Friday summary

Arkansas’ revenue growth slowed last month, with the state seeing only a slight increase in the amount of money generated for the state, a report released Thursday said.

Todd Turner, an Arkadelphia lawyer, told the state Supreme Court Thursday that the Arkansas’ law that permits “payday lending” was written in 1999 for the purpose of allowing payday loans to exceed the state’s usury limit. Turner wants the law declared unconstitutional.

Wal-Mart’s third-quarter sales were sluggish, dragging down the industrywide average and raising the prospect that the retailer will aggressively cut prices during the Christmas season.

Department store chain Dillard’s Thursday reports a 5 percent drop in same-store sales and a 3 percent decline in overall sales for October.

The Times-Herald newspaper in Forrest City today marks its 136th year in business.

Today, former President Clinton is to attend a rally in Jonesboro for Mike Beebe, the Democratic candidate for governor. The state Republican Party announced Thursday that President Bush will campaign Monday in Benton County for Asa Hutchinson, the Republican candidate for governor.

The flu season may not officially start until December in Arkansas, but health officials report that cases of the nasty bug have already been reported in two counties. Ann Wright, spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Health, says cases of the Influenza B strain, which is a milder form of the flu than Influenza A, have been confirmed in Garland and Union counties.

A Springdale detective is in Texas to meet with a witness identified last week as being at the residence the night a 10-year-old girl was murdered. Detective Al Barrios went to Laredo, Texas, to talk with Geronimo Langoria, who police are calling a witness in the sexual assault and strangulation of Emiti Freddy.

Children playing with matches were the likely cause of a fire that destroyed one building of a Little Rock apartment complex Thursday afternoon, a spokesman for the Little Rock Fire Department said. An investigation will be conducted to confirm the cause, he said. The identities of the two children believed to be involved were not released.

Although a Arkansas State Police report only listed one vehicle in the Centerton area crash that took the life of Billy Christmas of Casa, Prosecuting Attorney Eric Wells said the case was an ongoing criminal investigation. Kenny Pitts of Ola was arrested and found to have probable cause to be charged with manslaughter during a recent bond hearing. Pitts is currently out on a $25,000 bond and prosecutors have not disclosed what his involvement in the wreck might be.

A shooting Thursday morning left a Bono girl with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Details are sketchy, but the shooting occurred outside the girl’s home, according to police sources. The Westside School District released a statement saying that no other students were involved in the incident.

The Searcy Daily Citizen reports Sandy Kazmark and Cornelius Earl paid the City of Judsonia a total of $750 on Oct. 10 for a deposit on the water meter and for permits and inspection in order to get sewer connection and water service, according to receipts they produced for the media. More than three weeks later, they still do not have water and sewer connections. Earl believes racial discrimination is a factor. “They don’t like the fact that I’m black and she’s white, but this isn’t the 18th century,” Earl said. “All we are trying to do is make a home for our family.”