Route concern

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2011

The

Daily Citizen TheDailyCitizen.com

Serving Searcy and White County, Ark., since 1854

COUNSELOR: HOLIDAYS CAN BE DEPRESSING WILDCATS 2 WINS AWAY FROM LITTLE ROCK A therapist offers tips on how to cope with depression that can set in during the holiday season. — PAGE 3A

Harding Academy’s dream of a state championship is still alive following Friday’s blowout victory. — PAGE 1B

Police watch for seat belt violators

Meal costs Thanksgiving meal costs more this year, according to Arkansas Farm Bureau survey. ■ Locals tell how this has affected their cooking choices. ■

Since 2010, seat belts are primary offense

Click-It or Ticket

part of the Click-It or Ticket campaign. Some Searcy officers will be specifically assigned to watch for seat belt violators from Nov. 21-27. Major Tim Webb said that the department is able to participate in the program because of a $25,000 grant it received from the police highway safety office. The grant also covers

The Searcy Police Department will be teaming up with the Arkansas State Police Highway Safety Office for a week of seat belt enforcement Nov. 21-27. Some officers will be assigned to specifically watch for seat belt violations. The officers’ overtime is being funded through a grant.

BY MOLLY M. FLEMING mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

Turkey costs more this year

When visiting friends or family next week over the Thanksgiving holiday, the Searcy Police Department reminds residents to wear their seat belts or face a fine. Searcy police are teaming up with the Arkansas State Police Highway Safety Office to reinforce the state seat belt law as

similar programs where officers watch for people driving over the speed limit and people driving while under the influence or drugs or alcohol. “The grant doesn’t pay for any extra officers on the street during this time,” Webb said. “It simply covers the overtime they may work while they are Please see TICKET | 3A

SEARCIANS CONCERNED ABOUT ROUTE

Locals hit sales, eat potluck-style to lessen expense BY MARISA LYTLE mlytle@thedailycitizen.com

The traditional Thanksgiving meal will cost more this year, according to a recent Arkansas Farm Bureau survey, but locals contend this is not necessarily true. The survey is based on responses from members of the Farm Bureau Women’s Committee and other volunteers who surveyed food prices between Oct. 28 and Nov. 7 at 11 grocery stores and supermarkets statewide. They reported the best in-store prices of 12 Thanksgiving meal items and were allowed to take advantage of advertised specials, excluding discount coupons and purchase requirements. Please see TURKEY | 2A

U of A considers limiting student enrollment Associated Press

FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas officials are considering limiting enrollment at the flagship campus in Fayetteville where close to 25,000 students are enrolled, the campus chancellor said. Fall 2011 enrollment totaled a record 23,199 students, and Chancellor G. David Gearhart said Friday that applications from prospective freshman for fall 2012 are up about 30 percent, or about 800 over last fall. Gearhart said 25,000 has long been considered an enrollment goal for the university, and leaders hoped to reach that number in 2015 or later, but based on the applications, they could hit the mark as early as next fall. “We need to decide how far we can go and how far we want to go,” he told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, saying a decision must be made on whether to limit the number of incoming students or make plans for new residential and academic buildings. More faculty also would be needed to accommodate the rising enrollment, Gearhart said. The increase in enrollment could be slowed by raising academic requirements for admission or admitting fewer outof-state students, according to campus officials. “We feel that we could go larger,” Gearhart said. “But we want to be cautious. We want to do it through careful planning.”

Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

Searcy resident Beth Patterson shows her neighbor Karen Davis just where the bypass would cut through their neighborhood, which would be less than 300 yards from Patterson’s front porch.

Residents along Holmes Road worried about project BY MOLLY M. FLEMING mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

On Dec. 13, the residents of Searcy will be asked to cast a ballot in an election to decide if the city will collect a 1-percent sales tax to build a route that connects Highway 36 to Highway 67. While city leaders are pushing the bypass as an economic opportunity for the city, some residents are worried about

No injuries in train vs. SUV crash The Daily Citizen

No one was injured when a train collided with a SUV in Beebe at around 7 p.m. Saturday evening. According to Brian Duke with the Beebe Police Department, a Ford Expedition’s tire got stuck at a crossing on East Center and South Apple streets. Duke said there were two people in the vehicle who were able to got out to safety before the collision took place. The identities of the two were not immediately available.

WEATHER Today: Thunderstorms likely. Highs in the lower 70s. Tonight: Thunderstorms likely. Lows in the upper 50s. Vol. 157, No. 279 ©2011 The Daily Citizen

the bypass project. And those residents have cause to worry — the bypass could cut right through their front yards. “I’m moved up here on a hill to be away,” said Beth Patterson, who lives off Headlee Drive, which is off of Holmes Road. “If I wanted to live on a freeway, I’d move to Little Rock.” Patterson is just one of many

residents off of Headlee Drive that are concerned about their property when it comes to the future route of the bypass project. One of the proposed routes would run less than 300 yards from her front porch, while another route would run a quarter of a mile away from her back porch. She wrote a letter to the area Please see BYPASS | 3A

Highway 3667 Connector Route Searcy residents along the proposed connector routes are not pleased with the project and are afraid they will soon live along a four lane highway.

“I feel for the Oklahoma State community. How many more tragedies can they endure?” Kim Mulkey Baylor head coach

Oklahoma State copes with 2nd crash BY JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS Associated Press

TULSA, Okla. — It had been 10 years and 10 months since the plane crash that killed 10 people associated with Oklahoma State’s men’s basketball program — long enough for the healing to begin but recent enough to rush old memories to the surface when news of another plane crash broke. This time, two coaches from

the women’s basketball team had been killed. “I feel for the Oklahoma State community. How many more tragedies can they endure?” said head coach of topranked Baylor, Kim Mulkey. Kurt Budke, the head coach for the women’s basketball team, and Miranda Serna, his assistant, were killed Thursday when the single-engine plane transporting them on a

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

recruiting trip crashed in steep terrain in Arkansas, the university in Stillwater said. The pilot, 82-year-old former Oklahoma state Sen. Olin Branstetter, and his 79-year-old wife, Paula, also died when the plane sputtered, spiraled out of control and nosedived into the Winona Wildlife Management Area near Perryville, about 45 Please see COACHES | 2A

We owe a lot to Thomas Edison — if it wasn’t for him, we’d be watching television by candlelight. MILTON BERLE American Actor

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


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Route concern by Jacob Brower - Issuu