searcy super turnover

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Vol. 156, No. 155©2010 The Daily Citizen

“ ”Life doesn't imitate

art, it imitatesbad television.

Woody AllenAmerican comedian, 1935

Contact us: 3000 E. Race, Searcy, AR 72143, (Phone) 501-268-8621, (Fax) 501-268-6277

Wednesday, June 30, 2010 50¢

Gun laws likely to be challenGedA Supreme Court decision made Monday will likely strike down several state and local gun laws. — PaGe 3a

Serving Searcy and White County, Ark., since 1854 www.thedailycitizen.com

Gulf south conference to seParate?Six Arkansas schools, including Harding University, are looking to form a new conference. — PaGe 1b

Today is lasT day for school adminisTraTors

Harding cancels fireworks displayBy luke [email protected]

Harding University’s large-scale Independence Day fireworks demonstration will not take place this year, according to public rela-tions director David Crouch.

“I just got the word of the deci-

sion last Friday,” Crouch said.Reasons for the decision are

financially based. “We take care of all of the

arrangements and a hefty por-tion of the bill, then we ask local businesses to help, and they have been,” Crouch said. “But prices

went up significantly this year. We couldn’t find the support and couldn’t absorb all of the cost our-selves.”

The show typically costs thou-sands of dollars and often features extra attractions like carnivals, bike parades and craft fairs.

Harding has been sponsoring the event for the past several years and it attracted at least 5,000 visi-tors annually.

The University said that if enough community support can be garnered, they may be able to hold a firework show next year.

Retiring Searcy assistant superintendent Earl Walton talks to the district’s new Instructional Technical Specialist Patty Kitts Tuesday. Walton, Superintendent Tony Wood and assistant superintendent Calvin Estes are all retiring today. Warren Watkins/[email protected]

Leadership team sees complete turnoverBy Warren [email protected]

Today is the last day for the top three administrators at the Searcy School District and two of their replacements

have already been named.Superintendent Tony Wood announced his

retirement first, sparking a months-long search lead by McPherson & Jacobsen Executive Recruitment and Development, a nationally-known consulting firm, and involving 16 of applicants. Wood had led the district since 1992.

On April 5, Diane Barrett of West Fork was selected by the Searcy school board as the new superintendent from a field of three finalists in a special board meeting. The board voted to increase the superintendent’s salary to $150,000 a year upon Barrett’s arrival.

With about 4,000 students, the Searcy

School District has Searcy High School educat-ing grades nine through 12, Ahlf Junior High School grades seven and eight, Southwest Middle School grades five and six and the three elementary schools, kindergarten through fourth grade. A new fourth-grade wing is under construction at Southwest, leading to a change to K-3 for the elementary schools in the 2011-2012 school year.

Also retiring is Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Earl Walton, 64, who will be replaced by Dr. Sheena

Williamson, currently the principal of Beebe High School. Williamson was hired by the board May 20.

Walton spent 39 years in education. Born in Memphis, Walton graduated Whitehaven High School in 1964 but his college career at Mississippi State University was interrupted by a draft notice, prompting his enlistment in the U.S. Marine Corps, in which he served a year of active duty and six years in the reserves. Walton returned to his hometown and graduated from Memphis State University (now University of Memphis) in 1970 and began teaching in an inner city junior high school. After five years teaching, Walton spent a year as a roofer, then returned to teaching at Paragould, where he taught in the middle school and coached football and basketball. From there Walton moved to Newport where

MissinG Man Name: Eugene YoungReported missing: Since June 23Body found: June 26

searcy school district leadershiPOut with the old (retiring):n Tony Wood, superintendentn Earl Walton, asst. superintendentn Calvin Estes, asst. superintendent

missing la. man found dead

By Warren [email protected]

A man missing in Louisiana has been found dead 270 miles north in Arkansas.

On Saturday, an officer with the Arkansas Game and Fish did a check on a vehicle parked near Bradford. The vehicle was a 1996 red Ford Ranger with a small single axle trailer attached to the bumper hitch. When the offi-cer ran a check on the vehicle license plate it returned as a missing person hit out of Delhi, La.

The driver of the vehicle, Eugene Young, was con-firmed missing and had not been seen by family members since June 23 at 12:30 p.m. It had been reported to law enforcement in Delhi by fam-ily members that Young had been suffering from demen-tia.

