NEWS HEADLINES FOR 1129-14

Two grass fires in Yell County on Friday, kept firefighters with the Plainview and Belleville Fire Departments busy.  Plainview units were dispatched about 1:50 Friday afternoon to a field fire on West 7th street.  Firefighters quickly extenguished the blaze, and units were back in station just after 2 p/m. 

 

Belleville firefighters were responded about 5:47 p/m to a grass fire in the 900 block of Grand Avenue.  Department personnel knocked down the blaze, and extenguished the fire, with units cleared from the scene in about 25-minutes.  The cause of both fires was not readily available.

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     FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) - School officials in small, western Arkansas districts are looking for ways to replace the pending loss of a program that provides food to needy students. The Times Record reports the Arkansas Rice Depot told districts in Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Scott and Sebastian counties that the program providing food for students to take home each weekend will end January 1st.

 

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The National Weather Service says the fire danger is rising in much of eastern Oklahoma and parts of northwestern Arkansas. The weather service in Tulsa says warm temperatures and gusty winds are expected Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The weather service says a strong cold front is expected to move through the area Sunday night and early Monday and may bring light rains.

NEWS HEADLINES FOR 1129-14

Two grass fires in Yell County on Friday, kept firefighters with the Plainview and Belleville Fire Departments busy.  Plainview units were dispatched about 1:50 Friday afternoon to a field fire on West 7th street.  Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, and units were back in station just after 2 p/m. 

 

Belleville firefighters were responded about 5:47 p/m to a grass fire in the 900 block of Grand Avenue.  Department personnel knocked down the blaze, and extinguished the fire, with units cleared from the scene in about 25-minutes.  The cause of both fires was not readily available.

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     FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) - School officials in small, western Arkansas districts are looking for ways to replace the pending loss of a program that provides food to needy students. The Times Record reports the Arkansas Rice Depot told districts in Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Scott and Sebastian counties that the program providing food for students to take home each weekend will end January 1st.

 

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The National Weather Service says the fire danger is rising in much of eastern Oklahoma and parts of northwestern Arkansas. The weather service in Tulsa says warm temperatures and gusty winds are expected Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The weather service says a strong cold front is expected to move through the area Sunday night and early Monday and may bring light rains.

NEWS HEADLINES FOR 1128-14

RUSSELLVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT CREWS WERE DISPATCHED YESTERDAY (THURS.) AFTERNOON TO A RV FIRE IN THE 1600 BLOCK OF SOUTH EL PASO, NEAR SEQUOYAH WAY.  AUTHORITIES UPON THEIR ARRIVAL, FIREFIGHTERS DISCOVERED THE UNIT FULLY ENGULFED IN FLAMES.  ADDING TO THEIR CONCERN, WAS A PROPANE TANK, LOCATED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE BURNING RECREATIONAL VEHICLE.  FIREFIGHTERS QUICKLY CONTAINED THE FIRE, ALTHOUGH IT DESTROYED THE VEHICLE.  NO INJURIES RESULTED, AS A RESULT OF THE BLAZE, AND CAUSE OF THE FIRE HAS NOT BE RELEASED. 

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DARDANELLE RURAL FIRE DEPARTMENT UNITS WERE CALLED ABOUT 2:40 P/M ON THURSDAY, TO A GRASS FIRE ALONG HIGHWAY 155, NEAR ITS INTERSECTION WITH BETHEL ROAD.  AUTHORITIES SAY FIREFIGHTERS KNOCKED DOWN THE BLAZE, WITHIN MINUTES OF THEIR ARRIVAL, BUT, REMAINED ON THE SCENE FOR JUST UNDER AN HOUR, TO MAKE SURE THE FIRE DIDN’T RE-KINDLE.  CAUSE OF THAT BLAZE REMAINS UNDER INVESTIGATION.

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Here is the latest Arkansas news from The Associated Press…

 

     NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - More than 100 Arkansas National Guard soldiers are back home in time for Thanksgiving after a six-month deployment to Afghanistan. The 111 soldiers with the 216th Military Police Company arrived Wednesday. The soldiers landed at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock about 1 p.m. and were bused to Fisher Armory in North Little Rock where they were greeted by hundreds of friends and family.

     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - U.S. Senator-elect Tom Cotton of Arkansas provided the weekly Republican address, a Thanksgiving message that touches on the need for more jobs and the dangers facing America. Cotton - a Republican -said in Thursday's address it is tempting to become consumed with the challenges and to neglect the blessings the U.S. enjoys - including bountiful harvests of food.

