CONWAY C OUNTY Petit Jean Country...
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C O N W AY C O U NTY Petit Jean Country Headlight CMYK 75 CENTS MORRILTON, ARKANSAS, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2012 VOLUME 133 NUMBER 46 SIXTEEN PAGES Judge Jimmy Hart announces his intentions to seek re-election as Conway County judge. Judge Hart states, “The people of Conway County have been an inspiration in support- ing the progress we are making for our coun- ty. The communication between the citizens and my office has given me a better under- standing of what is needed in the county. “It has been a very gratifying experience to be able to work in a cooperative effort with so many entities and agen- cies of local, state and federal government. There have been numerous projects made possible by all of these affiliations,” (See HART, Page 5) Mike Smith has announced he is seek- ing re-election for sheriff of Conway County. “I certainly enjoy being sheriff, and I want to continue serving my fellow citi- zens. I love Conway County, and my pledge is to continue giving the citizens the best sheriff’s office possible,” Smith said. HART - Judge Jeff Croswell of Petit Jean Mountain has an- nounced for state representative, District 65. Croswell released the following state- ment: “My wife, Sarah, and I have six children, so we know what a challenge it is to try and make dollars stretch from paycheck to pay- check. We attend church, root for the Razor- backs, shoot hoops in the front yard and enjoy a good Redbox movie every now and then. I’m just a regular Arkansan, who loves God, is devoted to my family and feels called to per- form my duty as a citizen by serving my district and my state. (See CROSWELL, Page 5) CROSWELL - State Rep. SMITH - Sheriff Wayne DeSalvo has announced his in- tention to seek re-election to the office of Conway County treasurer for a ninth term. “It has been an honor to serve the people of Conway County the past 15 years as county treasurer. I will continue to work hard to operate the treasurer’s office with honesty and professionalism,” he said. DeSalvo and his wife Regina have two children, Kyle and Kadie. Conway County Tax Assessor Helen Noll has announced she is seeking re- election. Noll is a long-time resident of Conway County and has been the tax as- sessor since 2001. Noll said, “It has been a great honor and privilege to serve the people of Conway County as their tax assessor. I appreciate the confidence and faith you have placed in me to perform the duties of this office and hope to continue working for you in this position for the upcoming election.” DESALVO - Treasurer NOLL - Tax Assessor Court of Appeals Judge Jo Hart an- nounced Monday her candidacy for the Arkansas Supreme Court. Judge Hart is cur- rently serving her 14th year as an appellate judge on the Arkansas Court of Appeals. “With the help of many friends from every corner of the state, today I turned in to the sec- retary of state more than 15,000 signatures to place my name on the ballot for the May 22 election. Gather- ing these petitions is consistent with my belief in the impor- tance of having a strong grassroots candidacy,” she said. She remarked that the petition process had been both dif- ficult and rewarding. “One day I signed up nearly 650 voters (See COURT, Page 5) HART - Supreme Court Debbie Hartman has announced she is seeking another term as Conway County Clerk. She works closely with the Conway County Election Commission and secre- tary of state’s office regarding all elections and new election laws, to insure the effi- ciency of fair and secure elections and to insure everyone the right to vote. The county clerk’s office continuously works on updating the Voter Registration system. By statute ACA 14-14-403, redistricting is required to be completed every 10 years and had to be completed before the first Monday in January. (See HARTMAN, Page 5) HARTMAN - Clerk Democrat Ronny Campbell an- nounced Monday his intention to seek election for justice of the peace, District 3. He is a resident of Cleveland and has lived in District 3 nearly all his life. “I feel a responsibility to run for this office,” Campbell said, “This district is my hometown, and all my family lives in Conway County. I want to work hard to protect this county and to help improve things when (See CAMPBELL, Page 5) Gary Sams, of Overcup, has an- nounced for re-election as justice of the peace, District 5, which includes Bird and Washington East townships. Sams is a graduate of Arkansas Tech University, a member and past president of the Morrilton Rotary Club and represents Conway County as a member of the West Central Arkansas Workforce Investment Board. (See SAMS, Page 5) CAMPBELL - JP SAMS - JP Larry Nicholson of Jerusalem has announced his intention to seek elec- tion to the office of Conway County Justice of the Peace, District 3. Nicholson is a Vietnam veteran