Dec 11 2015 by The Jonesboro Sun

Gun buyer, gunman linked by possible previous plot./SEE A11

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December 11, 2015

Gunman terrorizes ASU Standoff ends with no shots fired Thursday afternoon’s altercation ended without injury. In the crosshairs of dozens of police officers, Bartelt threw his shotgun Bartelt down in surrender on the front lawn of the Arkansas State University student union after an hour-long standoff with police. No shots were fired, and no one was injured. Bartelt’s motive remained a

BY HUNTER FIELD Sun Staff Writer hfield@jonesborosun.com

JONESBORO — Hours before a mentally distraught man stormed onto Arkansas State University’s campus with a loaded shotgun, police officers visited him at his Jonesboro home. Brad Kenneth Bartelt, 47, 1007 Hall St., posted on his Facebook page Wednesday afternoon that he was “suicidal” and “homicidal,” prompting a welfare check from the Jonesboro Police Department that same evening. Fortunately for A-State,

mystery Thursday night. His Facebook page, however, portrayed a man who was going through legal, medical and relationship troubles. JPD Chief Rick Elliott deduced the same following the confrontation, which sent ASU students and faculty into a collective panic. “This man has mental issues,” the police chief said. “He’s distraught over something.” Bartelt ramped his green Chevrolet truck, loaded with a can of gasoline and a 100-pound propane tank, onto the student

Stan Morris | The Sun

Please see GUNMAN | A2

Jonesboro police apprehend Brad Bartelt after a standoff Thursday on the campus of Arkansas State University.

Witnesses describe incident BY SARAH MORRIS AND STAN MORRIS Sun Staff Writers smorris@jonesborosun.com stan@jonesborosun.com

JONESBORO — “If he wanted to kill somebody, it could have been me.” Jordan Sheets, 20, had just walked outside of Arkansas State University’s student union Thursday when a man later identified as Brad Kenneth Bartelt drove his truck onto the student union lawn, did doughnuts and then got out. “He had the gun behind the door, and I could only see the barrel,” said the sophomore radiology major of Carlisle. “He told us to get out of the area. It was personal, and he did not want innocent lives taken. “We said ‘OK,’ and left,” he added. “We told people to get back and called police.” Hours later, Sheets said he wasn’t scared at first, but it later

Hunter Field | The Sun

Please see WITNESSES | A2

Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliott (right) and Arkansas State University Police Chief Randy Martin discuss how to handle the gunman at A-State’s Jonesboro campus Thursday afternoon. Police arrested Brad Kenneth Bartelt without incident, and no one was hurt.

Community objects to Trump’s remarks

People of NEA Katie Gilmore, Swifton

BY WILL BOWDEN Sun Staff Writer wbowden@jonesborosun.com

JONESBORO — Inflammatory statements and suspicion are nothing new, a Jonesboro Muslim said about Donald Trump’s comments about banning Muslim immigrants. “It’s hurtful, but I’m not really surprised at the response,” said 28-year-old Yandi, an Indonesian immigrant. “It’s something we talk about a lot. Many of us go back and forth between the country and want to know what this will mean for us.” Yandi declined to provide his last name because he was concerned about backlash. “It’s a hard subject to talk with people about because so much is presumed about who you are and what you believe,” he said. “I know that Muslims in this community love the United States.” Trump’s comments were made following the San Bernardino, Calif., shooting that was carried out by a husband and wife later identified by the Please see TRUMP | A2

TODAY’S WEATHER A 20 percent chance of showers. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 71.

Staci Vandagriff | The Sun

“I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in radiologic sciences with an emphasis in diagnostic medical sonography at 20 years old,” Katie Gilmore said. “I went to college on orientation day and already had 40 hours of credit from high school. They said I had to pick a major so I randomly picked one. It usually takes four years, but I got it done in two and a half by taking extra classes. I took classes at both ASUJonesboro and ASUNewport and had 21 hours a semester so I could graduate early. I’m looking for a job now, but the market isn’t that good here. I’d like to work at a clinic with good hours.”

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removing a traffic barrel from underneath a semitruck, when another man began driving the truck, dragging Bartelt several feet. According to Bartelt’s Facebook page, he brought a lawsuit against the university, but AState officials denied any litigation. In an incoherent Facebook rant, Bartelt alleged his civil and employee rights were violated by ASU. “This story is True, Documented and does not need to covered up, but put into the Light,” Bartelt wrote. “MY DEATH should not and will not end the TRUTH!!! I already died twice as result of accident, if necessary let my last DEATH be for a purpose!!! Let the TRUTH and JUSTICE be shown.

IF NOT IN THIS LIFE, SURELY IN THE NEXT! GOD BLESS n PROTECT US ALL!!!” An eerie silence gripped the campus during the standoff. Only the voices of swat team negotiators and rustling leaves broke the quietude. Students, however, described a chaotic seen only minutes before. “Running, screaming, panicking, crying,” one student said. Others described a state of confusion as they watched their peers exit the student union en masse. Many barricaded themselves inside classrooms with whatever large objects were nearby. Once Bartelt was in custody and the lockdown lifted, there was hardly a student without phone in hand assuring family members they

were safe. It was only last week a husband and wife unleashed a fury of bullets at a holiday party in San Bernardino, Calif., killing 14 and wounding 23. A week before that, one man shot and killed three outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colo. The law enforcement response was as copious as it was swift Thursday. ASU Chancellor Tim Hudson commended their efforts as well as the school’s alert system. Coincidentally, several ASU officials were in activeshooter training at the time of the incident. “The A-State community stays strong,” the chancellor said, adding students were in no further danger and class would resume as scheduled today. Elliott said Bartelt will be criminally charged, but 2nd Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington said Thursday night it was too early to speculate about what those charges would be. Elliot was one of the first officers to arrive at the scene. As Bartelt was escorted to a squad car in a gray shirt and pajama pants, the police chief spoke briefly with him. “I thanked him,” Elliott said. “For ending it the way he did, and he said, ‘I’m sorry.’”

thought, ‘I hope she isn’t in the student union.’ My stomach dropped.” She wasn’t. Schrader, a freshman biology major of El Dorado, said she was leaving nearby University Hall when students began running away from the student union, and she was told to run. She did. The couple eventually found each other after Bartelt’s arrest. With recent shootings elsewhere, Jolley said they had discussed the possibility of one, but never thought it could happen on the Jonesboro campus. “It provokes a lot of thought because I don’t see what you can do to stop it,” he added. “We had active shooter training, but it was for inside, not outside where all we could do was run,” Schrader added. “But I feel the police did all they could and showed up quickly.”

of something you don’t see, but when everyone else is freaking out, you freak out, too,” she added. As the minutes stretched by, Annette Clements stood on Dean Street before heading into a more secure University Hall. She did not realize anything was wrong until people began running past the cashier’s window where she works on the student union’s second floor. “... I didn’t hear any shooting and I felt better when I saw him surrounded and knew he wasn’t going anywhere,” Clements said. As the women headed behind locked doors, Jesse Talley remained behind on Dean Street. It had been 45 minutes since he last heard from Sara, his wife of eight years. Talley, who works in surgery at St. Bernards Medical Center, was preparing for work when he heard the news of a possible shooter through Facebook and media outlets. “I’m just anxious, frustrated, impatient,” he added. “I realize there is no shooting going on, but you’d think you’d have your phone on. … I’m just concerned. If anyone was shot, I would have gotten a call from work. It’s protocol.” Standing outside of their Northpark Quads apartments overlooking Talley’s position, Gabrielle Butler, a junior journalism major from West Memphis, and Jordan Vartanian, a junior undecided major of Fairview Heights, Ill., used group messaging to learn what their friends elsewhere on campus were seeing. While alarming, Butler said she was not scared because in 2010 she was one of the Walmart shoppers running back inside when Jerry Ralph Kane Jr. and his son Joseph got into a firefight with police there. Both women learned of the possible shooter through university text

alerts and from friends. They thought it was a horrible prank, but then Vartanian said they looked outside to find people running past and police screaming to get inside. “No one ever thought this would happen here,” Vartanian said. “This is Arkansas State — everyone likes everyone. … What is freaking me out is we live so close by the student union that if a person was shooting and came this way, we could be hurt.” Justin Taylor stood at the campus’ entrance with a worried look on his face. Taylor began his day studying for a final exam but concern about a test was the least of his worries as he stared across the university campus on lockdown. “I hope nobody got hurt. If he went into the cafeteria ...,” Taylor paused. “That place is packed this time of the day.” Taylor was preparing to go to class when his girlfriend called him at 2:07 p.m. to tell him that an shooter was on campus. Like many others who were standing at the edge of campus as police blocked traffic from the campus, Taylor was not just worried but frustrated. “I just spent six hours doing a study guide for a test that I’m not going to take,” Taylor said. Many students were taking or studying for finals when Thursday’s incident unfolded. Several distraught family members of students showed up to the locked-down campus, searching for their loved ones or answers. Joe Turney is a Realtor in Jonesboro whose daughter works at Arkansas State. When events began to unfold, Turney says his daughter immediately called him. “First thing you’re concerned about is your family member,” Turney said. “Then you begin to think about why people want to get on the campus and do harm anyway.”

CONTINUED FROM A1

union lawn at about 1:30 p.m., according to JPD dispatch logs. After doing a series of “doughnuts” in his truck on the grass, he brandished a shotgun and yelled at students to leave the area so “innocent lives were not taken,” witnesses said. Scores of law enforcement officers surrounded Bartelt, a former ASUNewport student, within minutes as he placed two flags atop his truck — an American flag and a yellow Gadsden flag inscribed with the image of a snake and the words “Don’t tread on me.” The gunman never pointed the 12-gauge shotgun at any policemen, Elliott said, but turned the barrel toward himself several times. At one point during the confrontation, Bartelt leisurely circled his truck, dousing it with gasoline. Following his arrest, Arkansas State Police bomb squads were enlisted to ensure the scene was safe. Police wouldn’t confirm if Bartelt acted out of frustration with the university. The disgruntled former student was severely injured in an 18-wheeler accident in August 2012 while attending the commercial trucking school at ASUNewport, according to Sun archives. Bartelt was

Staci Vandagriff | The Sun

Officials block Aggie Road with spike strips as police surround an armed man Thursday at the Arkansas State University campus.

WITNESSES CONTINUED FROM A1

hit home. “He could have easily killed me,” he said. “Cops grabbed us (immediately afterward) and put us in Arkansas Hall. They let us out after they had him in custody.” Standing on Caraway Road just north of the student union lawn, Sheets’ friend Taylor Davidson — who went to Westside Middle School two years after the 1998 shooting — stood with friends after Bartelt’s arrest. Davidson had been heading into the student union cafeteria when he heard others yell there was an active shooter. “I ran to the third floor and saw him outside of the window,” said Davidson, a sophomore criminology major of Jonesboro. “I saw him whip around. … I did not see a gun. Before he got out, I’m pretty sure no one thought shooter.” Kristi Houck, a junior animal science major of Ashdown, agreed. She was near Starbucks on the building’s second floor when she heard tires screeching and saw a flag on the vehicle. “At first, I was not worried, then he started acting crazy, yelling and someone told us to get out,” she said. “I never thought something like this could happen.” Walking down the steps leading to the student union lawn, Seth Jolley was heading to meet his girlfriend for lunch when the standoff started. “I heard someone say, ‘What is he doing?’” said Jolley, a freshman exercise science major of El Dorado. He realized something was wrong when, “He was out of the truck and it looked like he was loading a shotgun, and he was messing with stuff in the back of the truck. “As soon as I saw the gun, it dawned on me, and I started running,” he said, adding he called his girlfriend, Aixa Schrader, as he ran toward Wilson Hall. “I THE SUN – (USPS 582960) Periodicals postage paid at Jonesboro, AR and published daily at 518 Carson St. Jonesboro, AR

Waiting Weston Delancey, an equine major, was preparing for semester exams when he noticed a panic. “All of a sudden a bunch of people ran around the corner yelling there’s a shooter, get out!” Delancey said. “It’s scary. You don’t know where he is at that point.” One of the students alerting people of the danger was Kirsten Garner, a sophomore English major. “We were eating lunch in the union, and we just saw two girls full on sprinting outside. Some of the people said there was a school shooter. We went by the library and were telling other students,” Garner said. “My hands were shaking.” Delancey ran with her friend, Olivia Loiacano, to the ROTC building on campus. “We got into the ROTC, and girls were crying,” Loiacano said. “I was thinking get to a place where an active shooter wouldn’t go. “It’s hard to be scared BASIC HOME DELIVERED RATES Daily & Sunday: EZ-PAY 4 weeks $16.75 Billed 4 weeks $18.00 Weekends (Fri. Sat. Sun.) $11.33 four weeks

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TRUMP CONTINUED FROM A1

FBI as radicalized Muslims. “We should have a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on,” Trump said Monday. The issue can be divided into two different issues, an immigration issue and a moral issue, ASU economics professor Randy Kesselring said. “If we’re talking about the economic impact of halting Muslim immigration into the country, the statistics show that there would be little impact,” he said. “Now, this could lead to some animosity with some of our major Muslim trade partners, but as we’ve seen over the course of several years, animosity doesn’t always lead to a reduction in trade.” Kesselring was part of the Fulbright Scholars program in Syria in 2003 and was among a group of Americans withdrawn from the country as the Unites States invaded Iraq. His time in the country, the hotspot of the current immigration debate, gave him direct contact with people who are fleeing the country. “I am in contact with many of the students who I met there, and they have all left the country; they had to,” he said. “I can say that even when we were leaving that the Syrians I talked to were kind and understanding. They were able to separate the actions of a group or government from the people they claim to represent, as we

“What he had to say is not representative of what the United States or the Republican Party stands for.” John Boozman U.S. senator

should now.” The issue ultimately rests on a moral obligation for the United States to stand up for what it represents and take on a portion of the responsibility. “Should we take on all of the burden? No,” he said. “What I hear is 10,000 to 30,000 refugees, far less than the rest of the world would take in. We should not oppose those who need our help.” U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., also spoke out Thursday against Trump’s statements. “What he had to say is not representative of what the United States or the Republican Party stands for,” Boozman said. “However, we should recognize that people are concerned with the security of the country, and steps should be taken to address that.” Yandi will continue to oppose actions taken by the “radical thugs” that claim to represent his religion. “The thing we should do is live as the Quran actually dictates we should and show by example that Islam and Muslims are peaceful,” he said.

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A ll Pr e - ow n e d Ve h i c l e s Ye l l ow Ta g Fo r H u g e S av i n g s Fo r D e c e m b e r

FRIDAY DECEMBER 11, 2015

Editor Chris Wessel (870) 935-5525 A4

OPINION

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States: ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.’ THE JONESBORO SUN

Help those in need My grandpa had a frequent saying when kids lined up at the dinner table during family gatherings: “Get all you want, but eat all you get.” Grandpa, a small child during the Great Depression, found a use for most everything. Very little was wasted, especially when it came to food. I only mention that to note there was an abundance of food available to me as a child. I never missed a meal out of necessity. If I went to bed hungry, it was because I opted not to eat what was prepared for dinner that night (which didn’t/ A Different doesn’t happen often; my considerable gut is View evidence of that.) WAYLON I’m very much aware that makes me one of the HARRIS | lucky ones. Many Craighead County residents aren’t as fortunate. Many struggle to put food on the table for their families day in and day out. For most, it’s not for lack of effort. For many hard-working families, there’s simply too much month at the end of the money, and a decision must often be made whether to buy groceries or pay this month’s rent or light bill. This time of year is especially difficult for those families with children. While most of us are scurrying from store to store looking for the best deals on the must-have gifts of the year for friends and loved ones, there are thousands in Craighead County who have greater concerns than which big-box store has the newest must-have gadget in stock. For those families, life-sustaining food isn’t guaranteed for the holidays. Christmas Day meals rival Thanksgiving feasts in my family. There’s often more food available than I can fit on my plate or in my belly (however considerable in size it may be). So I can’t imagine waking up Christmas morning and not knowing whether I’d have access to a decent meal. I didn’t know that scenario was as prevalent as it is in Northeast Arkansas until I became involved with the Goodfellows program. After three years of working with the program, it’s now painfully obvious how great the need is. Fact is, thousands of people in Craighead County lack consistent access to a warm meal. Goodfellows will help provide them about a week’s worth of food for the holidays. The program will help hundreds of Craighead County families this year, thousands of people. But it won’t be possible without your support. I know there are dozens of great charitable causes you can choose to support this holiday season, but I sincerely hope you’ll choose to make Goodfellows one of them. There are no overhead or administrative costs associated with Goodfellows. Every cent and dollar you give goes straight toward purchasing food for the program. Every. Single. Penny. How awesome is that? If you want your charitable giving to have the greatest impact this year, surely Goodfellows is among the top of local causes that is

While most of us are scurrying from store to store looking for the best deals on the musthave gifts of the year for friends and loved ones, there are thousands in Craighead County who have greater concerns than which big-box store has the newest musthave gadget in stock. For those families, lifesustaining food isn’t guaranteed for the holidays. able to maximize every dollar spent. If you choose to help Goodfellows this year — and I sincerely hope you will — The Jonesboro Sun will print your donation in the newspaper. There are several ways to donate. You can give anonymously as a Goodfellow or you can opt to list your name alongside your donation amount. You can also donate in memory or in honor of a friend or loved one. Have a friend or relative who is hard to shop for and really isn’t caught up in material possessions? A monetary gift to Goodfellows in honor of that person could be a gift that would tell that person how important they are to you while helping feed hungry families in the process. Have a friend or loved one who’s passed in recent years that you happen to think of often during the holidays? How great would it be to memorialize that person’s memory while doing great things for less-fortunate families in Craighead County? Value your co-workers, or the firefighters who saved your home, or the police officers who protect your community, or the neighbor who looks after your pets and potted plants while your on vacation? Thank them with a Goodfellows donation. It helps let them know their efforts are appreciated, and it continues the good will in the community in the process. So far, we’ve collected $9,451, but there’s a long way to go. We must break the $23,000 mark, or there’s a strong possibility that eligible participants will be turned away from the program. I don’t want that to happen, so I need your help to make sure that it doesn’t happen. To donate, stop by The Jonesboro Sun’s office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday at 518 Carson St. Donations can also be mailed. Just make checks payable to Goodfellows, and send them to: Goodfellows The Jonesboro Sun 518 Carson St. Jonesboro, AR 72401 Waylon Harris, managing editor of The Sun, can be contacted at 935-5525, Ext. 244, or wharris@jonesborosun. com.

Letters Do the right thing Without a doubt, the biggest reason that some people are opposed to the property maintenance code is the part pertaining to “right of entry.” The fear-mongers who espouse rumors concerning right of entry are either uninformed or deliberately misleading residents so that people will oppose the ordinance. (I think I know which it is.) It is almost as if they would have you believe a “swat team” is going to come and break down your door. It is unfortunate that everyone who will be affected by the ordinance was not at the Dec. 1 city council meeting. The city attorney did an excellent job of explaining that no one, regarding the code, can enter your home without your written permission. She also explained that the city cannot fine you for code violations. That can only be done by a district judge only after you have been given 90 days to correct any problems. Then you would have another 90 days if you appealed any decision to a circuit judge. (That would be a total of six months.) One of the more interesting items at the Dec. 1 meeting was a letter read that had been signed jointly by the chief of police, the fire chief, the code enforcement chief and the city building inspector stating that they all favored the property maintenance code being passed. Jonesboro city council, please pass this ordnance. It is the right thing to do. Frank F. Sloan Jonesboro

Frustrated Republican I’m 61 years old. I went to work at age 15. My family and I have lived and worked in Jonesboro for 28 years. I am an ASU alumnus. I’ve voted Republican, and sometimes Libertarian, all my life. Over the last few years I’ve become very concerned about the dysfunction within the Republican Party, especially among the tea party ideologues. I suspect the level of gridlock is emblematic of a fundamental problem.

I believe the root of that problem is a lack of leadership. True statesmen understand that they must check their us-versus-them mentality at the door. We are all in this together. That hard-nosed, inyour-face brinkmanship has to be set aside to be a true servant to 300-plus million people. I believe the American people are frustrated, I know I am. The final straw for me is Donald Trump. If he wins the Republican nomination, I will be voting for the Democratic nominee. David Bufkin Jonesboro

Code deserves support I am in support of the Jonesboro Property Maintenance code. We have lived in Jonesboro since 1978. We have watched Jonesboro grow from a small town of approximately 17,000 people to the vibrant, forward thinking city of over 67,000 that it is today. Along with this growth comes added responsibility. That is where we are today with this proposed code. I want to express my appreciation to the citizens from all over the city who have worked so hard to support this code. They come from all walks of life, all areas of the city. Some are neighborhood associations, some are neighborhood watches, others are simply concerned citizens banding together out of concern and love for their neighborhood and city. It has been no easy task to combat the lies, propaganda, etc. that have been put out by well-organized special interest groups. It is important to note the two sides and their motives. There are those who stand to gain financially, then there are those who are fighting for pride and progress for their neighborhoods. Again, I want to thank those who are doing the right thing in supporting this code in its entirety. I sincerely hope the city council follows suit and passes the code in full. Anything less would be a travesty. David Casteel Jonesboro Please see LETTERS | A5

Property maintenance a people, not political issue BY TERESA BECK Guest columnist

The interests of the people should always trump political wrangling and partisan bickering. One reason that so little is accomplished in the political realm is the failure of leaders to move their focus from special interests and lobbyists. If we would focus on the people and how they are affected, life would be so grand. The Jonesboro Property Maintenance Code (JPMC) is not a political issue. It should not be driven by the desires or demands of the special interest groups that have brought us to this point in the first place. It is a common sense initiative that will help clean up our city. Again, the citywide housing study emphasized repeatedly that we have a problem. Taking care of only the exterior would be the equivalent of telling some of the folks who can’t get their heaters fixed in winter but by golly we can paint the outside. During this time of year, of all times, we should think of

Chris Wessel, editor cwessel@jonesborosun.com

David R. Mosesso, publisher dmosesso@jonesborosun.com

others. We are ignoring the folks who could be helped the most because they do not run in our crowds, meet our standards or they aren’t going to get us reelected. Even if they have made bad life choices, if you are going to rent houses, there has to be some baseline criteria for the housing offered. Keeping the property up to a minimum standard not only benefits the tenant, it also benefits the neighbors. Better-kept properties improve neighborhoods, raise property values, raise the tax base, deter crime and provide evidence that the owner cares about those who live around their properties and their tenants. Even though most of us cannot imagine some of the conditions that exist in our city and we certainly wouldn’t want our own children to live in these conditions, we cannot ignore the plight of those who currently have no method to deal with these issues. For instance, consider the college student whose heat failed during the

winter last year and was unable to get his landlord to respond to the issue so he relied on a space heater loaned to him by a neighbor to stay warm. Under our current law, the student still has to pay rent, he cannot fix the heater and withhold the cost of the repair; he cannot move out thereby breaking the least; he has no recourse. And it is perfectly legal for the landlord to neglect fixing the heater unless it is specifically mentioned in the lease. The young college student is living with a space heater in a bedroom in an older home. Would you want your child living like this if he were in another country? Would you be happy with this setup? Most people would assume that heat and air would be a standard in any rental with or without a lease, but in Arkansas it is not. Or consider another young man with a leak above his bed. This young man was a struggling college student with zero parental involvement. The young man paid rent and kept the property

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Editorials represent the voice of The Jonesboro Sun. Editorial columns, letters to the editor and other articles that appear on this page and the opposite page represent the opinions of the writers, and The Sun may or may not agree.

neat and clean. The landlord was unresponsive to the leak for months until the young man’s roommate got his father involved. This gentleman was more connected and had higher visibility in the community; therefore, the landlord was “convinced to act right” and fixed the leak. How sad is that? What if that was your son renting a home in a college town? The previous examples are ones for which I have first-hand knowledge. There is another problem that was mentioned in the housing study that is equally as disturbing. The group conducting the study noticed that some rentals located close to the ASU campus that are primarily rented by international students are exceptionally blighted with the students having no expectation for minimum standards. These students didn’t know their living conditions were inadequate simply because they came from Third World Please see BECK | A5

SATURDAY: Charles Krauthammer: Why take the Trump stunt seriously?