     ROLAND, Okla. (AP) - The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says two Arkansans were killed in a single-vehicle crash in eastern Oklahoma. The OHP says 32-year-old Quentin Skiver and 28-year-old Diana Lozano were both dead at the scene of the crash around 3:30 a.m. yesterday near Roland in Sequoyah County. Both victims were from Fort Smith.

     TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) - Roll up the sleeve, hold the arm outside the car window and get a flu shot. The Arkansas Department of Health tells the Texarkana Gazette its Drive-thru Flu Vaccination Clinic this week at Four States Fairgrounds proved popular with an estimated 850 people getting vaccinated - either with a shot or a nasal spray.

NEWS HEADLINES FOR 1126-14

RANDY HORTON IS RUSSELLVILLE NEW MAYOR-ELECT.  FINAL, BUT, UNOFFICIAL VOTE TOTALS GAVE HORTON 2,015 VOTES TO TYRONE WILLIAMSON'S 610, IN YESTERDAY 9TUES.) RUN-OFF ELECTION.  HORTON SPOKE TO A MEDIA CONFERENCE, FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF LAST NIGHT'S TOTALS. THE MAYOR-ELECT SAID THERE WERE JUST TO MANY PEOPLE HE'D LIKE TO THANK, BUT, EXTENDED SPECIAL APPRECIATION TO TWO INDIVIDUALS. OTHER ELECTION TOTALS INCLUDED... IN JOHNSON COUNTY, CLARKSVILLE'S INCUMBANT MAYOR WAS UNSEATED, AS CHALLENGER MARK SIMPSON DEFEATED BILLY HELMS 499-288.  IN THE COAL HILL ALDERMAN'S WARD 3 POSITION 1 RACE, CYNDY STYLES CLAIMS THE VICTORY, AS SHE DEFEATED TERRY MARTIN 37-20.  IN PERRY COUNTY, BY THE SLIMMEST OF MARGINS, BRITT RYLES HAS BEEN UNOFFICIALLY ELECTED AS THE NEW MAYOR FOR THE TOWN OF PERRY. IN TUESDAY'S RUNOFF ELECTION, RYLES EDGED WILLIE BOB SUMMERS, 33-32. SIXTY-FIVE OF THE TOWN'S 154 VOTERS CAST A BALLOT IN THE RUNOFF. THE RESULTS ARE UNOFFICIAL UNTIL THEY'RE CERTIFIED BY THE COUNTY'S ELECTION COMMISSION.

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POPE COUNTY QUORUM COURT BUDGET COMMITTEE WILL SOON RECOMMEND TO THE FULL COURT A COMPLETED 2015 BUDGET, TO INCLUDE A 2-PERCENT/ACROSS THE BOARD COST OF LIVING INCREASE. DURING A CALLED BUDGET SESSION ON TUESDAY, COMMITTEE ALSO VOTED TO KEEP ALL THE PILT FUNDS ALLOCATED TO THE COUNTY BY THE STATE, FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR. THAT RECOMENDATION WAS MADE BY JUSTICE JAMES KUSTURIN. CONSIDERABLE DISCUSSION ON WHETHER TO RECOMEND A 2-PERCENT COST OF LIVING RAISE OR A ONE TIME STIPEND, ALSO INVOLVED THE QUESTION, WHO WOULD QUALIFY? REVIEW OF SOME SALARY SCHEDULE CHANGES BROUGHT UP, WOULD THOSE INDIVIDUALS BEING RECEIVING A MORE SIGNIFICANT RAISE. COMMITTEE MEMBERS FINALLY AGREED THAT AN ACROSS THE BOARD 2-PERCENT INCREASE, FOR FULL TIME EMPLOYEES, WAS THE BEST OPTION.

THE FULL COURT WILL REVIEW THAT PROPOSAL FURTHER DURING THEIR DECEMBER SESSION.

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AUTHORITIES SAY LUCKILY, NO INJURIES OCCURRED, AS A RESULT OF A CAMPER FIRE ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON IN YELL COUNTY.  OLA FIRE DEPARTMENT UNITS WERE DISPATCHED TO A LOCATION ALONG A DIRT ROAD, OFF HIGHWAY 7, NEAR THE COUNTY LINE, ABOUT 5:30 TUESDAY AFTERNOON.  UNITS REMAINED ON SCNE UNTIL APPROXIMATELY 7:30 P/M.  INFORMATION ON THE CAUSE OF THE BLAZE, AND THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE WAS NOT READILY AVAILABLE FROM THE DEPARTMENT.

