Here is the latest Arkansas news…
As of early Saturday morning, more than 38-hundred Entergy customers in the Dardanelle area remain without power, after an overnight outage. Entergy technicians report some 725 homes powerless West of Dardanelle, between the city and Delaware. Approximately 12-hundred customers in downtown Dardanelle, and more than 18-hundred without power, South of Dardanelle, along Highway 7 toward Ola. Utility officials say crews are working to restore service, and hope to have a majority of it back on before noon. Cause of the outage was not readily available from Entergy.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas poet Miller Williams, who read a poem at President Bill Clinton's 1997 inauguration, has died. He was 84. Williams died New Year's night at Washington County Regional Medical Center of complications from Alzheimer's disease, family friend Linda Sheets said Friday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Little Jimmy Dickens, a diminutive singer-songwriter who was the oldest cast member of the Grand Ole Opry, has died. He was 94. An Opry spokeswoman says Dickens died Friday at a Nashville-area hospital of cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke on Christmas Day. Dickens, who stood 4-foot-11, had performed on the Opry almost continuously since 1948. His last performance was December 20th.
FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) - Federal and state officials say the city of Fort Smith will spend more than $200 million over the next 12 years on upgrades to its sewer collection and treatment. Under a settlement filed yesterday in U.S. District Court, Fort Smith will also pay a $300,000 civil penalty and spend $400,000 on a program to help qualified low-income residential property owners to repair or replace defective private sewer lines.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - An official says changes in state leadership will likely affect the original design of a proposed large garden park near Greers Ferry Lake. The Democrat-Gazette reports the University of Arkansas Community Design Center was awarded a federal grant last year to revive 50-year-old plans to build the 300-acre park about 60 miles north of Little Rock.
