Refugees staying in Fort Chaffee waiting for rides

BY DAVE HUGHES

FORT CHAFFEE — New Orleans refugees at Fort Chaffee will not be allowed to begin their trip home today unless there are enough planes or buses to transport them all at once, military officials said Thursday. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Funds are low for Medicaid, legislators told

BY MICHAEL R. WICKLINE

The state’s Medicaid program is seeking $93 million more in general revenue next fiscal year and $111 million on top of that the following year because its trust fund is running out of money, a state official told lawmakers Thursday. - Friday, September 5, 2008

High court rejects quick action on appeal; execution on hold

BY CHARLIE FRAGO

Convicted murderer Frank Williams Jr. won’t be executed next week after the Arkansas Supreme Court denied a request Thursday to quickly resolve an appeal affecting his execution. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Tailgaters rejoice; golf course OK

BY NOEL E. OMAN

Parking around War Memorial Stadium for fans attending the University of Arkansas football game Saturday will be close to business as usual despite four days of heavy rains that soaked the golf course used to park most vehicles. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Schoolyard killer gets four years

BY ADAM WALLWORTH

FAYETTEVILLE — Jonesboro school gunman Mitchell Scott Johnson was sentenced Thursday to four years in federal prison for simultaneous possession of guns and drugs. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Part of scenic route shut as rain undermines road

BY NOEL E. OMAN

A section of scenic Arkansas 7 in northern Pope County that was reduced to one lane because the ground supporting the pavement became unstable earlier this year will now be closed indefinitely after rain this week threatened the integrity of the remaining lane, state highway officials said Thursday. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Paper adds a reporter to D.C. bureau

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Jane Fullerton has been hired as a part-time reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Washington, D.C., bureau, a move Managing Editor David Bailey said was important for Arkansas readers. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Report sounds alarm on state water supply

BY ANDY DAVIS

Providing tax credits for water conservation, developing alternative crops and appointing a “water czar” are among the suggestions in a report released Thursday on protecting Arkansas ’ water supply. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Longtime auditor recalled as ‘open, congenial’

BY MIKE LINN

Arkansans will remember Jimmie “Red” Jones as a staunch Democrat who served 12 terms as state auditor, four years as adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard and helped Bill Clinton get elected governor and president. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Body, motorcycle found beside I-40

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

CO NWAY — Police on Thursday found alongside Interstate 40 in Conway the body of a man they believe is a missing motorcyclist from West Memphis. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Hearings to be shelved over ’93 slayings of 3

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

A set of hearings for the three men convicted in the 1993 slayings of three West Memphis boys will likely be postponed until late this month, said Michelle Grilletta, trial court assistant to Craighead County Circuit Judge David Burnett. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Lawyer for boards questioned

BY SETH BLOMELEY

Legislators grilled a lawyer who receives more than $100,000 a year in fees from three state boards, accusing him Wednesday of being “unjustly punitive” to doctors and others. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Fire in building gives McDaniel staff day off

BY SETH BLOMELEY

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel’s employees were off Thursday because of an electrical fire in the downtown Little Rock building where the offices are located. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Two facing 8 counts in tax evasion indictment

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

A Russellville couple was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Little Rock on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, incometax evasion and evasion of payment. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Justices let stand sentencing ruling

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday denied the state’s petition to review a decision reversing the consecutive prison sentences given to Anne Throneberry in the 2004 bludgeoning death of her husband, Ted. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Daily record

Births The following is a list of those births reported to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette by area hospitals. It may not be a complete list since parents may ask the hospital not to publicly release the news of a birth. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Arkansan alive, well and under arrest

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Authorities in South Dakota say they’ve arrested a missing Arkansas man accused of faking his own drowning. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Other days

100 YEARS AGO Sept. 5, 1908 FORT SMITH — As a result of the test of the brick being manufactured here and used in paving the streets of the city the Board of Improvement has given notice to the contractor that he is to use no more brick of the kind heretofore used. For a time at least the vast paving contract has been brought to a standstill. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Police beat

