Vol. 2, No. 11
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Sun Paper letter hammers last nail in mill coffin By Bill Sutley Dispatch Editor Shandong Sun Paper’s top executive for international projects sent letters to both state and local officials last weeks announcing the company’s intent to abandon its plans to build a $1.8 billion paper mill south of Arkadelphia. “With the likelihood of the project uncertain, it is also fair to allow the state of Arkansas to use
its resources for other ventures that have less uncertainty in the medium term," Andrzej Bednarski, the company's international project director, said in a letter. “At this moment, the collective uncertainties make it a better choice for both of us to abandon the project.” Stephen Bell, CEO and president of the Arkadelphia Regional Alliance for Economic Development, got a similarly worded let-
ter, also dated Sunday, March 15. Bell got a similar message from talking to Shandong Sun Paper officials in the first couple of months of 2020, but his counterpart at the AEDC had been more hopeful. “It’s a big disappointment for everyone involved," the AEDC chair and state Commerce Secretary Mike Preston said in a statement. “Lots of hard work, from the local community to our state
partners, went into to seeing this project succeed." While previously citing the U.S.-China trade tensions as endangering the deal, Bednarski broadened the conversation to include the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason to walk away from the project that was to be on the southwest corner of Highway 26 and Highway 67 in Gum Springs. “The current situation related to the coronavirus outbreak and
continued political friction and economic instability make it impossible for us to proceed with the project within the timelines set forth in the environmental permit,” Bednarski wrote to the AEDC. “With the likelihood of the project uncertain, it is also fair to allow the State of Arkansas to use its resources for other ventures that have less See Mill • Page 4
Baptist sets up drive-thru virus testing By Bill Sutley Dispatch Editor COVID-19 fever has swept over Clark County, even though Baptist Health will not now back up its Tuesday declaration that no presumptive cases have been reported here. Baptist Health spokespersons are now referring anyone from Clark County who displays any of the symptoms of the possibly fatal
coronavirus -- fever, cough, sore throat, diarrhea and body aches -- to report to its Caddo Valley unit at 10 Montgomery Drive in Arkadelphia for drive-thru Keith Beason, left, communications director for the City of Arkadelphia, attempts unsuccessfully to use a testing. digital thermometer to check for fever in Town Hall visitor Jim Minchew Tuesday evening, just moments One of the main factors before the city Board of Directors meeting at 5:30 p,m. Local nursing homes are taking similar measures. flaming fears on social media was the Tuesday declaration by celebrated Christian artist Sandi Patty
Jury selection calling for 100 postpones trial
See Jury • Page 4
See Virus • Page 4
Keep an eye out for possible price-gouging
By Bill Sutley Dispatch Editor
The 61-year-old admitted gunman in Arkadelphia’s only homicide of 2019 walked free Monday, although technically under house arrest, after managing to post his $300,000 bond. Were it not for the turmoil that the coronavirus has created in virtually every aspect of life, Stanley Wayne Powell might be fighting to assert his innocence during a jury trial this week. But lawyers and Circuit Judge Blake Batson agreed it was better to wait Powell rather than bring in a group of 100 possible jurors, sitting tightly side by side in a courtroom, for orientation and eventual jury selection. Pretrial motions are now set for Oct. 6, with trial probably following later that month. Powell is accused in the June 6 shooting death of Jalen Da’rel Mc-
that it’s been confirmed she’s got COVID-19. She indicated she got tested in Oklahoma on March 8, a day after her March 7 concert at a local church, where she visited with many concert-goers after the event. Meanwhile, local public and private schools are all shut down, with Arkadelphia Public School District schools delivering lessons via Alternative Modes of Instruction, better known as AMI. The district has also been proactive in handing out hundreds of school lunches at a wide variety of locations, mostly beyond schools. School volunteers are also helping to prepare backpacks with supplementary food that families can use during the following week,
Help ‘flatten the curve’ By Dr. Amanda Novack Special to the Dispatch You’ve heard by now that the coronavirus, or COVID-19, is in Arkansas. As an infectious disease physician responsible for directing Baptist Health’s response to the coronavirus, COVID-19, I want to remind you to remain calm. However, the reality is that this is not business as usual and we do not need to pretend like it is. You may have seen the above graphic in the last day or so. It’s what we are referring to as “flattening the curve.” Looking at the chart, there are two curves that represent infections.
While shaped differently, the two curves actually represent the same number of infections. While the striped curve carries a longer period of time in which a virus, such as COVID-19, exists, it also reduces the number of cases at any point in time. The key to reducing the number of cases is to allow doctors, hospitals, government officials and vaccine manufacturers to function as best they can without being overwhelmed. Specifically in regard to hospitals, there are only a finite number of rooms, doctors and space. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) chart See Curve • Page 4
Special to the Dispatch Clark County’s prosecuting attorney, Dan Turner, Tuesday issued a pricegouging alert related to recent federal and state emergency declarations related to the public response to the coronavirus outbreak. “State and local officials are working to prevent and treat this significant public health threat,” Turner said. “Local citizens should not have to worry about being taken advantage of while complying with public warnings during this difficult time. Since there have been official emergency declarations, our price-gouging law is in effect, and it provides broad protections against illegal price gouging on medical supplies, food, gas and other essential commodities.” Turner encourages anyone who has been the victim of price gouging, or
who has information about potential price gouging, to contact his office at (870) 246-9868 and the Arkansas Attorney General’s office (800-482-8982) or contact their local police department or the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. The Arkansas Attorney General has also issued a public statement advising state residents that the price-gouging prohibitions also apply to individuals making sales in the state through Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist or Amazon. Turner wants local citizens to know that Arkansas law specifically prohibits gouging and that he and local officials will not tolerate unfair prices or inappropriate hoarding of essential commodities. The state’s specific price-gouging statute generally prohibits charging a See Price • Page 4
New hand could weld dreams together By Spencer Watson Special to the Dispatch
It was a great day for fishing in May 2018 and when Bryce Cook, 16, of Arkadelphia, was headed toward a nearby river on a side-by-side to pursue one of his favorite pastimes. By all accounts – his own, witnesses, subsequent police investigation – he wasn’t going fast when, as the road went from pavement to dirt, the right rear tire of the all-terrain vehicle struck a boulder that had been left after grading work on the road. He cut the turn hard to correct, but when the vehicle started to flip, he instinctively threw up his left arm to brace himself. That’s when it caught in the roll bar. “I realized something was wrong. I thought I’d broken my arm because it hurt pretty bad right as it happened,” said Cook, now 17. He immediately realized his danger with no one nearby to call for help. He went to reach for his phone with the arm he’d stuck out only to immediately real-
ize it was gone. “My phone was in my left pocket because I’m lefthanded, but I couldn’t reach it. I remember my arm being gone,” he said. Cook eventually managed to work the phone out of his pocket and hold it with his chin to dial his parents, but there was no cell service. A nearby resident, who happened to be the janitor at his old middle school and who lives in one of the last houses he’d passed, heard Cook’s calls for help and came running,. The man’s wife called an ambulance. As the ambulance rushed to the airport, a helicopter was called to fly Cook to Little Rock. The accident eventually brought Cook to UAMS Orthopaedics, which last year launched a one-stop multidisciplinary clinic for upper extremity amputees under fellowship-trained surgeons Dr. Mark Tait and Dr. John Bracey. See Hand • Page 5
Bryce Cook reaches toward a therapy tool used to help patients learn to use muscle sensors to control a robotic prosthetic.