SPORTS>>Progress pleasing to new coach

By RAY BENTONLeader sports editorThe Beebe Badgers completed their five days of spring football practice Tuesday under the tutelage of new coach John Shannon. Shannon spent the spring session installing the basic fundamentals of the T-formation offense, and is very excited about how the former spread team picked up on the change.“I thought we got a little better each day,” […]

SPORTS>>Gwatney sweeps Sylvan Hills

By RAY BENTONLeader sports editorThe Gwatney Chevrolet American Legion baseball program got the season off to a fine start Thursday, pulling off a Class A and AAA sweep of long-time nemesis Sylvan Hills at Dupree Park. The Bruins were a bit short-handed with a few players participating in the Sylvan Hills High School spring football scrimmage, but the win was […]

SPORTS>>Locals highlight 2007 MOC

By JASON KINGLeader sportswriterTwo local athletes, Jeff Henderson of Sylvan Hills and Whitney Jones of Searcy, won multiple titles at the Meet of Champions track meet Wednesday at Cabot’s Panther Stadium. For its 50th anniversary, recently crowned state champions in all classifications were on hand at Cabot High, including 17 student-athletes from The Leader coverage area that qualified for the […]

EDITORIALS>>U.S. attorney plot thickens

Witnesses come and witnesses go, but not one of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ former and present aides gives him the slightest nourishment in his effort to outlast the storm over his leadership of the nation’s law-enforcement system. Neither do they help J. Timothy Griffin, the political assassin whom Gonzales installed five months ago as the federal prosecutor for eastern Arkansas.Monica […]

OBITUARIES >> 5-26-07

Clint HuffmanClint Huffman, 81, of Vancouver, Wash., passed away May 20. Graveside services will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 26 at Hill Memorial Park in Jacksonville. Funeral arrangements are by Moore’s Jacksonville Funeral Home. M.L. FaucettM.L. Bud Faucett, 72, of Jacksonville went to be with the Lord, May 22 in Little Rock. He was born Nov. 16, 1934 in Lamar […]

TOP STORY >>Corn sweet to farmers

By JOHN HOFHEIMERLeader senior staff writerNew forces are at work shaping Lonoke County’s agricultural landscape, not the least of them the rising demand for corn to manufacture ethanol.Because of the increased demand and the attractive price, currently about $3.70 a bushel, farmers have increased last year’s 3,000 acres of corn four-fold to about 12,000 acres, according to Jeff Welch, the […]

TOP STORY >>Keep out pit bulls, sex shops

By JOAN MCCOYLeader staff writerCabot’s elected officials look at their crowded streets and the need for more firefighters and a fourth fire station, but while those topics consumed much of a meeting of the fire and police committee Thursday night and dominated the conversation on the sidewalk afterwards, the proactive ordinances that came before the body for consideration were about […]

TOP STORY >>Instructor is back at his school

By PEG KENYONLeader staff writerMike Brown, also known as Milton Leon Brown, a convicted sex offender, still teaches at Mike Brown’s Taekwondo in Jacksonville, but he lists his place of residence on the sex-offender registry as Palestine in St. Francis County. This information surfaced after The Leader published a story about a recent re-notification effort to update the addresses of […]

TOP STORY >>Purchase of course may skirt by voters

By RICK KRONLeader staff writerSherwood could spend millions buying the North Hills golf course without a vote of the residents. In previous council meetings, interim Mayor Bill Harmon had said that the issue would go before the people, but now he is saying that the city’s Public Facilities Board could actually buy the course and then lease it to the […]

TOP STORY >>Shortage of funds prevents hirings

By JOAN MCCOYLeader staff writerFirefighters, concerned over their declining numbers, attended the monthly meeting of the fire and police committee of the Cabot City Council Thursday night. They, as well as a handful of city residents who also attended, said safety was the issue that concerned them and asked the mayor and committee what they are going to do about […]