where he served as a combat medic and earned a purple heart and a commen- dation medal with (V) for Valor. He is a life member of the VFW Post No. 4453 and a life member of the DAV, Chapter 13. (See NICHOLSON, Page 5) NICHOLSON - JP Louis Gottsponer Sr., a life-long res- ident of Conway County, has an- nounced his candidacy for re-election as justice of the peace, District 2, which includes St. Vincent, Hattieville, Lord’s Schoolhouse and Blackwell. Gottsponer graduated from Sacred Heart Catholic High School in Morril- ton. He and his wife, Francie, live on their family farm in the St. Vincent community and attend St. Mary’s (See GOTTSPONER, Page 5) GOTTSPONER - JP A 45-year-old Little Rock man was fatally injured Thursday when he fell from a bluff behind the Pioneer Cabin at Petit Jean State Park. Conway County Sheriff Mike Smith said Mark McGriff John- ston was apparently hiking by himself Thursday morning when he stepped off the Cedar Creek trail about 20 feet to get a closer look at a small waterfall. “We could see where he slipped and fell head-first about 15 feet,” the sheriff said, “strik- ing his head on the rocks in the ankle deep creek.” Hikers on the trail shortly after 1 p.m. spotted the body in the creek and called authorities. Conway County Coroner Richard Neal pronounced John- ston dead at the scene and con- firmed his death was caused by a head wound. The creek is about 100 yards behind the Pioneer Cabin. State Park personnel and Petit Jean firefighters helped transport the body from the scene. The sheriff does not suspect foul play. He said Johnston’s vehicle was parked nearby. Johnston was born March 3, 1966, in Arkadelphia to Bob and Bobbie (McGriff) Johnston. He was a graduate of Hot Springs High School and Ouachita Baptist University. Survivors include his mother, Bobbie Johnston of Hot Springs; grandmother, Verna McGriff Barlow of Hot Springs; brother, Greg Johnston of Arkadelphia; special cousin, Raye Ann Southall of Little Rock; and his buddy, 13-year old Tuck- er, the Schnauzer. A memorial service in his honor was held at 3 p.m. Mon- day at the Caruth-Hale Funeral Home in Hot Springs. Tight budgets to affect numerous parks Tight budgets are requiring the Little Rock District of the Army Corps of Engineers to propose changes at several of its parks, including closing some less efficient facilities. A series of public workshops to discuss these proposals and solicit public input is being scheduled for February at Piedmont, Mo., and at Mountain Home, Heber Springs, Rus- sellville and Ozark. The workshop times, dates and locations will be announced when they are finalized. Among tough choices being considered are changing recreation operations at 29 parks, including closing 13 camp- grounds, four partial campgrounds, four day use areas, one partial day use area, and 10 boat ramps. Also under consid- eration is making the recreation season shorter at many addi- tional parks. Other likely park adjustments include reducing the fre- quency of trash pick-up, cleaning and mowing, as well as re- duced maintenance response time and fewer temporary park rangers, law enforcement agreements and contract park at- tendants. The proposed changes will reduce costs by an estimated $1.9 million annually ($921,000 for operation and mainte- nance expenses and $989,000 for labor). The Little Rock District operates 178 public parks and ac- cess areas. Making adjustments to the 8 percent of its park facilities that are less efficient will allow the district to place more emphasis on the remaining 92 percent. Besides its recreation program, the Little Rock District proposes to minimize the number of requests it accepts for new and changes to existing private boat docks, as well as the number of permits for mowing on government land and permits for meandering paths across public lands to the water’s edge. Also, the district will reduce inspections of these types of permitted shoreline activities and possibly cancel boundary maintenance activities. Regarding other business lines, periodic lock and dam maintenance, dredging and funding of the hydropower em- ployee training program are also affected. It is anticipated most maintenance at power plants will be performed by agreements utilizing customer funding. All the choices have consequences. As long as a maintenance backlog exists, so does the pos- sibility of unanticipated breakdowns, which can cause a cas- cading effect on the district’s operation and maintenance program. However, focusing the district’s limited dollars on priority items helps reduce the risk. National leaders are struggling to control spending in the wake of recession, while at the same time they had to react to a series of severe floods and disasters in 2011. The Little Rock District was not immune. Spring flood damage to district parks and navigation infrastructure totaled $33.5 million. Operations and maintenance funding have been