The officer requested assistance from the White County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies arrived at the loca-tion of the truck and searched the area for several hours. Due to darkness and the extreme terrain in the area, it was determined it would be better to begin the search again at first light. Deputies arrived the next morning to resume the search. A search party was formed and a search was conducted and at approximately 7:55 a.m. Detectives with the White County Sheriff’s Department, located Young’s body about a half-mile north of where his truck had been found.

Young’s body was turned over to White County Coroner David Powell and was then sent to the state crime lab.

No foul play is suspected, according to White County

officials find body in White county

CONTiNuED ON PAgE 2A

Burglar nabbed red-handedBy Warren [email protected]

Quick thinking by a local citizen and a timely response by police officers resulted in the capture of a man while committing a burglary, police say.

After a brief strug-gle, Bernal Johnson, 36, of Searcy was arrested for commercial bur-glary at 5:32 a.m. Monday by two Searcy police officers. A passerby had seen Johnson breaking into Edward Jones Investments at 1315 E. Race

and called 911, police said. Sergeant Steve Hacker and

Officer Lynn Smith respond-ed to a burglary in progress and arrived while Johnson was still inside the building. The two entered the building through the broken window and located Johnson, who then ran towards the officers, according to police. Johnson was taken to the White County Law Enforcement Center and held on a $20,000 bond.

Other burglaries have been reported in the same neighbor-hood with the same method of operation by the burglar or burglars, police say.

At 8:37 a.m. Friday, the Searcy Police Department

responded to Modern Woodman of America, 500 W. Race, regarding a com-mercial burglary. Complainant Mickey Gentry reported one

busted burGlar Charged: Bernal Johnson, 36Caught by:n Sgt. Steve Hackern Officer Lynn Smith

smitHHackerJoHnson



high rotary honor

U.W. Mullins, outgoing Searcy Rotary Club president, was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship by Irene Gray, executive secretary, during a club meeting at the Searcy Country Club Tuesday afternoon. The fellowship is the highest honor given by Rotary, Gray said. Jacob Brower/[email protected]

A • Wednesday, June 30, 2010 The Daily Citizen

From Page one

New Rotary officers

The Daily Citizen corrects factual errors promptly and courteously. If you have a correction or clarification, please call Editor Jacob Brower at (501) 268-8621 or e-mail him at [email protected].

CorreCtions

Early Deadline ScheduleEDITION

Wednesday - 6/30

Thursday - 7/1

Friday - 7/2

Saturday - 7/3

Sunday - 7/4

Shoppers - 7/7

Tuesday - 7/6

Wednesday - 7/7

DEADLINE

Noon - Mon. 6/28

Noon - Mon. 6/28

Noon - Tue. 6/29

Noon - Wed. 6/30Noon - Wed. 6/30Noon - Wed. 6/30

Noon - Thur. 7/1

Noon - Fri. 7/2The Daily Citizen offices will be closed

on Monday, July 5 in observanceof Independence Day.

Several Rotarians were installed as officers during a club meeting at the Searcy Country Club Tuesday afternoon. Pictured, l-r: Tyonia Beard, director; Charles Green, treasurer; Larry Nokes, president-elect; Irene Gray, executive sec-retary; John Baker, director and Kirk Manor, director. Not pictured: Paul Ford, president; Winston Collier, secretary; and Brenda Engle and Teresa Holden, board members. Jacob Brower/[email protected]

Beebe streets patched,

not pavedBy Theresa KomorSpecial to the Daily Citizen

BEEBE — During the first two quarters of 2010 the city received roughly half the amount of money in county sales tax and turn-back revenue, a drop in income that puts a strain on the ability of the city to maintain its streets.

According to Mayor Mike Robertson, during last year the county sale and use tax revenue income averaged $70,000 per month. For the first half of this year, that amount dropped to $35,000.

“This left us with about enough to pay salaries for our road crew, and that's about it,” said Robertson. “Until sales tax revenues pick up, we can only do patch and repairs. There will be no street over-lays.”

With the revenue decrease, positions that have come open have been left open. Several part time police officers have left over the past few months.

However, the city is not in the red. Robertson said that there are still excess revenues for a cushion, and that the budget is closely monitored. Last month, the county sales tax revenue jumped back up to $72,000, but it's too soon to tell if it

will remain at that level.City clerk/treasurer Carol

Westergren said that the rates for Municipal Health Benefit Insurance are going up. Family coverage is going up to $819 from $748 a month, and individual up to $369 from $335.50. For those hired after 2005, the city pays the coverage for each employee and if an employee requests family coverage, the differ-ence in rates between the two plans is deducted from their pay.

