SPORTS STORY >> Red Devils’ teams win one of two

By GRAHAM POWELL Leader sportswriter The Jacksonville soccer teams had their first home game of the 2016 season Wednesday at Jan Crow Stadium against Jacksonville Lighthouse Charter School, and the Lady Red Devils picked up their first victory of the year with a 2-1 win over the Lady Wolves, while the boys’ game ended in a scoreless tie. In the […]

SPORTS STORY >> Cabot girls ousted after first-round rally

By GRAHAM POWELL Leader sportswriter The Cabot girls gave top-ranked Conway quite a scare in the second round of the Class 7A state tournament Thursday at Panther Arena, but the Lady Wampus Cats survived the Lady Panthers’ fourth quarter rally and pulled away at the free-throw line late for a 55-48 victory. Before Thursday, Cabot (20-12) played Conway (29-1) twice […]

SPORTS STORY >> Lady Badgers lose to Nettleton again

By GRAHAM POWELL Leader sportswriter HOT SPRINGS – The Beebe girls’ season ended Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state tournament with a narrow 34-32 loss to East No. 3 seed Nettleton. Nettleton, who beat 51-43 in November, led almost the entire game, but Beebe (23-6) took a brief lead in the fourth quarter. Beebe trailed 29-25 […]

SPORTS STORY >> Hillside ladies strong in loss

By RAY BENTON and GRAHAM POWELL Leader sports staff HOT SPRINGS – Sylvan Hills began the Class 5A state tournament with a 64-52 win over Little Rock Christian Academy in the first round on Thursday, and led No. 1 East seed Batesville by two at halftime of Friday’s quarterfinal round, but the Lady Pioneers dominated the second half en route […]

SPORTS STORY >> Panthers whip Springdale

By RAY BENTON Leader sports editor The Cabot Panthers have been a second-half basketball team all season long, and it never came in handier than in their 55-51 win over Springdale in the quarterfinals of the Class 7A state tournament at Panther Arena. In front of a packed house on Friday, the Panthers overcame a terrible offensive start and an […]

EDIROTIAL >> Debate below the belt

We thought we had seen everything in the wildest presidential debates ever seen or heard. Then came the last two Republican debates and the great dispute over the size of the candidates’ sexual organs. Now we hope we never see the likes of them again. The verbal battering, particularly among Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, had become so […]

EDITORIAL >> Asa wins Primary

On the day after Arkansas’ historically early party primaries and election, Gov. Hutchinson sort of claimed victory. Although his name was not on the ballot, he said the election—at least the Republican segment of it—was indeed a referendum on Asa Hutchinson. He had performed the rare expedient of openly endorsing seven candidates for the legislature in his own party’s primary, […]

TOP STORY >> Hottest winter since 1931-32

By RICK KRON  Leader staff writer Winter is over with – at least, meteorologically speaking. The National Weather Service lists the winter season as running from the first of December to the end of February and, according to their records, this winter was warm and snowy. The seasonal high temperature was the warmest on record since the winter of 1931-32 […]

TOP STORY >> Friends of Library sets goals

By JEFFREY SMITH  Leader staff writer The Friends of the Cabot Public Library are working to support and improve the Cabot library with volunteers. The nonprofit group formed when the new library opened last summer. “We helped with the open house preview and the grand opening by meeting and greeting patrons and showing the library,” Friends of the Cabot Public […]

TOP STORY >> Cabot judge runoff Nov. 8

By SARAH CAMPBELL Leader staff writer Ward City Attorney Clint McGue and incumbent Joseph (Joe) O’Bryan will face off once again for Lonoke County District Judge-Northern Division judge in a runoff set to coincide with the Nov. 8 general election. McGue came out on top in Tuesday’s primary with 4,104 votes, but the 38.83 percent was short of the over […]