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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2011

The

Daily Citizen TheDailyCitizen.com

Serving Searcy and White County, Ark., since 1854

WILDCATS PRODUCE BIG NUMBERS

HU TO HOLD 2 COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES

Harding Academy had several players put up big numbers during the 2011 campaign. — PAGE 1B

An 87-year-old tradition will come to an end May 5, 2012, on the Harding University campus. — PAGE 3A

Governor pushes northern route

CARTI Luminaries When: Friday and Saturday Where: White County Courthouse, Searcy Cost: $10 a piece

Searcy CARTI selling luminaries

Thoroughfare has long been part of city’s plan

BY MOLLY M. FLEMING mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

Searcy Mayor David Morris said on Tuesday that the only

new element to come out of the planning for the 36/67 Connector Route is the actual route itself. Otherwise, this bypass has been in the works for while.

“Having a bypass around the city has been a part of the city’s comprehensive plan for a number of years,” Morris said.

The city has long planned

on the route being along Covington Road, Morris said. In the most recent addition of the Searcy Comprehensive Plan, it discusses how the city wants to create a bypass. Under the transportation section of the plan, it states that the city plans to: “Construct a bypass around the northern and western portions of Searcy from

Judsonia to Highway 13.”

“It was a shock to us that [the highway department] was proposing using Collins/Holmes Road because the Covington Road route had been in the city’s comprehensive plans for year,” Morris said.

Former Mayor David Evans, Please see BYPASS | 2A

SECRETARY OF STATE SPEAKS TO ROTARIANS

Annual project benefits Searcy facility

BY MOLLY M. FLEMING mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

The glow of a candle is a symbol of hope, especially around the holidays.

The auxiliary group of the Central Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute in Searcy invites those who have seen the agony of cancer to find hope this holiday with the 21st annual Holiday Luminary Project.

On Friday and Saturday, the auxiliary from Searcy CARTI will set up luminaries around the courthouse in remembrance or honor of cancer paPlease see LUMINARIES | 2A

Bald Knob School Board Next meeting: 6:30 p.m.

Dec. 20 Location: Bald Knob School Administration Building

Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

Arkansas’ Secretary of State Mark Martin addresses the Searcy Rotary Club on Tuesday. Martin discussed the duties of his office and why he chose to not dismiss those in his office who were employed by former Secretary of the State Charlie Daniel.

The Rotary Club meets every Tuesday at noon.

be considered we have to pass this resolution. ... Without Bald Knob “For us to evensomething submitted, we don’t have a chance.” approves increases Rose Bud board passes resolution for possible building District gives to salary additional Rose Bud jobs fund School Board Curtis Spana

Rose Bud School District superintendent

Additional jobs fund money distributed

BY M. A. WEBB Special to The Daily Citizen

Bald Knob staff should see a salary increase due to a recent decision by the school board.

A series of proposals to increase the salary schedule were presented to the Bald Knob School Board at the regularly scheduled meeting Monday night. The board unanimously agreed to a 3 percent salary increase for certified staff. The board unanimously approved an incentive pay increase for bus driver based on the mileage of the bus route. The board Please see BALD KNOB | 3A

money to staff

BY M. A. WEBB

Special to The Daily Citizen

ROSE BUD — The Rose Bud School District can now apply for funding because of a resolution passed by the school board.

Superintendent Curtis Spann on Monday night presented a resolution to the board that would allow the district to apply for funding. According to Spann, the funding would be used to construct four additional elementary classrooms and two more classrooms and a new office area. Spann estimated the cost of the project to be $1.5 million and told the board that, at the current wealth index, the district would be responsible for approximately 40 percent

WEATHER Today: Sunny. Highs in the upper 40s. Northwest winds 5 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 20s. Southeast winds 5 mph.

Vol. 157, No. 287 ©2011 The Daily Citizen

of the funding.

“For us to even be considered we have to pass this resolution,” Spann stated.

The resolution essentially stated that if the district was approved for funding, it would provide its part of the money required to complete the project. Spann recommended that the board proceed with the application process and consider the options if they are approved.

“Without something submitted, we don’t have a chance,” Spann said.

The board unanimously passed the resolution that will allow Spann to apply for the funding.

In other business, Spann informed the board that the district had received an additional $5,546 from the job funds program. According to Spann, the district had previously agreed to place the original job fund

Next meeting: 7 p.m.

Dec. 15 Where: Rose Bud Schools Administration Building

money toward the salaries of staff. Spann recommended that this money be used for the same purpose. The board unanimously agreed.

The district added two staff members. The board unanimously agreed to consider a new contract for Megan Johnson for secondary business teacher effective Jan. 2, 2012, contingent upon her release from another district.

The board also unanimously agreed to hire Ashley Green as a classroom aide, effective Nov. 29.

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

“

The board changed the date for next month’s meeting.

Spann informed the board that the regularly scheduled meeting for the month of December would fall during the scheduled Christmas break and asked board members if they wished to reschedule the meeting. The board unanimously agreed to change the December meeting to Dec. 15.

Spann requested that he be allowed to sell a used upright piano at the elementary school.

According to Spann, the piano has a cracked sound board and the music department does not need the piano. The board agreed to allow Spann to place an ad in the newspaper in order sell the item.

The next meeting of the board will be 7 p.m. Dec. 15.

The board meets the fourth Monday of each month at the Rose Bud Schools Administration Building.

Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.

VOLTAIRE

”

16th Century French Enlightenment author and philosopher

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

Page 2A • Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Daily Citizen

LOCAL LUMINARIES: Past project funds have been used for items such as medical equipment, facility waiting rooms CONTINUED FROM 1A

tients or caretakers. The luminaries are being sold for $10 each and can be purchased now until 4 p.m. on Friday.