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015

OPINION

THE JONESBORO SUN

www.jonesborosun.com

Waging war outside the box

Americans looking for a Snuggy Bear and a blankey to ease their anxieties about the Islamic State will have to become more comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty. From President Barack Obama’s recent terror speech in the Oval Office to Donald Trump’s terrifying, race-baiting, religion-testing rebuke in South Carolina, there is little to console those seeking either instant gratification from Obama or sanity from the leading Republican presidential candidate. While Trump speaks Kathleen to fear with anti-Muslim Parker | rhetoric that builds a wall around our national essence, the president attempts to soothe with reason and inspirational rhetoric more befitting a nation that hasn’t just suffered a horrific terrorist slaughter. Obama’s speech was never going to satisfy critics and those convinced they know the better route. But the fact of the speech alone — appropriately solemn in recognition of the fact that the killings in San Bernardino, Chattanooga and at Fort Hood were terrorist attacks — spoke volumes. And though he identified the California terrorists as Islamic State-inspired, he surely disappointed

those insistent in their own cultish fashion that Obama refuses to name the enemy and, therefore, can’t defeat him. An absurdity. A dead terrorist is a dead terrorist by any name. Obama’s further reiteration of his current course left wanting those longing for the more-comforting certitude of the cheerleader with a megaphone. And those hoping for a declaration of the usual sort of war — thousands of ground troops in Syria and Iraq — were doubtless disappointed, as well as affirmed in their belief that Obama doesn’t get it. Or that he’s only trying to preserve his legacy as the non-war president, a trope favored by the right. But realistically, what president chooses to ignore a necessary war? Who wants to be remembered as the cowardly commander in chief who allowed the world to slip into darkness and despair? No one, and certainly not Obama. The problem for the president is that the war he is waging feels like a longterm strategy without benefit of the short-term. If not ground troops, then what? There is no good answer. This is a new kind of war requiring fresh approaches. The old templates don’t apply because they actually work against us. As soon as we put boots on the ground, the Islamic State is rewarded with the war

it wants, with the propaganda machine it can’t otherwise replicate, and with the martyrdom its members welcome. Are Americans really ready to watch their military men and women beheaded and burned alive? Thus, Obama and his advisers have focused on alternative means of defeating a monster that feeds on atrocity and hate. Strategic hits, special operations, counterterrorism propaganda and so on. At home, he seems to say, fight hate with love, fear with resilience, monsters with the superior force of good. By comparison, admittedly, Trump sounds both decisive and definitive. But — this is no joke — Trump is also the most dangerous person to emerge on the American political scene in decades. As president, he would be the most dangerous man on the planet. I’ve often objected in my column to invoking Hitler as popular analog because it trivializes the suffering and slaughter of the Jews. Now I’m not so sure. Remember that before there could be a Holocaust, there was the identification of the Jewish race as the enemy. Trump’s identification of Muslims as “the problem,” with his threat of a Muslim registry and a religious test at the border, sounds terribly familiar. Two facts to consider: First, we need the help of the world’s 1.6 billion — and

this nation’s 3 million — Muslims if we hope to defeat terrorists who justify their barbarism with their interpretation of Islam. Second, our best defense against radicalization of Muslim-Americans is inclusiveness. By marginalizing our own Muslim community through rhetoric, we vastly increase the risk of radicalization and recruitment. Obama understands this. He also understands that another ground war in the Middle East risks our becoming entrenched in endless battle against an enemy that can inspire insurgencies indefinitely. Few doubt that we could easily take over Iraq and Syria in a replay of shockand-awe, but then what? Invading another Muslim country feeds right into the Islamic State’s playbook and installs a Crusader vs. Caliphate narrative for millennia — or whatever foreshortened era we invent. Again, ambiguity and uncertainty are our companions for now and probably for a while. In the meantime, our internecine squabbles about our own nation’s principles couldn’t be a better holiday gift to the butchers-in-waiting. And Trump, by dividing us from within, is the enemy’s hero. Kathleen Parker’s email address is kathleenparker@washpost.com. (c) 2015, Washington Post Writers Group

LETTERS CONTINUED FROM A4

Pass the code I am writing this letter

in regards to the proposed property maintenance code. I think this is a very important ordinance. As a person who has had to rent properties in this area, I would like to say that too many times the landlords use the Band-Aid approach to keep up their properties. They expect the tenants to do the upkeep, which, yes, they should do, but the bigger things they should not. The owners don’t want to fix the major things. It makes the property values go down. The neighbors dislike the rental properties and their tenants. So, in turn, they end up renting to folks who, let’s say, are not pillars of society. Mainly because no one else wants to rent these properties, they are run down and rat and roach infested. They have holes in the roof, siding with holes, which allows cold air into the property along with rain. That causes mold. Some have plumbing that either doesn’t work or works very poorly. Thinking that is acceptable, because, after all, they are just renters, is wrong. So if you want good renters, working renters, noncriminals and no drug dealers then make these properties clean, neat and, oh yes, livable. Because when no one cares, thugs and criminals come in. I hope the city decides to pass this ordinance. Let’s clean up Jones-

boro, and make it a place where criminals can’t hide. Jenny Hensley Jonesboro

Jonesboro, keep crosses In reading today’s copy of The Sun, I noted where the Freedom from Religion Foundation in Wisconsin has decided to involve itself in Jonesboro’s business as it is bothered by crosses in public view in our county assessor’s office. I have to admit they have great visual acuity if these crosses are offensive over such a great distance! First, along with everyone I have talked to, why should this woman’s opinion matter? Stay in Wisconsin and leave us alone. If someone here does not like it, let him or her speak for themselves. Secondly, we are in the Bible Belt and crosses are part of that belief system, so get used to it. They have been around for as long as I can remember and if you have a problem get over it or move. Crosses themselves have been around for a few thousand years, so it may be best to get used to it. As Christians, we have kept our voices silent too long. We need to stand up and quit hiding our “crosses.” We need to speak up. Keep your cross in your windows, around your necks and in your yards. It is the season to say Merry Christmas. If you sneeze, I will say “God Bless

You.” I pray before I eat, even in public. I believe in displaying the 10 Commandments publicly wherever possible, as well as teaching them in school along with the Golden Rule. I also agree this ideally should be a parental responsibility, but obviously this is not occurring from the current state of affairs. Jonesboro has always been good at policing itself. We do not need a woman, or anyone for that matter, outside of our growing home, telling us what we can or cannot do. If we choose to be openly religious, we will. If decided by the votes of Jonesboro to change that policy, we will do that on our own without outside influence. I suppose what I am trying to say is, stay in Wisconsin and we will not bother you if you will not bother us. Jonesboro’s business is just that, Jonesboro’s business. The last time I checked, Wisconsin was quite a long way from Jonesboro, so we really should not be any concern of yours. Well, as a voting, lifelong resident of Jonesboro, I would prefer you stay out of our business, and I do not think I am alone. Libby Smith Jonesboro Editor’s note: The complaint about the display of crosses at the assessor’s office originated from a local resident and was turned into the Freedom from Religion Foundation, which gets involved in such issues across the nation.

BECK CONTINUED FROM A4

countries. So because these students didn’t know any better, the owners provided properties that were termed “deplorable.” Is that how we really want our community to be viewed? Are we not better than this? These properties are all properties where tenants would be helped by a property maintenance code. These tenants are not the ones who are often vilified. These tenants are students attending ASU, one of the largest employers in the area and an entity that we need to work with, not against, in keeping Jonesboro economically viable and attractive to industry. Ensuring that rentals aimed at university students maintain a basic level of livability

can only help our city. Having well-maintained rentals will also be more attractive to the parents of these students when they visit and help make living arrangements for their children. Special interest groups, especially those that have consistently misled, have no place driving the debate or even exerting influence. This matter is a matter of the heart and mind of our city. Are we going to show care and concern for all of the residents who live here or only a chosen few? Are we going to listen to the clamoring of the ones causing the problem or the forthright, calm debate of those seeking a change? Are we going to continue to allow structures to exist that we wish we didn’t know about or are we going to intervene?

When we individually or collectively know what is right and what is best and we do not do it, the consequences are dire. Sometimes allowing a situation to exist without active intervention is just as bad as instigating the trouble in the first place. One last time; this is not a political issue, it is a people issue. Please, let’s rise above the usual course of business and become extraordinary. Let’s be an example to our own state and actively address a failure in our legal system that allows for this disparity. If something this simple and practical divides us, well then, we may be getting exactly what we deserve. Teresa Beck was the chairwoman of the Jonesboro Property Maintenance Committee.

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015

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Obituaries Betty Bishop

BATESVILLE — Betty Bishop, 59, of Batesville died Wednesday in Jonesboro. Survivors include two daughters, Christina Sweet (Chuck) of Batesville and Ginger Horton (Wayne) of Paragould; grandchildren, Brentley Gipson, Makenzie Gipson, Reagan Sweet, Riley Sweet, Cory Horton and Owen Horton; and six brothers. A funeral service will be 2 p.m. Saturday in Roller-Crouch Funeral Home Chapel at Batesville. Burial will follow in Alderbrook Cemetery. Visitation is from noon 2 p.m. Saturday, prior to the service. Memorials may be made to the Flo and Phil Jones Hospice House, 1148 E. Matthews Ave., Jonesboro 72401 Online registry: www. rollerfuneralhomes.com/ batesville

Patricia Browning

HARRISBURG — Mrs. Patricia “Patty” Browning of Harrisburg departed this life Thursday in Jonesboro at the age of 57. She was born April 22, 1958, at Hammond, Ind., the daughter of Richard Green and Clara Earwood Green. She is survived by her husband, Harold Mack Browning, children, Kevin Browning (Dana) and Shannon Morgan (Stacy), and grandchildren, Ashton Browning, Zach Browning, Lilie Morgan and Adam Morgan, all of Harrisburg. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Saturday in Gregg-Weston Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will follow in Marked Tree Cemetery. Friends may visit from 5 to 7 tonight at the funeral home. Online registry: www. mcnabbfuneralhomes. com

Helen Daniels

NEWPORT — Helen Pearline Gardner Daniels of Newport died Wednesday. Survivors include a son, Perry Daniels of Little Rock; two daughters, Catherine Kramer and husband George L. of Memphis and Teresa Crotts of Newport; six grandchildren, Stephanie

Howell, Jennifer Lisenko, Trey Crotts, Shad Crotts, Marissa Martin and Vanessa Tharp; eight greatgrandchildren (with one on the way); and her special caregivers, Connie Leatherwood and Kathleen Marshall. Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Saturday in Jackson’s Newport Funeral Home Chapel. Visitation will be 1 p.m. to service time Saturday. Interment will be in Blue Springs Cemetery. Online registry: www. jacksonsfh.com

Jerry Davenport

PARAGOULD — Jerry Lee Davenport, 55, of Paragould passed away Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015, in Memphis. He loved working on vehicles and lawncare. He was of the Baptist belief. He was preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Shirley Rice Davenport. Survivors include his daughters, Beth Archibald, Geri Lynn Davenport and Ann Marie Cox; seven grandchildren; and two brothers, Larry and Donald Davenport. All services will be private. Roller-Farmers Union Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Online registry: www. rollerfuneralhomes.com

William Garland

NEWPORT — William Ralph Garland departed this life Wednesday. He was born Aug. 19, 1933, to George and Katie McGinnis Garland. He was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Elizabeth and Wilma; and two brothers, Filmore and Linzey. He is survived by a sister, Gladys Hodge of Goshen, Ind.; two nieces, Angella Holleman of Hickory Ridge and Zelda Howard of Newport, and several other nieces and nephews. Funeral service will be 10 a.m. Saturday in Dillinger Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will be in Balch Cemetery. Visitation will be 5:30 to 7 tonight. Online registry: www. dillingerfuneralhome. com

Mollie Furnish SOUTHAVEN, Miss. — Mollie Jeanette Furnish, 86, passed away Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015, at her residence in Southaven. She was born Aug. 18, 1929, at Ardmore, Ala.,

Police, Courts

to the late Walter and Thelma Hill. She retired from Smith and Nephew Orthopaedics as a technician. She will be remembered as a loving wife, mother, sister, grandmother and friend. She was survived by her husband of 68 years, L.J. Furnish of the home; children, Katrina Chunn and Dean Furnish (Michelle) and Tim Furnish (Marilyn), all of Southaven, and Shane Furnish (Amanda) of Independence, Miss.; three brothers, Roy Hill (Margie) of Olive Branch, Miss., Howard Hill (Eloise) of Trumann and Tullos Hill of Jacksonville; six grandchildren, Michelle Smith (Jerry) of Brighton, Tenn., Celesta Ellis (Keith) of Horn Lake, Miss., Jacob Furnish of Southaven, Brent Chunn (Blair) of Brighton, Jennifer Waters (Jeremy) of Kentucky and Jeremy Furnish of Southaven; 10 great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandchild. She was also preceded in death by two brothers, J.C. and Calvin, and three sisters, Pearl, Irenna and Lucille. A celebration of her life will be 2 p.m. Saturday in Gregg-Langford Bookout Funeral Home Chapel, 300 W. Matthews Ave. in Jonesboro, with Bob Riley officiating. Burial will follow in Nettleton Cemetery. The family will receive friends from noon until 2 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Honored to serve as pallbearers are Dean Furnish, Timmy Furnish, Brent Chunn, Shane Furnish, Keith Ellis, Corey Ellis, Jerry Smith and Jeremy “Muddy” Waters, and as honorary pallbearers, her brothers, Roy, Howard and Tullos. Lasting memorials may be sent to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Evelyn Penter

TRUMANN — Mrs. Evelyn J. Penter, 86, of Trumann died Thursday at White River Medical Center in Batesville. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Thompson Funeral Home of Trumann.

Index ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Bishop, Betty Browning, Patricia Daniels, Helen Davenport, Jerry Garland, William Furnish, Mollie Penter, Evelyn Rhodes, Marilyn Riley, Geneva

Marilyn Rhodes RAVENDEN SPRINGS — Marilyn R. Rhodes, 78, formerly of New Harmony, Ind., died Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015, at Deaconess VNA Hospice in Evansville, Ind. Marilyn is survived by her sons, Mark Biggs of Stewartsville, Ind., Jerry Biggs of Alpine, Ariz., and James Biggs of Evansville; brother, Richard Garrett of New Harmony; sister, Eva Lou Allen of Carmi, Ill.; stepson, Gerry Rhodes of Nashville, Tenn.; and stepdaughter, Tammy Townsend of Florida. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, son, sister and brother. Burial will be 1 p.m. Tuesday in Antioch Cemetery near Ravenden Springs. Online registry: www. werryfuneralhomes.com

Geneva Riley

JONESBORO — Geneva Lucille Riley, 94, of Jonesboro passed from this life Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015. She was born in Tuckerman to Thomas Bailey and Rosetta Burgess Bailey on Sept. 12, 1921. Geneva was a homemaker who loved her grandbabies, word search books, quilting and sewing. She was a member of Grubbs 1st Baptist Church. Geneva is preceded in death by her parents; two brothers and two sisters. Survivors include son, Garry (Mikyong) Riley of Lawton, Okla.; daughters, Gwen (Glen) Odglen of Springdale and Misty (Todd) Carr of Jonesboro; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. A graveside service will be 11 a.m. at Ballew’s Chapel Cemetery on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, with Mike Shreve officiating. There will be no visitation. For lasting memorials, the family asks to please consider the charity of their choice. Online registry: www. emersonfuneralhome.com

ASU Board of Trustees meets today BY SARAH MORRIS Sun Staff Writer smorris@jonesborosun.com

JONESBORO — Arkansas State University’s Board of Trustees will consider merit bonuses and a 1 percent cost-ofliving adjustment for some on the Jonesboro campus when it meets at 1 p.m. today on the ASUMountain Home campus. Jonesboro officials are requesting a 1 percent cost-of-living adjustment for classified employees retroactive to July 1, and merit bonuses for nonclassified staff and faculty. Classified employees are typically support staff and those in a state pay grade, while non-classified positions are administrative positions, according to the university. “The efficient and aggressive management of our resources and salary

savings combined with a portion of the revenues associated with our growing online programs and an uptick in enrollment have generated funds that allow us to reward our faculty and non-classified staff with a one-time, merit bonus,” Chancellor Tim Hudson said in a Dec. 9 email to all employees and supervisors. “The 1 percent bonus pool will be distributed to individuals in varying amounts based upon merit evaluations for the 2014-15 academic year,” he added. Hudson said the director of the state Department of Finance and Administration authorized a 1 percent cost-of-living adjustment in May, which the university was unable to award at that time. The total cost of those merit bonuses and costof-living adjustments

JONESBORO — The Jonesboro Fire Department responded to the following alarms during the 24-hour period ending at 6 p.m. Thursday. ■ At 9:29 a.m. Thursday, 1700 E. Johnson Ave., smoke scare.

and how many employees would benefit is not known at this time. It is not the only request. The ASU System Office requested a 1 percent cost-of-living adjustment for non-classified and classified staff. ASU-Mountain Home is asking for a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment for non-classified staff and faculty, and a 1 percent cost-of-living adjustment for classified staff. “The operating budget establishes expenditure levels for certain categories of expense, including salaries, supplies and services, and capital expenditures,” the action item’s request states. “When the 2015-16 operating budgets were approved on May 8, 2015, salary expenditure plans were delayed for the Jonesboro and Mountain Home campuses and for

the ASU System Office in order to consider fall enrollment trends.” Board members will also consider resolutions: ■ naming a Delta Center classroom on the AState campus as the R.M. “Bob” Wood Sales Leadership Center. ■ approving A-State’s request to eliminate its application fee for concurrent enrollment students in order to provide efficiencies in the concurrent enrollment process. ■ approving ASU System to designate largescale distance education programs offered by AState as not eligible for tuition discounts. ■ approving ASU System to revise the system staff handbook to include the university’s non-discrimination in university practices statement. Please see TRUSTEES | A7

Fire Runs ■ At 10 a.m. Thursday, 101 N. Caraway Road, assisting police or other government agency. ■ At 2:55 p.m. Thursday, Caraway Road and U.S. 63, grass fire. ■ At 4:30 p.m. Thursday, 3911 Brandywine Drive, smoke or odor

removal. ■ At 4:37 p.m. Thursday, 1007 Hall Drive, assisting police or other government agencies. ■■■

Firefighters also received nine calls for medical assistance.

Local man receives ‘ISIS’ threat JONESBORO — A Craighead County man said he received a $1 million demand from someone who said he works for the terrorist organization ISIS. The man told Investigator Gary Etter of the Craighead County Sheriff’s Office that the man called him Tuesday morning from an 876 area code and told him if he did not give him the money he would kill the whole family. The local man told the caller he did not know where he lived, and the foreigner told him that he lives in Jonesboro and has one daughter. The man actually lives on a county road outside of Jonesboro. The 876 area code is in Jamaica. Just in case, Etter contacted deputies and requested extra patrol for the man’s residence.

3 teens arrested in robbery, shooting OSCEOLA — Three teenagers have been charged in the aggravated robbery of Osceola man, who was shot during the attack. Two juveniles, ages 14 and 15, and Dezmond Brooks, 18, were charged with aggravated robbery, two counts of first degree battery and engaging in violent group activity. The victim is recovering from his wounds. Brooks was arrested Dec. 7 and the two juveniles were arrested on Dec. 3. “The investigation is ongoing so we can’t t release anymore information at this moment,” Brooks Osceola Police Chief David Gladden said. Brooks’ bond was set at $100,000, and the two juveniles’ bond was set at $150,000 each.

Police: Friend robs Blytheville man BLYTHEVILLE — A Blytheville resident learned that sometimes your friends can be your enemies. According to a report from the Blytheville Police Department, Partion Williams told police that on Dec. 7 he was robbed by a friend. “At approximately 11 p.m., he was walking with a friend in an alley in the 300 block of Lake when his friend robbed him,” Capt. Scott Adams said. “Williams stated that all of a sudden his friend turned to him and said, ‘I got to do it.’ Williams asked, ‘Do what?’ when the friend pulled out and pointed a black pistol toward him.” According to the report, Willams told his friend that he had nothing to take. Then he began struggling with the friend for the gun. Williams told police he was able to run away from the scene. “Williams advised he was told by multiple people that his friend was involved in a recent shooting,” Adams said.

Burglar gets assist from landlord JONESBORO — A burglary suspect apparently had help from the victim’s landlord. The victim told police Wednesday she was en route to a class at Marked Tree when her former boyfriend called her and told her someone was inside her home in the 3200 block of Race Street. She said her landlord was there to let service people in to repair her stove and water heater. The victim said two 40-inch TVs, an electronic tablet and three car speakers were missing when she arrived home a couple of hours later. The landlord told police he allowed the exboyfriend and two other men inside because he believed he was supposed to be there. The suspect then borrowed some of the landlord’s tools to remove some speakers from a vehicle, and the suspect then siphoned gas from the vehicle, the landlord said. The landlord said the entourage of thieves was still there when he left.

Firearms stolen from home JONESBORO — A .22 caliber rifle and a 9-millimeter pistol were reported stolen from a home in the 600 block of Craighead Road 757 Wednesday. Deputy Brock McFarlin said several other things were also stolen from the home, as well as from a shop building at the victim’s son’s home next door. Other stolen property included portable space heaters, a vacuum cleaner, two folding ladders, a leaf blower, weed trimmer and a gas-powered generator. In all the stolen property was valued at about $2,000. The crime is believed to have occurred between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. No suspects were identified.

Lepanto woman killed in accident LEPANTO — A Lepanto woman was killed in an accident early Thursday morning. According to Arkansas State Police, Sheri Elrod Foster, 48, of Lepanto was killed in single vehicle accident. According to the crash report, Foster was driving a 2011 Ford Focus on Arkansas 140 around 12:45 a.m., when her car left the road, struck a ditch and overturned. The weather was clear and the road conditions were dry at the time of the crash.

Carter named Troop C commander JONESBORO (AP) — Arkansas State Police Lt. John Carter is being promoted to captain and will take over as commander of Troop C in Jonesboro. State Police Col. Bill Bryant said Thursday that the 52-year-old Carter replaces recently retired Capt. Jim Howington and takes over as commander immediately. Troop C covers Clay, Craighead, Greene, Mississippi, Poinsett and Randolph counties in northeast Arkansas. Carter is a 25-year veteran of the state police and most recently was assistant troop commander of Troop B in Newport.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015

NEWS

THE JONESBORO SUN

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Aflac endows scholarship to business center Top cop pushes

JONESBORO â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Aflac (the American Family Life Assurance Co.) has entered into a corporate partnership with Arkansas State University with a $25,000 scholarship endowment to the R.M. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bobâ&#x20AC;? Wood Sales Leadership Center in the College of Business. The permanent scholarship is titled the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Aflac Sales Leadership Scholarship.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am extraordinarily thankful for the generous commitment Aflac has made to our sales program,â&#x20AC;? said Dr. Shane Hunt, dean of the College of Business. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Aflac is an outstanding organization that shares our commitment to teaching, mentoring and preparing the next generation of great salespeople here at the R.M. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bobâ&#x20AC;? Wood Sales Leadership Center. Hunt explained that the partnership between AState and Aflac grew from several meetings between

9/11 health bill Associated Press

Dr. Jason Penry (from left), vice chancellor for advancement at Arkansas State University; Dr. Shane Hunt, dean of the College of Business; Eddie Martina, market director for Aflac Arkansas; Brad Eldred, Aflac regional sales coordinator; and David McClain, A-State executive director of development, are shown. Aflac executives in Little Rock and throughout the country and Hunt, Vice Chancellor for Advancement Jason Penry and Executive Director of Development David McClain.

Briefs JONESBORO â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Graduates of Arkansas State University who earned degrees through the online program will be honored at a reception after the conclusion of Saturdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commencement ceremony in the Convocation Center at 217 Olympic Drive. The event, hosted by Academic Partnerships and the Alumni Association, starts at noon in the Cooper Alumni Center, 2600 Alumni Blvd.

Associated Press

Parkin park hosts basket weaving event PARKIN â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Spend the day at Parkin Archeological State Park Visitor Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday with a park interpreter in a basketweaving workshop. A $20 fee covers materials and instruction. Preregistration is required. Ages 12 and above are recommended. Call Park Interpreter Mel at 755-2500 or email her at mel.harvey@arkansas.gov to sign up.

TRUSTEES

â&#x2013; approving ASU System to revise the intellectual property policy and rename it the intellectual property not subject to patent policy.

The sales leadership center provides students an innovative, universitylevel sales training experience, utilizing curriculum and access to business leaders through lectures and mentoring, all nec-

essary to help in their careers. To further benefit the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business interests, the centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lab space is open to the general business community as well as all students at Arkansas State.

Former Oklahoma officer guilty in sex assault trial

A-State hosts online graduates reception

CONTINUED FROM A6

WASHINGTON â&#x20AC;&#x201D; The New York Police Department commissioner, flanked by police and firefighters, pushed Congress on Thursday to keep dollars flowing to a health program for first responders and others who got sick working in the rubble of the Sept. 11 attacks. Commissioner William Bratton noted that the House and Senate were holding hearings on the evolving terrorist threat to the United States, but the country still hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t paid its debt to the first responders of 9/11. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That is the ultimate irony,â&#x20AC;? Bratton said, standing in a Senate office building rotunda decorated with emotive artwork of first responders, including some who became ill and died. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It just defies logic.â&#x20AC;? The Zadroga Act,

â&#x2013; approving ASU System unmanned aircraft systems policy. The board will also receive a presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s report and reports from the chancellors, consider personnel action and elect officers.

OKLAHOMA CITY â&#x20AC;&#x201D; A former Oklahoma City police officer was convicted Thursday of raping and sexually victimizing eight women on his police beat in a minority, low-income neighborhood. Daniel Holtzclaw, who turned 29 Thursday, sobbed as the verdict was read aloud. Jurors convicted him on 18 counts involving eight of the 13 women who had accused him; the jury acquitted him on another 18 counts. He could spend the rest of his life in prison based on the juryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recommendation that he serve a total of 263 years in prison, including a 30-year sentence on each of the four firstdegree rape counts. He was also convicted

Groups ask court to uphold ruling voiding abortion law

of forcible oral sodomy, sexual battery, procuring lewd exhibition and second-degree rape. The jury deliberated for about 45 hours over four days. Holtzclawâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sentencing is set for Jan. 21. A judge will decide whether he will have to serve the sentences consecutively. Holtzclawâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a police officer in Enid, about 100 miles northwest of Oklahoma City â&#x20AC;&#x201D; his mother and sister were in the courtroom as the verdict was read. At least one accuser was present, as well as several black community leaders. Seven armed deputies were stationed around the room. Holtzclawâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s defense attorney, Scott Adams, declined to comment after the verdict was read.

Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Opponents of Arkansasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; overturned 12-week abortion ban are asking the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highest court to reject the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attempt to get the restriction reinstated. Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center

for Reproductive Rights on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to deny Attorney General Leslie Rutledgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s request to have the law upheld. A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in May upheld a federal judgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ruling striking down the ban. 2 1 0 9 W e s t M a t t h e w s

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THE JONESBORO SUN

Riverside High School to offer associate degrees BY SARAH MORRIS Sun Staff Writer smorris@jonesborosun.com

LAKE CITY — Starting next year, Riverside students will have the chance to graduate not only with a high school degree, but an associate of arts degree in liberal arts. “It’s a game changer,” Riverside High School Principal Jeff Priest told the Riverside School Board on Monday. “We are the third school in the state to be able to do this on our campus.” The Rebels Earning Associates Degree (R.E.A.D.) Initiative will allow students to take 60 hours of free concurrent classes through Arkansas State University-Newport to receive the associate degree. The high school cur-

rently offers 39 concurrent courses, which are classes students can take for both high school and college credit. Allen Mooneyhan, ASUN dean for distance learning, said the number of students taking concurrent classes is increasing. Riverside has 71 students — not taking into account students enrolled in more than one class — taking concurrent courses this semester, up from 49 last fall. By participating in the new initiative, Mooneyhan said students are completing the basic course requirements students typically attend a two-year college for, and can start a four-year college as juniors and start directly on degree course-

work. While any student attending the high school next year will have the opportunity to take concurrent classes through the initiative, students currently in the eighth grade will be the first class able to graduate with the associate degree. It is a distinction that will save students money as they continue their education — an important factor when 65 percent of the district’s students receive free and reduced lunches, Priest said. To participate, Mooneyhan said students will need at least a 19 on the ACT and to maintain a 2.0 grade point average. The district has historically not seen that many students taking the ACT

by ninth grade. Priest said it will be uncharted territory, but school officials are already looking at ways to improve that number. The proposed degree plan has students starting slowly, and students who do not achieve the needed score by the start of ninth grade will be able to work on the needed courses later. The initiative will allow students to obtain associate degrees in high school for about $960, Priest added. Overall, the initiative’s average budget will be $5,126 per year. It is a cost Riverside will absorb — a feat Priest said is only possible because the high school has seven teachers with master’s degrees who can teach all

but three of the courses. College algebra, oral communications and fine arts will be offered online through Virtual Arkansas for a $25 fee. All of the concurrent courses will remain free as long as the students receive a passing grade. Priest said students who drop a course or fail will be required to reimburse the $16 per-credithour fee to the school. That $16 fee is less than what is typically paid. Priest said the school was able to lower the percredit-hour fee from $104 to $16 by having those seven teachers with master’s degrees available. Riverside will offer a $150-per-credit-hour stipend to each teacher. The overall cost of the sti-

pends will be $7,500 each year. By offering stipends, Priest said they hope to entice teachers to get their master’s degrees, retain those teachers within the school, and recruit others who already have master’s degrees. The district will not have to apply for charter status to offer the initiative, but ASUN will have to seek approval through the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. The Riverside School Board approved a resolution supporting the initiative at its Monday night meeting. “The other two schools offering this are much bigger than us,” Priest added. “For us to offer this, it’s monumental.”

Grant complicates golf course closing BY STEPHEN SIMPSON Sun Staff Writer ssimpson@jonesborosun.com

BLYTHEVILLE — The Thunder Bayou Golf Course was expected to be closed next year to save the city money, but it might not be that simple. During the Blytheville Parks and Recreation Committee meeting Monday it was uncovered that the city can’t simply shut down the golf course because of a $215,000 government grant. “In 1978 we received a federal assistance grant for the old Fairview Golf Course,” Finance Director John Callens said. “When we decided to close the Fairview Golf Course we converged the grant to

the Thunder Bayou Golf Course. This means that we can’t close the Thunder Bayou golf course without converging the grant to something else.” The grant states that if the city closes Thunder Bayou, it must open something else with equal or greater value, Outdoor Recreation Grants Program Director John Beneke said in an email. “Our records indicated that Blytheville originally acquired 42.5 acres with an existing golf course (Fairview Acres) with the assistance of a federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grant,” Beneke said. “The city Please see GRANT | A13

Kellie Cobb | The Sun

Family and friends gathered at Upper Crust Pizza Monday to support Barrett Baber, a top four finalist in NBC’s “The Voice.” Pictured are (from left) Charles “Skip” Mooney Jr., Kathy Hogue, Jordan Meador and Ray Meador.

Neighborhood crime Community jumps on Baber bandwagon spree leads to 1 arrest BY KELLIE COBB Sun Staff Writer kb@jonesborosun.com

JONESBORO — Some local fans of NBC’s “The Voice” are jumping on the Baber bandwagon. Barrett Baber, one of the top four contestants on the singing competition, has a connection to Jonesboro. His wife, the former Sarah Fisher, is a Jonesboro Baber native and the daughter of Danon Mooney Fisher and Mike Fisher, both of Jonesboro.

Baber, who lives in Fayetteville, has performed at various venues in Jonesboro including Upper Crust Pizza, The Brickhouse and Arkansas State University. “We’re diehard ‘Voice’ fans,” said Jill Mooney, who has watched the singing reality competition since its first season. Mooney is particularly interested in Baber because Sarah is her niece. Since the show’s ninth season began in Septem-

ber, Mooney has hosted watch parties. Three weeks ago, she moved the watch party to Upper Crust Pizza, 3120 Shelby Drive. “We’d been having them at our house but decided to come here because we could get the big TVs. … They let us have all the TVs and all the sound. You can’t get that anywhere else. The first time, we had about 30,” she said, adding that they average about 25 per watch party. “It’s been fun. It gets crazy. We’re all wrapped up in it. I’m worn out by the next day.” Mooney said it’s most-

ly family and friends of Sarah who attend. “Some people I’ve never met before show up,” she added. “Everybody’s getting on the Barrett Baber bandwagon.” Among Baber’s fans is Jessie Hurt. “He sings the kind of music that I really like. I’m pretty picky about my music,” Hurt said. “I really like his voice, and he’s a lot of fun to watch.” Mike and Linda Cobb are also fans of Baber. “Man, he’s talented. He really is,” Linda Cobb said. “Barrett is awePlease see BABER | A9

BY KEITH INMAN Sun Staff Writer inman@jonesborosun.com

JONESBORO — Sometimes one thing leads to another. In this case, some burglary reports led to a drug arrest. A Realtor reported a burglary in progress at a vacant house in the 600 block of Warner Avenue at 8:25 p.m. Wednesday. The Realtor saw a flashlight illuminating inside the house and was afraid to approach it, officer Nick Dean of the Jonesboro Police Department said in a report. All the doors were locked and the

house was secured after all. But then Officer Jeremy Smith saw someone riding a bicycle through the area. That person fled. A police dog tracked that person to another vacant house in the 800 block of Olive Street. The suspect wasn’t there, but police found a LED projector and laptop computer in the backyard, and Dean said it appeared someone dropped them off in a hurry. Police never found the man on the bike again. Not long after that, a Please see ARREST | A9

Arkansas gets dismal cotton report BY WILL BOWDEN Sun Staff Writer wbowden@jonesborosun.com

JONESBORO — The cotton crop has officially hit an all-time low in Arkansas, according to a National Agriculture Statistics Service report. It wasn’t a surprise to extension cotton agronomist Bill Robertson who said weather conditions all but assured the outcome. “A wet and cold April resulted in late start,” Robertson said. “Short planting windows in May limit number of planting days, forcing some cotton to shift to other crops.” Cotton production in Arkansas was forecast at 480,000 bales, un-

changed from the Nov. 1 forecast, but 307,000 bales down from last year, according to the report. The yields are expected to average about 1,100 pounds per harvested acre, unchanged from last month but down 21 pounds from 2014. “If realized, this would be a new record low for cotton harvested acres for the state,” the report concluded. Things were pushed even lower by a continuation of dismal prices in the international market and the classification of cotton as a “generic” crop by the 2014 Farm Bill, economist Scott Stiles said. “The trade wasn’t an-

ticipating a great deal of change going into the report,” Stiles said. “We’ve mentioned many times that the price was certainly a factor in planting decisions.” Prices this year hovered around the 62-63 cent level, an undesirable level that caused a significant number of NEA growers to abandon the crop “A desirable price for growers just didn’t present itself,” he said. The low commodity prices were reflected across all crops, but the expensive equipment required to plant, harvest and process cotton was Please see COTTON | A9

Behind the wheel

Staci Vandagriff | The Sun

Anna Kate Haustein, 3, gets a view of the Duck Truck, a 2010 GMC Sierra, during the Duck Classic event Thursday at the Northeast Arkansas Exposition and Conference Center.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015

NORTHEAST ARKANSAS

THE JONESBORO SUN

www.jonesborosun.com

BABER

ARREST CONTINUED FROM A8

woman who lives in the 900 block of Warner Avenue told police shortly before 10 p.m. that she found that someone forced open the door of her apartment. Nothing was missing from the home, but she said a car that was parked there didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t belong. A police dog started tracking westbound toward Vine Street. Officer Maurice Kinnard said a woman flagged them down and said a man had just run through an apartment complex and jumped a wooden fence. Their dog also tracked to the house on Vine Street where the computer was found. The car that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t belong at the womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s apartment was registered to some people in Piggott, but officer Bryan Bailey recognized the car as one driven by a man who is on felony parole and lives at 509 Vine St. He went there and found the front door standing open with all the lights on in the house, and he saw someone walk toward a bedroom. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As I walked up to the front door, I noticed cameras on the residence and heard things moving around in the south side bedroom,â&#x20AC;? Bailey said in his report. A woman who lives there came to the door and said her husband was asleep. She said she ran out of gas and left her car at the Warner Avenue address. He followed the woman into the bedroom and found Christopher Shawn Gower, 38, â&#x20AC;&#x153;in bed with the lights on and no clothes on.â&#x20AC;? Bailey said Gower acted as if he was sleeping, but Bailey told Gower he knew he wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sleeping

because he heard his belt buckle hit the floor when he was outside the house. After telling a few stories about his whereabouts earlier in the evening, Gower confirmed that another man was the person witnesses had seen running through the neighborhood earlier, based on the clothing description. Gower also said it was him who backed the car into the parking space on Warner and that his wife was just trying to cover for him, Bailey said. Gower said he and the other man were actually in the neighborhood, planning to rob a reputed drug dealer at another nearby apartment community. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chris stated that he never kicked any doors in or took anything from the residence on Warner, and he just got spooked when he saw police because he is on parole,â&#x20AC;? Bailey wrote in his report. Officer Jason Myers said police searched the house and found 2.7 grams of methamphetamine, 26 syringes, a meth pipe, three alprazolam pills, eight marijuana cigarettes and several other items related to the use and sale of meth. While conducting the search, Bailey said he noticed that Gower was â&#x20AC;&#x153;drinking heavily on his Dr. Pepper and began belching.â&#x20AC;? He suspected Gower swallowed something, and Gower confirmed that he swallowed seven hydrocodone pills, Bailey said. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment and later jailed early Thursday. While itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not certain if Gower faces charges related to the burglaries, he does face felony drug charges.

CONTINUED FROM A8

some.â&#x20AC;? More than 25 were on hand Monday to watch Baber perform Ella Hendersonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ghost.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;He kind of sent a chill up my spine. I liked it,â&#x20AC;? Mike Cobb said about Baberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Monday night performance. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My heart just jumped,â&#x20AC;? said Charles â&#x20AC;&#x153;Skipâ&#x20AC;? Mooney Sr., Baberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grandfatherin-law. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d never even heard of that song. I just thought it was fabulous.â&#x20AC;? Mooney Sr. added patrons at the table next to him came over and shook his hand after finding out his connection to Baber. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so nice to meet you. Congratulations, your grandsonin-law is just fabulous.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; And it made me feel great,â&#x20AC;? he said. Baber, who is in his 30s, is the oldest contestant in the competition. He has survived blind auditions, battle and knock-off rounds, live playoffs and live performance shows and Tuesday nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s elimination of five contestants to make it to the top four. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quit screaming,â&#x20AC;? Jill Mooney said when â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Voiceâ&#x20AC;? host Carson Daly announced Baber was a finalist. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were all just screaming. It was pretty crazy.â&#x20AC;? If Baber wins the competition, he will receive a recording contract. The winner of this seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Voiceâ&#x20AC;? will be selected next week. The top four will perform one last time Monday, with the winner to be named Tuesday. Viewer votes will

COTTON CONTINUED FROM A8

considered too expensive for many area farmers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many growers have simply gotten rid of their cotton equipment and opted to grow less costly, less management intensive crops, like soybeans,â&#x20AC;? he said. Cotton will continue to have a subdued market until a massive global surplus can be used up. This report represents a 32 percent drop in export sales year over year, Stiles said. This is compared to an 11 percent drop predicted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The biggest player in the surplus holdup is China, which bought more than 1.2 million bales of cotton from U.S. growers last year, but have only purchased about 170,000 bales this year. Total U.S. cotton production is forecast at 13

million bales, down 3.29 million bales from last year. Additional information

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determine who wins. Mooney encourages the community to come out and support Baber during Mondayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s watch party at Upper Crust. The show begins at 7 p.m. Mooney and others think Baber has a chance to take the top prize. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Of course, we think heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the greatest,â&#x20AC;? she said. Even if Baber doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t win, many believe this wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be the end for the performer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll make it big,â&#x20AC;? Hurt said. Fan Bill Sims agrees. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a phenomenal artist. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really talented. I see a very, very long successful career for him,â&#x20AC;? Sims said. More information about â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Voiceâ&#x20AC;? is available online at www. nbc.com/the-voice.

Photo courtesy of Jill Mooney

Barrett Baber stands with his wife, Sarah Fisher Baber, and their children, Elliott (left) and Brooks.

God Is On Our Side

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FRIDAY DECEMBER 11, 2015 Community News Editor Kellie Cobb (870) 935-5525 A10

| COMMUNITY |

THE JONESBORO SUN

Collins to host concert, toy drive PARAGOULD — The Collins Theatre, 120 W. Emerson St., will host a night of music and giving at 7 p.m. Saturday. In conjunction with “Christmas with Chad Garrett and Friends,”

there will be a collection of toys and money to be donated to the Paragould Mission Outreach for the residents’ Christmas party Dec. 20. A collection table and box will be set up in the lobby of the theater.

For each toy donated, the giver will receive a free beverage from the theater concessions. Appearing with Garrett on stage will be band members Randy Aden, Kevin King, Randy Loyd

and Ken Wadley. Special guests for the evening will be Dave Burgess and Shelee Cooper. There will be one more surprise celebrity guest. Admission is $7 for adults and $3 for children age 10 and younger.

Gearhead run raises $2,000 for CityYouth Stories in the forest Santa Claus will be the reader for the Stories in the Forest Program at 3 p.m. Saturday at St. Bernards Fun Forest at The Mall at Turtle Creek. He will read a favorite Christmas story and visit with youngsters during the program. In addition, each youngster attending will receive a book as a gift from the Women’s Council of the St. Bernards Foundation.

‘Tea with Mrs. Claus’ set Sunday at library

JONESBORO — “Tea with Mrs. Claus” will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library, 315 W. Oak Ave. Mrs. Claus and her puppets will tell the stories of “Sydney the Forgetful Elf,” “The Country Mouse” and “Three Billy Goats Gruff.” These stories are fun, colorful and interactive for children of all ages. “Mrs. Claus and her puppets always use helpers from the audience to tell their stories,” said Kay Taylor, youth services manager at the library. This year, the event will be held in the programming area of the children’s library. The program should last about 45 minutes. For more information, call 935-5133 or visit the library.

JONESBORO — The third annual Gearhead Endurance Challenge raised $2,000 for CityYouth Ministries. The challenge was Oct. 17 at Craighead Forest Park. The 12-hour event challenged 149 participants to complete a 2.5 mile lap around the water every 30 minutes. “Giving back to the community is the heart of Gearhead,” said Director of Marketing Ashlyn Cornell. “It’s rewarding to be able to bring awareness to a great organization while hosting a unique event for our runners.” The event was executed with the help of presenting sponsor Centennial Bank, event partners and more than 100 volunteers through various organizations in the area.

Runners take part in the third annual Gearhead Endurance Challenge Oct. 17 at Craighead Forest Park. The event raised $2,000 for CityYouth Ministries.

Events

Photo courtesy of Brandi Hodges

“Tea with Mrs. Claus” will be Sunday at the Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library.

Church The Fourth Quarter Group of First United Methodist Church met Nov. 12 in fellowship hall with 46 members in attendance. Allison Gentry, senior adult council coordinator, welcomed everyone and led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. The invocation was given by the Rev. John Miles II. Mary Shaver gave the devotional, “Give of Your Best” and “Giving from The Heart.” Kay Davis was recognized for decorating each table with a fall

arrangement. Also, appreciation was expressed to Patty Minga along with help from Fourth Quarter members for the lunch that was served prior to the program. Miles gave the program on the State of FUMC in 2015. The Treblemakers of FUMC will present the program at the next meeting, which will be at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 17 in the fellowship hall. ■■■

Social Olive Chapter 147 Order of Eastern Star met Nov. 10 at the masonic hall, 2206 W. Washington

Ave., Jonesboro. Rita West, worthy matron, presided over the meeting. James Horman, worthy patron, conducted the flag ceremony. Paulette Horman, deputy grand lecturer for District 1, Evelyn Thompson, grand representative of Florida in Arkansas, and Kim Lee, grand representative of Montana in Arkansas, were welcomed. The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved. Prayer requests were made. Lisa McBroome celebrated a birthday. Following the meeting,

a short program was presented by Paulette Horman to honor the worthy matron and worthy patron. The chapter met again Nov. 24 at the lodge. West presided over the meeting, and Horman conducted the flag ceremony. West welcomed all and acknowledged the three appointed officers. Minutes of the last stated meeting were read and approved. A contribution was made to the Garrin Fair memorial fund. Horman, worthy patron, gave an inspirational reading. Prayer requests were made.

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Probe hunts for missed red flags

Congress in final-stage talks on budget, tax bills

BY ERIC TUCKER, DEB RIECHMANN AND TAMI ABDOLLAH

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — With the holidays beckoning, negotiations intensified on Capitol Hill Thursday on a $1.1 trillion government-wide spending bill and a sprawling tax package touching all sectors of the economy. Dozens of issues remained unresolved, mainly policy disputes over environmental and other issues that lawmakers of both parties were trying to attach to the must-pass spending legislation. Republicans sought to lift the oil export ban and roll back various Obama administration regulations; Democrats were maneuvering to protect President Barack Obama’s environmental rules and enact permanent tax credits for wind, solar and other renewable energy. “We’re not going to get everything we want in

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government appears not to have picked up on extremist messages exchanged during the online courtship two years ago between the American-born man accused in the California shootings and his then-fiancée in Pakistan, federal officials told Congress during closed-door briefings on Capitol Hill on Thursday. American officials say Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, discussed martyrdom and jihad online as early as 2013. But the couple never surfaced on law enforcement’s radar and Malik was able to enter the U.S. on a fiancée visa last year despite having professed radical views online. Meanwhile, the investigation into the shootings that left 14 dead last week continued in San Bernardino, where an FBI dive team searched a small, urban lake about 3 miles north of the shooting site. David Bowdich, chief of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, said investigative leads indicated the shooters had been in the area the day of the massacre and said the search of the lake could take days. He declined to discuss what time of day the leads indicated they may have been there. He also declined to specify what the divers were looking

Associated Press

Ray Molina (left), Molina’s wife, Yvonne, and Leonard Lynch pray at a makeshift memorial Wednesday near the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, Calif., the site of last week’s fatal shooting that killed 14 people. The investtigation continued as an FBI dive team searched a lake about 3 miles north of the shooting site. for. FBI Director James Comey and other senior American officials briefed members of Congress, who are concerned red flags may have been missed in the last two years. “Everyone’s asking the same questions about how it is that law enforcement didn’t know, or intelligence officials didn’t know — that they could have flown under the radar and nothing gave an indication that they were a threat,” said Rep. Jim Langevin, a Rhode island Democrat and member of the House Homeland Security Committee. Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the

House Intelligence Committee, said Malik was subjected to an in-person interview during the application process for a visa. Republican Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said there’s currently no evidence Malik’s radicalization would have been readily apparent when she was evaluated for a fiancée visa. “I don’t think there was missed information,” he said. “It appears that there was not any evidence that would have been discoverable during an interview for a visa.” He declined to discuss what specifically led in-

vestigators to conclude that the couple had radicalized independently as early as 2013. “It’s safe to say that the information about what happened prior to their marriage and to the attacks in San Bernardino was acquired through forensic investigations of these individual lives,” Hurd said. “These people weren’t on the radar,” he added. New revelations show a much deeper connection between Farook and Enrique Marquez, his friend who bought the assault rifles used in the shooting, than previously was disclosed. Marquez has not been charged with a crime.

negotiations. The Democrats aren’t going to get everything they want in negotiations,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, RWisconsin, told reporters. “But I believe that we will successfully complete these negotiations.” Under current law, government funding expires Friday at midnight, when the last short-term spending bill expires. The Senate agreed by voice vote and without debate Thursday to extend that deadline through Wednesday Dec. 16 to allow more time for talks. The House was expected to follow suit Friday, but Ryan allowed that even more time might be needed. “I’m not going to put a deadline on it,” he said. “I want to make sure that these negotiations are done well and done right, and not by some arbitrary deadline.”

Associated Press

President Barack Obama hugs Sen. Patty Murray, DWash., ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, on Thursday after signing an education law setting public schools on a new course of accountability.

Obama signs education U.S.: Airstrikes kill 350 in Ramadi in past week bill, shifts power to states extremist group captured in May. Despite this depletion of Islamic State forces, U.S. officials are reluctant to predict how long it will take to reclaim the city, which is the capital of Anbar province and a key to the Iraqi government’s hopes of restoring its borders. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, speaking separately Thursday, said Iraqi progress in retaking Ramadi has been “disappointingly slow.” “I am certain it will fall, and we will assist in the making of it fall,” Carter said of Ramadi. He added that the U.S. would be

BY ROBERT BURNS AP National Security Writer

WASHINGTON — U.S. airstrikes in recent days killed an estimated 350 Islamic State fighters holed up in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi, an American military spokesman said Thursday, suggesting the extremists lost as much as half of their defending force. Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for the U.S. military command in Baghdad, told reporters at the Pentagon that there had been an estimated 600 to 1,000 Islamic State fighters inside Ramadi, which the

willing to commit U.S. Army Apache attack helicopters to the battle for Ramadi, if the Iraqi government requests it and if it would “make a strategically decisive difference.” Asked about that comment later, Warren said, “Apache helicopters are ready,” if Washington and Baghdad give the goahead. U.S. officials have frequently expressed frustration with how long it has taken the Iraqi army and other security forces to press an offensive in Ramadi, but in recent days, they have pointed

to important battlefield progress. On Tuesday, Iraqi forces seized an IS operations center and the strategical Tamim neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. With approximately 10,000 troops, including federal police, committed to the fight for Ramadi, the Iraqis vastly outnumber the defenders. Iraqi Maj Gen. Ismail al-Mahlawi, head of military operations in Anbar province, said Thursday there are approximately 300 Islamic State fighters trapped in the center of Ramadi, which lies on the Euphrates River.

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Calling it a “Christmas miracle,” President Barack Obama signed a sweeping overhaul of the No Child Left Behind education law on Thursday, ushering in a new approach to accountability, teacher evaluations and the way the most poorly performing schools are pushed to improve. Joined by lawmakers, students and teachers in a White House auditorium, Obama praised the George W. Bush-era No Child Left Behind for having the right goals. He said that in practice,

it fell short or applied a cookie-cutter approach that failed to produce desired results. Under the new law, the federal government will shift more decision-making powers back to states. The overhaul ends more than a decade of what critics have derided as one-size-fits-all federal policies dictating accountability and improvement for the nation’s 100,000 or so public schools. But one key feature remains: Students will still take federally required statewide reading and math exams.

Attention Members & Guests

Son: Ex-Alabama governor held in solitary Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman was placed in solitary in the federal prison where he’s serving time on corruption charges after calling a talk show and repeating his claims of innocence, his son said Thursday. Siegelman phoned a

liberal talk show on Oct. 15 to discuss his allegations that he’s a Democratic political prisoner wrongly prosecuted by Republicans. He also talked about U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller, who presided at Siegelman’s trial but has since resigned after being arrested on a spousal abuse

charge, and told listeners inmates are limited to 15 minutes on the phone. Joseph Siegelman, Siegelman’s son and attorney, said the former governor was sent to a higher-security facility and placed solitary confinement afterward, and he’s apparently been there ever since.

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15 killed in triple car bombings in Syrian town Associated Press

BEIRUT — Triple car bombs exploded in a town in northeastern Syria’s predominantly Kurdish province of Hassakeh on Thursday, killing 15 civilians and wounding dozens more, Syria’s staterun news agency said. It said one of the ex-

plosions took place near a medical center and another at a crowded market in the town of Tal Tamr, adding that the vehicles were packed with large amounts of explosives and significantly damaged shops and businesses. The Britain-based Syr-

ian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 12 people were killed in the bombings, adding that the death toll was likely to rise because of the large number of wounded and missing. The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said

the exploding vehicles were likely tankers, causing the massive explosions. Tal Tamr is an overwhelmingly Kurdish town where the main Kurdish fighting force in Syria — People’s Protection Units, or YPG — is in control. The group is the most

effective fighting force against the Islamic State group, although there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. Earlier Thursday, the Islamic State group retook a strategically important town in the central province of Homs

from government forces, activists said. The government had recaptured the town of Mheen and surrounding villages from the extremists two weeks ago as part of a general offensive to secure the highway connecting Damascus to the country’s northwest.

Syria opposition sets Suspect arrested in Rwandan genocide framework for talks BY IGNATIUS SSUUNA Associated Press

Associated Press

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A powerful Syrian insurgent faction pulled out of an opposition conference on Thursday in protest over the role given to groups it said are close to the Syrian government, signaling continued divisions among rival factions ahead of proposed peace negotiations with President Bashar Assad’s government. Ahrar al-Sham, a Saudibacked ultraconservative group that operates mainly in northern Syria, said in a statement that it was withdrawing also because the conference failed to “confirm the Muslim identity of our people.” The group’s withdrawal came at the end of the twoday conference in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, which sought to form a unified opposition front ahead of the proposed

talks for ending Syria’s nearly five-year conflict. Two opposition members said participants at the meeting agreed on a framework that would guide the proposed talks. They established a “supreme council” made up of 32 opposition members and representatives of rebel factions that would later pick the 15 people who would negotiate on behalf of the opposition. A senior member of the Syrian National Coalition, a Western-backed opposition group, told AP that most participants agreed on its vision for a civil, democratic Syria and a transitional government that would respect human rights and the territorial integrity of Syria. Participants also agreed on the need to safeguard state institutions while restructuring the security forces.

