SPORTS>>Panthers can’t cover Bruin kicks, fall by 30

By RAY BENTON Leader sports editor Score, cover on-side kick, repeat. That was the formula for Pulaski Academy Friday night at Panther Stadium, and it worked to perfection. The Bruins scored four touchdowns before Cabot snapped the ball. With 8:35 still left in the first quarter, Pulaski Academy led 29-0, and eventually took a 64-34 decision over the Panthers. When […]

SPORTS>>Panthers drop two matches this week

By RAY BENTON Leader sports editor The only thing worse for a young volleyball team than getting blown out at home in a 7A Central match, is playing one on the road closely, only to have questionable officiating determine the outcome. Both happened to the Cabot Lady Panthers this week. On Tuesday, Cabot hosted highly-touted and tradition-rich Conway. The young […]

SPORTS>>Badger ladies get win from Falcons

By JASON KING Leader sportswriter The Beebe Lady Badgers capitalized on their streaks of momentum, and persevered when momentum belonged to North Pulaski in a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Lady Falcons in 5A Southeast Conference play at Badger Sports Arena on Tuesday. North Pulaski (2-2, 1-2) took Games 1 and 4 handily at 25-15 each game, but the Lady […]

SPORTS>>Beebe rallies from 21 down

By JASON KING Leader sportswriter Beebe overcame turnovers, penalties and bizarre clock procedures – not to mention an emotionally charged Lonoke team on the way to a 36-33 come-from-behind victory at James B. Abraham Stadium on Friday. Lonoke junior Eric Williams gave the Jackrabbits early breathing room with a 50-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage and a […]

SPORTS>>Miscues doom the Devils

By DAN ELLIOTT Special to The Leader The first half was the best of the times and ultimately, the worst of times for the Jacksonville Red Devils (0-2) as they jumped out to an early lead before the wheels fell off in a 41-14 loss to the Benton Panthers 1-1) at Jan Crow Stadium Friday night. The Red Devils looked […]

EDITORIAL >>Tomorrow’s Anniversary

Tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York City and the national capital, “the day that changed America,” in the lexicon of the times. No single event in the last century other than Pearl Harbor seared the national consciousness more indelibly or altered the nation’s destiny more profoundly. The great national exercise this week is to […]

TOP STORY > >Drunk driver put behind bars after failing breath test

By SARAH CAMPBELL Leader staff writer After a recent breath test found his blood-alcohol level to be 0.03, a Little Rock man who was sentenced in June to Sherwood’s yearlong sobriety court is being held in the county jail without bail because of his previous run-ins with the law. Benjamin Swindoll, 21, of Little Rock was convicted in 2009 of […]

TOP STORY > >Disaster is declared for farmers in state after drought, rain

By JOHN HOFHEIMER Special to the Leader Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsac Sept. 8 declared all 75 counties as agriculture natural disaster areas, eligible for low-interest emergency loans, but the man who administers the program locally urges farmers to apply early because the money could run out. “Our fiscal year starts Oct. 1, but with budget cuts, it’s imperative to file […]

TOP STORY > >Good times roll at Cajun eatery

By RICK KRON Leader staff writer When Don Pastor was looking to move his restaurant to Arkansas from the Texas-Louisiana coast, he pondered four locations: Rogers, Fayetteville, Conway and Jacksonville. How did Jacksonville beat out the other possible locations for Cayenne Cajun Cuisine? Pastor said there were three reasons: His aging parents, the diversity of Little Rock Air Force Base […]

TOP STORY > >Sergeant brings pieces of trade center to base

After the relics made their way to Aghanistan and back, Little Rock Air Force Base has two pieces of World Trade Center steel on display in the mobility processing center thanks to the tenacity of a senior master sergeant who brought the mementoes to the air base. One piece is from the New York Fire Department Academy—the one shaped like […]