Archive - News Article
July 12th, 2012
It was revealed Wednesday in Benton District Court that a former Benton firefighter allegedly confessed to authorities that he specifically searched for and downloaded child pornography to a computer in his home.
Timothy Ryan Bodkin, 38, who appeared via satellite from the Saline County jail, is facing 1,000 counts of felony possession of child pornography. He is being held on a $200,000 sheriff's bond.
Saline County's two representatives at the Miss Arkansas Scholarship Pageant in Hot Springs won preliminary awards Wednesday night in the pageant's first public competition.
Bethany Whitfield of Bryant, competing as Miss Greater Little Rock, won the talent award with her vocal presentation of Leonard Bernstein's "Somewhere" from "West Side Story." Technically, the award now is known as "Preliminary Artistic Expression in Talent Award."
July 11th
Nearly 40 restaurants are expected to be featuring menu items at the upcoming 13th annual Taste of Bryant, according to Bryant Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rae Ann Fields.
"With all these restaurants looking to come here, we must be doing something right," she said. "It also says to me that (Saline County residents) must love our food."
A 44-year-old Bryant woman reportedly died in a two-vehicle crash on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Arkansas State Police.
Jo Carey was reported to be driving eastbound on U.S. 70 near Browning Road when the vehicle crossed the center line just after 12:30 p.m. and struck a vehicle in the westbound shoulder of the roadway. James Buck, driver of the second vehicle, and passenger Judy Buck, both of Bonnerdale, reported that they tried to avoid the vehicle driven by Carey.
The Benton School District drew an eleventh-hour candidate for a school board position shortly before the filing deadline arrived at noon Tuesday.
Jonathan Woolbright was the only candidate to file for Position 3, which he currently holds.
Two other school districts have singular candidates for their open positions. They are:
•Cara Burris, the only candidate for Position 3 on the Bauxite School Board. Burris is seeking the position now held by Russell Baxley.
•Brent R. Carr, a current member of the Harmony Grove School Board, who is the only candidate for Position 3.
July 9th
Two young women from Bryant are representing Saline County this week at the Miss Arkansas Pageant in Hot Springs.
Tracy Neal, Miss University of Arkansas, and Bethany Whitfield, Miss Greater Little Rock, are among the pageant's 47 contestants vying for the 2012 title.
The pageant's public competitions are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday at the Summit Arena in Hot Springs.
Whitfield, 23, is competing as Miss Greater Little Rock, and Neal, 22, is Miss University of Arkansas.
Several matters related to the construction of an events center will be on the Benton City Council agenda for its 7 p.m. meeting today at Benton Municipal Complex.
Among these is an ordinance authorizing the issuance of hotel and restaurant gross receipts tax bonds for the purpose of financing all or a portion of the costs of capital improvements and pledging collection of the city's 1.5 percent hotel and restaurant gross receipts tax to pay the principal and interest on the bonds.
In the third year of the program, there is no shortage of local youth signing up for the Benton Police Department's Junior Police Academy, and the respect gained between officer and citizen is mutual.
"This is my third year to go through (the program)," said Jenny Bowen, a 2012 Benton High School graduate. "When I got in it my sophomore year, I did it because I knew (School Resource Officers) Quinton Jackson and Joey Bedsole, but I kept coming back because they were offering it, It's something you can't do all the time and it's free. It has never been boring. I've enjoyed all three years."
July 6th
Dan Smith, a technician with the City of Benton, is urging Benton residents to be aware that the city is under a level three energy alert. He said the alert means there is a risk of the power grid overloading because people run a lot of electricity during this time due to the heat. Smith said people should conserve electricity, such as turning off lights and other electrical equipment when not in use.
By
Matt Burks and Brent Davis
A former administrative assistant for the Benton Parks Department was arrested Thursday on charges of fraud and theft of city funds, authorities said.
Just after 1 p.m. Thursday, Kitty Smith, 57, with hands cuffed behind her back, repeatedly said, "I have nothing to say" and that she had "no response" to questions by a reporter of The Saline Courier outside the Benton Police Department.