KIGALI, Rwanda — Interpol agents arrested a Rwandan with a $5 million bounty on his head who is among the most wanted for the 1994 genocide, officials said Thursday. Ladislas Ntaganzwa was arrested in the eastern Congo city of Goma late Monday, according to John Bosco Siboyintore, the head of the Genocide Tracking Unit at Rwanda’s Public Prosecution Authority and Rwandan Prosecutor General Richard Muhumuza. Ntaganzwa is among the nine most-wanted fugitives in the 1994 Rwanda genocide which killed more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, Siboyintore said. The U.N.’s International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda sought Ntaganzwa to answer charges related to partic-

Associated Press

Family photographs of some of those who died hang in a display April 5, 2014 in the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Kigali, Rwanda. Officials said Thursday, that Rwandan Ladislas Ntaganzwa, who is wanted in connection with the country’s 1994 genocide and has a $5 million bounty on his head, was arrested by Interpol agents in the neighboring Congo city of Goma late Monday. ipation in genocide and incitement to commit genocide. Ntaganzwa allegedly carried out these acts as mayor of Nyakizu. The ICTR closed its proceedings last week after nearly 20 years of pursuing and prosecuting genocide suspects and transferred Ntaganzwa’s case to Rwanda. Muhumuza said the country has started extradition proceedings for

Ntaganzwa to stand trial in Rwanda. According to ICTR’s indictment of Ntaganzwa between about 14 and 18 April 1994 he is accused of substantially participating in the planning, preparation and execution of the massacre of over 20,000 Tutsis at Cyahinda Parish. On April 15 1994 Ntaganzwa armed with a gun, transported gen-

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Police hunt 4 with ties to IS group BY JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press

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GENEVA — Working on a tip from the CIA, Geneva police were hunting for at least four suspects allegedly linked to the radical Islamic State group and believed to be plotting a “specific” attack in the city, Swiss officials said Thursday. As city police raised their security alert level, Swiss state prosecutors opened investigations into a suspected criminal plot and suspected violations of a ban into groups like Islamic State and al-Qaida. The CIA alerted Swiss authorities to the four men on Wednesday, prompting the manhunt, a Swiss official with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press on Thursday. The official confirmed the suspects were four men shown in a photograph linked to a news report in Swiss daily Le Matin. They were pictured each in a crouched pose and holding up an index finger — said to be an Islamic State gesture. It was too early to determine whether other suspects might still be at large, the official said. He also declined to identify the names, ages or nationalities of the people being sought. The Geneva security department said Swiss national authorities flagged “suspicious individuals” who could be in Geneva or the vicinity to city authorities on Wednesday. It didn’t specify how many people were being sought or name them. The official said, however, the suspects were not believed to have had links to the Paris terror attacks, appearing to revise an earlier statement from the Geneva security department.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015

ALMANAC

THE JONESBORO SUN

A13

www.jonesborosun.com

Five-Day Forecast for Jonesboro TODAY

SATURDAY

71° 61°

SUNDAY

73° 64°

Clouds and sun with a passing shower

Cloudy with a shower in spots

70° 46° ALMANAC

Jonesboro 71/61

Russellville 72/61 Fort Smith 76/60

Memphis 76/64

Little Rock 77/62 Hot Springs 73/61

Texarkana 76/64

Staci Vandagriff | The Sun

That’s the ticket Susan Cox, an employee of NEA Baptist, puts tickets in for the surprise bonus raffle during the Duck Classic event Thursday at the Northeast Arkansas Exposition and Conference Center.

Public Affairs Calendar

Events listed in this column are generally open to the public, although admission fees may be charged. To request changes or additions or notify The Sun of special meetings for this listing, call 935-5525 or 1-800-237-5341, fax to 935-5823 or email to newsroom@jonesborosun.com.

Monday Craighead County Quorum Court, 5:30 p.m., county judge’s conference room, County Courthouse Annex; Public Service, Transportation and Finance committees meeting. Brookland City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall. Buffalo Island Central School Board, 6:30 p.m., superintendent’s office, Monette. Bay School Board, 6 p.m., cafeteria. Bay City Council, 7 p.m., at Bay City Hall. Cash City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall. Paragould City Council, 7 p.m., Paragould City Hall. Marmaduke School Board, 6 p.m., high school library. Lawrence County Quorum Court, 7 p.m., courthouse conference room. Lawrence County School Board, Superintendent’s Meeting Room, Walnut Ridge campus, 5 p.m. Hoxie School Board, 7 p.m., Elementary Teachers Lounge. Walnut Ridge Airport Commission, noon, Terminal Building. Poinsett County Quorum Court, 6:30 p.m., courthouse. Trumann School Board, 6 p.m., Intermediate School, 221 Pine Ave. Harrisburg School Board, 5 p.m., administration office boardroom. Marked Tree City Council, 6 p.m., City Hall. Marked Tree School Board, 6 p.m., high school library. East Poinsett County School Board, 7 p.m., Tyronza Elementary library. Osceola School Board, 6 p.m., district administrative boardroom. Swifton City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall. Maynard School Board, 6:30 p.m., high school library. Piggott School Board, 6:30 p.m., superintendent’s office. Rector School Board, 6:30 p.m., elementary school conference room. Sharp County Quorum Court, 6 p.m., courthouse at Ash Flat. Evening Shade City Council, 6:30 p.m., Evening Shade School.

Today in History Today is Friday, Dec. 11, the 345th day of 2015. There are 20 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Dec. 11, 1844, the first experimental use of an inhaled anesthetic in dentistry took place as Dr. Horace Wells of Hartford, Connecticut, under the influence of nitrous oxide, had a colleague extract one of his teeth.

On this date: In 1792, France’s King Louis XVI went before the Convention to face charges of treason. (Louis was convicted, and executed the following month.) In 1936, Britain’s King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so he could marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson; his brother, Prince Albert, became King George VI. In 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States; the U.S. responded in kind. In 1972, Apollo 17’s lunar module landed on the moon with astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt aboard; during three extravehicular activities (EVAs), they became the last two men to date to step onto the lunar surface. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed legislation creating a $1.6 billion environmental “superfund” to pay for cleaning up chemical spills and toxic waste dumps. In 2008, Bernie Madoff was arrested, accused of running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. (Madoff is serving a 150-year federal prison sentence.)

Jonesboro through 5 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE High 62° Low 40° Normal high 49° Normal low 30° Record high 77° in 1918 Record low 4° in 1917

Mountain Home 69/60

Pine Bluff 77/63

UV INDEX TODAY

Regional Summary: Fog during the morning; otherwise, warm with periods of sun today. A passing shower near Jonesboro. Rather cloudy tonight with a shower. A stray shower tomorrow.

REGIONAL CITIES Sat. Hi/Lo/W 73/57/sh 75/65/sh 73/62/sh 69/59/t 73/67/c 71/63/c 70/60/sh 72/63/sh 77/63/c 73/62/c 73/63/c 78/67/sh 72/58/t 74/62/c 76/61/t 76/64/c 74/64/sh 75/62/c

City Kennett, MO Little Rock Magnolia Memphis, TN Mena Monticello Mountain Home Paducah, KY Paragould Perryville Pine Bluﬀ Rogers Russellville Searcy Springdale Texarkana Warren West Memphis

NATIONAL CITIES

City Albuquerque Anchorage Atlanta Baltimore Birmingham Boston Buﬀalo Charleston, SC Charlotte Chicago Cincinnati Dallas Denver Detroit Honolulu Indianapolis Kansas City Las Vegas

Today Hi/Lo/W 59/38/pc 26/22/c 73/55/pc 65/44/pc 75/59/pc 60/46/pc 54/43/c 76/51/s 71/51/s 53/46/pc 61/57/c 79/66/s 51/26/pc 54/42/pc 85/73/pc 58/56/c 64/48/pc 56/41/sh

Sat. Hi/Lo/W 47/27/sh 25/12/sn 75/57/pc 65/46/pc 76/60/pc 57/46/c 58/51/c 77/55/pc 75/48/pc 60/54/c 67/56/c 75/54/t 33/19/sn 61/52/c 84/72/pc 66/56/sh 66/54/c 57/39/pc

0.00" 0.00" 1.57" 58.16" 45.16"

Greenwood 79/63

El Dorado 77/63

Today City Hi/Lo/W Ashdown 74/63/pc Batesville 73/61/c Benton 73/62/pc Bentonville 68/59/pc Blytheville 73/64/pc C. Girardeau, MO 67/59/sh Clarksville 72/58/pc Conway 72/61/pc Crossett 77/64/pc Des Arc 73/62/pc Dyersburg, TN 70/62/pc El Dorado 77/63/pc Fayetteville 70/56/pc Flippin 72/59/pc Fort Smith 76/60/pc Hampton 76/63/pc Hot Springs 73/61/pc Jackson, TN 73/62/c

PRECIPITATION 24 hours through 5 p.m. yest. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Normal year to date

City Los Angeles Louisville Miami Minneapolis Nashville New Orleans New York City Oklahoma City Omaha Phoenix Portland, ME Portland, OR St. Louis Salt Lake City San Francisco Seattle Shreveport, LA Washington, DC

Today Hi/Lo/W 71/63/pc 77/62/pc 75/64/pc 76/64/sh 71/64/pc 76/64/pc 69/60/pc 69/62/pc 70/62/pc 72/61/pc 77/63/pc 68/60/pc 72/61/pc 72/61/pc 71/60/pc 76/64/pc 76/64/pc 73/63/pc

Sat. Hi/Lo/W 72/64/c 77/67/sh 76/61/c 77/65/c 71/57/t 77/67/c 70/59/c 73/63/c 71/63/c 71/63/c 77/66/c 69/59/t 72/63/c 73/62/sh 70/58/t 77/63/sh 76/63/sh 73/66/c

Today Hi/Lo/W 66/50/c 67/61/pc 80/69/pc 44/34/c 72/62/c 79/65/pc 62/49/pc 71/54/s 58/38/pc 68/45/pc 54/38/c 49/39/r 65/57/c 43/28/c 58/48/c 50/37/c 81/67/pc 66/48/s

Sat. Hi/Lo/W 68/49/pc 71/59/c 81/72/pc 43/37/sh 74/60/c 78/68/c 62/52/pc 72/48/t 53/36/sh 63/41/pc 53/34/c 48/41/r 72/61/c 40/30/sf 58/53/c 46/40/r 81/64/sh 68/51/pc

8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. 0-2 Low 3-5 Moderate 6-7 High 8-10 Very High 11+ Extreme.

SUN AND MOON The Sun Today Saturday The Moon Today Saturday New

Rise 7:02 a.m. 7:03 a.m. Rise 6:57 a.m. 7:51 a.m.

First

Set 4:49 p.m. 4:49 p.m. Set 5:28 p.m. 6:22 p.m.

Full

TUESDAY

59° 44°

Heavy rain, t-storm; watch for flooding

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

Fayetteville 70/56

MONDAY

Last

Cooler with abundant sunshine

64° 44° Mostly sunny, nice and warm

RIVER AND LAKE LEVELS

Levels as of 7 a.m. Thursday. Flood 24 hr Stage Level Chng. Mississippi River Cape Girardeau 32 27.38 -1.64 New Madrid 34 27.38 -1.05 Tiptonville 37 30.18 -0.93 Caruthersville 32 28.61 -0.71 Osceola 28 24.30 -0.38 Memphis 34 24.10 -0.50 Helena 44 33.30 -0.20 Arkansas City 37 30.00 +0.20 Greenville 48 42.40 +0.60 Vicksburg 43 36.50 +0.70 Natchez 48 43.20 +0.70 Arkansas River Van Buren 22 19.89 +0.14 Ozark L/D tw 357 345.90 -1.34 Dardanelle 32 12.89 -1.38 Morrilton 30 16.42 -0.93 Toad Suck tw 275 264.76 +0.43 Little Rock 23 8.85 -0.11 Pendleton 31 26.99 +0.01 Fourche Lafave River Gravelly 24 2.65 -0.14 Houston 25 22.01 -0.32 Bayou Meto Lonoke -- 17.74 -1.93 White River Calico Rock 19 10.15 +0.08 Batesville Bridge 15 10.92 +0.08 Newport 26 21.34 none Augusta 26 31.75 +0.02 Georgetown 21 21.23 -0.02 Des Arc 24 23.91 -0.05 DeValls Bluﬀ -- 22.34 -0.07 Clarendon 26 28.12 -0.01 St. Charles -- 25.42 +0.17 BlackRiver Corning 15 10.38 +0.04 Pocahontas 17 14.63 -1.30 Black Rock 14 16.09 -1.17 Elgin Ferry -- 21.87 -0.21 Buﬀalo River Boxley -- 2.09 -0.06 St. Joe 27 4.71 -0.10 Ponca -- 2.17 -0.04 Spring River Hardy 10 3.66 -0.04 Imboden 18 4.87 -0.12

Flood 24 hr. Stage Level Chng. Eleven Point River Ravenden Spgs 15 4.44 -0.06 Strawberry River Poughkeepsie -- 2.43 -0.09 Cache River Egypt -- 15.64 -2.32 Patterson 8 10.88 -0.05 Cotton Plant -- 19.41 -0.11 Ouachita River Arkadelphia 17 6.21 +0.13 Camden 26 23.37 -2.70 Thatcher L/D hw 79 84.60 -0.30 Thatcher L/D tw 79 84.66 -0.37 Moro Bay St Pk -- 82.00 -0.30 Felsenthal hw 70 68.89 +0.46 Felsenthal tw 70 67.51 +0.35 Saline River Benton 18 4.05 -0.08 Sheridan -- 8.45 -1.38 Rye 26 22.37 -0.88 Warren -- 24.04 -0.62 Little Missouri River Boughton 20 6.62 -1.87 Bayou Bartholomew Garrett Bridge -- 10.06 -0.37 McGehee -- 12.87 -0.40 St. Francis River St. Francis 18 16.46 -0.05 Oak Donnic -- 16.41 +0.15 Madison 32 24.68 +0.12 L'Anguille River Colt -- 12.97 -0.16 Palestine 25 23.49 -0.28 Little River Basin Lakes Lake DeQueen 459.91 -1.03 Gillham Lake 531.92 -1.98 Dierks Lake 542.33 -0.61 Millwood Lake 265.72 -1.10 Arkansas River Basin Lakes Blue Mountain Lake 392.74 -1.02 Nimrod Lake 357.88 -0.84 White River Basin Lakes Beaver Lake 1122.55 -0.03 Table Rock Lake 915.87 -0.19 Bull Shoals Lake 663.71 -0.18 Norfolk Lake 556.69 -0.41 Greers Ferry Lake 464.45 -0.33

NATIONAL WEATHER

Shown are today’s noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.

WORLD CITIES

Today Sat. Today Sat. City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W 50/41/sh 52/47/sh Beijing 42/24/pc 40/24/pc London 71/48/pc 72/51/pc Berlin 44/39/r 45/37/pc Mexico City 53/37/sh 47/37/pc Bogota 68/44/pc 70/46/c Montreal 34/27/c 33/31/sf Buenos Aires 95/72/s 93/65/t Moscow 52/46/c 51/40/pc Cairo 69/54/pc 67/52/t Paris 58/38/pc 58/39/s Hong Kong 70/66/s 73/67/pc Rome 94/65/pc 73/65/s Jerusalem 57/43/s 55/42/pc Sydney 67/51/r 57/48/s Johannesburg 91/63/t 83/61/t Tokyo Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.

T-storms

Rain

Showers

Snow

Flurries

Ice

Cold Front

Warm Front

Stationary Front

National Summary: Unusual December warmth will extend from the southern Plains to the Northeast states today. Spotty snow will aﬀect parts of Colorado, Utah, Montana and North Dakota as cooler air settles in. Rain and lowering snow levels will spread southward along the West coast. NATIONAL EXTREMES YESTERDAY (for the 48 contiguous states) National High: 91° at Zapata, TX National Low: 9° at Alamosa, CO

Interstate closed by major storm BY DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP Associated Press

SEATTLE — A rainsoaked hillside collapsed on the main highway connecting Washington and Oregon, stranding thousands of motorists for hours Thursday while rain continued to fall throughout the region. The storms that have been sending rivers out of their banks, closing roads and killing at least two people in the Pacific Northwest this week were easing a bit, but forecasters said mudslide danger on the saturated hills would remain high through the weekend.

“It was crazy and I was scared,” said Diane Smith of Lacey, Washington, who was stuck for three hours behind the landslide on Interstate 5 about 26 miles north of Portland, Oregon, and then drove a steep, windy mountain road to get around the slide. The massive landslide blocked the lanes Wednesday afternoon after a hillside of rocks and dirt collapsed on the roadway after days of pounding rain. More rain is on the way through the weekend. Forecasters at the National Weather Service say that also could

mean more landslides as drenched hillsides keep soaking up water. “The threat of landslides doesn’t end when the rain does,” said Kirby Cook, science and operations officer with the weather service office in Seattle. Smith said her detour onto the Green Mountain Road above Woodland, Washington, was by accident. After being stuck on the highway, she followed directions and left the freeway. But when she got off I-5, it wasn’t clear which of three routes to take. Smith, who was driving her 6-year-old grandson and his other grandma

back from Vancouver, Washington, probably made the wrong choice, according to the Washington Department of Transportation. Officials used social media to discourage drivers from taking the mountain road without guardrails around the slide, but as Smith points out, she was driving, not checking her cellphone for updates. The National Weather Service also was checking reports of a possible tornado touching down in southwest Washington on Thursday. There were reports of damage to structures but no initial reports of injuries.

thing else. “If the city chooses to repurpose the 111 acres to a different outdoor recreation use, no land replacement would be required,” Beneke said. “An environmental assessment however must be conducted for this significant change in use that will include public notification and accepting public comments.” The requirements for LWCF funded sites are extensive. “The site must be kept in outdoor recreation use in perpetuity,” Beneke said. “Only outdoor recreation facilities or facilities that are in direct support of outdoor recreation may be constructed on the

site. The facilities must be available to the general public at all reasonable times. The site must be maintained in a safe and healthy condition.” These requirement have thrown a wrench in the proposed plan by Mayor Thomas Sanders. In the 2016 proposed budget, closing the Thunder Bayou Golf Course could have saved the Parks and Recreation Department $360,000. “The mayor plans on talking about this in the next council meeting, but we have three options,” Callens said. “We either close the golf course down and put something else there, repurpose the land or just keep it open and

find money from somewhere else.” If the council decided to keep the golf course open the council will have to cut $150,000 from the budget or find additional funding. The hotel tax could be a solution to keeping the golf course open. “The hotel tax is already in place,” Callens said. “Right now the 1-cent tax is used for advertising, but the council has the ability to move it to 3 cents if they want to dedicate part of it to the Parks Department.” The council asked department heads in the Parks and Recreation Department to look at their budget and see what could be cut.

GRANT CONTINUED FROM A8

converted this property in 2005 and replaced it with a 111 acre tract (Thunder Bayou). If in the future the city abandons this replacement land for the purposes of public outdoor recreation, the property must be replaced with real estate of equal or greater fair market value and equal or greater outdoor recreation value.” There would also have to be an environmental assessment for both properties, which would include public notification and acceptance of public comments. The city could also choose to repurpose the land and create some-

A14

THE JONESBORO SUN

ARKANSAS

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015

www.jonesborosun.com

Briefs Associated Press

4 Cave Springs police employees resign CAVE SPRINGS — Four members of the Cave Springs Police Department, including its chief, have resigned. Mayor Travis Lee said they are leaving the department for a variety of reasons. According to Lee, one employee is leaving for a private sector position, and two others were recently married and are trying to avoid nepotism or conflicts of interest. Their resignations are effective Dec. 15.

Police: Child brings replica gun to school NORTH LITTLE ROCK — Authorities say police were called to a North Little Rock elementary school after a student brought a replica gun to school. North Little Rock police Sgt. Brian Dedrick says officers were called to Boone Park Elementary School on Wednesday morning after the student was reportedly seen showing the gun to friends. Dedrick says the gun was confiscated after a student told an adult about it.

Drunken-driving conviction reversed LITTLE ROCK — Appeals court judges have reversed and dismissed a drunken-driving conviction, ruling that it resulted from an unconstitutional sobriety checkpoint. Jeremy Whalen was convicted in 2014 after being arrested at an Arkansas State Police checkpoint in 2012. In the decision Wednesday, Judge Waymond Brown wrote there was no evidence presented to support Whalen’s conviction.

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Birth certificates for kids Wal-Mart to of gay couples put on hold turning marketing BY ANDREW DEMILLO Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK — Married same sex couples in Arkansas will not be able to get the names of both spouses listed on birth certificates for their children after the state’s highest court on Thursday put a temporary hold on a lower court ruling allowing it. The exception is that three same sex couples who originally sued over the issue will be able to get birth certificates for their children. The Arkansas Supreme Court suspended Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox’s decision striking down part of the state’s birth certificate law as unconstitutional. A spokeswoman for the state health department said that same-sex couples would need a court order to both be listed as parents now that the lower court ruling is on

hold. Earlier this week, the department had said it would issue amended birth certificates for children of same-sex couples who can prove they were married before the child was born after initially saying it would only issue them for the three couples in the case. But the Supreme Court said it halted such birth certificates to avoid confusion. “Substantial confusion could result if the circuit court’s order were to remain in effect and subsequently be altered by a decision of this court on appeal,” it said. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office said she was pleased the court quickly approved her request to put the lower court ruling on hold. “The attorney general disagreed with much of the lower court’s order

and was concerned that it would lead to confusion and uncertainty,” spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. An attorney for the couples said she was disappointed with the court’s ruling. All three of the couples who sued the state have received amended certificates for their children since Fox’s ruling, she said. “The evil suffered by the couples being unable to be on the birth certificate is much greater than any confusion that might result,” Cheryl Maples said. Fox ruled that the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June legalizing gay marriage nationwide invalidates a portion of the birth certificate law that defines parents by gender. Maples said she would ask the court to quickly take up the state’s appeal of Fox’s ruling.

Official: About 2 dozen guns seized at airports Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK — The Transportation Security Administration says it has confiscated nearly two dozen guns at Arkansas’ four commercialservice airports this year. TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz said news conference Wednesday that 27 guns were seized in state airports last year, and this year’s number will likely be higher because of the busy holiday travel season. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that 13 guns have been confiscated so far this year at Bill and Hillary Clin-

ton National Airport/ Adams Field, the state’s largest airport. Officials say six guns have been taken this year at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, while Texarkana Regional Airport has a current tally of three. Clinton National’s spokesman, Shane Carter, said that the airport continues to have people who bring guns to security checkpoints, many of them loaded. “Please understand if you bring a gun to the security checkpoint, TSA will spot it and the Little Rock Police Department will likely arrest you,”

Carter said. Security officials say that many items that are prohibited from being carried by passengers aboard a flight can be packed into checked bags. Officials also say that passengers who are found with prohibited items are given the option of going to the airline ticket counter to check that item. Koshetz says that many people voluntarily surrender the items, and that they, with the exception of guns, are then transferred to the Arkansas surplus office for disposal.

consultant Associated Press

NEW YORK — Will shoppers see quirkier advertising coming from Wal-Mart? The world’s largest retailer confirmed Thursday that its chief marketing officer Stephen Quinn is retiring, and it’s tapping into the talent of former Target executive Michael Francis as a consultant. Francis is best known for his nearly 30-year career at Target, where he helped create the discounter’s cheap-chic image through whimsical advertising. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Arkansas, said Quinn will be leaving the company Jan. 31, 2016. Quinn had joined WalMart in 2005 as a senior vice president of marketing and was named to his current position in 2007. In 2008, Quinn led WalMart’s rebranding effort that included the introduction of a new logo and tagline — Save money. Live Better. The move to hire Francis as a marketing consultant comes as Wal-Mart is looking to reach out to higher-income shoppers where it sees more growth. Francis left Target Corp. in October 2011 to join J.C. Penney Co. There, he served as president and worked for thenCEO Ron Johnson, who was spearheading a major reinvention plan that ended up being a disaster. Francis developed quirky advertising and monthly catalogs that marketed Johnson’s strategy called “everyday prices.”