“Revenues may be going back up, but it's going right back out,” Westergren said. “We may need to think about a cap.”

In other city council busi-ness, Robertson requested the go-ahead to form a parks commission to oversee the operations, maintenance, schedule and supervision of all city parks.

The council passed the final ordinances for the employee paid holiday sched-ule, prohibiting the sale of drug paraphernalia and prohibiting the sale of K-2 within the city limits. The resolution to extend the fran-chise contract with Charter Communications for one year and the resolution to accept the final 2009 budget were also passed.

The Independence Day celebration on July 3 with begin at 7:30 p.m. with entertainment and fireworks around 9 p.m.

The next city council meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on July 26.

Drop in revenue strains budget

RobeRtson

Found: Man found deadConTInuED from PagE 1a

nabbed: Police officers catch burglar red-handedConTInuED from PagE 1a

school: Today is last day for several administratorsConTInuED from PagE 1a

he was a junior high and high school principal for three years, then moved to the Arkansas Department of Education for three years. Walton served as junior high principal at Beebe for three years, then assistant superintendent there, before beginning his 18-year stint as assistant superintendent in Searcy.

Assistant Superintendent for Support Services Calvin Estes, 60, also retires after today, and his replacement has yet to be decided.

With 40 years in edu-cation, Estes’ had a career that began as a boys bas-

ketball coach Purdy, Mo., and included work as a girls basketball coach in McRae and Rose Bud before mov-ing into administration as a principal and superintendent at McRae. Estes joined the Searcy administrative team in 1994.

A 1967 graduate of McRae High School, Estes earned a bachelor’s in educa-tion degree from Arkansas State University in 1971.

Walton said, although the modern era of accountability in education has been very good, a challenge for school districts today is finding a way to assess students who

are not challenged enough to require special education but who are not in the top percentiles in learning pro-ficiency.

“It’s an all-or-nothing thing,” Walton said. “There needs to be a third ladder in the testing.”

The standard in the No Child Left Behind emphasis on mastery of content has risen to about 80 percent, Walton noted, yet about 15

to 25 percent of students fall into that category in the Searcy district.

Chief Deputy Jeremy Clark. The initial complaint was

made to the Delhi Police Department and the case was then turned over to the Richland Parish Sheriff’s Office in Rayville, La.

Chief Deputy Terry Thompson was asked if Young had been to Bradford before.

“Not to our knowledge,” Thompson said “We haven’t ascertained that. We don’t think he had been. I think he just possibly got on the road-way and was disoriented and kept driving.”

Thompson said Young possibly died of exposure and dehydration that lead to a heart attack. stolen from the busi-

ness. At 8:30 p.m. Monday, the

Searcy Police Department responded to Riley Realty, 1302 E. Race on a report of

a burglary. The complainant told

officers that between 5:30

p.m. Friday and the time of the call someone had bro-ken into the business.

Utah family of inmate killed files suitBy Jennifer DobnerThe Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY — The parents of a Utah inmate killed in a southern Arkansas van rollover in 2008 have filed a wrongful death law-suit against a private com-pany that contracts with law enforcement to transport prisoners across the country.

Court papers filed in Salt Lake City's U.S. District Court Friday claimed U.S. Extradition Services of Stockton, Calif., was neg-ligent in the June 27, 2008,

accident that killed Shawn Robert Talbot. The lawsuit filed by Robert and Linda Talbot contended the driver fell asleep at the wheel before the van drifted into oncom-ing traffic on U.S. 167.

Another employee grabbed the wheel of the van and overcorrected. The van then hit a culvert and went airborne before rolling twice and coming to a stop, an Arkansas State Police officer told a newspaper at the time.

Court papers said Talbot, 29, was handcuffed and

shackled, but not wearing a seat belt. He died at the scene.

Seven inmates and two guards were in the van, which was headed to Little Rock, the state police said. One other inmate was killed, and four were injured.

A telephone message left at U.S. Extradition's corpo-rate office was not immedi-ately returned Tuesday.

David Morgan, a Utah attorney for Talbot's parents, told The Associated Press he believes U.S. Extradition

employees were not properly trained.

The lawsuit seeks unspec-ified damages. Named as defendants in the lawsuit are company President and Operations Director Gordon Brooks and employee Gregory Reed.

A company Web site said U.S. Extradition has offices nationwide, includ-ing Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas.

