that included synthetic marijuana on the list of Schedule 6 drugs actually made the substance illegal as it intended has not yet been tested in court.
“I think we all know what the stuff is,” Lonoke County Prosecutor Chuck Graham said about the arrests and the official charges he will make against the business owners and possibly the store clerks. “We’ve just got to let the system work a little bit. The law is so new.”
“We’ve made the arrests. We’ll make the appropriate charges. We’ll react to whatever claims they make, but to us the law is clear,” he said.
Joseph Alford, owner of the Alford Tobacco Store in Cabot, was arrested for “possession of a Schedule 6 controlled substance with purpose to deliver,” Graham said.
That arrest was preceded by the arrest of three owners of Rock’s Smoke-N-Bait in Ward: Beth Glover, her son Jeremy Reed and his wife Stephanie Reed. Jeremy Reed is a firefighter for North Little Rock and former member of the Austin City Council. Glover, the chief clerk for the district court in Ward under District Judge Joe O’Bryan, is still on the job.
Graham said the Arkansas state police, which served the search warrant on the Austin business Up in Smoke, has not completed the arrest warrant for Doug Wilson, but he expects it soon.
So far all the business owners have turned themselves in when the warrants for their arrests were completed. Graham expects Wilson to do the same.
Synthetic marijuana has been on the market for about six years and attempts to ban it started when the potentially harmful effects become known. Although long-term effects are not known, local law enforcement reports seizures associated with the various products for sale.
Cabot Police Chief Jackie Davis said this week that he knows a man who has smoked pot for decades who says Diablo, a synthetic form of his favorite drug, is highly addictive, but too expensive for him to buy as often as he needs it.
The packets cost $20 to $50 each. The store in Ward reportedly made $12 million a year in sales.
Diablo was also the brand that a Cabot-area woman said almost killed her son in late December. She found him unconscious after smoking the drug just once. After he had been stabilized at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the mother called state Sen. Eddie Joe Williams who asked the State Police for help.
Williams said he believes stronger legislation is needed to control the sale of synthetic drugs.
But for now, Graham says he will use the one he has. Act 751 of 2011 added synthetic marijuana to the list of illegal drugs.
Although the formulas for making the drug in its various forms keeps changing, Graham said state law says if a drug is similar in chemical structure to marijuana, it is marijuana and therefore illegal.
The law was passed March 28, 2011, and included an emergency clause that made it affective immediately and also explained the intent: It is found and determined by the General Assembly of the state of Arkansas that new substances that need immediate scheduling are becoming more prevalent; and that this act is immediately necessary because these new substances pose a risk to the public.
TOP STORY >> Driver may have struck Ohio officer
By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
The Jacksonville man accused of driving a van around emergency vehicles that killed a veteran firefighter and injured two others last month may have hit an Ohio police officer with a different car in October.
Bryce Allen, 47, is a person of interest in a felony assault case in Columbus.
According to the police report, a man matching his description got into an argument with a valet at a hospital. The valet called a security guard. Kenny Boyd of the Jacksonville Police Department said the guard was an off-duty policeman.
According to the report, the guard tried to stop the man while he was in his vehicle. Then the man intentionally struck the guard with the black 2000 Cadillac he was driving.
The guard, who sustained a minor injury, fired his gun at the car, which had Arkansas tags 356RIW.
The Cadillac is or was owned by Allen, according to Jacksonville police.
They are asking that anyone who has information about where the car is to call 982-3191 or text JAXPD and their tip to CRIMES, 274637.
Boyd said the department has been in touch with Ohio investigators since last month’s incident.
He said if the car is found and Allen is arrested for the October felony assault then prosecuting attorneys here and in Ohio would have to work out how to try both cases.
Allen is charged with second-degree murder and criminal attempt to commit murder here.
One of the firefighters he struck, Capt. Donald Jones, 56, a 31-year-veteran of the department, died at the scene.
Firefighter/engineer Jason Bowmaster and police officer Daniel DiMatteo were seriously injured but in stable condition the next day.
Bowmaster was finally taken off a ventilator this week, Capt. David Jones of the fire department said Friday.
“He’s still in guarded condition,” Jones said.
Capt. Kenny Boyd of the police department said, “They are both recovering. They still have a long way to go.”
DiMatteo needs at least one more procedure and then he’ll start rehabilitation, he said.
Thelma Allen, Bryce Allen’s mother, had struck a gas line at 8411 Hwy. 161 between Rixey Road and I-440.
The three victims were working the scene of her accident when Allen arrived. Allen’s mother was not injured.
The police department said their investigation showed that he made no attempt to brake and even accelerated before hitting them. He also appeared to be aiming toward them, the report says.
Allen is being held at the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility on a $750,000 bond. If he pays that, he will be transported to the State Hospital.
An Army veteran, he was arrested in 2009 for second-degree battery of a police officer and terroristic threatening. According to court records, Allen was acquitted by reason of mental disease or defect.
He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, hallucinations and delusions. Allen’s evaluation said he did not take medications as prescribed.
Some of the delusions included paranoia involving the Ku Klux Klan. All three Jacksonville victims and the Ohio officer were white men.
Allen told a psychologist who examined him in 2010 that he had been hospitalized eight times, mostly at Fort Roots Veterans Hospital in North Little Rock.
He was arrested again in September for fleeing and reckless driving. Allen was found guilty in Jacksonville District Court in February but appealed the decision to Pulaski County Circuit Court.
He was arrested for a third time last November for aggravated assault, but that charge was reduced to third-degree domestic battery.
Leader staff writer
The Jacksonville man accused of driving a van around emergency vehicles that killed a veteran firefighter and injured two others last month may have hit an Ohio police officer with a different car in October.
Bryce Allen, 47, is a person of interest in a felony assault case in Columbus.
According to the police report, a man matching his description got into an argument with a valet at a hospital. The valet called a security guard. Kenny Boyd of the Jacksonville Police Department said the guard was an off-duty policeman.
According to the report, the guard tried to stop the man while he was in his vehicle. Then the man intentionally struck the guard with the black 2000 Cadillac he was driving.