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BOND WAS ESTABLISHED AT 75-HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A 19-YEAR OLD WHITE MALE, ARRESTED BY RUSSELLVILLE POLICE ON DRUG RELATED CHARGES.  THE SUSPECT, IDENTIFIED AS SHELBY HARRIS, IS BEING HELD OVER FOR A MID-DECEMBER PLEA AND ARRAIGNMENT ON POSSESSION OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE AND POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHENALIA CHARGES.

 

A 5-THOUSAND DOLLAR BOND WAS ALSO SET FOR A 20-YEAR OLD WHITE FEMALE SUSPECT, TAKEN INTO CUSTODY BY RUSSELLVILLE POLICE ON DRUG RELATED CHARGES.  THAT SUSPECT, IDENTIFIED AS KILA ANDRUS, ALSO HAS A DECEMBER COURT DATE IN POPE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT.

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NEWS HEADLINES FOR 1125-14

ITS RUN-OFF ELECTION DAY IN POPE AND JOHNSON COUNTY, THIS IN REFERENCE TO TWO LOCAL MAYORIAL RACES.  IN RUSSELLVILLE, RANDY HORTON WILL FACE CHALLENGER TYRONE WILLIAMSON, WHILE IN CLARKSVILLE, INCUMBANT BILLY HELMS WILL MEET CHALLENGER MARK SIMPSON. WITH THE END OF EARLY VOTING ON MONDAY, A TOTAL OF 1828 BALLOTS HAD BEEN CAST AT POPE COUNTY'S ELECTION COMMISSION HEADQUARTERS.  IN JOHNSON COUNTY, 395 EARLY VOTES HAD BEEN RECORDED, AS OF LATE IN THE DAY AT THE JOHNSON COUNTY COURTHOUSE.  POLLS WILL BE OPEN FROM 7:30 TO 7:30 ON ELECTION DAY.

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CANDIDATES INTERESTED IN FILING FOR THE OPEN DISTRICT 16 STATE SENATE SEAT, SAW THAT WINDOW OPEN MONDAY AT 12-NOON.  CANDIDATES MUST MAKE KNOWN THEIR INTENTIONS AT THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE IN LITTLE ROCK, WITH THE FILING PERIOD FOR ONE WEEK, CLOSING AT 5 P/M, MONDAY, DECEMBER 1st. AS OF LATE IN THE DAY ON MONDAY, TWO CANDIDATES HAD FILED FOR THE POST, ALTHOUGH THEIR NAMES WERE NOT READILY AVAILABLE FROM STATE OFFICIALS. WE'VE LEARNED THIS (TUES.) MORNING THAT ONE OF THOSE IS RUSSELLVILLE BUSINESSMAN GREG STANDRIDGE. A SPECIAL ELECTION DATE OF APRIL 14TH HAS BEEN SET TO FILL THE SENATE VACANT, AFTER THE RESIGNATION OF REPUBLICIAN MICHAEL LAMOUREUX. LAMOUREUX WILL BECOME CHEIF OF STAFF FOR THE HUTCHINSON ADMINSTRATION. GOVERNOR MIKE BEEBE ESTABLISHED THE ELECTION PERAMITORS LAST WEEK, WITH PRIMARY ELECTIONS SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 13TH, WITH RUNOFFS SET FOR FEBRUARY 10TH, IF REQUIRED.

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NO SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OCCURRED, AS A RESULT OF AN EARLY AFTERNOON GRASS FIRE IN THE 300-BLOCK OF MOSS LANE ON MONDAY.  ATKINS FIRE DEPARTMENT UNITS WERE DISPATCHED ABOUT 1:55, AND REMAINED ON SCENE FOR ABOUT 25-MINUTES, QUICKLY EXTENGUISHING THE BLAZE.  CAUSE OF THE FIRE IS UNKNOWN. NO INJURIES RESULTED DURING THE INCIDENT.