Son of Ashdown mayor drowns in lake The Associated Press

ASHDOWN — Authorities in Little River County say the son of Ashdown's mayor has drowned in a southeastern Oklahoma lake.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says

24-year-old Aaron Kyle Reed drowned Sunday in the Mountain Fork River near Broken Bow. Little River County Sheriff Danny Russell confirms Reed is the son of Ashdown Mayor Wayne Reed.

An OHP report says Aaron Reed was alone in a canoe when he became separated from the group he was canoe-ing with. His body was found in 7 feet of water near the U.S. Highway 70 bridge.


It was the first day on the job for new Searcy School Superintendent Diane Barrett Thursday, and one word summed up her first morning: Busy.

Barrett, who replaced retired superintendent Tony Wood, was for-merly the superintendent of the West

Fork School District and has been meeting with Wood in the days lead-ing up to the transition.

“I had people coming in, not

only staff members but people from the business community, welcom-ing me,” Barrett said. “I met with my assistant superintendent, Dr. Williamson, and we tried to do a little bit of planning.”

Also on her first day on the job, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Sheena Williamson replaced retired assistant superintendent Earl Walton and was formerly the principal of Beebe High School.

“I also attended a construc-tion meeting at Southwest Middle

School,” Barrett said.The new fourth-grade wing will

be under construction Barrett’s entire first year of service in Searcy and is due to open for the 2011-2012 school year. Elementary schools in the district will become K-3 and Southwest will begin serving grades 4-6, sharing a cafeteria.

Barrett was asked what her first challenge would be and what she was looking forward to the most.

“Just trying to become famil-iar with the inner workings of the

I N D E XNATION & STATE, 3A OPINIONS, 4A

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“ ”Music washes away from

the soul the dust of everyday life. Berthold AuerBAchGerman author, 1812-1882


Friday, July 2, 2010 50¢

Firm issues statement on burglaryThe Edward Jones office in Searcy issued a statement concerning a burglary earlier this week. — Page 2a


searcy legion baseball actionThe Crain Automotive team completed a 2- game sweep against Blytheville in Searcy. — Page 1b

Superintendent has busy first day

‘There'S Been a loT of waTer under The Bridge’

CoNTiNuED oN PaGE 2a

Diane barrett Position: New Searcy School District SuperintendentAge: 56Previous position: Superintendent, West Fork School District uofa at Monticello graduate: 1976 and 1993

Bubbles Choate pets one of his longhorn cattle on his ranch on the banks of the Little Red River. Choate is known for his catfish house, which has been closed since the early 1990s. Warren Watkins/[email protected]

Bubbles Choate still entertains with fish — and alligator — tales


He’s one of White County’s most colorful charac-ters, and today Robert

“Bubbles” Choate spends his days amidst a thousand memories on the bank of the Little Red River near Searcy.

Choate, 73, lives just outside of Searcy not far from his sister, Melba, and their brother, Lloyd “Mokey” Choate.

“There’s been a lot of water under the bridge,” Bubbles said.

Perhaps best known for Bubbles Choate’s Catfish and Cajun Restaurant, Bubbles has been many things in his life, including a carnival worker, a painter of radio towers, a shrimp boat owner, a Longhorn cattle rancher and an antique car trader. The restaurant building, dilapi-dated and overgrown, still stands near the Highway 367 bridge over the river.

“My parents were carnival owners, and settled in Judsonia,” Bubbles said.

Perhaps for the first time, Bubbles admitted to a journalist the origin of his name, given to him by Melba after an incident.

“We lived in little trailers,” Bubbles said. “I bought a whole case of bubble gum and, about a month later, the ants carried us all off, trailer and all.”

Bubbles graduated from Judsonia High School in 1952 and, not choosing a carnival career, began painting tall radio towers, an endeavor that took him all over the country and even to Cuba.

In 1960 a wreck in a brand-new Cadillac — the accelerator stuck under the floormat — near

the “Y” where Race Street crosses Hwy. 367, broke every bone in Bubbles body, Mokey said, and his brother’s survival was near miraculous.

Then in 1967, Bubbles married his wife, Brenda, bought a former truck stop that had fronted a beer joint years before and opened a fish market, buying pond-raised catfish and keeping the stock fresh with a system of pipes and tanks fed from the Little Red River only yards away.

