Population shift

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Sunday, February 20, 2011

The

Daily Citizen TheDailyCitizen.com

Serving Searcy and White County, Ark., since 1854

Raiders win title, now look ahead Editor emeritus muses on meteorology Riverview looks to continue its tournament win streak in regional action this week. — Page 1B

Check out the Opinions page for Perrin Jones’ memories of forecasts in older times. — Page 4A

Panel passes campus police bill Bill allows private universities to house police forces

Dismang

Biviano

By Jacob Brower jbrower@thedailycitizen.com A bill allowing private universities to house police forces unanimously passed out of the House Education Committee last week. Currently, public universities in Arkansas are allowed to house police forces, but not private universities. State Rep. Mark Biviano,

Gillam

Arkansas assembly

State Senate District 29: Jonathan Dismang, RBeebe; Jonathan.Dismang@ArkansasSenate.org State House District 49: Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia; Jeremy.Gillam@ArkansasHouse.org State House District 50: Mark Biviano, R-Searcy; Mark.Biviano@ArkansasHouse.org

Missile silos

Number in Ark.: 18 Missile type: Titan II ICBM Decommissioned: 1980s

R-Searcy, said he proposed the measure at the urging of officials from Harding University and Arkansas Baptist College. “This will allow them to hire certified police officers and have arrest powers, so it’s really a protection bill,” he said. “State universities have that, not private universities. You have several thousand students at private universities, and the population is larger than a lot of cities in Arkansas. “In our society now, we have violent crimes, assaults and drug activities on college cam-

sEarCy

2000 population 2010 population

18,928 22,558

+19%

Judsonia

2000 population 2010 population

+2%

White County

TOTAL 2000 population 2010 population

Bald knoB

3,210 2,897

-10%

BEEBE

2000 population 2010 population

kEnsEtt

2000 population 2010 population

4,230 7,315

-8%

+48%

1,791 1,648

White County and cities with populations of 1,000 or more people as of the 2010 Census. Cities under 1,000 population are listed below.

County to receive lower percentage, 4 cities to see more Higginson, Beebe see large gains

R

By Warren Watkins warren@thedailycitizen.com esults of the 2010 U.S. Census show a slight trend away from the rural portions of White County to some municipalities, with some of the transfer of population attributable to annexations by cities. While White County’s population grew from 67,165

in 2000 to 77,076 in 2010, a gain of 9,911 or about 15 percent, the proportion of residents who live in cities within the county rose as well. In 2010, 48 percent of White Countians lived in rural areas and not in incorporated towns, but in 2010 that figure had dropped to 47 percent. The result of the shift will mean a reduction in the county government’s share of state turnback money, and county Continued on Page 3A

2010 White County Census

City Bradford McRae Higginson Pangburn Rose Bud Garner Letona Griffithville Russell West Point Georgetown

2000 800 661 378 654 429 284 201 262 228 208 126

2010 759 682 621 601 482 284 255 225 216 185 124

Pct. -5% +3% +64% -8% +12% 0% +27% -14% -5% -11% -2%

Cities in White County under 1,000 population

Arkansas man in line for La.’s top higher ed job

The Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. — The top college policymaker in Arkansas is the apparent front-runner to become Louisiana's next commissioner of higher education. Jim Purcell, director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, told The Times-Picayune on Friday that he has submitted his application for the job and the newspaper cites

WEATHER

Today: Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. South winds 10-15 mph. Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. Lows in the mid 50s. Vol. 157, No. 45 ©2011 The Daily Citizen

67,165 77,076

+15% 2000 population 2010 population

unidentified sources as saying he is likely to be offered the position next week. "It's a great opportunity just to come back (to Louisiana)," said Purcell, who lived in Baton Rouge early in his career. "It looks like it'll be a good opportunity to do some good things." An executive search firm hired by the Board of Regents has been working for months to identify candidates to fill the post vacated

when Commissioner Sally Clausen resigned under criticism in June. State officials cleared a major stumbling block to filling the post on Friday when the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget approved a $275,000 annual salary package for the position. The commissioner, hired by the Board of Regents, serves as the state's top higher education official, with responsibility for coordinating the four college and university systems.

