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1 SECTION - 16 PAGES V OLUME /Y EAR # 108 - W EEK # 37 ( 5 620 T H W EEK )
“A FREE P RESS AND A FREE P EOPLE - A N U NBEATABLE TEAM ” D ES A RC , A RKANSAS (C OUNTY S EAT ) P RAIRIE C OUNTY
P U B L IS HE D E A C H T H U R S D A Y S I N C E 1 9 0 7 THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015
Found painted on the west wall, 2nd floor, of the recently demolished Des Arc landmark, the Plunkett-Nichols building at 2nd & Main, was this painted sign of candidate for U.S. Senator, John L. McClellan. (See pages 8 & 9 for more photos and history of this landmark)
ACTIVITIES CALENDAR THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 4 PM Eagles Baseball Des Arc Ball Park
SAT., APRIL 25, 6 PM DAHS Banquet and Prom Elementary School
SAT., APRIL 25, 9 AM Master Gardeners Program Hazen Methodist Church
SUN., APRIL 26, 6 PM Fellowship Praise Service Gospel Mission Church
MON, APRIL 27, 7 PM School Board Meeting Supt.’s Office
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 11-1 Lions Club Lunch Riverfront Park Area
FRI., MAY 1, 7:30 PM Community Prayer Service Rhodes Park DeValls Bluff
SAT., MAY 2, ALL DAY Fort Lincoln Freedom Fest DeValls Bluff
SAT., MAY 2, 9AM - 2PM Free Mammograms Fort Lincoln Fest DeValls Bluff
SUN., MAY 3, 11 AM Decoration /day Walter’s Chapel Cemetery
SUN., MAY 3, 11 AM Decoration Day Johnson Chapel
MON., MAY 4, 9 AM Plea Day Hearings DeValls Bluff Courthouse
TUES., MAY 5, 9 AM Plea Day Hearings Des Arc Courthouse
THURS., MAY 7, 12 NOON National Day of Prayer Courthouse Lawn Ministerial Alliance, Sponsor
TUES., MAY 12 7:00 P.M. DAHS Athletic Banquet Elementary Cafetorium Don Campbell, speaker
THURS., MAY 14 6:00 P.M. DAHS Academic Banquet Elementary Cafetorium
Common Core Hearings Today Governor Asa Hutchinson’ Council on Common Core Review hearings kicks off today, Thursday, April 23 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Arkansas State Capital. The listening tour will be held at Pulaski Technical College Little Rock-South from 57 p.m. There will be four panels comprised of professionals in the education field who will be available to hear comments regarding the Common Core curriculum. Lt. Governor Tim Griffin initiated the hearings.
Obituaries P g. 3
Marie Branham, 93, Des Arc Hope Bilbruck, 38, Texas Maybelle Chase, 98, Missouri Terri Davis, 58, Carlisle Glen Hale, 53, Stuttgart Curtis Hicks, 74, Stuttgart Denna Hicks, 46, Des Arc Don Holloway, 75, DeValls Bluff Dr. Ralph Wilson, 82, Brinkley L.L. Wright, 72, Cabot
Des Arc Schools among eight high scorers statewide The Arkansas Legislature passed Act 696 in 2013. The law required the State to implement an A-F grading scale for schools. The goal is to help parents and the public better understand how well a school is performing and to begin conversations to continually improve education. The grades represent how well students are performing in math and literacy on statewide tests such as the Benchmark and End of Course exams as well as: *Whether schools are meeting yearly student performance goals and showing improvement or expected growth for all students. *Whether schools are meeting graduation goals for all students and at-risk groups.