The next year, according to Bubbles, he “invented” the catfish buffet, charging $2.50 for all you can eat, claiming their flavor was enhanced by their short stay in the river water before they were cleaned, rolled in corn meal, fried and placed in heaping platters next

to French fries and hush puppies. Also on the menu was alligator and Cajun specialties. Bubbles was known to hook up a small train to entertain the children from time to time, pulling them around the farm as before and after meals, visitors would make their way back to a pond behind the restau-rant.

“I put the little ones in my ponds,” Bubbles said of the cat-fish.

Before long, Bubbles also had alligators in those ponds, which is yet another Bubbles Choate story.

“They got here from Louisiana in the back of my brand new Cadillac,” Bubbles said. “We brought five alligators from Louisiana in the floorboard.”

animal shelter

sees hard times

animal shelterBald Knob animal ShelterCapacity: 15 dogsCurrent population: 15-20 dogsNeeded: Volunteers, food, toys, donations

By luke [email protected]

BALD KNOB — Although Bald Knob’s animal shelter has seen growth in the past couple years, the fledgling facility still needs help from the surround-ing community so it can treat its dogs with the best care.

Larry White of Bald Knob’s police force is the main han-dler of the shelter. He picks up two to three dogs on a weekly basis. But many residents are not even aware of the shelter. Of the approximately 3,000 residents in Bald Knob, “prob-ably 2,500 don’t know about the shelter,” White said. “I’d like to have a big facility out here, an indoor no-kill shelter. I’d love that.”

White only recently got signs for the facility, which lies on the outskirts of Bald Knob along an old sewage pond. The shelter is designed to hold 15 dogs, and has space outside the kennels for dogs to run around and stretch, as well as a water trough, fans and heat lamps.

July 4 activities planned

By luke [email protected]

The Fourth of July is an important time for families to celebrate their country’s inde-pendence, and White County joins the rest of America in hosting community events.

Specific events in White County towns are as follows:

Searcy: As previously reported, Harding University’s fireworks display is canceled this year due to lack of funds.

Bald Knob: An old-fash-ioned Fourth of July party will be held Saturday at Horton’s Produce Stand start-ing at 7 p.m. with music by The After Hours Band begin-ning at 6 p.m. Fireworks will begin after dark; participants

Fireworks showsn Bald Knob: Saturday, Horton’s Produce Stand, 6 p.m.n Judsonia: Saturday, Friendly acres Park, after darkn Beebe: Saturday, City hall, 7:30 p.m.n Higginson: Sunday, City Park, 6 p.m.

array oF careers Bubbles Choate’s careers included:n Carnival workern Tower paintern Catfish restaurant ownern Shrimp boat ownern Longhorn ranchern antique car trader

Barrett

Construction meeting, search for new assistant on diane Barrett's mind

“If I tell you the truth, my life is dull and I don’t have anything to say to you ... If I

told you the truth you wouldn’t be hanging onto the edge of your seat.”

roBert “BuBBles” choAteSearcy resident


Choate

Bald Knob facility needs donations,

volunteers



A • Friday, June 2, 2010 The Daily Citizen

From Page one

Entertaining: Bubba Choates is still telling talesContinued from Page 1a

the daily Citizen corrects factual errors promptly and courteously. if you have a correction or clarification, please call editor Jacob Brower at (501) 268-8621 or e-mail him at [email protected].

CorreCtions

Investment firm discusses

burglaryThe Daily Citizen

The Edward Jones office in Searcy, the victim of a Monday morning burglary in which a man was caught in the building and charged, issued the following state-ment concerning the inci-dent.

“It is our wish to first reassure our clients and the general public that our staff were not present during the break-in and everyone in our branch were completely safe. Also, all of our records and information on all client files are kept confidentially in an electronic system that can only be accessed through a highly secure and confiden-tial computer system that no one has the ability to access unless they have security clearance through our home office in St. Louis, Mo.”

“In addition, Edward Jones branches across the firm do not hold any cash or securi-ties in their branches. There-fore, this individual would not have been successful in his endeavor of any such petty crime. It is our wish to make a statement that will not give the individual any attention for his bad deci-sions or choices to attempt to violate the rights of our staff, our community, our branch or our firm. Our wishes are

to focus on thanking the individual or individuals that were kind enough to alert the City of Searcy Police Department. Their choice to become involved in stopping this crime saved our firm thousands of dollars in dam-age to our physical office and increased our feeling of safe-ty as we go forward. We will never know who they are to thank them personally.”