The guard, who sustained a minor injury, fired his gun at the car, which had Arkansas tags 356RIW.
The Cadillac is or was owned by Allen, according to Jacksonville police.
They are asking that anyone who has information about where the car is to call 982-3191 or text JAXPD and their tip to CRIMES, 274637.
Boyd said the department has been in touch with Ohio investigators since last month’s incident.
He said if the car is found and Allen is arrested for the October felony assault then prosecuting attorneys here and in Ohio would have to work out how to try both cases.
Allen is charged with second-degree murder and criminal attempt to commit murder here.
One of the firefighters he struck, Capt. Donald Jones, 56, a 31-year-veteran of the department, died at the scene.
Firefighter/engineer Jason Bowmaster and police officer Daniel DiMatteo were seriously injured but in stable condition the next day.
Bowmaster was finally taken off a ventilator this week, Capt. David Jones of the fire department said Friday.
“He’s still in guarded condition,” Jones said.
Capt. Kenny Boyd of the police department said, “They are both recovering. They still have a long way to go.”
DiMatteo needs at least one more procedure and then he’ll start rehabilitation, he said.
Thelma Allen, Bryce Allen’s mother, had struck a gas line at 8411 Hwy. 161 between Rixey Road and I-440.
The three victims were working the scene of her accident when Allen arrived. Allen’s mother was not injured.
The police department said their investigation showed that he made no attempt to brake and even accelerated before hitting them. He also appeared to be aiming toward them, the report says.
Allen is being held at the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility on a $750,000 bond. If he pays that, he will be transported to the State Hospital.
An Army veteran, he was arrested in 2009 for second-degree battery of a police officer and terroristic threatening. According to court records, Allen was acquitted by reason of mental disease or defect.
He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, hallucinations and delusions. Allen’s evaluation said he did not take medications as prescribed.
Some of the delusions included paranoia involving the Ku Klux Klan. All three Jacksonville victims and the Ohio officer were white men.
Allen told a psychologist who examined him in 2010 that he had been hospitalized eight times, mostly at Fort Roots Veterans Hospital in North Little Rock.
He was arrested again in September for fleeing and reckless driving. Allen was found guilty in Jacksonville District Court in February but appealed the decision to Pulaski County Circuit Court.
He was arrested for a third time last November for aggravated assault, but that charge was reduced to third-degree domestic battery.
TOP STORY >> State to hear PCSSD budget proposals
By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
With time growing short, state Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell wants to hear proposals from the Pulaski County Special School District and its two employee unions by 5 p.m. Monday before deciding what budget cuts to implement to help the financially-troubled district out of fiscal distress.
The district is in fiscal distress for financial mismanagement and declining legal fund balances. The state took it over in July, dissolving the school board and appointing Jerry Guess as superintendent.
Guess is trying to cut $11 million from the 2012-2013 budget, compared to this year’s budget. The district, along with the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers and the Pulaski Association of Support Staff, has agreed on at least $7 million worth of cuts. But the unions say the district wants all the rest to come from them, and he wants to change the existing contracts to get that money.
District administrators note that about 80 percent of the budget is salaries, so that’s where the cuts must come from.
“The district needs to reduce expenditures to state minimum standards to survive financially,” according to the narrative in the administration’s proposal. “The union leadership will not agree. This roadblock to realizing and constructing a budget for 2012-2013 that is acceptable to the state and conforms to a state law must be removed,” according to the administrator’s proposed plan.
Negotiations and mediation have ground to a halt.
In a letter Wednesday, Kimbrell asked the unions and the administration for staffing and fiscal practice recommendations to cut $11 million. Kimbrell also asked for recommendations on “building a legal fund balance to safeguard the fiscal integrity of the school district in future years and address district costs associated with attaining unitary status.”
“Arkansas Department of Education staff will take your recommendations into consideration in determining what binding recommendations it should impose upon the Pulaski County Special School District,” Kimbrell wrote.
Kimbrell, citing Arkansas legal code, says the department’s recommendations regarding staffing and fiscal practices “shall be binding upon the school district, the superintendent and the school board of directors.”
Kimbrell said Friday that he would review the proposals by later in the week. The district administration must “build a plan that we can recommend to the state board that can allow its release from the fiscal-distress designation,” he said.
Otherwise, the board has to make other plans for the district, from a range of options that include dissolution, consolidation, reconfiguration and even assignment to management by a charter organization.
Because the district is currently bound by the terms of a desegregation agreement, federal District Judge Brian Miller could have to sign off on some sort of reconfiguration, Kimbrell said.
Also to be settled — probably in court — is whether the state can void parts of the existing contracts between the two unions and the school district.
Negotiations and mediation came to an impasse about a month ago. Kimbrell acted after a final mediation attempt last month failed to make progress.
“If there’s not something that happens to get this into balance by the end of the month, we have concerns about the ability to get out of fiscal distress,” he said.
Changes must be made by May 1, when there is otherwise an automatic renewal of employment in contract terms, according to Guess.
The unions have agreed to forgo raises for the next school year and to pay more of their own health insurance premiums. But they don’t want to open up their current contracts to discuss other issues.
The administration wants to cut the length of employee contracts from 192 days to 190 days, wants to reduce days of leave and tighten up leave policy, stop paying severance pay, revisit nonteaching duties for which PCSSD teachers get additional pay, and also eliminate professional growth credits except for college classes.
The administration will eliminate 77 positions, mostly it hopes, through attrition.
Leader senior staff writer
With time growing short, state Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell wants to hear proposals from the Pulaski County Special School District and its two employee unions by 5 p.m. Monday before deciding what budget cuts to implement to help the financially-troubled district out of fiscal distress.
The district is in fiscal distress for financial mismanagement and declining legal fund balances. The state took it over in July, dissolving the school board and appointing Jerry Guess as superintendent.
Guess is trying to cut $11 million from the 2012-2013 budget, compared to this year’s budget. The district, along with the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers and the Pulaski Association of Support Staff, has agreed on at least $7 million worth of cuts. But the unions say the district wants all the rest to come from them, and he wants to change the existing contracts to get that money.
