Friday morning summary
December 21, 2007 Leave a comment
White County Sheriff’s detectives arrested a KARN radio personality for Internet stalking on Wednesday. Charles David Ballard was caught by the new Child Predator Unit of the sheriff’s office, which focuses on Internet predators who solicit sex from underage children online. Ballard works for KARN, FM 102.9 and AM 920, owned by Citadel Broadcasting Corporation. Once the deputies had Ballard in custody, it was discovered there was a baby, which Ballard identified as his six-month-old daughter, in the back seat of his car. Ballard was found to have outstanding arrest warrants from Faulkner County, Conway police and Morrilton police for failure to appear on traffic citations. He was booked into the White County Detention Center for Internet stalking of a child, sexual indecency with a minor, fleeing, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless driving and driving on a suspended driver’s license. The mother of the child, Jamie Arnold of Little Rock came to the sheriff’s office to take custody of the baby but was found to have outstanding arrest warrants from four agencies, including Beebe police. She was also taken into custody and handed over to the warranting agencies.
Arkansas congressmen took to the House floor on Wednesday to honor Frank Broyles, the legendary University of Arkansas athletic director. The state’s lawmakers joined in a bipartisan recognition of Broyles just before Congress adjourned for the year. Rep. John Boozman even got in a Hog Call, albeit a modest one, during his speech.
Arkansas is among 21 states in the nation to share in $52 million in new federal money to help public schools classified as needing improvement because of their low standardized test results.
Catfish are coming back to the Buffalo River under a four-year restocking program that the state Game and Fish Commission approved Thursday.
A federal judge’s decision to change how the Little Rock District’s compliance with its desegregation requirements was evaluated is grounds for an appeals court to overturn an order declaring the district unitary, attorneys for black students argued Thursday.
Faced with a rash of recently trained police officers leaving for better paying jobs, the Jonesboro Police Department will offer incentive pay increases for those who remain and complete a variety of programs.
Southwestern Energy Co. plans to invest more than $1 billion in the Fayettevile Shale play next year, the second straight year the Houston-based company’s investment in the northern Arkansas rock formation will exceed the $1 billion mark.
A plan to revitalize Eureka Springs calls for a designated arts and culture district with improvements paid for using tax increment financing. The $10,000 study, conducted in 2004 by the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business, was commissioned by Community Development Partnership of Western Carroll County, restaurateur James De-Vito said. DeVito reintroduced the plan at a Eureka Springs City Council meeting in late November.
The driver of a gas company truck was intoxicated when he drove his vehicle into a Searcy yard, according to state police. Jerry Johnsonof Searcy has been charged with DWI-drugs, driving on a suspended drivers license out of Oklahoma, careless and prohibited driving and not having a commercial driver’s license. The incident happened when Johnson was behind the wheel of a 2007 Dragon oil well finishing rig.
Former Paragould fire chief Eddie Brown has been let off with nine months of home confinement and four years of probation after admitting to falsifying about $40,000 in claims to the Homeland Security Department.
The mayor of the small Pope County town of Pottsville was questioned by police last week after driving home from a high school basketball game under the influence of alcohol. Chief Blake Herren said officer Kenny Smith met Mayor Jerry Duvall at his home Dec. 10 after fans at the Pottsville High School game complained that they smelled alcohol on the mayor’s breath. Smith gave the mayor a portable Breathalyzer test, which registered a blood alcohol level of 0.11.