Tobacco insurance

75¢

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2011

The

Daily Citizen TheDailyCitizen.com

Serving Searcy and White County, Ark., since 1854

FIRST TRIAL TO START IN DOUBLE SLAYING ROSE BUD HOPES TO END YEAR WITH WIN Jury selection begins today for a man charged in the slayings of two Bentonville residents. — PAGE 2A

After getting a win last week, the Ramblers aim to upset Harding Academy Friday. — PAGE 1B

Tobacco raises insurance

Pioneer Village Open House ■ When:

Saturday, 10 a.m.4 p.m., and Sunday, 1-4 p.m.

■ Where: 1166 Higginson Street, behind Land O’Frost.

■ What to expect: Cooking demonstrations, games, vendors.

Obesity could be next factor

BY MOLLY M. FLEMING

Pioneer Village opens

Insurance rates ■ Tobacco

causes highest rate. could be the next factor.

■ Companies looking for insurance packages with wellness programs.

■ Obesity

mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

The national media is often abuzz about the health problems caused by obesity; but those health issues have yet to be as much of a factor in health insurance costs as tobacco use, which can cost a company’s

health insurance plan around $5,000 a year.

Tobacco use has immediate effects and long-term effects on the tobacco user, thus causing the increase in the insurance rate, said Cindy Dixon

with Gallagher Benefit Services of Searcy.

Dixon is hired by White County to negotiate the county’s health care plan and find the best rate for that plan.

She works with four of the

largest corporate health care companies on a regular basis, including United Healthcare, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, QualChoice and Mercy, and has done so for more than 20 years.

“Tobacco users get a lot of respiratory infections and they usually don’t eat properly,” she said. “Their productivity is decreased, especially for chain smokers. When the company Please see TOBACCO | 2A

Fundraiser ■ What: Barrel race, silent auction and homemade quilt raffle.

■ Where: White County Fairgrounds.

■ When: Nov. 5.

■ Additional info: Will benefit Stirrups and Smiles, a nonprofit organization that provides horse therapy to children with special needs.

Village to host fall festival on Saturday

BY MOLLY M. FLEMING

Barrel race fundraiser to be held this week

mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

This weekend, White County residents are invited to take a step back in time at the Pioneer Village in Searcy, operated by the White County Historical Society.

The society will open the doors at the village on Saturday and Sunday for the annual Pioneer Village Fall Festival.

The festival will be held on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to the event and parking are both free.

“We really want people to come and spend the day with us,” said Elizabeth Heard, one of the event organizers. “We’re going to a lot of activities and

Event will benefit horse therapy program for kids

Please see VILLAGE | 2A

BY MARISA LYTLE mlytle@thedailycitizen.com

Stirrups and Smiles, a nonprofit organization that provides horse therapy for special needs children, is holding a fundraiser Saturday at the White County Fairgrounds.

The second annual Stirrups and Smiles Jackpot fundraiser event includes a barrel race, silent auction and homemade quilt raffle. Concessions will be available, with all proceeds going to Stirrups and Smiles (SANDS).

From 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., riders can pay $10 apiece to participate in a 25-minute training session. The limit is 15 riders per session.

2 face drug charges after traffic stop The Daily Citizen

Approximately 8.2 pounds of suspected marijuana, value $8,200, and $11,434 in currency was seized by the Central Arkansas Drug Task Force during a traffic stop this past Sullins weekend.

The CADTF was assisting the Beebe Police Department subsequent to a traffic stop.

Robert Sullins, 26, of Lonoke and Rickett McKinley Rickett, 21, of Searcy were arrested for posPlease see ARRESTS | 2A

Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

Hundreds attend Trick-or-Treat event Superman, a.k.a. 1-year-old Bryer Ausburn of McRae, chows down on some chocolate at Trick-or-Treat on the Square Monday night. Ausburn was one of hundreds of costumed kids, young and old, who attended to event, sponsored by the Downtown Searcy Association.

Bald Knob burglary suspect caught after brief chase Burglary

The Daily Citizen

A suspect in a Monday burglary near Bald Knob was apprehended after a brief chase later in the day.

Deputies with the White County Sheriff’s Office on Monday were called to a residence on Highway 258 in the Bald Knob area for a residential burglary that had occurred while the homeowner was in bed sleeping, according to a press release from the White County Sheriff’s Department.

WEATHER Today: Sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. South winds 10 to 15 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 40s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

Vol. 157, No. 262 ©2011 The Daily Citizen

Please see STIRRUPS | 3A

■ When:

Monday.

Highway 258 near Bald Knob.

■ Suspect: Tanya Stephens, 28, of the Judsonia area.

■ Where:

While en route to the residence, a deputy noticed a car matching the description of one stolen from the victim’s residence traveling south on Highway 67/167 and notified another deputy in the area to stop the vehicle. When deputies attempted to stop the ve-

hicle, the driver refused to stop and led deputies on a brief chase that ended when the suspect turned into a driveway.

The driver was identified as Tanya Stephens, 28, of the Judsonia area. Stephens was arrested and transported to the White County Detention Center

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

“

and charged with fleeing, driving while intoxicated (drugs) and driving on a suspended license.