District administrators note that about 80 percent of the budget is salaries, so that’s where the cuts must come from.
“The district needs to reduce expenditures to state minimum standards to survive financially,” according to the narrative in the administration’s proposal. “The union leadership will not agree. This roadblock to realizing and constructing a budget for 2012-2013 that is acceptable to the state and conforms to a state law must be removed,” according to the administrator’s proposed plan.
Negotiations and mediation have ground to a halt.
In a letter Wednesday, Kimbrell asked the unions and the administration for staffing and fiscal practice recommendations to cut $11 million. Kimbrell also asked for recommendations on “building a legal fund balance to safeguard the fiscal integrity of the school district in future years and address district costs associated with attaining unitary status.”
“Arkansas Department of Education staff will take your recommendations into consideration in determining what binding recommendations it should impose upon the Pulaski County Special School District,” Kimbrell wrote.
Kimbrell, citing Arkansas legal code, says the department’s recommendations regarding staffing and fiscal practices “shall be binding upon the school district, the superintendent and the school board of directors.”
Kimbrell said Friday that he would review the proposals by later in the week. The district administration must “build a plan that we can recommend to the state board that can allow its release from the fiscal-distress designation,” he said.
Otherwise, the board has to make other plans for the district, from a range of options that include dissolution, consolidation, reconfiguration and even assignment to management by a charter organization.
Because the district is currently bound by the terms of a desegregation agreement, federal District Judge Brian Miller could have to sign off on some sort of reconfiguration, Kimbrell said.
Also to be settled — probably in court — is whether the state can void parts of the existing contracts between the two unions and the school district.
Negotiations and mediation came to an impasse about a month ago. Kimbrell acted after a final mediation attempt last month failed to make progress.
“If there’s not something that happens to get this into balance by the end of the month, we have concerns about the ability to get out of fiscal distress,” he said.
Changes must be made by May 1, when there is otherwise an automatic renewal of employment in contract terms, according to Guess.
The unions have agreed to forgo raises for the next school year and to pay more of their own health insurance premiums. But they don’t want to open up their current contracts to discuss other issues.
The administration wants to cut the length of employee contracts from 192 days to 190 days, wants to reduce days of leave and tighten up leave policy, stop paying severance pay, revisit nonteaching duties for which PCSSD teachers get additional pay, and also eliminate professional growth credits except for college classes.
The administration will eliminate 77 positions, mostly it hopes, through attrition.
TOP STORY >> City no longer owns hospital
By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
“Done, done, done!” Mayor Gary Fletcher jubilantly declared after signing over the city hospital to a Louisiana-based health management firm.
Allegiance Health Management Group, which has managed the North Metro Medical Center for the past three years, signed the paperwork Friday afternoon to officially take over as the owners of the hospital.
“This was three years in the making,” the mayor explained, “and ensures that the city and the air base will have access to high-quality healthcare for years to come.”
Allegiance worked out a $10 million loan with First Arkansas Bank and Trust to buy the hospital and to back the loan the city put up the medical clinic near the hospital as added collateral. The city still owns the medical clinic.
The approximate $10 million price tag would cover the bond the city has on the hospital and other related debts and lines of credit.
Attorney Mike Wilson, chairman of the hospital board, said the sale only includes the hospital building. The city retains ownership of the nearby medical clinic, medical offices at Crestview Plaza and a clinic in Cabot. The city will also have what Wilson called right of first refusal for the next five years in case Allegiance decides to sell the hospital.
But Jay Quebedeaux, the hospital’s chief executive officer, said that was doubtful. “The hospital is celebrating its 50th year here, and we expect to be around with it for the next 50,” Quebedeaux said.
The mayor added that whenthe hospital celebrates its 50th anniversary in a couple of weeks, it will be a look back, but this sale is a new beginning, a solid future for the city. The hospital is a great facility with great equipment and great doctors.”
Quebedeaux said, “We are very excited and proud to be here, writing a new chapter in the North Metro book. The sale aligns us with a hospital chain whose mission is to provide maximum assistance to rural and community health-care facilities.”
“Thank you for your hard work,” Quebedeaux told everyone at the signing.
North Metro has seen renewed services and the addition of more specialized units since Allegiance took over managing the hospital in 2009. Services have increased in areas such as surgery, physical therapy, the wound center, physical rehab, home health, lab and medical imaging. The hospital’s in-patient geriatric psychiatry unit has expanded to 31 beds. Waiting rooms and a wing on the first floor have been renovated.
In August 2011, Allegiance moved its long-term acute care hospital from Little Rock to North Metro.
The Jacksonville City Council actually approved the sale in November 2010 and city leaders thought everything would have been ready almost a year ago. But it has taken longer than expected to secure the financing and get the paperwork in order.
According to the mayor’s 2012 state of the city report, the hospital employs about 400 people and has a $17 million economic impact on Jacksonville and the surrounding area.
Leader staff writer
“Done, done, done!” Mayor Gary Fletcher jubilantly declared after signing over the city hospital to a Louisiana-based health management firm.
Allegiance Health Management Group, which has managed the North Metro Medical Center for the past three years, signed the paperwork Friday afternoon to officially take over as the owners of the hospital.
“This was three years in the making,” the mayor explained, “and ensures that the city and the air base will have access to high-quality healthcare for years to come.”
Allegiance worked out a $10 million loan with First Arkansas Bank and Trust to buy the hospital and to back the loan the city put up the medical clinic near the hospital as added collateral. The city still owns the medical clinic.
The approximate $10 million price tag would cover the bond the city has on the hospital and other related debts and lines of credit.
Attorney Mike Wilson, chairman of the hospital board, said the sale only includes the hospital building. The city retains ownership of the nearby medical clinic, medical offices at Crestview Plaza and a clinic in Cabot. The city will also have what Wilson called right of first refusal for the next five years in case Allegiance decides to sell the hospital.
But Jay Quebedeaux, the hospital’s chief executive officer, said that was doubtful. “The hospital is celebrating its 50th year here, and we expect to be around with it for the next 50,” Quebedeaux said.