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2215 E. Highland Dr., Jonesboro

FRIDAY DECEMBER 11, 2015

Sports Editor Kevin Turbeville (870) 935-5525 THE JONESBORO SUN

SPORTS

Report: Bell not going to ULM Sun Staff Report

JONESBORO — Arkansas State offensive coordinator Walt Bell turned down an opportunity to become Louisiana-Monroe’s head football coach, the Monroe News Star reported Thursday. Bell and McNeese State head coach Matt Viator emerged as the two finalists at ULM after interviewing for the job this week in Shreveport, La., according to the News Star. ULM, which finished 2-11 this season, has been searching for a head coach since firing Todd Berry after a 5921 home loss to ASU on Nov. 14. Berry was 28-43 in six seasons at ULM, including an 8-5 record in 2012 when the Warhawks played in the Independence Bowl. Bell is in his second season at ASU, where he also serves as assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach. The Red Wolves, who won the outright Sun Please see BELL | B3

PRO FOOTBALL Freeney’s defensive play preserves Cardinals win. B3 GIRLS’ HOOPS: BIC edges Manila. B2 BOYS’ HOOPS: Nettleton, Westside reach finals. B3

Natural State Hoopfest tips today BY CORY CLARK Sun Staff Writer cclark@jonesborosun.com

JONESBORO — Some of the top basketball players and teams from around the Mid-South will converge on Don Riggs Hurricane Gym today and tomorrow for the Natural State Hoopfest. The two-day event will feature seven games including some of the top talent around the MidSouth, and in the entire country. Today three games will be played beginning with East Poinsett facing Springdale Har-Ber at 5 p.m., Bentonville plays Memphis Arlington at 6:30 p.m. and Valley View takes on Nashville-based Christ Presbyterian Academy at 8 p.m. Tomorrow Arkansas Baptist faces Har-Ber at 2 p.m., EPC goes against Senath-Hornersville (Mo.) at 3:30 p.m., Pulaski Academy plays Bartlett High (Tenn.) at 5 p.m. and Jonesboro takes on Memphis Southwind at 6:30 p.m. As the host of the event, Jonesboro will get a quality opponent tomorrow and get to enjoy some very good basketball while waiting to play. The Hoopfest is the brainchild of former Jonesboro High and Arkansas player Nick Mason and former East Poinsett County and Arkansas

Staci Vandagriff | The Sun

Jonesboro coach Wes Swift and the Hurricane bench celebrate during last week’s Barry Pruitt Hurricane Classic at Don Riggs Hurricane Gym. Jonesboro is one of three local teams including Valley View and East Poinsett County that will take part in the Natural State Hoopfest today and Saturday at Don Riggs Hurricane Gym. football and basketball standout Marcus Monk. “Nick Mason did a great job of putting this field together and that’s what he does. He kind of studies the entire state and region and he knows the teams and players who have college potential, and he

tries to match teams up to get fans interested,” Jonesboro coach Wes Swift said. A former East Poinsett County standout will also be returning to Northeast Arkansas in Kentucky signee and Bentonville star Malik Monk, who

is rated the No. 6 high school prospect in the nation, according to ESPN. com. The Hoopfest begins at at 5 p.m. today with East Poinsett County taking on Springdale HarBer which finished as a runner-up in last week’s

Barry Pruitt Hurricane Classic. Har-Ber is led by talented senior guard Avery Benson (6-4) and forwards J.P. Brandon (6-6) and Zane King (6-6). East Poinsett County

Please see HOOPFEST | B4

ASU suspends 2 from bowl game BY KEVIN TURBEVILLE Sun staff writer kturbeville@jonesborosun.com

Denton Postlewait | The Sun

Rivercrest defensive standouts Preston Wilson (left) and Brayden Wilson along with coach Kelly Chandler will lead the Colts into Saturday’s Class 3A state championship game against Harding Academy at War Memorial Stadium.

Rivercrest aims for 3rd state crown BY CORY CLARK Sun Staff Writer cclark@jonesborosun.com

While the vast majority of high schools around Arkansas are now fully focused on basketball season, the Rivercrest Colts are still thinking about football and dreaming of winning the school’s third state football championship. Rivercrest will play in the Class 3A state title game Saturday, taking on Harding Academy at noon at War Memorial Stadium. The game is a rematch of the 2010 state championship game, which was

won by Rivercrest. The Colts also won a state title in 1985. The Colts (11-3) went on the road and beat the No. 1-ranked Class 3A team in the state last Friday in the state semifinals, taking out Smackover 15-13 in a game played in El Dorado. Rivercrest coach Kelly Chandler said his team did a good job of limiting the multitude of weapons Smackover had on offense. “We knew we were playing a quality team. A lot of coaches had picked Please see RIVERCREST | B4

ROAD TO THE ROCK | 2015 Rivercrest football schedule Date Sept. 4 Sept. 11 Sept. 18 Sept. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6 Nov. 13 Nov. 20 Nov. 27 Dec. 4 Dec. 12

Opponent Paragould at Earle Gosnell at Corning at Piggott Hoxie at Manila at Cedar Ridge Melbourne Osceola Cedarville* Episcopal Collegiate* Glen Rose* at Smackover* Harding Academy*#

Result W, 14-13 L, 28-21 L, 39-24 W, 44-6 W, 42-21 W, 48-42 L, 39-21 W, 45-42 (OT) W, 49-14 W, 19-18 W, 43-0 W, 62-52 W, 20-7 W, 15-13

*—Class 3A state playoffs #—State championship game, Little Rock

JONESBORO — Arkansas State’s football team will go to the New Orleans Bowl without Chris Stone and Tyler Trosin. ASU head coach Blake Anderson announced Thursday night that Stone and Trosin have been suspended from the Dec. 19 bowl game for a violation of team rules. Stone and Trosin were arrested on drug charges early Tuesday on the ASU campus. The suspension is career-ending for both players since they are seniors. Neither will participate in practices leading up to the bowl game or travel with the team to New Orleans, the university announced. “Our football program has a high standard of conduct all our players are fully aware of, and not only expected to abide by, but also embrace,” Anderson said in a university statement. “Our team is a family, and we have emphasized that while building a positive culture within our program. Sadly, two of our family members chose to go down a disappointing path that is highly unacceptable and won’t be tolerated by this team. “Our players understand that unacceptable actions come with difficult consequences. Chris

and Tyler will now have to face those consequences. Our team will use this as a teaching and learning opportunity, and we also wish Chris and Tyler only the best.” Stone, a defensive end from Daleville, Ala., was named second-team AllSun Belt Conference on Wednesday. He started every game in the regular season and had 31 tackles, including 7.5 behind the line of scrimmage. Playing a key role on ASU’s pass rush, Stone also had 14 quarterback hurries, most on the team. He had 13 career quarterback sacks and 30 career tackles behind the line of scrimmage while playing in 51 games over four seasons. Stone recovered three fumbles this season, scoring touchdowns against South Alabama and Appalachian State. He also intercepted a pass. Trosin, a wide receiver from Folsom, Calif., spent two seasons at ASU after transferring from American River College in California. He caught 21 passes for 248 yards over two seasons, including eight receptions for 113 yards this season. ASU also utilized Trosin on special teams. He had five kickoff returns for 54 yards this season. The Red Wolves (9-3) will play Louisiana Tech (8-4) in the New Orleans Bowl. They are scheduled to practice this afternoon.

THE JONESBORO SUN

SCOREBOARD

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015

www.jonesborosun.com

Sports Today MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL Crowley’s Ridge College at Central Christian College HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL Natural State Hoopfest at Jonesboro: In senior boys’ games East Poinsett County plays Springdale Har-Ber at 5 p.m.; Memphis Arlington plays Bentonville at 6:30 p.m. and Valley View plays Christ Presbyterian Academy (Tenn.) at 8 p.m. Lyon College Tournament at Batesville: In senior girls’ games Pocahontas plays Mountain View at 4:30 p.m. GCT Classic at Greene County Tech: In senior boys’ games Dyersburg, Tenn. plays Mountain Home at 4:30 p.m.; Liberty Tech (Tenn.) plays Paragould at 6 p.m. and Greene County Tech play Ripley (Tenn.) at 7:30 p.m. Regular season: Boys: Blytheville at Bay; Marmaduke at Buffalo Island Central; Riverside at Marked Tree; Pangburn at Walnut Ridge; Crowley’s Ridge Academy at Earle; Maynard at Armorel; Cross County at Rector. Girls: East Poinsett County at Bay; Rector at Cross County; Pangburn at Walnut Ridge; Maynard at Armorel JUNIOR HIGH BASKETBALL Pre-Holiday Tournament at Piggott: In junior boys’ games Ridgefield Christian plays Harrisburg at 5 p.m.; Nettleton plays Westside at 6:30 p.m. and Brookland plays Trumann at 8 p.m.

On the Air Today NBA BASKETBALL 6 p.m. — Miami at Indiana .................................... cable channel 32 (ESPN) 7 p.m. — Charlotte at Memphis ............................cable channel 34 (FSSW) 8:30 p.m. — L.A. Lakers at San Antonio ................ cable channel 32 (ESPN)

COLLEGE FOOTBALL 7 p.m. — Charleston Southern at Jacksonville State ..........cable channel 33 (ESPN2)

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 5 p.m. — Florida State at Connecticut ................. cable channel 33 (ESPN2)

NHL HOCKEY 7:30 p.m. — Philadelphia at Dallas......................cable channel 134 (FSSW)

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL 8 p.m. — Valley View vs. Christ Presbyterian Academy ........ FM 101.3 KBTM

Basketball

Kansas City Oakland San Diego

NBA standings

EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct GB Toronto 14 9 .609 — Boston 13 9 .591 ½ New York 10 13 .435 4 Brooklyn 7 15 .318 6½ Philadelphia 1 22 .043 13 Southeast Division W L Pct GB Charlotte 13 8 .619 — Miami 12 8 .600 ½ Atlanta 14 10 .583 ½ Orlando 12 10 .545 1½ Washington 9 11 .450 3½ Central Division W L Pct GB Cleveland 14 7 .667 — Indiana 12 8 .600 1½ Chicago 12 8 .600 1½ Detroit 12 11 .522 3 Milwaukee 9 14 .391 6 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pct GB San Antonio 18 5 .783 — Memphis 13 10 .565 5 Dallas 13 10 .565 5 Houston 11 12 .478 7 New Orleans 5 16 .238 12 Northwest Division W L Pct GB Oklahoma City 14 8 .636 — Utah 10 10 .500 3 Minnesota 9 12 .429 4½ Portland 9 14 .391 5½ Denver 8 14 .364 6 Pacific Division W L Pct GB Golden State 23 0 1.000 — L.A. Clippers 13 10 .565 10 Phoenix 10 13 .435 13 Sacramento 8 15 .348 15 L.A. Lakers 3 19 .136 19½ ___ Thursday’s Games Brooklyn 100, Philadelphia 91 Chicago 83, L.A. Clippers 80 Oklahoma City 107, Atlanta 94 New York at Sacramento, (n) Today’s Games Miami at Indiana, 6 p.m. Detroit at Philadelphia, 6 p.m. Cleveland at Orlando, 6 p.m. Milwaukee at Toronto, 6:30 p.m. Golden State at Boston, 6:30 p.m. Washington at New Orleans, 7 p.m. Charlotte at Memphis, 7 p.m. Minnesota at Denver, 8 p.m. Oklahoma City at Utah, 8 p.m. Portland at Phoenix, 8:30 p.m. L.A. Lakers at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. Saturday’s Games L.A. Clippers at Brooklyn, 4 p.m. Boston at Charlotte, 6 p.m. Indiana at Detroit, 6:30 p.m. New Orleans at Chicago, 7 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Houston, 7 p.m. San Antonio at Atlanta, 7 p.m. Golden State at Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m. Washington at Dallas, 7:30 p.m. New York at Portland, 9 p.m.

Thursday men’s scores EAST Boston U. 80, Mass.-Lowell 60 NJIT 92, St. Francis Brooklyn 86, OT Penn St. 81, Canisius 67 Seton Hall 78, Troy 69 SOUTH ETSU 98, Milligan 47 FAU 72, Ave Maria 59 Lipscomb 83, Cumberland (Tenn.) 53 MIDWEST Iowa St. 83, Iowa 82 Kent St. 73, Louisiana-Monroe 62 Missouri St. 88, IUPUI 74 FAR WEST Southern U. 68, Wyoming 58

Thursday women’s scores EAST E. Michigan 78, Monmouth (NJ) 68 Georgetown 61, Delaware 50 SOUTH Ball St. 72, Lipscomb 60 Kentucky 72, Louisville 54 UNC Asheville 95, UNC-Greensboro 52 Vanderbilt 97, Troy 43 MIDWEST Florida 91, Wisconsin 75 Milwaukee 82, E. Illinois 71 Purdue 95, Incarnate Word 27 UMKC 47, Kansas 44 SOUTHWEST Arkansas 65, Oral Roberts 50 FAR WEST Colorado St. 75, Montana 43 Loyola Marymount 92, San Diego St. 65

Bowl schedule All Times CST SATURDAY, DEC. 19 Celebration Bowl Atlanta NC A&T (9-2) vs. Alcorn State (9-3), 11 a.m. New Mexico Bowl Albuquerque Arizona (6-6) vs. New Mexico (7-5), 1 p.m. (ESPN) Las Vegas Bowl BYU (9-3) vs. Utah (9-3), 2:30 p.m. (ABC) Camelia Bowl Montgomery, Ala. Ohio (8-4) vs. Appalachian State (9-2), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN) Cure Bowl Orlando, Fla. San Jose State (5-7) vs. Georgia State (6-6), 6 p.m. (CBSSN) New Orleans Bowl Louisiana Tech (8-4) vs. Arkansas State (8-3), 8 p.m. (ESPN) MONDAY, DEC. 21 Miami Beach Bowl South Florida (8-4) vs. Western Kentucky (11-2), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN) TUESDAY, DEC. 22 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Boise Akron (7-5) vs. Utah State (6-6), 2:30 p.m. (ESPN) Boca Raton (Fla.) Bowl Temple (10-3) vs. Toledo (9-2), 6 p.m. (ESPN) WEDNESDAY, DEC. 23 Poinsettia Bowl San Diego Northern Illinois (8-5) vs. Boise State (8-4), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Football NFL standings

AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pct PF New England 10 2 0 .833 375 N.Y. Jets 7 5 0 .583 295 Buffalo 6 6 0 .500 296 Miami 5 7 0 .417 240 South W L T Pct PF Indianapolis 6 6 0 .500 259 Houston 6 6 0 .500 253 Jacksonville 4 8 0 .333 275 Tennessee 3 9 0 .250 245 North W L T Pct PF Cincinnati 10 2 0 .833 334 Pittsburgh 7 5 0 .583 311 Baltimore 4 8 0 .333 272 Cleveland 2 10 0 .167 216 West W L T Pct PF Denver 10 2 0 .833 269

7 5 0 .583 321 240 5 7 0 .417 284 314 3 9 0 .250 247 324 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pct PF PA Washington 5 7 0 .417 257 286 Philadelphia 5 7 0 .417 278 302 N.Y. Giants 5 7 0 .417 307 296 Dallas 4 8 0 .333 223 277 South W L T Pct PF PA x-Carolina 12 0 0 1.000 373 243 Tampa Bay 6 6 0 .500 271 298 Atlanta 6 6 0 .500 279 257 New Orleans 4 8 0 .333 299 380 North W L T Pct PF PA Green Bay 8 4 0 .667 289 238 Minnesota 8 4 0 .667 238 232 Chicago 5 7 0 .417 251 290 Detroit 4 8 0 .333 253 315 West W L T Pct PF PA Arizona 10 2 0 .833 382 232 Seattle 7 5 0 .583 305 229 St. Louis 4 8 0 .333 189 257 San Francisco 4 8 0 .333 178 291 x-clinched division ___ Thursday’s Game Minnesota at Arizona Sunday’s Games Detroit at St. Louis, Noon San Diego at Kansas City, Noon Washington at Chicago, Noon Buffalo at Philadelphia, Noon San Francisco at Cleveland, Noon New Orleans at Tampa Bay, Noon Tennessee at N.Y. Jets, Noon Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, Noon Indianapolis at Jacksonville, Noon Atlanta at Carolina, Noon Seattle at Baltimore, Noon Oakland at Denver, 3:05 p.m. Dallas at Green Bay, 3:25 p.m. New England at Houston, 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14 N.Y. Giants at Miami, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17 Tampa Bay at St. Louis, 7:25 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19 N.Y. Jets at Dallas, 7:25 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20 Chicago at Minnesota, Noon Atlanta at Jacksonville, Noon Houston at Indianapolis, Noon Carolina at N.Y. Giants, Noon Tennessee at New England, Noon Buffalo at Washington, Noon Kansas City at Baltimore, Noon Cleveland at Seattle, 3:05 p.m. Green Bay at Oakland, 3:05 p.m. Miami at San Diego, 3:25 p.m. Cincinnati at San Francisco, 3:25 p.m. Denver at Pittsburgh, 3:25 p.m. Arizona at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21 Detroit at New Orleans, 7:30 p.m.

PA 247 248 278 300 PA 305 264 341 296 PA 196 240 291 347 PA 210

GoDaddy Bowl Mobile, Ala. Bowling Green (10-3) vs. Georgia Southern (8-3), 7 p.m. (ESPN) THURSDAY, DEC. 24 Bahamas Bowl Nassau Middle Tennessee (7-5) vs. Western Michigan (7-5), 11 a.m. (ESPN) Hawaii Bowl Honolulu Cincinnati (7-5) vs. San Diego State (10-3), 7 p.m. (ESPN) SATURDAY, DEC. 26 St. Petersburg (Fla.) Bowl Marshall (9-3) vs. UConn (6-6), 10 a.m. (ESPN)

Sun Bowl El Paso, Texas Miami (8-4) vs. Washington State (8-4), 1 p.m. (CBS) Heart of Dallas Bowl Washington (6-6) vs. Southern Mississippi (9-4), 2:20 p.m. (ESPN) Pinstripe Bowl Bronx, N.Y. Duke (7-5) vs. Indiana (6-6), 2:30 p.m. (ABC) Independence Bowl Shreveport, La. Virginia Tech (6-6) vs. Tulsa (6-6), 4:45 p.m. (ESPN) Foster Farms Bowl Santa Clara, Calif. Nebraska (5-7) vs. UCLA (8-4), 8:15 p.m. (ESPN) MONDAY, DEC. 28 Military Bowl Annapolis, Md. Navy (9-2) vs. Pittsburgh (8-4), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN) Quick Lane Bowl Detroit Central Michigan (7-5) vs. Minnesota (5-7), 4 p.m. (ESPN2) TUESDAY, DEC. 29 Armed Forces Bowl Fort Worth, Texas Air Force (8-5) vs. California (7-5), 1 p.m. (ESPN) Russell Athletic Bowl Orlando, Fla. North Carolina (11-2) vs. Baylor (9-3), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN) Arizona Bowl Tucson Nevada (6-6) vs. Colorado State (7-5), 6:30 p.m. (TBA) Texas Bowl Houston Texas Tech (7-5) vs. LSU (8-3), 8 p.m. (ESPN) WEDNESDAY, DEC. 30 Birmingham (Ala.) Bowl Auburn (6-6) vs. Memphis (9-3), 11 a.m. (ESPN) Belk Bowl Charlotte, N.C. NC State (7-5) vs. Mississippi St. (8-4), 2:30 p.m. (ESPN) Music City Bowl Nashville, Tenn. Louisville (7-5) vs. Texas A&M (8-4), 6 p.m. (ESPN) Holiday Bowl San Diego Wisconsin (9-3) vs. Southern Cal (8-5), 9:30 p.m. (ESPN) THURSDAY, DEC. 31 Peach Bowl Atlanta Houston (12-1) vs. Florida State (10-2), 11 a.m. (ESPN) Orange Bowl (Playoff Semifinal) Miami Gardens, Fla. Clemson (13-0) vs. Oklahoma (11-1), 3 p.m. (ESPN) Cotton Bowl Classic (Playoff Semifinal) Arlington, Texas Alabama (12-1) vs. Michigan State (121), 7 p.m. (ESPN) FRIDAY, JAN. 1 Outback Bowl Tampa, Fla. Northwestern (10-2) vs. Tennessee (84), 11 a.m. (ESPN2) Citrus Bowl Orlando, Fla. Michigan (9-3) vs. Florida (10-3), Noon (ABC) Fiesta Bowl Glendale, Ariz. Notre Dame (10-2) vs. Ohio State (111), Noon (ESPN) Rose Bowl Pasadena, Calif. Iowa (12-1) vs. Stanford (11-2), 4 p.m. (ESPN) Sugar Bowl New Orleans Oklahoma State (10-2) vs. Mississippi (9-3), 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) SATURDAY, JAN. 2 TaxSlayer Bowl Jacksonville, Fla. Penn St. (7-5) vs. Georgia (9-3), 11 a.m. (ESPN) Liberty Bowl Memphis, Tenn. Kansas St. (6-6) vs. Arkansas (7-5), 2:20 p.m. (ESPN) Alamo Bowl San Antonio Oregon (9-3) vs. TCU (10-2), 5:45 p.m. (ESPN) Cactus Bowl Phoenix West Virginia (7-5) vs. Arizona State (66), 9:15 p.m. (ESPN) MONDAY, JAN. 11 College Football Championship Game Glendale, Ariz. Orange Bowl winner vs. Cotton Bowl winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) SATURDAY, JAN. 23 East-West Shrine Classic At St. Petersburg, Fla. East vs. West, 3 p.m. (NFLN) NFLPA Collegiate Bowl At Carson, Calif. National vs. American, 5 p.m. (ESPN2) SATURDAY, JAN. 30 Senior Bowl At Mobile, Ala. North vs. South, 1:30 p.m. (NFLN)

Golf PGA FedExCup Leaders YTD Top Last Week Rank Name PointsWins 10’s FinishChange 1. Kevin Kisner 888 1 2 1 +7 2. Russell Knox 876 1 2 DNP -1 3. Justin Thomas 699 1 2 T58 -1 4. Graeme McDowell 690 1 2 3 +3 5. Smylie Kaufman 640 1 2 T33 -1 6. Kevin Na 631 0 3 DNP -3 7. Jason Bohn 560 0 3 DNP -2 8. Emiliano Grillo 534 1 1 DNP -2 9. Peter Malnati 376 1 2 T75 10. Kevin Chappell 347 0 1 2 +106 11. Adam Scott 301 0 1 DNP -1 12. Alex Cejka 298 0 2 T6 +4 13. Patrick Rodgers 259 0 2 T44 -1 14. William McGirt 258 0 2 DNP -3 15. Charles Howell III 233 0 2 T9 +6 16. Patton Kizzire 227 0 2 DNP -3 17. Cameron Tringale 215 0 1 DNP -3 18. Brendan Steele 213 0 1 DNP -3 19. Fredrik Jacobson 196 0 1 5 +50 20. Russell Henley 194 0 2 T6 +33 21. Jhonattan Vegas 192 0 2 T25 +8 22. Jon Curran 192 0 1 4 +79 23. T. Van Aswegen 191 0 1 T75 -6 24. Brett Stegmaier 187 0 1 73 -6 25. Chad Campbell 186 0 2 T9 +13 26. Spencer Levin 177 0 1 DNP -7 27. David Toms 170 0 1 DNP -7 28. Jim Herman 169 0 1 T18 +13 29. D. Summerhays 169 0 0 DNP -7 30. Scott Brown 168 0 1 T18 +12 31. Tony Finau 166 0 1 DNP -8 32. Johnson Wagner 165 0 1 T33 +2 33. Scott Piercy 163 0 1 DNP -9 34. Branden Grace 163 0 1 DNP -9 35. H. Matsuyama 160 0 1 DNP -9 36. Ryan Moore 155 0 2 DNP -9 37. Patrick Reed 154 0 2 DNP -9 38. Roberto Castro 150 0 1 T52 -5 39. Derek Fathauer 148 0 1 T70 -9

40. David Hearn 145 41. Brendon de Jonge145 42. Harold Varner III 144 43. Si Woo Kim 142 44. Jamie Lovemark 141 45. Kyle Reifers 139 46. Scott Stallings 138 47. Mark Hubbard 136 48. Brice Garnett 136 49. Lucas Glover 130 50. Boo Weekley 130

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 1

T9 T33 T68 T18 T9 T44 T9 T18 T85 T9 T18

+37 +6 -11 +18 +38 -2 +39 +24 -16 +42 +29

Presidents Cup standings At Liberty National Golf Club Jersey City, N.J. Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2017 Through Dec. 6 United States 1. Kevin Kisner 960 2. Kevin Na 760 3. Justin Thomas 758 4. Jordan Spieth 695 5. Smylie Kaufman 640 6. Jason Bohn 567 7. Daniel Berger 498 8. Scott Piercy 409 9. Kevin Chappell 393 10. Peter Malnati 376 11. Cameron Tringale 304 12. Dustin Johnson 304 13. Rickie Fowler 279 14. William McGirt 279 15. Brendan Steele 271 International 1. Jason Day AUS 11.45 2. Adam Scott AUS 4.69 3. Branden Grace SAF 4.28 4. Hideki Matsuyama JPN 4.22 5. Louis Oosthuizen SAF 4.10 6. Marc Leishman AUS 3.42 7. Thongchai Jaidee THA 3.21 8. Bernd Wiesberger AUT 3.10 9. Byeong-Hun An KOR 3.05 10. Emiliano Grillo ARG 3.00 11. Charl Schwartzel SAF 2.96 12. Kiradech Aphibarnrat THA 2.81 13. Anirban Lahiri IND 2.80 14. Danny Lee NZL 2.70 15. Matt Jones AUS 2.47

Sports Roundup Cook tied for third at Web.Com Q-School PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Jonesboro native Austin Cook is tied for third place after one round of play at the Web.Com Tour Qualifying school at the PGA National Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Cook shot a 6-under-par 66 in round one Thursday and is in a four-way tie for third place. On Thursday Cook finished with eight birdies. eight pars and two bogeys. Adam Svensson and Rick Lamb lead the tournament at 7-under-par. Cook tees off today at 8:11 a.m.

Texas A&M quarterback Allen to transfer COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M quarterback Kyle Allen is transferring from the school immediately. The Aggies granted his release on Thursday. The school didn’t say where Allen would be going. The sophomore appeared in 10 games for the Aggies this season and threw for 2,210 yards with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Allen won the starting job out of camp but was benched in favor of freshman Kyler Murray after throwing three interceptions, all of which were returned for touchdowns, in a loss to Alabama in October.