M o r e charges are expected.

Stephens Stephens was driving a vehicle that was Please see BURGLARY | 2A

To make oneself hated is more difficult than to make oneself loved.

PABLO PICASSO Artist, 1881-1973

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

“

Page 2A • Tuesday, November 1, 2011

The Daily Citizen

FROM PAGE ONE State/Nation Briefs Associated Press

Early voting to begin on state highway bonds LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Early voting begins Tuesday on a proposal to renew a $575 million bond issue to pay for interstate improvements, a scaled-back part of a plan lawmakers approved this year to tackle billions of dollars in unfunded highway needs across Arkansas.

Gov. Mike Beebe, highway commissioners and some of the state’s most powerful lobbying groups are campaigning for the measure and say that it’s a way to fix the state’s roads without a tax increase.

A scattered and underfunded collection of opponent around the state are arguing against the bonds and say it will lead to the state unnecessarily taking on debt rather than paying for road needs as they come along.

Secretary of State Mark Martin hasn’t offered a prediction on how many of the state’s nearly 1.54 million registered voters will cast a ballot in the Nov. 8 special election, or the early voting leading up to it.

Theft of hens could cost sheriff his job LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas prosecutor says a sheriff should

lose his job because he pleaded guilty to stealing Cornish game hens more than three decades ago.

Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland filed a petition Monday asking for Searcy County Sheriff Kenney Cassell’s removal from office.

Hiland says the theft of Cornish game hens is an infamous crime that bars Cassell from holding office.

Cassell pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor crime in 1979. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to pay a $300 fine.

Cassell says his guilty plea shouldn’t bar him from office, since voters knew about it when they elected him last November. He took out an ad in a local publication in 2009 admitting to the theft.

Obama orders FDA to help reduce drug shortages WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is directing the Food and Drug Administration to take steps to reduce drug shortages, action he says will help stop a “slow-rolling problem” that puts patients at risk and raises the potential for price gouging.

Obama signed an executive order in the Oval Office on Monday instructing the FDA to take action in three areas: broadening its re-

porting of potential drug shortages; accelerating reviews of applications to change production of drugs facing potential shortages; and giving the Justice Department more information about possible instances of collusion or price gouging.

Patient deaths have been blamed on the shortages, which tend to affect cancer drugs, anesthetics, drugs used in emergency medicine, and electrolytes needed for intravenous feeding. Hospitals have been forced to buy from secondary suppliers at huge markups. Surgeries and cancer treatments have been delayed.

Cain says he was ‘falsely accused’ of harassment WASHINGTON — Denying he ever sexually harassed anyone, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain declared Monday he was falsely accused in the 1990s while he was head of the National Restaurant Association and the allegations are surfacing now as part of a “witch hunt.”

The former pizza company executive was responding to a Politico report that said the trade group gave financial settlements to at least two female employees who had accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior.

ARRESTS: Officers learned Monday of possible hidden compartment in vehicle occupied by couple CONTINUED FROM 1A

session of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver.

Sullins was incarcerated in the White County Detention Center (WCDC) on $25,000 bond and Rickett was incarcerated on $5,000 bond.

On Monday, officers learned of a possible hidden compartment in the vehicle occupied by

Drug arrests Who: Robert Sullins, 26, of Lonoke and McKinley Rickett, 21, of Searcy Charge: Possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver.

Sullins and Rickett.

CADTF investigators obtained a search warrant for the vehicle, which remained in storage subsequent to being towed.

CADTF Investigators

and BPD officers executed the warrant and located the compartment which contained an additional $18, 479 of U.S. currency for a total of $29,913 seized.

First of 2 trials to start in Bentonville double slaying Associated Press

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Jury selection is to start Tuesday for one of two men charged with capital murder in the slayings of a mother and daughter from Bentonville, who were missing for months before their bodies were discovered in a shallow grave.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Michael Shane Winters, 30, of Bentonville, in the deaths of Christina Bishop, 40, and Louise Bishop, 81.

Also charged is Christina Bishop’s son, 20-year-old Nicholas Johansen of Garfield. Johansen’s trial is set for January, and prosecutors also are seeking the death penalty in his case.

The women were reported missing June 18, 2009, having last been seen shopping at a Sam’s Club in Bentonville. Their bodies were found in rural Benton County on Feb. 1, 2010. Court documents say Winters led investigators to the graves.

The women were reported missing June 18, 2009, having last been seen shopping in Bentonville.

Their bodies were found in rural Benton County on Feb. 1, 2010.

Johansen and Winters have pleaded not guilty.

They are being held without bond in the Benton County Jail.

Authorities allege the men went to Louise Bishop’s Bentonville home the day the women vanished.

Investigators concluded the women were killed in the home and their bodies were taken to the remote location near Sugar Creek Road and buried.

Affidavits show that Winters told his girlfriend that he and Johansen had found $500 that they used to pay her phone bill. Prosecutors say the cash came from the victims. Winters also is accused of giving his girlfriend a watch stolen from the home where the killings occurred.