The mayor added that whenthe hospital celebrates its 50th anniversary in a couple of weeks, it will be a look back, but this sale is a new beginning, a solid future for the city. The hospital is a great facility with great equipment and great doctors.”
Quebedeaux said, “We are very excited and proud to be here, writing a new chapter in the North Metro book. The sale aligns us with a hospital chain whose mission is to provide maximum assistance to rural and community health-care facilities.”
“Thank you for your hard work,” Quebedeaux told everyone at the signing.
North Metro has seen renewed services and the addition of more specialized units since Allegiance took over managing the hospital in 2009. Services have increased in areas such as surgery, physical therapy, the wound center, physical rehab, home health, lab and medical imaging. The hospital’s in-patient geriatric psychiatry unit has expanded to 31 beds. Waiting rooms and a wing on the first floor have been renovated.
In August 2011, Allegiance moved its long-term acute care hospital from Little Rock to North Metro.
The Jacksonville City Council actually approved the sale in November 2010 and city leaders thought everything would have been ready almost a year ago. But it has taken longer than expected to secure the financing and get the paperwork in order.
According to the mayor’s 2012 state of the city report, the hospital employs about 400 people and has a $17 million economic impact on Jacksonville and the surrounding area.
SPORTS >> CHS soccer duo to join CBC women
By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
Cabot seniors Allison Lamb and Lexi Lewis signed on to play college soccer for Central Baptist College in Conway. Students and faculty gathered in the Cabot High School media center at noon on Friday to see the pair of standout forwards for the Lady Panthers commit to the next level. Lady Mustangs coach Justin Hawkins, now in his seventh season, was also in attendance.
Lamb boasts a 3.45 GPA and Lewis holds down an even 3.0 GPA.
“Justin gave me a great opportunity, because I didn’t think I was going to get to play college soccer,” Lamb said. “He gave me the opportunity, so that’s why I’m going.”
Lewis has been a starter for the Lady Panthers since her sophomore year, and said she believes the CBC program is a perfect fit for her.
“I had a couple of options, but I love the coach, I’ve known the coach for a long time,” Lewis said. “I really like what their soccer program does, and I like the campus. I just think it’s a good school for me.”
The Lady Panthers started the season off strong. Lamb and Lewis are optimistic when it comes to the upcoming state soccer tournament.
“We’ve done really well considering past years,” Lamb said. “So hopefully, it continues to go as well as it has.”
Leader sportswriter
Cabot seniors Allison Lamb and Lexi Lewis signed on to play college soccer for Central Baptist College in Conway. Students and faculty gathered in the Cabot High School media center at noon on Friday to see the pair of standout forwards for the Lady Panthers commit to the next level. Lady Mustangs coach Justin Hawkins, now in his seventh season, was also in attendance.
Lamb boasts a 3.45 GPA and Lewis holds down an even 3.0 GPA.
“Justin gave me a great opportunity, because I didn’t think I was going to get to play college soccer,” Lamb said. “He gave me the opportunity, so that’s why I’m going.”
Lewis has been a starter for the Lady Panthers since her sophomore year, and said she believes the CBC program is a perfect fit for her.
“I had a couple of options, but I love the coach, I’ve known the coach for a long time,” Lewis said. “I really like what their soccer program does, and I like the campus. I just think it’s a good school for me.”
The Lady Panthers started the season off strong. Lamb and Lewis are optimistic when it comes to the upcoming state soccer tournament.
“We’ve done really well considering past years,” Lamb said. “So hopefully, it continues to go as well as it has.”
SPORTS >> Southern Oaks has grown in first year
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
April 1 marked the end of the first year of operation at Southern Oaks Country Club in Jacksonville. Formerly the semi-private Foxwood Country Club, the totally private Southern Oaks has enjoyed a resurgence and is still growing.
Brian Hagewood, Joan Zumwalt, Harold Gwatney, Jon Johnson and Jordan Cooper bought the club and have continued investing in improvements to the entire project.
Several renovations to the clubhouse and course, as well as added amenities for social members, have spurred growth since the investment team, led by Hagewood, bought and reopened the club after it closed because of dwindling memberships and financial struggles.
“People realized when it was closed that it was such a vital asset to the Jacksonville Community,” Hagewood said. “We really needed to keep it open.”
There have been projects going on at Southern Oaks throughout the offseason. Much of the course got new sod and new cart paths and the back nine has a brand new irrigation system that will slightly alter the way the course is played.
“It’s a state-of-the-art irrigation system that no other course around here has,” Hagewood said. “It’s Going to dramatically spur growth and add water to the course where it’s never been.”
Superintendent Bo Brachaus has overseen the course renovations. He and the grounds crew have the course in great condition.
“This year our course, I’m going to say, is in the best condition it’s ever been,” Hagewood said. “Bo has done a great job getting the course in shape. This is not the course people remember playing five years ago. We feel like we have one of the nicest courses in central Arkansas. Prospective members come out here and are just blown away. We have a lot of really neat holes.”
The clubhouse now has a sports bar with flat screen televisions and shuffleboard. The swimming pool is being renovated and will include a 45-foot gazebo.
“We’ve spent over $350,000 on these renovations,” Hage-wood said. “I think that’s why we’ve seen our memberships grow like they have.”
When Foxwood closed, it had just more than 80 members. Southern Oaks had 112 commitments when it opened, and now has 244 golf members as well as 100 social members.
The club is having a membership drive through April in which the $500 initiation fee is waived. Swimming pool only memberships are also available. There is also a membership referral program like no other.
“Our membership referral program is a really good one,” Hagewood said. “Once you’re a member, every member you refer you get 20 percent off your membership dues. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out if you sign up five members, your dues are free.”
The current plan of waiving the initiation fee ends April 30, but the membership drive will last through May.
“April and May will be our really big push to gain members,” Hagewood said. “We have some things coming up and we’ll decided how we want to continue the membership drive next month. Our goal is to have about 300 full members and we’d like to see Jacksonville people becoming members.”
Jacksonville residents make up about 80 percent of the memberships, with a few from Cabot, Sherwood and Little Rock. Hagewood wants local members more than anything else.