LPGA money leaders 1. Lydia Ko 2. Inbee Park 3. Stacy Lewis 4. Sei-Young Kim 5. Lexi Thompson 6. Amy Yang 7. Cristie Kerr 8. So Yeon Ryu 9. Shanshan Feng 10. Anna Nordqvist 11. Morgan Pressel 12. Brittany Lincicome 13. Hyo-Joo Kim 14. Suzann Pettersen 15. Ha Na Jang 16. Minjee Lee 17. Na Yeon Choi 18. Gerina Piller 19. Mirim Lee 20. Chella Choi 21. Yani Tseng 22. Mi Hyang Lee 23. Alison Lee 24. Ilhee Lee 25. Brittany Lang 26. Jenny Shin 27. Jessica Korda 28. Mika Miyazato 29. Candie Kung 30. Sandra Gal 31. Lizette Salas 32. Azahara Munoz 33. Austin Ernst 34. Angela Stanford 35. Ariya Jutanugarn 36. Eun-Hee Ji 37. Karine Icher 38. Pornanong Phatlum 39. Xiyu Lin 40. Pernilla Lindberg

Trn 24 25 26 27 24 24 25 25 21 25 27 26 25 23 23 29 22 26 25 31 27 29 23 28 29 28 24 24 26 27 24 23 29 27 29 29 29 28 25 29

Money $2,800,802 $2,630,011 $1,893,423 $1,820,056 $1,763,904 $1,438,312 $1,294,301 $1,292,395 $1,086,338 $977,743 $962,794 $933,521 $923,221 $912,603 $883,032 $821,121 $808,566 $727,681 $681,842 $663,576 $648,400 $647,865 $628,676 $619,647 $616,097 $607,956 $590,061 $583,141 $551,640 $531,961 $531,096 $504,100 $503,116 $491,777 $482,527 $474,706 $467,627 $445,383 $432,751 $417,225

Hockey Thursday’s Games Detroit 3, Montreal 2 Tampa Bay 4, Ottawa 1 Florida 4, Washington 1 Philadelphia 4, St. Louis 2 Nashville 5, Chicago 1 Winnipeg 6, Columbus 4 Calgary 4, Buffalo 3

Today’s Games Detroit at New Jersey, 6 p.m. Los Angeles at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m. Winnipeg at Chicago, 7:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Dallas, 7:30 p.m. Minnesota at Arizona, 8 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Edmonton, 8:30 p.m. Carolina at Anaheim, 9 p.m.

Solunar periods Periods begin at the times shown. Major periods last for an hour-and-a-half or two hours thereafter. Minor periods are of somewhat shorter duration. A.M P.M. Minor Major Minor Major Today 4:20 10:30 4:40 10:55 Saturday 5:10 11:25 5:35 11:55 Sunday 6:10 --- 6:40 12:25 Monday 7:05 12:55 7:35 1:20 Tuesday 8:00 1:50 8:30 2:15 Wednesday 8:50 2:40 9:15 3:00 Thursday 9:35 3:25 10:05 3:50

Transactions Thursday’s deals BASEBALL American League BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Claimed LHP Edgar Olmos off waivers from the Chicago Cubs. Designated OF Junior Lake for assignment. BOSTON RED SOX — Traded INF-OF Garin Cecchini to Milwaukee for cash considerations. KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Agreed to terms with RHP Joakim Soria on a threeyear contract. LOS ANGELES ANGELS — Agreed to terms with OF Craig Gentry on a one-year contract. TEXAS RANGERS — Agreed to terms with OF James Jones on a minor league contract. Acquired RHP Myles Jaye from the Chicago White Sox for LHP Will Lamb. National League COLORADO ROCKIES — Traded RHP Luis Perdomo to San Diego for a player to be named or cash considerations. PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Agreed to terms with RHP Juan Nicasio on a oneyear contract. SAN DIEGO PADRES — Acquired OF Jabari Blash from Oakland to complete an earlier trade. Acquired C Christian Bethancourt from Atlanta for RHP Casey Kelly and C Ricardo Rodriguez. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS — Agreed to terms with RHP Jonathan Broxton on a two-year contract. WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Acquired RHPs Trevor Gott and Michael Brady from the Los Angeles Angels for INF Yunel Escobar and cash. FOOTBALL National Football League BUFFALO BILLS — Signed LB AJ Tarpley from the practice squad. Placed LB Tony Steward on injured reserve. CLEVELAND BROWNS — Signed TE Gary Barnidge to a contract extension. DETROIT LIONS — Released DT Andre Fluellen from injured reserve. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Released RB Trey Williams. Signed DB Rashaan Melvin to the practice squad. Released DB Chris Greenwood from the practice squad. WASHINGTON REDSKINS — Signed RB Mack Brown to the practice squad. COLLEGE CALIFORNIA — Agreed to terms with football coach Sonny Dykes on a contract extension. GEORGE MASON — Suspended senior F Marko Gujanicic for violating team and university academic policies. PITTSBURGH — Signed football coach Pat Narduzzi to a contract extension through the 2021 season. RUTGERS — Named Vince Okruch special teams coordinator. TEXAS A&M — Announced sophomore QB Kyle Allen is transferring.

BIC edges Manila in girls’ basketball MANILA — Three players scored in double figures Thursday as Buffalo Island Central beat Manila 53-52 in senior girls’ basketball. For BIC Blaire Wildy scored 15 points, Heather Sipes added 14 and Molly Hart finished with 12. Hannah Teague scored 20 points for Manila and Taylor Harmon added 17. BIC won the junior girls’ game 30-28 as Brianna Lambert scored 17 points. Meg Gifford led Manila with 11 points.

Corning 76, Piggott 62 CORNING — Kaytie Manatt scored 33 points Thursday as Corning handed Piggott its first loss of the season with a 76-62 win in senior girls’ basketball. Ashley Payne added 19 points in the win for Corning (7-3, 1-0 3A-3) which led 26-7 after one quarter, 42-27 at the half and 60-53 going into the fourth quarter. For Piggott (7-1, 1-1 3A-3) Braelyn Rhodes scored 24 points and Colby Crossfield finished with 17.

Hoxie 59, Westside 24 HOXIE — Devin Pollard scored 17 points Thursday as Hoxie beat Westside 59-24 in senior girls’ basketball. Krista Vankirk added 11 points in the win for Hoxie (4-3) and Caitlin Henson finished with 10. Bailee Crowe led Westside with seven points.

Rector 45, Cross County 33 CHERRY VALLEY — Rector topped Cross County 45-33 in senior girls’ basketball Thursday. Rector led 7-5 after the first quarter, 14-11 at halftime and 31-15 after three quarters. Rector (5-95, 2-2) had Tori Hill lead all scorers with 17 points, while Colby Lynch and Matison Dean each netted 10 points. Rector won the junior girls’ basketball game 39-13.

Riverside 45, Marked Tree 26 MARKED TREE — Riverside defeated Marked Tree 45-26 in senior girls’ basketball Thursday night. Bailey Fisher had a 10 point and 11 rebound double-double for Riverside, while Haven Rob-

ertson added 12 points. Riverside also won the junior girls’ game 40-16.

Bay 72, Maynard 59

BAY— Bay took down Maynard 72-59 in senior girls’ basketball Thursday. Bay (15-2, 3-0 1A-3 East) led 17-8 after the first quarter and 34-28 at halftime, but Maynard held 56-45 lead after the third quarter. Bay’s Whitlee Lane had a team high 25 points, Mallory Hartley added 20 points and 11 rebounds and Katie Ferguson netted 10 points. For Maynard (7-6, 0-1), Jordan Weisenbach poured in a game high 28 points, while Lauren Crawford had 11 and Kaylee Smith grabbed 11 rebounds. Maynard won the junior girls’ game 31-22 behind Sybell Hollison’s 16 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists.

Rivercrest 72, Blytheville 59

BLYTHEVILLE — Rivercrest beat Blytheville 72-59 in senior girls’ basketball Thursday. Jordan Elder nearly picked up a doubledouble for Rivercrest, with 28 points and nine assists, while D.D. Williams poured in 20 points. For Blytheville, Kaitlyn Thomas scored 23 points and Laurissa Campbell had 13. Rivercrest won the seventh and eighthgrade games as well.

Nettleton 50, Blytheville 5

JONESBORO — Nettleton routed Blytheville in junior girls basketball. Jakyra Meabon led the way for the Lady Raiders with 10 points.

MacArthur 35, Bald Knob 30

JONESBORO — MacArthur defeated Bald Knob in junior girls’ basketball. Kayla Mitchell led MacArthur with 14 points. MacArthur also won the seventh grade game 27-8.

Pocahontas 54, Melbourne 53

BATESVILLE — Pocahontas beat Melbourne in overtime Wednesday in a senior girls’ quarterfinal game at the Lyon College Tournament. Makayla Kirk led the Lady Redskins with 17 points. Kristen Wiseman dropped in 13 points and Ashlynn Ellis scored 12.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015

SPORTS

THE JONESBORO SUN

www.jonesborosun.com

Nettleton, Westside to meet in Pre-Holiday tourney finals

PIGGOTT — Nettleton and Westside both earned spots in the senior boys’ finals of the Pre-Holiday Tournament on Thursday. Nettleton beat host Piggott 5132 while Westside beat Brookland 42-28. For Nettleton, Jeff Adams and Chris Nicholson each scored 12 points and Wesley Anderson Jr. added 10. Nettleton led 13-2 after one quarter, 27-13 at halftime and 3725 going into the fourth quarter. Brayden Brewer scored nine points for Piggott. Westside was led by Avery Felts 15 points and Tanner Rowell added 10. The Warriors led 13-7 after one quarter, 20-8 at halftime and 3515 going into the fourth quarter. David Ballard led Brookland with 15 points.

GCT Classic PARAGOULD — Both Paragould and host Greene County Tech earned senior boys’ wins on the opening day of the Greene County Tech Classic on Thursday night. Paragould beat Mountain Home 69-50 as Brandon Clifford scored 28 points. Collin Kingston added 21 for Paragould and Derek Shollenbarger scored 10. Also on Thursday Tech beat Liberty Tech (Tenn.) 50-49. Logan Sapp scored 16 points to pace the Eagles and Kayne Wilson added 13.

Southland, Mo., 81, Crowley’s Ridge Academy 61 PARAGOULD — Southland, Mo., beat Crowley’s Ridge Academy 81-61 Thursday in senior boys’

basketball. Southland led 29-15 after one quarter, 47-30 at the half and 5244 going into the fourth quarter. Griffin Hogue led CRA with 16 points, Ben Gazaway added 12 and Noah Elms and Sam Malone each scored 10. Michael Crossno scored 35 points for Southland and Jessie Childress added 31. In the junior boys’ game CRA won 42-37 as Bennett Austin scored 32 points.

Gerald Jennings Invivitational LAKE CITY — Gosnell will meet Marked Tree Saturday in the championship game of the Gerald Jennings Holiday Tournament. Gosnell defeated Manila 57-40 in a Thursday night semi-final matchup. Carlos Blackmon led the Pirates with 14 points, while Brandon Partee had 12 and Tramaine Anderson added 11. Manila was led by a game high 23 points by Brady Woodall. Marked Tree hung on for a 73-68 win over Valley View as LaQuentin Miles scored 18 points and Markel Perry added 17. Paul Coleman also scored 10 for Marked Tree. Valley View’s Alexander Gordon had 23 points, Adam Horn had 17 and Colton Clifft added 11. Valley View (4-3) led 21-16 after one quarter, the game was tied at 31 at the half and Marked Tree held a 49-46 win going into the third quarter. In the junior boys’ bracket, Gosnell will face Manila in the championship game after defeating Valley View 47-41 in the semifinals. Jaquon Partee had a gamehigh 18 points for Gosnell. JyDar-

Rockies nab Reynolds; Cards re-sign Broxton Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — First baseman Mark Reynolds and the Colorado Rockies agreed to a $2.6 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations said Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced. Reynolds hit .230 with 13 homers, 48 RBIs and 121 strikeouts in 382 at-bats for the St. Louis Cardinals this year. The 32-year-old, a nine-year big league veteran, set career highs in 2009 with Arizona when he had 44 homers, 102 RBIs and 223 strikeouts — a big league record.

A right-handed batter, Reynolds figures to compete for playing time with left-handedhitting first baseman Ben Paulson. Reynolds also could back up third baseman Nolan Arenado. The agreement was first reported by CBS. CARDS SIGN BROXTON — Reliever Jonathan Broxton is staying with the St. Louis Cardinals, agreeing to a $7.5 million, two-year contract. The 31-year-old righthander gets $3.75 million in each of the next two seasons under the agreement announced Thursday, which includes a full no-trade provision.

BELL CONTINUED FROM B1

Belt Conference championship, lead the Sun Belt in scoring at 41 points per game and average 448.9 yards per game. Under Bell’s guidance, ASU quarterback Fredi Knighten earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors in 2014 and was a second-team All-SBC selection this season. Bell has also served previously as an assistant coach at North Carolina and Southern Mississippi, a quality

control coach at Oklahoma State, and a graduate assistant at both USM and Memphis. He played at Middle Tennessee State. ASU head coach Blake Anderson, Bell and defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen are scheduled to speak at a New Orleans Bowl press conference this morning on campus. The Red Wolves are set to practice this afternoon as they begin preparations for their Dec. 19 game against Louisiana Tech in New Orleans.

ian Young had 12 and CaDarius Young tacked on 11. Valley View’s Cade Rogers had 11 points. Manila advanced to the final after beating Corning 57-40. Brock Birmingham had a game-high 25 points for Manila. Corning’s Lucas Barajas netted 21 points for the Bobcats.

Bay 60, Maynard 27 BAY — Bay trounced Maynard 60-27 in senior boys’ basketball Thursday night. Bay led 13-12 after the first quarter and 31-18 at halftime. Bay then pulled away in the second half, taking a 52-20 lead after the third quarter. Jonathan Crain led Bay with 18 points, while Dustin Utley and Tyler Pritchett each netted 12. Bay won the junior boys’ game 60-18.

Nettleton 58, Blytheville 46 JONESBORO — Nettleton improved to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the 5A East on Thursday with a 58-46 win over Blytheville in junior boys’ basketball. Jay Campbell and Kevin Fulton each scored 14 points for Nettleton. Nettleton also won the eighth grade game 48-34.

Annie Camp 47, Osceola 37 OSCEOLA — Annie Camp defeated Osceola 47-37 in junior boys’ basketball Thursday. B.J. Wilson led Annie Camp with 11 points and Quinton Tate added 10. Osceola won the eighth-grade game 37-32. Annie Camp won the seventh-grade game 37-13.

Associated Press

Arizona Cardinals tight end Darren Fells (85) is upended by Minnesota Vikings cornerback Trae Waynes during the second half of Thursday’s in Glendale, Ariz.

Freeney’s defensive play saves Arizona’s 23-20 win Associated Press

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Dwight Freeney joined the Cardinals a month into the season to help boost Arizona’s troubled pass rush off the edge. He helped it a whole lot on Thursday night with a game-clinching play. Freeney stripped the ball from Teddy Bridgewater with 5 seconds remaining to deprive the Vikings a chance at the tying field goal, and the Cardinals clinched a playoff berth with a 23-20 victory over Minnesota. “That’s why I came back, because moments like this, you can’t duplicate those in life,” Freeney said. Bridgewater moved the Vikings to the Arizona 31-yard line, well within the range of Blair Walsh. But Freeney hit the quarterback’s arm as Bridgewater tried to pass. The ball came loose and Calais Campbell recovered. “To be able to have this type of dream situation, fourth quarter, game on

the line, it’s kind of like ninth inning, two outs,” Freeney said, “one of those situations for a defensive lineman, and I was able to make a play.” Chandler Catanzaro’s 47-yard field goal with 1:23 to go was the winning score as Arizona (11-2) won its seventh in a row. Bridgewater passed for 335 yards and a touchdown for the Vikings (85), who were playing without four defensive starters but made it close after being embarrassed at home by Seattle 38-7 on Sunday. Carson Palmer threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns for the Cardinals, who will win the NFC West if Seattle is beaten Sunday at Baltimore. Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson wanted more carries than the eight he got (for 9 yards) against the Seahawks. He got them, carrying 23 times for 69 yards, but had only 31 yards on 19 attempts after his 9-yard touchdown run on the Vikings’ first possession of the night.

HOOPFEST CONTINUED FROM B1

(4-3) is a talented team led by 6-3 junior guard Xzavier Reed who was the Best Under The Sun Newcomer of the Year last season. Second-year EPC coach McKenzie Pierce said he is looking forward to seeing how his team fares against two quality opponents. “Being a small school and a football school we don’t get the luxury of too many early season nonconference games. We’re still really trying to find ourselves so it’s going to be good getting to play two very good teams back to back,” Pierce said. A Hurricane graduate, Pierce said coaching a game inside the gym he grew up in will be a great experience. “It’s going to be special, it really is. It’s going to be an opportunity for all my family and friends and high school classmates to come and watch. I think the very first basketball game I ever played in was a pee-wee game in fourth grade, and it was in that gym. Actually it won’t be the first time I’ve ever coached there,” he said. “When I was 17 I started coaching a fifth and sixth grade team and actually the first game I ever coached was there, but it will be special to be an official high school coach coming back.” Monk and Bentonville will take to the court at 6:30 today against Memphis Arlington which features shooting guard

Nathan Hoover, who has offers from Ole Miss, Tulsa, Wofford and TexasPan Am, and point guard Demonte Person, who holds offers from North Dakota, Middle Tennessee, Texas-El Paso and Murray State. The final game today features Valley View (43) taking on Christ Presbyterian Academy out of Nashville. Seniors Adam Horn, Alexander Gorton and Matt Owens lead a talented Valley View team while CPA plays an uptempo style and likes to shoot a ton of 3’s. Valley View coach Jason Manchester said his team is excited for the challenge of playing a top notch school from Tennessee. “They are a very tradition-rich basketball program with multiple state championships there in Tennessee. They had a couple of marquee players transfer right before the season started so I think they’ve got a new group. But it will be an exciting team to watch,” Manchester said. “Their coach likes to shoot a lot of 3’s. Just the other night they played and shot about 35 3’s and they want to shoot about 40 3’s per game and this Washburn kid in two games this year he has eight 3’s. The other night he had nine, so he’s very talented but he’s not the only one. It’s a tough matchup and it’s not a style that we see very often, but it’s a style that it will be exiting for us to try to come up with

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est from several schools along with 6-0 freshman guard Jefferson Walker. The final game of the event will include host Jonesboro going against Memphis Southwind. Jonesboro is 4-0 on the season after winning the Barry Pruitt Hurricane Classic last week and earning a 62-50 win at Little Rock McClellan on Tuesday. Swift said Southwind will provide a great earlyseason test for the Hurricane. Southwind has a lot of weapons, according to Swift. “We know quite a bit about them. We’ve got some film on them and a good scouting report. They have an outstanding sophomore point guard, he’s about 5-11 and really handles it well ... It’s really hard to trap him with the ball because he has that back dribble and creates space ... and he’s a very good shooter,” he said. “Their best scorer is a 6-6 wing who is really good. He can shoot the 3 off the catch or off the dribble and then he posts well with his back to the basket. He’ll be a matchup issue for us and they have a 6-7 freshman who they will play inside. He’s athletic and will crash the boards.” Swift said the Hurricane try to play in events like the Hoopfest every year, but having an event like this on their home floor is not only great for the team, but also for its fans.

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ways to stop it.” Manchester said having the event in Jonesboro makes it even better because the Valley View fans can attend the game easily. “That’s the thing that excited me the most when the opportunity came about last spring, when we were approached about it, we could sleep in our own beds and also play some good basketball against a very good CPA team out of Nashville. So we’re just excited about the opportunity to be in it and what a great weekend of basketball it will be for Northeast Arkansas,” he said. Saturday’s schedule begins at 2 p.m. with Arkansas Baptist facing Springdale Har-Ber. Arkansas Baptist features brothers Connor and Brandon Vanover, who stand at 7-3 and 6-11, respectively, and can both shoot the ball. Connor (7-3) played for and won a gold medal for the United States Under-16 team over the summer. The second game Saturday includes EPC facing Senath-Hornersville at 3:30 p.m. A pair of Jonesboro graduates will face off in this game as Pierce is the coach at EPC while Lucas Nutt coaches Senath. Pulaski Academy and talented 6-3 guard and Tulsa signee Lawson Korita play Bartlett High School at 5 p.m. Bartlett includes several good players in 6-4 senor forward Zay Young who is drawing inter-

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SPORTS

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015

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Paragould claims Shootout win BY COLE TURBEVILLE Paxton News Bureau

AP Photo/HOK and 360 Architecture via The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

An artist’s rendering shows a proposed NFL stadium in St. Louis. The effort to keep the Rams in St. Louis cleared a major hurdle Thursday when a city aldermanic committee approved a financing plan for a new $1 billion stadium.

Panel OKs St. Louis stadium financing BY JIM SALTER Associated Press

ST. LOUIS — The effort to keep the NFL in St. Louis cleared a major hurdle Thursday, when a committee of city aldermen approved a financing plan for a new $1 billion stadium. The Ways and Means Committee backed the plan by a 7-2 vote. The full Board of Aldermen is expected to take up the issue Friday, but a final vote isn’t expected until next week — ahead of a Dec. 30 deadline imposed by the NFL for the three cities whose teams want to move to Los Angeles. Owners of the Rams, the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders all have proposed relocation, perhaps as early as next season. The good news from City Hall for St. Louis football fans was perhaps offset by skepticism from a key NFL executive. In an interview Thursday with Bernie Miklasz on

radio station WXOS-FM, NFL Executive Vice President Eric Grubman said the city “will fall short of having a compelling proposal that would attract the Rams.” Grubman said the proposed stadium will “cost more than is at the drawing board at the moment, the funding has declined and new taxes are being proposed to the Rams.” David Peacock, cochairman of the St. Louis stadium task force, said passage of the aldermen’s committee measure was a “significant milestone.” He called Grubman’s comments a negotiating tactic and noted that NFL owners have the ultimate decision on which teams stay and which ones go. “We aren’t too tied up about it,” Peacock said. “We feel good about what we have and what we’re going to be able to do.” The St. Louis proposal calls for the city to finance $150 million as part of the funding for a new stadium.

PARAGOULD — Paragould opened up its McDonald’s Shootout girls’ high school basketball tournament on Thursday night at Doc Paynter’s Court. The marquee matchup of the night was a cross-county showdown between the Paragould Lady Rams and Marmaduke Lady Greyhounds. The Lady Rams exploited the Lady Greyhounds in the paint with their size advantage throughout the night routing Marmaduke 6044. Paragould head coach Jay Cook was pleased with his team after one of their better games of the season. “We did what we were supposed to do,” Cook said. “We felt like we had a size advantage over them and we really used that. We’re really improving and I’m excited that we get to take on Jonesboro tomorrow night to see where we really stand. We played them last week and they thumped us pretty hard so I’m ready to see how much we’ve improved in a week.” On the other end of the court, Marmaduke head coach Rick Smith knows his team needs to improve. “We’ve got to get better,” Smith said. “They’re probably the best team we’ve played this year when it comes to size and athleticism. We’ve got to do a better job of boxing out down low against bigger teams like (Paragould).”

Both teams came out firing in what looked to be a fast-paced matchup in the first quarter. However, the Lady Rams began to slow the game down midway through the quarter and started pounding the ball inside to their two post players Zoey Beasley and Sydnie Walker. The duo combined for 10 points in the quarter and Paragould led 14-10. The Lady Rams continued to try and score inside in the second, but they were only able to muster up two field goals in the quarter. However, Paragould knocked down 9-of-10 free throws in the quarter. The Lady Greyhounds were unable to take advantage of Paragould’s cold shooting and the Lady Rams led 27-20 at the half. Paragould began to exert itself inside in the second half. Late in the third quarter, the Lady Rams held 32-26 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the period. At that point, Paragould blew the game open with a 12-5 run and held a comfortable 44-31 lead heading into the fourth. Paragould continued to pour it on Marmaduke in the final quarter opening with a quick 7-3 run to take their largest lead of the game at 51-34. The deficit was too demanding for the Lady Greyhounds to overcome. Paragould improved to 3-4 on the year while Marmaduke dropped to 10-5. Paragould’s Walker and Marmaduke’s Abby Meredith were named the players of the game.

Beasley led Paragould in scoring with 17 while Walker added 14. Emily Clardy scored 10. Meredith, who according to her coach was battling an illness, led all scorers with 20 points – 11 of them came from free throws. Jordan Mays scored 12 and Brianna Hood scored 11. The Lady Rams will face Jonesboro tonight while the Lady Greyhounds will match up against Valley View.

Lady Hurricane 58, Lady Blazers 51 2OT In an earlier game, the Jonesboro Lady Hurricane topped the Valley View Lady Blazers 5851 in a double overtime thriller. The Hurricane seemed to have control of the game in the first half outscoring Valley View 25-15 thanks in part to Amber Hatchett who put up eight in the first two quarters. However, Valley View tightened up its defense in the second half holding the Lady Hurricane to only six points in the third quarter to cut the lead to 31-27. Late in the fourth, Valley View grabbed a fivepoint lead on a transition layup from Molly Poe. But, Jonesboro battled back and regained the lead on a layup from Matte Curtis with less than 20 seconds remaining. That’s when Poe raced down the court and tied the game up at 40-40 with a layup of her own as time expired. Due to both team being in the bonus, the first overtime turned into

a free throw shooting contest. Neither team could retain a comfortable lead, but Jonesboro had a chance for a last shot at the end of the period. But, Nancy Smith’s three-point attempt didn’t drop. Jonesboro for the majority of the second overtime and with a fourpoint advantage, Shanei Sloan knocked down two clutch shots from the charity stripe to ice the game. Hatchett led the Lady Hurricane with 15 points while Curties scored 13 and Donita Webb added 12 of her own. The Lady Blazers were led in scoring by Reagan Dodd who poured in 15 points while Rachel Wilson scored 10.

Poplar Bluff 56, Nettleton 50 In the early game, Poplar Bluff was able to squeeze out a victory over Nettleton 56-50. Megan Knuckles led Poplar Bluff with 16 points while Dasia Young scored 14 for Nettleton.

