Thursday, June 07, 2007
Thursday summary
The state Court of Appeals has tossed a Benton County couple’s divorce, finding the wife did not prove that her husband made her life so miserable she couldn’t live with him any longer. In the decision written by Judge Robert J. Gladwin, the court noted that in Arkansas “mere incompatibility is not grounds for divorce.” It found that Erin Dee was required to prove Paul Dee treated her poorly.
The state Board of Education, following a legislative directive, is poised to weaken Arkansas schools' anti-obesity programs that were put in place during the administration of Gov. Mike Huckabee as he lost 105 pounds. Public hearings will begin next week after the Legislature directed that Arkansas reduce the number of hours that students must spend in physical education classes.
A majority of school officials were unresponsive when questioned about the rights of students to transfer out of poorly performing schools under provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, according to a report from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
A lawsuit filed by the Forrest City Advertising and Promotion Commission against Forrest City has been transferred to federal court. That move comes on the heels of an Arkansas State Attorney General’s opinion concerning who can and cannot serve on the A and P based on residency.
A libertarian civil defense group gave Arkansas an "F" for its eminent domain law, a grade that a spokesman for Gov. Mike Beebe said Wednesday was undeserved. The Arlington, Va.-based Institute for Justice issued a 50-state report card assigning failing grades to Arkansas and nine other states that, according to the institute, have not taken adequate steps to protect property owners from eminent domain abuses.
Arkansas may soon have difficulty finding in-home care providers if gas continues to cost $3 or more per gallon, Charles McGrew, deputy director and chief operating officer of the state Division of Health. told lawmakers. Personal care aides, who are hired under contracts and are not considered employees of the state, are reimbursed 28 cents per mile by the state Department of Health and Human Services.
A controversial ordinance that abolished the Pine Bluff Civil Service Commission was declared “null, void and of no effect” by a Jefferson County circuit judge.
Pulaski County is hiring an auditor to comb 911 revenue in response to the arrest of its former comptroller who was fired from his state job Wednesday.
A Forrest City motorist and a passenger in the car are recovering from injuries received when rocks fell on the windshield and hood from a railroad over pass. Traffic has been detoured around the Union Pacific trestle on West Broadway while repairs were completed.
Fort Smith residents will begin paying an additional $3.53 each month for sanitation services beginning in July. By a 5-2 vote the Fort Smith Board of Directors approved a sanitation rate increase, the first since 2003.
Law enforcement agencies in Arkansas are looking for Kristopher Carson who is suspected in the abduction his 2 year-old son, Carson Parker, early this (Thursday) morning. Paragould police found the boy's mother, Tiffany Parker, dead in the living room of her residence between 10 and 11 p.m. Wednesday. Police have not stated how the women died.
LaKeela Webb will spend jail for leaving her infant son home alone all night two years ago while she partied at a club. Jayce Burks, was dead when Webb returned 15 hours after she placed him in a crib littered with toys, clothes and plastic bags. Webb got one year each for negligent homicide and endangering a child.
Terrance Vaughn, the parole absconder suspected of driving drunk when he caused a double fatality accident, that injured three other passengers, south of Little Rock in May, had his parole revoked. Vaughn has not yet been charged in regard to the accident.
Several residential break-ins and numerous thefts that occurred during the past few weeks in the Poplar Grove and Marvell areas were cleared up with the arrest of an Elaine man. James Scaife of Elaine is charged with multiple counts of theft by receiving, one count of possession of firearms, possession of marijuana, possession of Hydro-Codone/Lorcet and possession of drug paraphernalia. He also faces one count of delivery of a controlled substance.
An anonymous tip led investigators to a trailer in Jay, Oklahoma loaded with thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise stolen from Benton County and neighboring Oklahoma counties. Brian Dugger is wanted for questioning regarding several theft cases.
United Airlines will add Little Rock’s first nonstop flight to Washington, D.C., and two more flights to Denver starting in September.
Acxiom Corp., which announced early this year that it was closing its operations in Spain, faces “a number of actions” from that country’s Data Protection Authority, according to the data broker’s annual report.