reduced $17 million, and the maintenance backlog on the district’s top 15 needs is $68 million and growing. These factors are causing the district to limit the levels of service it can offer. During the past several months, the Little Rock District performed a thorough and deliberate review of operation and maintenance programs across all business lines so the district can focus available funds on the highest priority work. The district developed a three-tier “triage”-like system to help categorize and prioritize tasks because the district did not re- ceive enough money to complete all “normal” day-to-day tasks. The categories are “must do,” “should do” and “nice to do.” The district will first address must do items before be- ginning should do items. The district does not anticipate hav- ing enough resources to accomplish any items in the nice to do category. (See BUDGETS, Page 5) Juveniles questioned, arrested Morrilton police have questioned three juveniles, all under the age of 14, in connection with the break-in and vandalism last week at the multipurpose building located on the Conway County Fairgrounds, according to Morrilton Police Chief Norbert Gunderman Jr. An estimated $10,000 damaged was done when a fire extinguisher was discharged in the building, releasing chemicals into the ductwork. The juveniles’ case has been turned over to juvenile authorities. Cpl. Jeremy Bixler investigated. In an unrelated incident, on Monday a 15-year-old Morril- ton youth was arrested and turned over to juvenile authorities after he allegedly got into an argument with a neighbor on 4th Street over a dog and shot the woman with a pellet gun short- ly after 4 p.m. The woman was not injured, the chief said. Sgt. Trenton Anderson investigated. Election 2012 Darlene Massingill has announced she is seeking re-election to the office of cir- cuit clerk for a second term. “I have been a long-time resident and have worked in the circuit clerk’s office for 25 years,” Massingill said, adding, “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the public, and I would like to thank everyone for their support and allowing me to serve as circuit clerk and ask for your continued support.” “My staff and I will continue to serve you in a friendly and professional manner,” she said. MASSINGILL - Clerk Mountain fall fatal to hiker —Staff Photo by Sharon Judkins
Transcript of CONWAY C OUNTY Petit Jean Country...
C O N W A Y C O U N T Y
Petit Jean Country Headlight
CMYK
75 CENTSMORRILTON, ARKANSAS, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2012VOLUME 133 NUMBER 46 SIXTEEN PAGES
Judge Jimmy Hart announces his intentionsto seek re-election as Conway County judge.
Judge Hart states, “The people of ConwayCounty have been an inspiration in support-ing the progress we are making for our coun-ty. The communication between the citizensand my office has given me a better under-standing of what is needed in the county.
“It has been a very gratifying experience to be able towork in a cooperative effort with so many entities and agen-cies of local, state and federal government. There have beennumerous projects made possible by all of these affiliations,”
(See HART, Page 5)
Mike Smith has announced he is seek-ing re-election for sheriff of ConwayCounty.
“I certainly enjoy being sheriff, and Iwant to continue serving my fellow citi-zens. I love Conway County, and mypledge is to continue giving the citizens thebest sheriff’s office possible,” Smith said.
HART - Judge
Jeff Croswell of Petit Jean Mountain has an-nounced for state representative, District 65.
Croswell released the following state-ment:
“My wife, Sarah, and I have six children, sowe know what a challenge it is to try andmake dollars stretch from paycheck to pay-check. We attend church, root for the Razor-
backs, shoot hoops in the front yard and enjoy a good Redboxmovie every now and then. I’m just a regular Arkansan, wholoves God, is devoted to my family and feels called to per-form my duty as a citizen by serving my district and my state.
(See CROSWELL, Page 5)
CROSWELL - State Rep.
SMITH - Sheriff
Wayne DeSalvo has announced his in-tention to seek re-election to the office ofConway County treasurer for a ninth term.
“It has been an honor to serve the peopleof Conway County the past 15 years ascounty treasurer. I will continue to workhard to operate the treasurer’s office withhonesty and professionalism,” he said.
DeSalvo and his wife Regina have two children, Kyleand Kadie.
Conway County Tax Assessor HelenNoll has announced she is seeking re-election. Noll is a long-time resident ofConway County and has been the tax as-sessor since 2001.
Noll said, “It has been a great honor andprivilege to serve the people of ConwayCounty as their tax assessor. I appreciate
the confidence and faith you have placed in me to performthe duties of this office and hope to continue working foryou in this position for the upcoming election.”
