EDITORIAL >> The fires this time

Two smoking burn barrels were the presumed cause of a grass fire off Gillham Road outside Beebe on Friday afternoon that was extinguished by residents and the El Paso Fire Department. I became vaguely aware of the fire when I stepped outside after finishing my last story for the day, but the threat didn’t completely register. When you grow up […]

TOP STORY >> Road widening moving forward

By SARAH CAMPBELL Leader staff writer The contractor who has been relocating water lines on Graham Road is finally gone after five months of delays. The $3.35 million widening project is now full steam ahead. For decades, the city’s master street plan and other area maps have shown a four-lane road connecting Hwy. 89 in Lonoke County to Hwy. 107 […]

TOP STORY >> Animals suffer in record heat

By SARAH CAMPBELL Leader staff writer Panting and shedding, the natural defenses of man’s best friends, aren’t enough to keep them safe while record-setting heat is plaguing Arkansas. The high in Little Rock early last week was 111, the city’s third-highest temperature ever, according to the Weather Channel. Temperatures rose into triple digits much of last week and into the […]

TOP STORY >> Beautification plan to spruce up Cabot

By JOAN McCOY Leader staff writer New sidewalks, banner poles and full-grown, red crepe myrtle trees will be installed from 5th to 9th streets under a Main Street beautification plan in Cabot. The work is expected to go out for bids next month and be completed next summer. The $306,000 project will be paid with a $200,000 state highway grant […]

SPORTS STORY >> NP shows growth at team camp

By RAY BENTON Leader sports editor The North Pulaski volleyball team returns a lot of key players from last year’s squad that barely missed out on the class 5A state playoffs. The team has been practicing since July and has taken part in two team camps this month. Last week the Lady Falcons went to Rogers-Heritage, and are competing in […]

SPORTS STORY >> Lady Bears practice all night long

By JASON KING Leader sportswriter The Sylvan Hills Lady Bears volleyball team had its own version of Midnight Madness on Sunday night, with a practice session that went into the early hours of Monday morning. It was a practice mixed with a slumber party-like atmosphere, as the evening got underway at 8 p.m. with food and games. The Lady Bears […]

SPORTS STORY >> Beebe looking good in pads

By JASON KING Leader sportswriter Old-school football coaches enjoy the old-school methods of practicing, so it was hardly a surprise on Monday when Beebe head coach John Shannon was beaming over the first day of August two-a-days. The Badgers started the second week with a morning session that went from 7 a.m. until 10 a.m., and returned in the afternoon […]

SPORTS STORY >> JHS girls get third coach in just four seasons

By JASON KING Leader sportswriter The search for a new head coach is all but over, but the search for setters continues as the Jacksonville Lady Red Devils prepare for volleyball season in their new conference home of the 5A Central from their former 6A East Conference. Though it is not yet official, former assistant Kendra Sauheaver is projected to […]

SPORTS STORY >> Cabot ladies much improved

By RAY BENTON Leader sports editor If experience is important to success in athletics, Cabot’s volleyball team should be much better this season than the 1-13 conference record it put together last year. The Lady Panthers lost just one starting senior from last year’s squad, which was dominated by inexperienced sophomores who were starting their high school careers under a […]