“We did get some Greystone golfers and North Hills, people that no longer had a course of our quality. My thinking on that is, we don’t need to rely on out-of-town golfers to support our golf course. If we have to do that we’re in trouble. I really believe Jacksonville people need to support this. I think it’s a vital part of our community. If I didn’t believe that I wouldn’t be so invested in it.”
Leader sports editor
April 1 marked the end of the first year of operation at Southern Oaks Country Club in Jacksonville. Formerly the semi-private Foxwood Country Club, the totally private Southern Oaks has enjoyed a resurgence and is still growing.
Brian Hagewood, Joan Zumwalt, Harold Gwatney, Jon Johnson and Jordan Cooper bought the club and have continued investing in improvements to the entire project.
Several renovations to the clubhouse and course, as well as added amenities for social members, have spurred growth since the investment team, led by Hagewood, bought and reopened the club after it closed because of dwindling memberships and financial struggles.
“People realized when it was closed that it was such a vital asset to the Jacksonville Community,” Hagewood said. “We really needed to keep it open.”
There have been projects going on at Southern Oaks throughout the offseason. Much of the course got new sod and new cart paths and the back nine has a brand new irrigation system that will slightly alter the way the course is played.
“It’s a state-of-the-art irrigation system that no other course around here has,” Hagewood said. “It’s Going to dramatically spur growth and add water to the course where it’s never been.”
Superintendent Bo Brachaus has overseen the course renovations. He and the grounds crew have the course in great condition.
“This year our course, I’m going to say, is in the best condition it’s ever been,” Hagewood said. “Bo has done a great job getting the course in shape. This is not the course people remember playing five years ago. We feel like we have one of the nicest courses in central Arkansas. Prospective members come out here and are just blown away. We have a lot of really neat holes.”
The clubhouse now has a sports bar with flat screen televisions and shuffleboard. The swimming pool is being renovated and will include a 45-foot gazebo.
“We’ve spent over $350,000 on these renovations,” Hage-wood said. “I think that’s why we’ve seen our memberships grow like they have.”
When Foxwood closed, it had just more than 80 members. Southern Oaks had 112 commitments when it opened, and now has 244 golf members as well as 100 social members.
The club is having a membership drive through April in which the $500 initiation fee is waived. Swimming pool only memberships are also available. There is also a membership referral program like no other.
“Our membership referral program is a really good one,” Hagewood said. “Once you’re a member, every member you refer you get 20 percent off your membership dues. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out if you sign up five members, your dues are free.”
The current plan of waiving the initiation fee ends April 30, but the membership drive will last through May.
“April and May will be our really big push to gain members,” Hagewood said. “We have some things coming up and we’ll decided how we want to continue the membership drive next month. Our goal is to have about 300 full members and we’d like to see Jacksonville people becoming members.”
Jacksonville residents make up about 80 percent of the memberships, with a few from Cabot, Sherwood and Little Rock. Hagewood wants local members more than anything else.
“We did get some Greystone golfers and North Hills, people that no longer had a course of our quality. My thinking on that is, we don’t need to rely on out-of-town golfers to support our golf course. If we have to do that we’re in trouble. I really believe Jacksonville people need to support this. I think it’s a vital part of our community. If I didn’t believe that I wouldn’t be so invested in it.”
SPORTS >> Another Red Devil signs with UCA
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Jacksonville senior Tirrell Brown Jr. inked with the University of Central Arkansas on Wednesday during a special signing ceremony at Jacksonville High School.
Friends and family were joined by nearly the entire student body to celebrate the culmination of Browns’ recent rise to become a Division I basketball prospect.
The 6-foot-6 post jumped onto the radar of some larger schools with his play over the summer, and continued to impress throughout the high-school season.
Brown led the Red Devils in scoring this season and rebounding this season, averaging 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Jacksonville spent most of the season ranked No. 1 in class 6A and went undefeated against 6A competition until being upset in the semifinals of the state tournament.
It was in one of Jacksonville’s few losses that Brown showed he was worthy of the Division I attention that ultimately landed him at the Conway-based Southland Conference college. The game was played at Conway High School and UCA coach Corliss Williamson was in attendance. Jacksonville faced Fayetteville in the Conway tournament. Fayetteville was the tallest team in the state last season with three players standing 6-9 or taller.
Jacksonville coach Vic Joyner describes that game.
“They had a 6-9 kid on him and he couldn’t handle him,” Joyner said. “They had to bring down the 6-10 kid to double team him, and T. wore them out. That’s when I knew for sure he had DI ability. Even though he’s only 6-6, we felt like he should’ve been getting some more attention from the SEC schools and teams like that. UCA got a steal.”
Leader sports editor
Jacksonville senior Tirrell Brown Jr. inked with the University of Central Arkansas on Wednesday during a special signing ceremony at Jacksonville High School.
Friends and family were joined by nearly the entire student body to celebrate the culmination of Browns’ recent rise to become a Division I basketball prospect.
The 6-foot-6 post jumped onto the radar of some larger schools with his play over the summer, and continued to impress throughout the high-school season.
Brown led the Red Devils in scoring this season and rebounding this season, averaging 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Jacksonville spent most of the season ranked No. 1 in class 6A and went undefeated against 6A competition until being upset in the semifinals of the state tournament.
It was in one of Jacksonville’s few losses that Brown showed he was worthy of the Division I attention that ultimately landed him at the Conway-based Southland Conference college. The game was played at Conway High School and UCA coach Corliss Williamson was in attendance. Jacksonville faced Fayetteville in the Conway tournament. Fayetteville was the tallest team in the state last season with three players standing 6-9 or taller.
Jacksonville coach Vic Joyner describes that game.
“They had a 6-9 kid on him and he couldn’t handle him,” Joyner said. “They had to bring down the 6-10 kid to double team him, and T. wore them out. That’s when I knew for sure he had DI ability. Even though he’s only 6-6, we felt like he should’ve been getting some more attention from the SEC schools and teams like that. UCA got a steal.”
