Sunshine School by Jacob Brower

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2011

$ 25

The

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Serving Searcy and White County, Ark., since 1854

MINISTER’S SERMONS COMPILED IN BOOK HARDING RESUMES CONFERENCE MATCHUPS Former Searcy minister Alvin C. Murray left his mark on the lives of many Searcy residents. — PAGE 3A

Camp Wyldewood Fundraiser

The Bisons hosted Southwestern Oklahoma State in Great American Conference action Saturday afternoon. — PAGE 1B

SUNSHINE SCHOOL TO CELEBRATE NEW BUILDING

When: Nov. 3 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Where: Founder’s Room at Harding University Cost: $50 a person, $500 a table

Lincoln subject of roast Event to raise funds for Camp Wyldewood BY MOLLY M. FLEMING mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

On Thursday, Nov. 3, W h i t e County Judge Michael Lincoln will get to hear what people really think about him — and they Lincoln will say it straight to his face. Lincoln will be the subject of a roast and toast fundraising dinner benefiting Camp Wyldewood in Searcy. The dinner will be held in the Founder’s Room at Harding Univer-

Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

Teacher Teri Pollnow helps Miles learn about colors with toy stuffed dolphins in one of the younger student classrooms as the Sunshine School.

Grand opening set for Nov. 6 BY MOLLY M. FLEMING mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

n the outside, the new Sunshine School on Airport Loop in Searcy is a large building surrounded by plenty of beautiful land. On the inside, the building offers a chance for normalcy for special education students. The school, which started from humble begin-

Please see CAMP | 2A

Sexual assault Accused: Alex Scarborough, 24 Victim: Unidentified 17-year-old female Bail: $25,000

Searcy man arrested for assault 24-year-old accused of harassing teen The Daily Citizen

The Searcy Police Department arrested Alex Scarborough, 24, of Searcy on a charge of first degree sexual assault this past week. An anon- Scarborough y m o u s complaint was filed with the Searcy Police Department regarding Scarborough’s actions with a 17-year-old female, whose name was not released. The complaint was investigated and ScarPlease see ASSAULT | 3A

Please see SCHOOL | 2A

Grand opening

Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

Teacher Sally Paine watches as Scarlett types as part of a class project. Teachers at the Sunshine School help many students learn skills they can use outside of the classroom.

Wheelchair hoopsters excited to compete against local students Rolling Razorbacks event set for Tuesday night BY MOLLY M. FLEMING mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

On Tuesday night, a nationally-acclaimed basketball team will challenging local high school and college students on the court at Searcy High School. The Rolling Razorbacks will be in town on Tuesday to compete against students from Searcy High School, Riverview High School and Harding University. While the Razorbacks will be in wheelchairs against the local students, who will also be in wheelchairs, fans shouldn’t expect a care-free game, said Jared

WEATHER Today: Partly sunny. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning. Highs in the mid 70s. Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s. Southwest winds 5 mph. Vol. 157, No. 255 ©2011 The Daily Citizen

When: Sunday, Nov. 6 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Where: Sunshine School on Airport Loop in Searcy What to expect: Refreshments and tours of the school

Rolling Razorbacks When: Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Where: Searcy High School gymnasium Price: $3 for students, $5 for adults Johnson, coach and player for the Razorbacks. “We compete across the U.S. and we have won five national championships,” Johnson said. “We continue to be ranked among the Top 10 wheelchair teams in the nation. We even have two players who compete on the U.S. Paralympic team. We take this very seriously.” Johnson spoke at the Searcy

Kiwanis Club meeting on Thursday. The club is sponsoring the event and the Searcy High School Key Club will have a concession stand at the event. The Kiwanis Club will use the funds raised from the event to benefit community organizations and service projects. This is the third year for the Kiwanis Club to host the game, and it was because of last year’s game that the Razorbacks were able to recruit a new player. “At our game last year, the mom of our new player was in the crowd,” Johnson said. “He had been hurt in a four-wheeling accident and he was paralyzed from the waist down. Since he joined the team, it’s changed his whole demeanor. He’s going to go back to school and he’s out