“In addition, we would like to thank the immediate response of The Searcy City Police Department for their quick response to the scene and the ability to apprehend the individual while commit-ting the crime. It is comfort-ing to be reassured by these acts of courage that we live in a city that is being pro-tected 24 hours per day and seven days per week. We can not express enough grati-tude to the brave citizen(s) of Searcy and our brave police department for their efforts and success of stopping this individual.”

“Our office is ‘business as usual’ and this individual will not get the satisfaction of affecting our daily lives. We feel very blessed that we have the opportunity to con-tinue to serve our clients and our community with a strong and optimistic attitude.”

Putting one of the alligators in the seat of a state trooper’s car, Bubbles had some fun, he said.

“That gator rared back and opened his mouth right on cue,” Bubbles said. “The trooper drew his .45 and was about to shoot and we made him stop. I wasn’t worried about him shooting the gator, I just didn’t want him to shoot a hole in his police car.”

Feeding his flock of ducks one day from a convertible, Bubbles and some friends lead the flying ducks all the way to the White County Courthouse and back, he said.

In the restaurant, Bubbles entertained customers with his stories.

“Like the time I told a group that my plane wouldn’t go in forward gear once so I had to fly to Little Rock back-wards,” Bubbles said.

While filming “White Lightning,” Bubbles said, Burt Reynolds became a fan of his catfish, bringing his crew to Searcy. Bubbles even had some small roles in the film, he claims.

The best-known advertisement for the catfish house was a barn on his property seen easily from Highway 67/167. When state officials ordered the sign removed, Bubbles fought a four-year, $40,000 bat-

tle and won, he said. Today the barn is gone and three crosses stand at the site.

In 1981 Bubbles closed the restaurant and despite a brief reprise of a few years in the early ‘90s it remains closed today.

In a two-story metal building on his ranch are numerous classic cars includ-ing a 1902 Oldsmobile, a Mercedes that he says once belonged to Elvis Presley’s mother, Choate’s “personal” Cadillac stretch limousine.

Pictures of Bubbles with the Beverly Hillbillies and a 15-year-old Winthrop Rockefeller adorn Bubbles’ den and he

points to an electric keyboard, saying it once belonged to Elvis Presley.

“Sometimes I get involved in telling something and they eat it up,” Bubbles said of his story telling. “You know, like when old men used to tell little kids things and get ‘em all wide-eyed.”

Most of all, Bubbles said, his stories are to entertain himself.

“If I tell you the truth, my life is dull and I don’t have anything to say to you,” Bubbles said. “If I told you the truth you wouldn’t be hanging onto the edge of your seat.”

This barn, long since gone, was a landmark between Little Rock and St. Louis, advertising Bubbles Choate’s Farms, which contained his catfish house. The barn was the subject of a four-year, $40,000 legal battle with the state of Arkansas, Choate said. Contributed photo

Bald Knob: Animal shelter in needContinued from Page 1a

Larry White, left, oversees the dogs at Bald Knob’s animal shelter with Tonyia Brady, right. The shelter has grown in the past year, but still is in need of donations to better suit its animals. The shelter current-ly holds 15-20 dogs and one rooster. Luke Jones/[email protected]

The shelter is currently home to 15-20 dogs, and the city ordnance declares that dogs can be held for 10-15 days before being put down. “We try to hold them as long as we can,” White said. “As long as it’s not too full. We’re very good dog lovers.”

White works with Tonyia Brady in taking care of the animals. Brady takes time naming each dog. She recently purchased some stuffed toys for the dogs to play with, but she stressed that donations of new toys are always needed.

The facility is only

designed for dogs, although a rooster recently joined the fray. A snake problem was solved when it turned out the rooster was fighting them off. It eats dog food and helps keep the bugs away, White said.

Brady sees dogs of all kinds pass through the shel-ter.

“We’ve had some pure-breds,” she said. “We get all kinds.” She remembers seeing whippets, golden retrievers and German shep-herds. Between 30-40 of the dogs have gone home with new owners, she said. About

five of the current popula-tion have been spayed or neutered.

But the shelter is still greatly in need of help. White said they always need volun-teers, as well as foster own-ers, food, toys, doghouses and little things like bleach and Pepto-Bismol.

White said donations can be dropped off at Bald Knob’s police department. They can be made anony-mously, but he likes to get the donors’ names in the newspaper. “We’re not ask-ing for much in this little old town,” he said.

School District,” Barrett said, “getting to know the staff and visiting the schools. I’ll be assessing the educa-tional program and seeing it at work.”

