TOP STORY >> Lawyers ready to recover funding

BY JOHN HOFHEIMER Former Jacksonville Rep. Mike Wilson says he still expects the state Supreme Court to strike down as unconstitutional the whole notion of General Improvement Funds being used by legislators for projects back home and he says he’s already getting calls from lawyers interested in recovering some of the $52 million in GIF funds spent since the last […]

FROM THE EDITOR >> What little girl wanted for holiday

(This is a reprint of a previous Christmas column.)When my friend Jack Sallee was with the Jaycees in Fayetteville, they’d put an ad in the paper at Christmastime, saying that for $2 you could have Santa come to your place. There’d be a group of Santas going out every night, and Sallee was among them.“Each Santa went to about 10 […]

TOP STORY >> Bill could jeopardize future of payday lenders here

BY LEADER STAFF Leader staff reportRep. Sandra Prater, D-Jacksonville, along with several other lawmakers on Thursday filed a bill that would fine payday lenders and other institutions for making high-interest consumer loans. The bill would prevent the triple-digit interest rates some payday lenders charge in the state. The bill would fine businesses $300 for charging more than 17 percent interest […]

TOP STORY >> Santa Claus makes early visit to kids

BY HEATHER HARTSELL Children at the Lonoke County Exceptional School in Cabot had an early visit from Santa Claus Wednesday, thanks in part to the local Kiwanis Club, Century 21 Real Estate Unlimited and All for Pets veterinary clinic. The students waited eagerly for the jolly man to arrive. When he walked through the door the excitement could not be […]

TOP STORY >>Jacksonville passes nearly $20M budget

BY RICK KRON The Jacksonville City Council approved a $19.9 million operating budget for 2007 at its meeting Thursday night and also re-appointed former planning commissioner Kevin McCleary to a vacant seat on the council.McCleary was appointed to the city council earlier this year to fill the Ward 5, Position 1 seat, which opened when longtime alderman Robert Lewis died. […]

TOP STORY >>Department bails out city

BY JOAN MCCOY Leader staff writerThe financial crisis in January for the city of Cabot, which is expected to enter the new year with $45,000 or less in the general fund, has been averted by a $240,000 payment from Cabot Water and Wastewater Commission, which now runs the city utilities.The commission met Wednesday morning and voted to give the money […]