Prosecutor Van Stone is handling the case with assistance from deputy prosecutors Stephanie McLemore and Brandon Carter. Little Rock lawyer Robby Golden and Fayetteville attorney Drew Ledbetter are handling Winters’ defense.

Ledbetter said late Monday that he expects jury selection to take up to two weeks. He said it would be inappropriate to comment on the case with a jury pool ready to go through the selection process.

Jury selection is expected to take several days and the trial itself two to three weeks. Circuit Judge Robin Green is presiding.

TOBACCO: White County Medical Center began to eliminate the future of hiring of tobacco, nicotine users CONTINUED FROM 1A

has to pay more to insure these employees, then they pass those costs down to the consumer.”

Recently, White County Medical Center decided to set a state-wide trend by eliminating the future hiring of any tobacco or nicotine users.

Hospital CEO and President Ray Montgomery said at the time, “We created the new policy as part of an overall wellness effort to have a positive impact on our associates health and well-being. Our goal in creating the policy was to increase productivity, lower health care costs and contribute to the health of our associates.”

But according to Dixon, tobacco use may not be the only factor that affects health care costs in the future.

“I think at some point in time, a person’s weight

could become a major issue,” she said. “I think they’ll have a hard time quantifying it though because of all of the links to obesity.”

While the link between diabetes and obesity is still being confirmed by doctors, the costs on insurance rates for diabetes is higher than the cost for tobacco use.

“A non-compliant diabetic — a person who does not take their medicine or doesn’t know their diabetic —will cost the plan upwards in the range of $40,000 because there’s so many other complications that spin off from that,” she said. “They can have problems with their kidneys, which can lead to dialysis, and other medical issues.”

To help combat some of these problems, including smoking, many insurance companies are now offering wellness programs with their group insurance rates.

“Companies are start-

ing to look for insurance groups that will help them promote a health lifestyle in their workplace,” she said.

“Bigger companies are finding out that a little control is important. They can’t control everything, but they have found that payroll initiatives are a big help.”

Dixon said that Yarnell’s Ice Cream, Inc. was one of the first companies to start a wellness program in the state years before the trend began, and since then, Gov. Mike Beebe has created a committee to help promote a healthy lifestyle in the workplace.

“When it comes to insurance costs, it really comes down to people’s lifestyles, claims history, inflation and other trends,” Dixon said. “If you’re on a group policy, what everyone does on their personal time will eventually affect you at some point.”

VILLAGE: Location consists of five different buildings: a log house, a school, a store, a jail, a train depot we’ll have a food vendor so they can eat lunch at the village.”

The village consists of five different buildings, all from around White County. There is a log house from the Providence area, a school and a store from the Little Red community, a jail from Pangburn and the train depot from Garner.

The buildings were gathered from across the county by Oran Vaughn, who was the owner of Smith-Vaughn mercantile in Searcy.

“Mr. Vaughn realized the importance of preserving our heritage, so he began to gather the buildings and had them placed at the White County Fairgrounds from 1962 to 1992,” Heard said.

“Then, in 1992, the fairgrounds needed the land for expansion, so they moved the buildings to a central location on Higginson Street.”

The buildings date back to the late 1800s to the early 1900s. The jail was still in use until the 1960s.

“When people see the jail, they’ll be amazed that it was in use that long,” Heard said. “It’s just like a tin box. If you were in there, you’d be feeling really sorry for yourself.”

The village also includes a working blacksmith shop and old farm equipment.

But the buildings are only part of the attraction of the festival this weekend.

There will be plenty of pioneer cooking demonstrations at the event, such as Dutch oven cook-

BURGLARY: Woman was driving a car stolen from victim’s home CONTINUED FROM 1A

stolen from the victim’s residence and had backed

the vehicle out of the garage through the garage door, causing damage to the car and the garage door.

Another Quality Job Done By

ing and butter making.

Visitors can purchase baked goods after learning about the old cooking techniques.

Other demonstrations will include spinning cotton into yarn and quilt making.

Vendors will be on site to sell homemade soaps and quilts.

Musicians will be on site to keep the crowd entertained during the day.

Children will be able to participate in a variety of activities and games, such as jumping rope, making crafts and passing a wheel around with a paddle.

Visitors can also learn about beekeeping and sorghum making. Local honey and sorghum will be available for sale.

“Local honey helps build up your immune system against allergies, so people really like local honey,” Heard said.

Visitors can learn more about the agricultural history of the county by seeing raw cotton and an heirloom strawberry bed with Blakemore strawberries, which is next to the new strawberry shed.

“The shed was built in tribute to the importance of strawberries to White County. The county used to be the ‘strawberry capital of the world.’ Our locally grown berries were shipped all over the world,” Heard said.

Visitors can take home items to help them remember their trip back in time, such as bonnets, raccoon

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CONTINUED FROM 1A

skin caps, train whistles, train conductors hats and aprons. All of these items and more will be sold in the store at the village.

For more information about the Pioneer Village,

Admission $200 Tuesdays or Thursdays $100 PG13

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or how to get involved as a volunteer, persons can call Heard at (501) 5806633.

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