One of Barrett’s tasks will be to find a new assistant superintendent for support services, replacing Calvin Estes, who also retired this

week. “I’m assessing the situ-

ation and considering the options,” Barrett said.

Barrett said the transition was smooth and she did not have any urgencies or emer-gencies to consider.

“I’ve come into a school system that has been admin-istered very effectively,”

Barrett said. “The outgoing administration has taken care of business right up to the last moment so I could step into a situation that should make the district operate very smoothly. Mr. Wood has been extremely helpful and tried to bring me up to date on various issues within the district.”

are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.

Judsonia: The Friendly Acres Park will hold a fish-ing derby Saturday for ages four to 12. Registration will begin at 8 a.m.; hot dogs and drinks will be on sale. The Little Red River Band will perform. Fireworks will be held after dark.

Beebe: A Saturday cel-ebration will be held at city hall beginning at 7:30 p.m., featuring music and free food. Fireworks commence at dark.

Higginson: A Community Freedom Celebration will be held Sunday at the Higginson City Park starting at 6 p.m. Look for food, games, music and more, with fireworks beginning at 9 p.m. The event is sponsored by Higginson churches, city hall and the fire department.

City issues fireworks ordinance reminder

For residents of Searcy, the city reminds revelers that it is unlawful to explode any type of fireworks within the city limits.

Mayor Belinda LaForce notes that the law has been in place since 1963.

“I just want people to be mindful of the heat condi-tions and of the dry grass and brush,” she said. “Just as a reminder. Sometimes people do not realize that we have this law in place, and it is a law.” LaForce reminds citizens that failing or simply forgetting to cooperate could land violators with a ticket.

Assistant Fire Chief Doug Baker of Searcy’s fire depart-ment stresses monitoring children, especially making sure they do not hold lit fire-works.

“That’s how children usu-ally end up getting burns,” Baker said. “Always have adult supervision.”

He also cautions fireworks use in general due to the lack of recent rains and extremely dry grass.

Busy: Superintendent shares first day Continued from Page 1a

Shows: Cities plan activities

Continued from Page 1a

CitizenDailyThe

W E A T H E RToday: Mostly sunny. Highs around 100. Southwest winds 5 mph.Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 70s. Southwest winds 5 mph.


“ ”All books are divisible into two classes, the books of the

hour, and the books of all time.John Ruskin

English writer, 1819-1900


Wednesday, august 11, 2010 50¢

Former sen. stevens killed in crashAuthorities say a plane carrying former Sen. Stevens crashed in Alaska, killing the senator. — Page 2a


July sees building fees increase

Officer on list of those arrested on

drug charges

Plans to honor veteran

in works

NATION & STATE, 2A OPINIONS, 4A LIFESTYLES, 5ACALENDAR/OBITUARIES, 6ASPORTS, 1B CLASSIFIEDS, 5B

I N D E X

Chelsey Sherwood poses for photographer Gayle Hunt of Images By Gayle Tuesday in the lobby of the American Heritage Building at Harding University. The photo shoot was in preparation for Sherwood’s wedding, which will be Aug. 28 at the Agora Center in Conway. Warren Watkins/[email protected]

Getting ready for the big day

Wildcats’ QB Back From injurySeth Keese is back to full health after suffering a torn ACL in last season’s final game. — Page 1B

memorial For whom: U.S. Army First Sergeant Retired Nick Bacon Distinction: Awarded Medal of HonorServed: Director, Arkansas Department of Veterans AffairsDied: July 17Plans: Discussion stage


A significant jump in fees col-lected for commercial building permits shows a stable local econ-omy, according to Searcy Code Enforcement Department Director Mike Cleveland.

“We have averaged an income this year for our fees and per-mits $22,000 a month,” Cleveland

said. “Last month, our fees were $30,348.”

Cleveland said that the $22,000 average is substantially more than the average amount collected for commercial building permit fees last year, and that one large permit is not even reflected in the July report, having been collected in August.

“Our commercial work is still going good and we have one permit that’s not on our report for Orr Nissan,” Cleveland said. “It’s going in across from Flash Market on the end of Beebe-Capps Expressway on Taylor Road, near the freeway.”

Cleveland said the residential building permit fees for the last two of months has been slower, but the commercial fees are stay-ing good.