Northern District jury pool selected
*Whether the school has an achievement gap and if that gap is sizeable. “The Des Arc School Distsrict scored an “A” at both the elementary school and the high school. Des Arc is the only school in our immediate area that had all A’s,” stated Des Arc School Superintendent Rick Burns. “There were only seven other districts in the state that had all of their schools receive A’s (Concord, Haas Hall Academy, Magnet Cove, Mammoth Springs, Norfork, Academics Plus and Salem),” he said. Area School Scores are: Des Arc High School-A Des Arc Elementary-A Beebe High School-B Beebe Elementary and High
School-C Beebe Middle School-D Brinkley Elementary-C Brinkley High School-C Cabot-4 A’s; 3-B’s; 6-C’s Carlisle Elementary-C Carlisle High School-B Hazen Elementary-D Hazen High School-C Riverview Elem. Schools-C Riverview High School-C Riverview Jr. High-B Searcy-1-A; 3-B’s; 1-C; 1-D. The Grading Scale is as follows: A=270-300 points B=240-269 points C=210-239 points D=180-209 points A school may have one or more of the following areas for improvement:
A-270-300 points *Students score well on statewide tests *School meets its yearly performance goals *Groups of students meet progress goals (White, African American, Special Education, English as a second language, low income). *High Schools meet graduation goals *Any achievement gap is offset by how well the school is doing in other areas. The school faculty and students deserve accolades from the community for this achievement.
Mayor Garth reports sale, work plans
The following persons in the Northern District are subject to being impaneled for jury duty through August, 2015. They were selected for duty by Circuit Judge Tom Hughes. Robert C Anderson Diana R Babb Davis W Bell James K Berry Kenneth W Berryhill David B Boyer Ricky D Branham Randal S Brickey John L Buckner Newton W Buckner Krista C Burgess Jordan L Calhoun Marie E Calhoun Bradly J Childers Carrie L Childress Betty D Covington June Cox Wayne Curtis Philip L Curtsinger Jeri L DeVore Jimmy C DeVorak Ronald D Eans Christian D Earl Chad M Edwards Anna B Fisher Linda F Fisher Ricky L Fletcher Debra B Fritts Michael A Gonzale Elmer A Graham Cynthia M Guess Jeanette Halfacre Wesley K Hambrick Donna A Hampton Tammy A Hamric Tina Y Hanks Daniel C Hayley Dean R Hickman Shelly A Hitt Mary A Hood Nicky L Howell Mary E Huddleston Caleb R Inman Brenda A James Patsy A Johnson Ricky L Johnson Teddy C Jones Charles M Keel Donna K Kilgore Elizabeth A Leach Floyd V Leach Linda J Maben Michael L Madar James H McDaniel Mary I McLean David R McMillen Morgan J Monroe Don S Morton Michael A Overton E L Parker See JURY LIST Page 12
Mayor Jim Garth advised council members Tuesday night that the city’s new backhoe is here and the old one sold for $22,500. He advised that the money went into a CD to draw interest. The mayor also also shared that a new truck was delivered and that it would be used by Paul Berry, water plant manager, as his was the oldest currently in use (12 years old). He said, “There are two more city trucks that need to be looked at to decide which needs to be sold.”
Garth reported that the new tornado sirens were here and should be put up this month. He also shared that solar lights were ordered for the city’s flagpoles so that they could be flown at night. “There are five flags up that the city is responsible for replacing or maintaining,” he said.” Mowing and cleaning in the park area has started, he also advised. Alderman Steve Bryan asked about the community service recently in the county. City Police Chief Rick Parson said the inmate crew had been work-
ing regularly around town and that Des Arc will get a third of their time. He encouraged the council to advise him of any public work needed around the city and around town and he would get the community service workers involved. Chief Parson shared that it had been a pretty quiet month with 14 citations issued, 14 misdemeanor crimes, and six felonies as of Tuesday, April 21. He stated that at a meeting with Mayor Garth last week Officer Dewayne Mayher was promoted to Sergeant to help the chief out as
needed. Chief Parson also advised that the JAG grant money was used to purchase some body armor, flashlights for the cars, first aid kits, and PBT portable Breath Tests. He also stated that new officer Mitchell Weaver was doing great job. Weaver will be sent to the academy August 17 and should graduate right before Thanksgiving, according to Chief Parson. A motion by Alderwoman Anna Beth Fisher was made to give Police See COUNCIL Page 12
PACKED HOUSE AT FT. LINCOLN HERITAGE DINNER: Billy White, chairman of the Ft. Lincoln Fest event, advised that tickets sold out and over 350 people packed the DeValls Bluff gym for the second annual Wild Game Heritage Dinner, sponsored by the Arnold Foundation. Steve “Wildman” Wilson, guest speaker, entertained with stories while music was provided by Allan Broussard & Jerry Wright. The Ft. Lincoln Fest continues through Saturday, May 2, an all-day celebration. Additional photos by Ruth Corley - Page 16
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