INDEX LOCAL, 2A OPINIONS, 4A LIFESTYLES, 5A CALENDAR/OBITUARIES, 6A SPORTS, 1B CLASSIFIEDS, 5B

Old highways

Used by: Mules, wagons, military convoys Time periods: 18th century up to 1940s

Remains of old roads scattered Some evidence obscured by development

1,982 2,019

Searcy man converting missile silo to residence

Continued on Page 2A

Continued on Page 2A

Census shows population shift

Legacy of Cold War becomes warm home By Luke Jones ljones@thedailycitizen.com Fifteen years ago, a former air force soldier saw an advertisement for a decommissioned nuclear missile silo to be used as a residence. Now, that dream is becoming a reality for G.T. [last name withheld by request]. “People told me [the silos] were completely sealed with concrete and were unusable,” he said. “But that is not the case. They’re quite difficult to get into, but it can be done.” In mid-2010, he purchased the land containing a silo that had been abandoned for over 30 years. Since then, he’s been hard at work cleaning out the underground complex to make it into a residence. “The purchase was not too expensive, surprisingly,” he said. “Unfortunately, they are very difficult to find for sale, since most people it’s family property that they don't want to sell. I know I've talked to probably 10 out of 18 land owners in Arkansas “I thought it was another one of his ‘projects,’” said Christy, his wife. “It’s not the first crazy thing he's come up with.” But soon she was sold on the idea as well. “I was interested mostly because it's a piece of living history,” she said. “When I started talking to my parents, they remembered when the site [near Damascus] blew up. I’m a little bit too young to remember too much of that, but it was intriguing to me that they still existed.” The complex is situated entirely underground and is comprised of several elements, including the actual launch silo, an access portal, the blast lock and the control center. He said the true difficulty of renovating the complex is not from a financial, but from

puses, and we need to protect the people on campus.” Biviano said the bill will likely go to the floor on Monday, and he is confident of its chances of becoming law this session. If passed, the measure will take effect on Jan. 1, 2012. “I’m very optimistic,” he said. “About 14 other states have implemented measures that allow law enforcement at private colleges and universities.” State Rep. Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia, said he is still

By Luke Jones ljones@thedailycitizen.com The roads of our fathers and grandfathers change rapidly with time, and as quickly as new paths are paved, old ones are left abandoned. As reported in a previous edition, old roads leading between Searcy and Pangburn highway tend to appear in unusual places, with small stretches of them showing up on private property. Some segments of the highway are still accessible as back roads near the main highway, and are still unpaved, appearing much as they did to the wagon and carriage drivers of previous centuries. Other portions are surrounded by woods and are only accessible by the determined. “Those were mule trails, horse trails, they were widened for wagons,” said MaryBeth Waters, president Continued on Page 3A

Thousands of protesters surround Wis. Capitol

By Dinesh Ramde and Todd Richmond The Associated Press MADISON, Wis. — A state Capitol thrown into chaos swelled for a fifth day with thousands of protesters, as supporters of Republican efforts to scrap the union rights of state workers added their voices to the debate for the first time and GOP leaders insisted again Saturday there was no room for compromise. Supporters of Gov. Scott Walker and his effort to ease Wisconsin's budget woes gathered on the east side of the Capitol, surrounded by a much larger group of prolabor demonstrators who since Tuesday have filled the Capitol with chanting, drum-beats and anti-Walker slogans. Walker has proposed requiring government workers to contribute more to their health care and pension costs and largely eliminating their collective bargaining rights.

Songs are life in 80 words or less. Neil Diamond

American musician, 1941

Contact us: 3000 E. Race, Searcy, AR 72143, (Phone) 501-268-8621, (Fax) 501-268-6277


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