SPORTS >> Bears split with Wildcats
By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Sylvan Hills and Watson Chapel are now tied for second place in the 5A Southeast after a doubleheader split Tuesday at the Sherwood Sports Complex. The Bears and Wildcats entered the game in a four-way tie for first place with Monticello and White Hall. All four teams were 6-0 heading into Tuesday’s games. White Hall swept Monticello to take over sole possession of first place and drop the Billies to fourth.
“We still control our own destiny,” Sylvan Hills coach Denny Tipton said. “If someone beats Watson Chapel and we win out, we’ll still win this conference. Of course if we both win out, we’ll tie for the championship but have to settle for the two seed.”
The reason the Bears would have to settle for the two seed in that scenario is that after winning game one 4-1, they lost game two 7-0.
“That’s the disappointing thing,” Tipton said. “We were down 3-0 and at least two runs were unearned. Then we give up a big inning right at the end there. I thought we just lost focus a little bit and that hurt us.”
Chapel left-hander Zack Bradford was outstanding on the mound in game two. He gave up just three hits over seven innings while striking out six and walking just one Sylvan Hills batter. He threw four innings of no-hit ball from the third through the sixth inning before Lance Hunter doubled with two outs in the seventh.
Chapel got all the runs it needed in the bottom of the second game. V.J. Dickson reached with no outs via an error at second base. Jordan Stargile then tripled to the wall in centerfield to score Dickson.
Sylvan Hills pitcher Dylan Boone struck out the next two batters with Stargile still on third base. Stargile should have scored on passed ball with two outs, but failed to touch home plate. He was tagged on appeal while walking to the dugout and the umpire called him out.
A two-out error in the fifth sparked a mini rally by Chapel. Justin Dardene singled to left field where it one-hopped past the fielder and rolled to the fence, leaving Dardene safe at third base. Bradford then singled to center to score Dardene and Reece Huffton doubled to left field to score Bradford’s courtesy runner.
Bradford came through big again in the bottom of the sixth inning. After Stargile led off with a single and stole second, he scored on an errant throw while trying to steal third. Boone walked Cameron Banks and yielded to Hunter who came for relief duties. Hunter struggled with control, walking two more, then giving up a triple to Bradford that scored three more runs.
Boone went five innings, giving up seven hits while fanning three and walking two.
Conner Eller went the distance and got the win in game one. He gave up just two hits over seven innings while striking out six and walking three.
The Bears scored in the bottom of the first when Dalton Freeling walked and Boone drove him in with a double.
They added two more in the second. Hunter reached on an error in centerfield and Jacob White singled to put runners on the corners. T.J. Burrows singled to score Hunter and again leave runners on the corners. Leadoff hitter Brandon Baoni then hit a deep fly ball to center that scored White to make it 3-1.
J.D. Miller got the final run when he scored from third on a passed ball and getting a base hit and advancing on two sacrifice flies.
The Bears are now 16-6 overall and 7-1 in conference play. They will face Little Rock Central on Monday in Little Rock, and will get back to conference play next Thursday at North Pulaski.
Leader sports editor
Sylvan Hills and Watson Chapel are now tied for second place in the 5A Southeast after a doubleheader split Tuesday at the Sherwood Sports Complex. The Bears and Wildcats entered the game in a four-way tie for first place with Monticello and White Hall. All four teams were 6-0 heading into Tuesday’s games. White Hall swept Monticello to take over sole possession of first place and drop the Billies to fourth.
“We still control our own destiny,” Sylvan Hills coach Denny Tipton said. “If someone beats Watson Chapel and we win out, we’ll still win this conference. Of course if we both win out, we’ll tie for the championship but have to settle for the two seed.”
The reason the Bears would have to settle for the two seed in that scenario is that after winning game one 4-1, they lost game two 7-0.
“That’s the disappointing thing,” Tipton said. “We were down 3-0 and at least two runs were unearned. Then we give up a big inning right at the end there. I thought we just lost focus a little bit and that hurt us.”
Chapel left-hander Zack Bradford was outstanding on the mound in game two. He gave up just three hits over seven innings while striking out six and walking just one Sylvan Hills batter. He threw four innings of no-hit ball from the third through the sixth inning before Lance Hunter doubled with two outs in the seventh.
Chapel got all the runs it needed in the bottom of the second game. V.J. Dickson reached with no outs via an error at second base. Jordan Stargile then tripled to the wall in centerfield to score Dickson.
Sylvan Hills pitcher Dylan Boone struck out the next two batters with Stargile still on third base. Stargile should have scored on passed ball with two outs, but failed to touch home plate. He was tagged on appeal while walking to the dugout and the umpire called him out.
A two-out error in the fifth sparked a mini rally by Chapel. Justin Dardene singled to left field where it one-hopped past the fielder and rolled to the fence, leaving Dardene safe at third base. Bradford then singled to center to score Dardene and Reece Huffton doubled to left field to score Bradford’s courtesy runner.
Bradford came through big again in the bottom of the sixth inning. After Stargile led off with a single and stole second, he scored on an errant throw while trying to steal third. Boone walked Cameron Banks and yielded to Hunter who came for relief duties. Hunter struggled with control, walking two more, then giving up a triple to Bradford that scored three more runs.
Boone went five innings, giving up seven hits while fanning three and walking two.
Conner Eller went the distance and got the win in game one. He gave up just two hits over seven innings while striking out six and walking three.
The Bears scored in the bottom of the first when Dalton Freeling walked and Boone drove him in with a double.
They added two more in the second. Hunter reached on an error in centerfield and Jacob White singled to put runners on the corners. T.J. Burrows singled to score Hunter and again leave runners on the corners. Leadoff hitter Brandon Baoni then hit a deep fly ball to center that scored White to make it 3-1.
J.D. Miller got the final run when he scored from third on a passed ball and getting a base hit and advancing on two sacrifice flies.
The Bears are now 16-6 overall and 7-1 in conference play. They will face Little Rock Central on Monday in Little Rock, and will get back to conference play next Thursday at North Pulaski.