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Police cite threats, head-butt in arrest Little Rock officers arrested a 53-year-old man Thursday morning after he threatened a utility worker at the man’s home to disconnect his gas service, police said. - Friday, September 5, 2008

Admission’s free Saturday at LR Zoo

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Admission to the Little Rock Zoo is free this Saturday to celebrate War Memorial’s 60th anniversary and the Arkansas Razorbacks’ first game at War Memorial Stadium this season, according to a news release. - Friday, September 5, 2008

PB man indicted in post office heist

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

A Pine Bluff man was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Little Rock in the July 22 armed robbery of the Gould post office. - Friday, September 5, 2008

FORT SMITH : Stolen phones apt to supply black market

BY BILL W. HORNADAY AND DAVE HUGHES

FORT SMITH — Foreign black markets are the most attractive outlets for cell phones like those swiped from an Alltel Corp. warehouse in Fort Smith last weekend, industry experts said. - Thursday, September 4, 2008

UAMS to keep exec hunt private

BY KENNETH HEARD

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences will use a private search firm to help find its next chancellor. - Thursday, September 4, 2008

To fight execution case shift requested

BY CHARLIE FRAGO

A federal public defender asked the Arkansas Supreme Court on Wednesday to let another state appeals court decide whether to allow the state to execute condemned killer Frank Williams Jr. next week. - Thursday, September 4, 2008

State’s general revenue up $24.9 million from year ago

BY MICHAEL R. WICKLINE

Buoyed by stronger-than-expected collections of individual income tax and sales tax, state general revenue in August increased $24.9 million over August 2007. - Thursday, September 4, 2008

FAYETTEVILLE : Former Razorbacks star gives back with donation to UA academic program

BY TRACIE DUNGAN

FAYETTEVILLE — Former Razorbacks basketball player Ronnie Brewer chose an academic program as beneficiary of his first private gift to the University of Arkansas. - Thursday, September 4, 2008

Arkansas Court of Appeals

The Arkansas Court of Appeals released opinions on Wednesday. The court’s ruling and the names of the cases are reprinted here. The full opinions and other court proceedings, including per curiam decisions, orders and submissions, can be found on the Internet at: http://courts.state.ar.us PROCEEDINGS OF Sept. 3, 2008 CHIEF JUDGE JOHN MAUZY PITTMAN CACR06-777. Kerry Deon Vincent v. State, from Drew Circuit. Affirmed. Hart and Gladwin, JJ., agree. CA08-275. Gloria Follett, as trustee for the Gloria Follett Revocable Trust UDT 11/92 v. Joseph Fitzsimmons and Patricia Fitzsimmons, from Carroll Circuit, Western District. Affirmed. Gladwin and Marshall, JJ., agree. - Thursday, September 4, 2008

NOTEWORTHY DEATH : The voice saying, ‘In a world where ... ’

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES — Don LaFontaine, the man who popularized the catch phrase “In a world where... ” and lent his voice to thousands of movie trailers, has died. - Thursday, September 4, 2008

Grammy winner, good-old-boy actor

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jerry Reed, a Grammy Award-winning singer who became a good-old-boy actor in car chase movies such as Smokey and the Bandit, has died Monday of complications from emphysema, his longtime booking agent said. He was 71. - Thursday, September 4, 2008

NW Arkansas today

QUOTE OF THE DAY “I don’t know any other groups that could logistically put this together and move this much product.” Edward Petow, a cargo security expert who lives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on his belief the Alltel cell phone heist was committed by an organized gang Article, 1B Today’s meetings Fayetteville Planning Agenda Session and Tour, 3:30 p.m. Rogers Museum Commission, 4 p.m. Rogers Subdivision Committee, 4 p.m. Fayetteville Street Committee, 4:30 p.m. Washington County Jail/Law Enforcement/Courts and Legal Affairs Committee, 4:45 p.m. - Thursday, September 4, 2008