Q&A: Two challengers in Beebe

Council Member Dale Bass runs for re-election against Woods and McAfee.

Beebe City Council Member Dale Bass is being challenged by teen behavior health expert Shannon Woods and home builder Wes McAfee for the Ward 3, Position 2 seat in the Nov. 3 general election. Early voting is underway. The Leader called and sent questions to the candidates to answer; several attempts were made to reach Bass to answer candidate questions […]

Ward ballots omit council candidates

Going forward, voters will be given additional form after names left off.

Ward voters who will be casting their ballot on the electronic voting machines will receive a supplemental paper ballot for the city council candidate races, due to an election ballot error. It will not affect their electronic ballot. Ward city voters voting at other polling centers in Lonoke County should request the additional paper ballot if they do not receive […]

New record for daily virus cases

COVID-19 up more than 2,500 in the last two days with nursing home deaths highest in the U.S.

Coronavirus continues to spread in Arkansas, according to the state Health Department, with 1,337 new cases announced Friday, a daily record, for a total of 104,135 cumulative cases. Arkansas reported 1,202 new cases Thursday, the fourth highest since the pandemic began, and 6,592 cases in the last seven days. The state is No. 1 per capita in nursing home deaths […]

Blevins seeks vacant council seat

He is known as being a big supporter of Jacksonville and a bigger critic of city leaders.

Brian Blevins, 43, is running for the Ward 2, Position 1 seat on the Jacksonville City Council that was vacated by Gary Sipes when he resigned earlier this year. Blevins’ opponent Lance Dulaney was deemed ineligible and withdrew from the race, however his name remains on the ballot and even though he has supposedly stopped campaigning his fans have not. […]

Police Reports – Oct. 24, 2020

Jacksonville • Robert Birge, 68, of 22 Woodbriar Drive was arrested on Oct. 12 for allegedly threatening a woman with a handgun. Police were called at 7:57 a.m. to the address for a domestic disturbance. The victim said she living at the home for three months. She got into an argument with Birge. When she got into the vehicle to […]

Property liens for mowing fee

21 homes slapped with fines for not paying city’s bill for cutting the grass.

The Cabot City Council on Monday approved three ordinances to put liens on properties to pay for mowing services due to code violations. Liens ranging from $88 to $192 were placed on properties at 40 Woodbridge Drive, 16 Gold Bear Lane, 611 S. Grant St., 5 Polk St., 23 Campbell Drive, 432 Nottingham Drive, 20 Countrywood Drive, 38 Elk Bear […]

Lawsuit wants votes ignored

Jacksonville City Council Member Les Collins has filed a lawsuit that seeks to have the Pulaski County Election Commission not count any votes cast for Lance Dulaney, a council candidate who stopped campaigning for the Ward 2, Position 1 race because he is ineligible to run, although his name remains on the ballot. Dulaney ended his campaign after an old […]

Shorter lines as voting goes on

Wait times not as bad for people casting ballots early in general election.

As Stacy Cook walked from the polls inside the Jacksonville Community Center at 5 Municipal Drive around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, her parents were pulling into a parking spot. Cook had heard about the long lines and the longer wait times earlier this week from friends and decided to skip early voting for the time being. The line stretched about a […]

NLR clerk seeks 6th term

Diane Whitbey has held the position for 20 years and is unopposed this year.

North Little Rock City Clerk/Treasurer Diane Whit-bey is running unopposed for re-election for a sixth term. She was first elected to the position in 2000. The Leader sent Whitbey a Q&A to help voters get to know the long-time public servant. Tell us about yourself. I am 59, single, with no children, and graduated school in Morrilton and have some […]

Judge to rule on JNPSD

“The wait is the hardest part,” — Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. “Heck yeah,” — Superintendent Bryan Duffie and Jacksonville-area residents. Their dream decades in the making, Jacksonville-area residents waited and worked for their own stand-alone school district, and having achieved that in 2016, they now must wait months for a ruling on whether or not the district is finally […]