Dexter, Mo. 74, Greene Co. Tech 69 Dexter jumped on top of the Lady Eagles early and led for the majority of the game holding off GCT 74-69. Allie Thomas, who was the player of the game for GCT ended the night with 17 points. Addison McCreless led the Lady Eagles with 18 while Lara White added 17. Dakota Reynolds was the player of the game for the Lady Bearcats scoring 16 points.

Pats’ Gronkowski back on practice field Associated Press

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Rob Gronkowski was back on the practice field Thursday, just 11 days after suffering a knee injury in a Sunday night loss to the Denver Broncos. With no timeline set on his return, Gronkowski, who sprained his right knee and also suffered a bone bruise, was back

after missing four New England Patriots practices. He was wearing a brace on the knee. The team’s injury report for the day had Gronkowski as one of nine players who had “limited participation” in the practice. The Friday report is more definitive. The Patriots and the Gronkowski family issued

a joint statement two days after the game saying there was no timetable for the tight end’s return. Thursday’s workout was not in full pads and there was no indication whether Gronkowski will play Sunday night at Houston. Coach Bill Belichick monitored Gronkowski as he jogged before the practice.

sive line got after it, too. He wasn’t the only one getting yards.” Senior linebacker/running back Brayden Wilson has rushed for 460 yards and seven touchdowns while racking up 97 total tackles on defense. Rivercrest quarterback Kesler Pierce tossed a pair of touchdowns in the semifinal win over Smackover. For the season Pierce is 34-for-90 with 676 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. “He made a couple of good throws, one was a little easier then the other but we thought we could do some things in the passing game and hit some big plays and that’s what we did,” Chandler said. Preston Wilson leads the Rivercrest defense with 101 tackles and has 10 tackles for loss on the year. Senior Dylan Henard has 92 tackles for the Colts. Freshman safety Kentavious Robinson has 51 tackles and nine tackles for loss in only five games since joining the team after the junior high season ended. Harding Academy (13-1) earned a shot at a championship by beating Prescott 49-36 last week. Chandler said his team hasn’t really faced a team that throws the ball as much as Harding. “They’re well-coached. They execute their offense and defense extremely well, and they are

very good and don’t make mistakes,” he said. “They throw it a lot. We haven’t seen a team that throws it as much as they do this year, so those are all challenges.” Senior quarterback Alex Francis leads a potent Harding Academy offense that averages 38.4 points per game. Francis is 278-for-415 this year through the air with 3,647 yards, 47 touchdowns and only six interceptions. A pair of sophomores lead the Harding Academy receivers. Travis Turley has 63 catches for 953 yards and 13 touchdowns and Peydon Harlow has 46 catches for 760 yards and nine touchdowns. Senior Luke Fouts has 15 receiving touchdowns and 42 catches for the Wildcats. Defensively Harding Academy allows 13.8 points per game. Senior linebacker Ty Mote, the son of head coach Roddy Mote, has a team-high 76 tackles, while Harlow has 71 tackles as a defensive back. Chandler said while it might be a new group of players, his experience in the state championship game in 2010 will definitely help him prepare his team this time around. “It gives me a better idea of what’s going to happen as far as with the press on the sidelines before the game with the TV stations and it will give me an idea of possible distractions if you don’t watch out,” he said.

RIVERCREST CONTINUED FROM B1

them to be in the finals. They were one of the favorites and they had a lot of weapons and were a tough team to contain, and I thought our defense played really well that night and we did enough on offense to pull out the win,” Chandler said. “We had a lot of penalties but were able to overcome it.” Senior running back Cecil Langston went over 3,000 yards on the season in last week’s win over Smackover. Langston has 3,040 yards rushing and 33 touchdowns on 329 carries. He comes into the state championship game averaging a whopping 9.2 yards per carry. In last week’s victory, Langston became the Rivercrest all-time leading rusher and currently has 6,084 yards in his career. Langston broke the previous school record of 6,008 held by former Rivercrest and Arkansas fullback Tyrone Henry. “I coached Tyrone when he was in junior high and watched him those years in high school. He was a great back and it’s just amazing that Cecil could have done that and against good teams. Smackover had some players who could run to the ball and good athletes, so he had to grind out most of his runs,” Chandler said. “He didn’t have an 80-yard run or anything like that. It was tougher and he did a great job, and the offen-

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015

BUSINESS

THE JONESBORO SUN

www.jonesborosun.com

Energy stocks lead market gain Make sure your BY BERNARD CONDON AP Business Writer

NEW YORK — Investors took a chance on some beaten-down shares on Thursday, helping the U.S. stock market to its first gain in four days. The gain was modest, but broad, with eight of the 10 industry sectors of the Standard and Poor’s 500 index ending higher. Drillers and other energy companies, down sharply in previous days, climbed 0.6 percent, much more than the rest of the market. Among individual stocks, Chevron rose nearly 2 percent. Some suppliers of raw materials posted gains, too. Aluminum giant Alcoa and miner Freeport-

McMoRan each rose 5 percent. The climb came despite a continuing slump in the price of commodities that has been rattling markets all year. Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell to another seven-year low. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 82.45 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,574.75. The S&P 500 index rose 4.61 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,052.23. The Nasdaq composite increased 22.31 points, or 0.4 percent, to 5,045.17. Natural gas and coal producer Consol Energy jumped 10 percent. It’s still the biggest loser in the S&P 500 this year, however, down 78 percent.

In economic news, applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. rose last week, but the number of Americans seeking aid remains close to historic lows. The report comes a week before the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates for the first time in nine years. That would signal the central bank is confident the economy is strong enough to withstand higher borrowing costs. “There is a fear over the market. China is slowing, emerging markets are slowing,” said James Dunigan, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management. “But if the Fed can say we’re com-

fortable with U.S. employment and economic growth, that will be a positive.” The price of crude oil fell 40 cents, or 1 percent, to $36.76 a barrel in New York. Oil is trading at its lowest level since early 2009. The upside to lower oil is that consumers save money at the gas pump, giving them more money to spend at stores and elsewhere. But that boost hasn’t helped much yet. “You just don’t have anything to show in retail sales or consumer spending,” said James Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management. “Where is the stimulus from lower oil?”

Stock slide dips into personal wealth Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The stock market’s sharp decline in August and September took its toll on Americans’ finances in the third quarter. Household net worth fell for the first time in four years. The Federal Reserve said Thursday that Americans’ stock and mutual fund portfolios plunged $2.3 trillion in the JulySeptember quarter. That far outweighed a $482 billion increase in home values. Overall, household net worth fell to $85.2 trillion from $86.4 trillion in the second quarter. Less household wealth can cause consumers to pull back on spending to rebuild savings. That can slow growth since consumer spending drives more than two-thirds of economic activity. Americans were cautious about spending in October when retail sales barely rose and savings rates climbed. Still, stock markets have mostly rebounded since September and there are few signs that consumers are sharply cutting back. Americans’ net worth has grown 2.9 percent in the past year. That rise may have left many Americans feeling wealthier, even with last quarter’s decline. Consumer spending rose at a healthy pace in the third quarter, when it was 3.2 percent higher compared with a year earlier. Steady job gains in the past three years are starting to finally boost paychecks a bit and fuel more shopping and carbuying. Americans are also willing to take out more debt, which can be a sign of confidence in the economy, though the increase slowed from the second quarter. Consumer credit, which includes auto loans, student loans, and credit cards, increased at a solid 7.2 percent annual rate. Outstanding mortgage debt rose 1.6 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 9 percent in August and September as fears intensified that China’s economy was slowing more sharply than economists had anticipated. The dollar also continued to rise in value compared with overseas currencies, making U.S. exports overseas more expensive and imports cheaper. The Fed’s figures aren’t adjusted for population growth or inflation. Household wealth, or net worth, reflects the value of homes, stocks and other assets minus mortgages, credit cards and other debts.

Associated Press

Truck drivers stop at a gas station in Emerson, Ga., north of metro Atlanta, to fill up their tractor trailers in 2014. Commercial truck and bus drivers are now required to electronically record their driving hours in an effort to enforce regulations to prevent fatigue.

New rule: Truckers must electronically record hours BY JOAN LOWY Associated Press

WASHINGTON — An estimated 3 million commercial truck and bus drivers must electronically record their hours behind the wheel under a new government rule aimed at enforcing regulations designed to prevent fatigue. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released the long-awaited rule on Thursday. Drivers have been required to keep paper logs of their hours dating back to 1938, but accident investigators and safety advocates have long complained that it’s easy to change the logs or keep two different sets of records to evade restrictions on hours. Electronic logging devices automatically record driving time by monitoring engine hours, vehicle movement, miles driven, and location information. “This automated technology not only brings logging records into the modern age, it also allows roadside safety inspectors to unmask violations of federal law that put lives at risk,”

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. Efforts to require electronic logs that are more difficult to tamper with have been opposed by drivers who own their truck or small fleets of trucks. The drivers say the companies that hire them to haul freight will be able to access the electronic logs and pressure drivers who haven’t reached their limit of legally-allowed hours to stay on the road even if they want to rest. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which sued the safety administration to block the rule, says on its website that it questions “the need for truckers to spend money on an unproven technology that is no more effective than paper logs when it comes to safety and hours-ofservice compliance.” The safety administration estimates the electronic devices will provide a net savings of $1 billion a year, mostly through paperwork reductions. It also estimate about 26 lives will be saved and 562 injuries prevented each year. The rule also contains

procedural and technical provisions designed to protect commercial truck and bus drivers from harassment resulting from information generated by the devices, the agency said. The rule sets performance and design requirements for the devices. It also exempts from the requirements tow truck drivers, drivers who use time cards to record their hours and trucks and buses older than model year 2000. Drivers living in Canada and Mexico that operate on U.S. roads will also be required to use the devices. “This regulation will change the trucking industry for the better forever,” said Bill Graves, president of the American Trucking Associations, which represents trucking companies. The rule goes into effect in 60 days, and gives companies two years after that to start using the devices. Companies which have previously installed recording devices that meet current standards but don’t meet requirements of the new rule can continue to use them for four years.

escrow account is correct Once you have purchased a home, your lender will eventually conduct its annual escrow analysis. An escrow analysis is completed in order to show you (the borrower) what the lender used over the past year from your escrow account in order to pay for your taxes and insurance. The escrow analysis also shows what the lender anticipates to pay over the next calendar year. You need to know how to review an escrow analysis so you will know whether or not it needs to be corrected. As mentioned in a previous column, your escrow is an account which your Garrett lender sets up in order to pay your Barnes | property taxes and homeowner’s insurance. After the annual escrow analysis is completed, the lender projects what the total escrow will be for that year and you will pay a portion of it each month with your mortgage payment and interest. For most mortgage accounts, lenders require a minimum balance equal of at least two months of escrow payments. This minimum balance helps to cover any potential increases in your taxes or insurance over the next year. At the conclusion of an escrow analysis, you will know whether you have an escrow surplus or an escrow shortage. Regardless if you have a surplus or shortage, you will receive an escrow analysis report showing how your escrow was calculated. Due to homeowner’s insurance rates and property taxes potentially changing over the course of a year, your escrow account may have a surplus or a shortage. A surplus occurs whenever you paid more than was necessary for your property taxes and/or homeowner’s insurance. When a surplus occurs, the lender should issue you a check or voucher for the amount you overpaid. I can imagine most of you are now hoping there is an escrow surplus in your next escrow analysis, but that is not always the case. Sometimes, you might have an escrow shortage. An escrow shortage occurs whenever there was not enough money in your escrow account in order to pay for all of your property taxes and homeowner’s insurance. If there’s an escrow shortage, you will know because the print out of your escrow analysis will list the exact difference. In the case of a shortage, you need to see what your lender has listed as your property taxes on your escrow analysis. Each year, your monthly mortgage payment should change a little due to changing amounts for property taxes and homeowner’s insurance. However, you should still follow up on your escrow analysis and make sure the monthly payment your lender is calculating for you to pay throughout next year is correct. For example, one year my personal monthly mortgage payment nearly doubled because my property taxes were not calculated correctly. To obtain a correct amount of your property taxes, contact your county assessor’s office, provide them with your address and ask what should be showing as your property taxes on your escrow analysis. Next, you need to contact your homeowner’s insurance agent and ask how much of your escrow should be for homeowner’s insurance. At this point, you will have both amounts and will be ready to contact your lender if your escrow analysis doesn’t match these numbers. If what is listed on your escrow analysis doesn’t match these two numbers, then call your lender as soon as possible. Ask to speak with someone who deals with mortgage escrows or choose the option (if dialing a 1-800 number) pertaining to escrow. If none of their options specifically pertain to escrow, then choose the first option you can in order to speak to a customer service representative. Once you are speaking with someone who deals with mortgage escrows, they will pull up your mortgage account. Once they do, you need to inform them that your property taxes and/or your homeowner’s insurance are incorrect, you have the correct numbers, and you want another escrow analysis to be done as soon as possible. While escrow errors are not necessarily common, they do happen. When they do happen, you need to be prepared to take immediate action so you can have it corrected as soon as possible. If you don’t, then a late or insufficient mortgage payment could negatively affect your credit score. When correcting an escrow error, you must stay consistent and keep calling your lender if the error is not corrected within the timeframe which they said it would be corrected. Simply put, don’t give up until your monthly mortgage payment is exactly correct. If you need more information on this week’s or any column from a previous week, do not hesitate to email me. As always, enjoy your weekend. Garrett Barnes, a 2010 graduate of Arkansas State University, is a residential real estate developer in Bono.

Unemployment aid requests rise, but stay relatively low Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Applications for U.S. jobless aid climbed last week, but the number of Americans seeking benefits remains close to historic lows in a positive sign for the job market. ■ The numbers: Weekly applications for jobless aid rose 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 282,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The less volatile four-week average was 270,750. The weekly filings have stayed near historic lows for the past nine months. Applications below 300,000 usually correspond with net monthly job gains in excess of 200,000. ■ The takeaway: The low numbers point to a solid environment for hiring,

suggesting that employers are holding onto workers and potentially looking to add staff on the expectation of further growth. ■ Key drivers: More Americans have returned to work during the past three years, as the economy has slowly recovered from the Great Recession. The influx has enabled the economy to grow at a moderate pace of roughly 2 percent a year, enough for employers to retain their workers and steadily expand their payrolls. ■ Big picture: Jobless claims are a proxy for layoffs, so the low level indicates that job growth will continue. The economy added 211,000 jobs in the November and 298,000 in October.

Associated Press

Students attend The Foot in the Door Career Fair at the University of Illinois in Springfield, Ill., in 2014. The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications for jobless benefits increased last week.

THE JONESBORO SUN

STOCKS

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015

www.jonesborosun.com

DOW 17,574.75 +82.45

40 20 S

O N 52-week range

$13.55

D $66.18

Vol.: 22.1m (10.5x avg.) PE: 25.3 Mkt. Cap: $738.41 m Yield: 4.7%

Yum Brands

10-YR T-NOTE 2.23% +.02

Groupon was one of the most popular online deals sites when it started in 2008, but rapid expansion and a rushed public stock offering in 2011 caught up to the company. Sales weakened, and its stock price slumped. Now, the company is working to shore up results. In September, it said it would cut 1,100 jobs and focus on new customer growth and heavier marketing. In November, it named a new CEO, Rich Williams. Last week, Williams named a new chief products officer and a head of operations for North America. Investors are losing patience, though. Shares fell nearly 7 percent on the first trading day since Friday’s

Close: $15.27 -3.12 or -17.0% The men’s clothing retailer warned it may miss its full-year profit forecast if struggles continue at its Jos. A Bank locations. $60

p n q Money&Markets

S&P 500 2,052.23 +4.61

Revenue

$1,000 million

management shuffle. And they have plunged 63 percent since the beginning of the year. Analysts say the changes are painful and necessary, and may not pay off for a long, long time. RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney says the company is making some positive moves, like playing down lower-profit goods such as electronics, but there’s a lot more work to be done on its core e-commerce business. Wells Fargo analyst Trisha Dill says the company’s strategy of ramping up customer acquisition via heavier marketing might work, but “in our view the stock will tread water for the next 12 months.”

Close: $73.19 -0.61 or -0.8% The operator of KFC and Pizza Hut fast-food restaurants reported a 3 percent drop in same-store sales at its China operations. $90

Net income

$30

Groupon (GRPN) Nov. 4, 2011: $26.11

800 20

600

Thursday’s close: $3.08

400 10

200

80 70

O N 52-week range

$66.35

-200

’12

$95.90

’13

’14

’15

52-WEEK RANGE CLOSE LO HI CLOSE

CHG

%CHG

YTD %CHG

DIV 1.88

AT&T Inc

30.97

36.45

33.67

+.10

+0.3%

+0.2%

Amer Railcar Inds

33.02

60.42

50.15

-.51

-1.0%

-2.6%

1.60

BancorpSouth

19.64

27.23

24.84

-.02

-0.1%

+10.4%

0.40f

Bank of America

14.60

18.48

17.20

+.10

+0.6%

-3.9%

0.20

CenterPoint Energy

16.15

24.38

16.14

-.27

-1.6%

-31.1%

0.99

ConAgra Foods

33.45

45.49

40.32

-.08

-0.2%

+11.1%

1.00

Crane Co

45.37

70.47

48.31

-.32

-0.7%

-17.7%

1.32

Dillards Inc

68.06

144.21

72.46

-.02

...%

-42.1%

0.28f

Emerson Elec

42.21

64.89

46.97

-.17

-0.4%

-23.9%

1.90f

61.27

92.02

65.71

-2.33

-3.4%

-24.9%

3.40f

130.01

185.19

148.49

+1.69

+1.2%

-14.5%

1.00

Gen Electric

19.37

30.99

30.65

+.18

+0.6%

+21.3%

0.92

HealthSouth Corp

32.55

48.37

35.09

+.45

+1.3%

-8.8%

0.92f

Home Bancshares Inc

28.41

47.50

40.84

+.28

+0.7%

+27.0%

0.60

Hunt, JB Transport

70.58

93.50

73.79

-.42

-0.6%

-12.4%

0.84

Iberiabank Corp

54.34

71.21

55.91

-.36

-0.6%

-13.8%

1.36

Kroger Co

27.32

41.68

41.13

-.12

-0.3%

+28.1%

0.42f

Mondelez Intl

33.97

48.58

43.98

+.33

+0.8%

+21.1%

0.68

Nucor Corp

36.76

54.75

41.03

+1.03

+2.6%

-16.4%

1.50f

5.90

10.09

7.48

+.01

+0.1%

+15.4%

...

48.44

69.65

53.27

+.77

+1.5%

-19.8%

1.32f

PepsiCo

76.48

103.44

98.90

-.23

-0.2%

+4.6%

2.81

Post Holdings Inc

38.95

71.39

65.54

-.72

-1.1%

+56.5%

...

PulteGroup Inc

17.29

23.36

18.16

+.14

+0.8%

-15.4%

0.36f 0.24

FedEx Corp

Penney JC Co Inc Pentair plc

8.54

10.87

9.61

+.16

+1.7%

-9.0%

Sears Holdings Corp

18.03

46.23

21.70

+.94

+4.5%

-34.2%

...

Simmons Fst Natl

35.72

58.75

52.91

-.48

-0.9%

+30.2%

0.92

Regions Fncl

105.00

145.80

124.89

+.99

+0.8%

-0.5%

...

Tyson Foods

37.10

53.21

53.41

+.40

+0.8%

+33.2%

0.60f

Unilever NV

37.51

46.53

43.02

-.32

-0.7%

+10.2%

1.32e

WalMart Strs

56.30

90.97

59.56

+.43

+0.7%

-30.6%

1.96

Walgreen Boots Alli

66.46

97.30

83.42

+.08

+0.1%

+9.5%

1.44

Toyota Mot

’14

’15

Mae Anderson; J. Paschke • AP

Stocks of Regional Interest

Entergy

’13

Sources: FactSet; Company reports

Vol.: 6.5m (1.3x avg.) PE: 35.0 Mkt. Cap: $31.56 b Yield: 2.5%

NAME

’12

GOLD $1,073.10 -4.50

EURO $1.0939 -.0089

Largest Mutual Funds

Time is running out The online-deals pioneer has been struggling to turn a profit and boost its stock.

YUM

CRUDE OIL $36.76 -.40

30-YR T-BOND 2.97% ...

Groupon’s gambit

The market posted modest gains Thursday, led by health care stocks. Beaten-down stocks including energy companies and some raw materials suppliers climbed. The government said applications for unemployment benefits rose last week, but remain near historic lows. Men’s Wearhouse

NASDAQ 5,045.17 +22.30

Better Care for Your Eyes Complete Eye Care Cataract Surgery zLasik Designer Frames & No Line Bifocals Contact Lenses Safety Glasses

Thomas L. Nix, MD Ophthalmology

Get Better. NEABaptist.com

12- MO NAME NAV CHG %RTN AMG YacktmanSvc d 23.82 +.04 -3.6 American Funds AMCAPA m 27.45 +.09 +2.5 AmBalA m 24.90 +.04 +3.2 BondA m 12.66 -.01 +.7 CapIncBuA m 56.21 -.01 -3.1 CpWldGrIA m 44.42 +.06 -2.6 FnInvA m 53.09 +.15 +5.6 GrthAmA m 45.19 +.16 +7.4 HiIncA m 9.50 -.02 -6.0 IncAmerA m 20.79 +.03 -.6 InvCoAmA m 35.95 +.05 -.5 MutualA m 35.56 +.06 -1.5 NewEconA m 38.19 +.09 +4.7 NewPerspA m 38.34 +.06 +5.6 NwWrldA m 50.20 -.01 -7.1 SmCpWldA m 46.36 +.09 +4.4 WAMutInvA m 40.54 +.14 +2.1 Artisan Intl d 28.69 +.08 -4.8 BlackRock EqDivI 24.64 +.03 +2.0 GlobAlcI 19.60 +.01 -.6 HiYldBdIs 7.29 -.01 -2.5 StrIncIns 9.90 -.01 +.1 DFA 5YrGlbFII 11.05 -.01 +1.6 EmMkCrEqI 15.72 -.11 -15.5 EmMktValI 20.49 -.12 -19.7 IntCorEqI 11.41 -.03 -.7 IntSmCapI 19.09 -.07 +3.6 IntlSCoI 17.66 -.07 +5.3 USCorEq1I 17.63 +.05 +1.9 USCorEq2I 16.94 +.05 +.6 USLgValI 32.51 +.14 +.1 USSmValI 32.57 +.07 -2.5 USSmallI 30.37 +.04 +1.9 Dodge & Cox Bal 98.02 +.17 -1.1 Income 13.47 -.03 -.2 IntlStk 37.63 -.08 -11.4 Stock 171.09 +.65 -2.1 FMI LgCap 20.88 +.04 -.2 FPA Cres d 32.98 -.01 -1.1 Fidelity Bal 21.47 +.03 +2.3 BlChGrow 69.40 +.27 +8.4 CapInc d 9.27 ... +1.0 Contra 104.05 +.32 +8.3 DivrIntl d 34.97 ... +2.3 FrdmK2020 13.98 +.01 +.9 FrdmK2025 14.57 +.01 +1.0 FrdmK2030 14.83 +.01 +1.1 FrdmK2035 15.26 +.03 +1.1 FrdmK2040 15.30 +.03 +1.1 Free2020 15.04 +.01 +.8 Free2025 12.86 +.01 +.9 Free2030 15.74 +.02 +1.1 GrowCo 137.65 +.52 +10.8 LowPriStk d 48.58 +.09 +2.6 Magellan 89.84 +.20 +6.4 OTC 83.75 +.47 +12.2 Puritan 20.48 +.02 +3.3 SesInmGrdBd 11.14 -.02 +.3 TotalBd 10.35 -.02 +.2 Fidelity Advisor NewInsI 27.93 +.07 +4.5 Fidelity Select Biotech d 229.67 +2.59 +11.3 HealtCar d 218.60 +1.16 +5.2 Fidelity Spartan 500IdxAdvtg 72.64 +.17 +3.4 ExtMktIdAg d 52.94 +.18 +.3 IntlIdxAdg d 36.84 -.08 -2.4 TotMktIdAg d 60.19 +.15 +2.8 FrankTemp-Franklin CA TF A m 7.49 +.01 +3.5 IncomeA m 2.11 -.01 -5.8 RisDvA m 47.79 +.05 -1.1 FrankTemp-Mutual DiscovA m 31.17 -.05 -2.7 FrankTemp-Templeton GlBondAdv 11.63 +.01 -3.6 GrowthA m 22.39 -.10 -5.8 Harbor CapApInst 65.51 +.18 +13.2 IntlInstl 62.38 -.21 -5.7 INVESCO EqIncomeA m 10.05 +.02 -.5 JPMorgan CoreBdUlt 11.63 -.02 +1.3 MidCpValI 36.23 +.06 ... USLCpCrPS 29.64 +.16 +2.6 John Hancock LifBa1 b 15.20 ... ... LifGr1 b 16.17 +.01 +.3 Lazard EmgMkEqInst d 13.85 -.12 -19.7 Legg Mason WACorePlusBdI 11.48 -.01 +2.0 Loomis Sayles BdInstl 13.63 -.02 -6.0 Lord Abbett ShDurIncA m 4.33 -.01 +.7 MFS ValueI x 33.17 -1.37 +1.5

