Friday summary

Former Arkansas State Police Trooper Larry Norman, who admitted he made a mistake when he fatally shot a disabled, defenseless Springdale man last year, was sentenced to 90 days in jail, community service and a probationary period.

A federal jury trial is scheduled for the week of Feb. 25, 2008, in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a Dover woman killed in a July 2006 car accident on Interstate 40. KATV sportscaster Paul Eells, driver of the other vehicle, crossed the median and struck B.J. Burton’s vehicle. Both died at the scene. Eells had been in Fayetteville participating in the Houston Nutt Golf Classic, a tournament for sports figures and the media. He was on his way home to Little Rock when the accident occurred.

The Arkansas Supreme Court will expedite a ruling on whether or not Pulaski County must release former county Comptroller Ron Quillin’s e-mails that were the subject of a Freedom of Information Act request after his arrest this month on theft charges.

Sen. Mark Pryor balked at an immigration reform bill backed by the White House and Democratic leaders in a vote that likely derailed the measure for the rest of this Congress.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down voluntary school integration plans in Seattle and Louisville, Ky., won’t have an immediate effect on the three school districts in Pulaski County.

The family of a woman who died in a fire at the hotel where she lived and worked is entitled to death benefits even though she was off-duty at the time of the fire, the state Supreme Court ruled.

A federal district judge has thrown out a request by attorneys for three Watson Chapel School District students who are challenging the district’s uniform policies, ruling that the district was not given sufficient time to respond.

If Congress approves the new foreign trade law, South Korea would phase out agriculture tariffs that average 52 percent on U.S. commodities – on everything but rice. Currently, the United States can only export 50,000 metric tons of rice to South Korea, a small fraction of the 3 million tons of American rice that head overseas each year.

A Pulaski County jury was too lenient on a North Little Rock man who gunned down his girlfriend’s father and a friend in their bedrooms last year, the trial judge said after proceedings concluded. However, Circuit Judge Willard Proctor Jr. imposed the recommended 25-year sentence,saying he wanted to follow the “conscience of the community.”

A Benton couple is charged burning body of its’ stillborn baby. Police say this happened last year and they still haven’t found the body. Benton police say they got a tip on their hotline that a couple had concealed the birth of their baby then disposed of the body. They say Jill Jones gave birth to a still born baby last summer and got the baby’s father to help her get rid of the body. Both Jones and Christian Helsham have been charged with concealing a birth, which is a class D felony.

Activist investor Barington Capital Group has released a letter it has sent to Little Rock-based Dillard’s Inc. to request a meeting to discuss changes to increase shareholder value.

The Clinton Presidential Library is ramping up efforts to restore the long dormant Rock Island bridge adjacent to the facility. When complete, the bridge will be the east end of a 14 mile hiking-and-biking loop that will have the Big Dam Bridge at the western end. Estimated costs have grown from 4 to 10 million dollars.

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