“I do think the residential has

really slowed down in Searcy because some of our subdivisions for smaller homes are about full,” Cleveland said. “There’s a new one about to open up, Sunset Point off of West Arch Street, in the next few weeks. I understand there’s several lots already spoken for, people who want to start houses in there. I think the building industry in Searcy is staying up overall. It seems like when the residential goes down com-mercial goes up, so it offsets. We’ve


ROSE BUD — Former longtime resident Nick Bacon may be memorialized with a monu-ment and/or flagpole if a plan that is just now in the discussion phase is com-pleted.

Alderman Holly Owen brought the idea before the city council at the regular monthly meeting Monday night and was told that while it was an idea many support, state law requires that city funds could not be used for the effort. A citizens’ group


A Kensett police officer is among seven people arrested by the Central Arkansas Drug Task Force ( C A D T F ) , according to police.

W a y n e K e i t h McBride, 35, of Higginson, was arrested Friday at Kensett, for possession of hydrocodo-ne, while McBride was on duty as a Kensett police offi-cer. McBride was incarcerated in the White County Detention Center and held on $15,000 bond. The investigation was in cooperation with the Kensett

Retired educator hired by state department of education


Tony Wood, retired super-intendent of the Searcy School District, has been hired as the dep-uty commissioner of the Arkansas Department of Education.

Wood will report directly to the Commissioner of Education, Dr. Tom W. Kimbrell, who was appointed by Gov. Mike Beebe

in 2009. Wood started work Wednesday after the announcement of his hiring was made Tuesday at the Arkansas Association of

Educational Administrators in Little Rock.

Wood, who announced his retirement in December and whose last day was June 30, began his career in education as a teacher for Beedeville Public Schools from 1973-1976, then spent a year teach-ing in Judsonia before moving up to the principal's position (1977-1983), then the superintendent (1983-1991), in the former Kensett School District. Wood became a deputy superintendent with the

Little Rock School District for a year, then was recruited to Searcy in 1992.

Wood earned his Bachelors of Science Degree from Harding University in 1973 and his Masters Degree, also from Harding, in 1975 before earning his Administrator's Certificate from the University of Arkansas in 1977.

Wood’s new salary will be $142,846.91, according to Julie Thompson, spokeswoman for the department of education.

commercial BuildingAverage: $22,000July: $30,348

Numbers show stable economy, director says

Beebe man charged, other man injured in stabbing incidentThe Daily Citizen

BEEBE — One man was injured and another arrest-ed after a stabbing incident Monday.

Police Chief Wayne Ballew reported that at 3:41 p.m. the Beebe Police Department received a 911 call from Dave’s Core, Inc., at 6184 Highway 367 South in Beebe. The caller advised that a fight was taking place on the property and that a man had been stabbed with a knife.

Investigator Mark Jones responded to the location arriv-ing at 3:44 p.m., police said, and an investigation revealed that an altercation had taken place between two men, one of which had fled the scene. The investigation revealed that Dennis R. Starkey, 37, of Beebe was involved in the fight and that he had been stabbed once in the chest with what witnesses said was a knife, police said.

According to police, Norman G. Newsom, 43, of

Austin Loop Road, Beebe, had fled the scene and was accom-panied by a woman in a green Mitsubishi sedan. Emergency medical personnel responded to the scene to find that Starkey was suffering from a puncture wound to the chest. Additional information was developed and, 65 minutes later, Newsom was taken into custody at his residence without incident by Jones.

Newsom was transported to the Beebe Police Department

where he was processed and charged with battery in the first degree, a felony. Newsom was then transported to the White County Detention Center in Searcy and was held on a $20,000 bond.

Starkey was transported via ambulance to the White County Medical Center in Searcy for emergency treatment of his wound.

Ballew said that the alterca-tion took place regarding a dis-agreement over a vehicle.

tony WoodRetired from Searcy School District: June 30First day at Ark. Department of Education: Aug. 4New salary:$142,846.91 Wood

Tony Wood led Searcy School District

drug arrestsn Wayne Keith McBride, 35, of Higginsonn Rick Garrison, 51, of Bald Knobn Gary Owens, 37, of Searcyn Cory Quattlebaum, 26, of Judsonia n Dixie Brown, 31, of Wynnen Katie Stearns, 30, of Conwayn Justin Ellis, of Augusta

Rose Bud may honor Medal of Honor winner

Bacon

CONTiNUED ON PAGE 3A



McBride

staBBing incidentWhere: 6184 Highway 367 South, BeebeVictim: Dennis R. Starkey, 37, of Beebe Arrested:Norman G. Newsom, 43, of BeebeCharge: Felony battery

searcy super turnover

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