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

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playing basketball with his son now. “When you have success stories like this, it really changes your vision as to why are here. Sometimes it’s not just about basketball — it’s about life.” Johnson explained to the club some of the rules and regulations of the wheelchair basketball game versus regular basketball. He said most of the rules are the same, but the wheelchair comes into play when fouls are called. “The chair is part of your body, so you can’t run into people,” he said. “I always argue with the referees about this.” He recalled his own experience with wheelchair basketball and Please see HOOPS | 2A

It's the people who try to be clever who never are; the people who are clever never think of trying to be. GILBERT PARKER Canadian author, British politician

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Page 2A • Sunday, October 23, 2011

The Daily Citizen

LOCAL CAMP: Roasting Lincoln to benefit children's camp CONTINUED FROM 1A

sity in Searcy at 6:30 p.m. Lincoln was the director of the camp for 10 years, and the camp continues to hold a special place in his heart. “I think anything we can do for kids during the summertime to keep them busy is worthwhile,” Lincoln said. “The camp gets kids in the outdoors and away from technology and electronics. It teaches them to converse verbally and interact with kids from all across the U.S.” Lincoln said that children from as far as Hawaii have been campers, and groups from Texas, Alabama and Tennessee are camp regulars. “We had a young lady who came from Hawaii and she came to the camp as an atheist, but she left as a believer in Jesus Christ,” Lincoln said. “We have had several children that came from children’s homes that had either

been abandoned or orphaned — I think they impressed me more than we impressed them. Working at the camp made you see that children have many situations in life that they come from.” No matter the financial situation of a child, they should be able to attend Camp Wyldewood, and the dinner will make sure that happens, said Robert Powell, camp director. “We give a lot of scholarships to kids who are in children’s homes or in foster homes, and this dinner will help fund those scholarships,” he said. The entertainment at the dinner will be the roasting and toasting of Lincoln. He will be the victim of jabs from Powell, State Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, Lincoln’s son Nathan, Dana Tofer, who worked with Lincoln at Judsonia Elementary, Al Fowler, who serves on the Wyldewood Board of Directors, Blake Hendrix

and many more. “Lincoln is a guy with a lot of character,” Powell said. “He’s a lightning rod for a lot of things. The way to lives and his personality — he leaves himself open for a lot of humorous things to happen.” Tickets are available for $50 a person, or $500 for a table for a business sponsor. Businesses can help sponsor the event for $150, but they will not receive tickets. Table sponsors will be listed during the event on a PowerPoint presentation, and the other sponsors will be mentioned during the ceremony. “It looks like it will be a full house,” Powell said. “We are having a good response about tickets sales, so people need to call ahead to reserve tickets.” To reserve tickets or pay by phone, persons can call (501) 305-3000. Persons can send donations to the camp at P.O. Box 1255. The camp is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

HOOPS: Rolling Razorbacks basketball team provides outreach to new users of wheelchairs CONTINUED FROM 1A

how it improved his life. He said he did not have good grades as a child, but that all changed when he heard about the wheelchair basketball team at a local college. Once he was challenged to get better grades to make the team, he graduated with honors and went to college. He was an elementary school teacher for seven years and now works for the Social Security Administration in Sherwood. Because of his work with the Razorbacks and his career, Johnson said he makes it a point to tell his players that they need full-time jobs. “Ten out of 12 of our players work full time and do not draw Social Security disability,” he said. “I think that’s really impressive. I tell them they need to get out and

work, and I tell the employers that people in wheelchairs are the most loyal employees you’ll ever have. They just need to be given a chance to excel.” But the Rolling Razorbacks are more than a basketball team, Johnson said. They also provide an outreach to people who are now being faced with a wheelchair-bound lifestyle. He said the players often talk to accident victims at St. Vincent Rehabilitation Hospital or Baptist Health Rehabilitation Institute and discuss the new challenges in their life. “It’s easier for a person in that bed to understand those challenges if they are hearing it from a person in a wheelchair,” Johnson said. The Rolling Razorbacks have started a junior program for young people who are wheel-

chair bound. While basketball is the main focus of the program, he said they also talk about other issues with the students. “We really emphasize grades and the importance of going to college.” Johnson challenged everyone at the meeting to attend the game and to invite others to come as well. “Our team is very competitive. If you haven’t seen us play yet, you need to come watch. It’s nothing like you’ve ever seen,” he said. Tuesday’s game will start at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students, including college students, and free for children younger than school age. At halftime, some of the Rolling Razorbacks will discuss their stories and how the game has helped them with their disability.