12-MO NAME NAV CHG %RTN Metropolitan West TotRetBdI 10.78 ... +.8 Oakmark EqIncI 30.73 +.03 -2.4 Intl I 22.50 -.01 -4.3 Oakmark I 64.58 +.10 -1.1 Old Westbury LgCpStr 12.82 +.02 -.2 Oppenheimer DevMktY 29.99 +.04 -14.1 IntlGrY 36.34 -.14 +3.1 PIMCO AllAssetI 10.44 ... -9.4 IncomeInl 12.09 ... +2.9 ShtTermIs 9.75 ... +.9 TotRetIs 10.48 +.01 +.9 Parnassus CoreEqInv 37.73 +.01 +2.6 Schwab S&P500Sel d 32.67 +.08 +3.3 T Rowe Price BlChpGr 74.91 +.34 +12.8 CapApprec 27.55 +.04 +6.6 EqIndex d 55.42 +.13 +3.2 EqtyInc 30.26 +.06 -4.2 GrowStk 57.76 +.27 +13.0 HealthSci 75.24 +.70 +11.2 InsLgCpGr 30.31 +.19 +12.5 IntlGrInc d 13.37 ... -3.9 IntlStk d 15.42 +.03 -1.6 MidCapVa 27.91 +.11 -.2 MidCpGr 80.49 +.42 +9.8 NewHoriz 46.15 +.22 +9.2 NewIncome 9.40 -.01 +.6 OrseaStk d 9.20 +.01 -3.5 R2015 14.42 ... +.3 R2025 15.72 +.02 +.9 R2035 16.71 +.03 +1.3 Rtmt2020 20.69 +.01 +.6 Rtmt2030 23.06 +.03 +1.1 Rtmt2040 24.00 +.05 +1.4 Value 34.01 +.11 ... TIAA-CREF EqIx 15.64 +.04 +2.8 Tweedy, Browne GlobVal d 25.48 -.12 -1.7 Vanguard 500Adml 190.17 +.45 +3.4 BalIdxAdm 29.50 +.03 +2.1 CAITAdml 11.83 +.01 +3.0 CapOpAdml 124.29 +1.06 +2.7 DivGr 23.13 +.05 +4.1 EqIncAdml 64.39 +.09 +1.9 ExtdMktIdxIP 158.48 +.53 +.4 GNMAAdml 10.67 -.02 +1.5 GrthIdAdm 55.53 +.16 +6.0 HYCorAdml 5.63 ... +.7 HltCrAdml 96.43 +.62 +10.8 ITBondAdm 11.35 -.03 +1.4 ITGradeAd 9.72 -.02 +1.8 InfPrtAdm 25.46 -.07 -2.1 InstIdxI 188.31 +.44 +3.4 InstTStPl 46.38 +.11 +2.8 IntlGrAdm 68.45 -.07 -.9 LTGradeAd 10.13 ... ... LifeGro 28.23 +.02 ... LifeMod 23.74 +.01 +.4 MidCpAdml 149.93 +.27 +1.5 MuIntAdml 14.24 +.01 +2.7 MuLtdAdml 11.02 ... +1.2 MuShtAdml 15.80 ... +.5 PrmcpAdml 109.31 +.66 +3.0 REITIdxAd 110.20 -.84 -.6 STBondAdm 10.46 -.01 +.9 STGradeAd 10.60 -.01 +1.2 SelValu 27.52 +.09 -1.1 SmCpIdAdm 53.70 +.15 +.1 Star 24.50 +.02 +.8 TgtRe2015 15.24 ... +.4 TgtRe2020 28.31 +.01 +.3 TgtRe2025 16.42 +.01 +.3 TgtRe2030 28.77 +.01 +.1 TgtRe2035 17.63 +.01 -.1 TgtRe2040 29.31 +.02 -.4 TgtRe2045 18.37 +.01 -.4 TgtRetInc 12.76 ... +.4 TlIntlBdIdxInv 10.59 ... +1.9 TotBdAdml 10.70 -.01 +.9 TotIntl 14.55 -.02 -5.2 TotStIAdm 51.25 +.13 +2.7 ValIdxAdm 31.94 +.07 +.7 WellsIAdm 61.47 ... +1.9 WelltnAdm 66.57 +.08 +1.2 WndsIIAdm 63.67 +.16 -1.2 WndsrAdml 70.16 +.25 -.3 Virtus EmgMktsIs 8.96 ... -9.9

Commodities Soybeans 5,000 bu minimum- cents per bushel

Cotton

YESTERDAY: Sales: 229,825 Open Interest: 700,967, s +2500.00 MONTH Jan 16 Mar 16 May 16 Jul 16 Aug 16 Sep 16 Nov 16 Jan 17 Mar 17

Rice

OPEN 877 879.50 884.75 892.25 895 892.25 896.50 901 909

HIGH 886.50 889.50 895.50 902.25 902.25 903.50 907 910.25 911.25

LOW 872.75 875.75 881.75 888.25 891.25 891 891.25 900 907.25

Wheat

50,000 lbs.- cents per lb.

YESTERDAY: Sales: 26,799 Open Interest: 197,077, s +5303.00 SETTLE 878.25 881.25 887.50 894 896 895.25 898.75 905 907.25

CHG. +1.50 +1.50 +1.75 +1.75 +2.25 +2.75 +3.25 +4 +2.75

MONTH Mar 16 May 16 Jul 16 Oct 16 Dec 16 Mar 17 May 17 Jul 17 Oct 17

OPEN 64.53 65.22 65.80

HIGH 64.84 65.52 65.96

LOW 63.58 64.33 64.97

65.51 65.64

65.77 65.64

64.87 65.37

SETTLE 63.77 64.55 65.20 64.64 65.23 65.37 65.26 65.21 65.22

CHG. -1.04 -1.01 -.94 -.83 -.67 -.70 -.75 -.77 -.59

Corn 5,000 bu minimum- cents per bushel

2,000 CWT- dollars per CWT

YESTERDAY: Sales: 1,258 Open Interest: 14,831, s +346.00 MONTH OPEN HIGH LOW

CHG.

Jan 16

11.015

11.215

10.985

11.110

+.105

Mar 16

11.310

11.465

11.250

11.380

+.105

May 16

11.750

11.780

11.670

+.110

Jul 16

11.920

+.100

Sep 16

11.885

+.140

Nov 16

11.900

+.140

Jan 17

11.900

+.140

MONTH Dec 15 Mar 16 May 16 Jul 16 Sep 16 Dec 16 Mar 17 May 17 Jul 17

OPEN 478.50 489 495.50 500 509.75 524 531.50

HIGH 487.75 498 503.50 507.50 516 530.50 538.75

LOW 476.75 485.50 491.50 496 505.25 519.75 531.50

525

537.75

525

SETTLE 484.50 495.50 501 505 514.75 528 538.25 542.25 535

CHG. +6.50 +5.75 +5.50 +5 +5 +4.75 +5.50 +6 +6

Soybean Meal 100 tons- dollars per ton

YESTERDAY: Sales: 260,546 Open Interest: 1,284,180, s +3495.00 SETTLE

5,000 bu minimum- cents per bushel

YESTERDAY: Sales: 83,884 Open Interest: 347,334, t -2459.00

YESTERDAY: Sales: 118,935 Open Interest: 422,326, s +1067.00

MONTH

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

SETTLE

CHG.

MONTH

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

SETTLE

CHG.

Dec 15 Mar 16 May 16 Jul 16 Sep 16 Dec 16 Mar 17 May 17 Jul 17

372.50 373.75 379.25 384.25 388.75 395.25 406.25 411 415.75

379.25 379.75 385 389.50 393.50 400.50 410 415.75 420.25

371.75 372.25 378 383 387 394 404.25 411 415.75

377.25 379.25 384.25 388.75 392.25 399.25 408.75 414.75 419.75

+5.50 +5.50 +5 +4.50 +4 +3.75 +3.75 +3.50 +3.50

Dec 15 Jan 16 Mar 16 May 16 Jul 16 Aug 16 Sep 16 Oct 16 Dec 16

279.00 277.40 278.90 281.20 284.00 285.00 286.30 286.80 287.60

280.00 278.40 280.00 282.60 285.10 285.90 287.10 286.80 288.40

274.20 273.50 275.40 278.20 280.80 282.20 283.50 283.80 285.10

274.20 273.80 275.70 278.40 281.00 282.40 283.50 283.90 285.30

-4.60 -3.20 -2.80 -2.60 -2.60 -2.50 -2.50 -2.20 -1.90

CombinedStocks Name ABB Ltd ACE Ltd AFLAC ASML Hld AbbottLab AbbVie Accenture ActivsBliz AdobeSy Aetna AirProd Alexion Alibaba Allergan Allstate Alphabet C Alphabet A Altria Amazon AMovilL AMovilA AmAirlines AEP AmExp AmIntlGrp AmTower Amgen Anadarko ABInBev Anthem Aon plc Apple Inc AstraZen s

Last

Chg Name

Last

Chg Name

85.46 +.51 CVS Health 18.04 -.20 AutoData 147.33 +1.68 CIBC g 114.73 -.16 AvagoTch 37.56 +.32 CdnNR gs 61.09 -.17 BB&T Cp 40.71 -.34 CdnNRs gs 89.15 -.72 BCE g 25.13 +.19 Canon 45.31 +.35 BHP BillLt 22.47 -.20 CapOne 55.78 -.25 BHPBil plc 31.80 -.01 CardnlHlth 107.60 +.31 BP PLC 35.43 +.24 Carnival 38.38 -.21 BT Grp s 200.01 -.45 CarnUK 88.96 -.60 Baidu 7.82 +.01 Caterpillar 104.82 +.95 BcBilVArg 132.51 -1.34 BcoBrades s 6.27 +.25 Celgene 5.34 -.46 Chevron 187.63 +4.47 BcoBrad s 5.08 -.03 ChinaLife s 84.33 +.91 BcoSantSA 3.92 -.20 ChinaMble 305.70 -.71 BcoSBrasil 57.47 +.39 ChinaPet 62.48 -.42 BkMont g 42.27 -.13 ChinaTel 749.46 -2.15 BkNYMel 42.03 -.41 ChinaUni 760.04 -2.51 BkNova g 13.19 -.14 Chubb 57.18 -.15 Barclay 37.68 +.47 Cigna 662.32 -2.47 Baxalta n 154.35 +1.48 Cisco 14.74 -.01 BectDck 14.70 -.10 BerkHa A 197505 -155 Citigroup CocaCola 131.71 44.09 +.44 BerkH B 289.88 +5.27 CognizTch 54.88 -1.37 Biogen 70.11 +.25 BlackRock 345.25 +.68 ColgPalm 146.41 +2.17 Comcast 60.98 -1.20 Boeing 18.44 -.04 ConocoPhil 95.07 -.47 BostonSci 68.94 +.38 ConstellA 159.67 +1.78 BrMySq 111.72 -1.21 Costco 51.23 +.40 BritATob 57.94 +.46 CredSuiss 126.33 -.46 Broadcom -.01 CrwnCstle 134.84 +2.38 BrkfdAs g s 32.44 94.92 +.87 Danaher 93.83 -.40 CME Grp 104.29 -2.82 Deere 116.17 +.55 CNOOC 24.70 -.31 DeltaAir 33.47 +.01 CSX

Last 94.74 68.41 53.89 21.97 30.14 75.61 87.14 50.96 53.01 66.38 112.42 89.30 16.00 57.77 57.15 45.35 11.67 130.90 139.23 26.77 52.65 42.76 60.37 66.13 59.67 49.22 139.98 161.86 21.15 85.42 94.65 78.60 51.28

Chg Name -.24 -1.49 -.50 +.62 +.34 +.19 -.37 +.65 +.67 +.47 +1.48 +1.70 -.09 +.38 -1.31 -.36 -.04 +.07 +2.11 +.04 -.16 +.10 +.04 +.05 +1.08 +.75 -.20 +2.14 -.18 +.02 +.18 -.64 +1.77

DeutschBk Diageo Disney DomRescs DowChm DuPont DukeEngy eBay s EMC Cp ENI EOG Rescs Eaton Ecolab EliLilly Enbridge EntProdPt EqtyRsd Ericsson Exelon ExpScripts ExxonMbl Facebook FstRep pfD FEMSA FordM FresenMd GenDynam GenMills GenMotors GileadSci GlaxoSKln GoldmanS HCA Hldg

Last

Chg Name

24.29 -.15 HDFC Bk 111.00 -.72 HSBC Hallibrtn 110.76 65.20 -.99 HarleyD 54.91 -2.06 HP Ent n 74.55 +.06 HomeDp 67.43 -1.18 Honda 28.57 +.23 HonwllIntl 26.05 +.05 Humana 30.42 -.19 ING 78.18 -.20 ITW 52.14 -.53 Illumina 115.96 -.99 ImpOil g 84.91 +1.05 Infosys 31.91 +.09 Intel 23.43 -.78 IntcntlExch 77.21 -.36 IBM 9.13 -.07 Intuit 26.48 -.09 ItauUnibH 85.99 +.68 JD.com 75.69 +.06 JPMorgCh 105.42 +.82 JohnJn 24.97 -.21 JohnsnCtl 92.78 -.40 Kellogg 13.96 +.07 KimbClk 41.66 +.31 KindMorg 140.00 -.17 KoreaElc 58.78 +.20 KraftHnz n 35.63 +.18 L Brands 102.62 +.67 LVSands 39.92 +.31 LibtyGlobC 182.11 +1.40 LinkedIn 68.43 +1.05 LloydBkg

Last

Chg Name

57.77 +.51 LockhdM 38.72 +.09 Lowes 38.15 -.15 Luxottica 46.32 +.18 LyonBas A 14.72 -.13 Manulife g 132.54 +.64 MarathPt s 32.06 -.10 MarshM 101.76 -.13 MasterCrd 172.02 +1.29 McDnlds 13.32 -.12 McGrwH 93.29 +.90 McKesson 182.65 +3.80 Medtrnic 30.01 +.02 Merck 16.43 +.31 MetLife 34.77 -.04 Microsoft 252.46 +.18 MitsuUFJ 136.78 +.17 MizuhoFn 96.99 -.73 Mondelez 7.38 -.33 Monsanto 31.60 +.02 MonstrBev 65.61 +.15 MorgStan 102.64 +.49 Mylan NV 40.96 +.25 NTT DOCO 70.73 +.13 NatGrid 120.33 +.05 Netflix s 17.01 +.20 NextEraEn 20.72 -.26 NikeB 70.84 -.06 NipponTT 97.86 +.22 NokiaCp 42.80 -.90 NorflkSo 40.20 +.47 NorthropG 232.09 +.75 Novartis 4.41 +.06 NovoNord

Last

Chg Name

Last

Chg Name

218.88 +1.34 OReillyAu 256.43 -1.29 SAP SE 76.17 +.05 OcciPet 68.42 +.47 Salesforce 66.74 +.13 Oracle 38.19 -.39 Sanofi 87.50 -1.33 Orange 16.42 -.06 Schlmbrg 15.42 -.02 PG&E Cp 51.65 -.92 Schwab 52.35 +.37 PNC 94.35 +.79 Sherwin 55.98 +.43 PPG s 100.88 -.67 Shire 97.61 -.21 PayPal n 35.49 +.42 SimonProp 117.20 +.62 PetChina 66.21 -.88 SonyCp 95.06 +.61 PetrbrsA 3.82 -.21 SouthnCo 190.48 +3.42 Petrobras 4.73 -.27 SwstAirl 77.44 -.12 Pfizer 32.36 +.07 Starbucks s 53.69 +.87 PhilipMor 87.73 -.29 StateStr 48.87 +.28 PhilipsNV 26.27 -.15 Statoil ASA 55.27 +.29 Phillips66 86.75 +.66 Stryker 6.41 +.07 Praxair 106.68 -.38 SumitMitsu 4.01 +.05 PrecCastpt 232.07 -.03 Suncor g 43.98 +.33 Priceline 1306.50 +11.51 Synchrony 96.09 -.52 ProctGam 77.79 +.09 Syngenta 151.83 -.17 Prudentl 83.79 -.29 T-MobileUS 33.42 +.05 Prud UK 44.91 -.65 TE Connect 52.93 +2.23 PubStrg 240.90 -1.86 TJX 19.35 +.13 Qualcom 48.57 -.02 TaiwSemi 68.77 -.10 RELX NV s 16.73 -.10 Target 122.91 -1.29 RELX plc s 17.65 -.08 TelefEsp 97.60 -1.16 Raytheon 127.40 +1.25 TeslaMot 128.64 -.20 Regenrn 548.17 +.78 TevaPhrm 37.71 +.39 ReynAm s 44.98 -.08 TexInst 7.02 -.05 RioTinto 29.90 +.49 ThermoFis 87.68 +.13 RoyalBk g 54.41 -.54 ThomsonR 187.46 +.91 RBScotlnd 8.80 +.08 3M Co 85.10 +1.14 RoyDShllB 46.45 -.64 TW Cable 56.92 +.16 RoyDShllA 46.19 -.65 TimeWarn

Last

Chg Name

78.37 +.10 TorDBk gs 79.38 -.33 Total SA 41.85 -.39 Toyota 71.48 -.64 33.26 +.29 Travelers 266.54 -1.17 21stCFoxA 196.87 -1.08 UBS Grp 185.03 -2.22 UnilevNV 24.63 +.27 44.49 -.65 Unilever 45.25 +.75 UnionPac 61.87 +.69 UPS B 69.05 +.22 US Bancrp 14.27 -.04 UtdTech 92.93 +.61 7.66 +.10 UtdhlthGp 26.17 +.11 VF Corp 31.05 +.44 ValeantPh 78.40 -.08 ValeroE 36.34 +.27 64.07 -.20 VerizonCm 71.48 +.67 VertxPh 22.65 -.08 Visa s 72.37 +.36 Vodafone 11.66 -.16 227.07 +2.55 WPP plc 64.56 -.90 WalgBoots 56.93 +.17 WellsFargo 135.13 +.74 WestpacBk 38.65 -.15 Wipro 157.52 +1.47 183.51 -.41 Yahoo 67.84 -.46 YumBrnds

Last

Chg

39.62 -.02 46.73 +.07 124.89 +.99 110.99 -.05 28.23 +.09 18.86 -.15 43.02 -.32 42.57 -.29 77.45 -.09 100.45 -.01 43.18 +.17 93.87 -.29 116.21 +1.16 62.95 +.20 97.19 +2.79 71.38 +1.50 45.32 -.04 121.87 +1.24 78.12 +.24 32.09 -.34 113.74 +.24 83.42 +.08 54.34 +.22 22.85 -.15 11.93 -.01 34.63 +.23 73.19 -.61

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015

THE LIGHTER SIDE

THE JONESBORO SUN

www.jonesborosun.com

BEETLE BAILEY DENNIS THE MENACE

BLONDIE

HI & LOIS

BABY BLUES

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WIZARD OF ID

ZITS

GOODFELLOWS 2015

DILBERT

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CRYPTOQUIP

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The Cryptoquip is a substitution cipher in which one letter stands for another. If you think that X equals O, it will equal O throughout the puzzle. Single letters, short words and words using an apostrophe give you clues to locating vowels. Solution is by trial and error. ©2013 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

HOROSCOPE | The new moon in Sagittarius is ripe for adventure and for entering new arenas. While you’re at it you may just decide to be someone completely different than the person you’re used to being. Why not try on a different personality? No one knows you in this new place, and even if they did they would probably find the change-up novel and daring. ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19). In Hamlet, Shakespeare suggested that nothing is either good or bad, “but thinking makes it so.” You’ll frame today’s events as neutral or positive and this will considerably reduce your stress level.

BY HOLIDAY MATHIS TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20). Remember when you felt trapped? You freed yourself only to wind up in a similarly restrictive situation. This time, seek reform from within. GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 21). The past and present do not equal your life. Your dreams for the future are a large part of your personality these days. Share your vision and you’ll learn who is really on your side. CANCER (JUNE 22-JULY 22). You’ve a very real concern for injustice and stand up for those who are not being treated fairly. Just make sure you have the whole and true story before you begin your defense.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22). You berate yourself too much for errors that come with being human. You’re doing your very best. Mistakes are normal, perfection is boring. TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (DEC. 11). An abiding wisdom will guide your year. Lasting love will be worth the sacrifice and effort. Taurus and Aquarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 5, 30, 17, 2 and 19. VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22). It may seem appealing to re-create the passion you once had because you already know the territory. Be honest, though: Has this cycle run its course? Are you just resisting the end because you’re afraid of the unknown?

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 23). While you’re known for indecision, there are some decisions you make practically automatically. You know the answer with every fiber of your being. SCORPIO (OCT. 24-NOV. 21). You’re once again getting that feeling of being cosmically connected, like your parents are the Earth and the sky, your cousins are the animals and your journey is as effortless as an orbit. SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21). Get on your own side. You owe it to the rest of the world to be confident and content in whom you are. The one who is friends with his or her own mind will have many friends indeed.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19). It’s like you’re pressing on the walls and bookshelves searching for the hidden door to the secret chamber where the mystery will finally be solved. You will soon realize the hidden door is you. AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18). You’ll test and re-test theories. You want to believe, though you won’t be able to until you’ve put the idea through your judgmental paces. PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20). Knowing what you want to do for money and doing it well is not something to be taken lightly. Many aren’t lucky enough to fall into such a fantastic work groove. The horoscope is an entertainment feature and is not based on fact.

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* KRAMPUS (PG-13)

12:10-2:30-4:50-7:10-7:40-9:30-10:00

12:30-1:30-3:30-4:40-7:15-7:55-10:05

THE NIGHT BEFORE (R) 1:15-4:25-7:30-9:55

* THE LETTERS (PG) 9:15

SECRET IN THEIR EYES ( PG-13) 12:50-4:10-7:05-9:40

* CHI-RAQ (R)

LOVE THE COOPERS (PG-13)

1:10-4:20-7:20-10:05

1:15-4:15-7:25-9:50

* THE GOOD DINOSAUR (PG)

12:00-1:00-2:25-3:25-4:50-6:50-9:10

* 3-D THE GOOD DINOSAUR (PG)

SPECTRE (PG-13)

12:30-3:40-6:55-10:00

THE PEANUTS MOVIE (G)

1:40-4:05

Associated Press

Rooney Mara (left), as Therese Belivet, and Cate Blanchett, as Carol Aird, appear in a scene from the film “Carol,” which netted a leading five Golden Globe nominations Thursday. if an Academy Awards heavyweight will be anywhere to be found at the January 10 Beverly Hills, Calif., ceremony. Such questions should lend drama to the Globes, which will be hosted again by its grinning nemesis, Ricky Gervais. In the season’s crowded field of contenders — and with “The Force Awakens” threatening box office obliteration — attention from the Globes was very much welcomed Thursday. “The number one reaction to these kinds of nominations is, ‘Oh, thank God. It’ll help the movie get out there,’” said Adam McKay, director of

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DEAR ABBY: I made a big mistake three years ago. When I found out my husband was cheating on me, I became vengeful and sought revenge. I ended up sleeping with my sister-in-law’s boyfriend to get back at my husband and at her for some things she did in the past. It took my pain away — for a bit. Abby, I am not this kind of person. I’m not an evil, conniving tramp. I regret what I did every day, and I feel like garbage. My sister-in-law and I haven’t spoken since I decided to tell her the truth. My husband and I (miraculously) were able to work through our problems, and our

relationship is stronger than ever. My sisterin-law and her boyfriend have remained Abigail together, Van Buren | and I don’t speak to him anymore either. What can I do to earn forgiveness? Is this even forgivable? How can I mend this family I helped tear apart? — ONLY HUMAN IN HOUSTON DEAR ONLY HUMAN: You might start by apologizing to your sister-in-law for the pain you caused her. But after that, the decision about whether she can forgive

NEABaptist.com

2-KTEJ 3-WREG 5-WMC 9-KAIT 10-VTN 12-WKNO 13-WHBQ 16-WGN-A 17-TBS 21-CW 28-TNT 29-FX 30-LIFE 32-ESPN 33-ESPN2 34-FSSW 35-FAM 37-TLC 38-FXX 40-AMC 41-USA 42-SYFY 44-A&E 45-DISN 46-PIVOT 47-DISC 49-OWN 51-HIST 59-TCM 60-HALL 340-HBO 300-ENC 380-SHOW 360-MAX 410-STARZ

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you or wants anything more to do with you will be up to her. ■■■

DEAR ABBY: My granddaughter, “Becca,” just turned 6. One of her favorite things to do is role-play, which includes the prince (me) kissing her, sometimes at the end of a wedding ceremony. Becca also likes to sit on my lap. My wife thinks I shouldn’t allow her to sit there and that the interaction isn’t appropriate. She says I may be mistaken for some kind of predator. It hurts me and Becca when I tell her we must find some other playtime scenario. I think it’s harmless. Who’s right here? My

Get Better.

FRIDAY EVENING TV 4 PM

“The Big Short.” McKay’s starry finance farce was one of the films that surged Thursday. Originally slated for release next year, its late jump into awards season was rewarded with four nominations, including best picture, comedy, and nods for Steve Carell and Christian Bale. Alejandro Inarritu’s follow-up to his Oscarwinning “Birdman,” the frontier epic “The Revenant,” took four nominations, including best picture, drama, and best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio. A four-time Oscar nominee and one-time Globe winner, DiCaprio is gunning for his first Acad-

Giving in to anger splits woman’s family apart

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* IN THE HEART OF THE SEA (PG-13)

From the sumptuous romance of “Carol” to the apocalyptic rage of “Mad Max: Fury Road,” streaming series to network dramas, Will Smith to Amy Schumer, the 73rd annual Golden Globe nominations unveiled a widespread field of nominations that attempted to corral a chaotic Oscar race and an ever-expanding television landscape. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association swooned hardest for Todd Haynes’ 1950s lesbian tale “Carol,” which landed a leading five nominations on Thursday, including best picture, drama. Nods for its two stars, Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, as well as for Haynes’ direction, lent a boost to the film’s growing Oscar outlook. But little else was so straightforward in nominations that rewarded the acclaimed newsroom drama “Spotlight,” but not its cast; gave Netflix a leading eight nominations (plus one for its first original movie); and supplied “Creed” co-star Sylvester Stallone his first Globe nomination in 29 years, yet for the same character (Mr. Rocky Balboa). It remains to be seen

DEC. 11, 2015 5 PM