The Leader

Airline travel has become a nightmare
Airplanes are completely full and late taking off this summer. So what else is new? Airlines have eliminated about 20 percent of their flights over the last five years, which is why you seldom get on a plane with an empty seat.
[FULL TEXT]

Good people should get in the limelight
(This is the second part of a two-part column that we’ve turned over to Jaynie M. McClain of Lonoke, whose cousin, Army Specialist Bobby West of Beebe, was killed May 30 in Baghdad at the age of 23. He was buried June 7 in Beebe as hundreds of Patriot Guard Riders protected the family from about 10 protesters from Kansas, who be-lieve God has punished America because it tolerates homosexuals.)
[FULL TEXT]

JULY 5, 2006

Workplaces and public areas will be smoke-free beginning Monday, July 21 as part of the state Clean Indoor Air Act of 2006.

Clean Air Act to take effect
IN SHORT: On Monday, July 21, workplaces and most public areas throughout the state are to be smoke-free as part of the state Clean Indoor Air Act of 2006. It prohibits smoking at worksites and in public places to protect employees and the public from secondhand smoke. [FULL TEXT]

School reshuffling
IN SHORT: A 108-page feasibility study authorized by the state legislature recommends that Jacksonville gets its own school district and schools north of the river that are not going into the Jacksonville School District be part of the North Little Rock School District. [FULL TEXT]

Prater calls for reforms
IN SHORT: Rep. Sandra Prater (D-Jacksonville), a registered cardiac nurse, says she wasn’t surprised by a recent report showing the state is paying too much for inpatient mental health services for children and relies on outdated practices with poor accountability. [FULL TEXT]

Strings are attached to funding from state
IN SHORT: Before state schools see any of the $265.7 million budgeted last Thursday for academic facilities funding, districts are required to sign a seven-page project agreement that includes a recommendation that districts hold architects liable for part of the cost if a project goes over budget because of architect error. [FULL TEXT]

Ozone season is in full swing
IN SHORT: Unlike Sunday’s ozone-action advisory, which resulted from a level orange forecast, Independence Day ozone levels were rated free of health risks to people known for vulnerabilities to potential ozone exposure, according to air-quality index numbers available from Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. [FULL TEXT]

Leader to print the Drop Zone
IN SHORT: Little Rock Air Force Base has chosen Leader Publishing to print the Drop Zone, the official weekly newspaper at the air base. [FULL TEXT]

Cabot's newer, bigger Wal-Mart Supercenter is going up just next to the one it is replacing at 304 S. Rockwood. Population growth spurred plans for the expansion.

Going up: New Cabot Wal-Mart nearing completion, set to open July 19
IN SHORT: The new Wal-Mart Supercenter that will open in Cabot this month will be bigger than the old one with wider aisles and a bigger selection of merchandise. [FULL TEXT]

Sylvan Hills' Jerry Lawson scores a run in the Bruins' first-round victory over Sheridan in Jacksonville's Fourth of July Classic. The Bruins went undefeated in the tournament.

Bruins settle for second
IN SHORT: Sylvan Hills did all it could, but couldn’t win the Gwatney Chevrolet Fourth of July Classic baseball tournament, despite going 3-0 in the event.[FULL TEXT]

Jacksonville loses finale
IN SHORT: The Jacksonville Chevy boys fell apart in the last inning Sunday in their finale of the Gwatney Chevrolet Fourth of July Classic. Tournament champion Paragould scored six runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 9-4 victory. [FULL TEXT]

Leader Forms
Click on the links below to download printable .pdf forms for your wedding or engagement announcement.

Wedding Form
Engagement Form

>>THIS WEEK'S
EVENT NOTES

>>THIS WEEK'S CLASSIFIEDS

>>THIS WEEK'S OBITUARIES

Previous Issues

A tale of two schools
Jacksonville will get its own school district. State law has said so. Two consultant studies have said so and the residents of Jacksonville have said so.
[FULL TEXT]

Loving homes for foster kids
If you looked at the evidence and the law and not the politics, you could not have been shocked at the unanimous decision of the Arkansas Supreme Court striking down a regulation of the state Department of Human Services that since 1999 has prevented gay or lesbian households from being foster parents.
[FULL TEXT]