Yarnell's to reopen

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

The

Daily Citizen TheDailyCitizen.com

Serving Searcy and White County, Ark., since 1854

CHRISTMAS HOMES TOUR SET FOR SUNDAY AUTHOR TAKES IN HARDING TRADITION Cheer will abound as locals visit homes decorated for Christmas and contribute to a good cause. — PAGE 3A

The Harding University a capella National Anthem will be in an Atlanta author’s book. — PAGE 1B

S&B Biscuits has all company recipes, intellectual property

Searcy parade When: Saturday at 6 p.m.

Where: Starts at Spring Park, ends at Berryhill Park To be in the parade: Line up near Spring Park

BY MOLLY M. FLEMING mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

Searcy hosts Christmas parade Saturday

to reopen

The Yarnell’s recipes that Arkansans grew up loving will soon be manufactured again, as the Chicago-based Schulze & Burch Biscuits, which has a Searcy facility, does have all of the recipes for the Yarnell’s original ice cream and the Guilt Free products.

Searcy Chamber of Com-

merce president Buck Layne said he has spoken with representatives from Schulze & Burch and they said that the company will manufacture ice cream again under the Yarnell’s name. The company purchased the necessary property — which includes real and intellectual — to make the ice cream on Wednesday for $1.3 million.

Schulze & Burch ■ Chicago-based company ■ Opened Searcy plant in 2009 ■ Has recipes, trademark for Yarnell’s ice cream

“They do plan on making ice cream out of the Yarnell’s plant,” Layne said.

Please see REOPEN | 2A

LOCAL CHURCH’S LIVING NATIVITY OPENS

Free entry, no registration required

BY MOLLY M. FLEMING mfleming@thedailycitizen.com

The city of Searcy will bring the Christmas spirit down the streets on Saturday during the city’s annual Searcy Aglow Parade.

The parade will start at 6 p.m. at Spring Park, circle the court square and enter onto Race Street and then end at Berryhill Park.

Lillie Cook in the mayor’s office said there is no registration requirements for the parade.

“If people want to be in the parade, they just need to show up at the corner of Spring Street and West Pleasure Street,” Cook said. “The line up will proceed back to Mulberry Avenue and then continue west on Mulberry.”

Please see PARADE | 2A

Revenue predicted slightly up next year

Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@ thedailycitizen.com

The congregation at the First Assembly of God in Searcy dressed in layers to be part of the city of Bethlehem Thursday for the church’s annual Living Nativity. Shirley Hughes of Searcy helps Desha Duke of Bald Knob with her outfit while Cheyenne Swift of Searcy watches, above.

BY ANDREW DEMILLO Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas’ finance office said Thursday that the state will see a slight increase in its revenues next year, figures that indicate the state won’t see much change in its budget beyond an increase in school funding that Gov. Mike Beebe is expected to propose in January.

The Department of Finance and Administration said in its forecast for the fiscal year that begins July 1 that Arkansas will bring in $4.7 billion, which is $161 million more than it is expected to bring in this fiscal year.

Gov. Mike Beebe is expected to release his balanced budget proposal for the coming year on Jan. 17, but Thursday’s figures offer a glimpse of what to expect in next year’s budget talks.

Even though revenues are expected to rise, Thursday’s forecast fell $121.3 million short of the department’s prediction last year the coming fiscal year.

Richard Weiss, the department’s director, said the change represents concerns about the economic recovery. The revision Please see BUDGET | 2A

Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@ thedailycitizen.com

Elizabeth Anderson of Bald Knob helps her sister, Isabella, get dressed to be in the Living Nativity at First Assembly of God in Searcy, right. The Living Nativity will be held today, Saturday and Sunday from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the area adjacent to the church. It will be held again on Dec. 8-11 at the same time.

Court speeds up review of execution policy

BY JEANNIE NUSS Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Supreme Court agreed on Thursday to speed up a lawsuit challenging the way the state executes its inmates.

It granted the state’s request to expedite the case, which centers both on what drugs are used to put prisoners to death and over who has the authority to set Arkansas’ execution policy.

The issue came to the Supreme

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Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s. Southeast winds 5 mph.

Vol. 157, No. 289 ©2011 The Daily Citizen

“This is an important case, and we are pleased that the justices agreed to expedite their review.”

Aaron Sadler Spokesperson for the office of Attorney General Court after a lower court judge ruled that part of the lethal injection law is unconstitutional.

The state’s highest court offered little insight into how

quickly proceedings will unfold.

But Attorney General Dustin McDaniel’s office was glad to hear the news.

“This is an important case,

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

“

and we are pleased that the justices agreed to expedite their review,” spokesman Aaron Sadler said in an email.

Defense attorneys contend there’s no need to rush the case, and Arkansas has no pending executions — in part because of the unresolved lawsuit. A message left at the federal public defender’s office was not immediately returned Thursday.

Please see COURT | 2A

Our ideals are our better selves.

AMOS BRONSON ALCOTT

”

19th Century American teacher, writer and philospher

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

Page 2A • Friday, December 2, 2011

The Daily Citizen

FROM PAGE ONE COURT: Shortage of lethal injection drug caused Arkansas, other states to look overseas CONTINUED FROM 1A

Marisa Lytle/mlytle@thedailycitizen.com

Road department workers mow ditches David Lutner of the White County Road Department mows ditches along Mitchell Road on Thursday. The Road Department is responsible for maintaining and improving the county’s paved roads, unpaved roads and bridges.

BUDGET: Beebe expects to recommend increase in school funding CONTINUED FROM 1A

also factored in $35 million in tax cuts that lawmakers approved earlier this year.