The names of the patients or caretakers will be written on each bag.

The luminaries will be set up around the sidewalk at the White County Courthouse on Friday around 4:30 p.m. and then lit for the remainder of the evening. Later that night, they candles will be blown out and then re-lit on Saturday evening. “This is the auxiliary’s only fundraiser, so this is a very important event for them,� said Ron Standridge, public relations coordinator for CARTI. “All of the money raised through the sale of these luminaries will stay at the Searcy CARTI facility.�

Last year, the luminary sale raised $5,000 for the various projects conducted by the Searcy CARTI auxiliary.

The project is being headed up this year by Searcy CARTI auxiliary members Karen Davis of Searcy and Elizabeth Heard of McRae. Both women had headed up the project before, though as Davis said, she’s actually chaired the proj-

ect three times. “To me, it just starts the whole Christmas season off with a glow,� Davis said. “It just sets my heart right.�

Longtime friends with a lot in common, Davis and Heard are both originally from Searcy, and both of their mothers were charter members of the Searcy CARTI Auxiliary. Likewise, both women found themselves becoming increasingly active with the CARTI Auxiliary following the conclusion of their working careers. “I always said that when I was no longer working, I would be both an active auxiliary member and a CARTI volunteer,� Heard said.

Heard and Davis each have more personal connections that help motivate their efforts — both of their fathers were cancer survivors and former CARTI patients.

While Davis’ father received treatment at CARTI in Searcy, Heard’s father required daily radiation therapy treatment at CARTI in Little Rock before the cancer care provider actually had a local facility in White County.

Heard recalled daily radiation treatment meant trips to Little Rock for many White County cancer patients; so for

her, the convenience of having state-of-the-art treatment and technology close to home holds special significance. “Families in this area no longer have to drive to Little Rock for their treatments,� Heard said. “Patients can be treated right here in the community where they live.� “My parents experienced having to make trips to Little Rock every day for weeks on end. The extra wear and tear of those daily trips, in addition to the emotional strain, made for some long and tiring days.�

Members of the CARTI/ Searcy Auxiliary have used funds from past luminary projects to fund everything from medical equipment and supplies, to magazine subscriptions for the facility waiting room, even gifts for patients on treatment during the holiday season.

This year, the auxiliary hopes to raise funds to procure a hydraulic patient-lift system to assist CARTI therapists in providing greater ease of treatment for patients with limitedrange movement.

To purchase a luminary, persons can call the CARTI Searcy facility at (501) 268-7870 or stop by the facility in person at

Contributed photo

Karen Davis (left) and Elizabeth Heard are co-chairing the 21st Annual CARTI/Searcy Auxiliary Holiday Luminary Project. The luminaries will be set up at the White County Courthouse on Friday and Saturday.

405 Rogers Drive. Luminaries can also be purchased in front

of the courthouse on Friday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

BYPASS: Highway department considering Collins/Holmes route due to proximity, environmental concerns

$

city’s preference of the [Covington Road] route,�

DeCample said.

The governor and Morris met in September to discuss the issues with the Collins/Holmes Road route. The meeting was held before the council created an ordinance to call for the special election, but after the city reviewed the map that showed Collins/Holmes Road as a possible route. “The governor was very, very receptive of what we had to say,�

Morris said. “He said he assumed it would also go on Covington Road because he said it would give us more room for future expansion.�

The mayor said he and other officials are doing what they can to get the

Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department to make Covington Road the official bypass route because of opportunities that route would create. “We all got shot out of the water when the [highway department] told us about the Collins/Holmes Road route because [the bypass] could possibly go where we hadn’t planned for it to go,�

Morris said.

He said the highway department is considering the Collins/Holmes road route because of

to name a route until late spring or early summer — long after the city votes for the 1-percent bypass tax on Dec. 13, with early voting starting on Tuesday.

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The Daily Citizen corrects factual errors promptly and courteously. If you have a correction or clarification, please call Editor Jacob Brower at (501) 2688621 or e-mail him at jbrower@thedailycitizen.com.

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■Searcy mayor said Covington Road route has long been city’s plan ■Mayor discussed need for northern route with Gov. Mike Beebe

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environmental concerns and that it’s closer to town; but the proximity to town is exactly why the city wants the more northern route. “The Covington Road route would give us more opportunities for expansion, as opposed to the Collins/Holmes road route,� he said.

The Arkansas Highway Commission will not be able to officially name a route until all of the environmental tests have been completed on both routes. The highway department doesn’t expect

5"

who served from 1991 to 2002, said that when he was mayor, the idea for the bypass had been to go over Backbone Ridge and then meet up with Covington Road. He said the city had even looked at going out as far as Foster Chapel Road, but decided that was too far. “We didn’t want to use Holmes and Collins Road for a number of reasons,� Evans said. “First off, there are two subdivisions along that route. Also, there is all of the traffic from the high school to think about.

We just thought the route would be better coming into Covington Road.

That road always looked like a very good route to us.�

In an effort to get the highway department to understand the need for the Covington Road route as opposed to the Collins/Holmes Road route, Morris met with Gov. Mike Beebe to see how he could help with the situation. “The governor was well aware of our comprehensive plan and that we wanted the Covington Road route because he was our state senator at the time we had created the original plan,� Morris said. “I simply asked him to help us relay the message to the highway department that we wanted the northern route.�

The governor’s spokesman Matt DeCample said

Beebe has spoken with the Arkansas Highway C o m mission about his thoughts on the Beebe route. “[Beeb e ] has expressed to the highway commission — which he appoints — that he Morris understands it is their decision to make, but he does support the

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