SCHOOL: Community, United Way contributions help Sunshine School get new building, tours at opening CONTINUED FROM 1A

nings, has now grown to include students from outside the county. This year, the school has 70 students, a far reach from where it started more than 40 years ago. The Sunshine School began in 1965 as a community outreach project from the Searcy Junior Auxiliary. The women would met with three children and would read and play games with them. They met in a house near the original school, located on Park Street. Sunshine School Executive Director Mary-Lou Dunn was a senior in high school when she first started helping out at the school. “I remember walking up the sidewalk and thinking, 'What have I gotten myself into?'” Dunn said. She has now been at the school for 34 years. It was her time at the Sunshine School that caused her to change her degree plan before she went to college and seek a degree in special education. Admission $200 Tuesdays or Thursdays $100 PG13

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Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

Teacher Renee Jackson helps Shane pass out candy to Tyler and the other classmates as part of an exercise on natural selection. Special education students of all ages are taught at the Sunshine School in Searcy. tations of our students as close to a regular school as Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@thedailycitizen.com Myles uses his E-tran in speech therapy to motion with his eyes what he wants possible,” Dunn said. The new building not to say. The Sunshine School offers speech, occupational and physical therapies only has more space, to all students who need them. but it comes with plenty “I was going to teach house where it began to celebrate its new build- of technology and other at the college level,” she the school on Park Street. ing with a reception and amenities to make the said. “I knew that's what Then, the administrators open house from 1 p.m. school day easier for the I always wanted to do. at the school started to to 3 p.m. The public is en- students and teachers. Then, one day, I was help- see that the school build- couraged to tour the new Each room has a door that leads outside, which helps ing a kid tie his shoe and ing would no longer hold facility. But the business end with the evacuation time one of the junior auxiliary their growing student of the Sunshine School is in case of a fire. Also, each members walked by and body. “We've been looking at not what keeps the stu- room shares a bathroom said, 'Oh, I heard you're going to major in special getting a new building for dents coming back every with the adjacent room. To help with the stueducation.' And I said, about 10 years, which is year. They come back for 'Why yes, I am.' I was im- when we started to gather the chance to have a regu- dents and teachers, the mediately taken back by the money,” Dunn said. lar school day, where they classroom numbers are my response, but I knew “With the contributions ride a bus, eat in a cafete- kept small, which allows that's what I wanted to do. from the community and ria, have recess, and make for each student to receive Working in special educa- the United Way, we have friends who understand more individual attention, tion just gets a hold of you almost paid for our entire the struggles they may be Dunn said. “We have some of the building. We are about experiencing. and won't let you lose.” “We try to keep our best staff you could ask Since Dunn first served $300,000 short.” On Sunday, Nov. 6, school day and the expec- for. They are really what at the school, it has moved from the small the Sunshine School will

3rd Annual

When: Tuesday, October 25th at 6:30p.m. Where: Searcy High School Gym

Adults $5.00 Students $3.00 Children under 5 free

All proceeds benefit the

Searcy Kiwanis Projects

New Fall Scents Have Arrived! Tyler • Woodwick & Aromatique Candles

Heart & Soul Gifts. Bridal. Interiors.

1627 E. Beebe Capps, Searcy • 501-268-2290 Mon-Fri 10-5:30; • Sat 10-4:00

Come See Our New Look!

Hope Cottage White County Single Parent Scholarship Fund, Inc. Impact 360 Reading and Diagnostic Learning Center Habitat for Humanity

Beauty Services performed under instructor supervision.

Tickets available from any Kiwanian or at the door. For more information, call Dan Newsom at (501)268-4066. Tuesday - Saturday 9am-4:30pm

Training for careers in cosmotology.

$2 off perms $1 off haircuts $3 off foils Pedicure $16 w/ free manicure

keep me going. The normal burn out time for a school like ours is four or five years, but we have teachers who have been here as long as 29 years.” Besides education, the students can receive physical, speech and occupational therapies if they need any of them. All of these services — as well as the cost to attend the school — is completely free to the parents. Students who are in preschool or older than school age pay for the school through their Medicaid card, while students who are old enough for school have their tuition paid by their school district. “We are making a difference in students’ lives, their families’ lives and the lives of the community. When you work closely with someone who has a developmental disability, you forget about the disability and realize who they are as a person.”