“There are lots of clouds out there and there’s a lot of headwind out there that we’re very concerned about,” Weiss said.

Beebe said Wednesday that he expects to recommend an increase in funding for public schools, but

most other agencies’ budgets will remain relatively flat. The Legislature convenes for the fiscal session on Feb. 13.

Weiss provided few details about the budget proposal, but said that there was little room for growth outside of needs for schools, prisons and the state Medicaid program.

“When you get outside of those areas, it’s pretty

much going to be flat or less,” Weiss told reporters.

Beebe has said he doesn’t expect to propose another cut in the state sales tax on groceries. Proposing a tax cut during the fiscal session, which is intended to focus on budget matters, would require a two-thirds vote in both chambers to be considered. Next year’s fiscal session will be the

second under a constitutional amendment voters approved in 2008 requiring the Legislature meet annually rather than every other year.

Arkansas’ current $4.6 billion budget increased funding for schools and prisons and kept state workers’ salaries flat after Beebe agreed to drop a cost-of-living raise in order to pay for additional tax cuts.

REOPEN: Yarnell’s trademark included in property purchase Wednesday CONTINUED FROM 1A

Layne said the chamber of commerce is pleased with the outcome of this sale.

“This purchase will be an extension of what Schulze & Burch is already doing in Searcy,” Layne said. “I don’t know how this could have gone any better for our community than if the original bid (for the bulk property) could have been accepted. I think the people of Searcy will be thrilled to death with the outcome.”

The ice cream that will be made by Schulze & Burch will be the Yarnell’s recipes, as both men who originally had the winning bid for the recipes and one trademark were not able to purchase the recipes and trademark at the end of the day.

David Davison of Marshall had the highest bid for the Yarnell’s recipes during the auction, but was unable to take the recipes home.

“I paid for all of my stuff, and when I went to get the recipes, the auctioneer went and talked to the (Yarnell’s) trustee to tell him I was there to get the recipes, and that’s when

the trustee told me there was no sale,” Davison said.

“I was fairly disgusted with the situation.”

Davison said he was upset that he was not told earlier that he would not be able to purchase the recipes, even though he was the highest bidder.

“When I won the recipes, the trustee was standing right there, he could have said there was no sale at that time (like he did when the bulk purchase of $1.4 million was refused). He did not follow the same procedure during the day,” Davison said. “The methods that were employed in the sale were less than proper.”

Davison said he hasn’t decided if he will pursue legal action to get the recipes, or if legal action is even an option. “(Legal action) is definitely something I’m exploring,” he said. “If I

confused if more than one float has Santa Claus, Cook says CONTINUED FROM 1A

There is no competition for the parade floats or those participating, and there is no decorative theme.

“The only thing we ask is that people have lights on their float and that they play Christmas music, which could simply be a CD in someone’s vehicle,” Cook said.

Cook said there are a couple of rules that the city asks participants to follow.

She said they ask that the floats do not have Santa Claus.

“We really want to just have one, which will be at the end of the parade,” she said. “If there are more than one, the chil-

dren get a little confused.”

Parade organizers also ask that parade participants not throw candy from their vehicles. Cook said that because the parade is at night, small children may not be seen when they go to get the candy on the streets.

“People are more than welcome to walk down the street and hand out candy, though,” she said.

The parade has been a long-standing holiday tradition for the city, dating back to when the city once hosted a holiday festival in the downtown area.

For more information about the parade, people may call Cook at Searcy City Hall at (501) 2682483.

Corrections 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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property was concerned.

“I was a little surprised by the outcome because I thought it was a done deal.”

The Yarnell’s trademark was also included in the property purchase on Wednesday. Rogers Yarnell won the trademark in the auction but it was later included in the purchase

by Schulze & Burch.

As to when the Schulze & Burch company plans to start putting ice cream back on grocery store shelves is still unknown.

A representative from Schulze & Burch could not be reached as of press time on Thursday.

PARADE: Children may get

Just Arrived Great Selection

Admission $200 Tuesdays or Thursdays $100

DOLPHIN TALE

would have known that I wouldn’t get to go home with the recipes, I would have taken my money and invested in somewhere else during the auction.”

Jeff Holtz of Creamery Concepts LLC in Searcy purchased the trademark and recipes for the Guilt Free line of Yarnell’s products. He said a similar situation happened to him — he went to pick up his purchase and he was told the sale wasn’t final.

“They did give me the opportunity to bid higher on both items, but I didn’t want to do that,” Holtz said. “Nothing ever exchanged hands as far as

Lawyers for the inmates argue that drugs not approved by the federal government could cause unnecessary pain and suffering to inmates as they’re executed. The defense attorneys also say lawmakers did not have the authority to transfer supervision of execution policies from the Legislature to the state’s correction department in 2009.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox struck down a portion of Arkansas’ execution law in August, ruling that the state went too far when its list of drugs approved for use in lethal injections included the phrase “any other chemical or chemicals.”

Arkansas last executed an inmate in 2005. Gov. Mike Beebe set dates for several executions for last summer, but the state Supreme Court stayed them.

Even if another execution were set, the state

wouldn’t be able to carry it out without finding another supplier for its lethal injection drugs or switching to a different drug since it turned over its supply of a drug called sodium thiopental this summer amid questions over how the state obtained it.

Sodium thiopental, a sedative used in lethalinjection drug cocktails, has been hard to come by since its sole U.S. manufacturer stopped making it. That shortage prompted Arkansas and other death-penalty states to turn their attention to suppliers overseas.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration then seized stockpiles of the drug from several states, including Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee.

In July, the Arkansas Department of Correction surrendered its supply of the lethal-injection drug that had been purchased from a British company.

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