Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Wednesday wobble
Cynthia Howell reports in today’s Democrat-Gazette that Arkansas’ education leaders released the mother lode of standardized test results on Tuesday, nearly all of which showed either gains over last year’s results or scores close to or above national averages. This comes just days after federal officials demanded that the state prove that the Benchmark Exams sufficiently test higher thinking skills.
Coach Ron Crawford told Pat Lynch, in an Arkansas Priority Radio Network interview, that he expects patrons of the Altheimer school district to file a federal lawsuit to halt the merger with Dollarway which was recently approved by the State Board of Education. Crawford leads a parents group fighting to maintain the Paron schools.
By an unofficial margin of 17 ballots, Springdale voters narrowly approved a 1 percent sales-tax extension Tuesday to pay for a $50 million baseball stadium project in southwest Springdale. It has been widely reported that the Wichita Wranglers will move to Northwest Arkansas if the measure gains approval.
Voters approved three tax proposals Tuesday to help fund the Bryant Fire Department, to build a community center and to assist with upkeep of city parks.
An intruder shot a Pulaski County Reserve Deputy, James Kevin Willoughby, as he answered the door of his Atkins residence. The victim told police that he did not recognize the shooter form his work in Pulaski County. Police have a suspect in custody. Willoughby is being treated in a Russellville hospital.
Billy James "Harley" Smith of Lafe has been arrested by authorities in a double killing in Paragould over the weekend -- slayings allegedly sparked by a dispute over a man's ring.
The Conway City Council has added six officers and four dispatchers to the Police Department after being warned the city must be diligent due to increased crime problems in nearby Little Rock. “With the trouble that’s gone on down the road, we can’t get behind,” cautioned Mayor Tab Townsell, in reference to the 35 homicides in Little Rock this year.
Little Rock businessman Melvyn Bell died of cancer Saturday at Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock at the age of 68. Bell, a Fort Smith native, formed the now defunct Environmental Systems Co., or ENSCO, a hazardous waste incineration company, in the 1970s. He created numerous businesses including Magic Springs amusement park and the former Shrimp Oysters and Beer restaurant in the capitol city.
AT&T must wait at least another week to get permission to launch its TV service in Little Rock after the city’s Board of Directors rejected fast-track approval Tuesday night. The cable industry argues the proposed deal between Little Rock and AT&T would give the phone company an unfair edge as it tries to compete for cable customers.
Dale Hampton of Fort Smith has been named National Cluck-Off champion for the eighth consecutive year at Wayne Chicken Days in Wayne, Nebraska. For his act this year, Hampton scratched, pecked and clucked before laying a spring-loaded egg the size of a small watermelon.
Coach Ron Crawford told Pat Lynch, in an Arkansas Priority Radio Network interview, that he expects patrons of the Altheimer school district to file a federal lawsuit to halt the merger with Dollarway which was recently approved by the State Board of Education. Crawford leads a parents group fighting to maintain the Paron schools.
By an unofficial margin of 17 ballots, Springdale voters narrowly approved a 1 percent sales-tax extension Tuesday to pay for a $50 million baseball stadium project in southwest Springdale. It has been widely reported that the Wichita Wranglers will move to Northwest Arkansas if the measure gains approval.
Voters approved three tax proposals Tuesday to help fund the Bryant Fire Department, to build a community center and to assist with upkeep of city parks.
An intruder shot a Pulaski County Reserve Deputy, James Kevin Willoughby, as he answered the door of his Atkins residence. The victim told police that he did not recognize the shooter form his work in Pulaski County. Police have a suspect in custody. Willoughby is being treated in a Russellville hospital.
Billy James "Harley" Smith of Lafe has been arrested by authorities in a double killing in Paragould over the weekend -- slayings allegedly sparked by a dispute over a man's ring.
The Conway City Council has added six officers and four dispatchers to the Police Department after being warned the city must be diligent due to increased crime problems in nearby Little Rock. “With the trouble that’s gone on down the road, we can’t get behind,” cautioned Mayor Tab Townsell, in reference to the 35 homicides in Little Rock this year.
Little Rock businessman Melvyn Bell died of cancer Saturday at Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock at the age of 68. Bell, a Fort Smith native, formed the now defunct Environmental Systems Co., or ENSCO, a hazardous waste incineration company, in the 1970s. He created numerous businesses including Magic Springs amusement park and the former Shrimp Oysters and Beer restaurant in the capitol city.
AT&T must wait at least another week to get permission to launch its TV service in Little Rock after the city’s Board of Directors rejected fast-track approval Tuesday night. The cable industry argues the proposed deal between Little Rock and AT&T would give the phone company an unfair edge as it tries to compete for cable customers.
Dale Hampton of Fort Smith has been named National Cluck-Off champion for the eighth consecutive year at Wayne Chicken Days in Wayne, Nebraska. For his act this year, Hampton scratched, pecked and clucked before laying a spring-loaded egg the size of a small watermelon.
