Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Hump-day horrors
Gas prices continue to drop around Arkansas, and Russellville had some of the lowest prices in the state. A Web site which logs the cheapest and the most expensive locations to buy gasoline in the state showed the Flying J, a struck stop that includes a service station, convenience store and restaurants on Interstate 40 in Russellville, with the lowest priced gas at $2.22 a gallon.
State officials suggested ways to curb non-payment of child support, including a grant program to provide prosecutors with more resources to handle the caseload and a freeze on property transfers by deadbeat parents, during a joint committee meeting Tuesday.
State Appeals Court Judge Wendell L. Griffen on Tuesday asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to force the state body that investigates judicial misconduct to allow the public to attend a preliminary hearing into his public statements.
For the third time in a decade, Pulaski County voters rejected a sales tax aimed at creating more jail space and stopping the release of nonviolent offenders before they see the inside of a cell.
Fayetteville voters approved increasing the sales tax and issuing $110 million in bonds Tuesday. Fayetteville residents overwhelmingly approved four ballot questions, allowing the city to fund ongoing improvement of its wastewater treatment plant, 13 road projects and expansion of the city's trail system.
The Jackson County jail in Newport is dangerously overcrowded. Sheriff David Lucas told the Quorum Court that the jail, which was built to hold 27 prisoners, housed 48 last weekend. He also noted that there was a fight a few weeks ago in which a prisoner suffered a broken jaw.
The Saline County sheriff apologized Tuesday for his agency’s sale of confiscated firearms to a Little Rock man in March 2004 and welcomed an “independent investigation into this matter.” The sheriff ’s office sold 108 weapons for $3,765 to John Norrell despite court orders that the guns be destroyed, unless retained for lawful use.
Chuck Peebles has been arraigned in Searcy District Court on charges of first-degree murder in the death of Ronnie Kissinger. Peebles, who has bone cancer and is confined to a wheelchair. Claims Kissinger was shot in self-defense after diving at Peebles.
Donald “Jerome” Jolly, who initially fought 23 counts of animal cruelty and felony dog-fighting charges filed against him July 14, pleaded guilty Monday, a day before his trial was to begin.
A Stuttgart Junior High School student is alleging that she was raped last Wednesday by a Stuttgart Senior High School student during school hours. The state police is conducting an investigation.
Former mail carrier Judy Christine Branch has pleaded guilty to one count of theft of U.S. mail. at a hearing Monday in U.S. District Court in Fort Smith. Postal inspectors discovered that she was stealing mail from a man on her route who was receiving donation after being burned out of his home. Branch could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and/or fined up to $250,000.
Bolivar County law enforcement officers, along with Mississippi state officials, continue the search for a pair of state prisoners who escaped from the county jail Monday afternoon.
Several groups of Arkansas and Mississippi residents want to have a four-lane corridor built from Batesville, Miss., to Brinkley Ark. A new four-lane bridge at Helena would be involved. The Delta Regional Authority, The Delta Bridge Project and the Memphis Regional Economic Council have initiated a petition and resolution to be presented to Congress requesting the appropriation of the necessary funding for this multi-million dollar project.
Warren A. Stephens has received final regulatory approval for his sole ownership of Stephens Inc. and all related financial companies, he announced in a news release Tuesday. The 49-year-old Stephens announced in May that he was purchasing 100 percent of the stock from his cousins, Witt Stephens Jr. and Elizabeth Stephens Campbell. The deal closed late last week.
Arkansas State Fair officials hope to make this year’s event more accessible for visitors. All livestock trailers will be parked at an off-site lot to make more room for fairgoers. Gate 7 on Schiller Street, one of the entrances to the fair grounds, will get a facelift and more lighting. Fair visitors also will be able to pay, enter and exit at gate 11, farther down Schiller Street, to speed up the flow of traffic.
State officials suggested ways to curb non-payment of child support, including a grant program to provide prosecutors with more resources to handle the caseload and a freeze on property transfers by deadbeat parents, during a joint committee meeting Tuesday.
State Appeals Court Judge Wendell L. Griffen on Tuesday asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to force the state body that investigates judicial misconduct to allow the public to attend a preliminary hearing into his public statements.
For the third time in a decade, Pulaski County voters rejected a sales tax aimed at creating more jail space and stopping the release of nonviolent offenders before they see the inside of a cell.
Fayetteville voters approved increasing the sales tax and issuing $110 million in bonds Tuesday. Fayetteville residents overwhelmingly approved four ballot questions, allowing the city to fund ongoing improvement of its wastewater treatment plant, 13 road projects and expansion of the city's trail system.
The Jackson County jail in Newport is dangerously overcrowded. Sheriff David Lucas told the Quorum Court that the jail, which was built to hold 27 prisoners, housed 48 last weekend. He also noted that there was a fight a few weeks ago in which a prisoner suffered a broken jaw.
The Saline County sheriff apologized Tuesday for his agency’s sale of confiscated firearms to a Little Rock man in March 2004 and welcomed an “independent investigation into this matter.” The sheriff ’s office sold 108 weapons for $3,765 to John Norrell despite court orders that the guns be destroyed, unless retained for lawful use.
Chuck Peebles has been arraigned in Searcy District Court on charges of first-degree murder in the death of Ronnie Kissinger. Peebles, who has bone cancer and is confined to a wheelchair. Claims Kissinger was shot in self-defense after diving at Peebles.
Donald “Jerome” Jolly, who initially fought 23 counts of animal cruelty and felony dog-fighting charges filed against him July 14, pleaded guilty Monday, a day before his trial was to begin.
A Stuttgart Junior High School student is alleging that she was raped last Wednesday by a Stuttgart Senior High School student during school hours. The state police is conducting an investigation.
Former mail carrier Judy Christine Branch has pleaded guilty to one count of theft of U.S. mail. at a hearing Monday in U.S. District Court in Fort Smith. Postal inspectors discovered that she was stealing mail from a man on her route who was receiving donation after being burned out of his home. Branch could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and/or fined up to $250,000.
Bolivar County law enforcement officers, along with Mississippi state officials, continue the search for a pair of state prisoners who escaped from the county jail Monday afternoon.
Several groups of Arkansas and Mississippi residents want to have a four-lane corridor built from Batesville, Miss., to Brinkley Ark. A new four-lane bridge at Helena would be involved. The Delta Regional Authority, The Delta Bridge Project and the Memphis Regional Economic Council have initiated a petition and resolution to be presented to Congress requesting the appropriation of the necessary funding for this multi-million dollar project.
Warren A. Stephens has received final regulatory approval for his sole ownership of Stephens Inc. and all related financial companies, he announced in a news release Tuesday. The 49-year-old Stephens announced in May that he was purchasing 100 percent of the stock from his cousins, Witt Stephens Jr. and Elizabeth Stephens Campbell. The deal closed late last week.
Arkansas State Fair officials hope to make this year’s event more accessible for visitors. All livestock trailers will be parked at an off-site lot to make more room for fairgoers. Gate 7 on Schiller Street, one of the entrances to the fair grounds, will get a facelift and more lighting. Fair visitors also will be able to pay, enter and exit at gate 11, farther down Schiller Street, to speed up the flow of traffic.
