Public survey to report pine tree discoloration and mortality

not a check: it’s an attempt to get you to sign up for a home warranty.”

If you don’t read the fine print (or it doesn’t appear in the letter you receive), you’ll likely be concerned your home warranty has lapsed and your mortgage is at risk. You won’t be dealing with your mortgage lender if you call the number and “renew” your warranty. Instead, you will have given money and personal information to a company that employs deceptive advertising tactics.

Recent examples submitted to BBB vary widely in appearance and presentation. Still, they have two things in common — they all ask the homeowner to take urgent action on their home warranty, and they all appear to come from the homeowner’s mortgage company.

New homeowners may be particularly at risk for buying into these deceptive claims.

Continuance granted for woman charged in accidental death of former state trooper

By Patrick Massey

DE QUEEN – A continuance has been issued in the Sevier County Circuit Court for a Lockesburg woman charged for her involvement in the 2021 death of a former law enforcement officer.

According to court records, Kayle Helms, 35, was charged last year with a single count of manslaughter following the death of Chris Brackett, 50, in 2021. Brackett was a former Sevier County Sheriff’s deputy and Arkansas State Trooper.

Helms, who has pleaded not guilty, appeared in the Sevier County Circuit Court on Thursday for a pre- trial hearing.

On Apr. 27 the court accepted a motion by Helms’ defense counsel to postpone the trial. That has been rescheduled for this July.

According to the arrest affidavit, Helms said she and Brackett were practicing self-defense techniques the night of Aug. 12, 2021, when the handgun she was holding accidentally discharged. The incident occurred at Brackett’s home near Lockesburg.

Helms was formally charged in March 2022 with one count of manslaughter, a Class C felony. Upon a conviction, the offense carries a sentence of three to 10 years in prison.

LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Division (Forestry Division) has released a survey for members of the public to report pine tree discoloration and/ or mortality, specifically in southeast Arkansas. The survey can be found at arcg.is/1HyHCu0.

The increase in pine tree discoloration and mortality is an issue that has been observed in Arkansas and neighboring states. No specific cause has been identified and several possible causes are being considered.

This survey will provide Forestry Division staff and partners with data to further investigate this issue. The survey will collect information about the date and location of the observation, the environment where the observation occurred, and other general observations.

To analyze the causes of pine tree mortality and identify solutions, the Forestry Division is working with multiple partners, including the University of Arkansas at Monticello College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources; the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service; and the Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Plant Industries Division.

For more information about pine tree discoloration and/or mortality, visit agriculture.arkansas.gov/forestry/ arkansas-forestry-health/arkansas-loblolly-pine-decline/