Archive - News Article
March 14th, 2012
A widespread electrical power outage on Sunday night in Benton was quickly corrected, according to Terry McKinney, general manager of Benton Utilities.
McKinney said the area affected involved "approximately one-third of the city."
The incident occurred about 9 p.m. when Benton Utilities "lost the Benton North Substation and the outage extended pretty much to everything north of the interstate, which included Walmart and a few other stores on the south side."
McKinney noted that Saline Memorial Hospital was not affected by the outage.
March 13th
Veterinarian Eric Jayne gets "the look" from Mikey before he gives a vaccination shot during the Humane Society of Saline County low-cost drive-through shot clinic in the parking lot of the Saline County Fairgrounds on Saturday. Burt and Sami Goldman of Benton said Mikey is a three-legged shelter dog that "the kids fell in love with."
(Courier photo by Matt Burks)
March 12th
Churches Joint Council on Human Needs volunteers focus year-round on helping alleviate hunger in the local area.
As part of the agency's mission, area groups and individuals conduct food drives and fundraising projects throughout the year to help meet this ever-growing need, volunteers say.
There are times, however, when the charitable agencies themselves have needs and this was the case recently with CJCOHN.
The agency's food storage facility was in serious need of renovation and several groups and individuals provided the funding needed to solve this problem, volunteers said.
From Lt. Russell at the Benton Police Department:
A juvenile, Paxton Griffith, who was reported as a runaway recently out of our department has been located and is safe. Thank you for your help in trying locate him.
March 10th
Lexie Magby Spickard will be celebrating a milestone event this Sunday: The lifetime Saline County resident will be observing her 90th birthday.
Spickard said she's grateful for every day and enjoys her life. "I don't feel 90," she said.
"It just doesn't feel like 90 years," she added. "I'm very healthy and happy, and I'm grateful to have such good health.
"I still drive," she added. " I think I'll know when to quit. I don't go very far — just to church and Benton and things."
March 9th
The Benton Police Department is asking the public to help find a runaway juvenile.
Destoni Wiggins, 17, was last seen in the area of Chicken Express on Landers Drive late Thursday, "and has not been seen since," Lt. Kevin Russell said.
Destoni is described as 5 feet 2 inches tall, 110 pounds with brown eyes and long brown hair. She was last seen wearing a camouflage jacket, black slacks, and black shoes. She was traveling on foot and is believed to still be in the Saline County area, Russell noted.
March 7th
Bryant firefighters are now better equipped to meet the needs of residents thanks to three Bullard Eclipse thermal imaging cameras that were recently donated to the fire department by the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.
The devices, worth nearly $19,000, detect body heat and hot spots in burning buildings, allowing firefighters to reach victims in half the time and extinguish potentially deadly fires.
“When you can’t even see your hand in front of your face, these cameras guide us to the heat source and people who may be inside the structure,” Capt. Rusty Long said.
A new chief executive officer has been named for Saline Memorial Hospital.
The SMH Board of Directors has selected Bob Trautman to fill the CEO position.
Trautman comes to SMH with more than 35 years of executive-level health-care experience working in a diverse group of healthcare facilities from Mississippi to California, according to Rebecca Jones, director of marketing and community relations.
"He brings extensive experience leading a 239-bed acute care hospital in Palmdale, Calif.," Jones said.
March 6th
The United States Army Field Band will present a free concert March 9 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Bishop Park on Boone Road in Bryant. A ticket is required for admission but may be picked up at two locations:
- Saline Courier office at 321 N. Market in Benton
- Bishop Park on Boone Road in Bryant
Online tickets may be obtained by visiting the following Internet sites:
- http://armyfieldband.ticketleap.com/bryant/
- www.armyfieldband.com/tickets
The concert is sponsored by The Saline Courier and The Center at Bishop Park in Bryant.
Some major changes are on the forefront for the Benton School District and Downtown Benton.
In a special meeting Monday night, the Benton School Board voted to approve completion of the district sports complex for $5,254,235, with the project to be financed by second-lien bonds and the balance in the district's existing Qualified School Construction Bonds.
