Archive - Oct 2012 - News Article
October 16th
Bauxite Police Chief Ron Parsons announced during a Monday City Council meeting that he will resign on Oct. 31.
Parson said the decision is for personal reasons. He also recommended to the council that Lt. Jamie Barlow be considered for the chief's position.
"I feel that since my time here there has been a lot of improvement in the department," Parsons said. "We don't get complaints, we just don't."
Parsons did not list specific reasons for resigning, but Mayor Johnny McMahan mentioned that the chief is also a full-time detective for the Saline County Sheriff's Office.
October 15th
Buster Holloway, 82, held on tight to the railing as he lowered himself into the 3-foot whirlpool at Bishop Park in Bryant, with help from staff member Luke Neel.
"You are a lifeguard, right?" Holloway asked.
Holloway ventured into the water for the first time in more than 10 years but quickly gained confidence and moved to the 5-foot section of the pool. Before long, he was lunging through the water on his own, as Neel attempted to keep up.
"You swim like a fish," Neel said.
Southern Trace Rehabilitation Center, located at 22515 Highway South in Bryant, is not the average nursing home.
Guests walking in might feel they are entering a hotel. Although creating a beautiful atmosphere is important to the staff, the care of the people inside takes priority.
“First and foremost, we want to provide quality care,” said Nancy Brown, executive director of Southern Trace. “But we also want to promote independence and make sure the residents have choices and those choices are met.”
The Southern Trace staff aims to take out the institution element of nursing homes.
October 10th
Benton School Board elects new officers,
approves 2 percent pay hike for employees
by Lynda
Brad Bohannan is the new president of the Benton School Board.
Bohannan was elected to that position in a board meeting Tuesday night at the district's Professional Development Center.
Other new officers of the board are Heath Nix, vice president; and Paul Viner, secretary.
The reorganization of the board was the final action item taken in the meeting.
The past president, Jeff Morrow, who conducted the meeting, expressed appreciation for the support received during his term.
Benton’s Royal players celebrated the end of its 2011-12 season with its fourth annual awards program — the Ben-Tonys — on Saturday night.
"Nobody's Business," an original play by Benton physician Sam Taggart, was the big winner for the year.
The play — written, produced and directed by Taggart — won Ben-Tonys for best show and best director and tied for best set with the Neil Simon comedy "Barefoot in the Park."
October 5th
Saline County Sheriff Bruce Pennington said Thursday that his office has not contacted the Arkansas State Police to investigate an allegedly fraudulent letter sent to a voter in Hot Springs Village during the race for the Republican nomination for Saline County Circuit Clerk in May of this year.
The two candidates in the race were incumbent Dennis Milligan, who was successful in his re-election bid, and his challenger, Myka Bono Sample.
The letter in question ignited a controversy one week following the start of early voting and one week before the May 22 preferential primary election.
October 4th
A 2013 trial date has been set for former Benton firefighter Timothy Ryan Bodkin for allegedly downloading hundreds of images of child pornography to a computer in his home.
Bodkin, 38, was released from the Saline County jail on Aug. 31, after a family member paid a $200,000 sheriff's bond. He is facing a thousand counts of felony possession of child pornography.
Attorneys for Bodkin appeared before Saline County Judge Bobby McCallister on Monday, and a two-day jury trial for Bodkin was set for Feb. 26 and 27.
The Saline County Prosecuting Attorney's office has completed an investigation into alleged perjury committed by Benton resident Ricky David Tripp during testimony Tripp gave in a Saline County Circuit Court proceeding in which Circuit Judge Gary Arnold presided.
Tripp was called to testify on July 12, 2012, in a proceeding stemming from a lawsuit filed by Bryant Aldermen Adrian Henley, Brenda Miller and Danny Steele. The three claim they have been slandered and defamed by anonymous bloggers on the social website MySaline.com.
A former Bryant teacher posted bail shortly after she surrendered voluntarily at the Saline County Detention Center on Wednesday morning, authorities say.
Courtney Speer, 31, has been charged with six counts of sexual assault of a minor: four counts in Bryant and two counts in Benton.
Lt. Don Birdsong of the Saline County Detention Center said Speer was released after posting bond. Bail was set at $20,000 and the court date is slated for Nov. 13.
October 2nd
Three Saline County men were arrested after they allegedly broke into a home and shot a man.
Lt. Kevin Russell, public information officer for the Benton Police Department, said this was not a random act of violence.
"There was a history of ongoing personal conflicts between all of the suspects and the victim, but nothing violent until this incident," he explained.