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BOND HAS BEEN SET AT 75-HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A 29-YEAR OLD WHITE FEMALE, ARRESTED BY RUSSELLVILLE POLICE ON FELON IN POSSESSION OF A FIREARM AND POSSESSION OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.  THE SUSPECT, IDENTIFIED AS AUTUMN GIPSON, APPEARED ON MONDAY BEFORE POPE COUNTY DISTRICT JUDGE DON BOURNE.  JUDGE BOURNE FOUND PROBABLE CAUSE TO HOLD THE SUSPECT OVER FOR A DECEMBER 15th PLEA AND ARRAIGNMENT DATE IN POPE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT.

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TUESDAY'S MEETING AGENDA INCLUDES... A FULL DAY OF 2015 DEPARTMENT BUDGET REVIEWS BY THE RUSSELLVILLE CITY COUNCIL BUDGET COMMITTEE.  TODAY'S (TUES.) SCHEDULE WILL INCLUDE THE DEPARTMENTS OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, ANIMAL CONTROL, DISTRICT COURT, AIRPORT, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND CITY ATTORNEY.  ON WEDNESDAY, PARKS,RECREATION AND POOL, PUBLIC WORKS AND CITY ADMINSTRATION-MAYOR-TREASURER BUDGETS WILL BE REVIEWED.  BUDGET SESSIONS WILL BEGIN AT 9 A/M BOTH DAYS, IN THE CITY HALL FIRST FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM.

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NEWS HEADLINES FOR 1124-14

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Outgoing Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe has set a special election for April 14th to fill the vacant state Senate seat that had been held by the incoming governor's new chief of staff. Beebe on Friday called for a special election to fill the District 16 seat held by former Senate President Michael Lamoureux, a Republican. Primary elections for the seat will be held January 13th, with runoffs set for February 10th if required.

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THE DOVER SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL PREPARE FOR A THIRD MILLAGE ELECTION, WITH A FEBRUARY 10th BALLOT PLANNED. THE UPCOMING PROPOSAL CALLS FOR AN INCREASE OF 3.2 MILLS, NEEDED TO REFINANCE A CURRENT BOND ISSUE AND PRODUCE 6.2-MILLION DOLLARS IN NEW REVENUE FOR NECESSARY DISTRICT CONSTRUCTION.  THAT CONSTRUCTION WOULD ALLOW SUBSTANCIAL RENOVATION OF EXISTING STRUCTURES AND NEW CLASSROOMS AND PHYSICIAL EDUCATION FACILITIES AT THE DISTRICT'S MIDDLE SCHOOL. TWO PREVIOUS MILLAGE ELECTIONS FAILED TO RECEIVE THE APPROVAL OF THE DISTRICT'S PATRONS.

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DURING THEIR NOVEMBER SESSION, THE ARKANSAS TECH BOARD OF TRUSTEES AUTHORIZED UNIVERSITY OFFICIALS TO INVEST $4.67 MILLION DOLLARS OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS, FOR RESIDENCE HALL IMPROVEMENTS. INCLUDED WILL BE UPGRADED FIRE SPRINKLERS, FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS AND WIRELESS INTERNET CONNECTIVITY. ONCE COMPLETE IN 2017, THE PROJECT WILL MAKE WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS AVAILABLE IN ALL 18 STUDENT HOUSING FACILITIES OPERATED BY ARKANSAS TECH. ARKANSAS TECH PRESIDENT DR. ROBIN BOWEN TOLD THE BOARD ON THURSDAY THAT ALL 18 OF THE FACILITIES ALREADY MEET CODE IN TERMS OF FIRE SPRINKLERS AND FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS.

 

In other business, the Board approved:

 

*a closing date extension of 180 days on the sale of the Campus Court property to Narayan Hotels LLC, a measure that will delay closing on the property until June 1, 2015;

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EARLY VOTING IS ALMOST COMPLETE AND ELECTION DAY IS TOMORROW (TUES.), IN REFERENCE TO RUN-OFF ELECTIONS FOR TWO LOCAL MAYORIAL RACES. IN RUSSELLVILLE, A TOTAL OF 1471 BALLOTS WERE CAST AT POPE COUNTY'S ELECTION COMMISSION HEADQUARTERS, AS OF LATE FRIDAY.  A LIGHTER TURN-OUT, THUS FAR, HAD BEEN NOTED IN CLARKSVILLE, 317 EARLY VOTES HAD BEEN RECORDED AT THE JOHNSON COUNTY COURTHOUSE.  EARLY VOTING CONTINUES THRU MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24th, FROM 8 A/M TO 4:30 WEEKDAYS.  POLLS WILL BE OPEN FROM 7:30 TO 7:30 ON ELECTION DAY.

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