Lynch at Large

The Russellville Courier reports on the recent wave of rumors concerning a possible arrest in the murder of Arkansas Tech student Nona Dirksmeyer. According to prosecutor David Gibbons, no elected official or the family member of an elected official is a suspect in this case. There has been no arrest in the Dirksmeyer homicide, nor has there been a confession.

The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metropolitan area was named Wednesday to Milken Institute's 2005 Best Performing Cities Index, a measurement of where the most jobs are being created across the United States. The growing Northwest Arkansas urban area was listed as the eighth best performing region among the nation's 200 largest metropolitan areas.

U.S. Rep. Marion Berry, D-Gillett, says the chances of Congress offering disaster relief to the agriculture community soon are not good. “The political winds are just not blowing our way,” he said at a joint meeting of the Rotary clubs of Pine Bluff and West Pine Bluff.

The Jonesboro Sun reports on Senator Blanche Lincoln’s visit to Northeast Arkansas. Lincoln was very critical of administration cuts in funding to American farmers. Specifically, she criticized the attempts to promote free trade with countries violating guidelines American farmers follow. "We go to foreign countries and say, 'Our farmers will do what is right,' but turn deaf and dumb when those countries do not play by the same rules," she said.

State Senator Jerry Bookout of Jonesboro, a member of the General Assembly for over three decades, is dead of cancer at 72.

Lieutenant governor candidate Drew Pritt said Wednesday he can't afford a $7,500 filing fee and will collect the necessary signatures needed to get on the Democratic primary ballot.

Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson said taking poultry litter and water samples this spring will strengthen his case against Arkansas poultry companies.

An inflation adjustment to Arkansas' public school funding formula for this school year and next would cost $122 million. Lawmakers are preparing for a possible special session to comply with the latest Supreme Court Lake View rulings.

The Democrat-Gazette reports that the Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission approved an intricate deal involving six entities that launches a company backed by the Stephens Group to compete with Central Flying Service to refuel, serve and repair the corporate aircraft that fly in and out of Little Rock National Airport, Adams Field. SuperMarine of Little Rock, as the center will be known, initially will invest $10.7 million in the first phase of its operation and employ at least 54 people.

A 37-year-old Jacksonville man accused of raping a teenage girl and sexually abusing her younger brother was sentenced to life plus 40 years in prison Wednesday after jurors watched a 29-minute video of him having sex with the girl. Eugene Ray “Gene” Callaway said the girl was a willing participant in the video encounter, arguing she was at least 18 at the time. The girl, now 20, testified she was 16 or 17 at the time.

A man who videotaped himself in the act of raping a 14 year old boy was sentenced in Sebastian County Circuit Court to 40 years in prison. Mathew Anthony Meyer, 25, was scheduled to stand trial on two counts of rape, but avoided trial and the possibility of a life sentence by pleading guilty to both counts.

The Pine Bluff School District has hired Nabholz Construction of Conway as construction manager of the district’s $28.8 million renovation and restructuring program.

What is being called the "Call of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Celebration" begins today at the Convention Center in Brinkley.

Arkansas Times’ blog notes that George Strait's recent show at Alltel is the No. 5 gross on Billboard's latest list of top grossing music shows. The capacity crowd at Alltel Jan. 21 grossed $995,576.

Moving day for the Mulberry library began early Tuesday with students and library officials pushing carts of books from the city office complex to a new 2,400-square-foot building across Main Street. The volunteer workers, including some Mulberry and Pleasant View students, will continue working on getting the facility ready to open to the public next week.