DESALVO - Treasurer
NOLL - Tax Assessor
Court of Appeals Judge Jo Hart an-nounced Monday her candidacy for theArkansas Supreme Court. Judge Hart is cur-rently serving her 14th year as an appellatejudge on the Arkansas Court of Appeals.
“With the help of many friends from everycorner of the state, today I turned in to the sec-retary of state more than 15,000 signatures toplace my name on the ballot for the May 22 election. Gather-ing these petitions is consistent with my belief in the impor-tance of having a strong grassroots candidacy,” she said.
She remarked that the petition process had been both dif-ficult and rewarding. “One day I signed up nearly 650 voters
(See COURT, Page 5)
HART - Supreme Court
Debbie Hartman has announced she isseeking another term as Conway CountyClerk.
She works closely with the ConwayCounty Election Commission and secre-tary of state’s office regarding all electionsand new election laws, to insure the effi-ciency of fair and secure elections and toinsure everyone the right to vote.
The county clerk’s office continuously works on updatingthe Voter Registration system. By statute ACA 14-14-403,redistricting is required to be completed every 10 years andhad to be completed before the first Monday in January.
(See HARTMAN, Page 5)
HARTMAN - Clerk
Democrat Ronny Campbell an-nounced Monday his intention to seekelection for justice of the peace, District3. He is a resident of Cleveland and haslived in District 3 nearly all his life.
“I feel a responsibility to run forthis office,” Campbell said, “Thisdistrict is my hometown, and all myfamily lives in Conway County. I want to work hard toprotect this county and to help improve things when
(See CAMPBELL, Page 5)
Gary Sams, of Overcup, has an-nounced for re-election as justice ofthe peace, District 5, which includesBird and Washington East townships.
Sams is a graduate of ArkansasTech University, a member and pastpresident of the Morrilton RotaryClub and represents Conway Countyas a member of the West Central Arkansas WorkforceInvestment Board.
(See SAMS, Page 5)
CAMPBELL - JP
SAMS - JP
Larry Nicholson of Jerusalem hasannounced his intention to seek elec-tion to the office of Conway CountyJustice of the Peace, District 3.Nicholson is a Vietnam veteran wherehe served as a combat medic andearned a purple heart and a commen-dation medal with (V) for Valor. He isa life member of the VFW Post No. 4453 and a lifemember of the DAV, Chapter 13.
(See NICHOLSON, Page 5)
NICHOLSON - JP
Louis Gottsponer Sr., a life-long res-ident of Conway County, has an-nounced his candidacy for re-electionas justice of the peace, District 2, whichincludes St. Vincent, Hattieville, Lord’sSchoolhouse and Blackwell.
Gottsponer graduated from SacredHeart Catholic High School in Morril-ton. He and his wife, Francie, live on their family farmin the St. Vincent community and attend St. Mary’s
(See GOTTSPONER, Page 5)
GOTTSPONER - JP
A 45-year-old Little Rock manwas fatally injured Thursdaywhen he fell from a bluff behindthe Pioneer Cabin at Petit JeanState Park.
Conway County Sheriff MikeSmith said Mark McGriff John-ston was apparently hiking byhimself Thursday morning whenhe stepped off the Cedar Creektrail about 20 feet to get a closerlook at a small waterfall.
“We could see where heslipped and fell head-first about15 feet,” the sheriff said, “strik-ing his head on the rocks in theankle deep creek.”
Hikers on the trail shortly after1 p.m. spotted the body in thecreek and called authorities.
Conway County CoronerRichard Neal pronounced John-ston dead at the scene and con-firmed his death was caused by ahead wound.
The creek is about 100 yardsbehind the Pioneer Cabin. StatePark personnel and Petit Jean firefighters helped transport thebody from the scene.
The sheriff does not suspect foul play. He said Johnston’svehicle was parked nearby.
Johnston was born March 3, 1966, in Arkadelphia to Boband Bobbie (McGriff) Johnston. He was a graduate of HotSprings High School and Ouachita Baptist University.
Survivors include his mother, Bobbie Johnston of HotSprings; grandmother, Verna McGriff Barlow of Hot Springs;brother, Greg Johnston of Arkadelphia; special cousin, RayeAnn Southall of Little Rock; and his buddy, 13-year old Tuck-er, the Schnauzer.
A memorial service in his honor was held at 3 p.m. Mon-day at the Caruth-Hale Funeral Home in Hot Springs.