SPORTS >> Badgers lead wire to wire against Bison
By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
After trailing Beebe early, Carlisle rallied late, but the Badgers answered with a rally of their own and beat the Bison 8-4 in a competitive non-conference game Thursday at Carlisle.
Freshman Jacob Gordon started on the mound for Carlisle, and struck out seven without walking a single batter in six and one third innings of work, but the middle of Beebe’s lineup was too much for Gordon and the Bison to handle as the 2-5 hitters went for a combined 11 for 16 at the plate.
Beebe was equally effective running the bases as the Badgers tried to steal every base in front of them, and succeeded in doing so more times than not, which is something Beebe coach Mark Crafton likes to see.
“We were smart on the base paths the first half of the game, in the first four innings,” Crafton said. “Then we got lazy, but we took advantage of some of their miscues in the outfield on the base paths. We did hit the ball fairly well -- better than we’ve been hitting it in past games.
“We had some mental mistakes on the base paths late in the game that cost us some more runs, but we were able to push through it, and we got a good pitching performance out of senior Jacob Jones.”
Jones picked up his first win of the season for the Badgers, and did so with a complete game performance, striking out five and walking just two.
Beebe never trailed in the game, and wasted no time scoring by getting a run on the board in the top of the first when Jared Aschbrenner singled to drive in Dakota Lovston after Lovston singled and stole both second and third base.
Beebe scored again after Cody Todd singled to bring home Brandon Stane to put the Badgers up 2-0 after four.
The Badgers (11-8, 7-1) added four more runs in the fifth to take a six-run lead over Carlisle, but the Bison (15-5, 5-1) responded in the bottom part of the inning with three runs.
Carlisle held Beebe scoreless in the sixth, and was able to cut the deficit to two when Josh Mathis hit a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Tommy Inman to tag from the third.
Beebe scored its seventh run of the game after Stane doubled to send Aschbrenner home, and Stane scored from second after Todd, the next batter, singled to make the score 8-4.
“We had a couple of base-running mistakes,” said Carlisle coach B.J. Greene. “Hitting the ball, I can’t say that we hit it well. They did what a good team would do. They fielded the ball when you hit it to them, and that’s what you’re supposed to do.
“We had a senior swinging at the first pitch, when we were in mustard, which is take it till you get a strike, and he swings at the first pitch and pops out. Then we got picked off at first when we didn’t have any signals on. That was another big one.”
Lovston led Beebe, going 4 for 4 with a double and three singles. Stane went 3 for 4. Aschbrenner and Todd each went 2 for 4, while Matt Stillman and Byars Halford had a hit apiece.
Chris Hart and Deric Herring had two hits for Carlisle. Inman, Mathis, Hayden Hoover and Will Smith each had a hit.
Carlisle was able to get a win in non-conference play Tuesday, as the Bison traveled to Lonoke and beat the Jackrabbits 6-4.
Mathis earned the win as the Bison pitcher started strong and helped Carlisle jump out to a 5-0 lead. Lonoke scored the next four runs to make it a one-run game.
Freshman Dylan Brazeal came in to hit with two outs late in the game, and hit a hard double to right center that allowed Connor Fields to score from first. Fields scored the final run after sliding outside of the tag from the Lonoke catcher in a close play at the plate to set the final margin.
Leader sportswriter
After trailing Beebe early, Carlisle rallied late, but the Badgers answered with a rally of their own and beat the Bison 8-4 in a competitive non-conference game Thursday at Carlisle.
Freshman Jacob Gordon started on the mound for Carlisle, and struck out seven without walking a single batter in six and one third innings of work, but the middle of Beebe’s lineup was too much for Gordon and the Bison to handle as the 2-5 hitters went for a combined 11 for 16 at the plate.
Beebe was equally effective running the bases as the Badgers tried to steal every base in front of them, and succeeded in doing so more times than not, which is something Beebe coach Mark Crafton likes to see.
“We were smart on the base paths the first half of the game, in the first four innings,” Crafton said. “Then we got lazy, but we took advantage of some of their miscues in the outfield on the base paths. We did hit the ball fairly well -- better than we’ve been hitting it in past games.
“We had some mental mistakes on the base paths late in the game that cost us some more runs, but we were able to push through it, and we got a good pitching performance out of senior Jacob Jones.”
Jones picked up his first win of the season for the Badgers, and did so with a complete game performance, striking out five and walking just two.
Beebe never trailed in the game, and wasted no time scoring by getting a run on the board in the top of the first when Jared Aschbrenner singled to drive in Dakota Lovston after Lovston singled and stole both second and third base.
Beebe scored again after Cody Todd singled to bring home Brandon Stane to put the Badgers up 2-0 after four.
The Badgers (11-8, 7-1) added four more runs in the fifth to take a six-run lead over Carlisle, but the Bison (15-5, 5-1) responded in the bottom part of the inning with three runs.
Carlisle held Beebe scoreless in the sixth, and was able to cut the deficit to two when Josh Mathis hit a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Tommy Inman to tag from the third.
Beebe scored its seventh run of the game after Stane doubled to send Aschbrenner home, and Stane scored from second after Todd, the next batter, singled to make the score 8-4.
“We had a couple of base-running mistakes,” said Carlisle coach B.J. Greene. “Hitting the ball, I can’t say that we hit it well. They did what a good team would do. They fielded the ball when you hit it to them, and that’s what you’re supposed to do.
“We had a senior swinging at the first pitch, when we were in mustard, which is take it till you get a strike, and he swings at the first pitch and pops out. Then we got picked off at first when we didn’t have any signals on. That was another big one.”
Lovston led Beebe, going 4 for 4 with a double and three singles. Stane went 3 for 4. Aschbrenner and Todd each went 2 for 4, while Matt Stillman and Byars Halford had a hit apiece.
Chris Hart and Deric Herring had two hits for Carlisle. Inman, Mathis, Hayden Hoover and Will Smith each had a hit.
Carlisle was able to get a win in non-conference play Tuesday, as the Bison traveled to Lonoke and beat the Jackrabbits 6-4.
Mathis earned the win as the Bison pitcher started strong and helped Carlisle jump out to a 5-0 lead. Lonoke scored the next four runs to make it a one-run game.
