75¢ SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2012
The
Daily Citizen TheDailyCitizen.com
Serving Searcy and White County, Ark., since 1854
HU GROUPS FIGHT HUMAN TRAFFICKING SPORTS COMPLEX THEFTS PROMPT ACTION Two campus organizations at Harding University are teaming up to fight human trafficking. — PAGE 3A
Parents can expect to see an increase in police presence at the Searcy Sports Complex this weekend. — PAGE 1B
Lincoln, Haynie to debate Debate will be held April 9 at Riverview The Daily Citizen
White County Judge Michael Lincoln and his challenger, Bill Haynie, will debate next month at Riverview High School.
County-wide meeting ■
Discussed Act 833 fund-
ing
The debate will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 9. Winston Collier, White County Election Commission chairman, will moderate the 90-minute forum, which is being sponsored by The Daily Citizen. Admission to the event is free and open to the public.
County judge debate When: 7 p.m. on Monday, April 9 Where: Riverview High School Admission: Free and open to the public
Please see DEBATE | 2A Lincoln
Haynie
STUDENTS MAKE ST. PATRICK’S DAY CRAFTS
■ Decided to keep distribution with 2000 numbers ■ Source of year 2000 numbers is unknown
No change to fire department funding Beebe mayor disgruntled with meeting procedure BY MOLLY M. FLEMING mfleming@thedailycitizen.com
When it comes to the distribution of the Act 833 funds for the fire departments, the growth or decline of a fire district’s population will not factor into the funds each fire district receives in White County. The intergovernmental council of White County has voted against using the 2010 Census results as the scale for how each fire district is given its portion of the funds. The funds are collected from insurance coverage on real and Please see FUNDING | 2A
Crawford: Surtax vote would break pledge Democrats continue effort to strike Smith from ballot Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@thedailycitizen.com
Second grade students at Westside Elementary read “Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato” and then rewrote the story in their own words on a potato man Friday to get into the St. Patrick’s Day spirit. Michelle Bruxvoort’s student Emily Horton cuts out parts of her potato man, while Landon Wyatt and Alexis Schroyer work on their assignments as well.
BY ANDREW DEMILLO Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Democratic Party said Friday it will move forward with a lawsuit claiming former lawmaker Fred Smith is ineligible to run for his
old seat because of a felony theft conviction, despite a judge’s order effectively clearing the exHarlem Globetrotter’s criminal record. Party spokeswoman Candace Martin said that the party won’t
drop its lawsuit seeking to block Smith from the Democratic primary ballot for an east Arkansas House seat. Martin said the party still believes Smith was ineligible when he filed on March 1. “What we’ve maintained from
the beginning of this was at the time Mr. Smith filed, he was ineligible to run because he was convicted and we believe that is still the relevant fact in this
Associated Press
spiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. Prosecutors estimate that Jackson’s sentence will range from nearly six to more than seven years in prison. A sentencing date hasn’t been set. Before U.S. District Judge James Moody accepted Jackson’s plea on Friday, he pointed out that Jackson was in a position of public trust as a sheriff’s deputy. “You won’t be able to work in
WEATHER Today: Partly sunny. Rain likely. Highs around 80. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy. Rain likely. Lows in the upper 50s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Vol. 158, No. 66 ©2012 The Daily Citizen
law enforcement ever again,” Moody said. Jackson is one of five law enforcement officers — out of 71 people — indicted in an investigation dubbed “Operation Delta Blues.” The probe, announced in October, focused on corruption and drug trafficking in the Mississippi Delta town of HelenaWest Helena. Jackson’s plea comes after former Helena-West Helena police officers Robert “Bam Bam” Rog-
Associated Press
ers and Herman Eaton and former Marvell police officer Robert Wahls entered guilty pleas earlier this year. Prosecutors recommended a 16-month prison sentence for Rogers and Eaton and a 2-year sentence for Wahls. Another law enforcement officer who was indicted in the investigation has a trial scheduled next month. Prosecutor Julie Peters laid
LITTLE ROCK — Republican Congressman Rick Crawford said Friday that voting for his proposal to raise taxes on millionaires would violate an anti-tax pledge he signed, but that his party must be willing to support hikes in exchange for longterm deficit reductions. Facing criticism from fellow conservatives over his tax increase proposal that’s tied to a balanced budget amendment, the freshman lawmaker from Arkansas defended the plan and said that other members of his party need be more willing to compromise on tax issues. “I know it’s a fundamental tenet of Republicans not to raise taxes, but in the world we’re living right now with the budget situation being what it is, I think
Please see OFFICER | 2A
Please see CRAWFORD | 2A
Please see SMITH | 2A
Law enforcement officer pleads guilty to drug-related charge LITTLE ROCK — The fourth of five Arkansas law enforcement officers accused of accepting bribes and looking the other way while traffickers shipped drugs throughout the region pleaded guilty Friday to a drug-related charge. Federal prosecutors in Little Rock agreed to drop two other charges against former Phillips County Sheriff’s Deputy Winston Dean Jackson in exchange for his guilty plea to one count of con-
BY ANDREW DEMILLO
INDEX NATION & STATE, 2A OPINIONS, 4A LIFESTYLES, 5A CALENDAR/OBITUARIES, 6A SPORTS, 1B CLASSIFIEDS, 5B
“
Endure the present, and watch for better things. VIRGIL Ancient Roman poet
Contact us: 3000 E. Race, Searcy, AR 72143, (Phone) 501-268-8621, (Fax) 501-268-6277
”