Richard “Dick” Woit of Chicago, who still holds a few Arkansas State University football records more than five decades after the end of his career, is dead. He became the first Indian to earn first-team All-America status when honored by the Associated Press in 1953.
The state Board of Education, following a legislative directive, is poised to weaken Arkansas schools' anti-obesity programs that were put in place during the administration of Gov. Mike Huckabee as he lost 105 pounds. Public hearings will begin next week after the Legislature directed that Arkansas reduce the number of hours that students must spend in physical education classes.
A majority of school officials were unresponsive when questioned about the rights of students to transfer out of poorly performing schools under provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, according to a report from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
A lawsuit filed by the Forrest City Advertising and Promotion Commission against Forrest City has been transferred to federal court. That move comes on the heels of an Arkansas State Attorney General’s opinion concerning who can and cannot serve on the A and P based on residency.
A libertarian civil defense group gave Arkansas an "F" for its eminent domain law, a grade that a spokesman for Gov. Mike Beebe said Wednesday was undeserved. The Arlington, Va.-based Institute for Justice issued a 50-state report card assigning failing grades to Arkansas and nine other states that, according to the institute, have not taken adequate steps to protect property owners from eminent domain abuses.
Arkansas may soon have difficulty finding in-home care providers if gas continues to cost $3 or more per gallon, Charles McGrew, deputy director and chief operating officer of the state Division of Health. told lawmakers. Personal care aides, who are hired under contracts and are not considered employees of the state, are reimbursed 28 cents per mile by the state Department of Health and Human Services.
A controversial ordinance that abolished the Pine Bluff Civil Service Commission was declared “null, void and of no effect” by a Jefferson County circuit judge.
Pulaski County is hiring an auditor to comb 911 revenue in response to the arrest of its former comptroller who was fired from his state job Wednesday.
A Forrest City motorist and a passenger in the car are recovering from injuries received when rocks fell on the windshield and hood from a railroad over pass. Traffic has been detoured around the Union Pacific trestle on West Broadway while repairs were completed.
Fort Smith residents will begin paying an additional $3.53 each month for sanitation services beginning in July. By a 5-2 vote the Fort Smith Board of Directors approved a sanitation rate increase, the first since 2003.
Law enforcement agencies in Arkansas are looking for Kristopher Carson who is suspected in the abduction his 2 year-old son, Carson Parker, early this (Thursday) morning. Paragould police found the boy's mother, Tiffany Parker, dead in the living room of her residence between 10 and 11 p.m. Wednesday. Police have not stated how the women died.
LaKeela Webb will spend jail for leaving her infant son home alone all night two years ago while she partied at a club. Jayce Burks, was dead when Webb returned 15 hours after she placed him in a crib littered with toys, clothes and plastic bags. Webb got one year each for negligent homicide and endangering a child.
Terrance Vaughn, the parole absconder suspected of driving drunk when he caused a double fatality accident, that injured three other passengers, south of Little Rock in May, had his parole revoked. Vaughn has not yet been charged in regard to the accident.
Several residential break-ins and numerous thefts that occurred during the past few weeks in the Poplar Grove and Marvell areas were cleared up with the arrest of an Elaine man. James Scaife of Elaine is charged with multiple counts of theft by receiving, one count of possession of firearms, possession of marijuana, possession of Hydro-Codone/Lorcet and possession of drug paraphernalia. He also faces one count of delivery of a controlled substance.
An anonymous tip led investigators to a trailer in Jay, Oklahoma loaded with thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise stolen from Benton County and neighboring Oklahoma counties. Brian Dugger is wanted for questioning regarding several theft cases.
United Airlines will add Little Rock’s first nonstop flight to Washington, D.C., and two more flights to Denver starting in September.
Acxiom Corp., which announced early this year that it was closing its operations in Spain, faces “a number of actions” from that country’s Data Protection Authority, according to the data broker’s annual report.
Richard “Dick” Woit of Chicago, who still holds a few Arkansas State University football records more than five decades after the end of his career, is dead. He became the first Indian to earn first-team All-America status when honored by the Associated Press in 1953.