Freshman Dylan Brazeal came in to hit with two outs late in the game, and hit a hard double to right center that allowed Connor Fields to score from first. Fields scored the final run after sliding outside of the tag from the Lonoke catcher in a close play at the plate to set the final margin.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
TOP STORY >> Sherwood recycling kicks off
By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
Sherwood is already enjoying high participation rates in its curbside recycling program, which launched on Monday, according to Brian Galloway, the city’s public works director.
“Just about everyone is doing it,” he said.
David Steinmetz of Waste Management agreed. He said he didn’t have official numbers for the participation rate yet, but it was going well.
“Through the first two days, it’s beyond what anyone had imagined. It’s nuts. Everybody is participating, it seems like. Sherwood is really participating,” he said.
The new program isn’t without hiccups though. Galloway said residents are placing their regular containers and the recycling containers right next to each other on the curb instead of at least three feet apart.
The automatic trucks need that space for the mechanical arm to get the cans. Waste Management is using one truck on most days, and two trucks on a couple of days, to complete the pick up of the recycling containers. Each truck has one driver.
Galloway said city workers have labeled some of the containers to warn residents about the three-foot requirement.
Steinmetz said Waste Management employees are also labeling the cans.
Also, there was some confusion about when the recyclables will be picked up.
Galloway said the city had signs out saying the program started Monday and many residents thought every container in the city would be picked up that day.
In smaller print, the banners say the recycling containers will be picked up every other week on the same day trash is picked up.
So that means only residents who had Monday as their regular trash day got their recycling containers picked up on the first day.
Galloway said, “The vast majority of the feedback has been positive. The majority of the feedback is (that) people are really excited. The negative has been some who don’t want to recycle. They’ve been few and far between.”
Sherwood residents are paying an increase of $2.76 — $14.76 compared to $12 a month — to cover the cost participating in the countywide recycling program. The higher rates will start appearing on their April or May bills.
The city entered into an agreement with Pulaski County’s Regional Recycling and Waste Reduction District for the curbside recycling knowing that fees would go up.
Waste Management is investing $11 million — $5 million in containers, $2 million in automatic trucks and $4 million to renovate its recycling center into a state-of-the-art facility by using a single-stream process — into the program for Little Rock, North Little Rock and Sherwood, the three cities enrolled in curbside recycling.
Galloway said the unique thing about the recycling was the single-stream process, which requires no sorting.
Waste Management hopes the rate increase will recoup its investment as well as cover the operating cost for actually providing the service.
The new 65-gallon recycling cans hold up to 175 pounds.
Waste Management workers will come to the door, get the can, empty it and return it for residents who are elderly or disabled and can’t haul the containers to the curb.
Residents who recycle can go to a website, enter their zip code and get coupons for local stores and restaurants. The number of coupons unlocked goes up as the tons of recycled goods increases in their area.
This incentive program, “Think Green Rewards,” costs 25 cents per household each month.
Waste Management and the district will each pay half for the incentive program. Residents will pay nothing into the rewards pro-gram and the cost to the company and district is $250,000.
The curbside program accepts all plastics including children’s toys, newsprint, magazines, junk mail, phone books, aluminum and other metals, cardboard and glass.
Leader staff writer
Sherwood is already enjoying high participation rates in its curbside recycling program, which launched on Monday, according to Brian Galloway, the city’s public works director.
“Just about everyone is doing it,” he said.
David Steinmetz of Waste Management agreed. He said he didn’t have official numbers for the participation rate yet, but it was going well.
“Through the first two days, it’s beyond what anyone had imagined. It’s nuts. Everybody is participating, it seems like. Sherwood is really participating,” he said.
The new program isn’t without hiccups though. Galloway said residents are placing their regular containers and the recycling containers right next to each other on the curb instead of at least three feet apart.
The automatic trucks need that space for the mechanical arm to get the cans. Waste Management is using one truck on most days, and two trucks on a couple of days, to complete the pick up of the recycling containers. Each truck has one driver.
Galloway said city workers have labeled some of the containers to warn residents about the three-foot requirement.
Steinmetz said Waste Management employees are also labeling the cans.
Also, there was some confusion about when the recyclables will be picked up.
Galloway said the city had signs out saying the program started Monday and many residents thought every container in the city would be picked up that day.
In smaller print, the banners say the recycling containers will be picked up every other week on the same day trash is picked up.
So that means only residents who had Monday as their regular trash day got their recycling containers picked up on the first day.
Galloway said, “The vast majority of the feedback has been positive. The majority of the feedback is (that) people are really excited. The negative has been some who don’t want to recycle. They’ve been few and far between.”
Sherwood residents are paying an increase of $2.76 — $14.76 compared to $12 a month — to cover the cost participating in the countywide recycling program. The higher rates will start appearing on their April or May bills.
The city entered into an agreement with Pulaski County’s Regional Recycling and Waste Reduction District for the curbside recycling knowing that fees would go up.
Waste Management is investing $11 million — $5 million in containers, $2 million in automatic trucks and $4 million to renovate its recycling center into a state-of-the-art facility by using a single-stream process — into the program for Little Rock, North Little Rock and Sherwood, the three cities enrolled in curbside recycling.
Galloway said the unique thing about the recycling was the single-stream process, which requires no sorting.
Waste Management hopes the rate increase will recoup its investment as well as cover the operating cost for actually providing the service.
The new 65-gallon recycling cans hold up to 175 pounds.
Waste Management workers will come to the door, get the can, empty it and return it for residents who are elderly or disabled and can’t haul the containers to the curb.
Residents who recycle can go to a website, enter their zip code and get coupons for local stores and restaurants. The number of coupons unlocked goes up as the tons of recycled goods increases in their area.
This incentive program, “Think Green Rewards,” costs 25 cents per household each month.
Waste Management and the district will each pay half for the incentive program. Residents will pay nothing into the rewards pro-gram and the cost to the company and district is $250,000.
The curbside program accepts all plastics including children’s toys, newsprint, magazines, junk mail, phone books, aluminum and other metals, cardboard and glass.
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