Tight budgets to affect numerous parksTight budgets are requiring the Little Rock District of the
Army Corps of Engineers to propose changes at several of itsparks, including closing some less efficient facilities.
A series of public workshops to discuss these proposalsand solicit public input is being scheduled for February atPiedmont, Mo., and at Mountain Home, Heber Springs, Rus-sellville and Ozark. The workshop times, dates and locationswill be announced when they are finalized.
Among tough choices being considered are changingrecreation operations at 29 parks, including closing 13 camp-grounds, four partial campgrounds, four day use areas, onepartial day use area, and 10 boat ramps. Also under consid-eration is making the recreation season shorter at many addi-tional parks.
Other likely park adjustments include reducing the fre-quency of trash pick-up, cleaning and mowing, as well as re-duced maintenance response time and fewer temporary parkrangers, law enforcement agreements and contract park at-tendants.
The proposed changes will reduce costs by an estimated$1.9 million annually ($921,000 for operation and mainte-nance expenses and $989,000 for labor).
The Little Rock District operates 178 public parks and ac-cess areas. Making adjustments to the 8 percent of its parkfacilities that are less efficient will allow the district to placemore emphasis on the remaining 92 percent.
Besides its recreation program, the Little Rock Districtproposes to minimize the number of requests it accepts fornew and changes to existing private boat docks, as well asthe number of permits for mowing on government land andpermits for meandering paths across public lands to thewater’s edge. Also, the district will reduce inspections ofthese types of permitted shoreline activities and possiblycancel boundary maintenance activities.
Regarding other business lines, periodic lock and dammaintenance, dredging and funding of the hydropower em-
ployee training program are also affected. It is anticipatedmost maintenance at power plants will be performed byagreements utilizing customer funding. All the choices haveconsequences.
As long as a maintenance backlog exists, so does the pos-sibility of unanticipated breakdowns, which can cause a cas-cading effect on the district’s operation and maintenanceprogram. However, focusing the district’s limited dollars onpriority items helps reduce the risk.
National leaders are struggling to control spending in thewake of recession, while at the same time they had to reactto a series of severe floods and disasters in 2011.
The Little Rock District was not immune. Spring flooddamage to district parks and navigation infrastructure totaled$33.5 million. Operations and maintenance funding havebeen reduced $17 million, and the maintenance backlog onthe district’s top 15 needs is $68 million and growing. Thesefactors are causing the district to limit the levels of service itcan offer.
During the past several months, the Little Rock Districtperformed a thorough and deliberate review of operation andmaintenance programs across all business lines so the districtcan focus available funds on the highest priority work. Thedistrict developed a three-tier “triage”-like system to helpcategorize and prioritize tasks because the district did not re-ceive enough money to complete all “normal” day-to-daytasks.
The categories are “must do,” “should do” and “nice todo.” The district will first address must do items before be-ginning should do items. The district does not anticipate hav-ing enough resources to accomplish any items in the nice todo category.
(See BUDGETS, Page 5)
Juveniles questioned, arrestedMorrilton police have questioned three juveniles, all under
the age of 14, in connection with the break-in and vandalismlast week at the multipurpose building located on the ConwayCounty Fairgrounds, according to Morrilton Police ChiefNorbert Gunderman Jr. An estimated $10,000 damaged wasdone when a fire extinguisher was discharged in the building,releasing chemicals into the ductwork. The juveniles’ case hasbeen turned over to juvenile authorities. Cpl. Jeremy Bixlerinvestigated.
In an unrelated incident, on Monday a 15-year-old Morril-ton youth was arrested and turned over to juvenile authoritiesafter he allegedly got into an argument with a neighbor on 4thStreet over a dog and shot the woman with a pellet gun short-ly after 4 p.m. The woman was not injured, the chief said. Sgt.Trenton Anderson investigated.
Election 2012
Darlene Massingill has announced sheis seeking re-election to the office of cir-cuit clerk for a second term. “I havebeen a long-time resident and haveworked in the circuit clerk’s office for25 years,” Massingill said, adding, “Ithas been an honor and a privilege toserve the public, and I would like tothank everyone for their support and allowing me toserve as circuit clerk and ask for your continued support.”
“My staff and I will continue to serve you in afriendly and professional manner,” she said.
MASSINGILL - Clerk
Mountain fall fatal to hiker
—Staff Photo by Sharon Judkins
